Final Fantasy 7 Remake Combat Guide – how to battle in FF7 Remake, with ATB and Limit Breaks explained

Final Fantasy 7 Remake launches on April 10 on PlayStation 4, but it makes some big changes to the original's gameplay.

For one, there's no more turn-based combat, with Cloud and co now able to swing their swords and fire their gun-arms in realtime.

With such a drastic change to combat, you may be wondering where to begin. Here's our guide.

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Read More: Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Demo, Release Date, Trailer, Gameplay Footage, Pre-Order Bonuses and Everything You Need To Know For PS4

Final Fantasy 7: Remake Combat Guide

With combat now in real-time, players use the Square button to attack, or the Triangle button to switch stances to provide alternate moves.

If that has you expecting a button-mashing snooze-fest, think again.

Players can also issue commands to their party in the heat of battle, or simply switch to control them. It's all nice and fluid, and in the demo it allowed players to swap between Cloud's melee moves and Barrett's ranged ones.

Then there's the ATB (Active Time Battle) gauge that does return from the original – more or less. While you're battling, your characters will begin to build this gauge, which will then power your spells (or Materia) and abilities.

So, if your healing spell requires a chunk of your ATB gauge to pull off, you'll want to bear that in mind before you run into a precarious situation.

If things get really tricky, you'll be able to unleash your Limit Break, which is essentially a character's most powerful ability. They aren't necessarily always damage-dealers, either, with characters like Aerith likely to buff the party.

Looking for more info? Check out this combat explainer from the developers themselves.