Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier – 10 Tips For The Battle Royale Game

It’s thanks to Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier that Final Fantasy fans finally have a means to thematically engage with the battle royale genre. Instead of just having a typical battle royale with Final Fantasy 7 characters, however, FF7: The First Soldier takes FF7 lore and turns it on its head. In the game, players are Candidates to be chosen in the Shinra Electric Power Company’s elite SOLDIER Program, designed to create combatants for the company’s task force.

Gameplay-wise, this means that players have to duke it out either solo or as a team against multiple other candidates in massive simulated battles. Given that this is a Final Fantasy game, the battle royale now incorporates not just weapons, but also magic and classes into the mix, making this quite an overwhelming game at first. However, these tips should make the battle royale game much more fun for players.

Customize The Button Layout

While other battle royales allow players to choose a particular controller layout and mix-and-match control designations, First Soldier actually gives players the opportunity to manually configure the gameplay buttons themselves. This goes for both controller input too for those with console controllers, and for the actual layout of the controller in the game.

Players should take this opportunity if they have the time, especially if they’re using smaller devices like mobile phones and tablets. The game allows players to not just adjust the placement of each gameplay icon, but also change their size and opacity. By doing so, players can tailor the interface to exactly how they want to play the game.

Study The Map Carefully

While there’s only one map in First Soldier so far, it’s littered with a lot of areas and zones that contain their own structures, building complexes, and multi-level areas that players can explore. It helps players to study each area carefully and understand what their elements might imply when seen on the map. Here are important considerations when it comes to studying locations:

There are 15 zones: The map contains 15 zones, all of which could be categorized into structures (Church, Verdant House, Corneo’s Mansion, Colosseum), building complexes (Sector 5 Station, Sector 7 Slums, Sector 6 Slums), theatrical areas (Collapsed Expressway, Train Graveyard, Plate Support, Entertainment District), and open areas (Desolate Area - West, Desolate Area - East).
Structures are often multi-level: When it comes to structure zones, they’re often large areas with multiple levels. These could have enough room for close-ranged, indoor fights.
Building Complexes have multiple accessible areas: Building complexes often have smaller houses and structures that are accessible, and they almost always have supply caches for players.
Theatrical Areas, Open Areas have natural covers: Although open by nature, open areas almost always have natural cover available for players, be it destroyed environmental objects, rock formations, and other things large enough to hide one or more players.

Diversity Has Advantages In Weapon Choice

Similar to other battle royales, First Soldier offers a wide range of weapon types for players to choose from. These range from Assault Rifles, LMGs, SMGs, Sniper Rifles, Shotguns, and Handguns. Each of them has specific Ammo needs and properties, giving them varied uses in battle. At its core, players should try to carry at least two different kinds of weapons to give them more flexibility in combat. Here are things to consider for each weapon type:

Assault Rifle: Perhaps the most basic weapon type, these are all-around weapons that work at just about any range. Players need to choose whether they prefer fully automatic or burst options.
LMGs: While they take time to fire, LMGs pack a lot of punch once they hit opponents. They tend to carry a lot of bullets as well.
SMGs: Players who want to pack light can rely on the SMG to fire at opponents with more control and minimal recoil. Their damage numbers aren’t that high, but they compensate in terms of handling.
Sniper Rifles: Players who want to secure the kill from a distance won’t go wrong with the Sniper Rifle. Some snipers pack a heavy punch at the cost of recoil, while its semi-automatic variant has a rapid rate of fire that can chase opponents.
Shotguns: Players who love engaging enemies up close can rely on the Shotgun for some torturous melee-ranged attacks. They all pack a heavy punch, with one variant being semi-auto
Handguns: Despite their size, Handguns pack a lot of punch. While they don’t deal as much damage, they remain extremely easy to use when compared to other weapons.

Level Up As Soon As Possible

Players have a Style in a match not just to access certain special skills in combat, but also because leveling up their Style throughout battle allows them to access better versions of their Style’s techniques and abilities. Depending on the Style, leveling up gives players access to improved skills and stronger stats, as well as more MP bars with which to use Materia.

As such, players are encouraged to kill monsters as often as possible and engage in combat in a more cautious manner. That way, they can level up early on in the match and secure level-up advantages before the game enters more dangerous training phases.

