The bars
ATB
Two segments per character, filled by attacking and, more slowly, by time. Most abilities, spells and items cost one; some cost two, like Prayer. Basic attacks are for building ATB, not for damage — the damage is what you spend it on.
Pressure and stagger
Hitting a weakness or doing what Assess tells you puts an enemy under pressure; pressure fills the stagger bar fast. Staggered enemies take 160% damage by default, and Tifa's abilities push that number up. The Staggering Success trophy wants 300%.
Synergy skills
Free, no ATB: a pair of characters act together — a joint block, a counter, a launcher. The synergy gauge is built by abilities and spells, not by these. The game teaches them in the first two chapters and then never mentions them again, which is why people finish without using them.
Synergy abilities
Spend synergy gauge segments on a paired big move. Beyond the damage, each pair's ability leaves a bonus: a higher limit level, unlimited MP for a while, an extended stagger. The bonus is usually the point.
Limit breaks
The gauge fills from taking damage and from hitting and staggering enemies; higher levels only through synergy abilities and folio unlocks. Level 3 limits are locked in the folio until late, and the Well-Rounded trophy wants every limit break and weapon ability mastered, folio ones included.
Blocking
A perfect block takes no damage, builds ATB and, for Red XIII, fills the Vengeance gauge. Precision Defense Focus materia makes the window wider. Half the boss fights in this game are block-and-punish fights dressed up as spectacle.
Habits that change everything
- Assess every new enemy once. It is the difference between guessing and knowing what pressures it, and the enemy intel it unlocks feeds Chadley.
- Switch characters. The one you are not controlling builds ATB slowly; the one you are builds it fast. Cycling through the party is a free ATB engine.
- Bank one ATB segment before a boss changes phase. Every boss telegraphs a phase; the ability you have ready when it lands is worth two later.
- Aerial enemies are Cloud's Aerial Slash, Yuffie's thrown weapon or magic — not jumping at them with Barret.
- Synergy abilities that grant unlimited MP are how you cast Firaga three times in a row without thinking about hard mode's MP rule.
Still to verify
Cross-checked on 16 September 2026 against Square Enix's own combat descriptions, the trophy list and the guides of Game8, RPG Site and Fextralife. Not from a playthrough: checked against the sources above. Still to confirm in-game.