Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has up to 15 summons, depending on your edition and save data: three you start with, six you earn by beating them in Chadley's Combat Simulator, Gilgamesh as a superboss reward and a handful tied to pre-orders, special editions or Remake saves. Titan, Phoenix, Alexander, Kujata, Bahamut Arisen and Odin unlock region by region, and collecting each region's Divine Intel makes those fights much easier. Below is how summoning works, a full unlock table and tips for each fight.
We checked the summon list and unlock conditions against Game8's summon guide and PowerPyx's summon and Divine Intel location guides, with edition bonuses confirmed in RPG Site's coverage of the Switch 2 release and Square Enix's press release, in November 2026.
How Summoning Works in Battle
Summons are not available in every fight. Game8 explains that the Summon Gauge only appears during boss and mini-boss battles, and only after you stagger the enemy once. The gauge then fills over time, so tougher, longer fights are where you will actually see your summon.
Once it is full, calling the summon costs ATB: one charge for medium summons and two for large ones like Alexander. You do not control the summon directly. It acts on its own, and any party member with enough ATB can spend it to order one of its special abilities. The gauge drains while the summon is on the field, and when it empties the summon fires its Ultimate attack before leaving. If the character who summoned it is knocked out, it leaves early but still uses its Ultimate.
PowerPyx adds that you can only call one summon per battle, so choose based on the fight. Bringing a summon that matches an enemy's weakness is the easiest win, which is why Assess and a little planning go a long way. Our materia guide covers how to build around those weaknesses with Elemental.
Every Summon and How to Unlock It
The six Combat Simulator summons all follow the same path: reach their region, find Chadley's simulator and win the Summon Entity challenge. PowerPyx lists exactly where each one appears, and Game8 lists their sizes and Ultimate attacks.
| Summon | How to unlock | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|
| Chocobo and Moogle | Starting materia (Chapter 2) | Stampede |
| Ifrit | Red XIII's starting materia | Hellfire |
| Shiva | Aerith's starting materia | Diamond Dust |
| Titan | Combat Simulator, Grasslands (Chapter 2) | Earthen Fury |
| Phoenix | Combat Simulator, Junon (Chapter 4) | Rebirth Flame |
| Alexander | Combat Simulator, Corel (Chapter 6) | Divine Judgment |
| Kujata | Combat Simulator, Gongaga (Chapter 9) | Tri-Disaster |
| Bahamut Arisen | Combat Simulator, Cosmo Canyon (Chapter 10) | Gigaflare |
| Odin | Combat Simulator, Nibel (Chapter 11) | Zantetsuken |
| Gilgamesh | Defeat Gilgamesh on Gilgamesh Island | Ultimate Illusion |
| Leviathan | Final Fantasy VII Remake save data | Tidal Wave |
| Ramuh | Episode INTERmission save data | Judgement Bolt |
| Magic Pot | Digital Deluxe or Collector's Edition | Magic Elixir |
| Moogle Trio | Digital pre-order bonus | Kupvalse |
| Posh Chocobo | Regional or later pre-order bonus | Chocomet |
PowerPyx notes that none of the summons are missable. Chadley's simulator stays available after the story through Chapter Select, and loading Chapter 13 gives access to the whole world for cleanup. Beating your first summon in the simulator also earns the You Work for Me Now trophy, while simply calling one in battle earns Fledgling Summoner.
Divine Intel: Making Summon Fights Easier
Each summon you fight in the simulator is tied to a set of shrines in its region. PowerPyx counts 18 Divine Intel locations, also called Summon Crystals, three per region across six regions, with none in the Meridian Ocean. The sanctuaries are named after their summon, from Titan in the Grasslands to Odin in Nibel.
Each shrine is a short memory and timing challenge: the game shows a sequence of button presses, hides it, and you repeat it with the right rhythm. The sequences get harder region by region. PowerPyx explains that each completed shrine lowers the difficulty of that region's summon fight, and completing all three unlocks a significantly easier version of the battle in the Combat Simulator.
The practical takeaway is simple. If a summon fight feels unfair, leave it and go find the remaining shrines first. Divine Intel also counts toward the region's World Intel, and the Materia Completionist trophy requires all of it, so you will want every shrine eventually anyway.
Choosing the Right Summon for a Fight
Since only one summon can join each battle, the choice deserves a moment of thought before a boss. Game8 groups the summons by the kind of damage they deal, which makes the decision easier:
- Fire: Ifrit and Phoenix deal repeated fire damage.
- Ice: Shiva deals repeated ice damage.
- Lightning: Ramuh deals repeated lightning damage.
- Mixed elements: Kujata hits with fire, ice and lightning in separate attacks, so it covers a boss whose weakness you have not checked.
- Non-elemental: Leviathan, Titan, Alexander, Bahamut Arisen and Odin deal repeated non-elemental damage, which is the dependable choice against enemies that resist magic elements.
- Utility: Magic Pot protects and supports the party, Posh Chocobo casts elemental magic and boosts its next spell, Moogle Trio uses coordinated attacks and Gilgamesh swings a variety of weapons.
