Check out our Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion Battle Guide to learn
- The basics of the combat system
- How to use Materia effectively
- How digital awareness works
- Tips for combat
In Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion you experience the prelude to the classic Final Fantasy 7. The action-packed combat system is one of the main features of the prequel. We’ll show you how to be successful in every fight.
What are the status effects in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion?
You will soon encounter opponents who Magic and elemental attacks use against you. In the later course of the game you will also collect different materia, which you can then combine in different ways. It only makes sense to learn the different status effects.
Status effects can affect you as well applied to opponents become. A distinction is made between positive effects (buffs) and negative effects (debuffs). The following buffs are available:
- radix: Prevents falls from taking damage
- barrier: Halves the physical damage taken
- magic barrier: Halves the magic damage taken
- Regena: Regenerates hit points over a period of time
- Guardian Angel: Automatically revives Zack when he dies
- Critical: Each hit deals critical damage
- physical resistance: Grants immunity to physical attacks
- Magical Resistance: Grants immunity to magic attacks
- Invulnerable: Grants immunity to all enemy attacks
- MP free: You do not consume magic points
- FP free: You do not consume skill points
The following debuffs can hit you or opponents:
- poison: Periodically drains hit points
- Mute: Prevents the use of magic
- curse: Digital Consciousness (DBW) will be disabled
- dazed: Actions cannot be performed temporarily
- stop: Zack remains motionless for a period of time
What is material?
Materia is basically the magic in the world of Final Fantasy. This allows you to perform various special attacks and elemental attacks. There are four subcategories from materials:
- Magic Materia (Green)
- Skill Materia (Gold)
- Unbound Materia (Purple)
- Complementary Material (Blue)
Magic Materia allows you to perform attacks and spells based on the elements Fire, Ice, Lightning, or Vita. Skill Materia allow you to make particularly devastating attacks such as the Spin Attack to perform.
Unbound Materia grants you positive effects, such as a hit point boost. Complementary Materia, for example, will help you do that element apply another Materia to your attacks.
You can later put different Materia combinations in your weapons and build some powerful builds. Always pay attention, Materia with the highest values to use. Materia can be leveled up to level five with Digital Awareness. However, switch out your Materia as soon as you reach level five – this way you will accumulate a repertoire of powerful Materia over time.
What is digital awareness?
Digital Consciousness, abbreviated in-game as DBW, is one of the core elements of the combat system and is activated as soon as you enter combat mode. You can see the DBW on the top left of the screen. It looks like having a gambling slot machine three reels. Each reel consists of a character portrait and a number between one and six.
These reels always spin automatically during the battle. Each spin costs ten soldier points. The following rules apply to the reels:
- Matching character portraits: Activates summons and special attacks
- Matching Digits: Reinforcement of the Materia
In order for an effect to be triggered, the left and the right Display a portrait or digit on the roller. Otherwise nothing happens and the reels keep spinning.
To trigger a summon you need at least two portraits of one summon character, such as Odin or Phoenix. The three digits must also match. If the portraits match but the numbers don’t, a powerful special attack will be triggered.
Overview of the best DBW effects
Depending on which number and portrait combinations the reels spit out, you get a certain main effect, such as a buff, as well as secondary effects, such as a Leveling up a Materia. In some combinations, the main effects are repeated.
| combination | main effect | secondary effect |
| 777 | Temporary invulnerability | A Materia goes up two levels |
| 666 | All attacks become critical hits for a short time | A Materia goes up two levels |
| 555 | You are completely resistant to physical damage for a short time | A Materia goes up two levels |
| 444 | You do not consume skill points until the end of a battle | A Materia goes up two levels |
| 333 | You are completely resistant to magic damage for a short time | A Materia goes up two levels |
| 222 | You don’t use any magic points until the end of a fight | A Materia goes up two levels |
| 111 | Temporarily invulnerable | A Materia goes up two levels |
| Any two digits | – | A Materia levels up |
| Two sevens | One of the following effects: You briefly consume no skill points, no magic points, are briefly completely resistant to magic damage or physical damage | – |
| All character portraits match | The character’s Limit Rush is activated | – |
| At least two summoning character portraits and three digits match | You summon a powerful being that will help you in battle | – |
It is also worth mentioning limit impulse, symbolized by yellow arrows above character portraits. If two digits between one and six match, the materia in the corresponding slot increases by one level. If three digits match, it even increases by two levels.
Tips for combat
Don’t rush into fights. Plays defensively and relies on the block function your sword. Using Materia can mean the difference between victory and defeat in a battle. But: Zack has to stand still for a short moment and run an animation with every form of Materia. He’s vulnerable during this time, so count the animation time before using a Materia.
You should also be economical with your magic points. You can always recharge some MP, but especially in long fights you prefer to save the MP for particularly strong magic spells such as healing. Otherwise you should try during a fight, the opponent in the back to stab – this is how you do the most damage with normal attacks.
More Final Fantasy articles on Gamez
Visit us on Facebook and Instagram and discuss your favorite games with us!
