What is materia?
Materia is a condensed form of Mako energy. Rarely found in nature, most common materia is artificially produced in mako reactors. Held within materia is the knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients. Quoth the late, great Shinra commander Sephiroth: "Anyone with this knowledge can freely use the powers of the land and the Planet. That knowledge interacts with ourselves and the Planet calling up magic... or so they say."
What are the different kinds of materia?
There are five classes of materia: independant (purple), magic (green), command (yellow), summon (red), and support (blue).
- Independant, or purple, materia is used to increase stats (such as MP Plus, Dexterity Plus, and Mega All) or add special automatic commands (such as Counterattack and Cover).
- Magic, or green, materia is used to cast magic spells. Some of these spells are elemental (Fire, Ice, Bolt, etc.), some are curative (Cure, Life, etc.), and some are defensive (Barrier, Sleepel, etc.). Green materia which cast extreme magic spells are believed to exist somewhere in the world.
- Command, or yellow, materia is used to add extra commands in battle. Some of these commands are Deathblow, Steal, and Sense. One commonly found yellow materia is Enemy Skill, which is used to draw special commands directly from enemies.
- Summon, or red, materia is some of the rarest there is. Each red materia can call forth a summon god, some of which are elemental (Shiva, Ifrit, Typhoon), and some which are merely destructive (the Bahamuts). Some extra special Summon gods, like Hades and Phoenix, have added effects. A red materia with extreme summoning power is believed to exist somewhere in the world.
- Support, or blue, materia is used to add effects to armor, weapons, and magic. One of the most useful blue materia is All, which casts a spell on all members of a party (allies or enemies) at the same time. All is also one of the most valuable materia when mastered; a mastered All materia is worth over a million gil.
Aside from the commonly found materia, there are also Huge materia, which are very rare and are used to power mako reactors. Black and white materia, the Ultimate Destructive and Ultimate Healing Magics respectively, are legendary materia about which not much is known.
Where can materia be found?
Nowadays, materia can be found most anywhere. The market has tightened on most of the common kinds of materia, many of which are only available by purchase. Extra-rare materia can still be found out in nature, or in the special collections of materia hunters and precious stone collectors.
What is "materia growth"?
Materia "grows" when it recieves AP after a battle. The amount of AP an enemy carries is dependant on the strength of said enemy. When the materia receives enough AP, the materia enables new spells.
What is "mastered materia"?
A materia becomes mastered when it is no longer capable of growth. A mastered materia also will "give birth" to a new materia of the same type when it has stopped growing.