Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth already feels like a massive video game. Like any good sequel, this game builds off the first’s combat system with meaningful updates. While there’s a slew of new materia, gear, and skills to use, we need to start with the action economy. Namely, we must talk about Synergy.
Active Time Battle Returns and Introduces Synergy
Way back in 1997, Final Fantasy 7 used the Active Time Battle (ATB) system. Each fighter took turns based on their personal timer. When the timer filled up, the player could choose that character’s next action, and they would take that action.
Fast forward to 2020, and Remake baked that idea into a real-time action system. Here, character could take basic attacks (i.e. sword swings, punches, etc.) at will, but needed to fill their ATB gauge to do stronger actions (i.e. Abilities, Spells, and Items).
Now, Rebirth introduces Synergy. Anyone who’s spent a week working for a giant corporation knows the buzzword “synergy”. Don’t worry, the word actually means something in Rebirth.
Synergy lets the characters team up for special attacks called “Synergy Skills and Synergy Abilities.” Skills are free actions like your base attacks. Abilities are much stronger moves that require a lot of buildup.
Both Synergy Skills and Abilities unlock through leveling characters in their Folios. However, you might not understand how the ideal combat loop works from the jump.
So let’s answer how to manage this economy.
Synergy Skills Feed ATB Actions, Which Feed Synergy Abilities
Abilities require stocking charges from using ATB actions. Said ATB actions will notate when they give a charge as not all actions do. While there’s a slew of things to help build up your ATB, Synergy skills work fastest.
When you have at least one ATB charge ready to go, use it on something that will charge your Synergy meter. Most character abilities and spells will add a Synergy Charge, items will not.
You must do this with at least two characters because Synergy Abilities require the same amount of Charges from both characters involved with the Ability. Once both characters are ready to go, the Synergy Abilities option on the combat menu will glow. Select that menu during combat, and choose any of the readied Abilities.
Synergy Abilities Don’t Just Deal Damage When Ready
Many Abilities deal heavy damage, others buff the duo, but all have another buff. These buffs include raising your Limit level, awarding more time on the Stagger bar, making all magic free (both of those are only for a time), and more.
Building up for Synergy Abilities takes a lot by design. As such, you’re almost definitely not going to be able to use Abilities in run of the mill fights in the open world.
Sure, everyone wants to completely pulverize the weakest beasts out there like a low-level grinder, but it makes sense given the other things you can do to win.
