If you want to call yourself an OG FF7 fan, you need to know how to pressure an enemy in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. This is how you get the upper hand in battle, by figuring out what makes your opponents tweak and using it against them. Think of this guide as your secret weapon for mastering FF7 Rebirth and winning every fight by keeping your enemies on their toes.
If you really want to dominate in this game, you’ll need to master a few combat tricks to pressure your enemies and clear those challenges. Sure, you could try to win without pressuring your foes (emphasis on try), but that’s going to eat up a lot of brainpower and, let’s face it, patience.
How to Pressure Enemies & Trigger Stagger in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
First things first, to figure out how to pressure enemies in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, you’ll need at least one party member to equip the Assess Materia. For this, head over to the Main Menu, then Materia & Equipment, and pick your character. Open up the Set Materia screen, and slot that Assess Materia into a free spot. Look for the yellow glowing orbs if you’re not sure where to put them.
When the fight starts, land a few quick hits with your party member who has Assess equipped to fill up your first ATB gauge. Then, open the Commands Menu, use the Assess ability, and pick the enemy you want to check out. A screen will pop up, as seen above, showing you all the details about your target, including, most importantly, tips on how to pressure them. Sometimes you’ll need to attack during certain phases, dodge specific moves, or hit them with their elemental weaknesses.
If you spot elemental weaknesses, check out the icons on the right side under Weaknesses or Detrimental Status Effects. Not sure what these elemental weaknesses are? Hit L1 to open the Icon Key. Once you know what you’re dealing with, use Spells to hit enemies with the right element, as long as someone in your party has the right Materia equipped. The spell names don’t always match the elements exactly, so here’s a quick cheat sheet:
- Fire = Fire
- Ice = Blizzard
- Lightning = Thunder
- Wind = Aero
Once you’ve done everything right and the enemy is in a pressured state, you’ll see the word ‘Pressure’ pop up by their stagger gauge under the life bar. That’s your cue to go all out, hit them with magic and abilities to fill the gauge fast and push them into a Staggered state.
There are certain character abilities that fill this stagger gauge fast, particularly if you have already pressured your enemy. These abilities include: Cloud’s Focused Thrust, Barret’s Focused Shot, and Tifa’s Focused Strike.
When your enemy is Staggered, they’re basically helpless for a bit and take way more damage. This is your chance to go wild, hit them with your strongest moves, and don’t hold back. Using unique abilities on Staggered enemies also fills your ATB gauge faster, so you can keep the pressure on and finish them off with some big attacks.
