KH2FM: How to level up each Drive Form/Summon and the easiest way to do it

Kingdom Hearts 2 has 5 Drive Forms as well as Summons that all require different methods of gathering EXP, this guide shows the fastest way to get each of the Drive Forms/Summons to max level with the minimum amount of grinding (it's still a decent bit of grinding)

Drive Gauge Basics

Before we start grinding, we should learn the rules of how the Drive Gauge works. The meter is given to Sora after he receives his change of clothes alongside Valor Form at the end of Twilight Town. It begins with 3 bars and can reach a maximum of 9. This meter will raise by 1 level at the following points in the game (in roughly the order you would probably obtain them):

• Defeat Barbossa in Port Royal 1
  
• Defeat the Hostile Program in Space Paranoids 1
  
• Defeat Sephiroth in Radiant Garden
  
• Defeat Marluxia's Absent Silhouette (located in Beast's Room in Beast's Castle)
  
• Defeat Xemnas and finish the game
  
• Defeat the Lingering Will

Each Drive Form costs varying amounts of Drive Gauge to use as well:

• Valor Form: 3 bars
  
• Wisdom Form: 3 bars
  
• Limit Form: 4 bars
  
• Master Form: 4 bars
  
• Final Form: 5 bars
  
• Summons: 3 bars

After you spend the meter to transform, the amount of meter your drive gauge will have is dependent on the level of the Drive Form. At Level 1, all of them start at 3 bars, and cap at a maximum of 9. For example, if I wanted to use Wisdom Form and only had 3 bars to do it, so long as the form is max level, it will still give you the entire 9 bars of time to use the form.

Important Note

Drive Forms have a level cap that changes as you progress through the game and collect the various drive forms. Drive form begins with a cap of Level 3 and can be increased to Level 7 by collecting all of the drive forms in the game. Be sure to check the status screen intermittently while grinding to see how much exp you need for the next level, if it says 0, then you can move onto the next form to grind or continue the story if you need to unlock more forms

A trick to save you Drive Meter and your sanity

Normally, when you use a Drive Form, after the meter runs out you are left with however much meter you had after transformation. After this you are expected to slowly regain drive gauge back by hitting enemies or using the Damage Drive/Drive Boost abilities. However, there is a very simple trick we can use to avoid this.

If you exit the world before your Drive Gauge depletes, you are forced out of your Drive Form. KH2 is generous and decides to give you your drive meter back if you are forced out of a Drive Form in any way, whether it is story related or in this case, simply leaving the world works. This was likely an attempt by the developers to prevent players from using a Drive Form only for it to be forced off by a party member leaving or something similar. Because of this trick, all you have to do is reach a save point and you can restore your drive gauge for free!

Every method of leveling Drive Forms I will be covering uses this trick in some form, whether it is your party being separated from you or some other circumstance.

Anti-form

Anti-form is a drive form intended to be a punishment for overusing Drive Forms in combat. The rules around this form are strangely complicated, so here is an image from KHWiki. Essentially, there is an invisible tally tracking how much you use the drive gauge. As you can see, unlocking a new form or entering Anti-form are good ways of reducing the tally, and therefore decreasing your chance of randomly changing during an important fight. Anti-form can be strong, but it is unable to use Magic or Items, and you lose your keyblade. Your best option when you become Anti-form is to try and attack to reduce your drive meter and revert to normal.

Just in case you missed it: How to unlock Final Form

Unlocking Final Form in Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix is a little bit different than Kingdom Hearts 2 vanilla. In this game, you MUST defeat the first boss in The World That Never Was to obtain the Two Become One keyblade. This keyblade has the mostly useless ability: Light & Darkness. This ability guarantees that you transform into Anti-form, a transformation that is used as a punishment for over-using drive forms through out the game. Why would we want to force this punishment though?

Final Form is unlocked by complete random chance when Sora becomes Anti-form, and it must be after defeating the first boss of The World That Never Was. Each Anti-form transformation increases the odds of successfully obtaining Final Form:

• First transformation: 3% chance of Final Form
  
• Second transformation: 9% chance of Final Form
  
• Third transformation: 27% chance of Final Form
  
• Fourth transformation and beyond: 75% chance of Final Form

After you unlock Final Form, this Keyblade can only ever make you transform into Anti-form, so it's usefulness runs out pretty quickly.