Take Time To Learn About Accessories

Anyone who's played a battle royale game before should already understand that there’s no time to waste in the heat of battle, especially since standing in an open area of leaves them wide open to attack. Sadly, certain components of First Soldier only get explained in live matches, such as descriptions of Accessories. If possible, players should take time to read them to fully understand the scope of their benefits, if any. At its core, Accessories confer specific benefits within these parameters:

General Buffs: Accessories can boost EXP from defeating monsters (Glowing Egg), buff crouching/crawling speed (Lightweight Shoes), increase melee damage towards monsters (Power Wristguards), and heal every few seconds (Cat’s Bell).
Effect Nullification: Accessories can nullify the effects of explosion damage (Shelter Ring), as well as slow, blind, and poison (Jewel Pendant).
Utility Effects: Accessories can give odd benefits, such as displaying locations of interactive items (Mapping Pen), getting more rare items from chests (Fortune Ring), and even knowing the training zone for the next phase (Foresight Ring).

Make Use Of Three Materia Efficiently

Given that there are 11 kinds of Materia in the game, it’s easy to feel confused as to which Materia to carry throughout the rest of the match. In fact, some players may feel compelled to just carry three offensive Materia and go along with it. However, players who use their Materia properly can get an undeniable edge in the game. Instead of just choosing Materia willy-nilly, players should try to secure one of each kind of these Materia:

Damage/Offense: Players should choose an offensive spell as their first Materia. The intensity of their offensive spell depends on their playstyle, with Fire great for short-ranged players, Blizzard for those who need the extra firepower, and Thunder/Comet for those who want to attack from afar.
Debuff/Utility: Secondly, players should choose if they want a utility or a debuff spell as their next Materia. For instance, Blind is always a good spell to use for escaping enemies, whereas Aero is great for securing long distances.
Buff/Restoration: Lastly, players should grab a buff or a restorative spell to complete their set. Raise is a nifty addition to ensure players can revive allies anywhere, while Cure is always a great addition to remove the need to consume potions.

Upgrade Whenever Possible

Since characters have a limited HP, players who know how to use their weapons and skills well can easily kill opponents in just a few shots, making First Soldier a heavy skills-based game. However, players shouldn’t skip out on securing as many advantages as possible, and part of this is to upgrade their equipment whenever they're able.

Players can secure Gil by looting supply chests or defeating opponents, allowing them to spend this currency either on potions or upgrading their equipment in the many booths that are scattered around the map. If possible, players should upgrade their Style Weapon and their equipped weapons, as their upgraded versions add a lot more punch to their fighting capability.

Mind The Moving Dots

Players overlooking the view from a helicopter

SOLDIER Candidates across different Classes duke it out on sprawling battlefields that are littered with various buildings, factories, and complexes that give players a lot of room to explore and hunt enemies. An interesting component of these battlefields are the vast landscapes that offer players views of areas miles ahead of them.

With the lack of lock-on mechanics, players can find it tricky to spot enemies from a distance. However, a nifty way to circumvent this disadvantage is to remember that only four things “move” in the battle royale: items and interactive objects, spells, monsters, and players. If players spot a moving dot at a distance, it’s safe to assume it’s either a monster or another player, and they need to proceed with caution.

Use Utility Vehicles To Secure Area Advantage

Aside from the helicopters that are used to drop into battle, players also have access to utility vehicles (motorcycles and cars) as well as a Chocobo. This means that they don’t necessarily have to fight all opponents they face, but can instead choose to escape and retreat to a better vantage point. Here are considerations:

Utility Vehicles: Often taking the form of jeepneys, these can carry multiple passengers and are typically used to navigate to faraway areas together.
Motorcycles: These speed demons can only carry one player and give opportunities for melee attacks. This can not only make for impressive cavalry-style battles but also fly-by attacks to surprise and distract enemies
Chocobos: Thanks to Chocobo Stops, players can call forth a Chocobo for swift transport. While weak, they’re extremely fast and have a Chocobo Kick attack that players can use to distract foes.

Secure Supply Drops Whenever Possible

Given how there are a lot of combat components in First Soldier, one might ask themselves why they should even bother looking at the Supply Drops that enter the map every once in a while. After all, they already have Style skills, upgradeable weapons, and Materia at their disposal. However, Supply Drops contain some of the most compelling weapons in the game and so are absolutely worth seeking out whenever possible. Here are some things players can expect:

Summon Materia: Players can obtain Summon Materia from Supply Drops, specifically fire-based Ifrit and ice-based Shiva. After a certain time, they can be summoned to wreak havoc on the battlefield
Buzzsaw Launcher: This weapon launches chainsaw shots that stick to surfaces and damages players that touch them.
Bomb Launcher: These use Bombs as rounds, and can be reloaded by weakening Bombs and absorbing them.
Polestar: This weapon launches lasers and fire when hitting a special coin, making them devastatingly deadly at long ranges.
Inferno Cannon: This fires a continuous laser beam, making it extremely deadly when focused on opponents.
Flare Thrower: This fires a stream of purple fire, making it very deadly at close range.

Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier is available now for iOS and Android.

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