FF7 Rebirth’s Best Materia For Buffing Your Party

PublishedMarch 18, 2024

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Yuffie points at the camera. — Screenshot: Square Enix / Claire Jackson / Kotaku

Speccing out your party in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is essential to surviving its toughest fights. While weapons, armor, and accessories will go a long way to boosting stats, the magical orbs known as materia pack even greater resources for buffing your party in the midst of a fight to gain an edge, raise their defenses, or even render some enemy attacks ineffective.

Barrier Materia

Barrier, as you might expect, lets you cast a Barrier around you or an ally. At the starting level, it halves physical damage. At level two, you can cast Manaward to cut magic damage in half. At third level you can cast Manawall, which cuts both physical and magical damage in half. You can find it in the following places:

Purchasable from item and materia vendors starting in chapter six
Reward for “Cosmo Region Intel: Level 1” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator
In Shinra Manor

Empowerment Materia

Empowerment materia will let you cast Bravery or, when it hits level two, Faith. The first boosts your Attack while the second boosts your Magic. You can find Empowerment in the following places:

Cait Sith’s starting loadout
Purchasable from most item and materia shops in chapter six and later
Third floor of the Coal Mines’ Railway Control Tower
Earn an A-Rank in a performance of “Two Legs? Nothin’ To It” on piano
In the Chamber of Sacrifice in the Cave of the Gi

Fortification Materia

Fortification materia lets you cast two classic Final Fantasy spells: Protect and Shell. The former reduces physical damage while the latter reduces magic damage. While Barrier and Shell protect against both more effectively, Protect and Shell last longer. You can find Fortification materia in the following locations:

Purchasable from most item and materia shops from chapter six and later
Found on the south balcony of the Shinra-8’s “Luxury Floor”
In the Shrine of Enmity in the Cave of the Gi

Item Economizer Materia

Item Economizer lets you use items without needing to fill the ATB gauge. The higher the level of the materia, the more often you can use items without ATB. You can find Item Economizer materia in the following locations:

Develop with Chadley from Junon Region Intel (30 points for the first orb, 60 for the second)

ATB Boost Materia

With ATB Materia, you can boost the rate at which a party member’s ATB gauge charges during combat. You activate it by pressing L1 and R1 simultaneously. You can find ATB Boost materia from the following locations:

Develop with Chadley from Corel Region Intel from chapter seven onwards (15 points for the first one, 30 for the second)

Time Materia

Time materia doubles as both a buff and debuff. At its starting level it will let you cast Haste, which speeds up your movement. At higher levels you can use it to cast Slow and Stop, to slow down and stop and enemy, respectively. You can find Time materia from the following locations:

Purchasable from most item and materia vendors from chapter 10 onwards
Earn Rank III in the Costa del Sol minigame Pirate’s Rampage, Brigantine edition
Reward for “Nibel Region Intel: Level 1” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator

Magic Efficiency Materia

Magic Efficiency materia reduces your MP cost when casting spells the materia is linked with. You can find it in the following location:

Develop from Chadley in the Junon Region

Magnify Materia

If you’re familiar with the original FF7, Magnify is basically “All” materia. When linked with any green magic materia, it will let you select multiple targets while casting or just one. For example, you could link it to Fire materia to have it attack multiple enemies at once. Alternatively, you could link it with Healing materia to cast Cure on everyone in the party. Or, you could link it to something like Time materia to cast Haste on everyone in the party (or Slow against every enemy you’re fighting). You can find Magnify materia here:

Part of Cait Sith’s starting loadout
Reward for completing the “Victim of Circumstance” side-quest in Cosmo Canyon
Reward for completing “Brutal Challenge: Hellions’ Intonement”

Level Boost Materia

Link Level Boost materia to another materia orb and you’ll up its level by one. You can find Level Boost materia in the following locations:

Part of Cait Sith’s starting loadout
On sale from the Battle Square store at the Gold Saucer (2,500 GP)
Reward for completing the “Missing: Mr. Birdie” side-quest in Corel
Purchasable from the Moogle Emporium after hitting Merchant Rank 5
Reward for “Cosmo Battle Intel: Nature’s Vengeance” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator
On the second floor of the Chocobo Sage Manor in the Nibel Region

AP Up Materia

When linked with another materia orb, AP Up will double the amount of AP you’ll earn from battle. You can find AP Up in the following places:

In the Mythril Mines after the party splits up
Reward for “Corel Battle Intel: Badlands Beasts” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator
Reward for “Nibel Battle Intel: Chthonian Rondo” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator
Reward for “Six-Person Bouts: Ululating Quartet” in the Musclehead Colosseum

