Most Powerful Materia In Final Fantasy 7, Ranked

Highlights

• Morph Materia is crucial for power and stat boosts, especially with Yuffie’s Conformer weapon.
• Contain Materia offers powerful single-target spells with status effects but lacks AOE capabilities.
• Ultima Materia is strong but costly in MP and gil, impacting character stats and offering non-elemental attacks.

What’s there to love about the iconic original Final Fantasy 7? Or, indeed, what’s there to hate about it? The seminal JRPG tends to bring out very strong feelings one way or the other, as the impact of Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and the ongoing project’s changes to the story, make quite plain. For many, the original game is overrated, but for fans, everyone has their own personal highlights. The plot, the memorable characters, the settings. Or, perhaps, it’s the character customization afforded by the Materia system.

The game is rife with different kinds of Materia, offering everything from simple magic spells to new battle commands that completely change the approach to combat. New players often ask which are the ‘best’ Materia to use, which is a tough question to answer. To try and help out a little, here are our picks for some of the all-round strongest in the game.

Updated by Chris Littlechild, March 15, 2024: With the release of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the FF7 remake project is now two-thirds of the way through its intended trilogy. The remakes take a different approach to combat, eschewing the turn-based battles of the original JRPG in favor of a more action-oriented system, but Materia is still central to equipping and powering up characters.

Some new Materia has been added for the Remakes (the unique Magnify for instance), while some Materia don’t feature in the new games (at least not yet). If players are returning to the 1997 classic in light of Rebirth, though, they’ll want to know which Materia are the strongest in that title. That’s why we’ve expanded and updated this list with some more entries from the iconic PlayStation original.

15 Morph

A Limited Physical Attack That Can Be Stronger Than It Seems

• A Command Materia that allows the user to turn targets into items if their HP is low enough.
• Something of a necessity to power up a party, but only in a very specific case.

Some of the game’s Materia, such as Manipulate, offer unique strategic options but are ultimately quite impractical to use. This is certainly true of Morph. Using this Command Materia, the equipped party member will strike their foe with their weapon, as though they had used the Attack command. The difference is that the resulting attack is only one-eighth as strong as usual, because it will also yield an item (determined by the enemy targeted) if it’s fatal.

Given the low damage of the attack, it can be quite time-consuming to pull this off consistently. There are two factors that make Morph so strong: Firstly, the Conformer, a weapon equipped by Yuffie, has the bonus effect of dealing its full damage while using Morph. Secondly, the enemies on the Sunken Gelnika each Morph into a specific Source. A Source permanently boosts the chosen character’s associated stat (Luck Source for Luck for instance). Collect enough of these Sources, then, and players can buff their party’s attributes to the maximum if they wish. It’s a long and rather complex process, and Morph doesn’t have much utility beyond this, but it’s very indirectly powerful when used correctly.

The Morph Materia is found in the room with the rolling rocks in the Temple of the Ancients.

14 Contain

A Quartet Of Devastating Single-Target Spells

• Freeze, Break, Tornado, and Flare make up the spells of the Contain Materia.
• These spells can also inflict debilitating statuses on their targets, but their lack of AOE and late-game availability harms their utility somewhat.

Contain is unlocked in Mideel, a gift of sorts from the excitable white Chocobo. Just scratch the happy little creature’s ear after feeding it Mimett Greens, and it’ll spit out the Contain Materia. By this stage of the game, characters may well be kitted out with Magic Materia, but players may need to consider freeing up a slot for this.

Considerable AP is needed to learn Break, Tornado, and Flare (5000, 10,000, and 15,000 AP respectively) after the Ice attack Freeze, but these Earth, Wind, and Fire spells are very powerful, and the first three each have a different status they can inflict (those being Stop, Petrify, and Confusion). This elemental basis means that their damage can be either boosted or reduced depending on the enemies faced, of course, and while it’s potentially outclassed by other options, this is a very potent Magic Materia.

Note that equipping Contain will give the party member large buffs to their magical stats, but cut their physical stats by the same amount.

Contain is found in Mideel by feeding the White Chocobo Mimett Greens and then giving it a scratch behind the ear.

13 Ultima

A Formidable Non-Elemental Spell With A Formidable MP (And Potential Gil) Cost

• A very powerful multi-target spell that heavily impacts the equipped character’s stats.
• At 50,000 gil (if players fail to stop the train before it hits North Corel) and 130 MP per cast, Ultima is very expensive and potentially impractical to use.

As anyone who’s ever dabbled in the Final Fantasy franchise will know, Ultima is a recurring spell, sometimes referred to as the ultimate black magic. It’s simple enough to understand: a formidable, non-elemental attack that ravages all enemies.

