Cid Highwind

“	I always thought this planet was so huge. But lookin' at it from space, I realized it's so small. We're just floatin' in the dark... kind of makes you feel powerless. On top of that, it's got Sephiroth festerin' inside it like a sickness. That's why I say this planet's still a kid. A little kid sick and trembling in the middle of this huge universe. Someone's gotta protect it. Ya follow me? That someone is us.	„
	~ Cid Highwind

Summary

Cid Highwind is a playable character in Final Fantasy VII, with minor appearances in the rest of the Compilation.

A talented engineer and pilot from Rocket Town who always dreamed of reaching outer space, Cid had the chance of accomplishing his dream with the Shinra Electric Company's space program. However, the day of the launch, Shera, one of Cid's assistants, hadn't finished a safety check, and this forced him to abort the entire process. The failure led Shinra to abandon the space program altogether, Cid losing his dream and his relationship with Shera taking a very bitter turn.

Years later, Cid is visited both by Rufus Shinra, the new president of the company, and Cloud Strife and his group, with both parties requesting one of his aircrafts, the Tiny Bronco, something Cid adamantly refused as the sky is all he had left. After one of Shinra's executives attempt to steal the plane is foiled by Cloud's party, Cid accidentally ends up with them on the aircraft, which is shot down by Rufus' soldiers, crash landing into the ocean.

No longer having an objective at hand and in a group opposing Shinra to save the Planet, Cid decides to join the party for his own opportunity to get back at the company, but also at the sheer amusement of how outlandish the mission of the group seemed to him.

Powers and Stats

Tier: At least High 6-A, likely higher, even higher with Limit Breaks | 4-A, likely 2-A, higher with Limit Breaks | 3-B, likely 2-A, higher with Limit Breaks | At most 3-B, likely 2-A, higher with Limit Breaks | 2-A, higher with Limit Breaks

Key: Before Crisis & Disc 1 | Disc 2 | Disc 3 | Advent Children Onwards | Dissidia

Name: Cid Highwind

Origin: Final Fantasy VII

Gender: Male

Age: 26 (Before Crisis) | 32 (FFVII) | 34 (Advent Children) | 35 (Dirge of Cerberus)

Classification: Human, Engineer, Pilot, Astronaut

Powers and Abilities:

• Inherent and Equipment
• Equipment
• Magic
• Summon
• Commands
• Enemy Skills
• Support
• Dissidia

Superhuman Physical Characteristics; Skilled Spearman and user of Explosives; Acrobatics; Energy Manipulation (can empower his attacks with Spirit Energy when using Limit Breaks for greater power and different effects); Attack Boost in the form of raw damage boost (via Limit Breaks, which are stated to reach power much greater than the usual capabilities of the user) and additional effects: Explosion Manipulation (via Dynamite, Hyper Jump, Dragon Dive and Highwind), Life Absorption and Energy Absorption (via Dragon) and Instant Death (via Hyper Jump and Dragon Dive); Non-Physical Interaction (similar to his teammates, he can fight and defeat ghosts and spectral enemies); Regeneration Negation (Up to Low-High, the pieces of Jenova, even cells, destroyed by the party are gone for good. They can't be used for the Reunion to rebuild Jenova's body) and Immortality Negation (Types 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8. Can permanently kill Jenova and her pieces, who, aside from being extremely durable, can regenerate from single cells, as well as survive as long as her cells remain, through which she can enforce her will, even though other people injected with them. Additionally, like his teammates, he can finish off ghosts and spectral enemies). Resistance to Banishment (despite entering the Planet's Core within the Lifestream itself, Cid was not taken forcefully taken from the living world); Mind Manipulation and Memory Manipulation (his mind has grown strong enough to not collapse nor be eroded under the weight of the Spirit Energy of the Lifestream); Soul Manipulation, Soul Absorption and Empathic Manipulation (his spirit was not forcefully diffused nor reabsorbed by the Lifestream); Biological Absorption, Deconstruction and Matter Manipulation (his physical body wasn't absorbed nor was dissolved by the Lifestream to retake his Spirit Energy); Corruption (Types 1 and 2, despite immense exposure to Spirit Energy, on several occasions, he never became a Makonoid. Additionally, was unaffected by Jenova's Virus despite confronting her directly); Extreme Heat and Extreme Radiation (withstood Sephiroth's Supernova); Mind Reading, Perception Manipulation, Illusion Creation, Telekinesis and Possession (by the time of their spiritual battle, he had grown strong enough to resist Sephiroth's mental abilities); Power Mimicry and Power Absorption (Limit Breaks are born from the user's Spirit Energy, which shapes their mind and soul, and cannot be copied or imitated, the sole exception being Zack who is acknowledged as an unusual case, and even then creates a variant of the original move).

Statistics Amplification (with the Venus Gospel, which increases Cid's physical attack several times the closer Cid's magic power is to full capacity). Resistance to Poison Manipulation (which also protects Cid from Acid Manipulation); Paralysis Inducement; Sleep Inducement; Blindness; Silence Inducement; Transmutation; Curse Manipulation; Power Nullification (of physical, mental, spiritual and magical abilities); Petrification; Size Manipulation; Madness Manipulation; Berserk Mode Inducement; plus additional resistance to Empathic Manipulation (thanks to the Ribbon he wears in honor to Aerith, Cid is protected from most of the game's Status Ailments).

