Final Fantasy 16immediately throws players into the action, finding Clive in the center of a massive battle, with his mission to hunt down an Eikon. After the brief intro,a flashback sequence is used to set up the game’s main plot.
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Final Fantasy 16 takes place in a large world and has a unique twist on the series' more recent real-time combat. With the game being so extensive, it’s easy for players to feel a bit lost, and this article is here to help.
Updated by Joshua Leeds on August 13, 2025:Final Fantasy 16 is a large game, even with its more linear world style. With so much to see and do, it’s easy to miss some of the many things players can do while exploring Valesthia and seeing Clive’s story. For those looking to fight some of the most challenging enemies, it’s essential to make Clive as powerful as possible.
20Dying To Progress
Final Fantasy 16 is a linear game focused on telling players the story, ensuring that even someone new to video games can jump in and experience what it offers.During boss battles, should a player die, they will not only respawn at a checkpoint in the battle but will also have their inventory restocked.
While you can’t restock Elixirs, players can use an intentional death to restock their lost potions back to full halfway through a difficult fight. Should you not see a boss fight coming and already be out of potions, a quick death will have you full and ready for what’s ahead. As there is no real penalty for dying other than restarting at a checkpoint, this is a worthwhile strategy in many of the longer fights.
19Upgrade Your Potions
A bit later into the game, Clive will be able to upgrade the effectiveness and inventory space of his potions. These upgrades will greatly help while exploring or making sure you’re well-stocked for an upcoming battle.
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Many accessories can be equipped to make your potions more effective on top of the usual upgrades, allowing a basic potion to restore close to half of your health after being fully upgraded.
18Practice Your Combos
The Arete Stone is a useful tool for those looking to figure out their best combos. As the game progresses, you’ll have many different Eikon abilities, and the best combo will require quite a bit of testing to find.
Enemies in the stone can be altered to act however you want, allowing you to utilize little goblin punching bags to practice new combos. Along with free respecs, get lost in the Arete stone for hours while you create your perfect build.
17Heal The Right Way
Whenever Clive takes damage, he’ll lose health from his health bar, with the gray in your health bar will represent a small amount of received damage. While this health is currently lost, it can be gotten back by using Torgal.
Using Torgal’s healingcan recover that gray health bar for free, as often as needed. Should you heal back to full using a potion, that gray health bar will disappear. Whenever you have gray in your health bar, utilize Torgal’s free healing before using your precious potions.
16Use Party Members When You Can
While Torgal will be at your side for almost the entire game, the other party members will come and go as the story progresses. Certain missions will have a character join your party before they leave for many later missions, completing their own tasks in the world.
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Whenever you do have an additional party member, take this opportunity to complete side quests and hunts using their extra firepower. Some of the later hunts in the game are tough bosses and may be more than just Clive and Torgal can handle.
15Listen Around
Final Fantasy 16’s world can be complex, with many different realms waging war on different lands and mothercrystals. For much of the game, it can feel like names and places are just being thrown around, but there are many ways to stay on top of what’s happening in the world.
While exploring cities or walking through the hideout, random people will be talking with one another about current events. While this may just seem like background noise, players can listen in to be kept up to date with what’s happening across Valesthia.
14Spend Your Gil Wisely
Like any RPG, it’s important to save your money instead of spending it on things you only think you need. Between potions, gear, and materials, there will be a lot to spend your money on, so it’s important to know how to best spend your hard-earned Gil.
Even with minimal exploration, you’ll come across useful crafting materials that can be taken to the blacksmith. This will allow you to craft new gear instead of spending our Gil. Potions will constantly be used in battle, making them a worthwhile purchase before dangerous hunts or big missions.
13Gain More Renown
Renown is unlocked later in the game and is mostly earned by completing side quests and hunts, along with a few main missions also giving you some.
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Renown will give players valuable rewards for the more earned and will not make you spend your renown to do so. Simply aim to earn as much Renown as possible, and your rewards will become increasingly useful without having to choose between the many rewards.
12Check-In With The Blacksmith
Whenever you return to the hideout after a main mission, it’s best to always check in with the blacksmith. You’ll often find crafting materials without even noticing and may have much better gear able to be crafted.
After a major boss, you’ll be rewarded with a unique crafting material of the same element the boss fought with, allowing Clive to make some of the more unique swords in the game. It’s also important to reinforce your gear as often as possible, ensuring you’re ready for any battle.
11Complete Side Quests & Hunts
Side quests are unlocked early into the game, and while they may start out simple, they will quickly grow in importance. Side quests are great sources for extra XP, AP, and even unique upgrades such as carrying more potions.
Hunts are unlocked a bit laterand are a great source of strong enemies that give off more XP, along with large Gil bounties for defeating them. Completing the highest-difficulty bounties as early as you unlock them can get you multiple levels ahead of where Clive should be at that point in the game.