The party is rewarded with the Ultima Materia in North Corel, if successful in stopping the runaway train while in pursuit of the Huge Materia late in the game. If the player doesn’t manage this, Ultima is then available to purchase, for a cool 50,000 gil. Equipping it heavily skews the player’s stats towards Magic, offering a boost to Magic, MP, and Magic Defense while cutting the Strength, HP, and Vitality stats by the same amount. Ultima’s great power, then, is balanced by the heavy costs (in terms of stats and the AP needed to level it up) associated with its use.

Ultima is found as a reward for stopping the runaway coal train at the Mount Corel Reactor during the “Struggle for the Huge Materia” mission, or (if players fail to stop the train) it can be purchased for 50,000 gil. If players fail to even catch the coal train, they will be given Ultima as a reward for recovering the Huge Materia in the “Toward the Sea of Stars” mission. If players fail that mission, Ultima cannot be obtained in that playthrough.

12 All/Mega All

Among The Most Versatile Support Options In The Game, But Useless By Itself

• Allows compatible single-target spells and attacks to hit all allies or enemies.
• Its great utility is tempered by a uses-per-battle limitation.

Now, it’s important to note that the most powerful Materia isn’t always simply the most damaging. There’s a lot more to it than that. All, for instance, is a Support Materia, which means that it deals no damage at all by itself. It doesn’t even have any effect at all by itself. The power of All – and Mega-All, by extension – lies in what it allows the player to do.

It’s very useful when linked with all sorts of magic, allowing players to support all of their team or destroy/hinder all foes with one spell. Not to mention the well-publicized fact that a mastered All Materia sells for a cool 1.4 million gil. Valuable options like Regen All become possible using copies of this Materia, but offensively, the regular Magic Materia is outclassed by other possibilities later. The number of times it can be used per battle is also tied to the Materia’s level.

All can be found in several locations throughout the game, first becoming available in the Sector 7 Slums and equipped to Red XIII when he joins the party. Later, it’s available for purchase at Fort Condor. Mega All, which extends the effect to all equipped Materia and attacks that support it, is an endgame Materia from the Northern Cave.

11 Comet

A Rare Multi-Hit Magical Attack That Shouldn’t Be Underestimated

• This Magic Materia levels up to the multi-hitting Comet2 spell.
• Though the initial Comet spell may seem disappointing, Comet2 has much greater potential as a result.

Along with Flare (featured in this title within the Contain Materia), Comet is another recurring spell that typically appears as advanced black magic. Final Fantasy 7’s version is unlocked when the party reaches the Forgotten Capital, leading into one of the most poignant moments in JRPG history.

The Comet Materia teaches Comet and Comet2, the first of which only strikes once. Its MP cost is considerably lower than that of the latter (70 mp versus 110), but the damage potential (if not the damage-per-hit) is boosted because Comet2 summons a quick volley of comets to strike enemies. This version of the spell is more reliable than, say, the one available to Vivi in Final Fantasy 9, and can certainly become a staple of a spellcaster’s arsenal.

The Comet Materia is found shortly after players reach the Forgotten Capital, inside a nearby house.

10 Restore

The Trusty Healing Spell

• Become the White Mage of the party with this indispensable healing spell.
• The Enemy Skill White Wind can be more potent in this role, but is more situational.

As long-time fans frequently complain, the Final Fantasy series has largely eschewed classic turn-based battles for quite some time now. While some players sorely miss this system, it takes an element of skill out of the battles. In some RPGs, great players can deftly avoid almost all damage. In turn-based combat, though, players are inevitably going to be hit. Lots.

As a result, a solid source of healing is absolutely vital to their survival. Very early in the game, the player is given access to the Restore Materia, which will be their best friend throughout the adventure. As the Cure spell levels up, it heals a lot more, and this Materia also grants Regen. It’s hugely powerful in that sense, but, of course, deals no actual damage of its own. Undead enemies, which are very rare indeed, are the only exceptions to the rule. They’ll take damage from Cure instead of being healed.

Restore is found in the starting area (after which Barret asks for a tutorial on Materia use), and in Materia stores around the world thereafter.

9 W-Item

Only As Strong As The Items Players Are Duplicating

• This Command Materia allows the use of an additional item in the same action.
• Much of its potency is derived from a bug that lets players duplicate the chosen item(s).

On the surface, W-Item looks like a largely harmless piece of Materia. Allowing players to use two items in one turn is convenient, but it hardly sounds essential. With the effectiveness of healing magic and the ability to easily manage status with Enemy Skill Materia (which we’ll get into later), some players will very rarely use items in battle at all.