Magic; Summoning (of small meteorites via the Comet Spells); Matter Manipulation (via Flare, which creates an explosion of heat by colliding the targets atoms); Energy Projection (via Ultima); Elemental Manipulation (of the Fire, Ice, Lightning, Wind, Earth and Gravity variety); Death Manipulation (via Death); Durability Negation (via the Demi/Gravity spells); Healing (via the Cure spells and FullCure), Purification (Type 3, via Poisona and Esuna) and Regeneration (Mid-Low via Regen); Damage Reduction via Barrier Creation (the Barrier, MBarrier and Shield effects reduce damage instead of blocking attacks); Attack Reflection (via Reflect). Time Manipulation (via Haste, Slow and Stop); Poison Manipulation (via the Bio spells); Size Reduction (via Mini); Transmutation into Frogs (via Toad); Statistics Reduction (both the Frog and Small status reduce the enemy’s offensive capabilities); Power Nullification (via DeBarrier and DeSpell, as well as the Silence and Frog status); Sleep Inducement (via Sleepel); Petrification (side effect of Break); Limited Madness Manipulation (via Confu and a side-effect of Tornado); Berserk Inducement (via Berserk); Limited Teleportation (via Exit, only allows to escape from battles); Dimensional Banishment (via Remove). Resistance to: Healing and Regeneration Negation (by the time of their final battle, his Healing Magic works despite Sephiroth’s nullification). Additionally, can grant himself resistance to all the Status Ailments he can resist via equipment and Materia combinations (via Resist, though this spell prevents the user from healing negative conditions already inflicted on them), as well as to the Elemental Damage he can access through Materia and Physical Damage (of slashing, piercing, blunt force and gunfire kind; via Shield, however, the spell will prevent the user from healing themselves outside of regeneration). Several of his spells cannot be reflected by shields or barriers.

Summoning (of Summoned Beasts); Limited Dimensional Travel/Pocket Reality Manipulation (Summons draw enemies into a different dimension to unleash their attacks); Elemental Manipulation of different varieties: Fire (via Ifrit and Phoenix), Absolute Zero Cold (via Shiva), Lightning (via Ramuh), Earth (via Titan), Water via (Leviathan), Holy (via Alexander) and Multi-Elemental (Kujata attacks with Lightning, Ice, Fire and Earth in succession, Typhon does it at once, while the sorcerers of the Knights of the Round use the latter three elements); Energy Projection and Matter Manipulation (via Bahamut, Neo Bahamut and Bahamut ZERO, whose respectives Megaflare, Gigaflare and Teraflare, each attack stronger than the previous one, are more powerful versions of the Flare spell, and trigger a fusion reaction upon impact); Instant Death (via Odin); Spatial Manipulation (King Arthur's finishing strike in Knights of the Round destroys the dimension where the enemy had been taken to); Status Effect Inducement via Hades (Poison Manipulation, Sleep Inducement, Confusion, Silence Inducement, Transmutation into Frogs, Size Reduction, Time Slowdown and Paralysis Inducement) and Choco/Mog (Time Stop); Durability Negation (Bahamut, Neo Bahamut, Bahamut ZERO, Typhon and Knights of the Round ignore the defenses of any enemy).

Damage Boost (via Deathblow); Transmutation (via Morph); Body Puppetry (via Manipulate); Information Analysis (via Sense); Limited Power Mimicry (via Mime to herself and her allies); Death Manipulation (via Flash). Additionally, can attack from two to four times almost simultaneously (via 2x-Cut and 4x-Cut) or attack a wide area beyond her normal reach (via Slash-All); can cast two different Spells or Summons simultaneously (via W-Magic and W-Summon, respectively).

Limited Power Mimicry (Enemy Skill allows the user to learn some abilities from enemies); Elemental Manipulation of different varieties: Fire (via Beta), Lightning (via Trine), Water (via Aqualung) and Multi-Elemental (Magic Breath deals Fire, Ice and Lightning damage at once); Death Manipulation (via Death Sentence); Durability Negation (via Pandora's Box); Healing and Type-3 Purification (via White Wind and Angel Whisper); Defensive Statistics Amplificaction (via Dragon Force); Time Acceleration and Damage Reduction via Barrier Creation (via Big Guard); Status Effect Inducement via Bad Breath: Poison Manipulation, Confusion, Silence Inducement, Size Reduction, Transmutation into Frogs and Sleep Inducement, the latter two are also inflicted via Frog Song; Energy Absorption (via Magic Hammer). Can grant himself Resistance to Death Manipulation (via Death Force).

Attack Boost of two kinds: additional effects via Elemental Attacks of the Fire, Absolute Zero Ice, Lightning, Earth, Wind, Water, Gravity and Holy variety (via the Elemental Materia, which grants the user different attributes when linked with different Magic and Summon Materia in their weapons), and Status Effect Inducement of the Poison Manipulation, Sleep Inducement, Berserk Inducement, Limited Madness Manipulation, Petrification, Transmutation into Frogs, Size Minimization, Silence Inducement, Time Slowdown, Time Stop and Instant Death variety (via the Added Effect Materia, which allows the user to inflict several Status Ailments when linked with different Magic and Summon Materia in their weapons), and raw power boost via Magic Attack Boost (via MP Turbo); Life Absorption (via HP Absorb) and Energy Absorption (via MP Absorb); Instinctive Reaction of different varieties: Counterattacking (via Counter Attack or Counter, Magic Counter and Final Attack linked with certain offensive Materia), Automatic Healing (via Magic Counter or Final Attack linked with a healing Materia, or the Life or Phoenix Materia to save the user from near death), Automatic Follow-Up (via Added Cut) and Instinctive Initiative (via First Strike); Enhanced Awareness and Stealth (via Pre-Emptive, which allows to sneak on and attack enemies by surpise and prevents the user from being ambushed or being caught off-guard); Self-Sustenance (Type 1), Enhanced Vision and Underwater Breathing (via Underwater, which lets the user survive and fight with no problem at the bottom of the ocean). Additionally, can use the same Spell or Summon four times at once at half power (via Quadra Magic, except for Knights of the Round); can turn the single-targeting of several of Commands and Spells into an Area of Effect (via the All and Mega All Materia); regular attacks can reach a few meters beyond their actual physical reach (via the Long Range Materia). Resistance to Elemental Manipulation of the Fire, Absolute Zero Ice, Lightning, Wind, Earth, Water, Gravity and Holy variety (via the Elemental Materia, which protects the user from different elements when linked with Magic and Summon Materia in their armor); Status Effect Inducement which includes Poison Manipulation (as well as Acid Manipulation); Sleep Inducement; Silence Inducement; Transmutation; Power Nullification; Petrification; Size Manipulation; Madness Manipulation; Berserk Inducement; Time Manipulation, Time Stop and Death Manipulation (via Added Effect, which protects the user from different ailments when combined with Magic and Summon Materia in their armor); as well as to Extreme Pressure (via Undertwater, which prevents the user from being affected by the conditions of the bottom of the ocean).

