Essential Tips and Guides for Crisis Core Final Fantasy 7 Reunion

Before you jump back into the story of SOLDIER Zack Fair, there are a few things worth knowing about Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion-from its reworked combat flow and progression tweaks to hidden mechanics that can easily change your run. These nine insights will help you play smarter, fight tougher, and get the most out of every mission.

Below, we list out some tips that will help new Crisis Core players adjust to the game and remind folks who played the original game how things work.

Do not rely on the DMW to get you out of tough situations

The DMW spins symbols during battles to trigger powerful assists from allies like Cloud or Aerith, but it runs on pure chance. Countless fights drag on because those slots refuse to align, leaving Zack exposed to brutal enemy combos. Keep your finger on the dodge button and chain attacks manually instead of praying for luck, or tough bosses will wipe you out fast.

The Digital Mind Wave (or DMW) is the limit break system in the game. It works like a slot machine, and if you get three matching characters in a row, you’ll have access to a summon or limit break, as well as restored HP, MP, and AP.

If you’re battling and low on any of those points, just use your items. Don’t wait around, relying on the DMW to get you out of a sticky situation. It’s way too random, so praying for a good DMW roll will be your demise.

Side missions are key for leveling and items

Side missions offer a steady way to gain experience, materials, and rare gear that can make the main story much easier. Many missions are quick to complete and can be repeated to gather specific items or materia. They also give access to hidden summons and equipment you won’t find elsewhere, so spending time on them early pays off later as enemies become tougher.

The story in Crisis Core is short; a lot of the extra gameplay comes from completing missions. You’ll unlock different missions as you complete the game, but every now and then you should take a breather to do these missions.

Not only do missions reward important things like summons, but they’ll help you level up and stay afloat during the story. If you notice that the story enemies are taking a little bit too long to kill, that’s a sign that you should probably go do some missions.

Heal up at save points constantly

Make a habit of using save points whenever you spot them, as they fully restore Zack’s HP, MP, and AP. Enemies and bosses can deal surprising bursts of damage, so topping up before you move on can prevent unnecessary defeats. Save points are scattered generously through missions and story areas, making it easy to stay topped up and prepared for anything ahead.

Touching a save point will restore all your points – MP, HP, and AP – to full, so you should definitely do that whenever you see one. You don’t need to even necessarily save. You can just touch it for some fast healing.

Attacking the enemy’s back does more damage

Attacking enemies from behind gives you a significant damage boost, making positioning a key part of combat strategy. Move around your opponent during fights to strike from their blind spot and trigger critical hits. This tactic works especially well against tougher foes or bosses, helping you finish battles faster while taking fewer hits yourself. Timing and movement are just as important as raw power, so use your agility to gain the upper hand.

Hitting an enemy from behind is a guaranteed critical hit, so you should dodge-roll around and hit enemies where it hurts whenever you can. Some enemies are tougher to get behind, as they’ll reposition themselves quickly. If that’s the case, you can just focus on hacking and slashing them.

Utilize infinite MP buffs as much as you can

Maximize your MP reserves by prioritizing supportive buffs and mana-backed abilities, stacking effects from quick-use items and character passives, and keeping an eye on cooldowns so you can chisel through tougher segments with sustained spellcasting.

Sometimes the DMW will reward you with infinite MP for a limited time in battle. Even if you don’t plan on using the skills to do damage, use this as an opportunity to spam cure to heal yourself up for free.

Expect encounters in open rooms

You’ll often walk into spacious areas where battles or character interactions trigger automatically. These encounters can appear without warning, so keep your equipment and abilities prepared. Pay attention to enemy placements, as open rooms frequently hide valuable items or secret missions. Taking time to survey each spot before moving forward can help you avoid surprises and gain useful rewards.

Most areas follow the same formula: thin hallways that lead to open rooms. Enemy encounters tend to pop up in these open rooms, as there’s enough space for battle, so you can half-predict when an encounter will happen.

That is to say, there are areas where enemies still appear in the halls, so make sure you’re ready to fight at any moment.

Run along the walls of the rooms to avoid enemies

Run along the walls of the rooms to dodge prowling foes, using vertical paths to stay out of their sightlines and create safer routes through tight corridors.

If you’re tired of hearing the “activating combat mode” voice lady and want to beeline the story a bit more, you can avoid encounters by generally hugging the walls of the areas you’re exploring. Encounters tend to activate towards the middle of the room, so hugging the walls can help avoid them.

