If you’re a fan of Final Fantasy, you’ll remember the staple ultimate magic Ultima. Unfortunately, Crisis Core Reunion’s version doesn’t pack the same punch as it did in the previous iterations. This version takes a too long to cast, costs 99 MP, and doesn’t deal as much DPS as spells in a similar level-range such as Electrocute or Quake. Still, that doesn’t mean it’s bad, as it still does a considerable amount of damage. Plus, it’s always nice to have, especially if you don’t have access to a better spell yet or you just want it for Materia Fusion fodder.

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Although !Ultima is found lacking compared to other strong Materia in the game, it’s still a decent spell.

When and Where Can You Get Ultima¶

There are quite a few ways to get Ultima which involves either: Materia Fusion, Mission Rewards, or Stealing it from Tycoon.

Activity	Location/Fusion
Chest	Missions: 2-5-2, 6-6-3, 6-6-5, 9-6-2, and 9-6-5
Steal	Tycoon (Mission 9-5-3)
Reward	Mission: 3-5-4
Materia Fusion	Energy (M☆) + Libra, or any other DMW such as Rush Assault.

Technically, you can get Ultima as early Chapter 3 by completing the mission 8-4-1: Suspicious Mail 1, and the subsequent missions that follow it. But if you want to complete some of the tougher missions on the way to unlocking it. You’ll need to play around with the Materia Fusion system (unlocked in the same chapter) to create at least Darkness, and HP+ Materia as well as net yourself some good accessories as a lot of monsters 7-Star+ can one-shot you.

What Makes Ultima Bad¶

Ultima is far from a bad spell, but, when compared to lower rank spells like Electrocute, and Quake it’s found lacking. Like mentioned in the beginning paragraph, Ultima is slow to cast, which could mean you’ll get interrupted, especially with more aggressive enemies. It costs 99 MP for 47 base Materia Power compared to Electrocute which costs 72 MP at 40 power, and Quake which costs 58 MP at 27 power. Both of the latter spells are quicker to cast (especially Quake) and cost a lot less MP. If you calculate the MP cost and damage output for the same amount of time, you’ll find Ultima falling behind. It’s not so much that Ultima is weak, but the others are arguably too strong.