Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Best weapons and locations for all characters

Every FF7 Rebirth character’s best weapon and location

Image credit:Square Enix

Wondering what the best weapons are in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth? The key to developing each character in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is picking a solid weapon and leveling it up. Every character will run into at least five weapons over the course of their long journey, and these weapons all have predetermined abilities and Materia slots that allow for the addition of new skills.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s weapon leveling and Materia systems mean that even the Buster Sword can make it to endgame as a powerful blade. But just because all starting weapons remain viable doesn’t necessarily make them the best picks for Cloud and his party, and the same goes for the so-called ultimate weapons that can be acquired in the final hours of the game. In this guide, we’ll explain our choices for the best weapons in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for each character , with an eye towards providing the best battle experience for the majority of the game. The following tips apply to both Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s PS5 release and the recent PC port.

In this guide:

• Cloud best weapons
• Barret best weapons
• Tifa best weapons
• Aerith best weapons
• Red XIII best weapons
• Yuffie best weapons
• Cait Sith best weapons

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Cloud best weapons

An early sword, but one that’ll last well into Rebirth’s endgame. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/IGN/Square Enix

• Best Weapon: Sleek Saber
• Location: Abandoned Dock, Grasslands
• Alternate choice: Slipstream Saber

Cloud’s best weapon is the Sleek Saber . Found in a chest in the Abandoned Dock of Chapter 2, the Sleek Saber might be an early blade, but it has high Attack power that’ll serve you well throughout the game, and acquiring it so early goes a long way towards transforming Cloud into a balanced, ever-reliable melee attacker. Firebolt Blade is also an excellent ability that makes airborne slashes extra flashy, and by selecting ATB Charge Rate Up and Weapon Ability ATB Recovery upgrades on this blade, Cloud will continuously be able to set mobs on fire over and over again.

If you’re not a fan of the Sleek Saber, the Slipstream Saber is an alternate choice that’s technically much stronger. Sadly, it only comes in near the end of the game, in the Labyrinth Ceiling of the Corridor of Trepidation, located within the Temple of the Ancients. If it were acquired earlier, it’d be an easy pick for number one.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Barret best weapons

Equip the Barrage Blaster to amp up Barret’s role as party tank. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/IGN/Square Enix

• Best Weapon: Barrage Blaster
• Location: Railway Control Tower - 1F, Coal Mines - Ground Level
• Alternate choice: Gatling Gun

Barret’s best weapon is the Barrage Blaster , which is found in a chest on the first floor of Mount Corel’s Coal Mines in Chapter 7. The blaster works well to supplement a tanky role, since its ability Lifesaver increases HP and lets Barret take damage in the place of other party members. Combine this with weapon skills like Enhanced Physical Guard and Limit Gauge Guard to reduce damage and increase Limit Break gain while guarding.

If tanking as Barret isn’t your playstyle, you can always stick with the Gatling Gun , which is probably the best starting weapon for any character in the game if you want to focus on consistent damage. Overcharge Protection casts a defensive spell around Barret everytime he uses his unique Overcharge skill, which deals massive damage and staggers foes while building up Barret’s ATB, and you can combine this with Focused Shot to burn those ATB charges in exchange for a concentrated burst.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Tifa best weapons

The Kaiser Knuckles sacrifice magic for hard-hitting attack power. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/IGN/Square Enix

• Best Weapon: Kaiser Knuckles
• Location: Shinra-8, Cargo Deck - 1F
• Alternate choice: Járngreipr

Tifa’s best weapon is the Kaiser Knuckles . Located in a chest on the Shinra-8 Ferry in Chapter 5, these metal gloves pack a mean punch with an extremely high Attack stat. Their Magic stat is minimal, but Tifa’s a physical attacker first and foremost, and it feels great to use Overpower with these gloves, which lets you create combos with Tifa’s other attacks to pressure and stagger enemies. The other key skill is Concentration, which gives you a 50% chance of starting battle with Tifa’s Unbridled Strength default ability, which increases her chi and lets her unleash her Whirling Uppercut, Omnistrike, and Rise and Fall techniques.

