Great resistance to the linked materia's status ailment. Works with poison, time, bind, and subversion materia.
Description
Warding materia is a 
Support Materia in Final Fantasy VII Remake and "Episode INTERmission". It can be linked with certain 
Magic Materia to shorten the duration of debuffs attached to the linked materia. At max level, it will nullify the debuff.
Warding materia can be paired with Poison Materia, Time Materia, Binding Materia, and Subversion Materia.
Obtained[]
A warding materia is a reward for "On the Other Side" during "Rough Waters".
Another warding materia can be found during "In Solitude" during "A Broken World", shortly after Tifa rejoins the party. 
After reuniting with Tifa, the player needs to take the path right and up some stairs, then shoot at the turbines to create a safe passage forward. The left turbine creates a path to a treasure chest with an ether, the right turbine leads to a dead-end with boxes, while the middle proceeds forward. Shooting the safes around cages can net items; one cage contains an Ice Materia orb, while another has a chest with a turbo ether. Up the stairs, another cage to the right contains a warding materua.
As with other support materia, warding materia cannot be reacquired using chapter selection once the player already has it. Where a warding materia was previously obtained, Healing Materia replaces it.
In INTERmission, warding is found during "Scout Out Sector 7"; Yuffie can pick it up by heading through the tunnel to the house at the center of town. It is near to where the woman is telling the story of "Stamp, the Loyal Little Helper".
Stats[]
Growth[]
| Level | AP required | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 25% debuff reduction |
| 2 | 2500 | 50% debuff reduction |
| 3 | 7500 | 100% debuff reduction |
Effect[]
| Materia | Debuffs resisted |
|---|---|
| Poison Materia
|
 Poison
|
| Time Materia
|
 Slow,  Stop
|
| Binding Materia
|
 Sleep,  Silence,  Berserk
|
| Subversion Materia
|
Instant Death |
Use[]
Warding materia shortens the duration of any debuffs attached with the associated magic materia. At level 1 it will reduce their length by 25%, at level 2 it will reduce their length by 50%, and at level 3 it will provide full immunity to the debuff. This can be especially useful against otherwise devastating debuffs. Warding materia's effect is the same whether equipped on weapons or armor. Pairing warding materia with magic materia can also make said materia more slot-efficient, and can free up a slot for an accessory that would otherwise provide immunity.
Warding materia can be useful when paired with time materia, providing resistance to Slow and Stop, or when paired with binding materia, providing resistance to Sleep, Silence, and Berserk. These debuffs can drastically alter the course of a battle and render a character useless. It can be paired with poison materia, though this is a less efficient use because there are other ways to counteract the Poison debuff.
One excellent combo is pairing a maxed warding materia with subversion to provide immunity to Instant Death. Other than being ideal against tonberries, it also allows Self-Destruct from the 
Enemy Skill Materia to not instantly kill a character with Reprieve. Doing so can instantly bring on a limit break.
It is often ideal to equip warding materia with Cleansing Materia, allowing the character responsible for casting 
Esuna to not be debuffed themselves. Alternatively, it can be used on whichever character the player is controlling most often.
Because warding materia at max level can provide a full immunity to a debuff, it is useful to level up. Especially during hard mode, this can be an efficient way to avoid spending MP or ATB on curing debuffs.