Farming for AP, XP and gil is only really important after you’ve completed the story in Final Fantasy 7 Remake. For most of the game, you can simply lower the difficulty if you’re stuck against a tough opponent — you can swap out your materia, optimize your elements, and try again. There’s no penalty for playing on a lower difficulty, then bumping up right afterward. The only reason you’ll really want to farm is for the post-game content.
Gil seems useless in the end-game for one simple reason — you can’t use items in Hard Mode. So what’s the point? Gil is handy for repeating fights in the Shinra Battle Simulator. The Battle Sim is a handy tool for grinding XP and getting everyone to Level 50 — and especially for earning AP for your materia. Maxing out your materia isn’t just important for Hard Mode, it’ll also help you complete the toughest Battle Intel challenge and finally unlock the Bahamut Summon VR Battle.
Here are some of the best ways to speed up the process, reach max level, and fully enhance your favorite materia.
More Final Fantasy 7 Remake guides:
Tips & Tricks Beginner’s Guide | How To Unlock Level 2 Limit Breaks | All Weapon Locations & Proficiency Abilities | All Rare Materia Locations | How To Unlock All Summon Materia | All Jukebox Music Tracks Locations | ‘Heavenly Dart Player’ Trophy Guide | ‘Sultan of Squat’ Trophy Guide | PSA: 3 Very Useful Button Inputs | How To Get 200% Or 300% Stagger Bonus | How To Beat Roche, Crab Warden & Air Buster | How To Beat Reno, Rude & Hell House | How To Beat Abzu, Ghoul & Eligor | How To Beat Reno & Rude, Failed Experiment & Abzu (Rematch) | How To Beat Jenova, Rufus & Arsenal | How To Beat The Final Boss | All Side-Quests Guide & Rewards List | Post-Game Unlockables Guide
How To Earn AP, XP & Gil Fast | Max Farming Guide
To earn the most AP, XP & Gil, you’ll want to wait until after you’ve completed the story. After defeating the last boss, you’ll unlock Chapter Select, x2 XP and x3 AP. You’ll earn double XP and triple AP on any difficulty.
There are special Materia you can equip to characters if you want to earn more AP / XP / Gil faster.
- AP Up Materia: Collect the Pedometer Materia in Chapter 14 after leaving Aerith’s House. Equip it, and complete all the steps — it will unlock the AP Up Materia.
- EXP Up Materia: Reward for completing ‘Two-Person Team vs. High Flyers’ in the Chapter 16/17 Shinra Combat Simulator.
- Gil Up Materia: Reward for completing ‘Three-Person Team vs. Team Ragbag’ in the Chapter 16/17 Shinra Combat Simulator.
Equip the materia on anyone, and you’ll earn more rewards for the same amount of work. Now, let’s get into the best ways to post-game farm.
- Chapter 15 / 16: Run through the entire chapter — it’s a simple chapter that’s all fighting. You can earn 500+ AP with AP Up and linked materia. Use Magnify+Fira and Thunder to easily wipe through enemies. You can play this on Easy — you’ll earn the exact same amount of AP. In Chapter 16, just complete the underground parking lot section and restart.
- Chapter 17: Replay the Two-Person Team vs. Flyers at the Shrinra Combat Simulator. Very simple, but this method costs gil. If you need more girl, replay and fully clear the mission instead of resetting.
If you haven’t reached the post-game, there’s a later-game section that you can easily farm for infinite Gil and Hi-Potions.
- Chapter 13: After Barret is separated from the party, he’ll drop down to the bottom of the secret lab. Save your game, and run through the hallway shooting all the boxes on the shelves.
There are a ton of crates that respawn every time you reload. Return to the break room bench, rest, then reload your save to keep everything you’ve earned.
