This mod is designed to be similar to Dark Souls game and it is meant for players who have previously experienced most of my earlier mods but are now looking for additional challenges and various changes to enhance their overall gameplay experience.

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UPDATE 1 Mar 2024: Released version 5.0
New balance changes for this version:
1. Enemies stats have been greatly reduced between 20 - 50% across all levels. This is so that players can better manage each battles. At the same time,
             armors' defense are also nerfed to compensate with the stats reduction by the enemies.

2. All armors now have 8 linked materia slots.

3. Improve armor's / accessories stats and effect:
            - Titanium Bangle and Otherworldly Crystal = Now really grants 50% debuff resistance. The idea is that if you equip any 2 of items that boosts 50% 
             debuff resistance, it will give you immunity to all status ailments.

           - Iron Bangle = Now grants 10% increased in strength and magic

           - Geometric Bracelet = Now grants Auto-Remedy (only works in Normal mode) and Fully recharge ATB bars when you use Refocus.

           - Supreme Bracer = Now grants 5% increased in strength and magic, and 40% increased in Max HP 

           - Rune Armlet = Now grants 5% increased in strength and magic, and 40% increased in Max MP 

            - Bulletproof Vest = Now gives +300% Vitality and 30% Max HP

            - Survival Vest = Now gives +400% Vitality and 40% Max HP

            - Talisman = Now gives +300% Spirit and 30% Max MP

            - Timeworn Talisman = Now gives +400% Spirit and 40% Max MP

4. Summon materias now give better stats to your characters whenever they are equipped.
            Ifrit = +15% Magic and 25% Max MP
            Chocobo & Moogle = +15% Magic, 30% Luck, and 20% Max MP
            Shiva = +15% Magic and 25% Max MP
            Leviathan = +15% Magic, 50 Spirit, 25% Max MP
            Bahamut = 15% Strength and Magic, 25% Max MP
            Fat Chocobo = +15% Strength, 30% Max HP, 20% Max MP
            Cactuar / Carbuncle / Chocobo Chick / Ramuh = +25% Max HP and Max MP

5. Improve Cactuar's abilities such that it can now inflict poison in addition to sleep from it's normal attack, also inflict slow, berserk from 1000 needles                  ability

UPDATE 6 Feb 2024: Released version 4.0
New balance changes for this version:
1. Enemies and bosses in general now have 5% and 10% chance to crit damage respectively. Certain enemies would have up to 20% crit chance.

2. Reduce stun duration to 2 - 3 seconds. Stun is something that can't be nullified in the game and when a character is stunned for a long duration in this                mod, they are almost guaranteed to be KO'd. Reducing the stun duration allows players a chance to survive subsequent incoming attacks from enemies.

3. Slightly buff Iron Maiden and Astral Cuff magic and physical defense respectively.

4. Revamp items sold in the vendor shop in Yuffie DLC, especially for Weapon Shop in Chap 1 and Vending machines in Chap 2.

5. Slightly adjust the enemies variation in Colesseum and VR battles.

6. Fix the typo in Enchanted Ring's description.

7. Fix missing Max HP and Max MP increased stats description in Titanium Bangle.

8. Fix starting number of potions to 80 quantity when you start a new game. This change was accidentally reverted in version 3.0.

9. You are now able to summon in most battles in Yuffie DLC Chapter 2.

UPDATE 6 Jan 2024: Released version 3.0

I am excited to announce the release of a new version for this mod. This update represents a significant milestone for me in further enhancing the mod, and I am thrilled to share the latest changes with all of you. I hope you will enjoy the new gameplay as much as I do.

Here are the general gameplay changes:

• All Ice attacks will now inflict the Slow status on the affected character. Enemies that use ice attacks, such as Shiva and Cerulean Drake, will be more dangerous than ever. Cerulean Drake's Algrid aura will now inflict slow on players, as this ability is considered an ice attack.
• All armors now have added ability effects. This is to ensure that all armors remain relevant throughout the playthrough, allowing players to further diversify their gear selection. Generally, the lower the armor defense, the higher the attack stats and offensive abilities granted by the armor. This introduces a high-risk, high-reward element if you choose to equip armor with low defense. I have been able to complete most chapters in Normal and Hard mode with a Bronze Bangle equipped. ;) You can find the added abilities in the armor's description as shown in the screenshots link
  

- https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/4202/images/1472/1472-1704554482-1920448729.png
        - https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/4202/images/1472/1472-1704554482-1342281700.png
- https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/4202/images/1472/1472-1704554490-1596356194.png
- https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/4202/images/1472/1472-1704554490-1082661433.png

3. Adjust elemental spell damage cast by players:

• Ice has 20% less damage but inflicts slow and has the highest stagger rate.
• Fire spells have a balance of damage and stagger rate.
• Lightning has 10% more damage and sure hit but has the lowest stagger rate.
• Wind has 10% less damage but generally has a high stagger rate and sure hit.
  

