Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: How to Play Cloud | Fly, Skills, Settings

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth changes the characters a little, and you will need to learn how to play Cloud again. Although the changes are few, they are enough to transform the way you play this character. For example, some new melee attacks fit strategies that you couldn’t think of before.

Another big change is the new settings that you can use, that make the game easier, or at least friendlier. Knowing this before playing the game will save you a lot of time and will help you get more familiar with this new Cloud.

How to Play Cloud in Final Fantasy 7

There isn’t a precise way to play Cloud in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. His abilities, skills, and combat system are overall the same, but there are a few new mechanics. Knowing how to use every single one can help you get the most out of Cloud in every fight. Additionally, thanks to his stance, you can use him as one of the best offensive picks in the game.

In this new iteration of Final Fantasy, Cloud is even better at attacking, and the changes in some combos make him more powerful. On the other hand, you need to get better timing when parrying and blocking. In conclusion, there isn’t a right way to play Cloud, but this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t know how to really get the best out of him.

How to Set Your Settings?

The initial settings in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth are similar to the ones in the remake, which aren’t the best. For now, you should:

Change the Combo targeting

This will be set to fixed, but you should change it to free. Fixed doesn’t allow you to freely change your target, which makes fighting very uncomfortable and hard. Changing your target constantly makes it easier to handle large groups of enemies on the map.

Change the Camera

There are multiple ways you could adapt the camera settings to your needs. Therefore, you could close up your character and focus on one enemy at a time, or widen the battlefield and see all the enemies in sign. Also, there are options, such as “Attacked Target Correction,” that will fix your camera, moving it on its own instead of moving it around.

Another important camera setting is the one that allows you to switch targets with ease. The “Lock-On Controls” change the control of the cameras, making them follow the enemy on their own. After you set an enemy as your target, the cameras will follow them easily, without you having to do the movement.

There are a few options that you can change, such as “Lock-On Switching.” This option changes the direction the camera faces depending on the enemy’s movement. The best is to set it as “Direction Input,”  so you have more control instead.

Swap guard and command shortcut buttons

In most games, your abilities and your blocking are tied to R1 and L1. Here, it doesn’t, but if you find this setup more comfortable, you can change it in the settings and enable this mode. Overall, this is more efficient and will make it easier for you to follow a fight, especially if you are learning how to play cloud in Final Fantasy 7 from scratch.

Abilities and Combos

There are a few changes between the remake and the rebirth that make the combat more dynamic. As it is right now, Cloud combat consists of:

Cloud Basic Attacks

The basic attacks are done with the square, as always, but now you can do a few more things other than combos. After one complete combo, you can finish enemies, and launch them if they are weak.

Additionally, another big change is the ability to group enemies when holding a square. With this, you will attack two or more foes and group them together, close to you. This tactic can be paired with abilities such as Finishing Touch and is very useful when you have a full party.

Punisher Mode

Punisher Mode changed a bit, including an ability as a melee attack. Disorder is now the first attack you can do in this stance when you perform a heavy attack. You can’t overuse it like before, but it’s still excellent and produces ATB. You can also hold the square in this mode to do a two-hit combo that will give Cloud the “Berserker” buff.

One of the biggest pros of this stance when you are finishing enemies is the chance to fill the stagger bar. While you are parrying in this mode, you can stagger enemies faster. You can also use synergy abilities; however, you can’t spam them as before thanks to the changes in controls.

Also, you can parry and block as normal in this stance, with a few extra benefits, like the staggering. The animation has changed, and in this stance, you can also use the parry to hit multiple enemies at the same time.

Block and Defenses

In the remake, not all the characters had precision blocks, making it very hard to avoid damage or plan defensive strategies with other characters. As it is now, you can block with everyone, and even avoid taking damage, with the right timing. As a result, you have more defensive options at your disposal, which allows you to plan your combat better. You can also block projectiles just as easily, and you can enhance the blocking timing with extra items.

Blade Beams

Your blade can now launch beam projectiles very naturally. When you tap dodge and smash square, your sword will launch a combo of beams. If you can finish the combo perfectly, the last attack will hit multiple times, showing a very cool animation. The best part is that you can do this mid-air, or in the ground.

Fly as Cloud

Aerial combat was heavily upgraded in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and you have to learn how to play Cloud now, over again. First, you can jump into the air by tapping a circle and holding a square. When you are already flying, you can stay in the air, mashing circles and facing any direction.

Fighting in the air is fairly simple, however, you can only use basic attacks, a few abilities, dodge, and blade beams. The movements are easier to land, and you can focus on your target better, which is very helpful. The main abilities that you can use in the air are Braver and Tiple Slash, which can be landed easily and do a lot of damage.

Synergy skill and abilities

Synergy moves are the ones done with your party member, they don’t spend ATB and are free, but do less damage. Also, they cause a lot of pressure and stagger damage, leaving the enemies defenseless. After you fill the stagger bar, the synergy moves are available for you to do. Sephiroth and Cloud have insane abilities together, doing a lot of damage. On the other hand, skills can buff your characters and make your party a lot.

Cloud is one of the best characters in this game and a fan favorite. The changes we explained before are an upgrade in comparison with the remake, making him even stronger. Learning how to use him before the game will not only make you a better strategist but also let you know how to really play him.

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