Final Fantasy 7 Remake is a fantastic action-RPG filled with thrilling combat encounters, and each playable character has their own unique playstyle. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each member of Avalanche is crucial to success. Here is how to use Aerith in Final Fantasy 7 Remake
How to use Aerith in Final Fantasy 7 Remake
The precocious flower girl of the Sector 5 slums, Aerith Gainsborough is a powerful magic user, and using her effectively can be a little tricky. This is because her special abilities take a little more thought and planning than Cloud or Tifa’s.
Aerith has the highest Magic Attack stat of the playable characters in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and as such, should always have offensive Materia equipped. Because Magic Attack also governs how much health is restored when casting spells like Cure, make sure you leave at least a slot free for Healing Materia.
By tapping the attack button (square by default), Aerith will launch a basic ranged magic attack with her Staff, and repeatedly tapping this button will result in a stream of attacks that inflict a small amount of area-of-effect damage. These attacks will slightly home in on their targets, and successful hits will cause non-elemental damage and slowly fill Aerith’s ATB gauge. The downside is that these animations are quite slow and leave her open to melee attacks.
Each character has a unique special ability that they start out with (Aerith’s is Tempest), and more can be unlocked as you acquire new weapons and master them.
Characters are able to unlock new Special Abilities by increasing their proficiency with the move associated with a particular weapon. Maxing out efficiency means you can then use that ability, even when you have a different weapon equipped.
Tempest
Tempest is Aerith’s starting unique ability, and it is a powerful magical attack that can be used in two different ways.
The first is performed simply by tapping the Triangle button. This will cause Aerith to unleash a flurry of magical attacks, causing decent damage while simultaneously filling the Stagger gauge faster than regular attacks would.
This is quite useful when fighting faster-moving opponents, as the animation is blessedly short.
The second is performed by holding the Triangle button down until the Tempest icon on the bottom left of the screen fills up. This summons a crystal that inflicts decent damage, which then explodes after a few seconds, inflicting even more.
This is best used when an opponent is Staggered or has been knocked to the ground, and can be used to string together multiple attacks, causing high damage in a relatively short period of time.
Using either form of Tempest actually fills the ATB gauge, whereas almost all other Special Abilities consume it.