4. Enemies can now deal critical hit damage to you! In general, enemies have about a 20% chance to crit, while bosses and Enemy Summons have a                      25% crit chance. Certain enemies, like Venomantis, Weiss, and Whispers from Chapter 18, have a higher crit chance.

5. Certain enemies can now also inflict status ailments on attack:

• 3C Operator soldiers and Roche will inflict Silence + Sedate if players are hit by either of their Plunge or Vacuum attacks.
• Ghost and Varghidpolis will inflict Fury on their normal attack hit.
• Doom rat, Bugaboo, Trypapolis will inflict Poison on their normal attack hit.
• Phantom will inflict Sedate on a normal attack hit.
• Tonberry will inflict Fury + Silence + Slow + Poison when hit by the chef's knife. Additionally, Tonberry can now deal very high physical and magic damage on players when hit by either its chef's knife or Doom and Gloom. Beware of this little creature, especially when your characters are inflicted with Fury status!
• Leviathan will inflict Fury when any of your characters are hit by its Briny Bellow.
• Jenova's Vengeance will inflict instant death. Make sure to block or dodge this attack!
  

6. Certain enemies have additional beneficial status effects applied to them:

• Levrikon gains Mana Shield on top of Haste after its roar ability.
• Hellhouse gains Mana Shield for a limited time whenever it is in God Mode.
• Sahagin Prince gains Haste on top of Barrier.
• Grungy Bandit gains Barrier whenever he is in Berserk mode.
• Eligor gains Barrier on top of Reflect.
• All Corneo lackeys gain Haste instead of Slow.
• Slug rays gain Haste in addition to Barriers when linked with Shock ray.
  

7. Accessories:

• Whistlewind Scarf now grants the ability to start the battle with 2 full ATBs.
• Headband now grants immunity to Sleep, Silence, and Fury.
• Star Pendant now grants immunity to Poison, Toad, and Sedate.
• Healing Carcanet now grants Stagger Siphon in addition to its existing abilities.
• Moogle's Amulet now adds amount of AP earned from defeating enemies in addition to its existing abilities.
  

8. Materia:

• Assess: Lvl 1 = Scan all enemies. Lvl 2 = In addition, refund 10% of an ATB for each enemy you scanned. For example, if you assess 5 enemies, you regain back 50% of the ATB. If you assess 10 enemies, you regain back 1 full ATB.
• Steal: You can now steal from all enemies at once!
• Subversion - Breach and Dispel now will remove the statuses for 60s. For Dispel, the affected enemy will have its stagger bar slowly increase automatically as well! Watch the video link to see the new effect for Dispel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K6A_qHNldE)
  
• Enemy Skill: Algrid aura = Now inflicts Slow effect on enemies.
• Gil Up and Exp Up: You can now stack up the effect up to 1000%.
• Time: Greatly Increased the slow duration when you cast Slow on enemies. 
  

9. Summons:

• Carbuncle: Whenever it heals a character, that character will also gain barriers and regen. Ultimate = Fully restore all characters HP and gain Haste, Manaward, and Shield.
• Cactuar: Its basic attack will inflict sleep on the enemy. Ultimate = Greatly increase stagger rate and inflict Berserk + Stop + Silence on enemies.
• Chocobo and Moogle summon: All of its attacks have a 50% chance to crit.
  

10. When you start a battle, you begin with characters having between 0 and 2 ATBs. That means it is possible to start the battle with 2 full ATBs. If                             you equip First Strike, Whistlewind Scarf, or Leather Bracer armor, you are guaranteed to start with 2 full ATBs.

        11. Aerith:

• Healing Wind: Now grants Regen for all characters as well.
• Planet Protection: Now grants Resist for all characters as well. (Immunity to all status ailments effect)
  

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Credits & Acknowledgment
Many thanks and credit goes to the following for giving suggestions, beta testing, giving ideas and feedback to improve the overall gameplay:
1. mainganens - For going through the effort of beta testing, providing ideas and feedback along the way. Additionally, sincere appreciation for his dedication in recording and uploading gameplay videos throughout the beta testing phase. You can view some of the videos on his YouTube channel to gain insights into what the gameplay experience would be like for this mod -> https://www.youtube.com/@Mainganens/videos

or follow his stream on twitch -> https://www.twitch.tv/mainganens

2. UGoBoom10 - For providing some cool ideas and beta testing. Thanks to his discovery, I am able to further make some breakthrough while developing this mod.
3. brandon003 - For beta testing and providing feedback along the way.
4. droptablesfromdb - As this mod incorporates changes from the mod Buy and sell unique items - plus bonus NEW GEAR

And 4 of my other close friends who were directly involved in beta testing.

