In Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the right weapon will make a huge difference in your combat effectiveness. Each weapon has unique abilities, attack power, and the capacity to equip different types of magic. Mastering each weapon unlocks powerful abilities that can be used with any weapon of the same type. As you progress and level up, your weapons also gain strength, unlocking increased stats, new abilities, and more Materia slots. It would describe the best weapons for each playable character, where to find them, and strategies to utilize these weapons effectively.
Best Weapons for All Characters and Where to Find
Weapons in this game have unique abilities, attack power, and the ability to equip different types of magic. You can learn these weapon abilities by mastering each weapon, and once learned, you can use them with any other weapon of the same type. As you gain experience and level up, your weapons also level up, becoming more powerful. This unlocks increased stats, new abilities, and more slots to equip magic.
Best Weapon for Cloud
- Best Weapon: Sleek Saber
- Location: Abandoned Dock, Grasslands
- Alternate choice: Umbral Blade
Cloud is naturally good at attacking enemies head-on. To maximize his effectiveness, focus on improving his attack power and make sure he has lots of Materia slots to equip. His special abilities offer a wide range of offensive options, but since you’ll be playing as him frequently, prioritize building him to withstand enemy attacks and deal significant damage.
Sleek Saber
You’ll discover the Sleek Saber early on in the game at the Abandoned Dock in the Grasslands. This sword boasts the highest attack power among all swords throughout the entire game, especially when you consider its special abilities that further increase your attack strength. Other valuable abilities on the Sleek Saber help you build up your special move meter faster. It’s incredibly difficult to find a more powerful physical attacker than Cloud when he’s equipped with the Sleek Saber.
Umbral Blade
At first glance, the Umbral Blade doesn’t look too impressive, since its attack and magic power are comparable to that of the Buster Sword. But it’s a game-changer if you’re into a more defensive playstyle. One of its special abilities provides you with a big boost in terms of defense: it lets you take so much more before enemy attacks knock you out. Another increased health bonus includes a limited healing of oneself after killing monsters and even avoids you being fully knocked out at times. With this sword, you can transform Cloud into a formidable tank by equipping him with abilities that draw enemy attacks towards him, increasing his health further, and using armor and accessories that prioritize defense.
Best Weapon for Barret
- Best Weapon: Barrage Blaster
- Location: Railway Control Tower – 1F, Coal Mines – Ground Level
- Alternate choice: Gatling Gun
Barret is undoubtedly the strongest tank in the game and excels at dealing physical damage from a distance. Since he doesn’t have a lot of magical energy, relying on magic isn’t the most effective strategy for him. The best approach is to focus on his role as a tank, utilizing his special abilities and enhancing his defenses.
Barrage Blaster
The Barrage Blaster is clearly Barret’s best weapon for tanking. It has a good balance of stats and can be found near the cliff edge on the first floor of the Railway Control Tower in the Coal Mines during Chapter 7. Its special abilities, like reducing damage while guarding and increasing your special move meter when you guard, work incredibly well with the Steadfast Block Materia. If you plan to play as Barret frequently, consider equipping him with Materia that increases his accuracy while guarding and draws enemy attacks towards him. Barret also has many abilities and stat boosts in his character progression that further enhance his role as a tank.
Gatling Gun
Barret actually starts the game with one of the best weapons! His Gatling Gun has a good balance of stats and comes with special abilities that make his powerful Overcharge attack even better. Overcharge is a special move that always hits the enemy, regardless of where they are, and deals significant damage that can stun them. It also quickly refills Barret’s special move meter. You can further enhance this by equipping Materia that increases the speed at which his special move meter recharges. A great strategy is to combine Overcharge with the Prayer Materia, which heals the entire party but uses two of your special move meters. This allows Barret to quickly deal damage and then use his special move meter to heal the team.
Best Weapon for Tifa
- Best Weapon: Kaiser Knuckles
- Location: Shinra-8, Cargo Deck – 1F
- Alternate choice: Járngreipr
Tifa is a bit more fragile than Cloud, with lower defenses and health. But she is an incredibly powerful close-range fighter who can unleash devastating combos, especially when the enemies are stunned. To maximize her effectiveness, focus on increasing her physical attack power rather than her magical abilities. Choose weapon skills that enhance her ability to quickly defeat enemies and build up her special move meter.
Kaiser Knuckles
The Kaiser Knuckles are the best gloves for Tifa, and they’ll likely be your go-to choice for most of the game. You’ll find them in a purple chest in the cargo hold of the Shinra-8 ferry towards the end of Chapter 5. The most important thing about these gloves is their “Concentration” ability. This gives Tifa a 50% chance of starting the battle with “Unbridled Strength” already active, which significantly boosts her attack power. Tifa can also unlock this ability through her character progression, meaning you can essentially guarantee that she starts every battle with this powerful buff.
Járngreipr
The Járngreipr are Tifa’s most powerful weapon in FF7 Rebirth, but you won’t get them until very late in the game, during Chapter 13. While they don’t hit as hard as the Kaiser Knuckles in terms of physical attack power, they also boost her magical attack. The key to using the Járngreipr is to focus on landing critical hits. These gloves have special abilities that significantly increase both the chance of landing a critical hit and the amount of damage it deals. To maximize their potential, equip Tifa with accessories and Materia that increase her Luck stat. The damage won’t be as consistent as with the Kaiser Knuckles, but when you do land a critical hit, it will be absolutely devastating.
Best Weapon for Aerith
- Best Weapon: Wizard’s Rod
- Location: Mt. Corel – Foot
- Alternate choice: Plumose Rod
Aerith is your best bet for casting powerful magic spells, so make sure she’s always in your party if possible. Most of her weapons have lots of space for Materia, so you can equip her with a wide variety of spells. To maximize her damage output, combine the “Magnify” Materia with “Fire” and “Ice” spells, or with “Lightning” and “Wind” spells. This will create powerful area-of-effect attacks that can damage multiple enemies at once.
