You can equip materia to your party members by opening up the menu and selecting "Materia". Materia can be equipped to weapons or armor, as long as there are free slots available.
Weapons and armor can have up to 8 materia slots each, allowing you to equip up to 16 materia per party member, and up to 48 materia in a standard party of 3 (16 x 3...).
There are 5 main types of materia: Magic, Command, Summon, Support, and Independent. Magic materia lets you use magic, and is green. Command materia lets you use different commands but only in battle, and is yellow. Summon materia is red, and allows you to summon powerful allies to help you in battle. Support materia is blue - this kind of materia works with Magic, Command or Summon materia to enhance what you are able to do with Magic, Command or Summon materia; this is called a materia "combination". In order for this to work, you need to have a pair of "linked" materia slots. Weapons and armor can have either single materia slots, which look like a circle, or linked materia slots, which look like 2 circles connected to each other. To create a materia combination, place either a Magic, Command, or Summon materia in one of the linked materia slots, and a Support materia in the other linked slot.
Cloud's Buster Sword has 2 linked materia slots. Some basic combinations to put in these 2 slots are, for example, Lightning-All or Restore-All. All is a Support materia, while Lightning and Restore are Magic materia. Lightning-All will allow you to target multiple enemies with a Bolt spell. Restore-All will allow you to use Cure on yourself and your allies.
Note that different Support materia aren't guaranteed to work with every single Magic, Command or Summon materia. For example, "All" materia (mentioned above) doesn't work with Command materia.
Independent materia is pink/purple. Independent materia grants passive improvements to your party members, such as raising their HP by a certain percentage.
TIP: equip all 3 of your active party members with a HP Plus materia as soon into FFVII as possible - it makes the game much easier. You can buy HP Plus materia in Cosmo Canyon and Mideel; you can also earn one in the Junon Parade.
N.B. It should be noted that there is a tendency for both Summon spells as well as Enemy Skills to be overpowered when compared to similar "standard" Magic spells.
Best Materia Combinations & Chains
It's very important to obtain all 4 Huge Materia, as you play through Disc 2, if you want to really max out your materia setup. After acquiring them, you can "visit" the Huge Materia in Cosmo Canyon using the planetarium machine.
If you max out the AP on a materia, known as "mastering", then that materia will give birth to another materia (basically asexual reproduction).
If you have the patience to master the required Command materia and exchange them for Master Commands in Cosmo Canyon at the yellow Huge Materia, you can come up with some powerful combinations. Double Cut and Slash-All materia won't have any extra effect if linked to Support materia. But there's a trick – if you have Master Command materia linked to Support materia, the effect of the Support materia will carry over to your default attack, including onto 2x-Cut, 4x-Cut or Slash-All. You can have 4 Master Commands in a chain on one character, one each linked to HP Absorb, MP Absorb, Added Cut and Steal as Well. If you also had a mastered Double Cut materia equipped, it would mean if you use 4x-Cut, you would absorb HP and MP (because of the HP Absorb and MP Absorb materia), as well as stealing (because of the Steal As Well materia) and having an extra attack (because of the Added Cut materia).
Another combination is to put Hades-Added Effect into your weapon and also equip a Mega All materia. Even if your level is still quite low, getting through weak to medium enemies will be a breeze as these enemies are likely to be affected by at least some of the status attacks which Hades inflicts.
There's a flip side to Hades-Added Effect. If you equip Hades-Added Effect, or Contain-Added Effect, or all 4 of these to your armor, you can get such good status immunity that the party member won't need a Ribbon equipped; allowing you to use an alternative powerful accessory.
Here is a particularly powerful one. Match up multiple mastered Counter Attack materia on one of your party members and also equip a mastered Cover. You'll counter multiple times every time you get hit, and because you have a mastered Cover equipped, you'll be hit frequently. Cover plus 15 mastered Counter Attacks is usually overkill…
This is maybe my favorite. Equip a mastered Comet materia linked to a mastered MP Turbo materia and a 2nd mastered Comet materia to a mastered Quadra Magic materia. Then equip a W-Magic materia. Comet 2 consists of 4 continuous hits so with Quadra Magic linked you're looking at a chain of 16, then with W-Magic a chain of 32, while the linked MP Turbo raises the damage of each hit.