Here’s the thing about W-Item, though: it’s much stronger than it appears. Owing to an infamous glitch, the player can spawn infinite items by manipulating the process of W-Item. To do this, simply select an item, go to confirm it, then cancel and select the second item over and over. This will spawn another ‘copy’ of it in the player’s inventory each time. Naturally, if players do this with a rare and valuable healing item, they give their party a gigantic advantage. As this isn’t the Materia’s intended effect though, it doesn’t warrant a higher rating on this list.

W-Item is found in the Winding Tunnel, after Cloud and his merry band parachute back into Midgar.

8 Hades

A Deadly, If Excessive, Mixture Of Statuses To Debilitate Enemies

• Hades is a Summon Materia that uses the status-stacking ability Black Cauldron.
• Like the Malboro’s Bad Breath, it inflicts so many statuses that some are largely meaningless, but it’s very effective, and the Materia can be used in a defensive setup too.

Hades’ attack, Black Cauldron, is unique among the Summon abilities in the game. There are other more potent sources of damage among the 15 other Summons available, but what Black Cauldron does is afflict enemies with a range of eight different unfortunate statuses. The likes of Small, Silence, Sleep, and Slow all at once (not to mention four others that don’t begin with S) are sure to ruin any enemy formation’s entire day.

Fans of sneaky status affliction and other underhanded battle techniques are sure to appreciate its potential. Don’t forget, it can also be combined with Support Materia to provide quite extensive status defense.

The Hades Materia is found on the floor in the main room of the Sunken Gelnika.

7 HP Plus And MP Plus

Huge, Stacking Stat Boosts That Can Make A Party All But Unbeatable

• These Independent Materia give the equipped character a percentage boost to the associated stat, for no penalty.
• Though this is all they do, the effect is enormous once the Materia is leveled up.

Here are two other fantastic pieces of Materia that don’t deal damage, but are incredibly powerful nonetheless. HP Plus and MP Plus Materia are first available to buy when the party reaches Cosmo Canyon (check the store there), and while they’re pricey for that point in the game, they can have an amazing impact on the characters.

Their effect is simple: they increase a character’s HP or MP by 10% (increasing up to 50% as the Materia is leveled up). That’s only for a single Materia, too, meaning that stacking them can see characters reaching the maximum level long, long before they were ‘supposed’ to. In any Final Fantasy game, this is a huge advantage, one that perhaps has more direct impact than any other stat-boosting Materia. However, they don’t directly affect a character’s power themselves.

Both Materia are available for purchase once players reach Cosmo Canyon.

6 Bahamut ZERO

The Pinnacle Of Bahamut’s Power

• The game’s third Summon Materia, featuring Bahamut, hits with the Tera Flare attack.
• Though it’s not the strongest Summon Materia in the game, it’s the final one most players will acquire, as it doesn’t have such difficult unlock requirements as Knights of the Round.

Bahamut ZERO, yet another version of Bahamut, can be acquired after completing the Huge Materia quests in the game. Inputting the code correctly while a stressed Cid “helps” is a common route to unlocking it (once the Huge Materia is safely stored back on terra firma), but it’s also available later via excavation.

Tera Flare strikes a huge blow against all targets, but only one blow. As such, it deals much less damage than the acclaimed Knight of the Round Summon Materia. Though it doesn’t rank as highly as that Summon as a result, the latter simply isn’t needed in most scenarios. If a player is seeking to simply complete the story and defeat the nefarious Sephiroth, rather than defeat every optional superboss and collect every piece of Materia possible, this fearsome space-faring dragon will be among the strongest attacks in their arsenal.

Bahamut ZERO can be found in the Cosmo Canyon planetarium by interacting with the Blue Huge Materia, but only after players have completed all Huge Materia quests. If players fail to track down every Huge Materia, they can excavate Bahamut ZERO from the Bone Village following the Raid on Midgar.

5 Final Attack

An Instant Revive On Defeat, Or A Huge Parting Blow

• This Support Materia automatically activates the linked Materia (if appropriate) when the equipped character is knocked out in battle.
• There are limited practical choices to link to it, but there’s potential to avert a sure game over and even defeat superbosses with this Materia.

The Final Attack Materia is acquired at the Battle Square of the Gold Saucer by achieving victory in the Secret Duel. As players already need Omnislash, W-Summon, and other such difficult-to-get items to do this, it’s one of the most time-consuming and potentially frustrating pieces of Materia to unlock.

