Summary
As Cloud Strife and even a younger version of Sephiroth make separate adventures throughout the events ofFF7’s story inFinal Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis, the gacha title emphasizes its potential for longevity in its slate of endgame bosses and even the chance to make hyper-competent builds for their current characters.Materiaforms a significant part of the endgame component inEver Crisis. Essentially a random drop in all of its summon methods, Materia can grant unique abilities as well as substat boosts to help players create their ideal character.
Materia requirements differ per character and the “best” Materia may depend on a player’s ideal build. When it comes to choosing Materia, just what versions of the magical substance shouldEver Crisisfans pick?
Percentages grow depending on the character’s stats
Source
Varies
Regardless of its iteration acrossFF7titles,Materia in anyFinal Fantasygameis allocated to some form of spell, ability, or even buff/debuff that can affect both players and enemies. WithEver Crisisserving as both a gacha game and an RPG, its Materia providing both attacks and boosts means some players may prefer specific types of Materia to cater to precise builds. In these situations, there’s no one “perfect” Materia for players unless they mix and match based on their party’s goals.
With that in mind, players should at least remain on the lookout for Materia that providePercentile Bonuses. Players should skip out on Materia that provide boosts to their stats but come in hard numbers, as these values become negligible once characters level up significantly. Should players prioritize Percentile Bonuses for the Materia they plan on collecting, they get a guarantee that the Materia will scale according to how its user character’s stats grow during upgrades.
Decrease The Enemy’s Physical Attack Potency
Defining Properties
Deal damage and lessen the target’s PATK, making them more inefficient in terms of DPS
“Avalanche’s Struggle” (Final Fantasy 7), Cawpine Caverns (Crisis Core)
Debuffs remain an essential part of tactical RPG gameplay, especially fora turn-based titlelikeEver Crisiswhere these penalties can debilitate an enemy’s performance.Debravecan make enemies useless on the physical front as it not only deals Physical Damage but even lessens the PATK of the target. Against tanks and tougher foes, Debrave can become a significant part of the toolkit of the team’s Physical DPS.
Debrave can become an essential Materia not solely for its combat potential but also for its value. In the beginning months of the game, players can only get one copy of Debrave, and it was only recently thatEver Crisisfans could get the recipe of the Materia upon completing a specific dungeon.
Debilitate Elemental Dependents With Lower Magic Attack
Deals Magic Damage to enemies while also reducing the MATK of the target
“A Hero’s World” (The First Soldier), “Mt. Nibel - Normal” (Crisis Dungeon, 1st Clear)
A partner to the Debrave Materia in theFinal Fantasy 7story would beDefaith, which is technically its magical equivalent. Its base properties are the same as Debrave, only this time lessening the MATK of the player’s target. Whereas Debrave works best when fighting enemy tanks and heavy hitters, Defaith is designed specifically to shut down the major offensive powers of an enemy team, especially if they’re competent magic-users who can use theirown slate of powerful Materia.
It’s due to this potential that Defaith can be an essential component when farming summons, as it can significantly lessen the performance of tougher enemies like Shiva while leaving her primed for a counterattack through her other elemental weaknesses. Thanks to Defaith’s recipe, players can potentially farm the Materia alongside other desirable stats, based on the character’s specific build.
Frontline Units Should Be Able To Tank Just As Much Damage As They Inflict
As Materia recommended for tanks and Physical DPS, boosting overall HP, DEF, and even PATK can boost their competencies as frontliners
Varies, Synthesis Quests
One of the coolest scenes inAdvent Childrenis the game’s charactersinserting Materia into their bodiesand then unleashing its component spells during attacks, making this the best visual “adaptation” of how Materia works in the franchise. However, it’s inEver Crisisthat the Materia’s visual lore is further realized, as it turns out Materia can be further sub-classified into physical-inclinedBlow Materiaand traditional Magic Materia.
The most crucial differences between Blow Materia and Magic Materia would be their color and stats: Blow Materia is yellow, and ideally has boosts to PATK, HP, and PDEF. Both Materia types can contain hints of elemental infusion, which means they can possess the same type of elemental damage but through different attacks. As Blow Materia, elemental attacks become reinterpreted as PATK, making this ideal for frontliners and Physical Damage units. Given their tendencies to become tanks, sub-stats for Blow Materia should ideally focus on HP and DEF for longevity.
Secure Powerful Magic Attacks While Securing Defense
As Materia is ideal for spellcasters and elemental-type attackers, boosting MATK and MDEF not only bolsters the caster’s overall DPS but also ensures they’re adequately protected by the enemy’s own Materia attacks
Compared to Blow Materia, the green-coloredMagic Materiais the traditional form of the substance inFinal Fantasy 7gameplay. InEver Crisis, attacksattached to Magic Materiaare often the elemental staples ofFinal Fantasy, with a mere Fira being able to tier-up into Firaga, and so on. This attachment to magic elemental attacks means players who want to use Magic Materia should focus on allocating them to spellcasters.