Introduction 

This mod is based off the following mods:
1. Difficulty and Colosseum - VR Hardcore
2. Hard On Normal
3. Aggressive Enemies
4. Gameplay Enhancement
5. Buy and sell unique items - plus bonus NEW GEAR

And many many more changes as will be described in sections below. 

This mod expects that you to be familiar with the game mechanics, e.g to know when to use Cloud's punisher counter, understanding enemies' weakness and attack patterns, etc etc. Hence, this mod is not suitable for you if you:

1.  Prefer to face the original (base game) mobs in each chapter.
2.  Are not fond of long and potentially tedious battles.
3.  Prefer to just attack rather than block or dodge at times. You will struggle in most battles if you do not block or dodge.
4.  Are a casual gamer or play the game primarily for the storyline.
5.  Are still unfamiliar with the game mechanics, for example, not proficient in using Cloud’s Punisher counter.
6.  Have not completed the game in both normal and hard modes.
7.  Have no idea how to pressure or stagger certain enemies or don’t know their weaknesses.
8.  Heavily rely on other gameplay mods in your game. This mod introduces significant changes (possible one of the most changes made in a                            single gameplay mod) and will easily conflict with other gameplay mods. You have to uninstall other gameplay mod(s) to play this one. Character outfit               mods or any other cosmetic mods however are still compatible.
9.  Don't enjoy challenging battles.
       10. Don't enjoy Dark Souls game.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
1. This mod introduces significant changes (possibly one of the most changes made in a single gameplay mod) and will easily conflict with other        gameplay mods. You have to uninstall other gameplay mod(s) to play this one. Character outfit mods or any other cosmetic mods however are                             still compatible.

2. If you have decided to play this mod, it is recommended that you start with a new game so you could experience the new gameplay from the beginning.

First and foremost, let's discuss some potential issues related to the base game or when playing a gameplay mod:

• Battles with the base game mobs throughout the chapters are generally quite easy, especially once you've become familiar with the game mechanics. While some difficulty mods can increase enemy stats, after a while, you may still find it relatively easy to handle the enemies.
  
• Limited selection of weapons and accessories. In the base game, most players tend to choose the weapons with the highest DPS, such as Hardedge for Cloud, Metal Knuckles for Tifa, Mythril Rod for Aerith, and Big Bertha for Barret. Other weapons like Guard Stick, Leather Gloves, and Gattling Gun are often overlooked. The same goes for accessories, with most players opting for Champion Belt, Circlet, or Fury Ring, and rarely using items like Survival Vest, Timeworn Talisman, or Salvation Badge.
  
• Some abilities become underutilized when you install a mod that increases enemies' HP, like Infinity End and Point Blank. This is because damage is capped at 9999, so you'd rather spend 2 ATBs to use multiple Bravers instead of a single Infinity End, which offers higher potential DPS. The same applies to Point Blank, where you wouldn't want to spend 2 or 3 ATBs for maximum damage.
  
• Overreliance on HP Up materia. Installing a mod that boosts enemy attack may require you to equip multiple HP Up materia to increase your max HP. This could limit materia diversity, as a significant portion of your slots might be reserved for HP Up materia.
  
• Steal materia is pretty much underutilized and rarely used.
  
• Items and rare items dropped by enemies are pretty much redundant at some point, same goes for the items obtained from the boxes. It’s common to have inventory full of potions once you are in the middle of playthrough
  

Hence, the goal of this mod is to:

• Provide an even more diverse array of enemies in all chapters to enhance the hardcore gameplay. If you have played the Hardcore mod before, you will know what I mean.
  
• Significantly improve the usability of all weapon upgrades. All weapons, including the default ones like Buster Sword, Gattling Gun, Leather Gloves, and Guard Stick, will now be more valuable.
  
• Enhance the overall defense of armors and accessories’ effects, offering players more choices in equipping their characters.
  
• Improve most of the characters' weapon abilities, rendering meme builds like melee Barret, mage Tifa, Nailbat Cloud, and Aerith with Blade Staff more viable.
  
• Enhance Summons' attacks, abilities, and extend their duration, making them valuable companions, especially in tough battles.
  
• Boost the damage of some abilities and introduce additional effects. Some abilities may now deal more than 9999 damage in a single attack.
  
• Improve quality of items dropped by enemies (especially rare items) and stealable items. This is to improve the usage of steal materia and Moogle Amulet in both normal and hard modes.
  

