Final Fantasy 7 Remake brings a challenging new combat system that blends together elements of turn-based and action games. The game is difficult enough on the normal difficulty, but once players get to the end they'll unlock Hard Mode.
This significantly amps up the difficulty, namely because Hard Mode limits the player's MP. No items can be used whatsoever and rest benches don't restore MP, so players need to be smart about conserving their MP and managing it.
Hard Mode can be daunting, even for the most experienced players. This is especially true during boss battles, so anyone taking on the mode will want to be prepared. Here are a few tips to success in Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Hard Mode.
Train Characters Up to Level 50
After beating the game players will have access to a couple of EXP Up and AP Up Materia. The first thing to do is equip these on the characters that are in the party most, which is Cloud and Tifa. For anyone looking to take on Hard Mode, it's absolutely imperative that the party is max level, and has Materia leveled up as well.
Use Magnify Materia For Party Healing
Magnify is probably the single most useful Materia in the entire game, as it'll apply the "All" effect to any Materia it's paired with. The best use of Magnify is pairing it with Healing Materia so characters can heal the entire party. Equip Magnify to the designated healer, usually Aerith, or Barret in other instances. During boss battles, it's a good idea to cast Regen on the entire group to keep consistent healing going, then using Cure spells in a pinch. Keep in mind, of course, that there's no way to restore MP during battle.
Designate a Healer and Give Them MP Up and MB Absorption
It should go without saying that whoever the designated healer is, they should get a fully-upgrade MP Up Materia, which will significantly boost their amount. Aerith has the useful ability Soul Drain which will restore a bit of MP as she attacks an enemy. The other option, however, is the MP Absorption Materia. This restores a bit of MP each time the casts an attack spell like Fire or Thunder. A fully upgrade MP Absorption will let that character exploit an enemy's weakness, while also not losing out on any MP.
Equip Aerith or Another Healer With ATB Boost
Obviously, the healer is the most important part of playing Hard Mode. Keeping a party healed up will let the ATB gauges charge, and allow for more attacks. There's a helpful Materia that can help with managing the ATB gauge, and ensure that said healer is always able to use a spell or ability. ATB boost is an extra ability that can be used during battle by pressing L1+R1 and instantly doubles the ATB gauge. For healing, this can be essential, but also give an advantage over enemies by giving a character two bars instead of one.
Equip Cloud With the Elemental Materia
The Elemental Materia is another essential piece of equipment, as it gives that character's weapon the specified element. This lets that character easily exploit the weaknesses of enemies. It's best to equip Elemental on Cloud because he's almost always in the party, and he has the most damaging basic attacks. The equipped element will, of course, need to be altered based on the point in the story. For example, if there's a chapter with a lot of robotic enemies, like the Mako reactor, equip a Thunder Materia.
Focus on Staggering Enemies
The main focus of battles in Hard Mode should be exploiting the enemy's weaknesses and staggering them as quickly as possible. If the data on each enemy isn't already available make sure to equip the Assess Materia and scan each enemy. Focused abilities will be very important, like Focused Thrust with Cloud, Focused Strike with Tifa, and Focused Shot with Barret. Take advantage of elemental weaknesses and any time an enemy's bar says "Pressured" use Focused abilities to bump the Stagger gauge up quickly.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is currently available on PS4.
