Best Folio upgrades for Cloud (FF7)

Throughout Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, you’ll slowly unlock new Folio upgrades, but which ones are the best for Cloud? Since each party member has their own Folio “skill tree”, let’s go over the best upgrades to prioritize for Cloud Strife.

FF7 Rebirth: Best Cloud Folio upgrades

Cloud is great for both up-close-and-personal attacks and ranged slashes, so he’s an all-purpose fighter. He has some great Folio upgrades that you should grab before anything else, so let’s go over the best upgrades for Cloud in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.

Ranged Blade

This Synergy Skill allows Cloud and either Barret or Red XIII to perform a ranged attack. Activating it in sequence will trigger a three-hit combo, and you can even perform it when airborne. Since this can deal both Physical (with Barret) and Magical (with Red XIII) damage, it’s incredibly versatile.

As a Synergy Skill, it’s a free action that you don’t have to wait to charge up. And you can unlock this right from the start of unlocking your Folio, making it a great first upgrade.

Formidable Counter

Although it looks like a simple stat boost, Formidable Counter is one of the best stat boosts on Cloud’s Folio. This will increase Punisher mode counter damage by 10%. This is Cloud’s unique skill, which is his bread and butter.

This stat boost will make you use Punisher mode a lot more than usual. 10% is a pretty decent upgrade, and it only costs 10 SP to unlock.

Related: Best Folio upgrades for Tifa in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (FF7)

Relentless Rush

Relentless Rush is a Synergy Ability that has Cloud and Tifa work in tandem. Cloud will launch Tifa towards the enemy, and if the enemy is Staggered, you’ll get an Attack Power boost, as well as extended Staggered time.

Charging up this Synergy Ability may take some time, but once you have it, Relentless Rush is a heavy hitter. Just remember to use it against a foe when they’re Staggered for increased benefits.

Counterfire

The fact that you can use this Synergy Skill with all your partners makes this incredibly resourceful. Counterfire has you and your partner team up in time with an enemy’s ranged attack to inflict a counterstrike.

Although you must wait until an enemy is about to hit you with a ranged attack, this is handy to have to avoid getting hit by a ranged enemy strike.

Melee Blade

This is another great Synergy Skill that you can use with either Tifa or Aerith. Hold the button to initiate Melee Blade, which has you and your partner gather strength and unleash a charged attack at the enemy.

Tifa will inflict Physical damage, while Aerith will cause Magical damage. Racking up Synergy Skills like this is great because they don’t need to be charged up like Synergy Abilities.

Hopefully you now have a better understanding of which Folio upgrades to focus on for Cloud. On the topic of combat, you may be interested to know how to raise ATB faster in FF7 Rebirth, which is something I struggled with early on.