Gameplay Difficulty

• Enemies' Scaling by Chapter:
  

• Chapter 1: Level 13 – 20
  
• Chapter 2: Level 21 – 25
  
• Chapter 3: Level 26 - 30
  
• Chapter 4: Level 26 – 33
  
• Chapter 5: Level 33 – 39
  
• Chapter 6: Level 40 – 45
  
• Chapter 7: Level 45 – 49
  
• Chapter 8: Level 50 – 59
  
• Chapter 9: Level 56 – 63
  
• Chapter 10: Level 60 – 67
  
• Chapter 11: Level 65 – 70
  
• Chapter 12: Level 71 – 75
  
• Chapter 13: Level 76 – 80
  
• Chapter 14: Level 81 – 85
  
• Chapter 15: Level 86 – 89
  
• Chapter 16: Level 90 – 95
  
• Chapter 17: Level 95 – 99
  
• Chapter 18: Level 99
  

2. Boss Levels:

• Chapter 1: Level 13
  
• Chapter 2: Level 25
  
• Chapter 4: Level 33
  
• Chapter 5: Level 40
  
• Chapter 7: Level 50
  
• Chapter 8: Level 50 (Reno), Level 55 (Rude)
  
• Chapter 9: Level 65
  
• Chapter 10: Level 75
  
• Chapter 11: Level 80
  
• Chapter 12: Level 85
  
• Chapter 13: Level 85
  
• Chapter 14: Level 90
  
• Chapter 15: Level 95
  
• Chapter 16: Level 97
  
• Chapter 17: Level 90 - 99
  
• Chapter 18: Level 99
  

3. VR Summons Level:

• Shiva: Level 50
  
• Fat Chocobo: Level 70
  
• Leviathan: Level 90
  
• Bahamut: Level 99
  

4.  Enemies now have 3x HP and 2-3x buff in attack stats, enhancing their deadliness.

5. In Hard mode, all enemies are at level 99 with an additional 30% damage increase. Materia maxing is recommended.

6. Enemies now have first strike, using abilities at the battle start, and increased aggression.

7. Enemies have 1.5x stagger resistance.  You can choose either to have enemies with normal stagger rate or with 1.5x stagger resistance.

8. Adjusted stagger duration for enemies and bosses. All enemies (including bosses) have at least 10s stagger duration; stronger ones have longer       durations.

9. Enemies respawn instantly, allowing you to farm if you need it.

10. Bosses now hit harder than before.

11. Bomb is now weak to ice attacks.

12. Trypapolis no longer highly resists physical and magic attacks. It's stats, especially Proto Trypapolis, are buffed.

13. Leviathan is now significantly weak to lightning attacks.

14. Sephiroth no longer has magic resistance in the first 2 phases of the battle.

15. Rocche now casts Blizzara, Thundara, Blizzaga, and Thundaga instead of Blizzard, Thunder, Blizzara, and Thundara.

16. Jenova now casts Bioga, Firaga, and Aeroga on all 3 characters!

VR and Colosseum Battles

1. Greatly increased difficulty in VR/Colosseum battles with diverse enemy variations.

2.  List of battles to be updated soon.

Character Stats
1.    Max level for character is 90 (There is a reason for this).

2.    Slightly increase stats for each character per level
 
Character Abilities
1.  Certain abilities are now capable of delivering either double, triple, or quadruple hits, significantly amplifying their damage potential. To illustrate, an ability capable of dealing double damage reaches its peak potency damage at 2 x 9999, while a triple-hit ability can unleash 3 x 9999, and so forth.

Cloud
Braver
-  Increases overall damage by 10%

Blade Burst
-  Now deals damage based on how many beams that hit the enemy. Since this ability unleashes 3 beams, it can now deal triple hits. Plus another potential 1 hit if the enemy is in very close contact with you (cloud), hence Blade Burst can potentially do quadruple hit in a single attack (Max potential damage 4 x 9999).
 
Infinity’s End
- Deals dual damage. Max potential 2 x 9999 damage.
- It also has the ability to put enemies into pressured state, greatly increases stagger rate when pressured, or increases stagger bonus by 40%.
- In addition, it can also interrupt enemies from casting spells / performing abilities; just like how -aga spells would interrupt enemies' attack.
- Slightly regain ATB on each successful hit per enemy. (More ATB regained if you are able to hit it on multiple enemies)

Disorder
- Increases ATB regained especially when enemy is staggered.

Counterstance
- Increases overall damage by 50%.
- Slightly regain ATB on each successful hit per enemy. (More ATB regained if you are able to hit it on
multiple enemies)
 
Barret
Overcharge / Overrun
- Increases ATB regained especiallywhen used on staggered enemy. Overrun in particular has a high ATB regained.

Steelskin
- Now it lasts for 1 hour.

Focused shot
- Increases overall damage by 50%, and increases stagger rate.

Lifesaver
- Now it lasts for 1 hour.

Maximum Fury
- Increases overall damage by 50%.

Charging Uppercut
- Increases overall damage by 50%.
- Further decrease the cooldown for Overcharge / Overrun by 15 seconds. One single use of Charging Uppercut will fully refresh Overrun.
- It will now slightly regain ATB as well after each successful hit.