• Abilites
• Resistances
• With Eidolons

All previous abilities enhanced, possible Immortality (Type 8,reliant on her Crystal which let Cosmos' group return from fading from existence after Cosmos' death) & Regeneration (Low-Godly), Summoning (Can summon various Eidolons from Summonstones and the World of Illusions), Willpower Manipulation (a person's will is power there and enables them to do a multitude of things the stronger their will), Reactive Power Level (the greater someone's will, the greater their power), Law Manipulation (Beings with strong wills can overwrite the laws of the world and bend them to their will), Creation (With a powerful enough will, once can create various things such as phone lines, airships and even entire countries and worlds), Sealing (Can seal off large areas and people with her will, such as Cecil sealing himself in Castle Baron or the cast sealing Kefka inside a Torsion), Dimensional Travel (Characters can open Torsions, rifts in space-time to travel various dimensions), and Immortality (Type 2) (Due to the crystal core of darkness's influence in the hands of Ardyn, warriors will not die no matter how injured they are)

Resistance to Mind Manipulation, Soul Manipulation (Via Zalera, the Death Serpah, who was going to absorb the souls of every living being on the planet), Corruption & Body Puppetry (Due to their light, Warriors of Materia can dispel attempts to control them), Empathic Manipulation, and Madness Manipulation (Type 3; Resistant to the effects of the True Moon, which is capable of affecting the hearts and minds of all living beings on the planet), Gravity Manipulation (Unaffected by the gravitational pull of the True Moon, which even the Lunar Whale couldn't escape from), Spatial Manipulation, Deconstruction, and BFR (Can withstand the attacks of Atomos, who manipulates space, crush enemies down to a molecular level, and can warp them into another dimension), Extreme Cold and Cosmic Radiations (Can fight and survive on the moon), Absolute Zero (Can survive Shiva's ice attacks, including Diamond Dust),

Hellfire Manipulation (Via Ifrit, Phoenix, Rubicante, and Marilith), Ice Manipulation and Absolute Zero and Duplication (Via Shiva who's Ice and aura are stated to reach Absolute Zero including her Diamond Dust, Shiva can duplicate herself), Water Manipulation (via Kraken, Cagnazzo, and Leviathan), Necromancy (Via Lich), Spatial Manipulation, Deconstruction, and BFR (via Atomos, who manipulates space, crush enemies down to a molecular level, and can warp them into another dimension), Death Manipulation and Space-Time Manipulation (Via Odin, who's Zantetsuken instantly kills an enemy and opens a rift in space time to take their remains), Matter Manipulation and Radiation Manipulation (via Megaflare, which is stated numerous times to be a nuclear power), Attack Reflection (via Carbuncle), Poison Manipulation and Corrosion Inducement (The Poison status effect, which is also stated to corrode the target), Darkness Manipulation and Perception Manipulation (The darkness status ailment via various equipment, which would render the target blind), Power Nullification (The Silence status, which would render the target's ability to use magic null), and Petrification (Via Malboro's Bad Breath), Resurrection (Phoenix can revive fallen party members), Light Manipulation and Holy Manipulation (Via Alexander), Explosion Manipulation and Self-Destruction (Via Bomb), Healing (Via Sylph and Asura), Earth Manipulation (Via Titan), BFR (via Typhon), Soul Manipulation (Via Zalera, the Death Seraph, who was going to abosrb all souls on the planet)

Attack Potency: At least Multi-Continent level, likely higher (Before the events of the main game, Cid could competently assist the Player Turk against the forces of the first incarnation of Avalanche. Years later he had grown strong enough to fight alongside Vincent Valentine, whom had easily taken out 3rd ver. Ravens, a type far stronger than the 2nd which effortlessly defeated 2nd Class SOLDIER members, like Sebastian and Essai, whom compare to Zack Fair when he took down Ifrit, a Summon equal to Shiva. Grew stronger since then and earned control of stronger Summons like Leviathan and Bahamut), even higher with Limit Breaks (Limit Breaks are stated to allow the user to reach power far beyond their usual capabilities) | Multi-Solar System level (Equal to Red XIII and Cloud, the latter whom survived the energy released by the awakening of 5 of the 8 Weapons. Grew strong enough to participate in the defeat of 3 of the Weapons, with each Weapon being around the same level as Minerva, a being stronger than Summons, thus above Zirconiade and far more powerful than Bahamut ZERO), likely Multiverse level+ (Compares to Cloud, who fought in Ramza Beoulve's army during his stay in Ivalice, as an equal to Balthier and Luso Clemens, the former whom had defeated Gilgamesh twice alongside Vaan, and the latter who had teamed up with Vaan on his own adventures. Cloud had become far stronger since these events), higher with Limit Breaks | Multi-Galaxy level (Controls the Knights of the Round, the only Summon who is far stronger than Minerva. Participated in the defeats of Jenova∙SYNTHESIS, the strongest she has ever been, and Safer Sephiroth, whom had become a being described as godlike and nearing godhood after absorbing knowledge from the Lifestream and completing the Reunion), likely Multiverse level+ (Far stronger than before), higher with Limit Breaks | At most Multi-Galaxy level, likely Multiverse level+ (Has grown weaker in the two years since the battle with Sephiroth. Something Tifa herself acknowledges. Should compare to Tifa, who managed to keep up with a casual Loz, a Remnant comparable to Kadaj who is stated to be as strong as Sephiroth was in the original game, but was overwhelmed when Loz got serious), higher with Limit Breaks | Multiverse level+ (Draws power from the Gods of the Cycle. Participated in the defeat of Shinryu), higher with Limit Breaks

Speed: Sub-Relativistic+ (Before the events of the main game, could keep up with the Player Turk while assisting them during an Avalanche attack. By the time he joins the main party they have grown stronger since the level they had during the events of Midgar and since also became more powerful since) | Massively FTL+ (Is an equal to Red XIII. Stronger than the Weapons, whom each is around the same level as Minerva, a being stronger than Summons, which puts her above Zirconiade and, by extension, far above Bahamut Fury) | Massively FTL+ (Is comparable to Safer Sephiroth. Controls the Knights of the Round) | At most Massively FTL+ (Has grown weaker in the two years since Sephiroth's defeat. Should be around Tifa's level, who managed to keep up with a casual Loz, a Remnant comparable to Kadaj who is stated to be as powerful as Sephiroth was in the original game, but was overwhelmed when he got serious) | Massively FTL+ (Comparable to other Warriors of the Cycle. Took part in the defeat of Shinryu)

