Final Fantasy VII Remake – How To Increase Stagger

With a change in battle system, Final Fantasy VII Remake implemented a very popular aspect of many action RPGs, a stagger system. The stagger gauge is found below the health bar for each enemy and fills up at different speeds for each enemy based on the types of attacks being used. Once the meter is full and the enemy is staggered, they will start at 160%, which means they are taking 160% times the normal amount of damage. This can be raised though and this guide will explain the few ways you can do so in battle.

How To Increase Stagger

Once you stagger an enemy and see the 160% pop up, you might would assume that just attacking the enemy more would raise the stagger percentage. However, that is not the case, as there are only a few abilities in the game that you can use to raise the percentage.

To increase the stagger percentage in battle, you will have to be using one of a few abilities that your characters have, with Tifa being the only one that can outright increase the stagger thanks to her unique ability. Tifa can increase the stagger by 5% with each his of her Triangle attack Whirling Uppercut. If you use her ability Unbridled Strength, she will unlock additional unique abilities that add more than 5% as well by pressing Triangle. Tifa’s best method of increasing the stagger percentage though comes from the ability True Strike that comes with her Purple Pain weapon. Using this will increase it by 20% each time, increasing it very quickly.

Other characters can also increase the stagger percentage, but no one does it as well as Tifa. Aerith’s Ray of Judgment is a great way to do it, even though it can be super slow to execute. Cloud’s Focused Thrust is his only method of doing so, while Barret’s Focused Shot is his only method of doing so. This is why you’re probably going to want to go with Tifa when you can to raise it, but everyone has a method of doing so if you are using someone else.