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Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Aerith Combat Guide

By
Jarrod Garripoli

You will spend a lot of time fighting enemies in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which means that you’ll be switching characters quite often. Each of the characters play differently from one another, and "Aerith Gainsborough" iconAerith Gainsborough can be one of the trickier ones, due to being more magic-oriented. This page will go over the basics for fighting with Aerith, as well as give tips and tricks on how to utilize her better in combat.

Aerith using her Healing Wind Limit Break.

How to Play as Aerith - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

As briefly mentioned above, Aerith is a ranged character and primarily uses magic as her main fighting method. With a single press of the Square button, she will launch a small magic projectile towards the targeted enemy, with the combo unleashing more projectiles, should more than one enemy be close to the intended target. In Remake, the Triangle skill was assigned to perform Tempest, but that isn’t the case in Rebirth. You simply need to hold down Square to charge up an attack, then let go to perform Tempest.

This will summon a diamond-like object on the enemy, which will explode after a few seconds. Of course, the enemy can move away from this, so that attack will completely miss. However, it hitting will deal some decent damage, give Aerith a fair bit of ATB and also summon a Fleeting Familiar. This takes shape as a pinkish butterfly next to Aerith and it will attack the enemy Aerith is targeting, as well as make her magical attacks stronger. However, it will dissipate as it shoots its projectiles, until it eventually disappears altogether.

(1 of 3) Aerith’s normal attack will be a magic-based projectile.

Aerith will have a new Triangle unique skill in Rebirth, called Ward Shift. Whenever she places a ward on the ground, with Arcane or "Radiant Ward" iconRadiant Ward (more on those below), you can then press Triangle to instantly warp to that ward. This essentially allows her to instantly travel across the battlefield in the blink of an eye. In turn, this allows Aerith to compensate for one of her bigger flaws, mobility, since about the only thing she can normally do is dodge and run.

Best Abilities and Spells for Aerith

You will find a list of all of Aerith’s abilities in the table below, which are the ones you learn via your weapons.

Ability Description
Soul Drain Unleash an attack that absorbs MP. Absorbs additional MP from staggered enemies.
Sorcerous Storm Deal magic damage to nearby enemies.
"Arcane Ward" iconArcane Ward Conjure a ward. "Attack" iconAttack spells cast within the ward will automatically be cast twice.
"Radiant Ward" iconRadiant Ward Conjure a ward that grants invincibility while casting spells. Strengthens Aerith’s basic attack.

Soul Drain and Sorcerous Storm

Soul Drain is an underrated move, simply because it will allow Aerith to drain MP from foes. This will save you some money on using an "Ether" iconEther with her, since you can just use this instead and also cause damage at the same time. In FFVII Remake, Hard Mode disabled the use of items, so it might be the same here, making Soul Drain extremely useful. There’s not really much to say about Sorcerous Storm, as it’s a short-ranged magical attack that can hit multiple enemies. However, it’s a great ability for dealing damage, if the enemies are bunched together.

Arcane Ward and Radiant Ward

For the last two abilities on the list above, you have "Arcane Ward" iconArcane Ward and Radiant Ward. Both of these will place the ward on the ground, underneath Aerith’s feet, and can be used by anyone in your party. Of course, they both do different things, with the Arcane Ward making it so attack spells within the ward are done twice, without costing extra MP. This makes it extremely useful whenever you are up against a stronger enemy with an elemental weakness.

(1 of 2) Soul Drain is great for recovering some MP without requiring items.

Soul Drain is great for recovering some MP without requiring items. (left), Arcane Ward allows your party to cast two spells for the price of one. (right)

The other ward, Radiant Ward, grants the user within it invincibility while casting spells. Basically, you won’t be interrupted, so it’s great for that. It also has another function, which is to upgrade Aerith’s basic attacks while she’s standing in it. She will basically shoot little lasers, instead of the normal projectiles, which deal more damage than normal and seem to possibly do more stagger damage. It is possible to have the two wards on the field at the same time, too, and even on top of one another, gaining the benefit of both. However, it might be better to spread them apart, allowing you to use Ward Shift to cycle between them and give Aerith more mobility.