Wizard’s Rod
The Wizard’s Rod is a fantastic staff for Aerith that you’ll find while climbing Mt. Corel in Chapter 7. It should become her primary weapon for most of the game. This staff has three slots for Materia, which is crucial for maximizing the power of her spells.
You can equip it with “Fire” and “Ice” spells, as well as “Lightning” and “Wind” spells, and link them to Materia that increase the power of her magic or make her spells more effective against certain enemies. This will allow her to deal significant magical damage.
You can also equip the “Healing” Materia with “Auto-Cast” to automatically heal the party when needed. Additionally, the Wizard’s Rod has an ability that enhances Aerith’s basic attacks. This synergizes well with Materia that infuses her normal attacks with magical elements.
Plumose Rod
You can obtain the Plumose Rod in Chapter 12 during your stay at the Shinra Manor. Its magical attack power is extremely high and possesses a significant number of Materia slots. As such, it can be best assigned to Aerith. Many special abilities boost the specific powers possessed by Aerith, which turn her into an overall well-balanced character. For instance, it increases the duration of her summoned creatures, boosts the damage of her “Tempest” attack, and extends the duration of her defensive “Ward” spell. These are always valuable in combat.
Best Weapon for Red XIII
- Best Weapon: Golden Collar
- Location: Coolant Control – B3, Gongaga Reactor
- Alternate choice: Brinsingamen
Red XIII is a unique character with a versatile fighting style, but it can take some time to get used to. However, if you master his abilities, he can become as effective as Cloud in the front lines. He can even take on the role of a tank if needed!
Golden Collar
The Golden Collar is one of the most powerful weapons in the entire game. You can find it in the Gongaga Reactor during Chapter 9. It has incredibly high attack power and even increases Red XIII’s magical attack. This makes it a fantastic weapon that excels in both physical and magical combat.
Renegade’s Collar
The Renegade’s Collar allows Red XIII to maximize his strength, proving that sometimes the best defense is a strong offense. This can be obtained in the Mythril Mine. The strategy with Red XIII should be to be a tank character, but this time, he should not only block attacks, but also to counter enemy attacks. This will build up his “Vengeance Mode,” a powerful state that significantly increases his combat abilities.
The Renegade’s Collar has special abilities that make Vengeance Mode even more effective. It also increases the amount of health he recovers when he uses his “Siphon Fang” attack. Combine these abilities with other skills Red XIII can learn, and you might even find him to be a more effective tank than Barret!
Best Weapon for Yuffie
- Best Weapon: Bird of Prey
- Location: Cissnei’s House, Gongaga Village
- Alternate choice: Crescent Sickle
Yuffie is a one-of-a-kind kind of character. She has the ability to use both magic and melee attacks but really doesn’t seem great at anything. Aerith is actually a better magic user, and Tifa is stronger in close combat fighting. To really get the most out of Yuffie’s abilities, you will want to use her special ones. That’s when her best weapons are available to you. You can find these in the Coal Mines during Chapter 7, just shortly after you get her.
Bird of Prey
Yuffie’s strength comes in her ability to steal and land critical hits. The “Bird of Prey,” a powerful weapon found in the Gongaga Reactor during Chapter 9, is exactly that. This weapon greatly increases the chances Yuffie will land a critical hit, boosting the likelihood of said critical hit and the damage it does.
Additionally, Yuffie has other abilities that help her luck shine through, as well as having a higher opportunity for successful stealing and raising her chances of critical hits, which makes the character even tougher in battle by using the “Bird of Prey.”
Crescent Sickle
The Crescent Sickle is an all-around strong weapon for Yuffie, which you acquire after completing a mini-game in Chapter 12. This shuriken increases Yuffie’s both physical and magical attack power very much, and she becomes an all-around good fighter.
One of the more interesting abilities of Crescent Sickle is “Precision Defense ATB,” which refills Yuffie’s special move meter instantly if she perfectly blocks an enemy attack. In itself, it already makes her incredibly efficient at building up her special move meter along with other skills that she can learn. Essentially, the Crescent Sickle encourages a playstyle where you focus on perfectly timing your blocks to let Yuffie unleash powerful attacks more often.
Best Weapon for Cait Sith
- Best Weapon: Golden Megaphone
- Location: Mako Research Facility – Section W, Shinra Manor
- Alternate choice: Resounding Megaphone
Cait Sith runs around the battlefield playfully, drawing enemy attacks upon himself. Most of his moves have random effects, so he’s a bit unpredictable. But if you take the unpredictability and use him as a quirky tank, you can have much fun with him.
Golden Megaphone
The Golden Megaphone, available late in the game within Shinra Manor, is Cait Sith’s most powerful magical weapon. This gives him an impressive boost to his magical attack and provides generous eight Materia slots, thus allowing for diverse spell combinations. While special abilities aren’t flashy, all of them are useful. This increases the speed by which Cait Sith builds up his special move meter, increases his physical attack power, and even boosts his health and magical energy reserves. With this, the Golden Megaphone is a balanced and strong weapon for Cait Sith, being effective in maximizing the magical potential but improving his overall combat efficiency as well.
Resounding Megaphone
The Resounding Megaphone transforms Cait Sith into a unique tank role – a ‘Paladin’ of sorts. This weapon boosts Cait Sith’s ability to buff and heal his teammates. Its special moves greatly increase the duration of beneficial effects and the health amount he restores back to his teammates. Additionally, it reduces the damage taken by his Moogle companion. By equipping Cait Sith with buffing spells like “Time” and using his abilities to draw enemy attacks towards him, you can create a powerful defensive line for your party.
