Attack command will do area damage immediately after dodging.
Description
Deadly dodge materia is a 
Complete Materia in Final Fantasy VII Remake and "Episode INTERmission". It grants the Deadly Dodge ability, which means that after performing a dodge roll, the next Attack command will deal area damage. This makes the materia an excellent way to improve the effect of normal attacks.
The Deadly Dodge attack animations differ for each character who equips it. Cloud's Deadly Dodge attacks are several wide spinning slashes of his sword. Tifa's Deadly Dodge attacks are a series of aerial roundhouse kicks that hit opponents in an area similar to her Rise and Fall attack.
Obtained[]
Deadly dodge found in Sector 8.
Deadly dodge materia is common. One can first be picked up on the streets of Sector 8 in "Evade Pursuers" during Chapter 2, "Fateful Encounters", and later, the materia can be purchased from shops for 600 gil.
In INTERmission, Yuffie starts with a deadly dodge materia already equipped to her, and it is also sold in the Sector 7 Slums Item Shop and in vending machines.
Stats[]
| Level | AP required | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | Use Deadly Dodge |
| 2 | 1000 | Increase potency and effects |
Use[]
Deadly Dodge will cause normal attacks to deal area damage after successfully dodging an enemy's attack. If a player is successful at dodging attacks from some bosses, they can benefit from dealing more damage to nearby enemies immediately after. Because it relies on player input, it is better used on characters that the player most often controls.
Deadly dodge materia is best on Cloud and Tifa, as both are melee characters and thus will dodge more frequently. Cloud's damage output increases most from its use, as his swords mean that his attacks deal more area damage to enemies anyway, but his slow movement speed and attacks will make him dodge less frequently. Conversely, Tifa's mobility means she can easily dodge enemy attacks, and if the player controls her more often than Cloud, she can greatly benefit from the damage output increase by equipping it.
While being less effective than Cloud and Tifa, Barret can also benefit from this materia, and will have different animations depending on which weapon he uses; when equipped with a ranged weapon, Barret will unleash close-range sweeping burst with his gun arm, covering a large arc in front of him, while when equipped with a melee weapon, he performs multiple lariats in succession that can stunlock opponents. When used by Aerith, she'll launch multiple homing projectiles that will seek nearby enemies, hitting them once; while much less effective than the other characters, it can be useful to hit groups of flying enemies and to build ATB significantly faster, since the projectiles are speedier than her normal attacks.
In the hands of a player who dodges successfully often, and on characters who rely more on physical damage output, deadly dodge materia is useful. However, it can become outclassed by other materia more deserving of the slot. Deadly Dodge is comparable to Parry Materia, which has a similar effect, though it provides a character a counterattack after parrying an attack rather than dodging. Which the player equips depends on how they use the characters. For instance, Cloud is better at parrying attacks due to his slow movement speed, while Tifa is better at dodging.
Deadly Dodge can be paired with 
HP Absorption Materia to heal the character after successfully dodging an attack, still granting the usual damage output increase. Equipping it in this way means HP Absorption materia can heal a character for free, albeit in smaller amounts than if paired with a 
Magic Materia. This is very useful for hard mode, where MP is scarce, meaning the player can rely less on healing magic and instead use this combination to conserve their MP for boss fights.
In "Episode INTERmission", Yuffie has two animations for deadly dodge, depending on whether she is holding her weapon. While wielding it, she spins sideways with her weapon, covering large range around her; despite the range the angle which she uses is less optimal for crowd control, unlike Cloud's. While not wielding her weapon (after using Throw), Yuffie will cast a ninjutsu that creates spinning blades around her that persist for around two seconds; this ability has high crowd control potential, specially if she is surrounded.
