Tifa Lockhart is one of the fastest melee characters in Final Fantasy VII Remake, making her a staple to any team. Her strikes leave enemies staggered, giving an opening for the player against some of the toughest enemies. Additionally, Tifa is the love interest of Rude, who is set in-game to be easier on Tifa and hardly attack her. This gives players an advantage against Shinra, especially when fighting particularly difficult bosses.
With each character comes a new set of weapons. Tifa has a variety of gloves that can change her from a melee character into so much more.
Further Reading
- Final Fantasy VII Remake: Best weapon builds for Cloud Strife
- Final Fantasy VII Remake review: Tundaga can’t strike twice
- Square Enix and chocolatier Ferrero offer sweet deal on FFVII Remake Tifa theme
Weapon selection
Players are introduced to Tifa as Cloud’s childhood friend who is also famous for beating the crap out of her enemies with her bare hands. She brings an impressive punch each time, adding a little more strike to each group battle. But physical attacks are not all she can do. Each weapon has the ability to add some magic, making Tifa more of a well-rounded character. Here is a guide on the best ways to upgrade Tifa’s weapons, no matter where a player is in the game.
Square Enix
Leather Gloves
Tifa’s Leather Gloves are a great starting weapon, giving Tifa a well-rounded weapon with a slight lean toward physical attack damage. This weapon also comes with the Divekick ability. Tifa’s Divekick allows her to jump into the air and unleash a powerful blow.
The upgrades to the weapon are pretty straightforward as well, allowing Tifa some defensive boosts with a fair number of defense and HP bonuses. The Leather Gloves are a perfect weapon for players who want Tifa to play a little bit in almost every role.
Because of the versatility of this weapon, there are quite a few Materia that would be best suited for any enemy. Adding a bit of element Materia, such as Fire or Ice, will give Tifa an attack boost. Healing, Parry, and HP Up will give Tifa a healing boost that could help keep the team alive. Additionally, Time is always fun to add to Tifa. Although Tifa is fast, Time will make her even faster and allow her to get more hits in on an enemy than before.
Metal Knuckles
Tifa will finally get a weapon change once players hit Chapter 5. The Metal Knuckles will be available to players after defeating the Crab Warden boss in the secret passageway. This weapons ability, Overpower, is used in conjunction with Tifa’s basic moves to add a little pressure to the enemy.
The Metal Knuckles lean heavily toward physical attacks. These gloves allow Tifa to be set as the main melee damage dealer, but the trade-off is weaker magic and noticeably lower defenses. These weapons are perfect for honing in on staggered opponents and dealing massive amounts of damage, but be wary of how much HP Tifa has.
Because the Metal Knuckles are so attack based, there is not a whole lot of magic to add to them. Chakra, Parry, Deadly Dodge, or HP Up are some of the best healing and defensive options. Additionally, adding ATB Stagger and First Strike can help players get an advantage on a dangerous enemy.
Sonic Strikers
The Sonic Strikers are located in chapter seven. These gloves are hiding in a chest in Mako Reactor 5 (B5) in one of the corridors that connect the engineering labs where players used the key cards. These weapons come with the Focused Strike ability. This allows Tifa to evade then unleash a charging attack that moderately increases enemy stagger.
The Sonic Strikers are a balanced weapon with a lean toward magic. Although this weapon won’t turn Tifa into a wizard, they do let her add strong offensive or support spells to her abilities. However, Tifa will struggle with defenses, so keep this in mind.
The best Materia for this weapon will keep Tifa fairly balanced. Starting with element Materia, such as Fire, Ice, or Lightning, will keep Tifa’s attack power-up. But to add a little bit of healing, the Barrier and Healing Materia will help Tifa serve as support. Time and ATB Boost will also help fill the ATB gauge quickly. Tifa is already built for building up her ATB gauge, but adding some speed and a boost is always helpful. Additionally, MP Up and Magic Up will help build up Tifa’s MP pool a bit.
Feathered Gloves
In chapter 10, players will come across the Feathered Gloves. This weapon can be found in Sector 6 Sewers (Aqueduct 1). Once the watered is lowered, players can go down and explore. Under the very first raised gate will be a chest where the Feathered Gloves are hiding. The proficiency this weapon comes with is Starshower. This attack unleashes a flurry of powerful strikes and increases the strength of the next command Tifa executes.
The Feathered Gloves are a fairly balanced weapon with a bit of an emphasis on physical attacks. Although these weapons are more physical attack based, they do offer some nice perks in their upgrades. Upgrades such as damage reduction when blocking and faster ATB gain can help boost Tifa’s overall attack powers.
Some of the best Materia for the Feathered Gloves help boost Tifa’s defenses. Materia such as Chakra, Deadly Dodge, Parry, and Steadfast Block will help Tifa get an upper hand while dealing massive damage. Additionally, ATB Stagger is a Materia worth adding to these gloves. Although the Feathered Gloves don’t have the highest attack of all of Tifa’s weapons, they’re still strong enough to use the ATB Stagger as an additional boost.
Mythril Claws
The Mythril Claws are impossible to miss. The player will receive the weapons in chapter 13 after a boss battle. These weapons come with Chi Trap. This attack creates an orb of materialized chi that deals damage upon contact.
The Mythril Claws are Tifa’s first set of magic-focused weaponry so far. Although they are magic based, the attacks Tifa uses with them are generally offensive magic spells. This allows Tifa to be one of the fastest mages in Midgar, slinging spells and attacks like no one else’s business.
The Materia best suited for the Mythril Claws are items like Fire, Ice, or Lightning. Additionally, adding an HP Absorption to the right elemental Materia can give Tifa a health boost when needed. MP Up and Magic Up are also extremely helpful in adding more magic into Tifa’s gauge. And, of course, ATB Stagger is always helpful in giving Tifa the upper hand.
Purple Pain
The Purple Pain relocated to a chest in chapter 16. While playing as Tifa to do some platforming, players can find a chest off to the side of the room on the top platform. To get to the top platform, go around the first ladder instead of climbing down, then use the hanging bars to cross over. The Purple Pain comes with the True Strike ability. This attack delivers a tremendous blow at close range, increasing stagger damage bonus against enemies.
Tifa’s final weapon is centered on making the most out of Tifa’s critical hits. The Purple Pain increases the critical hit rate and critical hit damage upgrades. This allows an already fast character to get in more physical attacks, allowing for a higher chance of getting multiple critical hits in quick succession.
To best utilize these weapons, be sure to center a lot of Materia on ATB and dodge. So Materia such as ATB Boost, ATB Stagger, and Deadly Dodge are perfect for this weapon. Additionally, adding in a Luck Up never hurt. Tifa is already a lucky character, by adding Luck Up, Tifa increases her critical hit rate.