Rods

Well, it's a stick. Its Materia slot means Aeris can start bringing magic to the party, but otherwise it's just a stick. Stay in the back row and there's really no point to even having this.

A proper rod instead of a simple stick, this mumber looks much flashier and crucially has an extra linked Materia slot. Perfect for adding All to your favourite spell.

If you missed stealing the Striking Staff earlier (tip: don't) and have extra Materia you'd like Aeris to use, then take advantage of this chunky staff. Otherwise, what's the point?

Aeris' first growth-boosted staff, with a pleasantly Egyptian-esque design to make it look powerful. Double AP is always good when it comes to heavy Materia users, but note that you will be unable to use your valuable Support modifiers. While crossing the Corel rail tracks, fall down a hole and shuffle to the left to find this.

It may be an odd shape, but this shiny piece of kit is a truly essential steal back in the Train Graveyard. As well as having plenty of Materia slots, the strength of this staff is enough to turn Aeris into a full-on physical fighter. Leaving it until the Junon shops decreases its effectiveness somewhat, but the slots are always nice.

Aeris' only other double AP weapon may be found deep within Cosmo Canyon. If having unlinked slots doesn't pose too much of a problem, then this effectively provides the best average Materia leveling of all of her weapons.

Good golly. With seven whole Materia slots at your disposal, now is the time to make full use of Aeris' magical prowess. The only thing which beats it is the Princess Guard, and you won't be seeing that for quite some time. If you can work around the lack of linked slots - and you really should try to - then this will serve you well into the future.

Compared and contrasted with the recent Fairy Tale, you're losing three Materia slots to add two pairs, effectively reducing the amount of non-support Materia you're using by four or five. And you have to buy this, while the Fairy Tale comes free inside every Gi Nattak. If two pairs are essential to your plans, then this is your first opportunity to try it out. Otherwise, save the Gil for a rainy day.

OK, it looks a bit crap, but this is a good replacement for the Prism Staff if you're taking advantage of the paired slots. If not, the Fairy Tale is probably already firmly in Aeris' hands and this isn't going to dislodge it.

Aeris' "ultimate weapon," the Princess Guard, lacks the sheer strength of other ultimates, but just look at that Materia set-up. Seven slots, six in pairs, and still offering AP growth, you aren't going to find a handier rod than this. Be sure to take it from the chest at 4 o'clock on the Temple of the Ancients clockface room.

An unusual one, and no mistake. The 'Brolly of Doom allows Aeris to beat up her opponents almost as well as the fighters of the party, but at the expense of denying her Materia. Which isn't really a very good thing.