The easiest time to unlock this form is actually right when you unlock the ability to get it. Once your party is walking around in the room called The Brink of Despair.



Because of the separated party trick, walking in this room forces us out of any drive form, and that includes Anti-form. Walk back into Memory's Skyscraper and start a fight with the enemies in the room.



If you do not spawn the enemies, the Light & Darkness ability will not work!

Try a transformation after spawning the enemies and if you unlocked Final Form, congrats! Otherwise, walk back into The Brink of Despair, walk back to Memory's Skyscraper and try again until it works.

Final Form's growth ability is Glide, an important movement tool that is used heavily in the hardest boss fights in the game. Definitely make sure you get it.

When should I level up my Drive Forms?

It depends on the form, but generally the closer to the end of the game you are, the better. If there are any exceptions I will make note of them in the individual sections. I like to separate the game into 3 sections:

The Beginning

This is pretty much what it sounds like. I classify this to be any portion of the game prior to Hollow Bastion 2 where you find the computer.

The Middle

This would pertain to everything prior to doing the Gummi mission on the way to Twilight Town 3.

The End

This would pertain to anything after finishing The World That Never Was. This is the time where it is fastest to level up your drive forms.

Abilities that affect the Drive Gauge

• Damage Drive: The Drive Gauge is refilled when damage is taken.
  
• Drive Boost: Drive Gauge restoration is increased during MP Charge. (Oblivion)
  
• Form Boost: The Form Gauge depletes at 80% normal speed. (Oathkeeper)
  
• Summon Boost: The Summon Gauge depletes at 80% normal speed.

These abilities are also stackable, and some keyblades also have these abilities, so those are listed as well.

Bad Drive Abilities?

Not all abilities in Kingdom Hearts 2 are created equal. The first ability you unlock upon leveling up any of the Drive forms will be called Auto [Form name]. First time players might equip these abilities without knowing what they do. This will create a reaction command that automatically transforms you into the corresponding drive form for the ability. If you want to save yourself a headache, just never turn these on. If you find yourself struggling navigating the menu to transform, practice a bit in an area where you can quickly die and retry. There are too many times where important reaction commands that are necessary to dodge get overwritten by these auto abilities.

Side note: Certain party members throughout the story will have Auto Limit equipped. Unequip that ability from them to solve this issue with Party Member limits.

Valor Form

How does Valor Form gain EXP?

Valor Form gains 1 EXP for each physical hit the keyblade deals to enemies. The damage/level does not matter, simply the amount of hits. Level 7 Valor requires 2200 EXP or 2200 hits. Valor Form's growth ability is High Jump. Aside from High Jump, this form gives Sora 2x Combo Plus abilities for getting it to max level.

Beginning/Middle/End

The easiest method for leveling Valor Form comes when you reach Agrabah for the first time. After completing the world, return to the Chasm of Challenges save point in the Cave of Wonders. In the Treasure Room ahead, there is the 5th member of Mushroom XIII.



Equip Oathkeeper and Star Seeker as well as any Form Boost or Air Combo Plus abilities you may have. Transform into Valor Form and begin the fight. Because we aren't going for damage, the fastest way to maximize hits is to use Valor Form's air combos. Use the Square button to start an air combo from the ground, and repeatedly use your basic attack. Make sure to avoid doing the finisher, it's just slow and wastes time. Once your meter is about to deplete, exit the world with the save point and repeat!

Wisdom Form

How does Wisdom Form gain EXP?

Wisdom Form gains 1 EXP for each Heartless you defeat. No other enemy types count. The strength/level of the enemy does not matter, just the amount. Level 7 Wisdom requires 450 EXP or 450 heartless defeated. Wisdom Form's growth ability is Quick Run. Aside from Quick Run, this form gives Sora the MP Rage and MP Haste abilities for getting it to max level.

A quick note

The absolute fastest way to level this form is immediately after arriving to The World That Never Was.

If you defeat the first boss of The World That Never Was, this strategy is unavailable. Do it now if you can!

