Digital Mind Wave

The Digital Mind Wave (DMW) is the exclusive new addition to Crisis Core. It is a slot-type machine found in the upper corner of the screen during combat. The DMW will spin continuously, costing 10 SP/spin. It is crucial to getting Zack's Limit Breaks, leveling up, and leveling your Materia up.
The DMW cannot be controlled in any way, nor will it stop. The only way the DMW will not run is if you are out of SP, or under the Curse effect. Though the DMW is a great asset to battles, there may be times where it can be a pain. But that is well into the missions, and only a select few of them.

Leveling Up

When the DMW spins out 777 on any image combination, Zack will level up. You will gain EXP after defeating enemies, but it is entirely up to the DMW to level you up. Once you have gained enough EXP to level up, then the Modulating Phase will do so upon a correct spin. It is possible to gain enough EXP to level up several times, before it hits 777. Then it could easily give you several level ups in a row. There is no sure fire way to get the 777, but it is known that it does get harder to get 777, with higher levels.

Leveling up Materia

During the Power Surge, if the DMW rolls two numbers between 1 and 6, the Materia in that slot will level up. If all three numbers match, the Materia will level up twice. This is extremely rare, and I have only seen it happen one time.
There is a second way to level up mass amounts of Materia at a time. The Moogle summon will level up all Materia equipped, equal to the level of the Limit Break. So basically if all the Materia you have equipped is level 1 and you get a level 5 Moogle Power, all your Materia will level up 5 times. This is a great way to level up lots of Materia to convert into SP for fusion. Just pick a mission that is very easy, and load up on Materia.

Heart Images

Randomly you might get a series of images, or a small video sequence in the Power Surge. These are known as heart images. These are key points in the game, or small video sequences giving you a bit more back story to some events. When one of these occur, the chances of the Power Surge yielding a Limit Skill increases.

DMW Level	Color pattern
Heavenly	Intense multi-colored waves
Sky High	Short Red waves
High	Green waves
Normal	Slow Blue-Green waves
Low	Sluggish Blue waves

There are also different levels of DMW. Zack usually is sitting at normal Mode. But things such as events in the game, or a spin of Cissnei's DMW can make it higher. The higher the DMW, the better the chances of getting a Power Surge is. That said, if Zack is getting beat up pretty badly, then the DMW will actually lower to Low mode. It is actually a good idea to get a DMW Materia for Cissnei, so you can utilize the DMW, as well as getting 100% completion on the DMW.

Combo	Status	Duration
777	Invincible	15 sec.
666	Critical	20 sec.
555	Null Dmg	20 sec.
444	No AP	-
333	Null Mag	20 sec.
222	No MP	-
111	Invincible	15 sec.
77-	No AP/MP	15 sec.
7-7	Null Dmg	15 sec.
-77	No AP	12 sec.
7--	No MP	12 sec.
--7	Endure	20 sec.

Also, while the DMW is spinning normally, you can still get bonuses. If the numbers on the reelse match, you can get a whole array of status bonuses. These are great helpers to the later battles, when enemies begin targeting your MP and AP. To the right is a list of the number combinations, and the effects they will grant you. You can see what effects are in place, by looking right below the DMW reel.
Once you collect all of the DMW images, you are rewarded with a Fury Ring. If you get 100% completion, (getting all images, and seeing all Heart images and Limit Breaks) you are rewarded with the Genji Armor. This item sets the HP limit to 99999, and gives you a constant Endure and Regen effects. This is simply one of the best armors in the game, and it is worth getting the DMW completion just to get it.