Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII: Reunion has a wealth of customization opportunities and with it, ways to really make Zack powerful. Once you reach Chapter 6, Zack will receive the Buster Sword and unlock Buster Sword Proficiency at the same time.

New to Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII: Reunion, Buster Sword Proficiency is a new mechanic that demonstrates Zack’s prowess with this iconic sword. Just by having the weapon will unlock a few new abilities, but you can raise his Proficiency to unlock two further powerful abilities.

How to Use and Level Buster Sword Proficiency¶

Before you set off to start leveling the Buster Sword Proficiency stat, you first need to understand how it works. From Chapter 6, pressing the Attack and Dodge buttons will cause Zack to enter a Battle Stance, much like Cloud’s Punisher Mode from Final Fantasy VII Remake. From the get-go when you receive the weapon, you’ll unlock the following abilities:

You’ll also notice the Proficiency in the corner of your screen, both in battle and the main menu. This will increase by using Battle Stance, guarding attacks or defeating enemies with command abilities during Battle Stance (such as Jump or Aerial Drain). There is a catch to this, however, in that there is a cap per battle in how much Proficiency you can gain, a total of 0.57% per battle. Below are how much each method will give you:

As you can see, you’ll need to vary your methods per battle if you want to hit the cap of 0.57 for every battle and it be prepared for it to take a long time to raise it throughout the game. Do note that your progress will carry through to a New Game+, but you still won’t have the Buster Sword until Chapter 6 again.

Buster Sword Abilities¶

As you can see, raising the Buster Sword Proficiency allows you to break the damage limit without having to equip Accessories such as Brutal, freeing a slot up for another useful Accessory.

Best Way to Level Buster Sword Proficiency in Crisis Core Reunion¶

So now that you know how it works, is there a fast method for leveling your Buster Sword Proficiency? Unfortunately, regardless of how you decide to do it, there’s no shortcut for leveling it, you will have to go through the pain of many battles to hopefully reach that cap of 0.57 per battle, but there are things you can do to make your life a little easier.

Increase Buster Sword Proficiency from 95% to 100%¶

The final part of the leveling process is a little different. It will seem like nothing is raising it but you can still get this final 5%. You must go into a Mission (like M9-6-5) and defeat enemies with the Barrier Buff on them. With the Barrier Piercing Ability, you’ll deal normal damage and for each one you defeat, you’ll add to your proficiency.

Mission 1-1-1¶

This is a quick mission that immediately puts you into battle. This is ideal over the other Shinra Troops mission as it doesn’t matter how many enemies you have in battle, just that you’re hitting the cap per each battle.

Be sure to vary your methods up by using Guard, Strong Attack, and abilities to defeat your enemies and earn the maximum % per each type per battle.

Random Encounters in Missions¶

The alternative way is to head into a mission where you can keep triggering random encounters. Equip powerful Materia such as High Jump or Aerial Drain and use them in Battle Stance to wipe them out easily for Buster Sword Proficiency. You can then run around triggering more battles to keep this up.

Remember, it’s only the killing blow from Strong Attack or an Ability that grants you the Buster Sword Proficiency, so if you’re fighting tougher enemies, be sure to lower their HP first before using Battle Stance for the killing blow.