Barrier (Final Fantasy VII)

Barrier is a Magic Materia in Final Fantasy VII equipped to provide the user spells that provide temporary defensive status effects. These include the spells Barrier, MBarrier, Reflect and Wall. The Barrier status halves physical damage, MBarrier halves magical damage, Reflect will reflect magical spells, and Wall grants both Barrier and MBarrier.
==Obtained==
Barrier is a rare Materia purchased only from Rocket Town for 10,000 gil.
==Stats==
===Growth===
Level	AP required	Effect
1 	0 	Barrier
2 	5000 	MBarrier
3 	15000 	Reflect
4 	30000 	Wall
5 	45000 	MASTER
===Abilities===
Magic	MP	Effect
 	16	Grants Barrier.
 	24	Grants MBarrier.
 	30	Grants Reflect. Cannot be reflected.
 	58	Grants Barrier and MBarrier.
==Use==
The Barrier Materia grants four spells at different levels. The first spell, Barrier, applies the Barrier status effect, which halves physical damage. The second spell, MBarrier, applies the MBarrier status effect, which halves magical damage/healing taken. Reflect applies the Reflect status, which bounces magical spells that do not pierce Reflect back to the opposing party. Wall applies both the Barrier and MBarrier status effects. Each spell can be useful depending on the type of damage the enemy deals.
Barrier's defensive spells are not based on the caster's Magic stat. However, Barrier also has considerable stat changes: +5% to max MP, +2 Magic, and +1 Magic def, but -5% HP, -2 Strength -2, and -1 Vitality. It is therefore advised to give Barrier to characters who are better built towards spellcasting with higher MP and Magic stats, such as Aeris, Red XIII, Cait Sith, and Vincent, who will benefit more from the stat changes. Cloud and Yuffie can be a good choice as they can be built towards either magical or physical damage.
The main drawback to the Barrier spells are that Big Guard from the Enemy Skill Materia effectively rendering them redundant. Big Guard grants Barrier and MBarrier, along with Haste, to all allies, and though its MP cost is large, it is still (slightly) cheaper than Wall, which does not also grant Haste. Big Guard also applies the effect to all allies without requiring links to the All Materia.
The Reflect spell is fairly unique. It bounces magic to the opposing party, which can be used in various situations. Unlike the Barrier spells, however, there is risk to its use, as it will also reflect healing spells cast on said allies.
Category:Magic Materia in Final Fantasy VII