Equips "Destruct" magic
Description
Destruct is a Magic Materia in Final Fantasy VII equipped to provide the spells DeBarrier, DeSpell, Death. The former two remove positive status effects from targets, while Death can instantly kill a target if successful. When linked with the Added Effect Materia, it resists against or provides a chance to inflict Instant Death with normal attacks.
Obtained[]
Destruct can be found initially in the Mansion basement in Nibelheim during part 1 before passing beyond the third atmospheric wall in the Whirlwind Maze in part 2. Sephiroth will throw it at the player after the cutscene plays out.
Later, Destruct can be purchased from Fort Condor during parts 2 and 3, and from Mideel after the encounter with the Ultimate Weapon.
Stats[]
Growth[]
| Level | AP required | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | DeBarrier |
| 2 | 6000 | DeSpell |
| 3 | 10000 | Death |
| 4 | 45000 | MASTER |
Abilities[]
| Magic | MP | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| DeBarrier | 12 | Remove Barrier, MBarrier, Reflect, and Shield statuses. Cannot be reflected. |
| DeSpell | 20 | Remove Haste, Slow, Stop, Regen, Barrier, MBarrier, Reflect, Shield, Death Force, and Resist statuses. Cannot be reflected. |
| Death | 30 | 44% chance of inflicting Instant Death. |
Use[]
The Destruct Materia grants the spell DeBarrier at level 1, DeSpell at level 2, and Death at level 3. DeBarrier removes the status effects positive Barrier, MBarrier, Reflect, and Shield. DeSpell removes these status effects, in addition to Haste, Slow, Stop, Regen, Death Force, and Resist. Both DeBarrier and DeSpell pierce reflect. Death, on the other hand, attempts to instantly kill a target, with a 44% chance of working, though many targets are immune.
Although none of Destruct's spells are based on the caster's Magic stat, it has fairly significant stat changes. Destruct provides +5% to max MP, +2 Magic, and +1 Magic def, but -5% HP, -2 Strength, and -1 Vitality. This means it is best to give Destruct to characters built towards spellcasting with higher MP and Magic stats, as it will boost their existing stats. Good characters for these are Aeris, Red XIII, Cait Sith, and Vincent. Cloud and Yuffie can be good choices as they can be built towards either magical or physical damage. These stat changes are similar to Odin, though Odin only grants +1 Magic, and has no penalty to Strength or Vitality.
Destruct can be paired with the Added Effect Materia. When linked with it on weapons, it has a 20% chance to inflict Death on physical attacks. When linked on armor, it provides immunity to Death. In cases where enemies inflict Death, the immunity can be particularly helpful, although the Safety Bit and Death Force provide the same effect. On weapons, the chance to kill an enemy outright can end fights quicker, though equipping it against undead enemies will simply heal them instead. Either way, it is important to consider the stat changes before using the Materia in this way.
Destruct's first two spells, DeBarrier and DeSpell, can be helpful against enemies that protect themselves with defensive statuses. By removing these defenses, the fights against them become easier, as it is possible to effectively double damage dealt against them. The spells also cannot be reflected, meaning they can remove Reflect.
Linking Destruct at level 3 with Sneak Attack will attempt to instantly kill an enemy as soon as the fight begins, which can be helpful in many circumstances where enemies fought are not generally immune to Instant Death.