Final Fantasy VII Remake Limit Breaks: Limit Break List & how to unlock & use Level 2 Limit Breaks
Limit Breaks are an iconic feature of the original game, and so it's really no surprise that they make a full return in Final Fantasy VII Remake. A lot has changed in this reimagining of the original FF7, but one thing that'll be familiar is building up that Limit Bar and then letting loose a brutal super attack - aka a Limit Break.
Another thing that remains similar in FF7 Remake is how Limit Breaks are used - but how you gain them, and the number available, is quite different. On this page, we explain how to change and use Limit Breaks in FF7 Remake, and how to unlock each character's Level 2 Limit Break - plus offer a little primer on a secret third Limit shared across the entire cast.
How to use a Limit Break in FF7 Remake
Just as in the original FF7 there are different levels of Limit Break for each character - though in FF7 Remake there are actually only two levels and two limit breaks for each character. The first is available to each character from the moment you can first play as them, while the second is an optional unlock related to side content.
In real terms, Cloud, Tifa and Barret’s limit breaks are all functionally the same - the first deals a lot of damage, while the second raises stagger... while also dealing lots of damage. Aerith’s two limit breaks are related to healing and nullifying damage. To unlock the second Limit Breaks, you’ll need to obtain ‘Legacy’ manuscript items through optional arena battles.
There is also a third Limit Break accessible by every character - Refocus. This Limit Break is accessed via materia, and alongside summons and enemy skill it's one of the most unique materia, detailed in full in our FF7 Remake Materia guide. In short, however, Refocus spends your Limit bar in order to give you an additional slot on your ATB meter for the duration of a battle, which can be very powerful over the course of a long drawn-out fight.
To use your Limit Break, all you need to do is battle and take damage and stagger enemies. As you fight, these two things cause your Limit gauge to gradually increase - that's the orange bar under your MP and to the right of your health. Each character's Limit Gauge builds separately. Once the gauge is full, you execute your Limit Break from the main page of the ATB Menu.
There are a handful of accessories you can equip to augment your Limit, too. The Spectral Cogwheel accessory charges the gauge so long as characters have full MP, while the post-game Gotterdammerung causes the meter to constantly charge - breaking the gmae but also very handy for Hard Mode bosses.
How to change Limit Breaks in FF7 Remake to use your second Limit Break
Once you unlock your second Limit Break, you’ll actually need to equip it. Just like in the original FF7, you can’t have Level 1 and Level 2 Limit Breaks active at the same time - you have to choose one or the other. You can switch as often as you like while out of battle, however.
To make that choice, head to the game’s Main Menu and hit the Battle Settings option, which is underneath the equipment and weapons and Upgrade Weapons options. In here you can adjust battle shortcuts, but also your limit break for each character. Select your limit break and flick back and forth between the two as you wish.
If you have the Refocus materia equipped, once your limit gauge is full you will be able to choose between both your selected limit and refocus.
How to Unlock your Second Limit Break in FF7 Remake
Whereas in the original game you gained more limits simply by using the limit you've already got, in FF7 Remake you actually have to find a unique item - one for each character - in order to unlock Limit Breaks. This is a Manuscript, which is similar to the upgrade books that give you more SP - though of course with a rather different utility.
Each Level 2 Limit unlocking Manuscript can be grabbed at a certain point in the story by completing a certain piece of side content. Broadly speaking, it can be grabbed in Chapter 9 or 14 for Cloud, Chapter 9 for Aerith, and Chapter 14 for Tifa and Barret. Here's exactly where to get each, and what those second Limit Breaks are:
Cloud Strife’s Limit Breaks
Level 1 Limit Break - Cross-Slash
- Damage your foe while making an ominous symbol with your slashes.
- Unlock Method: Cloud begins with access to this Limit Break.
Level 2 Limit Break - Ascension
- An all-new move that focuses on a single enemy to deliver several powerful strikes. This move significantly increases stagger.
- Unlock Method: Receive the ‘Legacy: Ascension’ manuscript as a reward for Corneo Colosseum Battle Challenge ‘Cloud vs. Wild Animals’, available after chapter 9.
Alternative Limit Break - Refocus
- Refocus lets you spend your Limit Break to divide your ATB bar, giving you three ATB action uses rather than two in the same charge time.
- Unlock Method: Refocus is accessed by equipping the Refocus materia, and can be used by any of the characters. It can also be equipped at the same time as other Limit Breaks - when using your limit, you’ll be given a choice of which to use.
Barret Wallace’s Limit Breaks
Level 1 Limit Break - Fire in the Hole
- Shoot an orb of energy that creates a large explosion, dealing huge damage.
- Unlock Method: Barret begins with access to this Limit Break
Level 2 Limit Break - Catastrophe
- Marshal all your strength and channel it into a concentrated beam of energy. Significantly increases stagger.
- Unlock Method: Receive the ‘Legacy: Catastrophe’ manuscript as a reward for completing Corneo Colosseum Battle ‘Barret vs. Wild Animals’, available after chapter 9. You can visit the Colosseum with Barret in Chapter 14.
Alternative Limit Break - Refocus
- Refocus lets you spend your Limit Break to divide your ATB bar, giving you three ATB action uses rather than two in the same charge time.
- Unlock Method: Refocus is accessed by equipping the Refocus materia, and can be used by any of the characters. It can also be equipped at the same time as other Limit Breaks - when using your limit, you’ll be given a choice of which to use.
Tifa Lockhart’s Limit Breaks
Level 1 Limit Break - Somersault
- Damage an enemy and launch them high into the air with a Zangan-style swift kick.
- Unlock Method: Tifa begins with this Limit Break unlocked.
Level 2 Limit Break - Dolphin Flurry
- Unleash an unrelenting stream of acrobatic attacks. Significantly increases stagger.
- Unlock Method: Get the ‘Legacy: Dolphin Flurry’ manuscript after you beat the ‘Tifa vs. Wild Animals’ battle in Corneo Colosseum once it unlocks after chapter 9. You can visit the Colosseum with Tifa again in Chapter 14.
Alternative Limit Break - Refocus
- Refocus lets you spend your Limit Break to divide your ATB bar, giving you three ATB action uses rather than two in the same charge time.
- Unlock Method: Refocus is accessed by equipping the Refocus materia, and can be used by any of the characters. It can also be equipped at the same time as other Limit Breaks - when using your limit, you’ll be given a choice of which to use.
Aerith Gainsborough’s Limit Breaks
Level 1 Limit Break - Healing Wind
- Summon a soothing breeze to restore a moderate amount of HP to all party members.
- Unlock Method: Aerith begins with access to this Limit Break.
Level 2 Limit Break - Planet’s Protection
- Entreat the planet’s favor to nullify physical damage dealt to all party members.
- Unlock Method: Win the ‘Aerith vs. Wild Animals’ battle challenge in Corneo Colosseum to get the ‘Legacy: Planet’s Protection’ manuscript. You can tackle this mission with Aerith late in Chapter 9, before setting the story’s Corneo plot in motion.
Alternative Limit Break - Refocus
- Refocus lets you spend your Limit Break to divide your ATB bar, giving you three ATB action uses rather than two in the same charge time.
- Unlock Method: Refocus is accessed by equipping the Refocus materia, and can be used by any of the characters. It can also be equipped at the same time as other Limit Breaks - when using your limit, you’ll be given a choice of which to use.