Final Fantasy 7 Remake is a fantastic action-RPG filled with truly challenging combat encounters, and each playable member of Avalanche has their own unique play style. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each is crucial to success. Here is how to use Aerith in Final Fantasy 7 Remake
How to use Barret in Final Fantasy 7 Remake
The brash and totally awesome leader of Avalanche, Barret is a ranged fighter who uses his gun arm to wreak havoc from afar. This means managing the distance between him and his opponents so that he can charge his ATB and lay waste to them with his heavy ordinance.
By tapping the attack button, Barret will open fire on a target until his clip is empty, with the final shot being a large blast before he reloads. This fills his ATB gauge at a steady rate, allowing him to use his various special abilities to dominate the battlefield.
Each character has a unique special ability that they start out with (Barret’s is Overcharge), and more can be unlocked as you acquire new weapons and master them.
Characters are able to unlock new special abilities by increasing their proficiency with the move associated with a particular weapon. Maxing out proficiency means you can then use that ability, even when you have a different weapon equipped.
Overcharge
Overcharge is one of Barret’s starting abilities and is used by tapping the Triangle button by default. Overcharge unloads a powerful series of explosive rounds at an enemy and finishes the salvo off with an extra big shot that does increased Stagger damage.
The great thing about Overcharge is that instead of costing ATB, it actually fills your gauge, and at a far faster rate than Barret’s regular attack. This means you should use it whenever it’s off cooldown.
You can push the Triangle button when it is on cooldown to use Charge, which will reduce the time it will take to become usable again.
A tip for the more advanced players: After using Overcharge, unload a full regular attack combo, and a beat after the final shot, use Charge.
Done correctly, you can have Barret go into the Charge animation right out of the regular attack reload animation, and is a far more efficient method for maintaining sustained fire than simply using Charge on its own.
Steelskin
Steelskin is Barret’s other starting special ability, and it costs 1 ATB to activate. Once activated, it temporarily reduces the amount of damage taken and makes it harder for an enemy’s attack to interrupt any of Barret’s own.
The reduced damage is obviously great, but it’s the protection against interruption that is crucial to playing Barret well. This means that you can unleash your big attacks like Focused Shot and Maximum Fury with impunity while shrugging off blows that would stop another character in their tracks.
You should try and keep Steelskin up as often as possible, as while it is active the task of building up ATB becomes much easier, allowing you to in turn deal even more damage.
Focused Shot
Focused Shot is learned by maxing out proficiency with the Gatling Gun, which Barret starts equipped with, and costs 1 ATB to activate. Gathering power into a single concentrated burst of energy, Focused Shot deals significant Stagger damage, in addition to the conventional kind.
This attack is essentially your go-to, and should be in regular rotation. You will come to know it well, as you have access to it the moment you gain control of Barret. It is particularly useful for pushing an opponent’s Stagger gauge over the edge, due to its burst nature.
Lifesaver
Lifesaver is learned by maxing out proficiency with the Light Machine Gun, and costs 1 ATB to activate. When activated, Lifesaver allows Barret to take damage inflicted upon his allies, letting him fill more of a defensive/tank role in your party.
You could very easily build around this ability, although I personally prefer to use Barret as a damage dealer. The utility is there though, and if you were to upgrade Barret with a focus on defense and increasing his max HP, paired with the Provoke Materia, then I could definitely see this being effective.
Maximum Fury
Maximum Fury is learned by maxing out proficiency with Big Bertha, and it is an unusual ability in that it uses all of your remaining ATB, allowing you to activate it at whether you have 1 or 2 ATB gauges.
Unleashing a fully automatic barrage of rounds, Maximum Fury is an incredibly destructive attack that is more effective than Focused Shot at dealing damage, although it does deal less Stagger damage. Use it whenever you find yourself with some leftover ATB, and watch your enemies melt away.
Charging Uppercut
Charging Uppercut is learned by maxing out proficiency with Steel Pincers, and it costs 1 ATB to activate. A melee ability, Charging Attack deals decent damage and charges up Overcharge in the process.
While it certainly looks cool, Barret is very much meant to engage from a distance, unless you really lean into building him as a melee character. I don’t know why you would, but it is certainly possible!
Smackdown
Smackdown is learned by maxing out proficiency with Wrecking Ball, and it costs 1 ATB to activate. A melee attack like Charging Uppercut, Smackdown instead deals area-of-effect damage, and causes weaker enemies to go flying.
In concert with Charging Uppercut, Smackdown does make a melee Barret a viable option, although when compared to Cloud or Tifa, a painfully slow one. He does deal big damage though, so if that appeals to you, by all means, batter things with your gun arm!
Fire in the Hole
Fire in the Hole is Barret’s Level 1 Limit Break and is available from the beginning of the game. It deals a large amount of damage to whatever it hits.
This Limit Break works as a fantastic finishing move, and like all big attacks, should be saved for a Staggered opponent. It will make short work of all but the toughest opponents and looks fantastic to boot.
Catastrophe
Catastrophe is Barret’s Level 2 Limit Break and is unlocked by completing a Barret-specific challenge in Corneo’s Coliseum. This can be done the first time you go there, as part of normal story progression.
Catastrophe is just a bigger and better version of Fire in the Hole, and in addition to dealing more damage, it also inflicts significant Stagger damage in the process. Once you have it unlocked, there is little reason to go back to Fire in the Hole.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is a massive game, and we still have more to explore! This post will be updated with all of Barret’s abilities as we unlock and master them. In the meantime, why don’t you check out our other helpful guides over at the ever-expanding wiki?
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