Everything you need to know about the Apex Legends x Final Fantasy VII Rebirth crossover

Apex Legends character Crypto wielding Final Fantasy's Buster Sword
Credit: Respawn

Apex Legends character Crypto wielding Final Fantasy's Buster Sword
Credit: Respawn

Are you looking for information on the upcoming Apex Legends x FFVII Rebirth crossover event? Then you've come to the right place.

First revealed at The Game Awards, the collaboration between EA's battle royale and Square Enix's upcoming follow-up to FFVII Remake, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, is right around the corner, bringing a ton of content from Midgar into Apex Legends.

So, if this somewhat bizarre collaboration has piqued your interest, time to find out exactly what you can expect from the Apex Legends x FFVII Rebirth event.

Apex Legends x FFVII Rebirth event: When does it start?

The event is scheduled to start on January 9. It'll be live until January 30, giving you a solid three weeks to grind and enjoy the new content available during the crossover.

It's worth noting that the takeover will only occur in non-ranked playlists, this is done to maintain competitive integrity in the main Apex Legends modes.

Buster Sword in Apex Legends

Apex Legend characters causing havoc utilising materia during the FFVII Rebirth crossover
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Credit: EA
A bizarre crossover, but a welcomed one!

One of the biggest incentives to try out this crossover is the ability to wield the Buster Sword, Cloud's (and previously Zack Fair's) iconic weapon in Final Fantasy VII. Now, don't be confused, there will be two versions of the Buster Sword available, the R2R5 and the R5 melee cosmetic.

The former version of the Buster Sword can be used as a weapon during the match by equipping it. It offers both light and heavy attacks, as well as the ability to dash and block. The more you use it the more your Limit Break bar will charge, letting you unleash a powerful ultimate attack once you've filled it.

The R5 melee cosmetic, on the other hand, is essentially a universal Heirloom that can be used with all characters. It doesn't have any bonuses and it's simply for cosmetic purposes, but you can bring this sweet new toy to ranked and other modes once the event is done.

The R2R5 will drop during matches and can be found in Care Packages as well. The R5 melee cosmetic is a random drop via event packs. This Heirlmoon won't be coming to the Mythic shop so be sure to get your hands on it before it's gone for good.

Materia in Apex Legends explained

On top of the Buster Sword, players will get to try out materia, which will work as attachments, known as hop-ups in Apex Legends. Materia in the world of Final Fantasy produces all sorts of effects, and in the spirit of their nature, they serve a similar purpose in the battle royale.

This is what each materia does:

  • Blue materia (HP absorb): Damage enemies to heal yourself
  • Green materia (Lightning: Reload an empty weapon to emit a shock nova, damaging and slowing nearby enemies
  • Purple materia (Crit Rate Up): Random criticals provide extra damage
  • Red materia (Summon): Summon a Nessie companion to attack your foes
  • Yellow materia (Assess): Damage enemies to see their remaining health

Each materia will only attach to select weapons, so keep an eye on the combinations that can be possible and those that can't. Materia, like the Buster Sword R2R5, will spawn randomly on the map but can also be found in special Cactuar Ticks cache drops.

Apex Legends x FFVII Rebirth cosmetics

We've talked about the Buster Sword R5 melee cosmetic already, but there's a ton more exclusive content available via the crossover. In total, there are 36 items to collect.

There are stickers, weapon skins, and most importantly, unique skins for six Legends inspired by Final Fantasy VII characters. The characters getting a skin are:

An image of the Apex Legends store featuring unique Final Fantasy VII skins
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Credit: EA
Six Legends have Final Fantasy VII inspired skins
  • Wraith
  • Horizon
  • Crypto
  • Wattson
  • Newcastle
  • Valkyrie

Each skin costs 2,150 Apex Coins. You can also acquire them by opening event packs, with the bonus that no repeat items will come out.

Finally, there will also be Gil as a limited-timed currency. Use it to buy other sorts of cosmetics that will be a part of the event, you can also use Gil to progress your battle pass so even if you're not that interested in the Final Fantasy VII cosmetics, there are some uses for it.

If you do get all 36 items, you'll be rewarded with a One Winged Angel death box, which can be used by all characters.

So that's all you need to know about the Apex Legends x FFVII Rebirth event. For more content, check out our recent feature about SBMM killing online gaming.