Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is full of unique weapons You can equip your party with different blades, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Cloud, the game’s main protagonist and master swordsman, has seven different blades to choose from. But which is the best?
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The answer to this depends on how you want to equip Cloud. His base stats favor physical attacks, but swords like the Runeblade can steer Cloud more toward the wizard side of things. Ultimately, the best weapon choice for Cloud (or any other character) depends on your individual playstyle, but if you want some tips on which weapons to favor for Cloud, read on.
It has to be the Slipstream Saber, right? Not so fast
The Slipstream Saber, with its mako-infused, glow-in-the-dark styling, is the last sword you can acquire for Cloudy Boy. And with the highest combined materia slot
Read more: FF7 Rebirth Materia Basics and Recommended Loadouts
Make no mistake, the Slipstream Saber is an excellent choice for repeated playthroughs, but there are reasons to choose different ones for different builds. But before we get into those, let’s discuss how and why you should stick with Cloud’s sword for the late game.
First, the Slipstream Saber’s Attack Damage +5% weapon upgrade is an excellent boost to Cloud’s overall damage output. Combine this with the Unrelenting Punisher and Formidable Counter upgrades to increase the number of strikes you can make in Punisher mode and Punisher’s counter damage by 15 percent, respectively.
Why would you want to prioritize these boosts? Because when you combine them with the Slipstream’s three pairs of combined Materia slots, you dramatically expand Cloud’s potential magical abilities (or any other Materia combination) with increased attack power through an OP Punisher build.
Other blades allow you to double either your magical or physical damage, but Slipstream is extremely efficient at making up the difference.
Hit things hard with the Igneous Saber
It might look weird, but the Igneous Saber (found at Mount Nibel in Chapter 11) is a devastatingly powerful sword that deals uncompromising physical damage. While they’re not all linked together like the Slipstream Saber, the Igneous Saber has six Materia slots (two linked, four separate), giving you the opportunity to mix and match Materia to either buff Cloud’s physical stats or give him some awesome spells.
For weapon upgrade slots, I recommend Enemy Parts Damage Up, which increases the damage to individual body parts of enemies (a great feature for many boss fights in Rebirth) in addition to Stalwart and Unrelenting Punisher to take full advantage of Cloud’s alternate fighting stance.
Enhance Cloud’s magical talents with the Runeblade
If you want variety and want to send Cloud on a spellcasting path, the Runeblade is the place to start. Although it only has five Materia slots (two pairs of which are combo slots), it makes up for this with the highest magical damage Bonus of all of Cloud’s swords.
Read more: FF7 RebirthThe best materia for dealing magical damage
But high magic stat isn’t the only thing the Blade Rune has to offer. We can improve Cloud’s magic damage abilities by opting for Magic Attack Power +20, ATB Charge Up (which allows him to cast spells faster), and Full-Power Magic, which deals more damage when a spell is cast with full MP.
With the Sleek Saber you can use skills even faster
The Sleek Saber is likely the very first new blade you unlock for Cloud, as it can be found in the second chapter. It will likely become obsolete very quickly in terms of damage output and Materia slots, but don’t throw it away so quickly. With the ability to stack two ATB Charge Rate Up upgrades (which together increase your ATB meter speed by 20 percent) and the Weapon Ability ATB Recovery upgrade, this is an excellent sword that will allow you to continue dishing out ATB abilities to Cloud.
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 difficult to determine the “best” build for Cloud. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a very flexible and customizable RPG, so you can put together all sorts of builds for different situations, but you can’t go wrong with these weapons and upgrade configurations.
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