While Materia gives you spells and Summons provide powerful attacks, Weapons not only provide stat benefits but also give you a unique ability for each one found. These can also be permanently learnt by that character, making finding each individual weapon all the more important. This page provides lists of all weapons and their abilities in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and where to find them - plus our recommendations of the best weapons to use for each party member. On this page: You can see what Materia slots they have and what level your weapon is, which will unlock further upgrades down the line through extended use in combat. To upgrade your weapons, use the Upgrade Weapons tab in the pause menu. You can pick specific upgrades from the rings to fine tune and focus your weapon’s statistics, or tap Triangle in the equipment menu to automatically upgrade the weapons without your input, picking a balanced or attack/defence focus. This means that you can significantly flesh out your skills by grinding out the proficiency meter across the game’s arsenal, giving you access to a variety of interesting and useful skills that you can attune to your own personal build. Once you pick up any given weapon, head into the Materia and Equipment tab in the pause menu, and you’ll see the weapon ability appear in the top right corner in the form of a small video which displays how the controlled character would use it. This also appears when buying it from a store. At first, it will be locked to the weapon, but you can unlock it to be used across all weapons by repeatedly using the weapon ability in battle. This unlocks a proficiency bonus and lets you use the skill even when you don’t have the corresponding weapon equipped. You can easily grind this out over the course of the game - just make sure to swap out your equipment as soon as you get a new weapon so you can unlock the spells quickly and go back to your preferred build. This is especially important for characters like Aerith who need a range of spells to be effective in battle. If you’re stuck in an open-world section like the Wall Market, you could always head to Corneo’s Coliseum in Chapter 9 to grind it out in the repeatable battles. Some of the weapons in the below tables are found past the point of no return but know that you can still grind out the weapon abilities attached in the post-game, where you can use chapter selection to jump back into the action and grind to Level 50. Hardedge Stats: 57 Attack, 19 Magic Hardedge Location: You can find Hardedge at the Weapon Shop in the Wall Market during Chapter 9. Purchase and equip it to increase your damage output. The sword’s special ability is Infinity’s End, which is Cloud’s only ability that requires 2 ATB. It deals massive damage and increases stagger by delivering an acrobatic overhead strike. There are swords like the Twin Stinger that appear later in the game, but when fully upgraded the Hardedge still wins out for most physical damage, which is what Cloud specialises in, given, you know… the whole gigantic sword thing! Arguably, his best weapon is Big Bertha, a devastating turret with blistering attack speed. Big Bertha Stats: 45 Attack, 30 Magic Big Bertha Location: You can purchase this from the makeshift Weapon Shop in the playground of Sector 6 once Sector 7 is evacuated. The best part about Big Bertha is the special attack attached to it, Maximum Fury. This lets out a sustained salvo of bullets that lasts as long as Barrett’s ATB meter will carry him. When paired with an Elemental Materia, this ability is devastating and will quickly stagger bosses and other formidable enemies. Weapons like the Wrecking Ball are found later in the game and deal more damage but remove Barret’s ranged capabilities, turning him into a melee fighter - something that is often too situational to be of any real use, so stick with a long-ranged weapon and unlock the abilities of weapons like the Steel Pincers and the Wrecking Ball to have a truly versatile build. Arguably, Tifa’s best weapon is Purple Pain, a pair of violet gloves that you pick up in Chapter 16 when you’re infiltrating Shinra Headquarters. These gloves deal a very impressive amount of damage and are great for quickly staggering enemies. Purple Pain Stats: 51 Attack, 41 Magic Purple Pain Location: You’ll know it when it happens in Chapter 16, but when you’re in control of Tifa, you’ll fall to the floor after a platforming section. When that happens, climb the show cars in front of you and use the overhead bars to reach the chest on the far left side. Looking for more help with Final Fantasy VII Remake? Learn how to get the Best Materia, which can be levelled with easy AP sources. There’s also Summons to unlock, most of which you get from completing Intel Battle Reports. Once you’ve finished the game, it’s worth unlocking the remaining Final Fantasy 7 Dresses by choosing the correct options during the Johnny, Heads or Tails and Madam M massage course choices, and finding any weapon locations or Music Discs you left behind. And if you’ve just started, then learn what to do during the timer choice and the Lost Friends quest. She starts out with the Guard Stick, which is fairly useless beyond the excellent Arcane Ward ability. Aerith’s best weapon is the Mythril Rod, which has great Materia capacity and offers players the Ray of Judgment ability, a laser of death that drains all of your ATB, sustaining massive damage on the targeted enemy. Mythril Rod Stats: 24 Attack, 92 Magic Mythril Rod Location: When you start Chapter 11 and enter the Train Graveyard, you should see a chest accessible through a train compartment in the starting Switchyard which is hued in purple. This box contains the Mythril Rod. Beyond that chapter, you can purchase it from any weapon shop. Other weapons, such as the the Bladed Staff, do show up later in the game, but they still can’t match the unbelievable magic damage of the Mythril Rod when it is fully upgraded. Given magic is Aerith’s main stat, this is the best choice if you want to get rid of enemies quickly with powerful spellcasting prowess.