Remember when I said that the Support materia "All" doesn't work with Command materia? That was true, but if you equip a Mega-All Independent materia to a party member, Mega-All will cause certain commands to affect all targets. It works with Steal/Mug, Deathblow, Morph and Attack.
Mega-All materia changes Attack to Slash-All; you might think that this renders the Slash-All Command materia redundant, but Slash-All materia can still be a good option if you level it up to be able to use the "Flash" command. Flash will instantly kill most enemies, but doesn't tend to work on tougher opponents.
It can be an idea to equip a mastered Slash-All to a party member, and also equip a mastered Destruct-Added Effect combination in the weapon. The mastered Slash-All allows you to use Flash, while the Destruct-Added Effect in the weapon assigns [Sudden Death] to your Attack; so effectively you end up with a doubled chance of dealing instant death.
Also note that a Level 5 Mega-All materia will allow you to use Magic on all targets up to 5 times per battle, but a Mega-All materia at any level will allow you to use e.g. Deathblow on all targets an unlimited number of times per battle.
Furthermore, if you link e.g. a Deathblow materia to Sneak Attack, and also equip a Mega-All, you have a chance of starting the battle by hitting every enemy with Deathblow.
Let's look at some really powerful combinations. How about a Master Magic linked to an All, a 2nd Master Magic linked to a Quadra Magic, a 3rd Master Magic linked to an MP Turbo, and a 4th Master Magic linked to an Added Cut. Then also equip a W-Magic materia and an MP Plus materia; all on one party member.
Or try this: a Knights of the Round linked to an HP Absorb, a 2nd Knights of the Round linked to an MP Absorb, a 3rd Knights of the Round linked to a Steal As Well, and a 4th Knights of the Round linked to an MP Turbo; and then throw in a W-Summon.
Last but not least, there is the classic Revive-Final Attack or Phoenix-Final Attack pairing. These allow you to auto-revive upon K.O.
Levelling Up Materia
There are 2 really good places to level up materia. The better area is only visitable towards the end of FFVII; but if you're trying to make your party really powerful, then the time to do this is near end-game.
Nonetheless, in Disc 2, Mideel Area on the World Map is a good option. You can actually reach some of the areas near Mideel when you're still in Disc 1 once you have the Tiny Bronco vehicle; here the "Spiral" enemies will provide a decent number of AP (80 AP each; so you can earn 240 AP for finishing off a group of 3 Spirals - or double that with a Double growth rate weapon or armor).
But in order to really max out a materia setup, you will want to go Inside the Planet in Part 3 of the game. Follow the left path where your party splits, and then take the up path. Here you encounter Magic Pots; Magic Pots will always demand Elixirs, so be prepared. You will want to use the "W-Item Cheat". Each Magic Pot you defeat will earn you 1000 AP. In the same area of the Northern Cave, you can encounter Movers. They always appear in a group of 3, and defeating all 3 will earn you 2400 AP.
Here's where it starts getting tricky. If you're good at math, read on. Otherwise, skip to the list below. Equip Cloud with the triple growth, 3 materia slot Apocalypse sword. 3 (triple growth) multiplied by 3 (number of materia slots) gives an efficiency of 9. Cid's Scimitar is interesting, as it also has triple growth, but in this case 3 (triple growth) multiplied by 2 (number of materia slots on the Scimitar) only gives you an efficiency of 6. Let's consider 1 (normal growth) multiplied by 8 (number of materia slots) - e.g. the Wizard Bracelet; or 2 (double growth) multiplied by 4 (number of materia slots) - e.g. the Rising Sun. Either of these 2 gives an efficiency of 8. An excellent option is Cid’s 5 materia slots double growth weapon, the Javelin, which gives the highest efficiency: 2 (double growth) multiplied by 5 (number of materia slots); 10. But let's say there were only 5 different materia you were interested in levelling up - in that case it would make most sense to equip the Apocalypse and the Scimitar, and get triple growth on each of those materia.
