The card-based attack system and enemy encounter mechanics make for a long and potentially irritating slog to level 99. We’ve tried to scour the Internet to find some helpful ideas for getting you that sweet exp, and maybe even some Moogle Points too. Backtracking with AOE cards is usually the best bet, but here are some other nice options for your Re:CoM grind.
Grind While Hunting For New Cards
Now this method is quite simple, and doesn’t net you the best exp you can get… But if you’re just trying to level up for a boss or difficult stage, then this might be the method to try. Just go world to world, place to place, trying to collect new cards for battle. This leads to a lot of traveling, which tends to be a good way to get leveled up a bit. You’ll get new cards from enemies, get Moogle points to buy more cards, and hopefully be strong enough to fight whatever roadblock was in your way.
Moogle Points Grind (Hundred Acre Woods)
Besides levels, there are some other things to grind in this game. If you’re in the market for some good ole Moogle Points to buy new cards, then I have a little method you can use to acquire more: In the Hundred Acre Woods, there are several pots outside of Rabbit’s house. When you break them, they drop quite a lot of Moogle Points. So you can make poor Rabbit’s life even worse by going in and out of this area to repeatedly smash his pots to gain lots of points.
Riku Grind (Castle Oblivion)
Riku is a bit of a pain to try and level up. His whole battle style revolves around breaking the enemy’s cards and using his normal card attacks/slides. So we can’t rely on strong element cards to grind faster. The fastest known method for leveling up Riku still takes roughly 6 hours of grinding going from level 40 to 99. You’ll want to be in Castle Oblivion and use a strong initiative card. Once in the area, go and target the Neoshadows, as they’ll be the most efficient to fight. You’ll net roughly 56.9 exp per second, which isn’t a lot – but if you have a lot of patience and time, it will get you to where you want to be. Try using strong cards like Lexeaus or Dragon Maleficent for strong finishers to end the fight quickly.
Mushu+Fire+Fire (Megaflare)
Sora’s greatest grinding strength in this game is through his literal fire power. Using the fire boost card obtained in Traverse Town, and the Mushu card obtained in Hollow Bastion, Sora can cast a powerful Mega Flare attack. The best place to utilize this is in the Teeming Darkness rooms in Hollow Bastion. In these encounters, quickly cast fire boost and get ready to burn the enemies. It’ll wipe out quite a lot of heartless and net you some fast exp.
Tornado (Aero, Gravity, Genie)
Some enemies throughout the game have a strong resistance to fire, so the previous method isn’t going to get you very far in a room against them. If you find yourself up against Wizards or Red Nocturnes, try this as a counter measure: Use the cards Aero, Gravity, and the Genie card to cast a powerful AOE tornado against any horde of Heartless. I wouldn’t recommend using this tactic all the time, as the Mega Flare is much faster. But just like Mega Flare, it’s best to do this Tornado grinding method in either Castle Oblivion or Destiny Islands.
Grinding Bottomless Darkness
It’s now time to take all of those powerful spells and moves we’ve just covered, and strike the darkness at its source. Using the Bottomless Darkness map card, you’ll come across an extremely high number of Heartless, primed and ready for the slashing. Using Trinity Limits or Mega Flare here will surely net Sora tons of exp points. If you use this card on F13 of Castle Oblivion, you can expect roughly 1500 exp per battle!