I have played Final Fantasy 16 for more than 70+ hours, and my PSN Tag is SHiNiGaMii. I have played the game extensively, so you can easily trust the hands-on experience I bring!
No fixed leveling spot in Final Fantasy 16 will reward players with many XP or experience points. Most players would consider following the campaign instead of grinding at one spot in the game. However, there are still some valuable strategies that you can follow to level up fast in FFXVI.
Key Takeaways
- Considering different efficient strategies like Hunting Monsters, playing sidequests, or playing the campaign at Story-Focused difficulty can aid with increased EXP earning.
- Players must first pursue the primary campaign to progress the storyline and earn two important accessories, Scholar’s Spectacle and On Fortune and Heavens.
- As for the best grinding strategy, players can consider pursuing the gameplay at Story-Focused difficulty instead of Action-Focused, which will reduce the gameplay difficulty and significantly aid in defeating higher-level bosses for a good reward of experience points.
- I also recommend paying attention and completing the sidequests in their surroundings to maximize the benefits of earning EXP for character upgrades.
- You can consider farming on monsters through Hunting Board, an in-game monster-hunting sidequest. These also offer a good chunk of EXP rewards for players based on how good combat they utilize during the battle.
Here is a summary table for the Best Leveling Spots:
No. Method
1 Defeating Enemies in Specific Locations
2 Playing Campaign Story Focused
3 Completing Sidequests
4 Hunt Monsters
Requirements For Leveling Up
Before I jump directly into the leveling guide, here are a few requirements or additions of accessories that players need to consider.
- The first thing that you must consider is progressing in the main campaign.
- The main campaign is crucial for handing out many experience points to players.
- This brings us to the second most important aspect: adding accessories to your gear.
- Players can only unlock accessories by pursuing the main campaign and unlocking them with each quest completion.
- For that instance, players must set a goal of getting two important accessories that will benefit them in the long run.
| Accessory Name | Effect | How To Unlock |
|---|---|---|
| Scholar's Spectacle | Earn EXP up to +10% | Pre-order Bonus |
| On Fortune and Heavens | Earn EXP up to +15% | Completing Main Quest: Sid the Outlaw |
EXP Farming Requirement Table.
Adding these two accessories will significantly improve the payout for experience points as you progress through the campaign. Unfortunately, Scholar’s Spectacle is only a pre-order bonus, and that opportunity is long gone. Getting your hands on Fortune and Heavens is still valuable by offering a 15% increase in EXP payout.
Now that these accessory requirements for boosting the XP earnings are out of the way, I can discuss the best leveling strategies and locations to consider early in Final Fantasy 16.
Farming Enemies In Specific Locations
Best Early Game Leveling Spot.
Why did I Choose Hunting Enemies? Locations might not guarantee a good EXP payout in Final Fantasy 16. But they are still worthy of mention to allow players to maximize the experience earning and level up quickly.
One such location in the wide Valisthea is in Royal Meadows. While it stretches in all directions, you must reach below the Royal Meadows until you find Blue Birds, which look similar to Chocobos.
The main strategy is to kill all of these Level 21 Blue Birds and repeat the process, and after an hour of farming, players will be able to earn a handful of EXPs. Not only that, but these Chocobos are the main source of AP farming, thus giving players many more rewards to upgrade their skills and level up.
The cherry on top is that this farming strategy is available for early-to-midgame players, ensuring easy access and farming for those willing to invest hours.
You can learn more about them in our extensive Final Fantasy 16 Bluebird guide. At the same time, players can also consider a mid-to-late-game location of Velkroy Desert and follow the same approach of clearing the location of all the creatures to receive XP.
After that, you can rinse and repeat it to respawn all the enemies in the location and farm for experience points again.
Playing Campaign Story Focused
Best Leveling Spot During Story.
Why did I Choose Story Focused Leveling Spot? The main campaign progression is the main source of earning experience points. Meanwhile, pursuing the campaign in Story-Focused mode can make the process much easier.
For those uninitiated, Final Fantasy 16 features two difficulty modes: Story Focused and Action Focused. While Action Focused is a higher-difficult mode and offers players a tough time with the boss battles and campaign progression, Story Focused is smoother and streamlines the campaign experience.
Story-focused can assist players in defeating bosses and clearing dungeons easily. That is because the mode balances the HP generation for each boss and enemy, so players can easily defeat them and focus on the story rather than the combat.
You can return to the dungeon anytime, slay the beasts, and receive some experience points.
Completing Sidequests
Best EXP Spots After Story.
Why did I Choose Side Quests? While players underestimate engagement with the sidequests of any game, these side missions are the main hub of EXP farming. Completing the main storyline hooks players to the story-focused and in-depth lore it offers.
Meanwhile, developers ensured that sidequests enhanced the story-focused experience and rewarded players with a handful of EXPs.
All you need to do is explore the world’s surroundings, and you will surely discover unique and interesting sidequests to play. Most sidequests involve hunting a monster, investigating a location, or solving a puzzle.
It means sidequests are not a huge burden on players already dealing with the brutal combat of the main campaign. But in the end, it is all worth the effort with the best payouts for experience points and level-up.
Hunt Monsters
Best Hunting Leveling Spot.
Why did I Choose Hunting Monsters? The subject in focus is the Hunting Board, which you can find across the vast landscapes of Valisthea. Hunting Board is not unique; it has roots in Final Fantasy XII, and you can access these hunts from Cid’s Hideaway.
Players are offered a massive list of 32 unique and brutal monsters to hunt on the board. You have to pick each monster hunt as a side quest and start hunting them for a side earning of EXP.
To simplify the process, you can add numerous valuable accessories to enhance your character’s attack power and debuff the attacks from these monsters. This way, players can easily slay the monstrous beasts and earn EXP for leveling up.
The accessories that you can consider for the monster Hunting Board strategy include the following:
- Ring of Timely Strikes: Players can easily perform combos using this accessory with a square button press.
- Ring of Timely Evasion: By using this, players can dodge incoming strikes from monsters promptly.
Players can also consider different armor sets to reduce the amount of incoming damage from enemies’ strikes. For that instance, you must consider some of the best armor in Final Fantasy 16 to ensure higher defenses.
My Recommendations & Tips For Farming EXP
As you progress through the game, you may discover a more fruitful leveling spot than all the abovementioned strategies. But until then, you can easily consider any of these strategies and still earn a good amount of EXP for character progression. One thing that I recommend is to upgrade the gear and utilize the best weapons choice in Final Fantasy 16 to chew the huge bosses easily.
Did you find this guide helpful for a smooth EXP farming experience? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
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Shoaib Rashid is a passionate Gamer and an experienced writer who has been covering the Gaming Industry for over 3 Years. He started his career as a freelance journalist, writing reviews, previews, news, guides, and features for various industries. He joined VA Gaming as a Writer in 2022 and was promoted to Content Editor in 2023, where he oversees the editorial tasks and ensures the quality and accuracy of the content.
Shoaib loves to play all kinds of games, from Competitive shooters to the latest AAA releases, you name it, and he got them all covered; a PC Enthusiast who loves to stay upgraded with the latest hardware, and he enjoys sharing his insights and opinions with the Gaming Community.
While being a hardcore competitive Gamer he also a big Anime fan so his IGN goes by #SHiNiGaMii. and you can join him on Steam and checkout his library to learn more about his accomplishments.