Want to know the theoretical most powerful materia combination? All 3 of your party members must be able to equip 16 linked materia each – equip weapons and Wizard Bracelet armor accordingly. Equip a Master Summon and a W-Summon to Cloud. Then fill out the rest of Cloud's slots with Mime-Counter. The Counters should all be mastered. Then give your other 2 party members 8 Mime-Counter each, and make sure all 3 party members have their Magic stats at 255. The idea is this: Cloud uses W-Summon with Knights of the Round. Then if immediately afterwards the enemy attacks all 3 of your characters at once, you would counter with a huge, 23-long chain of W-Summoning Knights of the Round.
Providing everyone's Magic stat is at 255 (here's how, and be aware it is not easy), you would be taking off either 9999 or very close to it with each hit (You can guarantee taking off 9999 with every hit if you alternatively link the Master Summon to MP Turbo. This raises the MP used by KOTR to 255, and any magical attack using 255 MP is guaranteed to hit for 9999. But it means you lose one Mime-Counter slot, so I don't believe it's worth it).
You should deal just short of 6 million HP damage (9999 HP x 13 Knights of the Round Table x 2 W-Summon x 23 Mimes). I've obtained almost all of the other combinations in this guide, but not this one.
Buy in Sector 7 Slums, Sector 5 Slums, Wall Market, Fort Condor, Junon (Disc 1), Costa del Sol (Disc 1), Mideel. Find in No. 1 Reactor.
Buying Price 750 Gil
Selling Price (mastered) 52500 Gil
Heal
Spell: Poisona | MP 3 | AP 0
Spell: Esuna | MP 15 | AP 12000
Spell: Resist | MP 120 | AP 52000
Mastered | AP 60000
Strength -1 | Magic +1 | Max HP -2% | Max MP +2%
Buy in Kalm, Junon, Costa del Sol (Disc 1), Gongaga.
Buying Price 1500 Gil
Selling Price (mastered) 105000 Gil
Revive
Spell: Life | MP 34 | AP 0
Spell: Life 2 | MP 100 | AP 45000
Mastered | AP 55000
Strength -2 | Magic +2 | Vitality -1 | Spirit +1 | Max HP -5% | Max MP +5%
Buy in Junon, Costa Del Sol (Disc 1).
Buying Price 3000 Gil
Selling Price (mastered) 210000 Gil
Full Cure
Spell: Full Cure | MP 99 | AP 3000
Mastered | AP 100000
Strength -4 | Magic +4 | Vitality -2 | Spirit +2 | Max HP -10% | Max MP +10%
Find in Cosmo Canyon (Disc 2 and 3).
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1 Gil
Fire
Spell: Fire | MP 4 | AP 0
Spell: Fire 2 | MP 22 | AP 2000
Spell: Fire 3 | MP 52 | AP 18000
Mastered | AP 35000
Strength -1 | Magic +1 | Max HP -2% | Max MP +2%
Red XIII's Initial Equipment.
Buy in Sector 7 Slums, Sector 5 Slums, Wall Market, Fort Condor, Junon (Disc 1), Costa del Sol, Mideel.
Buying Price 600 Gil
Selling Price (mastered) 42000 Gil
Ice
Spell: Ice | MP 4 | AP 0
Spell: Ice 2 | MP 22 | AP 2000
Spell: Ice 3 | MP 52 | AP 18000
Mastered | AP 35000
Strength -1 | Magic +1 | Max HP -2% | Max MP +2%
Cloud's Initial Equipment. Buy in Sector 7 Slums, Sector 5 Slums, Wall Market, Fort Condor, Junon (Disc 1), Costa del Sol, Mideel.
Buying Price 600 Gil
Selling Price (mastered) 42000 Gil
Lightning
Spell: Bolt | MP 4 | AP 0
Spell: Bolt 2 | MP 22 | AP 2000
Spell: Bolt 3 | MP 52 | AP 18000
Mastered | AP 35000
Strength -1 | Magic +1 | Max HP -2% | Max MP +2%
Cloud's Initial Equipment. Buy in Sector 7 Slums, Sector 5 Slums, Wall Market, Fort Condor, Junon (Disc 1), Costa Del Sol, Mideel.