Lifting Strength: Class M (Controls Titan and several Summons of superior power) | Stellar (Controls Typhon and Summons of higher level. Defeated the Weapons, whom each is around the level of Minerva, an entity superior to Summons altogether and, thus, far stronger than Typhon) | Stellar (Far stronger than before) | At most Stellar (Has grown weaker since the events of the original game, though can still match casual opponents as strong as Sephiroth was) | Immesurable (As a warrior of Materia and by drawing power from the Gods of the Cycle, is superior to Exdeath and Enuo in their original game, whom could move the Void itself)

Striking Strength: At least Multi-Continent level, likely higher, even higher with Limit Breaks | Multi-Solar System level, likely Multiverse level+, higher with Limit Breaks | Multi-Galaxy level, likely Multiverse level+, higher with Limit Breaks | At most Multi-Galaxy level, likely Multiverse level+, higher with Limit Breaks | Multiverse level+, higher with Limit Breaks

Durability: At least Multi-Continent level, likely higher (Before the main game, could hold his own against Avalanche troops who could pose a challenge to the Player Turk. Later he had grown strong enough to be on the level of Vincent, who easily took the attacks of 3rd ver. Ravens, a stronger version than those who can easily one-shot the 2nd Class SOLDIER, Sebastian and Essai, who compare to the level Zack had when he defeated Ifrit) | Multi-Solar System level (Equal to Cloud, who survived unharmed the energy released by the awakening of five of the eight Weapons. Eventually fought and defeated several of the Weapons themselves, each comparable to Minerva and far superior to Bahamut ZERO), likely Multiverse level+ (Compares to Cloud, who fought as an equal in Ramza Beoulve's army, alongside Balthier and Luso Clemens, the former whom had fought and defeated Gilgamesh twice alongside Vaan and the later who had teamed up with Vaan as well. Cloud also became far stronger after returning to the Planet and restoring his true persona) | Multi-Galaxy level (Fought Safer Sephiroth, who is stronger than the Knights of the Round), likely Multiverse level+ (Far more powerful than before) | At most Multi-Galaxy level, likely Multiverse level+ (Has grown weaker in the two years since Sephiroth's previous defeat. Scales to Tifa, who could take attacks from a casual Loz, who is comparable to Kadaj who is stated to be as strong as Sephiroth was in the original game, but was quickly defeated when Loz attacked seriously) | Multiverse level+ (Can fight the other Warriors of the Cycle. Survived Shinryu's attacks)

Stamina: Superhuman. Cid can fight through hordes of monsters and other powerful beings, such as SOLDIER members, combat machines, and bioweapons, continuously without signs of exhaustion. Later he would go on to face off exponentially stronger enemies such as Jenova and Sephiroth himself without real fatigue.

Range: Extended Melee Range with his spears, possibly Tens of Meters with Limit Breaks, much higher with Materia.

Standard Equipment:

• Cid in Advent Children
• Cid resting on the Tiny Bronco, looking over at the Shinra No. 26 Rocket.
• Cid's in-game Battle Model
• Artwork of Cid's Spear
• Game Model of Cid's Spear
• Artwork of the Venus Gospel
• Game Model of the Venus Gospel
• Cid in combat in Advent Children, the Ribbon can be seen under the left sleeve of his shirt.
• The Ribbon's original design in Final Fantasy VII.
• Cid's Materia Menu.
• Materia types, including the unique Holy and Meteor.
• Cloud's Materia collection in Advent Children.
• Kadaj, a remnant of Sephiroth, absorbs Materia directly in his arm.
• The Highwind
• The Shera

1/15

• Spear: Cid's first weapon, a simple homemade weapon that Cid uses with surprising effectiveness.

• Venus Gospel: Cid's ultimate weapon, a mighty spear whose power increases the closer Cid's magical capacity, is to is full extent. It is received in Rocket Town as a gift from an older man who liked to observe the Shinra No. 26 Rocket, as thanks for listening to his thoughts after the rocket was launched.

• Ribbon: A red band Cid keeps tied in his left arm, in honor of his fallen friend, Aerith. The Ribbon has a mysterious power that protects its wearer from all of the game's Status Ailments.

• Materia: Rarely, the Spirit Energy of Lifestream may be particularly abundant in an area on the Planet's surface, and for years it can concentrate in that certain spot to then condense and crystalize, eventually becoming Materia. In the modern-day, the Shinra Electric Power Company artificially manufactures Materia through their extraction of Mako, the term they've given to the Spirit Energy they've extracted through reactors. Contained in it is the wisdom of the Cetra, an ancient race who were spiritually connected to the Planet and knew how to access its powers. Materia allows the access to this knowledge to be able to call upon those powers, just like the Cetra did, in many different ways, most notably Magic. There are different kinds of Materia, represented by different colors: green (Magic), red (Summoning), yellow (Commands), blue (Support), and purple (Independent). Materia can be equipped in many different ways: Cloud and the party slot them into their weapons and armor, Vincent can additionally put them in keychains attached to his guns, Zack can carry up to six in his person, while the Remnants of Sephiroth, due to their nature, can absorb them directly into their bodies.

• The Highwind An airship designed and built by Cid. The Highwind is a Mako powered ship, with a crew of four members in the cabin, the Shinra Company initially confiscated that after the failure of the Space Program, and served as their main flagship for a long time until the party manages to recover it. The ship has two jet boosts in the back that can replace the main propellers and an emergency mode that unlocks an additional pair of wings for extra power. Cid uses the Highwind in his ultimate Limit Break to unleash a barrage of missiles on the target.

• The Shera: A new airship, also designed and built by Cid. Unlike the Highwind, the Shera uses oil as fuel to fly instead of Mako. This change took place after the events of the original game, with the fall of the Shinra Electric Company, which led to their reactors and Mako extraction to a halt, but also people to fear the use of Mako after witnessing the Lifestream's power during the fall of Meteor, meaning a new fuel was needed for people and technology to move on. During his research, Cid came across old methods that had been rendered obsolete by Mako in the form of fossil fuels. The name of the airship is in honor of Cid's assistant, with whom Cid finally mended his relationship and is heavily implied they eventually married.

