Final Fantasy 7 Remake

If you’re in Final Fantasy 7 Remake for the long haul, you might be looking to hit the max level cap of 50. Playing Hard Mode is a good way to up the amount of XP and AP received but there are various other ways to receive both.

First off, complete all the different side quests and Battle Intel reports as you play since they offer experience and useful equipment. It’s generally a good idea to do them side by side while playing the story. You’ll also want to look into Battle Challenges which involve clearing waves of foes and working your way up the ranks. They’re present in the Corneo Colosseum in Sector 6’s Wall Market and the Shinra VR Combat Simulator in Sector 0’s Shinra Electric Power Company.

One fairly useful Materia for leveling up in the post-game will be the EXP Up Materia. It increases experience gain by 100 percent and is earned from completing the Shinra VR Combat Simulator’s Three-Person Team vs Team Ragbag Challenge. If you haven’t hit the level cap, don’t worry – completing the game will unlock Hard Mode which can be used to earn triple the experience and double the AP. Use this in combination with EXP Up to get to level 50 in a hurry.

All Materia and Their Locations

Materia has a plethora of functions, from useful passive effects to powerful spells and healing. You don’t need all the Materia to complete the game but it’s necessary for 100 percent completion. Here are the various Materia in the game, their functions and where to find them.

Magic Materia (Green)

Fire – Available to Cloud at the start but can also be purchased in the Sector 7 Slums for 500 gil. Grants Fire spell and can be upgraded to Fira (2 stars) and Firaga (3 stars) for greater amounts of fire damage.
Lightning – Available to Barret from the start but can also be purchased from the Sector 7 Slums for 500 gil. Deals lightning damage via the Thunder spell. Can be upgraded to Thundara (2 stars) and Thundaga (3 stars) for greater amounts of lighting damage
Ice – Can be purchased at the Sector 7 Slums for 500 gil. Deals ice damage with the Blizzard spell but can be upgraded to Blizzara (2 stars) and Blizzaga (3 stars) for higher amounts of damage.
Wind – Can be purchased from Chadley after finishing the Magic Elements Pt. 1 Battle Report. Deals wind damage with the Aero spell and can be upgraded to Aerora (2 stars) and Aeroga (3 stars) for more damage.
Poison – Can be purchased from the Upper Level Plate’s Vending Machine. Allows you to deal poison damage (and some non-elemental damage) with the Bio spell. Can be upgraded to Biora (2 stars) and Bioga (3 stars) to deal poison along with larger amounts of non-elemental damage. Grants poison resistance if slotted into armor.
Healing – Available to Barret at the beginning but can also be purchased from the Sector 7 Slums for 600 Gil. Also provided by Jessie. Allows for healing via Cure spell. Can be upgraded to Cura (2 stars), Regen (3 stars) and Curaga (4 stars) which restore greater amounts of health.
Cleansing – Can be purchased in the Sector 7 Slums for 300 gil after finishing the Rat Problem side quest. Grants the Poisona spell, which cures poison. Can be upgraded to Esuna (2 stars) which clears all abnormal status effects and Resist (3 stars).
Revival – Found in Sector 7, Plate Edge. Look where the plate edge begins and check to the left of the walkway. Grants Raise, which can revive allies and be upgraded to Arise (2 stars).
Barrier – Following the escape from S7-6 Annex, Jessie will give this to you. Grants Barrier which reduces physical damage and can be upgraded to Manaward (2 stars) and Manawall (3 stars).
Binding – Found in the Sector 6 Slums when using the mechanical arm to help Aerith. Provides a number of spells that afflict foes with restrictive statuses. Grants Sleep which will stop enemies from acting until they wake up. Can be upgraded to Silence (2 stars) which stops spells from being cast and Berserk (3 stars) which increases damage dealt and received. If slotted into armor, party members gain resistance to Berserk, Sleep and Silence.
Time – Finish the Missing Children side quest to receive this Materia. Alters the flow of time to affect the ATB Gauge. Grants Haste which increases ATB Gauge fill rate – this can be upgraded to Slow (2 stars) to decrease ATB gauge rate and Stop (3 stars) to halt all movement.
Subversion – Gained by defeating Ghoul. Grants Breach which removes spells like Barrier, Manaward, Shield and Reflect (costs 2 ATB bars). Can be upgraded to Dispel (2 stars) which also uses 2 ATB bars but removes all beneficial status buffs.

