While the original game had 24 unique enemy skills for players to learn, Final Fantasy VII Remake has only four. It’s likely that more will follow in future parts, but for now, tracking them all down is considerably easier. Not only that, but unlike the original game they’re all attacks that enemies will use naturally and so there’s no need for players to use manipulation either.
Before you can start learning them though you’ll first have to get your hands on the Enemy Skill materia. You’ll first need to complete Battle Intel Report 16 which requires you to assess thirty different enemy types. After doing so, you’ll then be able to purchase the materia from Chadley for the bargain price of 100 Gil. To master it, you’ll need to equip it on one of your party members and then have an enemy use one of the four learnable moves on them. Acquiring all four will unlock the Master of Mimicry trophy.
Algid Aura
Algid Aura imbues the user with a magical aura which deals ice damage on contact with enemies. It can only be learned from a Cerulean Drake, of which there are several throughout a typical playthrough. Perhaps the easiest one to track down features in the Just Flew In from the Graveyard side quest in Chapter 3, although they can also be found in Chapters 11 and 15.
The attack can be incredibly useful against enemies that are weak to Ice attacks. In most situations you’d be better served with an orb of Ice materia paired with an orb of Elemental materia in the party member’s weapon. It’s not a bad substitute though and saves one valuable materia slot. Of course, it can also be used to supplement the aforementioned materia combination to great effect.
Self-Destruct
Self-Destruct has been a series staple for quite some time now and, as in previous entries, can be learnt from bombs. There are also a few other enemies that use the attack in the remake though, including Smoggers, Trypapolis and Varghidpolis. It can be a fairly devastating attack when used by an enemy and while it can deal decent damage when used by a party member, it’s generally not worth the trade-off. As the name might suggest, the move kills the user.
Bombs are perhaps the simplest self-destructing enemies to track down, as they appear in a number of places throughout the game. You can find them in the Dynamite Body side quest in Chapter 9, the vs. Team Payback challenge at the Corneo Colosseum and the vs. Monsters of Legend challenge in the Shinra Combat Simulator. As completing the latter is the only way to unlock one of the other three enemy skills, this is a great place to learn it if you don’t pick it up earlier.
Spirit Syphon
There’s only one way to learn the Spirit Syphon attack and that is through the Phantom enemies that you’ll encounter during the Missing Children side quest in Chapter 14. Don’t worry if you miss out on learning it though, as Phantoms also feature in both the vs. Dynamic Duos and vs. Soldier Trainees challenges accessed through the Shinra Combat Simulator.
The Spirit Syphon attack is surprisingly useful, especially on hard mode where items can’t be used to heal. To get the most out of it though, it’s best to use it with Cloud or Tifa as they’re the ones who tend to get up close and personal with enemies. For better results, you can even pair it with an orb of HP Absorption materia although this will likely be overkill in most situations.
Bad Breath
Another of the series’ classic enemy attacks, Bad Breath can only be learnt from the Marlboro enemy. When used on the party it inflicts Poison, Silence, Sleep and Toad although when used by the player it will only inflict the first three. There are a handful of fights where this combination can be incredibly useful; particularly the battle against Rude and Reno in Chapter 12. Sadly, however, most players won’t learn the move until long afterwards.
The only way to fight a Marlboro is in the vs. Monsters of Legend challenge in the Shinra Combat Simulator. It shows up in the fifth and final battle and can actually be incredibly tricky. Just make sure to have an orb of Cleanse materia equipped on one of your party and you should be fine though. You’ll also unlock the That’s the Smell trophy for defeating it and, as mentioned earlier, can pick up the Self-Destruct enemy skill in either the first or third battle of the same challenge if you still don’t have it yet at this point.
NEXT: Final Fantasy VII Remake: How To Unlock All Of The Dresses For Cloud, Tifa, And Aerith