Intelligence: Gifted. Cid is widely recognized as a genius engineer and an ace-pilot and was Shinra's pick to be the astronaut in their very first space launch. After the events of the original game, when Mako stopped being used as an energy source, Cid managed to rediscover the use of old fossil fuel, more precisely oil, and readapt technology to run into this alternative source, which went from small devices to a whole new airship, the Shera, only with a small team and very limited resources. When it comes to combat, Cid is notable in that he has no real combat training, special abilities, nor equipment, such as Cloud and Vincent's military background and genetic enhancements, Tifa's martial arts training, Barret's weaponry or Aerith's spiritual skills. Yet, he can keep up with the rest of the team with no issues, solely with his tools and capabilities, facing formidable enemies such as select military units, dangerous monsters, and even otherworldly horrors like Jenova. Initially, he could be quite stubborn regarding his decisions. Still, after Shera was proven right about the tank in the rocket that needed repairs, Cid became much more willing to accept his mistakes and observe with a cool head the world around him, becoming more or less one of the voices of reason for the party following the events of the original game.

Weaknesses: Cid must be pressed in a battle to use his Limit Breaks, so most of the time, he can't use them right away or in succession. While him being able to keep up with the rest of the party despite his lack of combat training is very telling of Cid's skill and resourcefulness, this can also prove to be a weakness should his opponent be much more prepared in that regard, as he doesn't have a distinct advantage or strong point in battle like his teammates.

Notable Attacks/Techniques:

• Limit Breaks
• Magic
• Summons
• Commands
• Enemy Skills
• Support Abilities

Limit Breaks are powerful special moves Cid can perform in battle. All living beings have a portion of the Spirit Energy that flows through the Lifestream in themselves, when this energy raises to its limit it eventually aligns and overflows allowing to go beyond the user's standard capabilities and reach a much higher power, just as their name indicate. Limit Breaks are affected by emotions; intense ones such as rage can lead to attaining the state to use these moves much faster than usual.

A proof of their power can be seen in Cloud's battle against Bahamut SIN: his regular attacks did little more than annoy the Summoned Beast, however his Braver Limit Break could scar its face and knock it off the air, sending it plummeting to the ground, while Climhazzard could destroy Bahamut with a single-use.

Level 1:

• Boost Jump: Cid leaps into the air and falls into an enemy, striking with his spear.
• Dynamite: Cid takes out a dynamite stick and lights the fuse with his cigar to throw at it at the enemy party.

Level 2:

• Hyper Jump: Cid aims with his lance before jumping high into the air, and with a flip changes trajectory, as his spear is engulfed in blue Spirit Energy, charging at the enemy party and creating a blast of energy upon impact.
• Dragon: Cid makes several signals, and a serpentine dragon is materialized. The creature surrounds a single enemy and rises to the sky around them in a pillar of sparks of Spirit Energy. Cid recovers a quarter of the damage he dealt both as health and as magic.

Level 3:

• Dragon Dive: Cid extends his hand forward, stretches his neck and jumps on targets with such force that a large pillar of Spirit Energy erupts from the ground with each impact, for a total of six attacks.
• Big Brawl: Leaving aside any sense of finesse and technique, Cid charges at the enemy and brutally beats them up in a messy cloud of dust and violence.

Level 4:

• Highwind: Cid makes signals to the sky, and the Highwind airship unleashes a missile assault on all enemies, finishing with a powerful bomb that creates a large vertical explosion upon impact.

Accessed through the Green Materia, this allows the wielder to access the wisdom of the Ancients, the Cetra, and the connection they shared with the Planet to use its powers and manifest all sorts of incredible skills. These can range from offensive manipulation of the elements, to support effects and even powerful healing abilities. While each Magic Materia allows typically the use of a specific set of spells (such as Lightning allowing to use Bolt, Bolt2 or Bolt 3; or Mystify granting Berserk and Confu, both mind-affecting spells), there exists the Master Magic Materia, which gives the user every magic in existence with the exception of the one of a kind Holy and Meteor.

Notable spells include:

Offensive:

• Fire3 (Firaga), Ice3 (Blizzaga), Bolt3 (Thundaga) and Quake3 (Quaga): Very high-level elemental magic that conjures their respective elements for a powerful attack to strike a single enemy or a wide area.
• Bio3 (Bioga): The user cast large bubbles of venomous liquids that drown the enemy to inflict heavy damage and leave them poisoned.
• Demi3 (Graviga): A powerful gravity well is created to drag and crush enemies within it. This spell cannot be reflected.
• Comet2 (Cometeor): Calls forth several small meteors from outer space to strike the enemy four times. This spell cannot be reflected.
• Death:A spell that conjures a Grim Reaper to instantly kill an opponent. This spell can affect robotic enemies and ghosts unless they explicitly resist instant death.
• Tornado: A spell that creates a powerful twister on an opponent. May inflict confusion.
• Freeze: A sudden cold surrounds an enemy and then they’re instantly encased in ice, freezing its surrounding area as well. May inflict Stop.
• Break: Rock is materialized around the opponent and proceeds to crush them, turning them into stone as well. May inflict Petrification.
• Flare: The user causes a nuclear reaction by making the atoms of the target collide with each other, resulting in a powerful explosion of extreme heat to completely incinerate an opponent.
• Ultima: The most powerful Black Magic Spell in the story after Meteor itself. A massive energy wave that strikes a wide area for non-elemental damage. The spell cannot be reflected.

Healing:

• Cure3 (Curaga):The user can restore a large amount of health to themselves or their whole party.
• FullCure: An incredibly powerful healing spell that will restore to full health the user or one of their allies. It cannot be reflected.
• Regen: An assist spell that allows the user to recover health over time gradually. The speed of the regeneration may vary depending on the speed of the target's time. Under the Haste status, it's doubled. Under Slow, it's halved and under Stop the regeneration halts until time flows again.
• Life2 (Arise): Healing magic that brings back a critically wounded ally from near death and restores them to full health.
• Esuna: Powerful healing spell that cures all status ailments except for Doom, Slow and Stop.

