10 Tips And Tricks To Know Before Starting Final Fantasy XVI

This is the most important tip I can give you, considering the majority of your time in FFXVI will be spent wailing on enemies. And though it’s obvious – like yes, duh, extend your combos in an action game – what’s not apparent are the simple ways you can do that. First, unlock everything you can in Clive’s starting ability circle. This unlocks moves like down thrust, lunge, an ability to jump off enemies, and more. These moves work together to extend your combos greatly.

For example, I always close the distance to an enemy with Clive’s Phoenix shift ability, lunge at them, hit them a few times, and then hold Square to imbue Clive’s sword with fire, launching them into the air once you strike. With them airborne, I can now wail on them in the air, use a couple of abilities, like Garuda’s Gouge, and then I can press Square + Cross to perform a downward thrust, which slams them into the ground. If they’re still alive, a few more hits might take them out or, if they’re a more challenging enemy, at least staggered, which opens them up to even more combos. You’ll find a rhythm that works for you, but the bottom line is when in combat, your focus should be on extended combos to maximize damage.

Charon is the shopkeep of your hideaway and Blackthorne is the blacksmith. You should check in on them often to see if they have new weapons or gear for you to craft or purchase. Fortunately, FFXVI makes this easy by putting a yellow-gold dot on the icon for these characters and shops (and everywhere else in the hideaway hub) when there is something new. Sometimes it’s a new conversation where they’ll talk to you about something you just did in the story, but often it’s an indication that Blackthorne has a new weapon or piece of gear to craft or that Charon has something new for you to purchase.

In the early hours of FFXVI, and even up until about halfway through, you can safely sell the weapons and gear you’re no longer using. But you’ll later find that Blackthorne has weapons and gear he can craft for you using weapons and gear you (hopefully) already have. Especially in the late portions of the game, he’ll have some legendary stuff to craft, and you’ll need various weapons and pieces of gear, as well as tough-to-acquire crafting materials, in order to craft it. Save yourself the trouble of refinding or rebuying weapons and gear you’ve sold by holding onto them. Plus, you’re only going to get a couple of thousand gil max when you sell your weapons and gear – just go complete a hunt for 10,000 gil or more instead of selling your stuff.

The Active Time Lore in FFXVI is a fantastic system that lets you pause the action at any moment to learn about who’s talking, which nations are being discussed, and more. It’s like having an interactive encyclopedia at your side, but it’s easily accessible within the game itself. If you’re in a cutscene and have forgotten who this or that person is or the area they’re talking about, pull up the ATL system and read about it.

Plus, as you check in with hideaway loresman Harpocrates, his entries will grow more and more expansive and change based on what’s going on in the story. So you’ll want to stop in often with him to learn new things about Clive’s adventures in Valisthea. But even if you aren’t struggling to remember who’s who or what’s what, you should still check in on the ATL system because it will give you additional insights and details surrounding people, places, and events in the game. Reading its entries will provide you with a better understanding of what’s going on narratively in FFXVI, and I can’t stress enough how great of a system it is to keep up to date on.