Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Red XIII Combat Guide | Moves, Combo and More

There’s a few different party members you have access to in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Red XIII is unique as he’s the only animal you can play as, but not he also has some unique and useful abilities. We’re gonna tell you all about them in this guide!

Red XIII Combat Guide | Moves, Combo and More

Red XIII is a primarily melee attack based character. His attack abilities and skills like Vengeance Mode make him an absolute beast in fights. Our goal is to make you more familiar with his kit so you can get the best usage out of him!

Basic Attacks

Red XIII has a basic three hit combo, which is used by pressing Square three times back to back. This attack is nothing special, but it gets the job done. It can hit multiple enemies if they’re standing close together.

If you hold Square down, Red XIII will start to spin. This is a close range area of effect attack that’s very useful for dealing with groups of enemies.

To use this, simply press and hold down the Square button.

This one is not quite an attack, but it’s a basic ability that can be very useful in combat regardless. You can press O to dodge to a side.

Red XIII will do an evasive roll, allowing him to move out of harm’s way and avoid damage.

The other defensive options are Blocking and Precision Blocking. Blocking is the simplest one, and we’ll be covering that first.

You can block any attacks by just holding down the block button. This will reduce any and all incoming damage. It’s easier than dodging and precision blocking, so it’s particularly useful when your timing isn’t up to snuff.

The Precision Block is the better version of Block in almost every way except ease of use. To do a Precision Block, you have to Block at the exact moment an attack collides with you.

This is hard to do, but very rewarding as it mitigates all incoming damage completely. 

Counterspin

Counterspin is a special move. You can only use it at a very specific time, but it’s very useful regardless. Right after Blocking or Precision Blocking a move, you can press Square to do a Counterspin.

Usually, Square is used for the basic combo, but its usual functionality is overwritten by Counterspin after blocks. 

A common mistake players make when making use of Counterspin is pressing Square without actually releasing the Block button first. Make sure to time this correctly, otherwise the move won’t come out.

Vengeance Mode

Vengeance Mode is a special mode for Red XIII where all of his attacks and speed are boosted. You can use this by pressing Triangle when the bar is full.

You fill the bar manually, by either blocking or Precision Blocking incoming attacks. Vengeance Mode is very useful, so be sure to Block more than you dodge while playing as Red XIII!

A neat way to get some bonus use out of Vengeance Mode is to trigger it when surrounded by enemies. This will damage them and knock them away, as the triggering animation can also damage enemies. The previously mentioned basic abilities are also boosted.

The basic three-hit combo does more damage and looks different. The Spinning move triggered by holding Square is also boosted. Your basic dodge is also faster and covers more distance in Vengeance Mode.

Siphon Fang

Siphon Fang is an ability that is only accessible during Vengeance Mode. It inflicts damage upon multiple enemies if positioned correctly, while also siphoning their HP.

This makes you regenerate health as well, so it’s a very useful move overall. You can use this at any time by pressing Triangle, but it’ll be more effective depending on the distance you have.

Sidewinder 

Sidewinder is the first of Red XIII’s ATB abilities. It makes him jump high into the air before slamming down and dealing massive critical damage.

More than one enemy will be hit by it if they’re close to each other. It costs 1 ATB bar.

Sentinel Stance

Sentinel Stance makes you enter a special guard state. While this is activated, you are immune to all incoming damage.

You also get access to a special Counter attack when in this state, allowing you to retaliate after being attacked by an enemy. This costs only 1 ATB bar to use.

Crescent Claw

Crescent Claw is a three-hit combo where Red XIII quickly slashes at an enemy. This deals good damage but is pretty basic compared to some of his other ATB abilities.

It costs only one ATB bar to use, and is worth using when an enemy is being a damage sponge. It gets greatly boosted while in Vengeance Mode, so keep that in mind. 

Stardust Ray

Stardust Ray is an area of effect attack that deals massive damage to any enemies unfortunate enough to be caught inside it. It costs two ATB bars, but the damage and range make it worth using regardless. 

Wild Charge

Wild Charge is Red XIII’s only Synergy Skill. When used, he charges towards the enemy. This is a good gap closer move that you can use if the enemy is too far away.

What makes it special is that you’re immune to all damage while running towards the enemy. This means you could just cheat and use this as a form of Block to charge up massive amounts of Vengeance mode meter.

Each party member has a different move they will do when you use this ability. All of them do a bunch of damage, so choose whichever party member you like the most here. 

Savage Assault 

Savage Assault is Red XIII’s first Synergy Ability. Done in coordination with Cloud, it allows you to deal massive damage to a single enemy. It costs 3 pips for both of the characters involved. You get one pip for doing one ATB skill, so there’s no need to be stingy with these. 

Overfang

Overfang is the second Synergy Ability. This time, it’s done with Barret. Red XIII jumps and attacks an enemy while Barret uses his guns to shoot it. This move also requires three pips for each character. 

Planetary Roar

Planetary Roar is the last Synergy Ability that Red XIII has access to. When using this, he will work with Aerith to do massive ranged magic damage to enemies.

You’ll get to see a cool animation where Aerith’s magic flows through Red XIII’s roar. You will need to have 3 pips on each character to use Planetary Roar.

Bloodfang

Bloodfang is Red XIII’s first limit break. This comes with a flashy animation where he attacks an enemy over and over. During this move, you will regain both HP and MP. It is a very useful move to have on hand, and using it for emergencies when at low health is advised.

Howling Moon

Howling Moon requires you to have a leveled-up Limit Break. It allows you to enter a more enhanced version of vengeance mode, so it’s worth the additional cost. 

Red XIII is an amazing character when it comes to pure offense and damage. It’s worth keeping him in your party just because of that alone. Hopefully, you are now able to make better use of him! 

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