First introduced in Final Fantasy 7, materia is an item that players can equip to Zack in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion. Materia gives players access to a wide variety of abilities that they can use in battle. From spells like Fire or Blizzard to physical attacks like Thunder Blade, Materia opens up all sorts of possible strategies and abilities that players can use in battle.
Materia can also provide boosts to stats and increase the likelihood of certain characters showing up in the DMW gauge. Just like with the original Final Fantasy 7, players can level materia. Here is how materia can be leveled fast.
How Leveling Materia Works
Just like with leveling up Zack, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion players can only level up and master materia through the DMW gauge. While leveling Zack requires 7-7-7 and enough EXP to trigger a level up, leveling up materia is a more complicated matter. If the DMW gauge is about to trigger a limit break, this is called a limit verge.
During this time, if two or all three numbers match and are between 1 and 6 the materia in the matching slot will level up. If two numbers match, the materia will go up one level. If all numbers match, the materia will go up two levels. Unlike leveling up, there is no experience points that influence how and when materia levels up. So as a result, players are at the mercy of the DMW gauge for the most part when it comes to leveling materia that they have equipped.
How to Level Materia Fast
Despite the random nature of leveling materia, players do have some means of making the process go faster. There is a materia that summons a Moogle, and it can be acquired from the side mission M8-4-4 called Suspicious Mail 4. This series of missions is unlocked during the third chapter. When a Moogle is summoned, it levels up all the materia that Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion players have equipped.
Unfortunately all the summons are very rare, and they don't happen often on the DMW gauge. So even if players should get the opportunity to summon, there is only a small chance it'll be the one they want. The good news is that there is a special materia called Moogle Power that can increase the odds of getting to summon a Moogle. The bad news is that it isn't available until much later on in the game.
The first way to get Moogle Power is by completing the side mission M2-4-1 called A Solitary Island. This unlocks the Junon Souvenirs shop where Moogle Power can be bought for 10,000 gil. Moogle Power is also a bonus for completing 70% of all missions. Both of these take some time to accomplish, so players will not be able to use Moogle Power to level materia fast until much later on in the game.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion is available now on PS4, PS5, Steam, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.