A sensible default is to carry one elemental summon that matches the boss's weakness and fall back on a large non-elemental summon such as Bahamut Arisen or Odin when no weakness applies. Large summons cost two ATB charges, so plan to have the bar ready when the gauge fills rather than spending everything on abilities just before. Medium summons like Titan or Phoenix only need one charge, which makes them easier to fit into a busy fight.
Remember that the summoner matters too. If the character holding the materia is knocked out, the summon leaves early, so give it to someone who is not taking the brunt of the boss's attacks.
Tips for the Combat Simulator Fights
Every summon battle rewards the same preparation. Assess the summon at the start to see its weaknesses and resistances, then adjust. Game8 describes Ifrit and Phoenix as fire-damage summons, Shiva as ice and Kujata as a mix of fire, ice and lightning, so an Elemental orb linked to the matching spell on armor can blunt or even absorb a large part of their damage.
Bring healing that does not rely on items, such as Healing linked with Magnify or Prayer, because these fights can run long. Leaning on your highest-damage characters during stagger windows shortens them considerably. If you are under-leveled for a region's summon, our guide to leveling and the level cap lists good EXP spots in each region.
Finally, remember the order. Titan becomes available first in the Grasslands, and each later summon follows the main story into its region. If you want to check where a region falls in the story, our chapter list lays out the order.
Gilgamesh and Gilgamesh Island
Gilgamesh is the summon most players search for, because he is also the game's best-known optional boss. PowerPyx explains that he is unlocked by completing every Protorelic quest across the regions, and he guards the final Protorelic on Gilgamesh Island in the Meridian Ocean, which you reach late in the game. Defeating him gives you his summon materia and the silver Bladesman of Legend trophy.
Beating Gilgamesh also opens more content. PowerPyx's materia list places one of the Magnify copies behind the Brutal Challenge Hellions' Intonement, a level 70 fight that unlocks after Gilgamesh. Treat him as a gateway to the hardest tier of the Combat Simulator rather than the last thing to do.
Getting there takes some legwork, because the Protorelic chains in each region are quests in their own right. In Junon, for example, the Protorelic line is where you play Fort Condor, and Gamepressure notes that clearing its four normal stages there also unlocks the minigame's Hard version. Each region's chain mixes exploration, minigames and fights, so it pays to work through them as each region opens rather than saving all of them for the end. Once every other Protorelic is complete, the one Gilgamesh guards is all that remains.
If you are going for completion, note that Gilgamesh is also a prerequisite for some of the toughest postgame rewards, which makes him the natural midpoint of a cleanup run rather than its finale.
Several summons also appear as Queen's Blood cards, including Titan, Ifrit and Bahamut Arisen, and some of them anchor the strongest decks. Our Queen's Blood deck guide shows how to use them on the board.
Edition, Pre-Order and Save-Data Summons
The remaining summons depend on what you own. Game8 lists Leviathan for players with Final Fantasy VII Remake save data and Ramuh for those with Episode INTERmission save data. Magic Pot comes with the Digital Deluxe Edition, and Moogle Trio was a digital pre-order bonus.
The Switch 2 and Xbox release added another route. RPG Site and Square Enix's press release list Moogle Trio and Posh Chocobo Summoning Materia as pre-order bonuses for the Digital Deluxe Edition on those platforms, alongside the Magic Pot that comes with the Deluxe Edition itself. Game8 separately notes Posh Chocobo was originally a physical pre-order bonus in Asia.
Your summons also matter beyond this game. Square Enix's Steam page for Final Fantasy VII Revelation, due April 8, 2027, lists the Phoenix Summoning Materia as a bonus for players with Rebirth save data.
Skipping the Simulator Grind
Unlocking and leveling every summon is part of a much longer Combat Simulator checklist. The store's Chapter 12 Hard mode save lists Combat Simulator Brutal and Legendary bouts as completed, along with all world intel, all materia at max level (except one Magnify from a Yuffie side quest) and Gotterdammerung. It works on PS5 and PC (Steam) only, not PS4, and you need to own the game.
Everything else the store offers for this game is on the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many summons are in FF7 Rebirth?
Game8 lists 15, including edition and save-data bonuses. PowerPyx counts 13 without the edition-specific Magic Pot and Posh Chocobo.
How do you get Alexander in FF7 Rebirth?
Reach the Corel region in Chapter 6 and win the Summon Entity: Alexander challenge in Chadley's Combat Simulator.
How do you unlock Gilgamesh?
Complete every Protorelic quest. Gilgamesh guards the final Protorelic on Gilgamesh Island, and beating him gives his summon materia.
Where is Bahamut Arisen?
Bahamut Arisen is fought in Chadley's Combat Simulator in the Cosmo Canyon region from Chapter 10.
Why can't I use my summon in some fights?
The Summon Gauge only appears in boss and mini-boss fights after you stagger the enemy once, and only one summon can be called per battle.
Are any summons missable?
No. Chadley's simulator stays available after the story through Chapter Select, so every Combat Simulator summon can be unlocked later.