Which characters are the strongest? Which ones should you add to your party?
The first and most important thing to keep in mind when deciding which party members you are going to add to your team is that all of the characters available are viable options. You can complete the story mode and all of the available side quests with any party combination that you select.
That being said, some characters will come out ahead when compared to others simply because of their stat growth as they level and due to the power of their Limit Breaks.
The first major consideration is which characters have the best stats. Specifically, this looks at a character’s HP, MP, Strength, Vitality, Dexterity, Magic, Spirit and Luck. Here is a character by character comparison of each character’s stat growth as they level.
Note that the rankings below compare each character’s stat to other characters. A character with a ranking of “1” has the highest of any character as it relates to that specific stat. For example, Yuffie has the highest Luck of any character. Some characters have relatively similar values and are listed as having the same ranking
| Stat | Cloud | Barret | Tifa | Aeris | Red XIII | Cait Sith | Cid | Yuffie | Vincent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HP | 3 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 9 |
| MP | 3 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 2 |
| Strength | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| Vitality | 3 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| Dexterity | 4 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| Magic | 2 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| Spirit | 2 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 2 |
| Luck | 5 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
So what should you be looking for in a good Limit Break?
Some Limit Breaks provide support through healing and positive status effects, but most of these effects can be replicated by equipping weapons, armor or Materia to a character. Additionally, you can use Materia to heal and support your characters.
As a result, what you are really looking for in a good Limit Break are the ones that can do the most damage to the enemies that you face. Damage from a single hit will be capped at 9,999 HP worth of damage which means that the strongest ones are those that hit multiple times for high amounts of damage.
Let’s briefly look at each character’s Limit Breaks. Note that you can check the Limit Breaks section for more information on all of a character’s different Limit Breaks.
So after all that, who should you select? Just to remind you again, you can do a full playthrough of the game with any of the available characters. This includes the final battle against Sephiroth as well as any of the more difficult end-game side quests that are available. But if you are hellbent on using the best characters available, it is recommended that you choose the following characters:
1) Cloud
The main character with the best stats and best Limit Breaks.
2) Barret
Is the second strongest choice. He has high stats and great Limit Breaks and he is a mainstay of your party throughout the game.
3) Cid / Yuffie
Both Cid and Yuffie make excellent additions to your party. They have great stats and Limit Breaks, with Cid coming out slightly ahead of Yuffie. Both are viable options though.
4) Red XIII
The cat is a great addition to your team when he joins your party in the Shinra Building but his strength starts to wane as the game progresses.
5) Tifa
She can be a good addition to your party under certain circumstance. Namely, when she has her 
Powersoul Weapon with 
Deathblow Materia. But generally speaking she is not the strongest character option.
6) Cait Sith / Vincent / Aeris
Each of these characters have reasons why you should not use them which are mentioned above. They have notable handicaps that could prove to be detrimental to your party.
Just to reiterate one more time, you can easily use any of the party members for your playthrough of the game, but if you want the **strongest party** you should select the ones outlined above.
