The flower girl known as Aerith Gainsborough is one of the central characters in Final Fantasy VII Remake. Her destiny, inextricably linked to that of the planet, and her infectious good humour will encourage Cloud to soften his opinion of the inhabitants of Midgar.
Aerith's Role
At no time should Aerith be in melee combat range. She shines at a distance, with the exception of some of her weapon skills. She's the one you'll want to place your best spell materia on, as well as increasing her MP and HP to counter her weaknesses early on.
You'll find out fairly quickly that her basic combo is particularly effective against enemies with good physical defense.
Finally, her placement on the battlefield is the most important of all the characters, so be careful to put her out of harm's way, or draw the aggro from her as soon as possible.
Abilities
- Unique Ability (Triangle): A magical attack that must be charged as long as possible to increase its damage, but is quite difficult to land. If you plan to do a lot of magic and non-elemental damage, this is a very good alternative. However we recommend that you stagger the targeted enemy using spells or other ways.
- Tempest - 1 ATB Bar: One of the most useful techniques in the game. It allows you to absorb a small amount of MP from the enemy, while causing non-elemental magical damage.
- Arcane Ward - 1 ATB Bar: Aerith will lay wards on the ground with her weapon ability. Arcane Ward is a great opportunity to exploit an enemy's elemental flaws, as it allows the character standing on it to cast multiple spells in a row for the MP cost of one.
- Healing Wind - Limit Break: This is a huge AoE healing spell. Keep it ready during boss fights, as it can easily save you in a pinch. Be careful, position yourself well, and anticipate the need to use it, as the effect only lasts two or three seconds after being cast.
General tips
- Her slow movement speed and limited dodge distance prevent her from defending herself as well as her allies. We recommend the keeping Barrier up on Aerith as soon as you've acquired the materia.
- Equipment wise, prioritize anything that increases her magic attack power as much as possible — she's a really powerful character with the right tools. This compensates for her relative weakness in more mundane fights.
- If you're facing magic resistant ennemies, use Aerith's ATB bars to absorb MP, conserving your Ether in the process.