That is to say that you shouldn’t really skip out on random battles, as you might end up underleveled. However, if you’re vastly overleveled and tired of slashing at enemies, you can take a breather by running along the walls.

Talk to every NPC with an orange prompt

NPCs with orange speech prompts often offer missions, side objectives, or useful information that adds depth to Zack’s adventure. Talking to them can lead to rewards like items, Materia, or new missions that might not appear otherwise. Make a habit of checking for these icons as you explore each area, since some dialogue options disappear after story progression. A quick chat can easily give you an edge or reveal small story details you might otherwise miss.

Lots of NPCs in Crisis Core are useless, but some NPCs have orange interaction buttons, meaning that they unlock some form of content. Some NPCs will unlock minigames or give items, but lots of these orange NPCs will unlock more missions for you to complete, some of which are mandatory to complete other side content.

If you have a chance to run around Midgar before you head out on a mission, make sure to explore the areas thoroughly and talk to all these orange NPCs.

Level up all the materia you can

Materia fuels your combat strength in Crisis Core Reunion, so fuse duplicates whenever possible to boost their power early on. Prioritize slots on your main weapon and armor, then experiment with combinations like Fire plus Lightning for new spells. This process snowballs your stats and abilities, letting you tackle tougher foes without grinding later. Check vendors and missions often for fresh materia to level up.

While you should use your powerful materia against bosses and the like, you should also create a set that you use in battle against small fry enemies just to level the materia up. Once a materia becomes “mastered” it will have a different effect in materia fusion, so it’s nice to have a couple mastered materia on-hand, even if you’re not actively using it.

Best materia setups for early bosses

For early bosses in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion, like those in the initial Shinra missions or Hollander fights, prioritize materia setups that boost survivability, elemental damage, and quick heals while leveraging Zack’s real-time combat.

Fire + Power

Equip Fire (from the starting set) paired with Power materia on your main slot for enhanced melee combos that exploit common enemy weaknesses-most early foes like Seize machines take bonus fire damage. This setup amps basic attacks without heavy MP drain, ideal for dodging and striking during boss phases.

Cure + Healing

Slot Cure in a support position with Healing Wave accessory early; it auto-triggers group heals when HP drops low, countering AoE attacks from bosses like the first Guard Scorpion variants. Level it via missions for faster casts, pairing with Assess to reveal boss vulnerabilities first.

Thunder + Vitality

Thunder materia on offense with a Vitality booster counters flying or metal enemies in early Shinra Reactor fights, while the paired stat boost helps tank hits during aggressive phases. Swap to Barrier for invulnerability bursts if the boss ramps up melee.

Assault Twister + Speed

Use Assault Twister (unlocked early via DMW or shop) with Speed Up for crowd-clearing spins that group adds, preserving MP for single-target boss nukes like Graviga. This shines in multi-phase fights, letting you kite while building meter.

General Loadout

• Fill remaining slots with Assess (mandatory for weaknesses), HP Up, and Spare Change for gil-to-damage conversion on trash mobs.

• Equip Talon Blade weapon and any fire-resistant armlet; rotate via pause menu mid-fi

Best materia setups for mid game bosses

Mid-game bosses in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion, like those in Chapters 4-7 (e.g., Genesis copies, Hollander variants, or Behemoths), demand materia setups balancing high damage output, status control, and sustained healing as Zack’s slots expand to 5-6.

Damage Core

Prioritize Hell Firaga (fused from Fire + DMW materia) paired with Power or Speed for massive AoE fire nukes that exploit common weaknesses, often hitting 10k+ damage while applying Poison/Death. Add Costly Punch (Goblin Punch/Iron Fist + DMW fusion) boosted by HP Up++ for 99k non-elemental hits that ignore armor-essential with damage-limit-breaking gear like Zongazi Gloves.

Defense and Sustain

Equip Status Ward alongside Hell spells to block Poison, Silence, or Stop from bosses, freeing accessory slots for offense. Slot Curaga (mastered Cure) with Auto-Ether for endless heals during prolonged fights, and Barrier/Protect for tanking melee phases.

Utility Picks

Graviga + Steal for kiting non-lethal damage and item grabs; Gil Toss (Steal + DMW) scales with your gil hoard for multi-hit clears on adds. Fill extras with Assess (scan first), Machinist (mech weaknesses), and Spare Change for trash efficiency.

Recommended Loadout