Guard Stick (VII Remake)

The Guard Stick is Aerith's default weapon in Final Fantasy VII Remake. It provides her the ability Arcane Ward, a core ability to her moveset that allows her to place a ward on the ground which causes spells cast by her and allies within it to hit twice. Guard Stick provides unlockable abilities that focus on Aerith's durability.
==Upgrades==
===Materia slots===
Materia slotspurchased	MinimumWeapon Level	Slots
0 	1 	
1 	3 	
2 	4 	
3 	4 	
4 	5 	
5 	5 	
6 	6 	
7 	6 	
===Skills===
Guard Stick Core - Weapon Level: 1 - Required SP: 8	Guard Stick Core - Weapon Level: 1 - Required SP: 8	Guard Stick Core - Weapon Level: 1 - Required SP: 8
MATK Up 	Magic Attack Power +12 	Increases magic attack power attribute.
DEF Up 	Defense +7 	Increases defense attribute.
MDEF Up 	Magic Defense +7 	Increases magic defense attribute.
Max HP Up 	Max HP +150 	Increases maximum HP.
Max MP Up 	Max MP +8 	Increases maximum MP.
Guard Stick Sub-Core I - Weapon Level: 3 - Required SP: 10	Guard Stick Sub-Core I - Weapon Level: 3 - Required SP: 10	Guard Stick Sub-Core I - Weapon Level: 3 - Required SP: 10
Enhanced Attack 	Attack Damage 5% Boost 	Increases damage dealt by basic attacks.
Enhanced Tempest 	Tempest Damage 5% Boost 	Increases damage dealt by Tempest.
Enhanced Physical Guard 	Physical Damage Reduction 10% when Guarding 	Reduces physical damage taken when successfully guarding.
Enhanced Magic Guard 	Magic Damage Reduction 10% when Guarding 	Reduces magic damage taken when successfully guarding.
Needs More Materia 	New Materia Slot 	Adds an additional materia slot or links two existing slots.
Guard Stick Sub-Core II - Weapon Level: 4 - Required SP: 12	Guard Stick Sub-Core II - Weapon Level: 4 - Required SP: 12	Guard Stick Sub-Core II - Weapon Level: 4 - Required SP: 12
MATK Up 	Magic Attack Power +18 	Increases magic attack power attribute.
Max HP Up 	Max HP +150 	Increases maximum HP.
Max MP Up 	Max MP +8 	Increases maximum MP.
MP Recovery Up 	MP Regeneration 10% Boost 	Slightly increases MP regeneration speed during battle.
Needs More Materia 	New Materia Slot 	Adds an additional materia slot or links two existing slots.
Needs More Materia 	New Materia Slot 	Adds an additional materia slot or links two existing slots.
Guard Stick Sub-Core III - Weapon Level: 5 - Required SP: 14	Guard Stick Sub-Core III - Weapon Level: 5 - Required SP: 14	Guard Stick Sub-Core III - Weapon Level: 5 - Required SP: 14
MATK Up 	Magic Attack Power +18 	Increases magic attack power attribute.
Max HP Up 	Max HP +150 	Increases maximum HP.
Max MP Up 	Max MP +8 	Increases maximum MP.
Elemental Defense Up 	Elemental Defense 5% Boost 	Reduces fire, ice, lightning, and wind damage taken.
MP Saver: Healing Spells 	Healing Spells MP Cost Reduction 20% 	Reduces MP cost of healing spells cast during battle.
Needs More Materia 	New Materia Slot 	Adds an additional materia slot or links two existing slots.
Needs More Materia 	New Materia Slot 	Adds an additional materia slot or links two existing slots.
Guard Stick Sub-Core IV - Weapon Level: 6 - Required SP: 16	Guard Stick Sub-Core IV - Weapon Level: 6 - Required SP: 16	Guard Stick Sub-Core IV - Weapon Level: 6 - Required SP: 16
MATK Up 	Magic Attack Power +18 	Increases magic attack power attribute.
Max HP Up 	Max HP +200 	Increases maximum HP.
Max MP Up 	Max MP +10 	Increases maximum MP.
Reprieve 	Avoid Incapacitation once per battle. 	Survive an otherwise fatal attack with 1 HP. Can only activate once per battle.
Needs More Materia 	New Materia Slot 	Adds an additional materia slot or links two existing slots.
Needs More Materia 	New Materia Slot 	Adds an additional materia slot or links two existing slots.
==Use==
The Guard Stick provides Aerith a modest boost to her , which is the fourth-highest of her weapons when fully leveled up. The weapon provides a variety of unlocks that include a modest 10% improvement to her MP regeneration, 20% reduction in healing spell costs, a 10% boost to resistance when guarding, and a 5% elemental damage resistance. As with most of Aerith's abilities, it eventually unlocks Reprieve.
Guard Stick is comparable to Aerith's , which instead provides a 10% buff increase, a resistance to debuffs, while retaining the guard resistance. Between them, Reinforced Staff has better offense potential, due to a higher magic attack attribute bonus, but focuses on different things and has no reduction in healing spell cost. Compared to the rest of Aerith's weapons, Guard Stick's offense potential is unremarkable.
The Guard Stick has a niche role in providing durability increase, but the weapon is ultimately outclassed in other aspects by Aerith's more powerful weapons that she acquires later on.
Category:Weapons in Final Fantasy VII Remake