For this method, equip the Bond of Flame keyblade you just received as well as any Fire Boost abilities, and put Fire on your shortcuts to make things easy. All you have to do now is transform into Wisdom Form and go onward to Fragment Crossing. This room will only spawn Shadows until you enter the next room and defeat the boss, so we can use this to our benefit and farm EXP off the really weak enemies.

Beginning

This might not be the absolute fastest method, but it's what I have personally used and it is easily done at Level 1, which can be appealing. Quick Run is a huge buff at this point in the game in terms of movement, so this is one grind I would highly recommend

Travel to Timeless River, and equip any Form Boosts as well as Oathkeeper. Use Wisdom Form and defeat the enemies at the Pier using Thunder.





These enemies should die in only a few hits, and if you don't kill, you can always refill your MP at the save point. After defeating the enemies, exit the world via the door and re-enter.

Middle

At this point in the game, you can either use the Timeless River strategy and go into Mickey's House, or you can wait until The World That Never Was and use that method.

End

Unfortunately, if you defeated the first boss of The World That Never Was, there isn't any specific methods that are very fast. My personal recommendation would be to use Mickey's House in Timeless River, but there are many places where you can defeat weak heartless late in the game.

Limit Form

How does Limit Form gain EXP?

Limit Form gains 1 EXP for each time you execute the "Finish" reaction command while using a Limit. None of the other attacks during the Limit, just the finisher. The finisher nor the Limit needs to connect with an enemy. Level 7 Limit requires 90 EXP or 90 completed Limits. Limit Form's growth ability is Dodge Roll. Aside from Dodge Roll, this form gives Sora the Draw and Lucky Lucky abilities for getting it to max level.

Beginning/Middle/End

The easiest method for leveling Limit Form comes when you reach Agrabah for the first time. After completing the world, return to the Chasm of Challenges save point in the Cave of Wonders. In the Treasure Room ahead, there is the 5th member of Mushroom XIII.



Equip Oathkeeper as well as any Form Boost abilities you might have unlocked. Transform into Limit Form and begin the fight. Move away from the Mushroom until you are at about this point.



Use Sonic Rave and spam the reaction command. Use Sonic Rave until you are out of MP, and then refill your MP at the save point. Make sure you exit the world when you are running low on Drive.

Master Form

How does Master Form gain EXP?

Master Form gains 1 EXP for each Drive orb you collect while transformed. Level 7 Limit requires 1600 EXP or 1600 Drive orbs collected. Master Form's growth ability is Aerial Dodge. Aside from Aerial Dodge, this form gives Sora 2x Air Combo Plus abilities for getting it to max level.

Middle

Once you've unlocked Master, travel to Santa's House in Halloween Town. Equip any Form Boost, Drive Converter, and Draw abilities you may have as well as the Oathkeeper keyblade. Transform into Master Form, exit the house to Candy Cane Lane, and use the reaction command on the Ferris Wheel. This will pull in enemies and drop Drive orbs. You can walk around the room and get some extra enemies to spawn as well. If you finished the visit to Hollow Bastion 2, then you will have to wait until Halloween Town reopens.

End

This method can be done once you have completed Twilight Town 3 and have access to Yen Sid's Tower once again. Once you've gotten to the top and unlocked the save point in the Sorcerer's Loft you are ready to start.



Equip any Form Boost, Drive Converter, and Jackpot abilities you may have. Equip Wishing Lamp and Sweet Memories if you have it. Once you are ready travel down the Wayward Stairs down to the Moon Chamber.



This room spawns Gambler nobodies. Because of our Drive Converter abilities, the money they usually drop is substituted with Drive orbs. Use the Gambler's reaction commands to get EXP very quickly. I usually prefer the dice mini game because it is easier to time for me than the card mini game, but both work just fine.

Final Form

How does Final Form gain EXP?

Final Form gains 1 EXP for each Nobody you defeat while transformed. The strength/level of the Nobody does not matter. Level 7 Final requires 450 EXP or 450 Nobodies defeated. Final Form's growth ability is Glide. Aside from Glide, this form gives you 2x Form Boost abilities for getting it to max level.

End

If you have been following this guide the entire way, congrats! You are almost done! Unfortunately this is probably the longest grind of them all. Similarly to Wisdom Form, there is varying opinions on where to grind Final Form EXP, but I've found the most success in the Twilight Town Mansion.