Smackdown
- Increases overall damage by 50%.
- Now it greatly increases stagger rate for the affected enemies, especially if they are pressured. Hence, it is possible to stagger multiple enemies with this attack.
 
Point Blank
- Now it can potentially deal up to 9999 x (Number of ATBs consumed). For example, if you spent 2 ATBs on it, it will do dual hit. If you have refocus and spent 3 ATBs, then it will do triple hit instead.

Tifa
All Chi levels
- Increases duration to 1 hour.

Rise and Fall
- Increases ATB regain especially when used on staggered enemy

Starshower
- Increases damage of each attack sequence by 20%.

Chi Trap
- Increases damage of each tick by 40%. Slightly increases stagger rate.

True Strike
- Increases Stagger Bonus to 40% (Up from 30%).
 
Aerith
Tempest
- Greatly increases ATB regain for partially charged Tempest especially on staggered enemy.

Soul Drain
- Increases the mana drain effect to 5%on non-staggered enemy and 20% on staggered enemy

Arcane Ward
- Increases the second spell cast to 30% (Up from 25%). The ward now lasts for 1 hour.

Sorcerous Storm
- The Sorcerous Storm now deals dual damage (Max potential damage is 9999 x 2), can inflict additional elemental damage based on equipped elemental materia + Fire / Ice / Wind on the weapon, and adds a knockback effect to susceptible enemies.

Ray of Judgement
- Increases stagger bonus to 4% per hit making it a potential of 10 hits x 4% = 40% stagger bonus in total.
- Regain ATBs on each successful hit, more regain bonus on staggered enemy. It can also increase stagger rate on each hit on pressured enemy.

Lustrous Shield
- Now you can cast up to 6 shields (Up from 3 shields).

ATB Ward – Arguably the most devastating skill for Aerith.
- Now, instead of refunding one full ATB segment after casting, it will automatically regain a small amount of ATB per second, even if Aerith is not standing directly on the ward. Think of it as providing a Haste effect to Aerith. With this Haste effect, Aerith is almost certain to have some ATBs at her disposal, allowing her party members to freely spam ATB abilities while within the ward range.
- The ward lasts for 2 minutes.

Yuffie
Banishment
- Deals multiple hits based on the Banishment’s level. At level 3, it will has triple hits, hence max potential damage is 9999 x 3.

Brumal Form
- Increases ATB regain on each successful evade

Windstorm
- Increases stagger rate especially on pressured enemies

Cactuar Caper
- Slightly regain ATB each time an enemy is hit by this ability

Sonon
Twirling Lunge
- Increases stagger rate

Fighting Spirit
- Regain ATB for each hit
 
Swirling Storm
- Increases Stagger bonus on each hit

Yuffie and Sonon when link
Synergized Art of War
- Increases stagger bonus on each hit

Synergized Windstorm
- Increases stagger bonus on each hit. Increases stagger rate on each hit, especially on pressured enemies.

Limit Synch
- Both characters regain ATB on each hit, more ATB bonus gain on staggered enemy.

Summons

• All summons last for 2 minutes
• You can summon any entity in battle as long as the battle permits summoning.
• You are now able to summon in most battles in each chapter (excluding chapter 1), especially those I consider challenging. This enhancement amplifies the effectiveness of the Mythril Amulet throughout the chapters, given that the amulet has already been buffed. However, it's important to note that this addition introduces an issue, which is explained in the 'Known Issues' section.
• The ultimate attacks of all summons have the potential to inflict up to 5 x 9999 damage. The likelihood of reaching this maximum damage increases with the summon's augmented attack power, with Bahamut being the summon possessing the highest stats.
  

5. Breakdown of new effects for each summon:
Ifrit
        Crimson Dive – Increases stagger bonus by 20%
        Radiant Plume – Deals dual damage. Potential maximum damage is 2 x 9999

- Gain 12% to Strength, Vitality, and Max MP when equip the materia on a character

Shiva
        Icicle Impact. Significantly increases stagger rate
        Heavenly Strike – Deals dual damage. Increases stagger rate. Increases stagger bonus by 30%. Potential maximum damage is 2 x 9999

- Gain 12% to Magic, and 14% to Max MP when equip the materia on a character

Chocobo & Moogle
Chocobo Kick– Significantly increase stagger rate
Moogle Blast– Increased overall damage

Fat Chocobo
Kaboom – Significantly increase stagger rate
BombsAway – Deals dual damage. Potential maximum damage is 2 x 9999

- Gain 12% to Strength, and 14% to Max HP, and 12% to Max MP when equip the materia on a character

Leviathan
Briny Bellow – Deals dual damage. Max potential dmg 2 x 9999. Increases stagger rate. Increases stagger bonus by 80%
Gyre Spume – Deals dual damage. Max potential dmg 2 x 9999. Interrupt all enemies’ attack if hit

- Gain 12% to Magic, and Spirit, and 14% to Max MP when equip the materia on a character