Buying Price 600 Gil
Selling Price (mastered) 42000 Gil
Poison
Spell: Bio | MP 8 | AP 0
Spell: Bio 2 | MP 36 | AP 5000
Spell: Bio 3 | MP 80 | AP 20000
Mastered | AP 38000
Strength -1 | Magic +1 | Max HP -2% | Max MP +2%
Buy in Kalm, Junon (Disc 1), Costa Del Sol. Find in Shinra Building (Floor 67).
Buying Price 1500 Gil
Selling Price (mastered) 105000 Gil
Earth
Spell: Quake | MP 6 | AP 0
Spell: Quake 2 | MP 28 | AP 6000
Spell: Quake 3 | MP 68 | AP 22000
Mastered | AP 40000
Strength -1 | Magic +1 | Max HP -2% | Max MP +2%
Buy in Kalm, Junon (Disc 1), Costa Del Sol.
Buying Price 1500 Gil
Selling Price (mastered) 105000 Gil
Gravity
Spell: Demi | MP 14 | AP 0
Spell: Demi 2 | MP 33 | AP 10000
Spell: Demi 3 | MP 48 | AP 20000
Mastered | AP 40000
Strength -1 | Magic +1 | Max HP -2% | Max MP +2%
Buy in Costa Del Sol (Disc 2 and 3), Mideel (after Ultimate Weapon attacks). Find in Cave of the Gi.
Buying Price 8000 Gil
Selling Price (mastered) 560000 Gil
Comet
Spell: Comet | MP 70 | AP 0
Spell: Comet 2 | MP 110 | AP 12000
Mastered | AP 60000
Strength -2 | Magic +2 | Vitality -1 | Spirit +1 | Max HP -5% | Max MP +5%
Find in Forgotten Capital.
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1400000 Gil
Contain
Spell: Freeze | MP 82 | AP 0
Spell: Break | MP 86 | AP 5000
Spell: Tornado | MP 90 | AP 10000
Spell: Flare | MP 100 | AP 15000
Mastered | AP 60000
Strength -4 | Magic +4 | Vitality -2 | Spirit +2 | Max HP -10% | Max MP +10%
Find in Mideel (feed the little white chocobo a Mimmett Greens, then scratch it behind its ear).
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1 Gil
Ultima
Spell: Ultima | MP 130 | AP 5000
Mastered | AP 100000
Strength -4 | Magic +4 | Vitality -2 | Spirit +2 | Max HP -10% | Max MP +10%
Find in North Corel (Disc 2 and 3, after train sequence. Received for free if you stop the train, buy for 50000 Gil if you crash the train, unobtainable if you never reach the train).
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1 Gil
Seal
Spell: Sleepel | MP 8 | AP 0
Spell: Silence | MP 24 | AP 10000
Mastered | AP 20000
Strength -1 | Magic +1 | Max HP -2% | Max MP +2%
Buy in Junon, Costa Del Sol (Disc 1).
Buying Price 3000 Gil
Selling Price (mastered) 210000 Gil
Transform
Spell: Mini | MP 10 | AP 0
Spell: Toad | MP 14 | AP 8000
Mastered | AP 24000
Strength -1 | Magic +1 | Max HP -2% | Max MP +2%
Cait Sith's Initial Equipment
Buy in North Corel, Gongaga, Cosmo Canyon, Mideel (after Ultimate Weapon attacks). Find in Corel Bridge.
Buying Price 5000 Gil
Selling Price (mastered) 350000 Gil
Mystify
Spell: Confu | MP 18 | AP 0
Spell: Berserk | MP 28 | AP 12000
Mastered | AP 25000
Strength -1 | Magic +1 | Max HP -2% | Max MP +2%
Buy in Gongaga, Cosmo Canyon, Rocket Town.
Buying Price 6000 Gil
Selling Price (mastered) 420000 Gil
Exit
Spell: Escape | MP 16 | AP 0
Spell: Remove | MP 99 | AP 10000
Mastered | AP 30000
Strength -1 | Magic +1 | Max HP -2% | Max MP +2%
Buy in Rocket Town.