Start from the Mansion Computer Room save point. Equip Oathkeeper, Bond of Flame, as well as any Fire Boost and Form Boost abilities you may have. You want to save as much MP as you can as you do these fights, however if you find yourself running out, you can always return to the save point.

This method is reliant on what Level of Final form you have. At the start you will only be able to do a room or two before running out of Drive Gauge. Here I am going to post the entire route I take through the mansion. Just take note that as you level up it will be easier and easier to do.

Once you are ready, move through the Basement Hall to the Basement Corridor. Transform into Final and carefully defeat the enemies using Fire magic.









Return to the Basement Hall and defeat the Samurai Nobodies



Go back through the Computer Room to reach the Library. Take a pit stop at the save point to restore your magic. Press the Triangle button to open the menu to instantly refill your MP.



Defeat the enemies on the ground



Move to the stairs



Exit the room into the Foyer and move across the room towards The White Room





Once you've reached The White Room, you are probably almost out of Drive, so leave the world and return to the Computer Room save point. From here you can repeat as many times as you need. If you can't get through the entire route, just try to kill as many enemies as you can.

Summons

How do Summons gain EXP?

Summons gain 1 EXP for each time the Drive Gauge depletes by 1. This is indicated by the bright flash of the number next to Sora's icon. Level 7 Summons requires 250 EXP or 250 bars of drive gauge.

A simple trick for easier Summon EXP

I mentioned that Summons gain 1 EXP each time the drive depletes, but we can actually outsmart the game. As you probably know, attacking enemies slightly replenishes your drive gauge. We can abuse this by intentionally letting our drive gauge deplete, and then once it has dropped in value we can use a Fire spell or anything that will bring the gauge back to the prior bar it was on. For example: If I have 3 bars of drive left and it goes down to 2 it will give me 1 EXP. Using a Fire to bring it back up to 3 bars and allowing it to drop once again gives you another EXP for what is essentially the same drive depletion.

Beginning/Middle/End

The easiest method for leveling Summons comes when you reach Agrabah for the first time. After completing the world, return to the Chasm of Challenges save point in the Cave of Wonders. In the Treasure Room ahead, there is the 5th member of Mushroom XIII.

Equip any Summon Boost abilities you may have. Summon Stitch and begin the fight.

If you are doing this before you unlock Stitch, there is not much difference, Stitch just has the chance to refill your MP. You can easily substitute this with the nearby save point. Let your Drive Gauge deplete until you have about this much.
Use Fire to bring the Gauge back above the threshold and allow it to fall again. This gets you EXP very quickly and this is probably the easiest grind of any of them.

Closing Thoughts

Congrats! You finished drive leveling and now you can use all of the fun movement abilities that are in KH2FM, and you can summon Stitch to replenish MP for the rest of time. I hope you try the super bosses, they are very fun and rewarding. And besides, why are you grinding this stuff if you aren't going to do that anyways...

If there are any more efficient ways to grind these forms, leave them in the comments and I will try to update this guide to be as good as it can be. Good luck and thanks for reading!

All of the information I used comes from my own memory as well as KHWiki: https://www.khwiki.com/

[idiot 3 alt (6)]

https://youtu.be/DdmNYNkcwKE

[Penguin4456]

Wow this was so helpful thank you very much drip!

[redrobby99]

I randomly noticed one specific thing while farming drive levels before discovering this guide- The Cave of remembrance at Hollow Bastion has those little orb things that drop drive orbs when you hit them. They reset every time you leave the world. The best thing is that its a very short walk to that one that you see immediately upon entering the cave. So you can just- World map into the Postern, walk into the Cave of Remembrance entrance, Master Form, combo the orb on the pedestal to give you a random amount of drive orbs, leave, then come back again. One loop takes me less than a minute to do.

[skysailz]

for summon levelling, i just go to olympus, summon chicken little and activate FPS mode in any room where enemies spawn. it uses up pretty much the whole gauge at once once you cancel out of it after activating, then entering any tournament and quitting out will refill your entire drive gauge.

[drip]

Yeah, you can link it no problem!

[Natofdeath]

@Drip may I add your link to your guide in my achievement guide list, as I don't plan on adding detailed information and would rather link to others guides to direct people to them?