Ok, We expect to hear in 2 weeks time from E3 about the 7 star meta coming to GL. The problem for most of us in global is we are clambouring for a lot more units to be 7 star and right away, but realistically thats not going to happen. #7star(insert units name here)when. As for Global Exclusives it may be awhile before we see them as well. However from the first batch alone there are some favorites who will recieve a boost as well as some benchwarmers who will finally return from the Shadows. (Some puns just write themselves). So lets see who will we need to help fill our ranks once 7 star actually arrives.

The Current list based off of JP's batch 1 are: Lightning 7★, Ramza 7★, Delita 7★, Dark Knight Cecil 7★, Ace 7★, Luneth 7★, Queen 7★, Onion Knight 7★, Dark Fina 7★, Orlandeau 7★, Marie 7★, Aileen 7★, Emperor 7★, Wilhelm 7★, Tidus 7★, Rem 7★, Trance Terra 7★, Fohlen 7★, Veritas of the Dark 7★, Seabreeze Dark Fina 7★

Lets highlight what looks to be the best from each of them: There are 20 to look at from the JP 1st Batch (don't expect Gumi to give us all 20 or even these exact 20 but its a good starting Reference).

• Lightning was the first real 5 star unit and has fallen out of the meta long ago. With the start of the 7 star she comes back in a big way. She gets a major boost to her LB 1500-1800% ST damage 20-hit combo with a 74% def debuff. she also gets some decent boost from her tmr, a STMR 176 att sword. And a decent chaining move around 110.

• Ramza has come back into the meta as one of the better goto bards. When 7 star rolls around, Ramza's LB jumps up to a useful 3 turn AOE 101%-130% Att/Mag boost. His trust ability is meh with a 15% boost to his HP/MP/Def/Spr. He does get an AOE 2000 HP barrier as a 2 turn cooldown. and 180% ST 1-hit attack that can break 60% Def or Spr with a W-Ability at 100 to do both breaks in 1 turn.

• Delita has been only whispered about in the current meta and mainly because his only useful abilities are his breaks. In 7 star his LB looks decent with a 950-1240% AOE 6-hit Lightning Combo. His STMR is a massive 80% Att boost materia with a Fixed Damage of 2k to self every turn. Not sure if its a good trade off for the boost, but at that high of a boost you can free up additional materia slots. His trust ability gives him DH not TDH, and some additional att. He gains W-ability at 110 on his breaks from his 6 star form (no additional 7* breaks like Ramza). His Cap ability boost his DH ability even more, and he does get a 1 turn cooldown ability that imperils dark by 120%.

• Dark Knight Cecil hasn't seen the light of day in more than a year for many of us. In 7 Star his LB gets a nice boost in damage to 860-1150% Aoe 1-Hit dark element damage. (great attack if you include Delita's imperil beforehand). He gets an ability that burns his FULL LB guage to heal a ST 50% HP/MP, and ST 50% Damage Mit for 1 Turn (useful for those thresholds you need to survive). His Trust Ability gives him DH not TDH, with his STMR giving more DH boost w/ a general 30% Att boost as well. His Cap ability gives him Man killer and boost to his Att/Mag and an additional boost to Hp/Att when wielding a greatsword.

• Ace has been many a players MP battery in the current meta. In the 7 star meta, his LB gets even better with a 655-800% ST 1-hit Magic Attack that ignores 50% Spr. His STMR is a Phenomenal 62 Att/ 169 Mag Thrown Weapon, Great for those hybrid units who can use this. His Trust ability adds up to a 74% Spr debuff and a boost to 650% on his Tri-beam laser. His other abilities he gains don't look as good, many involve RNG and we all know that doesn't bode well for a character. (Gumi if your listening, change this stuff out)

• Luneth has been a go-to finisher for a long while but has fallen behind in the last 6-9months. In his 7star form, Luneth's LB becomes a nice 1060-1350% ST 1 Hit Attack, w/ a 45-74% debuff to Def, Nice! His STMR is better than clouds uniform for TDH with a massive 45 att clothes, sadly with a 1def/1spr included, but a 30% resist to 4 elements. his Trust ability gives him some boost to his stats (HP, Att, Def) and a boost to his LB where he imperils 4 elements (Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth) a ST 45-74% for 3 turns, and recover 100% of his MP. His Cap gets a TDW of 30% to his att 2 LS. He also had a 400% ST 3-hit attack which stacks up to 1000%.

• Queen hasn't seen much light in a long while except for Niche builds and maybe Explorations and Arena fights. Once 7 Star hits, she is looking forward to a Massive AOE 1110-1400% Light Attack w/ 100 Hp Drain. An improved STMR over Desch's earrings, 55 Att and a 100% ignore a fatal hit as long as Hp is above 1%. Gains Thundaja! A Trust ability that grants her either DH or TDH (JP player please post which one). At 105 she gains a 550% ST 12-hit combo (Tidus we are looking at you). She looks to gain a W-Ability at 105 as well which works with her 12-hit attack and her finisher move she gets at 110. Her finisher is an ok 375% ST 1-Hit Attack that ignores 50% Def.

