Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Weapon Upgrade Guide

Final Fantasy 7 Remake laid the foundation for much of what Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has to offer. Many of Remake's key systems have expanded, but a few of them have received full-fledged overhauls. Weapon Levels are one such example.

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Rather than upgrading your weapons using a screen akin to the Sphere Grid and Crystarium of Final Fantasies old, you now equip Weapon Upgrades that increase in number with each passing Weapon Level. It isn't a particularly difficult system to grasp, but there's enough terminology with the word 'Weapon' involved to throw someone off for a while without guidance. Eureka - here's guidance!

What Are Weapon Upgrades?

Unlike in FF7 Remake, Weapon Upgrades are a largely automatic system. This is due, no doubt, to the fact that the Folio board has taken over the sort of customization style that Weapon Upgrades once did.

At each Weapon Level, all of your characters' weapons will gain new Weapon Skills and Stat Boosts. You will see acquired skills and upcoming skills on the right-hand side of the Weapon Upgrades screen.

Weapon Skills

Weapon Skills are manually equipped. You can only equip Weapon Skills from your currently equipped weapon, and there's a strict limit on the number of them. However, additional Weapon Skill slots will be added as your Weapon Level increases throughout the game.

Stat Boosts and Weapon Skills which boost stats are two separate things. A bit tricky, we know, so here's an example of a Weapon Skill of this kind: Sleek Saber gains the Attack Power +20 Weapon Skill at Weapon Level 4. It must be equipped.

Most Weapon Skills offer something more flavorful, however. ATB Charge Rate Up increases ATB charge rate when performing actions; Unrelenting Punisher, a Cloud-exclusive Weapon Skill, increases the number of strong attacks that Cloud strikes with while in Punisher Mode.

Stat Boosts

Stat Boosts are passive stat increases conferred at each Weapon Level. Using the Sleek Saber example from earlier, at Weapon Level 4 it gains the following: Attack +9; Magic Attack +9.

But in addition to the aptly-named stat boosting, there are also more infrequent gains at Weapon Levels. You will sometimes gain another Weapon Skill slot, which is surely advantageous, since you'll never have as many of them as you do Weapon Skills.

You'll also gain additional Materia slots a few times. Materia slots are at a premium in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and how you arrange your Materia distribution plays a big role in your combat capabilities, so this is something to keep an eye out for.

How Do Weapon Upgrades Work?

Weapon Levels increase as characters gain SP, but as with its other applications, SP is a single all-encompassing pool. Which is to say, you are only spending the SP on Folio boards; the SP that's kept track of for Weapon Levels automatically elevates to reflect the overall amount.

Let's say you're looking at Red XIII's Weapon Upgrades screen. If the menu states he has 65 out of 70 SP towards Weapon Level 3, then throughout the game, however much he has accrued to this point is the total amount of SP he has gained to-date.

Although they all start out at Weapon Level 1, don't expect your characters to all share their Weapon Level to a tee. That said, they'll probably never be too far off.

Finding skill books, not to mention simply having a higher level than a peer, will give a character more accrued SP, so their Weapon Level (and progress to the next one) will be higher accordingly.

Once a Weapon Level improves, checkto make sure you still like your current Weapon Skills setup most, even if you didn't gain a new slot. Do the same with your other weapons as well - any that you think you might equip again!

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