Bahamut
Umbral Inferno – Increased overall damage
Umbral Strikes – Increased overall damage

- Gain 12% to Magic, and Strength, and 15% to Max MP when equip the materia on a character

Carbuncle
- Greatly increases the healing power
- Gain 12% to Max HP, and Max MP when equip the materia on a character

Chocobo Chick
-  Greatly increases overall damage
- Gain 12% to Max HP, and Max MP when equip the materia on a character

Cactuar
-  Increases overall damage
-  Gain 12% to Max HP, and Max MP when equip the materia on a character

Ramuh
Voltaic Lance – Increases stagger rate while the enemy remains at the lance's AoE
Circuitous Bolt – Increases overall damage

-  Gain 12% to Max HP, and Max MP when equip the materia on a character

Items
1.   potion = 2000 HP, Hi potion = 3500 HP, Mega Potion = 6000 HP

2.   Ethers = 50 MP

3.   Phoenix down = Restore 50% of the character’s max HP

4.   Potions addressing ailment statuses (antidotes, tranquilizers, etc.) now confer effects lasting 3 minutes. During this time, any recurring                                          ailment that would affect the character is automatically remedied. For instance, if an antidote is used to counteract poison, any subsequent poison                      status inflicted upon the character within the next 3 minutes will be promptly and automatically cured.

5.   Grenade = 1000 dmg, Molotov cocktail = 500 dmg with small increased in subsequent burning damage, Big Bomber = 6000 dmg, Fuzzy Wuzzy =       3000, Mr. Cuddlesworth = 5000 dmg. (Hint: use item master materia for maximum effect! 😊)

6. AI Programming Core and Magi Core can be sold at 10K and 5K gils respectively.
 
Materias
1.    Increase certain characters’ stats when equip a summon materia by 10-15%. (Depending on the summon materia). E.g: Equipping Fat Chocobo materia for will gain 10% max HP.

2.    Slightly decrease Curaga effect. Increases regen power to heal 2% per sec.

3.    Magnify = -50%, -35%, -20%

4.    Elemental = 10%, 20%, 30%

5.    Warding = 50%, 75%, 100%

6.    HP Absorb = 30%, 40%, 50%

7.    AP Up Materia = 1000%

8.    Enemy Skill Materia
Self destruct = Now it can deal triple damage with max potential damage =  3 x 9999 dmg and greatly increase enemies’ stagger bar
Frigid aura = lasts for 2 mins
Bad breath = Now it deals some dmg
Spirit Siphon = Slightly increase dmg

9.    Chakra Materia = 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%

10. Prayer =  Further increase healing power per lvl

11. ATB Boost = Cooldown now is 150, 120, 90, 60, 30

12. Magic Up = 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%

13. First Strike = 1 ATB, 1.5 ATB, 2 ATB

14. DeadlyDodge = Slightly increase dmg and ATB regain per lvl

15. Auto-Cure = Now has 3 levels. Can heal up to 10,20,30 times.

16. Provoke = 90s, 60s, 30s

17. Pedometer= 1 step

18. Refocus = Refocus now lasts for 1 hour for limit break lvl 1, 2 hours for limit break lvl 2

        19. Assess = You can now assess all enemies regardless of the materia level

        20. Binding = Enemies inflicted with Berserk will received additional 50% damage (Up from 30%) increased dealt by you.

Accesories
1.    Greatly buff each of the accessories and add more effect on them. You should read the description detail of the accessory. Pay attention to the                             likes of Clarity Pendant, Whistlewind Scarf. Greatly improve the limit break gauge when using either of Spectral Cogwheel, or Transference Module.                       Revival earrings no longer break upon use and can revive 2x times!
 
Armors
1.    Armors generally have 9x defense with 7-8 materia slots. Armors that would give 8 materia slots generally have slightly lower defense, except for  Chain Bangle. Only Iron Maiden and Astral Cuff have 6 slots of materia but with highest defense.

Weapons
1.    Slightly buffed Light Machine Gun, Mythril Claw, and Twin Stinger attacks

2.    Greatly buffed Barret’s meele weapons! A fully upgraded Wrecking ball has attack of 200!

3.    You immediately learn the weapon ability on first usage
 
Weapon Upgrade Abilities
1.    Tradeoff = Double the effect of this. Now you start to gain MP for lower dmg received

2.    Bloodlust = Gain 30% of Max HP after killing an enemy

3.    Stagger Siphon = Significantly increases HP gained when hitting a staggered enemy with unique ability

4.    You should read the description for each of the upgrade nodes.. 😊

5.   Fun fact: The weapon upgrade node that grants XXX defense when on low HP immediately adds the same XXX defense to your character. For                       instance, if the node states +150 defense on low HP, equipping the weapon results in an instant gain of 150 defense. If the character is also on low HP,                an additional 150 defense is applied, totaling 300 defense. With the Salvation Badge now offering a similar ability, the defense stacks, potentially                          resulting in a total defense gain of 600 (300 from the weapon and 300 from the Salvation Badge).

