"Aerith is weak in battle" they said.

[Carl the Llama]

So I've long argued that Aerith isn't weak in battle, and that she can be as versatile any other member, and considerably more useful for the Fury Brand limit:

http://i.imgur.com/3OHq9qY.png

http://i.imgur.com/QwMKx92.gif

[Wolf Kanno]

Her stats, more than the rest of the cast, is heavily geared for magic/summons over whacking things. With that said, I agree she's perfectly fine in combat once you throw her in the front row and give her a good weapon. Considering her more powerful weapons become available long before other characters (Strike Staff anyone?) I definitely use her in more versatile roles. She's usually one of my main party builds until she dies because her magic is good and her Limit Breaks are a bit more useful.

[Mirage]

They say that because she is. Give anyone else similar gear and they'll run circles around her.

[Carl the Llama]

They say that because she is. Give anyone else similar gear and they'll run circles around her.

Ah but you see, you can get the Umbrella the very first time you go to the Golden Saucer, EVERY other power weapon is either right before you enter the Temple of the Ancients or in the Temple itself.

Besides, I wasn't arguing that there aren't better choices I was arguing that it IS possible to have her as a physical attacker, which is undeniably true.

Edit: I have given the same setup to Tifa (who you will notice is 7 levels above Aerith) I have her most powerful weapon available to me at this time and this is the result:

http://i.imgur.com/iqqBKpw.png

[Psychotic]

I've been using her in my Let's Play. Her magic ability is unmatched.

[Crop]

She is weak...but that's one of the reasons I like her, and always use her before her untimely demise.

Like Psy said; her magic is unmatched, but not only that - her limit breaks are among the most unique and useful in the game (especially if you're playing through with certain handicaps).

I honestly wish more characters were unique in this way. With everyone else it feels like they're just carbon copies of each other when in battle, apart from the occasional long range fighter. I get that the (awesome) materia system kinda negates the need for classes, but they still managed to make Aeris unique in battle so I don't see why they couldn't do it for others.

[Shauna]

Pity she dies.

[Mirage]

They say that because she is. Give anyone else similar gear and they'll run circles around her.

Ah but you see, you can get the Umbrella the very first time you go to the Golden Saucer, EVERY other power weapon is either right before you enter the Temple of the Ancients or in the Temple itself.

Besides, I wasn't arguing that there aren't better choices I was arguing that it IS possible to have her as a physical attacker, which is undeniably true.

Edit: I have given the same setup to Tifa (who you will notice is 7 levels above Aerith) I have her most powerful weapon available to me at this time and this is the result:



She is momentarily a bit more powerful than the rest. It's a temporary anomaly, not the standard mode of operation. Isn't the parasol also the item you get from the rail shooter? Terrible controls. Never want to do that again.

Of course she can be a physical attacker. Anyone can be. That doesn't mean she isn't weak. Weak is a relative term, and she is weak compared to many others.

[Carl the Llama]

She is momentarily a bit more powerful than the rest. It's a temporary anomaly, not the standard mode of operation. Isn't the parasol also the item you get from the rail shooter? Terrible controls. Never want to do that again.

Of course she can be a physical attacker. Anyone can be. That doesn't mean she isn't weak. Weak is a relative term, and she is weak compared to many others.

Actually its pretty much the standard if you know the ins and outs of the game:

Striking Staff: stolen @ the train graveyard (Aerith strongest)
Hardedge: stolen @ Shinra Tower (second)
Atomic Scissors: stolen @ World map (third)
Grand Glove: stolen @ Mythril Mines (weakest)

From this point she become the weakest again until you get to the Golden Saucer for the first time so... Gongaga > Cosmo Canyon > Nibelheim > Rocket Town > (optional) Wutai (Yuffie Superball) > Golden Saucer > Temple of the Ancients.

This is hardly a temporary anomaly... Also while you may not like the rail shooter, others may have different opinions and like a bit of a challenge (like myself).

[Formalhaut]

For me, Aerith was the weakest because I knew she was going to die, so why bother wasting time leveling her up?

She was immensely useful in getting the Enemy Skill Beta early from the Midgar Zolom, but beyond that, she wasn't really worth using.

[Mirage]

She is momentarily a bit more powerful than the rest. It's a temporary anomaly, not the standard mode of operation. Isn't the parasol also the item you get from the rail shooter? Terrible controls. Never want to do that again.

Of course she can be a physical attacker. Anyone can be. That doesn't mean she isn't weak. Weak is a relative term, and she is weak compared to many others.

Actually its pretty much the standard if you know the ins and outs of the game:

Striking Staff: stolen @ the train graveyard (Aerith strongest)
Hardedge: stolen @ Shinra Tower (second)
Atomic Scissors: stolen @ World map (third)
Grand Glove: stolen @ Mythril Mines (weakest)

From this point she become the weakest again until you get to the Golden Saucer for the first time so... Gongaga > Cosmo Canyon > Nibelheim > Rocket Town > (optional) Wutai (Yuffie Superball) > Golden Saucer > Temple of the Ancients.

This is hardly a temporary anomaly... Also while you may not like the rail shooter, others may have different opinions and like a bit of a challenge (like myself).

I like a challenge, and I even like some rail shooters. Not FF7's though. Also, highest standard attack damage value does not equal best damage dealer. Her limit breaks are support abilities, not damage abilities. Did you also parse her hit rate, by the way?

While support abilities can increase the total damage output of a party, that doesn't make a support ability a damage ability. You don't go around calling buffer jobs in MMOs damage dealers either, even though they might double or even triple the party's damage output.

She might be a high value party member, but that doesn't make her a strong physical attacker.

There's also no real point in using such enormous status screen images :p

[Vermachtnis]

Pity she dies.

Spoilers! :eek:

[Shiny]

Of course she's weak in battle, she's dead. What are you going to do, throw her corpse?

[Karifean]

Red with the Seraph Comb quickly catches up to the Umbrella, plus it has materia slots.

Aerith is an unparalleled magic user with some really great limit breaks though, and I really enjoy using her for that.

[Bubba]

She was always front line for me once she got the striking staff. The attack on that considering the point of the game you were at was awesome. Eligor is an elusive bastard though.

[escobert]

I recently started a play through and am using Aerith more than I had in the past. I'm loving Fury Brand :)

[Saber]

The reason I said she was weak is when I used a gameshark to revive her. She never will hit physically what other players can. Her weapon is the problem for this. Even with 255 stats she doesn't always hit 9999. The only thing she is good for is limit breaks.

[Mirage]

even with 255 stats, no one always hits for 9999. That's something you get from the ultimate weapons special effects. Try equipping cloud with anything except the ultima weapon, he won't hit 9999 every time either, unless he crits.