Twin Stinger

Name	Acquired	ATK	MATK	DEF	MDEF	Weapon Ability
Twin Stinger	Chapter 17 - The Drum Level 3	46	46	0	0	Counterstance

Upgrade

Twin Stinger Core (10 SP)	Description
Fire Damage 5% Boost	Increases damage dealt by fire attacks.
Ice Damage 5% Boost	Increases damage dealt by ice attacks.
Lightning Damage 5% Boost	Increases damage dealt by lightning attacks.
Wind Damage 5% Boost	Increases damage dealt by wind attacks.
Elemental Materia Damage 10% Boost	Increases damage added to attacks by elemental materia.

Twin Stinger Sub-Core I (14 SP)	Description
Max MP +10	--
Max MP +10	--
Buff Duration 10% Boost	Extends the duration of beneficial status effects.
Inflicted Debuff Duration 10% Boost	Extends the duration of detrimental status effects applied to enemies.
New Materia Slot	Adds an additional materia slot or links two existing slots.

Twin Stinger Sub-Core II (16 SP)	Description
Attack Power +12	--
Magic Attack Power +12	--
Max MP +15	--
Physical Damage Reduction 10% when Guarding	Reduces physical damage taken when successfully guarding.
Magic Damage Reduction 10% when Guarding	Reduces magic damage taken when successfully guarding.
MP Regeneration 10% Boost	Slightly increases MP regeneration speed during battle.
New Materia Slot	Adds an additional materia slot or links two existing slots.
New Materia Slot	Adds an additional materia slot or links two existing slots.

Twin Stinger Sub-Core III (18 SP)	Description
Attack Power +15	--
Magic Attack Power +15	--
Elemental Defense 5% Boost	Reduces fire, ice, lightning, and wind damage taken.
Magic Defense +5 with High HP	Increases magic defense when HP is 75% or higher.
Healing Spells MP Cost Reduction 20%	Reduces MP cost of healing spells cast during battle.
Reprieve	Avoid incapcitation once per battle. Does not work against instant death attacks or when HP is at 1.

Counterstance

This ability might come late in the game but it's by far one of the best there is. When using the ability, Cloud will ready his sword and any attack that connects with Cloud while in this stance will be countered with high damage. While it's down to the player to get used to the timing, once mastered, you can counter anything in the game with ease.

Evaluation

You'll only obtain this weapon in the game's final dungeon but it's well worth the wait and is a strong contender for Cloud's best weapon. You'll be able to unlock the maximum Materia slots before you reach Hard Mode and it's a well balanced weapon that has excellent abilities that will easily carry you through Hard Mode. As always, Reprieve is useful for those moments where you suffer significant damage and Healing Spells MP Cost Reduction 20% is well suited to make Cloud your healer in the chapters Aerith isn't available for on Hard Mode.

When spending your SP on the Twin Stinger, focus on unlocking the most useful abilities as soon as they're available such as the two mentioned above along with the elemental damage boosts. Before you reach Hard Mode, take advantage of the Materia slots you can unlock to give you the maximum of six.