With an eclectic cast of characters and near endless amounts of Materia and combinations, the combat in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is always exhilarating and fundamentally solid, making it feel rewarding and engaging no matter the encounter. Whether you’re fighting the most formidable Summon or a group of low-level mobs, you will have the time of your life hacking away at them.
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Speaking of Materia, the Enemy Skill Materia is available in Rebirth but is handled much differently than its initial appearance in the original Final Fantasy 7. Nonetheless, it is still one of the strongest pieces of Materia you can get your hands on, as the Skills you can obtain are immensely potent and can carry you through an encounter if used correctly!
Updated February 3, 2025, by Seth Parmer: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is finally out on PC and it is glorious, giving players of the platform the chance to experience it at its best-possible state, allowing us to revisit this guide and touch it up with additional information to make it clearer how the Enemy Skill Materia works, what the abilities do, and to obtain them!
Enemy Skill Materia Overview
As its name implies, the Enemy Skill Materia allows you to use specific Skills from enemies you’ve previously encountered in battle, enabling you to cause some serious damage to your opponent as a result. However, obtaining these Skills is a bit more complex than you may have imagined, especially if you are used to how this was handled in the original game.
Instead of having the Materia equipped and waiting for a specific enemy to cast a particular ability for you to learn it, all Enemy Skills will be rewarded to you for participating in Chadley’s Combat Simulator. And, of course, you will need to complete a few tasks for him before they become available.
These requirements typically have you Assess a set number of enemies in a specific region and defeat a Classified Foe, unlocking a Biological Intel challenge in Chadley’s Combat Simulator. Completing this challenge will further power the Enemy Skill Materia, giving it a new Skill that its wearer can freely use in combat.
Enemy Skill Materia Level Rewards
|
Level |
Description |
|---|---|
|
1-Star |
Enables you to use Enemy Skills as Abilities during combat. |
|
2-Star |
Raises Max HP by five percent. |
|
3-Star |
Raises Max MP by five percent. |
|
4-Star |
Strength is increased by five percent. |
|
5-Star |
Magic is increased by five percent. |
How To Unlock All Enemy Skills
Before you can begin obtaining more Enemy Skills, you must possess the Enemy Skill Materia, which can be done by tackling the Biological Intel: Know Thine Enemy challenge in Chadley’s Combat Simulator. This challenge is unlocked when you first run into Chadley in the Grasslands Region and activate your first tower.
Upon completing this challenge, you will be rewarded with the Enemy Skill Materia, along with the Sonic Boom Enemy Skill, its default ability. From here on out, you will only be able to obtain more Enemy Skills by Assessing enemies and defeating Classified Foes, then returning to Chadley and tackling more Biological Intel challenges.
The table below will cover all Enemy Skills you can obtain and use via the Enemy Skill Materia, how to get them, and what they do in combat. While only a handful of these Skills are available in Rebirth, some are extremely powerful, making it worth the effort to seek out and complete!
You can view your Biological Intel progress by bringing up your map (Touchpad) and using R2 to tab over to the Chadley page. Once here, press R1 to tab over to the ‘Combat Simulator’ section, where you will see your progress for all sections of Chadley’s Combat Simulator. Hovering over the Biological Intel series will display how many enemies you have Assessed and if you slayed the required Classified Foes to unlock the challenge!
All Enemy Skills And How To Get Them
|
Enemy Skill |
Prerequisites |
Biological Intel |
|---|---|---|
|
Sonic Boom |
Know Thine Enemy |
|
|
Plasma Discharge |
|
Blinded by Light |
|
Soothing Breeze |
|
Breath of Life |
|
Self-Destruct |
|
At Any Cost |
|
Mind Blast |
|
Head Case |
|
Rancid Breath |
|
That’s the Smell |
|
Gorgon Shield |
|
Stony Stare |
All Enemy Skill Abilities
|
Enemy Skill |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Sonic Boom 1 ATB Meter |
Cast a spell using Wind Magic, granting the user Bravery and Faith on use. |
|
Plasma Discharge 1 ATB Meter |
Attacks are temporarily charged with Lightning. Additionally, whenever an ATB Charge is filled, surrounding areas are damaged. |
|
Soothing Breeze 1 ATB Meter |
Halt your movement and temporarily heal yourself and allies within a wide AoE. |
|
Self-Destruct 2 ATB Meter |
User incapacitates themselves with an explosion that deals substantial damage to all enemies in the surrounding area. |
|
Mind Blast 2 ATB Meter |
Deliver a devastating Magic Blast that covers a substantial area of effect, drastically increasing the Stagger Meter of enemies caught in the radius. |
|
Rancid Breath 2 ATB Meter |
Cover a wide area with a foul mist, randomly inflicting Petrification, Poison, Silence, Sleep, or Stop. |
|
Gorgon Shield 2 ATB Meter |
Summon a Magic Shield around yourself that unleashes Petrifying Projectiles when hit by an enemy, causing Petrification after enough build-up. |
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