The Járngreipr gloves are your alternate choice, and are technically Tifa’s ultimate weapons. Alas, like the Slipstream Saber, they are found at the very end of the game in the Temple of Ancients’ Corridor of Currents, Hall of Life - Second Tier.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Aerith best weapons

Aerith’s always excelled at that traditional Final Fantasy White Mage role - here’s the rod to go with her skillset. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/IGN/Square Enix

• Best Weapon: Wizard’s Rod
• Location: Mt. Corel - Foot
• Alternate choice: Plumose Rod

Aerith’s best weapon is the Wizard’s Rod , which really lets her spellcasting shine via Materia flexibility. Found in a chest near the rest stop of Mt. Corel in Chapter 7, this rod might not have the most impressive Attack and Magic stats, but it makes up for this with more Materia slots. You’ll have two linked slot pairs to start with, meaning that you can immediately start outfitting Aerith with cool combos, and the Lustrous Shield ability, which conjures a magical forcefield to defend against enemy attacks, is also mighty useful.

The Plumose Rod is another great option for Aerith, though it’s another late game weapon that requires some busywork. You’ll have to complete the “Lament of the Damned” mission available in Chapter 12. Once you’ve made it through Shinra Manor and completed Hojo’s challenges, you’ll be able to acquire the rod.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Red XIII best weapons

Ever since the days of the original Final Fantasy 7, I’ve always chuckled at how Red XIII uses collars as weapons. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/IGN/Square Enix

• Best Weapon: Golden Collar
• Location: Coolant Control - B3, Gongaga Reactor
• Alternate choice: Brinsingamen

Red XIII’s best weapon is the Golden Collar , which is found in the Gongaga Reactor in Chapter 9. This opulant neckband has an excellent Attack value of 145 and boasts two Magic Attack power +20 weapon skills. With Watcher’s Respite, you’ll also be able to deplete Red XIII’s Vengeance Gauge to heal other party members, offering up a handy bit of support flexibility.

Like other party members, though, Red XIII technically has an ultimate weapon that surpasses the Golden Collar in many ways - this would be the Brinsingamen , which can be picked up in the Temple of Ancients’ Corridor of Repose, Hall of Life - Second Tier. The Brinsingamen’s main ability is Reaper Touch, which delivers a strike of damage that’s inversely proportional to current HP. If flexing with your HP values sounds like your cup of tea, the Brinsingamen’s worth getting, even if it’s a late game weapon.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Yuffie best weapons

The Bird of Prey might very well make Yuffie overpowered. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/IGN/Square Enix

• Best Weapon: Bird of Prey
• Location: Cissnei’s House, Gongaga Village
• Alternate choice: Crystalline Cross

Yuffie’s best weapon is the Bird of Prey , which is found in Gongaga Village in Chapter 9. The house containing this sickle-shaped weapon is near the Rest Spot. Bird of Prey takes my top spot mostly because of the Doppelganger ability, which creates a Yuffie clone that mimics all of her actions. I tend to use Yuffie for physical attack spamming, and any attack plus Doppelganger leads to a sheer mess of damage numbers popping up all over the screen.

For those who want a more subtle approach, the Crystalline Cross is a favourite. Its Banishment ability lets Yuffie increase her damage output if she uses other ATB skills. Use a varied number of abilities, in other words, and get an attack buff as a reward without needing to rely on the support members of your party.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Cait Sith best weapons

If fighting with collars (see Red XIII) is out there, just look at Cait Sith’s megaphones! |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/IGN/Square Enix

• Best Weapon: Golden Megaphone
• Location: Mako Research Facility - Section W, Shinra Manor
• Alternate choice: Resounding Megaphone

Cait Sith’s best weapon is the Golden Megaphone . This megaphone can be found in Chapter 11 in a chest in the Specimen Testing Area, located in the Mako Research Facility - Section W floor of Shinra Manor. With a nice Magic score of 101, the Golden Megaphone also has six Materia slots including one linked pair, letting you customise it to a great degree for all manner of spell hijinks. Lest you think the physicality here is lacking, Moogle Knuckle is a fun ability that’ll get Cait Sith’s big Moogle to deliver a potent punch to the face.

An alternate choice for Cait Sith is the Resounding Megaphone , which has some interesting support capabilities with Altruistic Buff Up and Altruistic Recover +10%. Since Moogle Sentinel also reduces damage, Cait Sith can serve as a decent tank if he’s got the Resounding Megaphone equipped.

And there you have it - our picks for the best weapons for each character in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. For more on the latest chapter of Cloud and company versus Sephiroth, see our guide to the best Materia in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth as well as how to romance Tifa .

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC , Nintendo Switch 2

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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