Support Materia (Blue)

Elemental – The Materia’s element is bestowed to your equipment. Found in the Sector 4 Plate – look for a ladder past the third lamp on the right. Defeat the Grashtrike Queens to earn it. Can also be found close to the Angel of the Slums letter in Sector 6 Urban Advancement District when completing all of Mireille’s quests.
Synergy Materia – Complete Monster Variants Pt. 1 Battle Intel to receive it. It causes an ally to use an attack from the linked Materia when the leader uses an attack command. Compatible with Ice, Wind, Poison, Fire and Lightning magic.
Magnify – In the Sector 6 Slums, complete the third mini-game to receive this Materia. The Materia it’s linked to is expanded to strike several enemies at once but with the spell’s magic having reduced effect. The effect of the magic linked to Magnify is reduced by 60 percent at 1 star, 45 percent at 2 stars and 25 percent at 3 stars.
Warding – Found in the Sewers in Chapter 10 and the Underground Test Site B2 in Chapter 13. When linked to another Materia, grants resistance to that Materia’s ailment. So when linked with Poison, Time, Bind or Subversion Materia, it will reduce the duration of their debuffs. At 1 star, the debuff duration is reduced by 25 percent; at 2 stars, the debuff duration is reduced by 50 percent; and at 3 stars, the debuff duration is reduced by 100 percent.
MP Absorption – Complete MP Consumption Battle Intel. Using the linked Materia’s type will trigger MP recovery.
HP Absorption – Complete Monster Variants Pt. 2 Battle Intel. Using the linked Materia’s type will trigger HP recovery. At 1 star, HP recovered is 20 percent of damage dealt; at 2 stars, HP recovered is 30 percent of damage dealt; and at 3 stars, HP recovered is 40 percent of damage dealt.

Command Materia (Yellow)

Chakra – Available for Tifa by default. Restores HP based on damage taken. Restores 20 percent HP at 1 star, 25 percent HP at 2 stars, 30 percent HP at 3 stars, 35 percent HP at 4 stars and 40 percent HP at 5 stars.
ATB Boost – Complete The Stagger Effect Pt.2 Battle Intel to earn this Materia. When activated, it doubles ATB. Tier determines the cooldown of the command – at 1 star, cooldown is 360 seconds; 2 stars is 300 seconds; 3 stars is 240 seconds; 4 stars is 180 seconds; and 5 stars is 120 seconds.
Assess – Received from Chadley in the Sector 7 Slums. Grants Assess to learn more about a target and its weaknesses. At 2 stars, Assess can be used on all foes in a battle.
Steal – Complete Magic Elements Pt.2 Battle Intel. Use to steal items or gil from enemies.
Parry – Complete The Stagger Effect Pt. 3 Battle Intel. Allows for guarding against attacks and quickly retaliating. At 2 stars, the damage dealt by Parry is increased and also provides a slight ATB boost.
Prayer – Search the door of Corneo’s Secret Stash in Sector 5 to earn this Materia. Grants HP restoration to the whole party at the cost of 2 ATB bars. Restores slight amount of HP at 1 star; “modest” HP at 2 stars; moderate HP at 3 stars; great HP at 4 stars; and significant HP at 5 stars.
Enemy Skill – Complete Monster Bio Pt. 4 Battle Intel to unlock. Allows for learning techniques used by enemies and using them as abilities.