Aerith’s Weapons and What Abilities They Grant

Below is every weapon Aerith can use, what abilities they grant, and where to find them.

Weapon Ability Chapter Location
"Guard Stick" iconGuard Stick "Arcane Ward" iconArcane Ward Chapter 2 Initial Equip
"Timeless Rod" iconTimeless Rod "Chrono Aegis" iconChrono Aegis Chapter 2 "Grasslands" iconGrasslands, "Bill’s Ranch" iconBill’s Ranch. In a chest to the right of "Chloe" iconChloe.
"Empress’s Scepter" iconEmpress’s Scepter "Radiant Ward" iconRadiant Ward Chapter 4 "Under Junon" iconUnder Junon, inside Aerith’s room at the inn.
"Wizard’s Rod" iconWizard’s Rod "Lustrous Shield" iconLustrous Shield Chapter 7 Mt. Corel, to the left of a rest station, in a little alcove.
"Ceremonial Staff" iconCeremonial Staff "ATB Ward" iconATB Ward Chapter 10 In the Village of Gi’s Outcasts’ Shore Rest Spot.
Plumose Rod Ray of Judgement Chapter 12 Inside of "Shinra Mansion" iconShinra Mansion’s Simulation Controal Room in Mako Research Facility - Section X.
Gambanteinn Noble Sacrifice Chapter 13 Under Sorrow’s Descent’s stairs.

All Synergy Skills for Aerith

The following table is a list of all the Synergy Skills for Aerith in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. These are the skills assigned to the R1 button, in conjunction with a face button. Remember that Synergy Skills do not use up any ATB. She only has a single Synergy Skill revealed thus far, which is Bodyguard. This will cause her to call in the character it’s used with, who will spawn in front of her in a defending position. You can basically just have someone else take a hit for her, which is nice.

(1 of 2) Radiant Ward will power up Aerith’s basic attacks.

Radiant Ward will power up Aerith’s basic attacks. (left), Her unique skill, Ward Shift, allows her to instantly teleport to any wards on the field. (right)

All Synergy Abilities for Aerith

You will find a list of all of the Synergy Abilities that involve Aerith in the table below. To use these, you’ll need to use abilities and spells with your ATB charges. Each one will fill up a little pip and you’ll need a certain number per character in order to pull off the Synergy Ability.

Ability Character Description
Firework Blade Cloud Cloud uses Aerith’s magic to unleash a ranged attack. Raises their limit levels.
Divine Punishment Tifa Tifa makes use of Aerith’s magic to deal damage across a wide area. Raises their limit levels.
Planetary Roar "Red XIII" iconRed XIII Aerith channels her magic through "Red XIII" iconRed XIII’s howl, unleashing a ranged attack across a wide area. Raises their limit levels.
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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Square Enix
  • Platforms,
    PS5
  • Genre
    Action RPG
  • Guide Release
    15 February 2024
  • Last Updated
    31 August 2024
    Version History
  • Guide Author

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The second in a trio of games, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth continues with the epic retelling of the original Final Fantasy VII story. Follow Cloud Strife and company, as they chase Sephiroth, after the events that unfolded in the city of Midgar. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will contain the same action-based combat system introduced in Remake, with additions to keep it fresh. To help you along the way, this guide plans to contain the following content:

  • Breakdown of gameplay elements and combat mechanics
  • Detailed guides on how to play every playable character
  • Boss strategies for those who might be struggling
  • Walkthroughs for the harder-to-complete Side Quests
  • Locations of any and all Collectibles
  • Extensive list of all Minigames, with thorough guides on all of them
  • Roadmap and guide on how to unlock the coveted Platinum Trophy

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