How to change attack shortcuts in Final Fantasy VII Remake

Shortcuts make using abilities very easy and fast. Here’s how to customize them.

FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE

Screengrab via Square Enix

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In Final Fantasy VII Remake, the battle system has undergone major reconstruction with many of the elements from the original still present, but with real-time elements. Now, you battle in real-time, with the ability to use attacks and special abilities, but with the Active Time Battle system present as a way of activating your spells and abilities. 

This means that after a certain amount of time, you can press X and activate a slow-down effect in-game that allows you to pick an ability or a spell during battle without being punished for going through the menu. It’s a great system that allows players to have the best of both worlds.

However, those who know the original game also know that certain spells are better against specific enemies, and sometimes, going through the menu to hit the same spells each time will become laborious. Thankfully, the game has the option of four shortcuts using L1 and a button to activate, and this works for all abilities, and even for items.

How to change attack shortcuts

When loading up the game, there are three options already input and ready to go, with Braver, Focused Thrust, and use of a potion already there. There is a spare slot for L1 + X though. With Cloud having access to Fire at the start, this is a perfect spell to have on a shortcut.

FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Battle Settings
Screengrab via Square Enix

To set this on a shortcut, head into the menu with the Options button after you’ve defeated the first two mobs, and move to Battle Settings. Here, you’ll see a menu with all of the current character’s shortcuts. Simply go to the shortcut that you want to use and press X on it. From here, the Command menu will pop up, and allow you to change the shortcut to any that you wish within the command menu.

Once you have decided what should go there, select it and it will now be set under that shortcut. This is customizable per character, so you can adjust each character to your playstyle, or to the character’s particular strengths.

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