Support:

• Haste: This spell doubles the speed of the time of the user or their allies.
• Wall: A powerful defensive magic that grants the effect of both Barrier and MBarrier at once, halving both physical and magical damage.
• Reflect: Casts a magical barrier that reflects all non-physical attacks at the enemy, even those which aren't specifically magic unless they have barrier piercing properties. Will activate four times before wearing off.
• Shield: A mighty defensive magic that protects the user from all elemental damage they can access through Materia, as well as all physical damage from slashes, gunfire, stabbing and blunt force. However, the spell prevents the user from healing themselves outside regeneration and wears off after a while.
• Resist: Another powerful defensive spell. The user locks their current state, preventing any status effect from affecting them, but also from having those already inflicted on them being healed. Temporary beneficial boosts can wear off under this condition.

Distruption:

• Slow:This spell halves the speed of the opponent’s time, cutting their overall speed altogether by half.
• Stop:A spell that stops the time of an opponent, effectively freezing them and leaving them helpless.
• Sleepel (Sleep):A spell that instantly puts an enemy to sleep.
• Toad: A spell that turns enemies into helpless frogs, reducing their Physical Attack and leaving them unable to use any abilities outside normal attacks and items.
• Mini:This spell reduces the size of the opponent and their physical power is lowered to the point they deal almost no damage.
• Silence:Disables the use of the voice, preventing the use of any ability that requires sound, words or vocal commands, such as Magic, Summoning, Singing, Prayers, Speechcraft, etc.
• Berserk: The enemy is induced into a state of rage where all they can do is relentlessly use physical violence, unable to use any special abilities. Their attack is increased by x1.5.
• Confu (Confuse): A spell that interferes with the mind of the opponent, leaving it in a chaotic state, only able to attempt to fight by using abilities and doing actions at random without rhyme or reason.
• DeBarrier: A spell that can disable most barriers and shields, even if they aren’t magical in nature, so long as they aren’t physical. It cannot be reflected.
• DeSpell (Dispel): This spell can disable any magical or special modifications the enemy grants himself, even barriers like those disabled by DeBarrier, however modifications to statistics are unaffected unless they are a special state or status. It cannot be reflected and can work on both beneficial and detrimental modifications.

Other:

• Escape: A spell to flee from battle. The caster teleports their allies and themselves away from danger.
• Remove (Dezone): A powerful, recurring spell in the series that has been stated to send opponents into another dimension, until Final Fantasy V revealed said dimension is the Rift itself. A portal is opened, and the opponent is dragged away from the battlefield. It cannot be reflected.

Called by the Red Materia, this Materia allows the user to summon otherworldly entities who take their opponents into an alternate dimension where they unleash a devastating attack. The attacks of all summons share two common traits: they target all enemies, and cannot be reflected. Most Red Materia may call only the Summoned Beast they're named after. However, the Master Summon Materia allows the user to call any Summon they desire.

The list of Summons include:

Elemental:

• Alexander – Judgment: Calls the ancient sacred mechanical giant from beneath the earth who blasts the enemies with a beam of holy light.
• Ifrit - Hellfire: A pillar of fire violently burst from the ground and a roaring demon flies up from the eruption. For a moment, he stares at the enemy as flames ignite from his mouth. He leans forward, and his whole body is engulfed in a fire before charging at full speed at foes, going through them, and leaving a massive inferno behind.
• Kujata - Tetra Disaster: Suddenly a massive storm of red lightning bolts strike down on enemies, before turning into a cold that encases them into a giant block of ice, which shatters and the fragments become flames that engulf and burn the opponents, before receding and gathering in front of the enemies. Suddenly, from the flames, a huge bull-like beast appears and slams the ground with its forelegs creating violent shockwaves that strike the opposing party before disappearing.
• Leviathan – Tidal Wave:The great serpent of the sea emerges from a sphere of water and calls a massive wave to consume all enemies.
• Phoenix – Phoenix Flame: Summons the undying bird from its flames, born from a single tear, to emit its searing light and burn away all enemies, reviving all fallen as well.
• Ramuh - Judgment Bolt: Lightning bolts strike in a single point from where a cliff raises far above the ground. The figure of an old robbed sage appears atop of the rock formation, who points to the sky with his staff and causes a thunderstorm to fall on all enemies.
• Shiva - Diamond Dust: As the snow gently falls, a maiden slowly descends along with it in the middle of light from above. Raising her hand, the snow gathers in her fingers and, with a gesture, sends a barrage of ice shards that subjects the area around enemies to Absolute Zero temperatures, violently freezing them.
• Titan - Anger of the Land: A mass of ground suddenly bursts up and a giant bursts through the earth. He slams his hands against the floor and lifts the earth itself to turn it over on the enemies, crushing them.

Status Inducing:

• Choco/Mog - DeathBlow!!: A speedy Chocobo charges at the enemy at full speed as its hot-blooded Moogle partner on its mount, cheers on it. Both violently crash the opposing party causing the Moogle to fall of dazed from the impact before its Chocobo friend picks it up and runs off. This attack inflicts Stop on enemies.
• Choco/Mog - Fat Chocobo: When summoning with this Red Materia there is a slim chance that instead of the Chocobo and Moogle team, this Chubby Chocobo will show up to shove its chunky shape on shoddy chanced challengers. Stronger than DeathBlow!! but it doesn't inflict Stop.
• Hades – Black Cauldron: Summons the mysterious grounds where a cloaked skeletal figure is performing a dark ritual in a cauldron which then erupts into a fog of miasma that curses the enemy. Inflicts damage and the Sleep, Poison, Confusion, Silence, Frog, Slow, Paralysis, and Small statuses.
• Odin – Steel Bladed Sword (Zantetsuken)/Gunge Lance (Gungnir): Calls forth the legendary knight riding his eight-legged steed Sleipnir, who, under the light of the full moon, charges at the opponents and with a precise and deadly swing of his blade, the Zantetsuken, slices them in two, killing them instantly. If the opponent would resist this technique, he’ll use Gungnir instead for a simple but powerful attack: during a storm, Odin will appear holding a spear instead, and throw it at the sky with such strength that it will split the clouds above, before finally falling on the enemy. Notably, Zantetsuken effect will affect robotic enemies and even and ghosts unless they explicitly Instant Death.

