In this guide, we will go over the Materia (which is different from the original) to avoid making silly mistakes in FF7: Ever Crisis.
Materia Basics (Crafting, Flat and % Stats)
The Materia system in this game relies a lot on luck, even more so than the gacha system. In my opinion, it’s similar to how you build gear in games like Epic Seven or Honkai Star Rail.
As you play the game, it will give you Materia as part of the story. However, most of the time, it will give you lower-quality Materia, like 1 star Materia such as Ruin.
These starting Materia aren’t the best, but they can still be helpful early in the game. They provide abilities you might not have in your weapons, like Cure for characters who can’t naturally heal.
But I wouldn’t suggest using your valuable materials to level up these early Materia. In the early stages of the game, materials for leveling up are hard to come by. I can’t speak for the late game because I haven’t reached that part yet. As you progress, you’ll find crafting materials on the synthesis page. To get these materials, you’ll need to gather books that unlock crafting recipes, usually found in challenging Crisis Dungeons. With these materials, you can craft new Materia.
For example, I can craft Thunderblow Materia (210% PHY Lightining damage to single enemy), and it can be of 1/2/3/4/5 star quality. The one shown above turns out to be a 2 star Materia, which is better than 1 star but not a big win in terms of luck. I have yet to get lucky with crafting 5 star Materia. Higher rarity Materia have better multipliers.
So, what can you do with the new Materia you’ve crafted? You can enhance it as it levels up. As it levels, you’ll see it gain new sub stats or improve existing ones. If you have the materials, you can upgrade it even more. But these materials are tough to find, especially early in the game.
Should you invest rare materials like Blitz Crystals or Physical Tumble Rocks into a 2 star Materia like Thunderblow? It’s not clear-cut, as it depends on how hard it is to get 3 and 4 star Materia later on. Also, consider the type of Materia you’re dealing with. Thunderblow is a physical attack, so it’s best for characters who rely on physical damage. It’s worth mentioning that the stats on the Materia matter. In the early game, it’s better to have stats that increase by a percentage rather than a flat stat.
For example, let’s look at Cloud and his Materia choices. Cloud has a Cura Materia that’s leveled up with flat HP, attack, and heal percentage scaling. It works well in the early game, but it might not be as good in the late game. On the other hand, a Barrier Materia with percentage scaling HP gives more HP will be a better choice if you want a tankier Cloud. The choice depends on your character’s role and your preference.
It is better to save your upgrade materials for late game unless you absolute cannot progress, then it is recommended to level up enough to get you through a specific stage.
Farming Materia
As mentioned before, to get more books, you need to complete Crisis Dungeons in solo content. These dungeons are challenging. After playing extensively in the beta, my team has reached about 80k power. Fort Tamblin will be a tough challenge.
To access these books, you need to achieve a certain rank. It’s not easy to obtain these books early on, but this is how you can farm them. You earn Crisis Medals, which you can exchange in a shop for new books.
I expect that there will be more books available in the full game, and some might be rare drops later on. Some abilities, like Curaga, are currently only accessible through specific weapons. Maybe this is intentional to make characters like Aerith and Cloud feel special as the only ones with AOE healing.
The game involves leveling up weapons and gear, not armor. Armor provides stats, and weapons have fixed stats and abilities. Materia, on the other hand, is highly dependent on RNG (random chance), and it’s not easy to farm. The stages for farming Materia are more challenging than weapon stages, and it’s meant for later in the game after you’ve leveled up your gear.
For example, in Materia Synthesis, the lightning stage 4 requires 100k power. You’ll need a team with a power level of 75k to farm earth crystals on just Earth 1 stage. Achieving this power level takes several days of hardcore playing and leveling up weapons. Materia farming is something you do later in the game.
Now, let’s talk about weapon Materia slots. Each weapon has these slots, and they matter when building your team. For example, the Buster Sword has special slots. Equipping a Materia with a triangle sigil on this sword will allow you to break sigils faster in boss fights. This can make a big difference in battles. Slot two gives a 10% boost to physical or magic attack, and slot three grants a 20% boost to physical Materia.
When building your team, consider the Materia slots on your weapons. You want to place the right Materia in the right slots to maximize their effects. In the team builder, you can see the available slots for each weapon and the bonuses they provide.
That concludes the Materia guide for Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis. Have fun playing!
Read also: