A loadout per party member — weapon, materia links, accessory — plus the combinations worth building a character around.
Spoiler level: names late-game weapons, accessories and summons. No plot. Each character has a 3-stage progression (early / mid / endgame) above its final Hard Mode loadout.
How to read a link
A—B means the two materia share a linked slot pair — A's effect feeds B. A lone A sits in a single slot. W = weapon slots, Ar = armor slots.
Magic Command Support Independent Summon
General priorities
Get these from Chadley first
Magic Up — boosts spell damage and healing potency. Good on everyone who casts.
Skill Master — ATB when you use 3+ different commands in a chain. Made for Cloud / combo characters.
ATB Assist — repeat a command to feed the whole frontline ATB. Great on Tifa and Cait Sith.
HP Absorption — link to any damage materia for lifesteal; keeps melee alive without healing.
Early game, on everyone
Healing on at least two characters — don't single-point-of-failure your medic.
Assess (rotate it), HP Up / Magic Up, First Strike, ATB Boost, Steal.
Elemental linked to your attacker's main element, or to a defensive element on armor for zones that spam one type.
Levelling materia
Materia gains AP from every fight; a filled bar raises its ★ tier — higher spell ranks, stronger passives, better link output.
AP Up (Corel / Gongaga assignments) triples the AP earned in its linked slot — park it on whatever you're grinding.
Priority to max: Magnify, Elemental, HP Up, Auto-Cast, your main damage elements. They're weak at ★ and transformative at ★★★.
Don't hoard duplicates in the menu — a second copy of a maxed staple (HP Up, Elemental) on another character beats one unused at ★.
Folio respec is free and unlimited. Rebuild for a wall, rebuild back after.
Combos worth building around
Link
What it does
Elemental + element
Weapon: basic attacks deal that element (free weakness exploit). Armor: resist / absorb it.
Magnify + Healing
One cast heals the whole party. Non-negotiable for a support.
Magnify + Barrier
Party-wide Barrier / Manaward from a single cast.
HP Absorption + Enemy Skill
Lifesteal on a strong damage source — melee self-sustain, no healing turns.
Auto-Cast + Healing / Cleansing
The linked slot casts on its own — put it on whoever you're not controlling.
Swiftcast + Comet / Flare
Instant cast, no wind-up, on your slowest big spell.
Steadfast Block + Precision Defense Focus
Less chip damage while guarding + a wider perfect-block window. Tank glue.
Darkside + Chakra
Trade HP for a damage spike, then Chakra it back for free.
First Strike + HP Up
Open every fight with ATB already banked.
Pick a character
Their sheet tints the page. Selection is saved on this device.