Piercing:

• Bahamut – Megaflare: The king of dragons descends from the sky, and his mouth sends a powerful blast of energy to destroy all foes. This attack ignores Magic Defense.
  • Neo Bahamut – Gigaflare: The first advanced form of Bahamut. A force lifts to the sky the ground where the enemies stand, where Bahamut himself waits for them to blast them with a massive beam of energy. This attack ignores Magic Defense.
  • Bahamut ZERO – Teraflare:The second, advanced form of Bahamut, nearing the Planet’s orbit, the six-winged dragon charges and aims a sphere of concentrated light at the surface from outer space, annihilating all enemies in a gigantic explosion. This attack ignores Magic Defense.
• Typhon – Disintegration: This bizarre monster manifests itself from a whirlwind and, with a snort, creates a tornado before turning around a revealing a second face, which upon a command, causes the twister to turn the planet upside down and make the ground collapsed into the sky. This attack inflicts Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Earth damage and ignores Magic Defense.
• Knights of the Round – Ultimate End: Calls forth King Arthur and his knights to unleash a relentless assault on the enemy. A portal opens, and foes are dragged into an alternate space where each knight charges at them and attacks, be it with magic or weapons, before the king himself appears and with a decisive swing of the Excalibur, finishes the onslaught and destroys the dimension. Hits 13 times, ignores the opponent’s Magic Defense.

Accessed through the Yellow Materia, these are special physical abilities granted to the user in the form of different available Commands and Actions during battle. Like Magic and Summon Materia, every Command Materia usually allows a specific set of skills, however the Master Command Materia gives the user the majority of the available Commands, with the exception of dual actions (W-Magic, W-Summon, W-Item, and 2x/4x-Cut), the Slash All ability (which is replaced by its advanced form Flash) and the extraordinary Enemy Skill Materia.

Notable commands accessible through Command Materia include:

Attack Variants:

• 2x-Cut and 4x-Cut: The user can attack the enemy two or four times almost simultaneously. Notably, if these Commands are accompanied by the effects of the Added Effect Materia, each strike will have a chance of inflicting status conditions.
• Slash All: An ability that allows the user to strike with their physical attacks a wide area, larger than their usual reach.
• Flash (Iainuki): A quick, precise and lethal strike against all enemies that kills them instantly. Based on the Iaijustu art of drawing the sword to attack and sheathing it back.

Dual Commands:

• W-Magic: This ability allows the user to cast two spells, be it the same twice or two different ones, simultaneously.
• W-Summon: Similar to W-Magic, this allows to call two Summons at once.

Additional Moves:

• Deathblow: A low accuracy attack that always deals a critical hit for double damage when it connects.
• Manipulate: An ability that allows the user to take control of an opponent and force them to use their abilities, even those the user had no prior knowledge of.
• Mime: This command cannot be applied to enemies, rather it allows the user to mimic the actions of their teammates or repeat their own, with no cost. It cannot be used on other people’s Limit Breaks, but it does work on the user's own.
• Morph: A special attack, much weaker than normal attacks. If an enemy is finished off by this command, it will turn into an item instead of being killed.
• Sense: An ability that allows the user to perceive the enemy’s capabilities, such as life and magic, as well as their elemental weaknesses.

A special ability accessed through the unique Enemy Skill Command Materia. As the name implies, these are abilities used by enemies, which are learned when the user is directly affected by them. This is Final Fantasy VII's equivalent of Blue Magic.

Many Enemy Skills are available, but the most notable are:

Offensive:

• Aqualung:Massive bubbles of water and energy are conjured at all enemies. Along with Leviathan, this is the only Water Element attack available for the party.
• Beta: The user conjures a large blast of heat, resembling the resulting mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion, incinerating all opponents. It cannot be reflected.
• Death Sentence: The presence of death is called on an enemy, which manifests itself in the form of a demonic skull. The foe is left with only 60 seconds to live, after which a Grim Reaper will appear and claim their life. It's important to notice, this lapse of a minute follows the time of the affected enemy, as such if their time is sped up the minute will pass faster, conversely if their time is slowed down the counter will too, and if it is stopped, the counter will halt.
• Magic Breath: A barrage of multicolored bubbles of light, imbued with Fire, Ice and Lightning properties, is conjured and launched at enemies. It cannot be reflected.
• Pandora’s Box:A bizarre, unexplainable technique, which seemingly casts a giant burst of energy in the shape of an interrogation mark in a starry background. Deals heavy non-elemental damage, ignoring the enemy’s Magic Defense.
• Shadow Flare:An incredibly powerful non-elemental spell. A blinding light engulfs the area as dark flames scorch an opponent.
• Trine: The shapes of a pyramid of energy, containing a smaller formation inside holding a powerful electric current, rotating in the position where the enemies are, releasing the stored electricity. It cannot be reflected.

Healing:

• Angel Whisper:Restores to target's maximum health, and cures Death, Sleep, Poison, Confusion, Silence, Slow, Stop, Frog, Small, Slow-numb, Petrify, Berserk, Paralysis, and Darkness to said target. It cannot be reflected.
• White Wind: A powerful healing ability which calls a soothing breeze that restores health equal to caster's current and cures the Sleep, Poison, Confusion, Silence, Slow, Stop, Frog, Small, Gradual Petrification, Petrify, Berserk, Paralysis, Darkness, Death Force, and Resist conditions. It cannot be reflected.

Support:

• Big Guard: The user casts a barrier that grants him the effect of Barrier, Magic Barrier, and Haste at once. It cannot be reflected.
• Death Force: Calls a protective force, taking the shape of a demonic-looking emblem, which protects the target from Instant Death and Death Sentence. Cannot be reflected, can only be active on one target at once, casting it again will reset the effect on the previous target.
• Dragon Force: The user conjures an aura on himself that boosts their Defense and Magic Defense by x1.5 and up to x2.0. It cannot be reflected.

Distruption:

• Bad Breath:The Malboro’s signature move, the user conjures a noxious gas that inflicts Sleep, Poison, Confusion, Silence, Frog, and Small on target party. Cannot be reflected
• Frog Song: A bizarre melody that turns enemies into frogs and puts them to sleep.
• Magic Hammer:A magical hammer is summoned and dropped on the opponent stealing a fraction of their magic and adding it to the caster.