Complete Materia (Purple)

First Strike – Complete The Stagger Effect Pt.1 Battle Intel. Starts battles with some of the ATB gauge filled. At 1 star, grants small amount of ATB gauge; at 2 stars, grants a medium amount of ATB gauge; and at 3 stars; grants a large amount of ATB gauge.
HP Up – Found on Loveless Street behind the white van. Boosts max HP from 10 percent (1 star) up to 50 percent (5 stars). If more than one is equipped, then max HP boost is capped at 100 percent.
MP Up – Reward for slaying 50 fiends. Boosts max MP from 10 percent (1 star) to 50 percent (5 stars).
Deadly Dodge – Before heading to the fountain, look for Materia near a car on Loveless Street. Can also be purchased from Sector 7 Slums for 600 gil. Attack command deals area damage right after dodging. Damage and effects is increased at 2 stars.
Item Master – Complete Monster Bio Pt. 3 Battle Intel. Increases efficacy of items in battle from 30 percent (1 star) to 50 percent (3 stars).
Auto-Cure – Complete Monster Bio Pt.1 Battle Intel. When equipped on an ally, they will automatically heal injured party members. Can be done up to 3 times per battle at 1 star and up to 10 times per battle at 2 stars.
Provoke – Complete The Manipulation Technique Battle Intel. Draws the attention of enemies when teammates are injured. This can last from 60 seconds with a cooldown of 90 seconds (1 star) to 120 seconds with a cooldown of 30 seconds (3 stars).
Skill Master – Complete Weapon Abilities Battle Intel. When three types of ATB commands are used, the ATB gauge is filled. This can provide a small increase (1 star) to a large increase (3 stars) in ATB fill rate.
ATB Assist – Complete Refocus Analysis Battle Intel. Increases ATB when an ally repeats a command twice. ATB increase ranges from small (1 star) to large (3 stars).
ATB Stagger – Complete The Stagger Effect Pt. 4 Battle Intel. Staggering an enemy increases ATB. Amount increased ranges from small (1 star) to large (3 stars).
Steadfast Block – Complete Monster Bio Pt.2 Battle Intel. When guarding, take less damage and fill ATB gauge. This ranges from slightly reduced damage and a small boost to ATB at 1 star to even less damage taken and a large boost to ATB at 3 stars.
Refocus – Available to Aerith from the start. Grants the Refocus Limit Break, which changes the ATB gauge into three smaller bars to unleash more spells and commands.
Magic Up – Unlocked by hitting the switch in the Waste Recovery Room in Chapter 7 four times after the door is unlocked. Boosts magic attack power from 5 percent (1 star) to 25 percent (5 stars). If more than one is equipped, total magic attack power boost caps at 100 percent.
EXP Up – Complete Three-Person Team vs. Team Ragbag in the Shinra VR Combat Simulator. Increases XP earned from battles by 100 percent.
Luck Up – Beat the high score in Darts in Chapter 4. Boosts Luck stat, from 10 percent at 1 start to 50 percent at 5 stars. If more than one is equipped, total boosted Luck is capped at 100 percent.
Gil Up – Complete Two-Person Team vs. High Flyers battle in the Shinra VR Combat Simulator. Increases gil earned from battles by 100 percent.

Summon Materia (Red)

Ifrit – Obtained from Jessie in Sector 7 Slums after beating Hoodlums. Summons Ifrit.
Chocomog – First, defeat the foes within one minute at the Sectror 4 Plate Ventilation Facility’s control room. Use the green panel near the exit to reach the Materia, which is located behind some fans.
Shiva – Complete Combat Simulation: Shiva Battle Intel. Summons Shiva.
Fat Chocobo – Complete Combat Simulation: Fat Chocobo Battle Intel. Summons Fat Chocobo.
Leviathan – Complete Combat Simulation: Leviathan Battle Intel. Summons Leviathan.
Bahamut – Complete Combat Simulation: Bahamut Battle Intel. Summons Bahamut.
Carbuncle – Provided as bonus in 1^st Class Edition. Summons Carbuncle.
Cactuar – Provided as bonus in Deluxe Edition. Summons Cactuar.
Chocobo Chick – Provided as pre-order bonus. Summons Chocobo Chick.