One Essential FF7 Rebirth Combat Feature Is Easy To Miss

Summary Assess is an important aspect of FF7 Rebirth to show enemy weaknesses and more.

Previously assessed stats can be pulled up with a press of the touchpad rather than reusing the ability.

Pressing R1 while using Assess can make understanding how to counter difficult attacks easier.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has a robust combat system that never becomes overwhelming, but there's one useful feature in particular that's all too easy to ignore. As an evolution of FF7 Remake's approach to combat, battles in Rebirth fuse menu-based skills and magic inspired by the original FF7 with direct, fast-paced action. It's an unusual Frankenstein system that proves surprisingly straightforward and fun in practice, and mastering its ins and outs can be rewarding when it comes to the game's most challenging encounters.

FF7 Rebirth isn't a notably difficult game, and any challenge that appears before the credits roll is generally quite manageable. Although Rebirth keeps most of its main story fights at an approachable level, it definitely ups the difficulty when it comes to late-game side content. Since it takes a while to get there, it's easy to skate by without having deep knowledge of every aspect of the combat system, which can end up coming back to bite players when things get tough and progression grinds to a halt.

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Seeing FF7 Rebirth Stats Doesn't Always Require Assess

Previously Acquired Stats Can Be Accessed For Free

Assess is a critical part of FF7 Rebirth combat, allowing the party to see key enemy attributes and vulnerabilities, but deploying this useful skill every single time an enemy's stats need checking certainly isn't. It might seem obvious that there would be a way to re-check the stats of previously assessed enemies, but as Reddit user kabooozie discovered after spending more than 100 hours in the game, it isn't implemented in the most predictable way.

Pulling up previously discovered Assess info is triggered by a tap of the touchpad, an element of the PS5's DualSense controller that often goes entirely unused. It's a smart choice that avoids the feature taking up any key real estate on the gamepad, but it also makes it easy to miss or forget about. Expending an extra ATB charge to toss out an Assess rarely makes or breaks a battle, so it's easy to push onward with this relatively wasteful approach rather than checking on potential alternatives.

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FF7 Rebirth's Assess System Has Other Combat Benefits

Learning Enemy Moves Is A Major Help

For those looking to dive deeper into the Assess system, another useful avenue to explore is pressing R1 to see enemy attacks when the Assess menu is pulled up. It's usually easy enough to figure these out on the battlefield, but it can be beneficial when it's unclear if an attack is physical or magical, as well as determining elemental affinities in some cases. Although dodging might do the trick in most fights, some tough battles in FF7 Rebirth make more direct forms of protection and countering essential.

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Failing to utilize the Assess system to its full ability won't sink any FF7 Rebirth playthrough, but it's nice to have a better grasp of everything that's available. Despite how it may seem at times, Cloud and company aren't just out to have a fun time, and being properly equipped to save the world tends to be a good idea. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth combat involves its fair share of systems, and understanding how not to waste Assess is one of the best ways to make good use of them.

Source: kabooozie/Reddit