How to Get the Darkness Materia in Crisis Core Reunion

Learn how to unlock the powerful Darkness Materia in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion. Follow our guide to complete missions and defeat the Dual Horn boss.

Alright, so you're looking to snag the Darkness Materia in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion? It's a pretty sweet Command Materia that can really help you finish off enemies, especially since it ignores defenses. You'll need to hang tight through the main story for a bit, specifically until you hit Chapter 3. That's when the Shinra Building gets attacked, and after that whole ordeal, you'll be heading into Mako Reactor 5. There's a pretty long cutscene with Sephiroth when you first enter, but once you regain control, keep an eye out. You'll see a side path with a ladder nearby. Head over there, and you'll snag some Mail, specifically the Treasure Princess - Recruitment mail, and unlock a new set of missions. The first one you'll get is Mission 8-4-1.

You'll need to work your way through these missions until you reach Mission 8-4-6, which is the last one in this particular set. Now, this is a 5-star mission, so it sounds tough, but honestly, the boss at the end isn't too bad. Once you beat it, you'll finally get that Darkness Materia!

The boss you'll face is the Dual Horn. It's got a hefty 12,500 HP on Normal difficulty, which is no joke. However, it's pretty slow-moving, and its attacks are super easy to read coming from a mile away. Even though it only takes half damage from elemental attacks, those are still your best bet. Try to keep your distance and blast it with your -ra tier spells; they should still be doing over 1,000 damage. Just keep at it, and you'll take it down!

Why Darkness is Great:

You've probably already got Gravity, which is awesome for chipping away at enemy health. Darkness is kind of the opposite – it's your finisher! It's a Command Materia that lets Zack unleash an area-of-effect attack right around him. The best part? It completely ignores enemy defenses, so you can use it on pretty much anything. It might not be the absolute best for single, tough targets, but for clearing out groups or finishing off weakened foes, it's fantastic.

The Catch:

Now, like most good things, there's a little trade-off. Using Darkness drains some of your HP – about 1/8th of your current HP, to be exact. But honestly, that's a small price to pay, and you can easily heal it back up with Cure, Cura, Curaga, or even just using an item. The real trick is that Darkness has a relatively short range and takes a second or two to actually cast. This means there's a chance you could get smacked by a faster enemy while you're in the middle of casting it. Still, even with that minor risk, Darkness is easily one of the best Materia you can get, both early in the game and way into the late game too.