Final Fantasy VII Remake Elemental Materia: Where to find Elemental and how to use it
While the All materia didn't quite make its way unscathed over to Final Fantasy VII Remake, one that did more or less appear here as it did in the original is the Elemental materia. Elemental is a powerful support materia that can trivialize some boss encounters by making your characters immune to most of their damage, or to make every one of your attacks extra deadly to a given monster. Here, we'll talk about where to find Elemental and how to use it.
We've got lots more assistance for those playing this huge remake - just hit up our full FF7 Remake guide & walkthrough. It covers everything from all materia locations (including Synergy and Magnify) and music discs for the power of music quest to Cloud, Tifa and Aerith's bridal dresses, Corneo's secret stash and even a detailed choice and consequences guide for those difficult dialogue options - and that's just a handful!
Final Fantasy VII Remake: Where to find the Elemental materia
There are two copies of Elemental materia in the game. You'll be able to get your first copy as early as Chapter 6, but you won't be able to get another one until Chapter 14, and that one can be easy to miss.
Early on in Chapter 6, you'll likely spot a blue support materia that you won't be able to get to right away, and you'll see a note for a 'Discovery: Collapsed Passageway'. Later in the chapter while on your way to turning off the third lamp, there will be a ladder leading down to an optional area. Here you'll interact with one of the switches to move a walkway down to your location (you'll be able to earn an MP Up materia here too) and you'll find the Elemental materia here.
The second of the Elemental materia you'll be able to nab is near the end of Chapter 14. As discussed in our Trophy Guide for 'Divine Gratitude', you'll fine a letter from Mireille on your way past Wall Market to head up to the plate and start Chapter 15. The letter is a sort of reward for completing all of the quests involved in her questline -- ‘The Angel of the Slums’, ‘The Price of Thievery’, and ‘Corneo’s Secret Stash' -- though just to be safe you could always make sure all of Chapter 14 (or all quests in general) are done to ensure you've qualified for the letter.
Update: We have been able to confirm that undertaking 'The Price of Thievery' is not required to get the letter or trophy (or Materia).
Final Fantasy VII Remake: How to use the Elemental materia
Elemental is a support materia, meaning it must be paired with a magic materia inside of a linked slot in a character's weapon or armor. At level 1, Elemental will half any Fire, Ice, Lightning, or Wind damage taken if you put it in your armor, and will add 8 percent of the element to dealt damage if slotted into a weapon. However, at level 3, you'll find yourself healed by attacks of the linked elemental instead, and the attack boost will shoot up to 23%
In general, we've found that Elemental is a bit more powerful as a defensive buff than an offensive one (you can always simply cast the spell on offense), but Elemental can be useful in many situations. Slot some lightning defense if you're fighting M.O.T.H in a late-game simulator challenge to eliminate a lot of risk, and some fire or ice defense can be useful even up to the final boss of the game. If a certain enemy doesn't use a specific element in its attacks, you can always use Elemental to power up your attacks instead, such as when fighting Leviathan, who uses non-elemental attacks but remains weak to lightning.