What is the most effective way to set up your materia?

Usually, I set up my 3 characters so they're very similar. I give Cure linked with all to all three, and I give each character 1 of the 3 main elements (Fire, Ice & Bolt), untill near the end of the game where I swap the elements for the 3 more powerful attack magic (comet, Break & Ultima).

I always give Cloud longrange materia, and usually pick 2 long range companions, so my entire party is on the back row.
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Although last time, I tried to use the materia to mimic classes. (so I had a fighter, healer & Mage)


What are the more effective combinations or materia?

I somehow found the time to find and experiment with this kickass Materia setup:

• Master Magic
• W-Magic
• MP Absorb + Master Summon
• MP Turbo + Knights of the Round
• Master Command
• Enemy Skill
• W-Summon
• Slash-All
• Mega-All
• HP Plus
• Final Attack + Phoenix

See, what happens is, Master Magic gives you all the spells, while W-Magic lets you use two spells in one turn. The Master Command activates most commands, and a mastered Enemy Skill will give you some nice spells (Big Guard, Angel Whisper, Shadow Flare, etc.). A mastered or level 2 Slash-All will give you Flash, which can instantly kill all opponents. A mastered HP Plus should boost your characters HP up to 9999. The famous Knights of the Round causes a helluva lot of damage each time it is cast, while absorbing ridiculous amounts of MP, and you can cast it twice with the W-Summon enabled. The Final Attack-Phoenix combo protects your entire party from death up to five times when mastered while dealing Fire damage to all opponents. Its pretty sick.

I apologize in advance if I say the wrong name for the materia. It's been a long time since I've last played.

I wonder....if someone uses W-Summon + KoTR, and the next character mimics that...would he/she cast it twice as well? :blink:

I never got too heavy in materia combinations, but I like to think on what'll be really good. Like.....a bunch of counters linked with slash-all or 2x(4xcut, Flash).