Vendors
1.    You can now purchase materias, armors, accessories in vendor shops; for a price!

2.    You can now purchase all of the weapons in the weapons store as early as chap 3. Each weapon costs 5k gil. Weapons are also available for                                  purchase in vending machines from chap 5 till chap 14.

3.    Offensive items like grenades, Big Bomber, Orb of Gravity are now also available for purchase in item vendor shop. Big Bomber however is only available for purchase from chapter 8 onward.

Misc Changes

• When you start a new game, you begin with 80 potions and 10 ethers in your inventory. For Yuffie DLC, you start with 1 million gils!
  

2.You immediately learn an enemy skill for enemy skill materia.

3. The maximum stagger bonus is now set to 1000% (up from 500%), granted if you can truly accumulate this staggering amount,
     which is truly possible.

4. Fully recover HP and MP each time you progress to the next round of battles in the Colosseum/VR.

5. After completing normal mode, you gain 6x AP rate and 4x EXP rate from any chapter select playthrough.

6. Reduce the amount of MP gained from Mako shards to 5%. So make sure to spend mana wisely, especially in hard mode!

7. Potions are no longer obtainable from chests or boxes; instead, you will receive gil.

8. The maximum summon level is now set to level 99.

9. Increase the Haste effect to 60% (up from 30%)

      10. Increase the Slow effect to 60% (up from 30%).

      11. Critical hit damage increases to 40% (up from 20%).

      12. Poison damage inflicted on characters is significantly increased! You now endure 1.6% of max HP as poison damage per second (e.g., if you have               9999 HP, the poison will inflict about 160 HP per second)! It is advised to use antidote or Poisona to promptly nullify the poison effect. Equipping       a Star Pendant or other materias that aid HP recovery can also prove helpful.

      13. The critical HP indicator is now < 35% of your max HP (originally 25%). Consequently, any weapon upgrade effects triggered when you have low                    HP  are now based on < 35% (such as increased critical hit chance on low HP, increased healing power on low HP, etc.).

      14. Greatly enhance the quality of normal/rare items dropped and stealable items for most enemies. Moreover, bosses now have at least one normal or             rare drop or both, and a stealable item. The steal chance, however, remains the same and is relatively low. This adjustment is designed to prevent                 players from potentially farming the same enemy repeatedly. Normal or rare items can also take the form of accessories or materia. Notably, rare                 items are generally of higher quality but much more challenging to obtain! 
   
   HINT: For example, there is an enemy that willdrop a Ribbon as a rare item after its defeat. Therefore, Steal Materia, Moogle
     Amulet, and Luck Up Materias are now exceptionally useful, even in Hard mode! I won't disclose the list of items for each enemy/boss (or            whether they will drop any items). It's for you to discover! 😉

           Chance to steal Bladed staff from Eligor is 100%.

Tips for Survival
1.  You should never ever charge into the battlefield without proper dodging and defending. You are not going to win this way, particularly in Chapter                 4, where you play as solo Cloud against a group of soldiers.

2.   Always be aware of your surroundings.

3.  Consider hiding behind obstacles/pillars to avoid incoming attacks from enemies. Running around the map can also be helpful.

4.  Make use of grenades, especially in Chapter 2 and 4.

5.   Always read the descriptions of accessories and weapon upgrade nodes.

6.  Defense matters! If you find yourself taking a lot of damage, consider equipping armor with higher defense. Defensive accessories like Survival                    Vest and Timeworn Talisman can be valuable in certain battles. The same goes for high-defense armors like Iron Maiden. You can purchase Bulletproof               Vest and Talisman as early as Chapter 3. If these still can't mitigate the damage, use a barrier as last resort.

7.  Balance offensive / defensive nodes when upgrading your weapon.

8.  Use summons If you are struggling in a battle.

9.  Consider equipping HP Absorb + Enemy Skill Materia or HP Absorb + Deadly Dodge. HP Absorb with Spirit Siphon = OP.

10.  Consider equipping Tarot cards with weapons that boost debuff duration by 50%. Tarot card + weapon with 50% debuff + Stop = easy victory.

11.  Binding / Barrier Materia will be handy in some battles.

12.  You should read the enemy intel for items that can be dropped / stolen from the enemy.

13. Since you can no longer obtain potions from chest / boxes, you should make sure to stock up your potions at vending machine or item shop before          you proceed to next battle.

Builds to Try

1. Melee Barret with Overrun + Charging Uppercut + Smackdown + Point Blank + Maximum Fury. Successful hit from Charging Uppercut will instantly       recharge Overrun.

