Final Fantasy VII Rebirth introduces even more playable characters than in Remake. Rebirth offers seven characters for players to choose, with a standard party of three in most scenarios. Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Aerith all return from the previous title. Rebirth adds the new playable characters of Red XIII, Cait Sith, and Yuffie—returning from the DLC—to the mix.
So, it can be tempting to ask, which characters are the best? But Rebirth emphasizes teamwork, so it’s not about the best character but the best party for the job.
Aside from select portions of the game where you have a locked party, or have to choose one or two characters, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth allows you to pick any three for battle. For much of the game, you can pick whoever you like best, and the game encourages you to mix things up. That said, here are picks for the best party to use, depending on the situation.
Best Party Overall: Cloud, Barret, and Aerith
For a balanced party that can take on anything in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, you’ll want one melee attacker, one support character, and one ranged fighter. There are a few teams that can do this, but using Cloud, Barret, and Aerith together can work quite well.
Cloud, being the main character, has some of the best attack stats and weapons. The standard Buster Sword provides the Focused Thrust ability, great for increasing stagger. Early-game Sleek Saber gives the Firebolt Blade ability, unlocking two elemental attacks for the price of one. The proficiency system means you can move on to bigger and better weapons and keep these abilities so long as you’ve used them enough.
Barret returns to pack a punch with his gun-arm, figuratively and literally. Though you’ll mostly want to make use of his ranged attacks, so fire off his default Overcharge power whenever possible. And like Focused Thrust, Barret’s Focused Shot increases stagger. He also boats high defense and health, making him a great tank as well. And with our next party member, he has access to Sweet-and-Sour Salvo, a Synergy Ability featuring him and Aerith donning sunglasses and increasing an enemy’s stagger meter.
Aerith, the dedicated healer of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, may not seem like much on her own. However, I rarely took her out of my three-person parties. Why? Her support abilities can give the slight yet crucial edge to turn the tide of battle. Need to use more commands? ATB Ward increases the ATB meter for the whole party. Exploiting an elemental weakness?
Her default Arcane Ward casts spells twice, for any party member in the ward. Last but not least, getting her the Plumose Rod late in the game gives her access to Ray of Judgement, a devastating stagger-building attack.
Best Party for Fighting Flying Fiends: Cloud, Barret, and Yuffie
At some points in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, you’ll come across enemies that you can hardly hit from the ground. Cloud, Tifa, and Red XIII aren’t great in these scenarios, even if they can use magic. You don’t really have a choice when it comes to Cloud, but you can sub him out once you finish the game. If you want to replay a section, you can replace him with Aerith here. Otherwise, you’ll want Barret and Yuffie backing him up for fighting flying enemies.
Barret, for the reasons mentioned earlier, excels at range. For flying fiends that move quickly, getting Barret’s Hi-Caliber Rifle will allow you to use Bonus Round. This gives you tons of power-up bullets to use, so if you miss an attack you can keep firing and any that hit will do increased damage. Otherwise, Overcharge and Focused Thrust will keep the pressure on fiends in the sky.
Once you reach Chapter Seven, Yuffie joins the party. While she has many different abilities, her Ninjutsu really comes in handy. Throw it at a flying enemy, and keep attacking to have it continuously deal damage. Even better, Elemental Ninjutsu lets you infuse these attacks with any of the four elements. Once you defeat an enemy, her Shuriken will automatically attach to a new one. And you can always re-throw it if one manages to shake it off.
Best Party for Staggering Enemies: Cloud, Tifa, and Red XIII
I know what you’re thinking. A list of best party combinations? Where’s Tifa?! Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about her. For most fights, staggering enemies isn’t hard to do, especially if they have a major weakness. However, certain enemies, especially particular bosses, will resist most damage until you can stagger them. And here, Tifa takes the spotlight. Cloud is just here to help stagger enemies with his Focused Thrust ability.
From then on, it’s Tifa’s fight. Her Kaiser Knuckles allow you to use Overpower, boosting her attacks to pressure enemies. Use this or have Cloud and Red XIII pressure an enemy while you charge the ATB meter. Just before you stagger an enemy, switch to Tifa and use her Unbridled Strength ability. This will increase her Whirling Uppercut to Omnistrike, or Rise and Fall if you do it twice in a row. Using these abilities will increase the percentage of damage you do to a staggered enemy, absolutely destroying those that only take damage while staggered.
While you could have Barret as your backup tank here, Red XIII deserves some love too. I particularly like him in this role because of his Mythril Collar, which you get at the start of the game. It gives you access to a powerful ability, Stardust Ray. This attack creates an explosion that deals a massive amount of damage. You can use it on a pressured enemy to get them to the staggered point, or on a staggered enemy to finish them off. Use it right after Tifa increases the stagger bonus, and you will have a deadly combo.
Best Party for Exploiting Elemental Weaknesses: Cait Sith, Aerith, and Yuffie
Wait a moment. Where’s Cloud? Alright, I cheated a bit. As I said, once you complete the game, you can take him out of your party. And you’ll get access to Cait Sith starting in Chapter Nine. At that point, you’re pretty close to the end of the game already, eh laddy? Okay fine, you can stick to Cloud. But if you do want to find a use for the funky little cat, you can replace Cloud with him here once you finish the game.
Cait Sith is a jack of all trades, master of none. So admittedly, he’s more of a novelty character. He fights with his Megaphones, and one in particular has a curious ability. Getting the Crystal Megaphone in Cosmo Canyon will let you use Moogle Magic. This lets the equipped summon attack, without having to summon them. If you equip an elemental summon corresponding to an enemy’s weakness, this can be an ace in the hole.
While this is a hyper-specialized use of Cait Sith, the next two attackers will prove more adept at anticipating elemental weaknesses. Aerith boasts extremely high magic attack, so equipping her necessary spell types will really let her lay on the damage. Casting Arcane Ward will double these attacks too.
Yuffie comes in swinging with her Ninjutsu once more. While these attacks may not do as much damage as Aerith’s spells, they do allow access to each element. Just select the one you need, throw that Shuriken, and attack away. And similar to Aerith, she has a duplicating ability of her own. The Bird of Prey throwing star found in Gongaga will let you use Doppelganger, which does exactly what it says, creating a second Yuffie who mimics her attacks. Who doesn’t love that?
In Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
As said before, ultimately you can decide what team you like best. But if you want to get through the battles of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth as efficiently as possible, it can help to mix things up. Each team above focuses on a given specialty, so adjusting teams will allow you to get to know each party member and their abilities while hitting enemies as hard as you can. As a bonus you’ll also get more weapon proficiencies and boost relationships through Synergy Skills and Abilities. Have your party mingle, you won’t regret it.
