Materia is one of the most important features in Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII: Reunion, with there being many powerful ones in the game. This page will detail how to get the Darkness Materia early.
How to Unlock the Darkness Materia in Crisis Core Reunion¶
This is the mission that will reward you with the Darkness Materia
In order to unlock 
Darkness, you will first need to progress through the main story, until you reach Chapter 3. It is at this point the Shinra Building will be attacked, so continue along past that point and you will eventually have to go into Mako Reactor 5. There will be a lengthy cutscene with Sephiroth upon first entering the Mako Reactor, after which, you will regain control. If you look around, you should see one side path that has a ladder right next to where you have control. Head over to that ladder and you should get some Mail, Treasure Princess - Recruitment, as well as a new set of missions, starting with Mission 8-4-1.
(1 of 2) The Dual Horn has quite a lot of HP to get through
The Dual Horn has quite a lot of HP to get through (left), Stronger magic should still make a good dent in it despite the resistances (right)
Make your way through these missions, until you reach Mission 8-4-6, the final one in the set. It’s a 5-star mission, but despite the difficulty, you should not really have much trouble, as the boss at the end is fairly easy. At the end of the mission, you will be facing a 
Dual Horn. While it looks menacing and 12500 HP is nothing to scoff at (on Normal), it moves very slow and its moves are very easily telegraphed. Despite only taking half damage from elemental attacks, they are probably still your best option here, since they keep you at a safe distance and the -ra tier spells should still be doing upwards of 1,000+ damage to the beast. Fell the creature to finish the mission, with your reward being the Darkness Materia.
Why is Darkness a Great Materia¶
You already got 
Gravity, a spell that helps whittle down enemies’ health bars, but what about finishing off the enemies for good once it’s low enough? Well, the Darkness Materia can get the job done quite easily. Darkness is a Command Materia that grants the ability of the same name, with it delivering an area-of-effect attack centered around Zack. This attack ignores the defenses of the enemies, so it can be used on just about anything, although there’s definitely better for single targets.
(1 of 2) Darkness is quite powerful and uses HP as a resource
Darkness is quite powerful and uses HP as a resource (left), but it can sometimes leave you open to attacks from quicker enemies (right)
Of course, there is a catch to this attack, as each use will take away some of your HP. The amount taken isn’t that large (about 1/8), and you can easily counter it with healing of your own, whether through 
Cure/
Cura/
Curaga or just items. The little bit of trickery, though, is that Darkness has a semi-short range and it can take a few seconds to actually cast, so there is potential for you to get hit during the process. Despite that, though, it is definitely in contention for one of the best Materia in not only the early game, but also for later stages, too.
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