New Game+

Welcome to the ultimate challenge and reward in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth! New Game+ (NG+) offers a fantastic opportunity to revisit Gaia with all your hard-earned progress, tackle tougher difficulties, and uncover every last secret. This comprehensive guide will walk you through optimizing your NG+ experience, from carrying over your data to maximizing your rewards.

What Carries Over?

Upon completing the main story and initiating New Game+, you'll retain a significant portion of your previous playthrough's progress. This includes:

Character Levels and EXP: All characters will maintain their levels and accumulated experience points.
Materia: All acquired Materia, including their levels and AP, will transfer. This is crucial for building powerful new combinations early on.
Equipment: Weapons, armor, and accessories will all be available from the start.
Gil: Your accumulated Gil will carry over, allowing for immediate purchases.
Items: Consumables, key items (excluding story-specific ones like the Midgar Zolom Scale from Chapter 2), and crafting materials will transfer.
Folios: All unlocked Folio upgrades for each character will remain active.
Queen's Blood Cards: Your entire collection of Queen's Blood cards will be available.
Chocobo Customization: Any unlocked Chocobo gear and customization options will carry over.
Play Log Data: Your overall play log, including completed side quests, minigame scores, and combat challenges, will be preserved.

What Does NOT Carry Over: Story-specific key items that are tied to progression (e.g., the Midgar Zolom Scale from Chapter 2, which is used to cross the swamp) will be removed from your inventory to ensure proper story flow in the new playthrough.

Choosing Your Difficulty

NG+ introduces a new, formidable challenge: Dynamic Difficulty. This option automatically scales enemy levels to match your party's strength, ensuring a consistent challenge regardless of how over-leveled you become. For players seeking the ultimate test, Dynamic Difficulty is highly recommended. Alternatively, you can stick with Normal or Easy if you prefer to breeze through the story or focus on specific objectives.

Key Objectives in New Game+

New Game+ is the perfect time to tie up any loose ends and achieve 100% completion. Here’s a breakdown of what to prioritize:

1. Completing All Side Quests

If you missed any side quests in your first playthrough, NG+ is your chance to tackle them. Many side quests offer unique rewards, including powerful Materia, rare accessories, and valuable crafting recipes. Pay close attention to the request boards in towns like Kalm, Junon, and Costa del Sol.

Chadley's Combat Simulator: Many side quests unlock new challenges in Chadley's Combat Simulator. Completing these often rewards powerful Materia like AP Up or unique accessories.
Odd Jobs: Check the "Odd Jobs" section of your menu regularly for available quests.

2. Mastering Minigames

Many minigames have hidden challenges and high scores that unlock exclusive rewards. With your enhanced stats and familiarization with the mechanics, NG+ makes achieving these much more manageable.

Queen's Blood: Seek out every Queen's Blood opponent and aim for perfect wins. There are many unique cards to collect and a final grand tournament to conquer.
Chocobo Racing: Unlock all Chocobo gear and win every race, including the challenging S-Rank races at the Gold Saucer.
G-Bike: Aim for the highest scores in the Gold Saucer's G-Bike minigame for exclusive accessories.
Piano Performance: Achieve A-rank on all piano pieces to earn valuable rewards, including the "Piano Prodigy" accessory.

3. Unlocking All Weapon Abilities

Each character has multiple weapons, and each weapon possesses a unique ability. To fully unlock a weapon's ability for use with any other weapon, you must master it by using it a certain number of times. NG+ provides ample opportunity to cycle through weapons and master all abilities.

Weapon Progression: Equip a new weapon and use its unique ability frequently in combat until the mastery bar fills.
Materia Synergy: Experiment with different Materia combinations to enhance your weapon abilities.

4. Acquiring All Materia

While many Materia are found through story progression, some are hidden, obtained through side quests, or purchased from specific vendors. Use your NG+ playthrough to meticulously search every nook and cranny.

World Intel: Complete all World Intel objectives (Activation Towers, Lifesprings, Protorelics) to unlock new Materia and combat challenges from Chadley.
Secret Materia: Keep an eye out for glowing Materia orbs in obscure locations. For example, the HP Up Materia in the Mythril Mine or the MP Up Materia found in various regions.
Chadley's Shop: Chadley's shop often updates with new Materia as you progress through World Intel.

5. Defeating All Combat Simulator Challenges

Chadley's Combat Simulator offers increasingly difficult challenges, culminating in some of the toughest boss fights in the game. With your fully leveled party and optimized gear, NG+ is the ideal time to conquer these.

Brutal and Legendary Challenges: These high-tier challenges will test your party's synergy and Materia setups. Rewards often include powerful accessories and unique Materia.
Summon Battles: Defeat all Summon challenges to earn their respective Summon Materia.

6. Finding All Collectibles

From Queen's Blood cards to unique accessories and manuscripts, there are countless collectibles scattered across Gaia. Use a comprehensive guide or your in-game map to track down any you missed.

Manuscripts: These valuable items grant SP to specific characters, allowing for further Folio upgrades. They are often found in chests, as rewards for side quests, or dropped by certain enemies.
Music Discs: Collect all music discs to unlock new tracks for the Jukebox.

Recommended NG+ Strategy

Start with Dynamic Difficulty: If you're looking for a challenge, immediately switch to Dynamic Difficulty. This will keep combat engaging throughout your playthrough.
Focus on Unfinished Business: Prioritize any side quests, minigames, or World Intel you missed in your first run. Use your existing strong party to quickly clear these objectives.
Experiment with Materia and Weapons: With all your Materia and weapons available, experiment with new combinations. Try out different character builds and find what works best for challenging encounters.
Farm AP: If you have any Materia that aren't fully leveled, use the AP Up Materia and engage in combat to quickly max them out. The Grasslands region early in Chapter 2 is a good spot for easy AP farming.
Revisit Key Story Moments: Enjoy the story again with the added context of knowing the full narrative. You might notice subtle details you missed the first time.

By following this guide, your New Game+ experience in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will be both rewarding and incredibly fun. Good luck, and enjoy your return to Gaia!