2. Blade Burst Cloud with 2x Magic Up Materia and magic-focused equipment.

3. Sorcerous Storm / Ray of Judgement Aerith – focused mainly on using Sorcerous Storm / Ray of Judgement with elemental materia + any                                    elemental magic materia.

4. Mythril Claw Mage Tifa with Clarity Pendant, with primary damage coming from Chi Trap.

5. Any characters with critical hit chance weapons (Nail bat, bladed staff, etc.) with 2x Max Luck Up Materias + Moogle Amulet = easy critical damage.

6. Any characters with Transference Module / Spectral Cogwheel equipped to quickly charge up the limit break.

7. Suicide Bomber build - Using Self Destruct from enemy skill materia

Known Issues

1.  Summons will appear floating / hovering above you in the air in most battles. This is because they are not supposed to be summonable in these
    battles in the base game. While they may not be able to perform their normal attacks, you can still use their abilities, especially those requiring 2 ATBs
   to damage enemies, and their ultimate attack will trigger at the end of their duration.

2.  The mod involves fighting Yuffie DLC enemies across the chapters. Therefore, avoid wasting your ATB assessing these enemies in the base game,                       as doing so will just return you a blank window with no information.

3.  This mod is not and will not be compatible with most gameplay mods on Nexus. Uninstall any gameplay mods before installing this one.

4. There will be some animation issues in certain cutscenes because the enemies that were originally supposed to appear in those cutscenes have been         replaced with new enemies.

FAQ

      1. Can I make a request to have X or Y changes on the mod?
- No, I no longer make variant of this mod or changes based on request from the public unless it is absolute necessary (like balance changes, bug
 fixes etc). As mentioned, this will be my last mod for the Remake, and I need to save my energy for the Rebirth modding 😉. I do however welcome              suggestions that would further improve the overall gameplay experience / difficulty.

      2. Do the weapon upgrades and accessories’ effect stack?
-  Yes, they do stack! For example, if you are using a weapon with tradeoff ability and you equip Serraphic Earrings which also grant tradeoff abilty, then
   the effect will be doubled! Same goes for effects like Bloodsucker, 50% buff or debuff duration etc

     3.   I like some of the mod changes but I don’t want to play this mod. Can you make these changes to be a standalone mod?
        -  Please see answer for 1).

     4.  Can you make this mod to be compatible with other mod(s)?
-  Please see answer for 1).

    5.    Can you make the same mod but with base game mobs in each chapter?
-  Please see answer for 1).

    6.   What are the mods that are compatible with this mod?
-  The only compatible mods that I can think of are those outfit mods, aggressive companions, mini games mod and chapter select. This mod                                   however already include the mini game mod from my Gameplay Enhancement mod, but it doesn’t contain changes for the mini bike game. If you are                   unsure if the mod is compatible with the ones that you have, it is recommended that you install vortex and check if there is any conflicts. Ideally                           however, I would suggest you to just un-install other gameplay mods if you want to play this one. It’s an effort for me to check each of the mod’s                           compatibility with other mods available in Nexus.

   7.    Can you check if my current mod list is compatible with this mod?
- Please install and use Vortex to check mod compatibility. This mod is likely to conflict with other gameplay mods.

   8.    I can’t win some of the battles. This mod seems impossible?
-  This mod has been beta tested by several players, including myself and we were able to complete the entire playthrough without the need to use                   barriers (except on certain boss battle!). So yes, it is possible to complete the entire playthrough with this mod without relying on other mod(s) or                 trainer.  Read the Tips for Survival section if you are struggling in some battles.

   9.    Can I use my existing save files to play this mod.
-   Yes, you can. But for optimum gameplay experience, I would recommend that you start a brand new game.

   10.  Does this mod support Yuffie DLC?
-  Yes.

   11.  What happens if I uninstall this mod? Will it cause my save file to be corrupted?
-   If you uninstall the mod and your characters are at lvl 51 and beyond, they will stay at that level till you defeated an enemy, during which it will                       revert your characters’ lvl back to 50 (since limit cap in base game is 50). Otherwise, no adverse effect when you uninstall this mod on your save files.

  12.  Why is the max character level at 90?
-  This is to ensure that Mythical Amulet stays relevant throughout your playthrough. Mythical Amulet adds 10 levels to the summon’s level based on                       your current level. For example, if your character is at level 80, the amulet will allow you to summon a level 90 summon entity. At level 90, you will be            able to summon a level 99 summon.

Installation

There are 2 mod variants
Normal Stagger = Enemies are staggered at normal rate
Stagger Resist = Enemies have 1.5x stagger resistance, i.e enemies are harder to be staggered

1. Choose one of the mod variants and drag the .pak file into your <Final Fantasy VII Remake                                          Intergrade>\End\Content\Paks\~mod folder. If ~mods folder doesn't exist, you can just go ahead and create one.

2. To be safe, you should uninstall any other gameplay related mods.