However, with this in mind, players who plan on collecting and enhancing Magic Materia should always select those with MATK-oriented stats. Boosting overall MATK, MDEF, and even Magic are ideal bonuses in these Materia types as they can drastically improve the overall survivability of casters who equip them.
Make Enemies More Vulnerable
Depending on the element of the Breach, players can project vulnerabilities on enemies towards the specified type
Regardless ofhow lore-accurate aFinal Fantasyboss’s weakness could get, knowing how to exploit these vulnerabilities forms a major part of gameplay inEver Crisis. In the gacha RPG’s time-intensive plays, a Materia likeBreachcan do a significant amount of hurt to enemies as this skill inflicts debuffs on a specific Resistance for a certain amount of time. While the reduced stat is at a low potency, it can become an integral part of a player’s debuffing arsenal when used properly.
The most common type of Breach is its namesake, where it reduces PDEF after inflicting Magical Non-Elemental Damage. Other Breaches also exist, such as those that reduce Elemental Resistances (one kind of Breach Materia per Element Type), and those that lower MDEF (Mana Breach). Knowing which of these to assign to specific characters can transform a mere support unit or sub-DPS unit into a debuffer.
Stop Statuses From Ruining Performance
The right Esuna for the right Condition can ensure characters can still perform properly without the hindrance of ailments
WhileHealingEsunais an ability oftenassociated with Yuna ofFinal Fantasy 10, the spell has become a staple ability across theFinal Fantasyfranchise due to the abundance of status effects in the game. InEver Crisis, the Esuna Materia is capable of curing a negative status effect, with different kinds of Esuna existing per Status Ailment in the game.
As it stands, Healing Esuna exists for statuses such as Silence, Poison, Fog, Fatigue, and Darkness. Having a character equip any of these against an opponent or a boss that specializes in these ailments can ruin that enemy’s combat strategy.
Obliterate Enemy Charges With The Right Sigil
Using Ruin Blow with the right Sigil can wreck an enemy’s charge attack which can be useful for Physical Damage to combatants
Sigils form an important part of gameplay inEver Crisis, as they show there’s more to boss fights than just simply bringing the right elemental weaknesses against them. When bosses make powerful charge attacks against the player’s team, even the character withthe strongest weaponwill be useless if they die on the spot. This is whereRuin Blowcomes in, as a Physical Damage dealer can ensure the boss can’t dish out a powerful charge attack and be more open to damage.
The main crux of Ruin Blow has to do with the game’s button spam tendencies. Since players already spam skill presses to trigger abilities, Sigils become a dealbreaker in a player’s arsenal. It’s only through hitting a Sigil of the right symbol (or multiple) that players have a shot at breaking an impending charge attack. Since a Ruin Materia does take up space for another attack or buff, players then have to decide whether it’s more worthwhile to have another damaging spell or enhancing ability or instead hinder the enemy’s chances of using their powerful arsenal.
Break Through Opponent Defenses And Some Gacha Barriers
Using Ruin of the right symbol can break an enemy’s charge from a MATK standpoint
While most bosses inFinal Fantasy 7remain asunplayable characters, some of them are memorable enough to make a mark on players, especially if they possess ridiculously powerful attacks. InEver Crisis, this can come in the form of boss charge attacks that can cripple the team when taken without proper defenses. WithRuin, players can stop the enemy from pulling off a charge attack and rush in with their own powerful skills. However, Ruin is also valuable for its efficiency in Synthesis.
As of writing, Ruin is one of the few Materia that at base 1-Star can gun for a minimum 3-Star Synthesis. One Ruin with 10 Synth Catalyst Sliver - Night, 4 Synth Catalyst Piece - Night, and 1 Synth Catalyst - Night can proc this effect.
Extra Survivability Always Counts
Healing always works as a saving grace for turn-based RPGs, especially inEver Crisiswhere there’s no special class requirement that hinders their use
Varies, Synthesis Quests, crafting can take around 6 Hours
Regeneration and healing remain a vital part of anyFinal Fantasyentry, be it ina more classic title likeCrisis Coreor modern games in the franchise. In the case ofEver CrisisandFF7, healing in the gacha RPG is still accessible through theCureseries of Materia. While a Magic-intensive character like Aerith could make the best use of the ability, anyone who players want to have a sub-healing role should grab a Cure and its variants for emergency healing.
The only downside to farming for any Cure and other healing Materia is that they take around six hours at the minimum to craft compared to other Materia. Players who want to farm for the perfect 5-Star Cure may then take more time and resources than usual to attain them. However, no doubt owning a Cure with high enough %DEF and %HP could transform characters into defensive juggernauts.
