Best skills & cores to unlock for all characters in FF7 Rebirth – Folio Guide

SP is scarce in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and with all the core options in your character Folios, decisions become tough, especially in the beginning. If you’re wondering which paths and cores you should unlock first, you’ve come to the right place.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Folio guide - What cores should you unlock first?

Before I tell you what my core preferences are, just know that if you just continue to level up, buy all the Mog books, and do all the quests, you will have all of your characters’ cores unlocked.

However, there’s no doubt that resources are scarce in the beginning, so let’s discuss the stats and abilities you want your team to have ASAP. If you’re unhappy with your current setup, remember that you can just reset your skill cores by holding down the square button!

All characters

• Early game: Elemental Abilities such as Fiery Impulse and Icy Impulse (except Aerith)
• Synergy Abilities

Elemental Abilities are elemental but non-magic attacks any of your characters can learn. They’re an excellent way to save MP. If you see one they can learn, have them do so. The only exception here is Aerith, who you’re better off equipping Magic materia on. Soul drain allows her to replenish her MP anyway.

Then, there’s Synergy Abilities. These are unique attacks two characters can perform together once they have enough gauges for it. For example, Barret and Tifa can learn Avalanche Two-Step, which can increase stagger on a staggered energy.

That’s not to say that you should unlock all Synergy Abilities you see—just the ones you think you’ll use often. Think about the characters you tend to party up with and unlock Synergy Abilities for them. Be sure to unlock the Synergy Abilities that raise limit levels, granting you access to more powerful Limit Breaks.

Cloud

• Weapon Ability Up
• Enhanced Attack
• Powerful Punisher + Formidable Counter
• Stagger Damage Up
• ATB Charge Rate Up

They really buffed Cloud in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Take full advantage of it and just unlock those offensive cores. Let Punisher mode (and its counter) deal more damage. Have his abilities deal more damage. Plus, since he moves quickly, here’s really good for staggering.

Cloud also this long range wind slice attack you can perform by pressing dodge + square/basic attack. It hits flying enemies. In short, nothing is safe from his sword.

Tifa

• Enhanced Techniques
• ATB Charge Rate Up + Opening ATB Bonus
• Combo Damage Up
• Bodyguard
• Martial Arts Mastery
• Concentration

For Tifa, you always want passives that either help her recharge ATB faster or allow her to deal more damage. If you weren’t aware of her kit yet, her purpose is to maul the enemy after it’s been staggered. She deals some serious damage.

It is not recommended you use Tifa for Staggering; the others have skills that can better do that. But if you wish to take advantage of your fast ATB charges to perform other Magic or Abilities like Heal, Bodyguard should allow her to charge at the enemy in peace.

Related: FF7 Rebirth Tempering Trials Guide – How to beat all Gilgamesh Island summons

Barret

• Iron Defense
• Limit Gauge Stagger
• Overload Over + Staggering Charge
• Massive Recharge
• DEF Up

I love Barret’s Overcharge skill—it’s one of my preferred ways to quickly stagger enemies. Barret is one of the few characters that can reliably hit flying enemies as well.

Iron Defense is also a very good skill if you need to completely protect yourself (and someone else) from a powerful attack. It was very useful to me during Mythril Mine, for example, and an invaluable skill to spam in hard mode.

Barret is also naturally beefy, which makes good good for Bodyguard. Increase his DEF further one the appropriate cores become available.

Aerith

• Enduring Ward
• Elemental Damage Up
• MATK Up
• Full Power Magic

I love mages, don’t you? And fortunately, you have the perfect character to mold into one. With Aerith’s wards and all these cores that can enhance her Magic capabilities, why would you build her any differently?

Red XIII

• Enhanced Counterspin
• Enduring Vengeance + Vengeful Guardian
• Siphon Fang HP UP + Selfish Recovery Boost

Red XIII is one of the most fun characters to actively control in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. He’s really fast. Hold square, and he’ll make a wide-range attack that can hit multiple enemies (Counterspin), unleash his Sidewinder Ability, and deal a really quick but powerful attack on one.

But the most important part of Red XIII’s kit is guarding. Guarding lets you charge Vengeance Mode faster and let me deal more damage. Use cores that can help him charge the gauge faster.

In Vengeance Mode, Red XIII can also absorb enemy HP using Siphon Fang. You can use the Folio to enhance this part of his kit as well.

Related: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Enemy Skill List

Yuffie

• Shuriken Sync
• Elemental Damage Up
• Opening ATB Boost

I treat Yuffie as a pseudo mage—just not with materia. If an enemy is weak to any element, her Ninjutsu can let her pressure and stagger them more quickly. Give Yuffie that Opening ATB Boost so she can quickly swap elements at the beginning of the battle.

Cait Sith

• Opening ATB Bonus
• ATB Charge Rate Up
• Moogle Vanguard
• Moogle Sentinel + Elemental Defense Up + Enhanced Guard
• Reprieve

Cait Sith is not the easiest character to play because of its unpredictability, at least at first, but it's definitely one of the most fun. Be sure to unlock Opening ATB Bonus ASAP so Cait Sith can immediately summon their Moogle at the start of the battle and have full access to its abilities.

Next, Cait Sith and its Moogle have separate HPs, making it a double guard. You can have Cait Bodyguard the others that have the Synergy Skill. You can also give it the Provoke materia to aggro enemies in a pinch or deal big attacks to pull their attention anyway (which the Moogle is capable of with Moogle Vanguard). This should give the other members of your party the opportunity to attack without fearing retaliation!

For more help with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, take a look at How to wrangle every Chocobo in FF7 Rebirth here at Pro Game Guides.