How to raise Party Level in FF7 Rebirth

A higher level means more unlockable skills.

party in grasslands in final fantasy 7 rebirth
Screenshot by Dot Esports

In Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, it’s not just the individual characters who need leveling up so you can tackle the more difficult battles. You also need to raise the Party Level—something that is quite simple but time-consuming to do.

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Throughout Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, you will earn Party EXP, which goes towards raising the Party Level. Despite what the name may imply, this doesn’t automatically raise party members’ stats, nor is it tied to the Bonds of Friendship mechanic. What it’s actually needed for is unlocking access to new nodes in the Folio skill trees, which in turn can be unlocked to grant stat buffs, Synergy Abilities, and the like.

It’s easy enough to understand, but FF7 Rebirth‘s brief tutorial on Party Level doesn’t explain how to raise it. So, let’s answer that question and whether there’s a quick and easy way to grind it.

FF7 Rebirth: How to earn Party EXP

Folio Skill Tree FF7R
New nodes in the Folios won’t become available if your Party Level is too low. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Party EXP isn’t something you can really grind for, like regular EXP. You can’t put aside an hour or two killing random mobs of enemies; that doesn’t affect the Party Level. Instead, Party EXP is earned through completing specific objectives. Fortunately, there are loads of them scattered throughout FF7 Rebirth, divided into three categories:

  • Main story quests
  • Side quests
  • World Intel

You’ll naturally complete main story quests as you progress through FF7 Rebirth. But Party EXP is typically earned in small increments. If you want access to all those fancy Synergy Abilities and other boons ASAP, you’ll want to take time out of the adventure to complete side quests and Chadley‘s World Intel.

It’s not as if only certain types of side quests and Intel yield Party EXP; whether you’re activating a Remnawave Tower or helping someone fix a windmill, you’ll get some Party EXP out of it. Again, though, it’ll only ever be a small amount. I’d advise completing every side quest and Intel you can in each region before moving on to the next.

Party EXP isn’t the only thing you’ll get out of doing all these either; you’ll earn other rewards (like new Materia for Chadley to make), and since some quests and Intel involve combat, you’ll be leveling up the individual party members, too.

Author
Image of Michael Beckwith
Michael Beckwith
Staff writer at Dot Esports covering all kinds of gaming news. A graduate in Computer Games Design and Creative Writing from Brunel University who's been writing about games since 2014. Nintendo fan and Sonic the Hedgehog apologist. Knows a worrying amount of Kingdom Hearts lore. Has previously written for Metro, TechRadar, and Game Rant.