Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is full of unique weapons to equip your party with, each with their own pros and cons. Cloud, the game’s main protagonist and master swordsman, has seven different blades to choose from. But which is best?
Read More: Where To Find All Of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s Weapons
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The answer to that depends on how you want to spec Cloud out. His base stats favor physical attacks, but swords like the Rune Blade can shift Cloud toward a more of a spellcaster route. Ultimately, the best weapon choices for Cloud (or any character) come down to your individual playstyle. But if you want some tips on which weapons to favor for Cloud, read on.
It’s gotta be the Slipstream Saber, right? Not so fast
The Slipstream Saber with its mako-infused, glowy stylings is the final sword you can acquire for Cloudy boy. And with the highest combined materia slot count of his swords, surely it’s the best one, right?
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Make no mistake, the Slipstream Saber is an excellent choice for repeat playthroughs, but there are reasons to choose other ones for different builds. But before we dip into those, let’s cover how and why you may want to stick to Cloud’s late-game sword.
First, the Slipstream Saber’s Attack Damage +5% weapon upgrade is an excellent boost to Cloud’s overall damage output. Combine this with Unrelenting Punisher and Formidable Counter upgrades to increase the amount of slashes you can do in Punisher mode and Punisher’s counter damage by 15-percent, respectively.
Why do you want to prioritize these boosts? Because when you combine them with the Slipstream’s three-pairs of combined materia slots, you’re dramatically expanding Cloud’s potential magic abilities (or any other materia combo) with amplified attack power by means of an OP Punisher set up.
Other blades will help you double down on either magic or physical damage, but Slipstream is exceedingly efficient at splitting the difference.
Smack stuff good with the Igneous Saber
It may be a goofy-lookin’ thing, but the Igneous Saber (found in Mt. Nibel in Chapter 11) is a devastatingly powerful sword for all-out physical damage. Though they’re not all connected like in the Slipstream Saber, the Igneous Saber packs six materia slots (two connected, four solitary), so you have room to mix and match materia to either fortify Cloud’s physical stats or give him some rad spells.
For weapon upgrade slots, I recommend going with Enemy Parts Damage Up, which juices damage to individual enemy body parts (a great feature for many boss battles in Rebirth) in addition to Stalwart and Unrelenting Punisher to take full advantage of Cloud’s alternate battle stance.
Amplify Cloud’s magical talents with the Rune Blade
If you’re looking to mix things up and send Cloud down a spellcasting path, the Rune Blade is where you want to start. Though it’s only got five materia slots (two pairs of which are combo slots), it makes up for it with the highest magical damage bonus of all of Cloud’s swords.
Read More: FF7 Rebirth’s Best Materia For Dealing Magic Damage
But a high magic stat isn’t the only thing the Rune Blade has going for it. For upgrades, we can improve Cloud’s magic damage-dealing capabilities by going with Magic Attack Power +20, ATB Charge Up (which will see him casting spells faster), and Full-Power Magic, which deals more damage when casting a spell at full MP.
Use abilities even faster with the Sleek Saber
The Sleek Saber is likely to be the very first new blade you’ll unlock for Cloud as it’s found in the second chapter. Odds are it will get outpaced in terms of damage output and materia slots very quickly, but don’t be so quick to toss it. With the ability to stack two ATB Charge Rate Up upgrades (which collectively raise your ATB meter speed by 20 percent) and the Weapon Ability ATB Recovery upgrade, this is an excellent sword to use to keep Cloud dishing out ATB abilities.
I highly recommend equipping Cloud with First Strike and ATB Boost materia in combination with the Sleek Saber to get even more out of your ATB usage.
With so many weapons and endless materia combinations, it’s tough to pinpoint a “best” build for Cloud. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a very flexible and customizable RPG, so you can put together all manner of builds for different situations. That said, you can’t go wrong with these weapons and upgrade configurations.
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