• Onion Knight has stood as one of our favorite chainers in the 6 star Meta. In 7 star his LB gets a slight bump up to 810-1100% AOe 16-hit combo w/ a 50-110% AOE Att buff and an AOE 50-74% Def Debuff. a Nice STMR materia that grants 80% att when wielding a sword and Undead killer. he gains 3 turn self killers to beast, stone and undead at 110. Also a 2 turn CD 1100% AOE 20 hit attack (5Fr).

• Dark Fina hasn't been meta in forever except the occassional Arena nuke team with DC Ultima 2, man did i waste a lot of resources getting that when i came back. In 7 star Dark Fina comes back into the meta big time. Her Lb isn't pretty, a Dark 380-525% AOE 8-hit magic blast that ignores 50% Spr. Where she shines is her picking up both Tornado and Quake allowing her to chain with Barb. Her Magic stat jumps up to 200 base. Her Trust ability boost her Magic by 50%, Hp by 30%, and dark resist by 50% and if she has a whip an additional 30% to both Mag/Spr! 2 1 turn CD abilities, 1 that does wind magic attack (760% 12-hit w/ a 60% imperil), and an earth magic attack (850% 9-hit with a 60% imperil). A 9 Turn Cooldown: (Available on turn 1) AoE 8 Turn -120% Dark Resist & Self 8 Turn Auto-Revive with 80% HP & Self 8 Turn 150% MAG & Self ~180 MP Heal w/ 0x Mod split over 8 Turns. she can even do a little barding with a 3 turn AOE 100% Mag/Spr buff and 70% AOE 4 element resist (Fire, Wind, Earth, and Dark). A huge improvement over her current form.

• Orlandeau has been the bar and trend setter for chaining in the current meta, if you don't chain with him your basically a second teir chainer (with few exceptions: OK and Tidus). 7 star gives him his best weapon to date, a STMR 174 Att greatsword with Light Element. His LB improves to a 610-900% AOE 3 hit physical, his Trust Ability increase it by another 300% and adds in a 40% AOE 3 turn stop chance as well as 45-74% 3 turn def break, and if thats not all 100% Hp recovery on self. And to top that all off 30% TDW, that is a nice trust mastery to get. He gains an attack at 105 that gives him 6 LB and deals out 420% AOE 1-hit. He has a 3 turn CD finisher that deals 750% ST 1-Hit w/ ignore 50% Def. His Cap looks to boost his DR ability by an additional 80% taking it up to 340% if enhance 2, along with a 30% Def/Spr boost and a mirage skill (1x) at the beginning of battle/ when revived. Some great improvements here for our most important base chainer.

• Marie has been the best green mage we had, sadly that is the nicest thing i can think of about her. Really her 7 star form only has two things of note. a 7 turn CD ability that gives a 100% AOE all element resist, 200% Def/Spr buff, 50% Damage Mitigation for 1 turn. She also has a ST 2000 HP barrier w/ 45 MP Recovery. Sadly that is all she gets, lets hope for something like GLEX to help fix her or else she will almost never get people to actually turn her into a 7 star unit unless they are a completionist or desperate for that CD ability.

• Aileen has gotten some love as of recent with the Lara Croft Collab making her have multiple chaining partners besides Camille (if i remember right, message me if i'm wrong). 7 star see's her awesome STMR hat that gives 4 killers (Plant, Stone, Bug, And Machine) and 52 att, Great for TDH builds. Her LB jumps up to 735-1025% ST 4-Hit Attack that ignores 50% Def. Her Trust Ability gives her TDH ability, a boost of 120% to her Piledriver ability (boosting it to 320%, 370 if you have it EN), and 50% fill rate for LB. A 3 turn CD, Available turn 1 to give everyone 12 LB crystals, very useful to help get some units started or even filled. She has a 120% Att or Mag boost W/ entrust. However her Cap makes little sense because it is for TDW.

• Emperor holds one of the better slots in the current meta for magic damage. & Star sees his STMR as a go to for magic users, a Materia that Boost Mag 60%, Hp 10% and fire resist 50%. His LB gets a nice boost, 1060-1350 AOE 7-hit Wind Magic damage w/ 31-60% all elements imperil. He gains Blizzaja! His Trust Ability Looks interesting in that its either a W- ability or T ability for his Hellfire (Jp player please help with this). a unique ability to set up a 2 turn 100% physical counter when allies are attacked that can proc off 6 times, his Cap is similar in that its a 50% physical counter that deals 400% St 1-hit magic attack w/ a St 3turn 50% Att debuff, this can proc off 5 times a turn.