Buying Price 10000 Gil
Selling Price (mastered) 700000 Gil
Time
Spell: Haste | MP 18 | AP 0
Spell: Slow | MP 20 | AP 8000
Spell: Stop | MP 34 | AP 20000
Mastered | AP 42000
Strength -2 | Magic +2 | Vitality -1 | Spirit +1 | Max HP -5% | Max MP +5%
Buy in Gongaga, Rocket Town.
Buying Price 6000 Gil
Selling Price (mastered) 420000 Gil
Destruct
Spell: DeBarrier | MP 12 | AP 0
Spell: Despell | MP 20 | AP 6000
Spell: Death | MP 30 | AP 10000
Mastered | AP 45000
Strength -2 | Magic +2 | Vitality -1 | Spirit +1 | Max HP -5% | Max MP +5%
Buy in Fort Condor (Disc 2 and 3), Mideel (after Ultimate Weapon attacks). Find in Shinra Mansion.
Buying Price 9000 Gil
Selling Price (mastered) 630000 Gil
Barrier
Spell: Barrier | MP 16| AP 0
Spell: MBarrier | MP 24 | AP 5000
Spell: Reflect | MP 30 | AP 15000
Spell: Wall | MP 58 | AP 30000
Mastered | AP 45000
Strength -2 | Magic +2 | Vitality -1 | Spirit +1 | Max HP -5% | Max MP +5%
Buy in Rocket Town.
Buying Price 10000 Gil
Selling Price (mastered) 700000 Gil
Shield
Spell: Shield | MP 180 | AP 10000
Mastered | AP 100000
Strength -4 | Magic +4 | Vitality -2 | Spirit +2 | Max HP -10% | Max MP +10%
Find in N. Cave.
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1 Gil
Master Magic
Spell: Every Single Spell
Find in Kalm (trade Earth Harp, received for defeating Emerald Weapon), Cosmo Canyon (swap at Huge Materia for a mastered version of every other Magic Materia).
Find in Kalm (trade Earth Harp, received for defeating Emerald Weapon), Cosmo Canyon (swap at yellow Huge Materia for a mastered version of each of Sense, Deathblow, Manipulate, Steal, Throw, Morph and Mime).
N.B. at Level 1, you can use the respective Summon spell once per battle, at Level 2 twice per battle, at Level 5 five times per battle, etc. A Master Summon materia allows you to cast every Summon spell an unlimited number of times per battle.
Choco/Mog
Level 1 Deathblow!!/Fat-Chocobo | MP 14 | AP 0
Level 2 | AP 2000
Level 3 | AP 14000
Level 4 | AP 25000
Level 5 Mastered | AP 35000
Magic +1 | Max HP -2% | Max MP +2%
Find in Chocobo Farm, say 'Wark' to chocobo at the fence.
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1 Gil
Shiva
Level 1 Diamond Dust | MP 32 | AP 0
Level 2 | AP 4000
Level 3 | AP 15000
Level 4 | AP 30000
Level 5 Mastered | AP 50000
Magic +1 | Max HP -2% | Max MP +2%
Find in Junon, receive as gift for saving Priscilla's life.
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1 Gil
Ifrit
Level 1 Hellfire | MP 34 | AP 0
Level 2 | AP 10000
Level 3 | AP 20000
Level 4 | AP 35000
Level 5 Mastered | AP 60000
Magic +1 | Max HP -2% | Max MP +2%
Find in Cargo Ship (between Junon and Costa Del Sol).
Find in Fort Condor after final battle against the Shinra.
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1 Gil
Neo Bahamut
Level 1 Giga Flare | MP 140 | AP 0
Level 2 | AP 30000
Level 3 | AP 80000
Level 4 | AP 140000
Level 5 Mastered | AP 200000
Magic +2 | Spirit +2 | Max HP -10% | Max MP +10%
Find in Whirlwind Maze.
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1 Gil
Hades
Level 1 Black Cauldron | MP 150 | AP 0
Level 2 | AP 35000
Level 3 | AP 120000
Level 4 | AP 150000
Level 5 Mastered | AP 250000
Magic +4 | Spirit +4 | Max HP -10% | Max MP +15%
Find in Sunken Gelnika.