Obtained through the use of Blue (Support) and Purple (Independent) Materia. These are passive abilities or additional effects granted to the user. Support Materia needs to be linked with other Materia types and has a result that will vary depending on the combination. Meanwhile, Independent Materia grant boosts or new abilities for the user with no requirements to take effect.

Out of all Support abilities, these are notable:

Support Materia:

• Elemental This support Materia grants Elemental properties to the user when paired with different Magic or Summon Materia. If slotted in the weapon it will infuse the user's regular attacks with a particular element, while if it's slotted in the user's armor it will protect against elemental damage. To obtain different elements the following combinations are needed:
  • Fire: Elemental + Fire, Ifrit or Phoenix
  • Ice: Elemental + Ice or Shiva (who reaches Absolute Zero cold)
  • Lightning: Elemental + Lightning or Ramuh
  • Water: Elemental + Leviathan
  • Wind: Elemental + Choco/Mog or Typhon
  • Earth: Elemental + Earth or Titan
  • Gravity: Elemental + Gravity
  • Holy: Elemental + Alexander
  • Poison: Elemental + Poison

• Added Effect: This support Materia provides Status Ailment related properties to the user when paired with different Magic or Summon Materia. If slotted in the weapon, the user's regular attacks will have a 20% chance of inflicting all the Status Effects that can be caused by the abilities granted by the linked Materia. This is regardless of the user's actual power. Additionally, if the user has the Double Cut or Slash All Materia equipped, each individual strike will give the Status Ailments a chance of taking effect. On the other hand, if slotted in the user's armor, it will protect against all the Status Ailments that can be inflicted by the abilities granted by the Materia. The different combinations that lead to different effects are the following:
  • Added Effect + Contain: Petrify, Stop, Confusion
  • Added Effect + Destruct: Death
  • Added Effect + Mystify: Confusion, Berserk
  • Added Effect + Poison: Poison
  • Added Effect + Seal: Sleep, Silence
  • Added Effect + Time: Slow, Stop
  • Added Effect + Transform: Frog, Small
  • Added Effect + Hades: Poison, Sleep, Confusion, Silence, Frog, Small
  • Added Effect + Odin: Death

• HP Absorb Allows the user to absorb 10% of the damage inflicted by abilities granted by the paired Materia and heal themselves.

• MP Absorb: Allows the user to absorb 1% of the damage inflicted by abilities granted by the paired Materia and recover it as MP.

• Quadra Magic: This Materia allows the user to cast any of the Spells or Summon granted by the paired Materia four times at once, however, the power of said Spell is halved. It cannot be combined with Knights of the Round, except through a glitch.

• MP Turbo: The cost of the Spells or Summons granted by the paired Materia is increased, but so is their power. When mastered, the cost and power are increased by x1.5.

• Added Cut: When an ability granted by the paired Materia is used, the user will automatically follow up with a regular physical attack.

• Sneak Attack: This Materia allows the user to open the fight before turns even begin, with one of the abilities granted by the paired Materia, be it a Command, Spell or Summon.

• All: Spells granted by the paired Materia have the option of affecting a whole area instead of a single target. However, using the wider range decreases their power by 1/3. Note: The first video states the All Materia reduces damage to 1/3. However, this is incorrect as it cuts it by 1/3.

• Countering Materia: When an enemy move connects these Materia allows the user to retaliate immediately after. The chances of counterattacking depend on the level of the Materia: at level 1, the chance is 20%, while at level 5, a Mastered Mastered Materia, the chances are 100%. If several Materia for counterattacking are equipped the effects of all of them will trigger after the user is attacked. However, the maximum of Counter Moves that can activate at once is 8, even if the user is equipped with a larger amount of Countering Materia. Notably, if the user is attacked with a combo move, each strike may trigger the counter effect. The specific properties of each Counter Materia are as follows:
  • Counter: The user will counter with the command of the paired Command Materia. It does not work with 2x/4x-Cut, Slash-All, and Flash.
  • Magic Counter: The user will counter with a Spell granted by the paired Magic or Summon Materia, normally the most powerful ability granted by it. If the user has Magic Counter linked to a support Materia such as Restore (which bestows the Cure Spells) or Heal (which bestows Poison, Esuna, and Resist), they will react by healing themselves instead of attacking.
  • Final Attack: Unlike the previous two Materia, this one is activated when the user is defeated in battle. They will use the most powerful Command or Spell granted by the paired Materia as a last resort before passing out. One notable combo is linking Final Attack with either the Revive or Phoenix Materia, which allows the user to recover from a near-death state to keep fighting. Unlike the previous two Materias, Final Attack will always activate, but it has a limited number of uses, with a total of five when the Materia is mastered.
• Note: The linked video discussing Materia Combinations confuses Paralysis and Stop as the same status condition, however, this is incorrect, as they are separate Status Conditions. Alternatively, it may be a confusion of Stop inducing abilities being mistaken as Paralyzing ones. However, the only Materia that can inflict Paralysis is Hades when Summoned, and no Materia can do so via Added Effect.

Independent Materia:

• Counter Attack: When an enemy’s attack connects, the user will counter with a regular physical attack. Similar to the Counter Move Support Materia mentioned above, this Materia has a higher chance of activating the higher its level of mastery, with 20% at level 1 and 100% when mastered at level 5. If the user is attacked with a combo attack, each strike may trigger the counter. Additionally, if the user is equipped with the Added Effect Materia, the Counter Attacks may inflict Status Effects.

• Mega All:Up to five times per battle, the user can turn all single-target Spells and Commands at their disposal into Area of Effect abilities. It does not work with Enemy Skills, which have a pre-set range.

• Long Range: This Materia allows the user to reach with regular physical attacks enemies who are beyond their normal physical range. Additionally, the damage isn’t diminished by distance.

• Pre-Emptive: Increases the wearer’s chances to sneak in and catch off-guard the enemy, also prevents them from being caught off-guard or ambushed themselves. Although some scripted battles can be Pre-Emptive battles, that is mostly due to a loophole in the mechanics of random encounters.

• Underwater Materia: This Materia allows the user to breathe underwater, resist the pressure and see at the bottom of the ocean while moving as freely as if they were on land.

Notable Matchups

Victories:

Losses:

Inconclusive:

Discussions

Discussion threads involving Cid Highwind