Added Cut is a Support Materia in Final Fantasy VII. When linked with another Materia, it will follow up its effect with a physical attack from the user in the same turn. This physical attack will target the same unit as the target of the initial command; if it is a multi-target command, the physical attack will target only one random unit. Linking multiple Added Cut Materia to the same Materia does not add another attack.
Added Cut can be linked with all Magic and Summon Materia, as well as a wide variety of Command Materia. These are Steal, Sense, Throw, Morph, Deathblow, Manipulate and Master Command. Added Cut does not take effect with the Mime command.
Obtained[]
Added Cut is obtained from the Great Glacier. Only one can be obtained this way under normal circumstances, with the only way to obtain multiple Added Cut Materia being mastering it. This requires a large 200000 AP, meaning that it is best to equip weapons and armor with Double or Triple AP.
It is also possible to duplicate the Materia when picking it up. By timing one's steps exactly so Cloud faints just as he picks up the Materia, and not pressing the confirm button (leaving the text box up), returns the player to Holzoff's cabin and the Materia will remain on the ground while another will be in the player's inventory. This same trick also works with the Alexander summon nearby. Accomplishing this is much easier on an emulator with save states.
Stats[]
Level | AP required | Effect |
---|---|---|
1 | 0 | Added Cut |
2 | 200000 | MASTER |
Mechanics[]
Added Cut Materia can be paired with a Magic, Summon, or compatible Command Materia to follow up the use of the ability with an attack. The target of this attack will be the same as the previous attack, meaning it should be used with offensive abilities, as if applied to a healing spell it will attack a target after healing them. When used with a character whose physical attacks are strong, this can further add to the damage of the basic ability. Added Cut differs from the Double Cut, in that it does not use a special animation but rather the normal attack animation.
When linked with a regular Command Materia, Added Cut applies its effect to the highlighted ability on the Materia; the darkened ability only gets the effect if the user has another source for that particular ability equipped. For example, a Level 2 Throw grants Coin, and paired Added Cut would be applied to Coin only and not Throw, unless the user also equips a Level 1 Throw Materia to the same character.
If linked with Master Command, Added Cut is applied to every command except for Limit, Magic, W-Magic, Summon, W-Summon, and E.Skill. This does mean it applies the effect to the Item command, meaning the player should be careful when using items to heal a character. It also means it will attack an enemy twice when the normal Attack command is used. Throw is still exempt unless the user has another source for the Throw ability, since Master Command doesn't support Throw as a separate ability.
Use[]
Aside from simply adding more damage, there are a variety of unique applications for Added Cut. When paired with Gravity, it is possible to use one of its spells to kill an enemy, which otherwise cannot be done with fractional damage. When paired with abilities that otherwise do not damage an enemy, such as Sense, or Magic Materia that cause negative status effects on enemies that are not guaranteed to work, Added Cut can ensure that a turn is never wasted. If linked to Deathblow, the player still gets an attack in even if the D.blow command missed.
One drawback to Added Cut in certain circumstances is that characters who are best at casting Magic or Summon spells often have weaker physical attacks, due to the stat changes involved in equipping Magic aside from Master Magic; Summon Materia does not give any penalties, but they are costly and the follow-up attack will affect a random target. Though the Added Cut damage will be a great bonus regardless, it will result in a compromise. As Added Cut relies on the physical damage of the user, it is best on characters with a high Strength stat: Cloud, Barret, Tifa, and Cid, though all but Cloud will have to use Command Materia to reach the maximum potential of the Materia.
Barret can be one of the best users of the Materia with his ultimate weapon, Missing Score, as the weapon deals more damage based on the AP of equipped Materia and Added Cut itself can hold a large amount of AP, and equipping Magic and Summon Materia, which themselves can hold large amounts, can make Missing Score deadly. Additionally, Cloud is a great user of the Materia, because his balanced stats make him strong with both magical and physical attacks.