Much to the surprise of everyone, Final Fantasy VII Remake is actually reasonably difficult. The original Final Fantasy VII was a very easy game, to the point where the only meaningful challenges are the Emerald and Ruby weapons– two endgame super bosses. This time around, don’t be surprised if Hell House prematurely ends Cloud and Aerith’s journey. 

That said, the remake does have its fair share of exploits. Although Final Fantasy VII Remake has a refreshingly challenging difficulty curve, there are weapons and skills that help to make the game easier. By Hard mode, all the extra gear will be more than welcome. 

10 Counterstance (Cloud Character Ability)

Every party member in the game has their own personal character ability, and Cloud in particular has access to Mode shifts. Cloud has two different play styles: Operator Mode and Punisher Mode. Notably, Punisher Mode allows Cloud to counterattack enemies whenever he blocks their attacks, but there’s a far more reliable way to trigger Cloud’s Counterstance. 

In Operator Mode, simply wait until an enemy attacks and then switch to Punisher. Cloud will immediately trigger Counterstance, creating an immediate opportunity for players to chain in a combo. With the right timing, it’s possible to combo in Operate, Counterstance to Punisher, and then continue the combo there. 

9 Unbridled Strength (Tifa Character Ability)

Where Cloud’s Character Abilities allow him to swap through Modes and trigger Counterstance, Tifa’s allow her to buff unique attacks. With one charge of Unbridled Strength, Tifa increases her Chi and Uppercut becomes Omnistrike. With another charge, Tifa’s Chi increases even further and Omnistrike becomes Rise and Fall. 

Back to back to back, Tifa’s personal attack will slaughter most enemies, if not Stagger them into oblivion. Considering how quick Tifa is, it’s not hard to just keep gaining ATB, buffing her Chi, and then repeating the cycle over & over again like Zangan would have wanted. 

8 Prayer (Command Materia)

In the original Final Fantasy VII, Aerith’s first Limit, Healing Wind, was basically the party’s main means of mass healing until the player found any All Materia. Even then, Healing Wind was a free heal that would pop up quite often due to the frequency of Limits. Final Fantasy VII Remake holds back on Limits overall, but Aerith does come equipped with comparable Materia.

Prayer allows whoever has it equipped to mass heal the party without expending any MP. The higher level Prayer is, the more HP it restores. It goes without saying, but Prayer is far and away the best healing method in the game– especially on Hard where consolidating MP is incredibly important. 

7 First Strike (Complete Materia)

First Strike will be one of the first pieces of Materia players unlock from Chadley– purchasable after completing Battle Intel 1– but it’s worth using all the way to the end of the game. Since ATB is what gives players the means to use their abilities to the fullest, it’s only natural one would want Materia to help them out in that regard. 

First Strike allows whoever has it equipped to start the battle with a little bit of ATB. The more First Strike levels up, the more ATB it offers. Fully mastered, First Strike can allow quick players to unleash two abilities back to back at the start of every battle– making mincemeat out of enemies before they even get the chance to fight back. 

6 Elemental (Support Materia)

At first glance, Elemental Materia might seem either not too useful or even detrimental. After all, since it makes a character’s weapon elemental, what happens if players run into enemies that absorb or resist said element? When it comes down to it, though, any concerns that may come from Elemental Materia can be mitigated by simply being competent at the game.

Along with tossing some elemental damage onto a character’s weapon, Elemental simply offers more meaningful buffs than most players realize. Fire/Blizzard/Thunder really make the most out of each character, and are basically must-haves. Thankfully, there’s enough Elemental Materia to go around. 

5 Hardedge (Weapon For Cloud)

Even though weapon upgrading was clearly included as a mechanic to ensure players could still equip Cloud with the Buster Sword come endgame, Zack’s hand-me-down from Angeal isn’t going to cut it past mid-game. As soon as Cloud buys Hardedge at Wall Market in Chapter 9, players are basically set unless they want to play a magic-heavy Cloud. 

Hardedge will end up with Cloud’s highest attack stat in the game, making it an incredibly useful tool for ripping through enemies in Punisher Mode. Hardedge’s Weapon Ability, Infinity’s Edge, has a bit of a windup and takes 2 ATB, but it deals incredible damage and can ruin a boss’ day outright. 

4 Mythril Rod (Weapon For Aerith)

Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith all have access to Mythril weapons, but Aerith’s is by far the best of the bunch and simply one of the better weapons in the game all around. Found in the Train Graveyard, Aerith more or less has her best weapon shortly after joining the party. Better yet, Mythril Rod’s Weapon Ability, Ray of Judgement, is a real beast. 

Taking up 2 ATB, Ray of Judgement targets enemies and Aerith fires a multi-hitting beam out of her rod, making it easier for Aerith to take advantage of Stagger. Although the weapon might not have as many Materia slots as befitting Aerith, the Magic Attack buffs gained from upgrading more than make up for that. 

3 Any Weapon That Restores MP (On Hard)

While Hardedge is Cloud’s overall best weapon, the fact of the matter is that anyone looking to get through Hard mode comfortably is going to want to equip a weapon that restores MP. Much like Aerith’s Mythril Rod, both Cloud and Tifa have weapons which restore their MP, although it’ll require leveling the weapons to Level 6. 

As a result, this is something players can only really take advantage of on a second playthrough. It’s also not a fix-all solution for lacking MP. As Hard mode progresses, players will still need to keep an active eye on their MP and how often they’re using magic. 

2 Big Bertha (Weapon For Barret)

Big Bertha can be found in Chapter 13 and is arguably Barret’s best weapon in the game, so anyone hoping to make the most out of Barret better purchase the weapon before moving on. An all around powerful weapon, Big Bertha will give Barret the offense he needs both in the endgame and the post-game. 

Beyond a decent amount of Materia slots, both connected and additional, Big Bertha’s biggest asset comes from its Weapon Ability– Maximum Fury. Based on how much ATB Barret has when he fires the attack, he’ll shoot out a vicious stream of bullets that’s useful more often than not. More than anything, it’s one of Barret’s most satisfying abilities to pull off. 

1 Magnify (Support Materia)

Replacing the All Materia from the original Final Fantasy VII, Magnify allows party members to target all enemies or allies with a spell. Players simply need to connect Magnify to another pair of Materia, and reap the benefits. Now, it’s worth noting there’s only one piece of Magnify Materia, but it’s something of an MP drainer so that’s for the best. 

When paired with any weapons that restore MP on Hard, Magnify can start to circumvent some of its inherent flaws. Granted, players will still need to keep a diligent eye on their MP, but in the grand scheme of things, Magnify makes healing the party and wiping out mobs so much easier. 

NEXT: 10 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do In The Final Fantasy 7 Remake On PS4