What do players get for their efforts? Something very special, that’s what. Materia linked with Final Attack will activate when that character is defeated in battle, meaning that players can go right ahead and summon Phoenix when they’re KOed. They can also go out with a real bang by attaching Knights of the Round (which we’ll also take a look at later) to it. The Phoenix trick, in particular, is one of the few ways a lot of players managed to survive the battle with Emerald Weapon and other challenging opponents.

Final Attack is won as a battle prize in Battle Square. Due to a bug, if players try to pick up this Materia when their Materia inventory is full, it will be lost forever.

4 Double Cut

Doubling (And Ultimately Quadrupling) The Output Of Regular Attacks

• A
  valuable Command Materia
  that gives a party member the 2x-Cut command (4x-Cut when leveled up).
• Naturally, this is a great fit for physical attackers, but the sheer strength of magical attacks in this title may limit the value of this option a bit.

Oftentimes in Final Fantasy games, straightforward strength boosts and physical attacks can be a very effective character build. This is totally impractical with characters who are designed to be mages, owing to their stats, but the great damage players can deal (without paying MP or another resource) is very valuable.

The Double Cut Materia is one reason why simple physical attacks are so strong in Final Fantasy VII. As the name suggests, it allows the character to strike twice with each use of the 2x-Cut command. Even better, when players level it up, it becomes 4x-Cut. This Materia an absolute must for players that favor physical attacks. Only a couple of Materia top this one.

When traveling to Sunken Gelnika via the submarine, players can find the Double Cut Materia in the Research Room.

3 Enemy Skill

• A Command Materia that allows the equipped character to learn a range of 24 different enemy attacks.
• Though the Materia offers no stat buffs (or nerfs) when equipped, a few of the spells learned are absolutely game-breaking.

Four copies of the Enemy Skill Materia can be found throughout the game. It’s first available in the Shinra Building, from the contraption in which Aeris and Red XIII were held. After equipping it, if that character is hit by particular enemy techniques, they’ll learn them and be able to cast them themselves.

As is usually the case with these sorts of abilities, lots of these moves are very niche. However, a select few are very, very strong. Big Guard will grant Barrier, Magic Barrier and Haste to the whole team at once, while White Wind will restore their HP (for an amount equal to the user’s current HP) and remove negative status effects. Offensively, spells such as Trine, Aqualung, and Beta are elemental attacks capable of dealing absurd damage. For just these few spells alone, Enemy Skill is fantastic, though a lot of what it can do is quite redundant.

Enemy Skill can be found in four locations throughout the game: In the sample tank after Red XIII joins the party, in Junon’s Respectable Inn, in a house in the Forgotten Capital, and from the Mountain Chocobo at the Chocobo Sage’s House in the Icicle Area.

2 Knights Of The Round

Ultimate End Unleashes Ultimate Overkill

• The game’s most damaging Summon Materia, simply deleting foes by unleashing 13 separate attacks.
• It’s appropriately difficult to unlock and costs a ludicrous 250 MP to cast, but is formidable indeed.

Every Final Fantasy 7 fan knew that this Summon Materia was going to be ranked highly here. It’s Knights of the Round, after all, one of the most devastating Summon spells the series has ever seen.

The hidden cave this Materia is found in can only be accessed by a Gold Chocobo, meaning that it’s no picnic to unlock (Chocobo breeding can be incredibly time-consuming). It’s absolutely worth it, though, to watch a series of powerful warriors decimate foes. This Materia is an invaluable weapon against the game’s optional superbosses, and is among the best and most excessive sources of DPS available to the party.

Knights of the Round can only be obtained by discovering Round Island, a secret area in the northeast of the map only accessible via a Gold Chocobo.

1 Mime

Free, Repeated Uses Of The Game’s Most Powerful Abilities

• A Command Materia that repeats the last attack, skill, or spell the equipped character or an ally used.
• For best effect, of course, it’s important to use Mime at the right time to repeat the right skill, but the chance to use some of the above formidable spells repeatedly, and without spending the usual hefty MP cost, is a major boon.

What’s the only Materia more powerful than Knight of the Round? A Materia that lets the player happily fire that Summon off again and again for no cost, that’s what. This is only one example of what Mime is capable of.

To unlock Mime, the player needs a Chocobo capable of accessing a Materia Cave on the western continent through tricky terrain. With it equipped, it just takes some careful turn management in battle to unleash a constant stream of huge damage on opponents. The appropriate character’s Limit Break (mighty attacks that return in the remakes) can also be activated again through Mime, an effect that is so strong that it’s only really practical against the game’s superbosses.

Players can obtain Mime by reaching the Materia Cave, an area in the Wutai Regian that can only be accessed via a Green, Black, or Gold Chocobo.