W Machine Gun (Final Fantasy VII)

The W Machine Gun is a weapon for Barret in Final Fantasy VII. It is available midway through the game. It is a long range weapon with three Materia slots. Though its stats are fairly modest, it provides double AP to all three Materia slots, making it useful for level grinding.

Obtained[]

The W Machine Gun can be acquired in a variety of ways. It can be stolen from Death Machines fought in Junon in the Branch and Path areas. It can also be purchased in Junon for 2,000 gil after the player has the Highwind. Finally, it can be found in Mt. Corel.

Mechanics[]

As the W Machine Gun has a base Attack stat bonus of 30, this means the base damage for physical attacks when the W Machine Gun is equipped are in the following formula:

${\displaystyle \text{Base Damage} = \text{(30 + Strength)} + \frac{\text{(30 + Strength)} + \text{Level}}{32} \times \frac{\text{(30 + Strength)} \times \text{Level}}{32}}$

where "Level" is Barret's current level and "Strength" is his Strength stat. The W Machine Gun also has an Attack% (Accuracy) of 100%, and grants a +3 bonus to Barret's Magic stat.

Use[]

The W Machine Gun is a long range weapon with moderate stats, but more notably, double AP growth to the Materia equipped in its three Materia slots. This makes it worthwhile to equip if the player is level grinding to improve Materia, but otherwise not worthwhile as its stats are subpar compared to other weapons.

The W Machine Gun's Materia slots are not linked, meaning none of them can benefit from Support Materia. As this includes the All Materia, this means most Magic Materia cannot be used to clear waves quickly. Additionally, though Barret can use the Enemy Skill Materia to clear waves with abilities such as Matra Magic or Aqualung, the Enemy Skill Materia cannot level up, meaning it would waste a slot on W Machine Gun. Therefore, it is better given to a different character, or simply equip on Barret's armor.

W Machine Gun is outclassed by Drill Arm, which is a melee weapon, but has better stats and an additional Materia slot. If the player intends to bring Barret along when farming Materia, Drill Arm is a better choice, and Barret should equip the Platinum Bangle or Rune Armlet, which provide double AP to two and four Materia slots respectively, in addition. However, Barret is less useful at Materia grinding than Cloud or Cid, whose Apocalypse and Scimitar respectively provide triple AP. Barret is therefore equally as useful as any other third party member for farming Materia.