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1 Gil
Typoon (Typhon)
Level 1 Disintegration | MP 160 | AP 0
Level 2 | AP 35000
Level 3 | AP 120000
Level 4 | AP 150000
Level 5 Mastered | AP 250000
Magic +4 | Spirit +4 | Max HP -10% | Max MP +15%
Find in Ancient Forest.
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1 Gil
Bahamut Zero
Level 1 Tera Flare | MP 180 | AP 0
Level 2 | AP 35000
Level 3 | AP 120000
Level 4 | AP 150000
Level 5 Mastered | AP 250000
Magic +4 | Spirit +4 | Max HP -10% | Max MP +15%
Find in Cosmo Canyon, check the blue Huge Materia, must have Bahamut materia and Neo Bahamut materia in inventory.
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1 Gil
Knights of the Round (Knights of Round)
Level 1 Ultimate End | MP 250 | AP 0
Level 2 | AP 50000
Level 3 | AP 200000
Level 4 | AP 300000
Level 5 Mastered | AP 500000
Magic +8 | Spirit +8 | Max HP -10% | Max MP +20%
Find in Materia Cave, Round Island (you must have a gold chocobo)
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1 Gil
Master Summon
All Summons, unlimited times per battle
Find in Kalm (trade Earth Harp, received for defeating Emerald Weapon), Cosmo Canyon (swap at Huge Materia for a mastered version of every other Summon Materia).
Level 1 | Can use linked magic on all enemies once per battle. | AP 0
Level 2 | Can use linked magic on all enemies twice per battle. | AP 1500
Level 3 | Can use linked magic on all enemies thrice per battle. | AP 6000
Level 4 | Can use linked magic on all enemies four times per battle. | AP 18000
Level 5 Mastered | Can use linked magic on all enemies five times per battle. | AP 35000
Red XIII's Initial Equipment. Buy in Fort Condor (Disc 2 and 3). Find in Sector 7 Slums, Shinra HQ Floor 63, Cargo Ship, Mt. Nibel, Great Glacier.
Buying Price 20000 Gil
Selling Price (mastered) 1400000 Gil
Added Effect
Level 1 | Paired materia's status effects are added to weapon's attack or armor's defence. | AP 0
Level 2 Mastered | AP 100000
Find in Cave of the Gi.
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1 Gil
Elemental
Level 1 | Adds paired element to attack or defence (for defence, reduces elemental damage by 50%) | AP 0
Level 2 | Adds paired element to attack or defence (for defence, reduces elemental damage by 100%) | AP 10000
Level 3 | Adds paired element to attack or defence (for defence, turns elemental damage into beneficial effect) | AP 40000
Level 4 Mastered | AP 80000
Find in Shinra HQ Floor 62 (guess Mayor's password on first attempt), Tifa's bedroom in Nibelheim (play the piano, seems to be somewhat randomly given), find in Mt. Nibel.
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1 Gil
N.B. be very careful with pairing Elemental materia in your weapon. If you link e.g. Fire materia to Elemental materia in your weapon, and the opponent you attack with your weapon is strong against Fire element, that can cause your attack to be halved, nullified altogether or even worse absorbed by the enemy...
MP Turbo
Level 1 | Increases MP cost and power of paired magic by 10% | AP 0
Level 2 | Increases MP cost and power of paired magic by 20% | AP 10000
Level 3 | Increases MP cost and power of paired magic by 30% | AP 30000
Level 4 | Increases MP cost and power of paired magic by 40% | AP 60000
Level 5 Mastered | Increases MP cost and power of paired magic by 50% | AP 120000
Find in Whirlwind Maze.
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1 Gil
N.B. If you use MP Turbo to increase the linked Magic or Summon's MP Cost to 255 MP, then the linked Magic or Summon is effectively guaranteed to take off 9999 HP.
HP Absorb
Level 1 | Absorb 1/10th of attack with paired materia as HP | AP 0
Level 2 Mastered | AP 100000
Find in Wutai, N. Cave
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1 Gil
MP Absorb
Level 1 | Absorb 1/100th of attack with paired materia as MP | AP 0
Level 2 Mastered | AP 100000
Find in Wutai (Item Shop).
Buying Price N/A
Selling Price (mastered) 1 Gil
Added Cut
Level 1 | Attacks normally after using paired materia | AP 0