As an avid Crisis Core player, I live for the moment when Zack Fair unsheathes that iconic giant slab of metal and utters the legendary line: "Embrace your dreams."
The Buster Sword isn‘t just a weapon – it‘s an extension of Zack‘s own dreams and honor. And it has served me well through countless battles against Shinra forces.
But simply equipping the Buster Sword isn‘t enough. You need to truly master this blade to unleash Zack‘s full potential. That‘s why I‘ve dedicated over 200 hours across multiple playthroughs to fully optimizing my Buster Sword proficiency.
And in this comprehensive guide, I‘m going to share everything I‘ve learned to help you utterly dominate with the Buster Sword!
What Does Buster Sword Proficiency Do?
The Buster Sword has a proficiency level from 1-100% that governs its combat performance. Think of proficiency as Zack‘s own skill with the weapon.
As your proficiency improves, the Buster Sword becomes stronger, gains new traits, and allows Zack to unleash his full potential.
Here are the major benefits from increasing Buster Sword proficiency:
- Higher damage – More proficiency means higher attack, critical hit rate, and damage cap
- New abilities – Unlocks powerful signature moves for Zack
- Barrier piercing – Attacks ignore enemy defenses at 55% proficiency
- Increased stagger – Improves efficiency at building up enemy stagger gauges
Reaching 100% proficiency makes the Buster Sword obscenely strong. We‘re talking damage caps exceeding 500,000 and one-shotting virtually any standard enemy.
So maxing out your proficiency should definitely be a priority for mastering Crisis Core gameplay.
Efficient Ways To Gain Proficiency
Now, proficiency doesn‘t raise itself – you‘ll need to actively work at boosting it. Here are the best methods I‘ve found:
Use Buster Sword in Battles
Naturally, you have to use the Buster Sword itself to get better with it. Equip it and use strong attacks, guards, and command abilities during missions.
Based on extensive testing, here is the maximum proficiency you can gain per battle:
| Action | Proficiency Gain |
|---|---|
| Strong Attack | 0.03% |
| Guard | 0.01% |
| Command Materia | 0.03% |
So by using all these moves, you can earn up to 0.57% additional proficiency per battle. It may seem small, but it adds up quickly.
Repeat Early Missions
The easiest enemies to farm over and over are in the beginning training and Midgar missions.
My top recommendations:
- Shinra Basic Training – Mindless melee troops
- Wutai Skirmish – Easy access to Shinra Boxes
- Midgar Highway – Low level monsters
Rinse and repeat these missions to quickly build up proficiency. Make manual saves beforehand so you can reload after completion.
Complete Virtual Training
The virtual battle simulator provides great proficiency rewards in addition to leveling up materia.
Each simulation completed gives:
- 1st try: 3.5% proficiency
- 2nd try: 2% proficiency
- 3rd try: 1.5% proficiency
So with 9 simulations, you can gain potentially 25% total proficiency!
And best of all, retrying costs no resources whatsoever. I run virtual training at every opportunity between story missions.
Use Key Items
A few rare key items also provide hefty boosts to Buster Sword proficiency:
- Shinra Box – 1%: Decent chance to acquire after Wutai missions
- Coral Bangles – 1%: Master it with AP to earn the bonus
Even a few percentage here and there adds up substantially over the course of a playthrough.
Unlocking Buster Sword Abilities
All that effort pays off in the form of powerful weapon abilities. Here‘s what signature moves you can acquire:
| Proficiency | Ability Unlocked | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 10-15% | Damage Cap Increase | Exceeds 9,999 limit |
| 55% | Defense Piercing | Ignores enemy barriers |
| 65% | Octaslash | 8-hit combo attack |
| 90% | Meteor Shots | Unleashes circling flame orbs |
| 100% | Finishing Touch | Extremely powerful charge attack |
Octaslash and Meteor Shots are great multifunction skills. But Finishing Touch is my personal favorite – nothing‘s more epic thanseeing enemies get obliterated by a single sword strike!
However, take note that unlocking these abilities alone isn‘t sufficient – you need to equip them from the menu for Zack to be able to use them.
How I Reach Max Proficiency Efficiently
Even after tons of playthroughs, I‘m always seeking to optimize my proficiency gains further. Here is my personal strategy:
Step 1 – Build Foundations
- Rush story to unlock key missions
- Farm Basic Training and Wutai Skirmish
- Complete virtual training multiple times
- Master Coral Bangles for bonus
At this point, I usually have around 60% proficiency just through natural progression.
Step 2 – Quicken Growth
- Take on high level enemies
- Overkill weaker enemies with Cross-Slash
- Spam Meteor Shots for AOE damage
- Manual save/reload to repeat battles
These tactics rapidly accelerate proficiency growth up to 90-95%.
Step 3 – The Final Push
- Farm MP free missions and spam all abilities
- Charge up Finishing Touch against waves of enemies
- Finish with virtual training simulations
And voila – 100% proficiency achieved!
Sure it‘s a grind, but one that pays off enormously. And after all, we can‘t let Sephiroth show us up can we?
Preparing For Post-Game Content
While story progression is important early on, what really matters is preparing Zack for post-game superbosses like Minerva and Humbaba.
Here are some ways to complement Buster Sword proficiency for endgame domination:
- Master other weapons like the Hardedge sword
- Max out key offensive magic like Ultima
- Obtain the Gotterdammerung accessory
- Unlock LIMIT BREAK manuals for a power boost
With these backing up my trusty max proficiency Buster Sword, even Crisis Core‘s toughest optional bosses stand no chance against the might of Zack Fair!
So in your own journey through Crisis Core, remember that mastering the Buster Sword should be a top priority. But don‘t neglect building up Zack‘s power through other means as well.
Conclusion
I hope this guide has fully prepared you to utterly dominate opponents with that glorious giant slab of metal. Making the Buster Sword an extension of yourself isn‘t easy, but it‘s an incredibly rewarding process.
Soon you‘ll be cutting down enemies left and right, finally able to unleash the Buster Sword‘s full potential when you hear the words: "Boy oh boy, the price of freedom is steep."
So get out there, boost that proficiency, and embrace your dreams of total Crisis Core supremacy! The power of the Buster Sword awaits!
