Red XIII is among the most unique playable characters in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. While most of the cast is clearly offense-oriented, even long-range characters like Barret and Aerith, the wolf-like talking beast is meant to be played as a defensive character that comes with a surprising amount of depth. As such, he is not exactly straightforward to play, as you need to pay attention to a few things to make him show his true potential.
Red XIII Basic Moveset
As mentioned above, Red XIII is a defensive character that has to be played differently than the rest of the cast to show what he can really do. His unique ability is Vengeance Mode, which can only be activated after the gauge has been filled by blocking or parrying attacks. The fuller the gauge is, the longer Vengeance Mode will last. The longest Vengeance Mode will last is after using Red XIII’s level 2 Limit Break, Howling Moon.
In Vengeance Mode, all of Red XIII’s attacks are enhanced, and he can use Syphon Fang, a special attack that restores health. Additionally, in Vengeance Mode, he can perform a fast lunging strike that goes through enemies and restores a small amount of HP by pressing the triangle button after dodging.
The Red XIII’s basic toolkit is rounded up by a spinning attack performed by holding down the square button and a counterstrike that can be performed using the same button after blocking or parrying an attack.
How to Play Red XIII in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
As entering Vengeance Mode as soon as possible is Red XIII’s entire game plan, you will want to stay on the defensive at all times. Since blocking doesn’t negate damage, Red XIII should always equip the Steadfast Block materia, which reduces damage while blocking and charges ATB. Red XIII, much like Aerith, requires some time to build up ATB with regular attacks, so this provides a very welcome boost. Additionally, equip the Precision Defense Focus materia to extend the time window for parrying, another essential skill for a character that relies so much on defense. Having ATB to spend helps Red XIII quite a lot, as the essential Sentinel Stance ability allows him to negate all damage for a few seconds and unleash a powerful counter. As Red XIII cannot fight aerial enemies well, ATB also solves this issue by giving him access to spells, Enemy Skills, and the devastating Stardust Ray ability.
Unlike in Remake, enemies in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth don’t always go after your controlled character, creating a problem for Red XIII, who wants to be targeted by them at all times. This is easily solved by his Synergy Skill, Wild Charge, which allows him to close in on an enemy resisting all damage with the help of a partner. Use this skill while close to a party member who is being attacked to charge up your Vengeance Gauge without having to be an enemy’s main target.
Alongside Sentinel Stance and Stardust Ray, Red XIII learns during the course of the adventure some pretty useful supporting abilities that are quite useful but that still rely on solid defensive play. Chilling Roar is an ice elemental ability that augments Red XIII’s blocking and parrying by attacking enemies with ice shards, even if the attack is not blocked. The best thing about this ability is that it enhances the character’s counterstrike to charge Vengeance Mode. Having this mode active also enhances Crescent Claw, increasing its damage at the cost of the entirety of your Vengeance Mode current charge.
Another extremely useful ability that is learned midway through the adventure is Supernatural Fervor, which grants Haste to the entire party for the cost of two ATB charges. As this ability can only be used while in Vengeance Mode, you will still need to play defensively, but as Vengeance Mode can be activated with even a little charge, this isn’t a limiting factor at all.
As outlined above, no matter the build, Red XIII needs to play defensively at all times. At the start of the adventure, he may not feel as fun to play compared to Cloud and Tifa, but if you try to learn his unique toolkit properly, he will be just as fun to use as the rest of the cast.
