How to increase Bonds of Friendship in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Get to know your party members to unlock additional side story options.

Your party members in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth are characters with diverse emotions, and you can explore those when you have some downtime to hang out with them. Spending time with these characters increases your Bonds of Friendship with them, unlocking unique stories.

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There are a handful of opportunities for you to increase your Bonds of Friendship with your party members. You won’t always have the chance to do it, but plenty of narrative rewards are in store when you do. It all comes down to your choices and who you want to hang out with, which means you don’t want to miss out on increasing a Bond of Friendship with your favorite party member in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.

How Bonds of Friendship works in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

How to increase Bonds of Friendship in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
You can increase Bonds of Friendship by speaking with party members during downtime. Screenshot by Dot Esports

You develop your Bonds of Friendship with your Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth party members throughout your playthrough. When visiting a town or a notable location, you can check and speak with them as you explore the area. The first instance you have of this is in Kalm, where your party members are scattered throughout the Village Center.

When you approach your party members, each one will have a face icon next to their name. This indicates how far along you are with your friendship with them. If you want to increase a character’s Bond of Friendship with you, make sure to go out of your way to speak with them, and choose a more endearing option when they ask you a question or if you want to hang out with them. These options are displayed shortly after you speak with them, and you have a limited time to answer.

Choices in Bonds of Friendships in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
You have to make your choice quickly before time runs out. Screenshot by Dot Esports

My best recommendation is to spend time in town as often as possible where other party members are wandering around and go out of your way to find each one. If you miss them during critical moments, there’s a chance you might miss out on altering portions of their story that play into the ending, which is the driving force behind the Bonds of Friendship mechanic.

You can choose to avoid this throughout a playthrough if you want. The choice is yours, and you might see a different way for their story to play out based on your actions. You might want to make sure you do this for a hard difficulty run.

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Zack Palm
Zack Palm has been writing about video games for the past five years. He spends his free time trying to learn about a new board, reading high-fantasy series, or working on his latest DnD character.