• Wilhelm is the Provoke tank we all wish to have, and makes up one of the best Physical tanks in the current Meta(mind you there aren't many 5* tanks but he is by far one of the best, mind you i still love my Basch.) And oh Boy does Wilhelm come out of the 7 star format swinging. His STMR is a massive heavy armor that gives 110 Def/Spr and 20% Hp. a LB that can AOE 1-turn 30-54% Damage Reduction, w/ 3 turn self boost to Def of 72-130%. Very Solid. A Base Def of 218 and a base Spr of 192, that is unpotted add 65 and 40 respectively once fully potted. His Trust ability boost his Hp and Def by 30% and 100% chance to ignore a fatal attack if Hp is above 1%. he gains a AOE defend at 105. A 60% att and Mag break. A 3 turn CD to reduce physical by 90% for 1 turn. His Cap gives him two counters, 1 physical, 1 magical, w/ an 80% proc rate.

• Tidus with the annoying laugh, kicks major butt as one of the signature chainers in the current meta, and if your paying attention yes this means all three of the major chain groups leaders are at least in the first batch of 7 stars expecting to come out. Tidus 7 star has a great STMR materia that boost 50% esper stats so your 3 star esper will be a major boost, along with a 150% LB fillrate! His LB gets a huge boost of 910-1200% ST 16-hit physical attack with a 75-100% water imperil. His Trust ability gives 25% killers to beast, bird, and demon, as well as TDH, and a 25% increase to his LB damage. He gets a 360% ST (reg hits) physical attack that unlocks W-ability for 1 turn to Energy Rain, Jecht Shot, and Quick Hit. he also has a 3 turn CD ability that hits for 450% reg hits then unlocks T ability for the same three.

• Rem is probably the one unit on this list we can ignore since her GL is way different than her JP counterpart. The only thing we can hope they keep is her AOE reraise and Curaja. Beyond that not much more we can say currently.

• Trance Terra, The only decent FFVI character and by far one of the most powerful magic chainers out there. 7 star just takes her and turns it up to 11. First off her STMR, an accessory that increase MP by 33%, and reduces mp cost by 50%, can we say must have for those units who drain mp like it was Mt. Dew. Base Magic stat at 197. Her LB increase to a 495-640% AOE 9 Hit Magic Attack w/ 50% ignore Spr. 7 star gives her Blizzaja, Thundaja, and Curaja! Your back up white mage is here. Her Trust Ability allows her to quad cast, let me say that again QUAD CAST! gains a dark and a fire attack that deal AOE 400% 5-hits that can go up to 1400%, increase 200% per cast. Her Cap gives her TDH mage/TDW Mage. but the biggest ability of all is she can at 110 gain the ability to quad cast Chaos wave and Chaos Wave Awakened. If you have her, and you get a UOC this is the must have Unit in my opinion. Say it with me: QUAD CAST CHAOS WAVE!!!!

• Fohlen had a week there where after his enhancements he was awesome, then they nerfed his mirage stacks. 7 Star see Fohlen get a decent boost to his LB, 1110-1400% AOE 13-hit w/ a 3 turn AOE 35-64% Def debuff. His Trust Ability gives him 3 killers (Beast, Bird, and Aqua). His Cap gives him a 100% boost to jump damage, and 25% more to each of his killers.

• Dark Veritas is probably my favorite of the veritas we got, and an Orlandeau chainer to boot. In his 7 star form, his LB gets a nice boost of 655-800% AOE Dark 20-hit chain w/ a 40-69% def debuff. His trust ability increase this LB by 200% damage, Att/Def break and increase the break by 5% as well as 20% increase in HP,Def, Spr, and MP. At 105 he gains his chaining ability with Sephiroth (600% ST 16-hit attack that imperils dark by 65%). His Cap increase damage for Dark punishment (Dr chain) by 100%, Dual Slash by 100%, Dark Edge by 100%, and his new chaining ability by 50%, also increase his LB damage by an additional 30%. Also there is this awesome CD ability:4 Turn Countdown: (Available on turn 1) Self 3 Turn 220% ATK/DEF/MAG/SPR & Self 3 Turn 30% Mitigation & Self 6500 Base 15x Heal over 3 Turn & Self 30 Base 0.3x MP over 3 Turn & Self 6 LB.

• Seabreeze Dark Fina...best mage armor in the game at current time. Her 7 star form at least is no joke. She is pretty similar to Dark Fina but instead of her earth magic attacks they are water. So Flood instead of Quake, a 1 turn CD ability that does AOE 900% 12-hit water w/ 60% imperil. The only other thing i can think of is her STMR, a whip that does 93 Att, 163 Mag, 80% chance to inflict all status ailments, that also grants a Hybrid magic attack (900% AOE all elements).

TL/DR There was 20 characters released in the first batch of 7 star characters on the JP side, were likely to see most of them here in a month or so. Announcement is most likely to come during E3, or at 2nd Anniversary at the latest. Release my guess is late July/early August. A quick rundown of the 1st batches (JP) 7 stars abilities worth mentioning. Takeaway, Trance Terra, Dark Fina, Dark Veritas, Tidus, Wilhelm, and S. Dark Fina look to be the best units. Questionable on Rem being she is way different on GL than JP side. With this and the hopefully 2 months time, you can probably stock up the resources needed to Cap the units you will want to get off the bat if you have the dupes for them. Good Luck.