Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier starter's guide

For decades, Final Fantasy VII has surged in enough popularity that its developer Square Enix has been able to pump out prequels, sequels, spin-offs, and reimaginations to milk the profound success the JRPG has had with its fans. This time around, Square Enix is eying to come out on top of the battle royale genre with Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier.

At first glance, one may think Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier looks like a PUBG clone wearing a splashy Final Fantasy dressing. However, after closer inspection, The First Soldier offers characteristics that make it comparatively different from other battle royales. This is why we've prepared a guide to help new players navigate the game and its differences, and so we walk through how to get started, what to expect from the First Soldier's gameplay, and offer a few tips/tricks to build consistency to ensure your wins.

Getting started

You'll have to undergo a few steps before commencing your first drop. First, you'll need to register as a Soldier Candidate by customizing your character, choosing a name, and then picking your starting settings. Then, you'll follow a tutorial that teaches the battle basics. Once you're done, you can queue for your first match. If you're still unsure how to play, First Soldier features an in-game mentoring system (like a buddy system) for which you can sign up anytime.

Creating your Soldier Candidate

As a player, you're provided the option to personify your in-game character with a Final Fantasy flourish. You can choose between male and female characters with a couple of pre-sets to determine your base appearance.

Next up, you can select your hairstyle, eye, and eyebrow style. If you wish to create a more anime-esque character, these options come in various colors. Additionally, shades of brown/blonde/red are offered if you prefer to stick to something a little more realistic.

The final two customization options are your mouth/nose and voice type (how squeaky or mature your character's voice lines sound).

You'll finish the process after entering your Candidate name, which is your character's displayed in-game name.

Naming your Soldier Candidate in Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier

In-game settings

Change your preferences anytime under Settings.

Recommended in-game settings to ease your playing experience:

Shooting Mode: Auto Fire.
Controls: Automatically open doors (on) and Auto Pickup (on).
Layout UI: Uncluttered/no button overlaps (needed space to maneuver the camera).
Graphics: Low (Graphics Quality) and Medium/High (Framerate).
Sounds: Environment Sounds (volume at 100).

The above settings have been chosen for stable performance while reducing manual input needed; less manual input ensures you can pay attention to your surroundings while running and gunning. Considering battle royales require a faster pace of play, having less to do means you can spend more time planning your strategy.

Note: Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier also offers controller support alongside its touch controls. Stick to using a lower sensitivity under the controller settings to get the most consistent performance.

Learning the battle basics

Thankfully you're not dropped straight into a match to learn the battle basics on your own. Instead, the game holds your hand in the training range until you've completed every tutorial.

Before you hop into matchmaking, let's break down some battle basics to gain the upper hand in your matches.

Movement

You can run, jump, crouch, combat roll (double tap crouch), and parkour (climb walls).

Tip: Long-pressing jump against a wall allows you to climb up the wall. Abuse this to gain height on buildings for better vantage points.

Outside the helicopter during drop-off and respawns, Chocobos and motorcycles are your primary mode of transportation.

Chocobo appearance in Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier

The screenshot above contains an example of a Chocobo's appearance in-game.

Tip: Chocobos are more reliable for transportation as they are agile and quiet. Chocobos can perform a melee kick if you need some offensive support while riding.

Materia

Materia is your equipped magic; these skills require MP (magic points) for their use. Soldier Candidates can slot three pieces of Materia at once. Furthermore, Materia can be upgraded during a match by finding duplicates. Materia is divided by type: Magic and Summoning.

Magic Materia can be divided into offensive, supportive, and utility; having a good handle on how to use all three is crucial for upping your gameplay by forming a proper battle plan. Offensive-based Materia focuses on casting magic to damage anyone within range, including yourself and your teammates. Supportive Materia provides backup for your team; spells such as Cure can heal HP, and Raise can revive teammates in range. Utility-based material adds versatility to your gameplay, conjuring up gimmicks for strategy. Offensive strategy can include traps that can diminish sightlines or slow down your opponent, while a defensive strategy may opt to cast Teleport to aid your teammates with travel times.

Summoning Materia is a little different. There's no guarantee you'll find/obtain a Summon during a match. Summons (Ifrit, Shiva, and Bahamut) appear as bosses on the battlefield. Defeating them grants you access to their powers.

Example of a Summon in Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier

Equipping Styles

Final Fantasy fans will recognize Styles as the franchise's well-known 'Job' or 'Class' system. Equipped Styles add unique traits (can't be swapped), abilities, and skills to your characters. Your melee weapon changes based on the Style you select. Note: Try to stick with one Style at a time so that you can master it.

List of styles

Dragoon: Jump from high above to glide or perform a divebomb attack. Recommended for those who prefer a staged strategy for taking out opponents – spears also offer a wide melee range.
Machinist: Comes equipped with a hammer and specializes in disabling the firearms held by the enemy team, and can summon a gadget that helps you traverse around the map. Recommended for those who like to use utility to control the tides around the battlefield.
Monk: Reduces some damage taken. The triggered passive allows HP recovery, critical hits on melee attacks, and a boost in movement speed. It is recommended for defensive players looking to survive their way to victory.
Ninja: You gain the ability to double jump and jump when falling during a parkour movement. Recommended for those who want to be sneaky and scout out Soldier Candidate opponents.
Ranger: Let's you hold more ammo and find more ammo. Reload time and falloff damage is decreased. Recommended for those looking just a more vanilla gunplay experience.
Sorcerer: Potential to increase Magic Materia (Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder) damage and recovers MP faster. Recommended for those who enjoy using Materia offensively to get the upper edge.
Warrior: Distance increased for melee weapon range and protects you from incoming damage while moving/using the Rush ability. Recommended for those more comfortable using melee weapons over guns/Materia.

Tips and tricks

As a beginner, don't stress if you feel you need to learn everything at once. Focus on understanding how to maneuver around Midgar, get used to the parkour movement style of your character, and experiment with Materia, Styles, and weapons. Also, check out these additional tips and tricks to help get you started.

Practice in a Standard Match to get used to the game's mechanics and map before jumping into Ranked. Additionally, select the Practice Mode to study Materia range/cast times and guns.
Materia (offensive Magic) can inflict friendly fire, so be aware of where you use it!
Arm yourself with Potions (HP and MP) and supportive Materia: Raise can bring a teammate back to life.
Call a Chocobo for transportation. Use this method to escape when the map zones start shrinking.
Melee weapons offer a smooth combat experience, so utilize your weapon if you're in range!
Defeat monsters to get items, level up and strengthen your equipment. Gaining any edge is important.
Collect Gil (money) to spend at vending machines for ammo, items, and equipment upgrades.
Be sneaky. Walk slowly and crouch to prevent enemy units from hearing you.

First Soldier is constantly evolving

The seasonal updates in Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier allows the game to stay fresh among the current battle royale competition, bringing in permanent additions like new cosmetics, weapons, Styles, Materia, Summons, and maps. Of course, as expected, bringing in new content means you'll have to be ready to level up your gameplay each season. So if you'd like to get started right away, you can grab the install through the Play Store.