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Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII: Reunion

How to Level Buster Sword Proficiency in Crisis Core Reunion

By
Ben Chard

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.

Zack will gain the Buster Sword and unlock Buster Sword Proficiency in Chapter 6.

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:

Ability Description
Strong Attack Zack gains super armor and won’t flinch when being struck. Additionally, his attack hits harder and Command abilities will deal more damage
Enhanced Guard Reduces damage by 80% when guarding
Necrosmose Restores a little MP and AP when defeating enemies with Attack or abilities

You can see your Buster Sword Proficiency in the bottom right corner of the main menu.

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" iconJump or "Aerial Drain" iconAerial 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:

Method Buster Sword Proficiency
Defeat enemies with Strong Attack in Battle Stance 0.25% per enemy
Guarding enemy attacks 0.07% per attack guarded
Defeating enemies with Command abilities in Battle Stance 0.25% per enemy

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

Ability Buster Sword Proficiency Description
Break Damage Limit 15% Attacks and abilities will break the damage limit when in Battle Stance
Barrier Piercing 47% When in Battle Stance, attacks will ignore the effects of the "Barrier" iconBarrier Buff
Barrier Break 100% When in Battle Stance, attacks will remove the "Barrier" iconBarrier Buff

As you can see, raising the Buster Sword Proficiency allows you to break the damage limit without having to equip Accessories such as "Brutal" iconBrutal, 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.

(1 of 3) You can level Proficiency using !Guards

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" iconBarrier 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 Troop" iconShinra 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" iconHigh Jump or Aerial "Drain" iconDrain 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.

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Square Enix
  • Genre
    Action RPG
  • Guide Release
    12 December 2022
  • Last Updated
    27 March 2023
    Version History
  • Guide Author

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Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII: Reunion is a remaster of the PSP original, featuring HD graphics & gameplay overhauls. This guide for Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII: Reunion currently contains the following:

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