How to change attack shortcuts in Final Fantasy VII Remake Demo

In Final Fantasy VII Remake, the combat system underwent a major rebuild with many elements of the original still present, but with real-time elements. Now you fight in real time, with the ability to use special attacks and abilities, but with the Active Time Battle system present as a way to activate your spells and abilities.

This means that after a while you can press X and activate an in-game slowing effect that lets you choose an ability or spell during battle without being punished for going through the menu. It's a great system that allows players to have the best of both worlds.

However, those familiar with the original game also know that certain spells are better against specific enemies, and sometimes going through the menu to hit the same spells each time will become laborious. Fortunately, the game has the option of four shortcuts using L1 and a button to activate it, and it works for all abilities, and even for items.

How to change attack shortcuts

When loading the game from the demo, three options are already entered and ready to use, with Braver, Focused Thrust, and using a potion already there. There is, however, an alternate slot for L1 + X. With Cloud having access to Fire early on, it's a perfect spell to have on a shortcut.

Screenshot via Square Enix

To set this to a shortcut, go to the menu with the Options button after defeating the first two mobs, then go to the battle settings. Here you will see a menu with all the shortcuts for the current character. Just go to the shortcut you want to use and press X on it. From here the Command menu will appear and allow you to change the shortcut to whatever you want in the command menu.

Once you've decided what needs to go there, select it and it will now be set under that shortcut. This is customizable per character, so you can adjust each character to your playstyle or the character's particular strengths.

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