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It’s laborious to consider that we’re now lower than half a 12 months from the discharge of Closing Fantasy VII Rebirth, however with Sq. Enix’s lately introduced launch date of February twenty ninth, that’s the case. 

RPG Website lately bought to go hands-on with the identical demo of FF7 Rebirth that’s out there for the general public to play this week at Tokyo Recreation Present – and in addition to our full FF7 Rebirth preview discussing our expertise with the demo in-depth, we wished to to interrupt out a number of mechanical notes about how Rebirth differs from Remake by way of the way it performs.

So, with out additional ado – right here’s seven new mechanics that we noticed that’ll change up the way you play with Cloud & firm in FF7 Rebirth:

The ‘Merchandise Transmuter’ is a brand new Crafting System, and offers you a motive to go on Hunts

New in FF7 Rebirth’s primary menu is the ‘Merchandise Transmuter’ – primarily a crafting system that means that you can create gadgets from gadgets came upon on the planet.

Within the Junon portion of the hands-on, gadgets could be discovered simply dotted across the map to be picked up with a faucet of Triangle, however rarer gadgets could be obtained by having your Chocobo sniff and hunt them out, digging them from underground – or by taking down notable Fiends in FF7 Rebirth’s equal of hunts.

How deep the Merchandise Transmuter system will go isn’t but clear, however within the demo you possibly can craft gadgets like Potions, Hello-Potions, Ether, Elixir, and extra. There’s a ‘Craftsmanship’ stage, and every time you craft new gadgets your craftsmanship stage will increase, which can presumably unlock extra gadgets to craft. This contains some new gadgets for FF7 Remake – and the FF sequence typically…

Objects & Materia Double Up in new methods

There’s a handful of latest gadgets in FF7 Rebirth over FF7 Remake – they usually’re going to make a major distinction to the way you play. 

Some are easy, just like the ‘Mist Potion’ – which is available in a number of variants and spreads a ‘Mist’ over the battlefield which mainly means – it heals your complete celebration, reasonably than only one character. However extra fascinating by far are the ‘Combined’ additions.

The ‘Combined Potion’, as an example, restores each HP and MP. And, by an analogous token, now you can get Double-function Materia. ‘Hearth and Ice Materia’ unlocks each Hearth and Blizzard ingredient spells for one Materia slot, as an example. We additionally noticed ‘Lightning and Wind’ materia – identical deal.

Regardless of this, the person variations of every materia do nonetheless seem to exist – so these should be later unlocks, or maybe one thing you possibly can synthesize out of particular person materia.

AI Characters can now use Spells & Skills solo – with sure materia geared up

The blue-hued Help Materia was one of many least-utilized forms of Materia in FF7 Remake – however Rebirth is ramping issues up with a number of new sorts – and one particularly catches the attention.

The brand new ‘Auto-Solid’ materia could be slotted into a personality’s double materia slot – and when that’s the case, that character will be capable to use that materia’s abilities or magic even once they haven’t been expressly commanded to by the participant. In FF7 Remake, the participant needed to intervene to set off any main capability utilization.

Equally, within the hands-on we noticed a number of new Purple Unbiased Materia which have related results. The ‘Auto-Distinctive Potential’ materia lets a personality use their distinctive capability (the assault that’s on the Triangle button) even when circuitously managed. And the ‘Auto-Weapon Potential’ does the identical on your unlocked weapon skills. 

Mainly, by slapping these Materia on characters, you can also make the AI managed allies way more efficient in battle – at a value of narrowing what number of ability-granting materia they’ve geared up. Regardless, this appears to make FF7 Rebirth a extra pleasant sport to play as a single-character sport, if that’s your want.

You possibly can arrange Preset Celebration Compositions within the menu and swap at will

Whereas the precise capability to edit them wasn’t out there on this hands-on, the menus clearly present the choice for not less than three totally different celebration composition presets for gamers to fill and flick between.

Playable within the demo are Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith, and Crimson XIII – plus Sephiroth within the flashback. We additionally know that Yuffie and Cait Sith can be full celebration members. That makes for seven ‘primary’ celebration members at a minimal – and also you’ll be capable to arrange custom-made celebration load-outs to convey your favourite characters collectively.

You can swap between numerous Sq.-designed events within the demo, nevertheless – and you are able to do that any time you’re out on the planet and never in a fight scenario. The characters not in your celebration stick round on the fringes, and are even seen ‘taking part’ in fight – however they don’t have any actual affect, and might’t be instantly managed. 

Synergy Skills are accessed by utilizing your ATB Gauge

Synergy Skills are FF7 Rebirth’s new title for the flamboyant team-up assaults – and whereas we’re not but 100% sure on how these assaults are unlocked and accessed, we do now understand how they’re executed in battle.

It’s mainly all about ATB prices. Say your celebration is Cloud, Crimson XIII, and Aerith. Cloud has a singular doable synergy assault with Aerith, and one other with Crimson. With a purpose to unlock it to be used, Cloud and his companion should each construct up after which spend two bars of their ATB meter.

So, say you get Cloud 2 bars of ATB and spam the nonetheless mad-powerful Triple Slash twice – after which have Aerith use Sorcerous Storm twice – you’ll then be capable to forged their Synergy capability, which on this case is Aerith powering up Cloud to ship a magically-infused ranged assault.

The synergy assaults appear to be massively {powerful}, and can be supreme for unleashing on staggered enemies. They don’t seem to value any ATB bars to make use of past these expended to ‘unlock’ them.

Some Relaxation Spots would require a particular merchandise to make use of

One of many gadgets you possibly can craft within the Merchandise Transmuter is eye-catching due to its utility – a Cushion. 

In FF7 Remake, you would restore celebration members HP and MP by resting at benches that had been strategically positioned all through ranges. Usually, as you approached a boss space, you’d see a reasonably inconspicuous bench ready for you, a stark warning {that a} large battle was to return.

In that sport, you merely needed to press Triangle to seize a seat and relaxation some time – however in Rebirth, it seems not less than a number of the relaxation stops is not going to be all that comfy – which is the place the Cushion will are available.

The Cushion is a presumably one-time use merchandise that means that you can make use of a much less comfy relaxation cease – thus permitting you to revive HP there. This places not less than one thing of a cap on how typically you possibly can relaxation in some areas – however you possibly can freely craft Cushions with the Transmuter, as long as you could have the mandatory supplies.

Chocobo could be Outfitted with Gear – although all of it seems to be beauty

Within the Junon space you possibly can discover as a part of the demo, there’s a Chocobo Farm – not the enduring one from FF7, which the celebration has possible already visited at this stage, however an all-new location. Right here, we get a glimpse at some new methods to spend money and time – customizing your Chocobos.

By heading into the Chocoboutique, you possibly can equip your trusty steeds with three totally different gadgets – a headgear piece, a chest piece, and one thing for his or her taloned ft.

Within the demo, you would receive new components by buying and selling Golden Plumes, which in flip had been earned by serving to out Chocobo Chicks in a separate facet quest. Within the demo there have been solely two armor units: a Shinra set, and a ‘Scorpion’ set which is clearly impressed by the Scorpion Sentinel boss from the primary sport.

The display for equipping the Chocobo gear didn’t point out there was any stats change – so it could simply be beauty. Nevertheless, it’ll be fascinating to see if these components have any bearing on the Gold Saucer’s Chocobo Racing mini sport.