Magic Focus Materia

You’ll want to link Magic Focus with a green (Magic) materia. This will increase the effectiveness of it, including offensive spells and Healing materia. You can find Magic Focus Materia from the following location:

Develop with Chadley from Junon Region in chapter nine

Auto-Cast Materia

You can equip Auto-Cast to any magic materia to allow a character you’re not controlling in battle to automatically cast that spell. You can find Auto-Cast in the following Locations:

Develop with Chadley from Grasslands Region Intel

Swiftcast Materia

Swiftcast dramatically reduces the time it takes to cast the spell of a linked orb of materia. You can find Swiftcast at the following location:

Develop with Chadley from the Meridian Ocean Region

Synergy Materia

When you link Synergy materia with an orb of Magic materia on an ally you’re not controlling in battle, they will automatically cast that same spell when you do. So if you link it with Ice on Barret and cast Blizzard as Cloud, Barret will cast Blizzard too. You can get Synergy materia from the following location:

Develop with Chadley from the Cosmo Canyon Region in chapter 10

Elemental Materia

When you link Elemental materia with a spell in a weapon slot, you’ll imbue that weapon with a matching elemental attack. You can find Elemental materia from the following locations:

“Reward for Junon Battle Intel; Conqueror of the Skies” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator
“Reward for Gongaga Battle Intel: Distant Tremors” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator
“Reward for Brutal Challenge: Requiem for the Scorned” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator

Warding Materia

When linked with an elemental magic spell, you’ll be able to reduce incoming damage from magic attacks of that elemental affinity. At max level, it will make a character immune to such attacks. You may find Warding materia from the following locations:

Purchasable from most item and materia shops from chapter 10 onwards
Finish the side-quest “Dreaming of Blue Skies” in Junon
Earn an A-Rank on “Barret’s Theme” on the piano
In Gongaga, just north of the village
On a cliff edge in Mt. Nibel

MP Up Materia

MP Up boosts the amount of MP a given character will have. You can find MP Up from the following locations:

Purchasable from most item and materia shops starting in chapter nine
Reward for “Combat Training: Red XIII” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator
Found in Mine Depths - Lower Layer of the Mythril Mines
Earn an A-Rank in “Tifa’s Theme” on piano
Found at Mt. Corel - Foot
Reward for “Cosmo Canyon Region Intel: Level 2” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator

Strength Up Materia

Strength Up boosts the Strength stat of a given character. You can find Strength Up from the following locations:

Reward for “Corel Battle Intel: Sand Slitherers” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator

Magic Up Materia

Magic Up boosts the Magic stat of any given character it’s equipped to. You can find Magic Up from the following location:

Reward for “Cosmo Battle Intel: Antediluvian Memories” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator

Vitality Up Materia

Vitality Up boosts a character’s Vitality stat, which in turn raises your defenses against physical attacks. You can find it in the following locations:

Reward for “Grasslands Battle Intel: Plains Stalkers” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator
Reward for “Corel Battle Intel: Oh, Skewer” It in Chadley’s Combat Simulator

Spirit Up Materia

Spirit Up raises the Spirit stat of whichever character it’s equipped to, thereby raising their defense against magic attacks. You can find Spirit UP in the following location:

Reward for “Junon Battle Intel: White Squall” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator
Reward for “Gongaga Battle Intel: Lethal Combo” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator

Luck Up Materia

Luck Up materia raises your Luck stat, thereby increasing your chances of a critical hit and successful use of the Steal materia. You can find Luck Up at the following locations:

Part of Cait Sith’s initial materia loadout
Purchasable from most item and materia shops from chapter four onwards
Reward for “Combat Training: Cait Sith” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator

Speed Up Materia

Speed up raises a character’s Speed stat. You can find this materia at the following location:

Reward for “Gongaga Battle Intel: Rooted” in the Planet in Chadley’s Combat Simulator

Gil Up Materia

Gil Up increases how much gil you earn from combat. You can find it at the following location:

Purchasable at the Gold Saucer for 3,000 GP

EXP Up Materia

EXP up will double the amount of experience points you’ll earn from combat. It only works on a single character, not the Party Level. You can find EXP Up materia from the following location:

Found in the Temple of the Ancients after crossing the gravity-defying waterfall

Item Master

Item Master juices the power of consumable items, making them more effective. You can find Item Master materia from the following locations:

Purchasable from most item and materia vendors starting from chapter four
At the Grasslands sea port (where you dock the Tiny Bronco)
Reward for “Preliminary Trial: Bioselected Specimens” from the Shinra Manor Combat Simulator

Precision Defense Focus

Precision Defense Focus materia makes it easier to land a precision defense (when you block the second an attack hits you, rendering it ineffective). At max level, Precision Defense Focus materia can nullify binding attacks like “Throat Clamp” from wolves. You can find this materia from the following locations:

Purchasable from most item and materia stores
Part of Red XIII’s starting materia loadout
Found in the Grasslands on an island in the northeast (you have to swim to it)
Reward for “Combat Training: Yuffie” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator

ATB Stagger

When you stagger an enemy, you’ll earn more ATB. ATB Stagger materia increases how much ATB you’ll earn when you stagger. You can find ATB Stagger materia in the following places:

Develop with Chadley in the Junon Region (costs 30 points for the first, 60 for the second)

ATB Assist

ATB Assist can be a little confusing at first. Here’s how it works: Whenever you use the same ATB Ability back-to-back, your teammates will see their ATB meters increase a bit more. I like doing this with Tifa, since her animations are rather quick. Say you have two ATB meters for Tifa ready to go and you use Focused Strike twice in quick succession, your teammates will see their ATB meters raise as a result. You can find ATB Assist materia in the following locations:

Develop with Chadley in the Nibel Region

Auto-Unique Ability

Auto-Unique Ability materia lets you put certain characters on auto-pilot, letting them use their Unique Ability (mapped to triangle) without actually switching to them and hitting triangle. You can find Auto-Unique Ability materia here:

Develop with Chadley in the Grasslands Region (Costs 10 points for the first orb, 20 for the second)

Auto-Weapon Ability

Auto-Weapon Ability lets teammates you’re not controlling use their Weapon Abilities without needing to command them. Note that they will only use abilities assigned to command shortcuts, which is a maximum of four. You can find Auto-Weapon Ability materia here:

Develop with Chadley in the Corel Region (15 points for the first orb, 30 for the next)

Synergy Support

Synergy Support adds a Synergy Ability charge to a character whenever another character uses a Synergy Ability. So if your party consists of Cloud, Barret, and Tifa, and you use Partners in Pain with Cloud and Barret while Tifa has the Synergy Support materia equipped, she’ll gain a Synergy Ability charge, moving you closer to executing a Synergy Ability with her. You can find Synergy Support materia here:

Develop with Chadley in the Gongaga Region

Limit Support

When Limit Support materia is equipped on a character, any progress made to their Limit Break gauge will go to other teammates instead. Though it might be risky, equipping this to Aerith if you have other reliable ways to heal isn’t a bad idea. That said, every character’s Limit Breaks have their own uses you’ll want to consider for your playstyle. You can find Limit Support materia here:

Develop with Chadley in the Meridian Ocean Region

Limit Siphon

A good alternative to Limit Support, Limit Siphon lets you pull from a filled Limit Break gauge on one character to fill another’s. Unlike Limit Support, this won’t cancel out the equipped character’s Limit Break, but can still allow you to share the Limit Break gauge as a resource. Say you have Cloud’s Limit Break gauge filled, but the party is getting low on health and Aerith’s Healing Wind is looking pretty essential. If she has Limit Siphon materia equipped, she can pull from Cloud’s Limit gauge to get closer to using her ability. You can find Limit Siphon materia from:

Develop with Chadley in the Gongaga Region

First Strike

First Strike materia is pretty sweet. Not only does it boost your Luck stat (which increases how often you’ll land critical hits), but it will increase your ATB gauge at the start of a battle. This is a pretty essential for fights where you are only controlling one character at a time (I had this equipped to Aerith during her Beast Battleground fight to get her even closer to Radiant Ward at the start of the battle). You can find First Strike Materia here:

Reward for “Grasslands Battle Intel: Horror on the Range” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator
Reward for “Grasslands Battle Intel: Flower of Destruction” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator

Steadfast Block

Steadfast Block materia lowers enemy damage while blocking and fills your ATB gauge faster at the same time. You can find Steadfast Block materia from the following locations:

Purchasable from most item and materia shops from chapter 6 onwards
Reward for “Combat Training: Synergy” in Chadley’s Combat Simulator
Found in Park Central at the Gold Saucer
Found in the Temple Ancients near Aerith’s party after the first separation

While you’ll have to hit up Chadley more than you’d probably care to for a lot of this materia, these resources can dramatically shift the nature of a fight that might otherwise put you at risk of landing at a game over screen.