We know Final Fantasy 16 is one of the best PS5 RPGs to come out this year – in fact, you could argue that it’s one of the best RPG games of all time – but, that doesn’t mean it’s all exciting Eikons and well-crafted characters. If you want to get your hands on all the best abilities in Square Enix’s latest Final Fantasy game, you’re in for a bit of a grind. Well, you would be in for a grind in Final Fantasy 16 if it wasn’t for this incredible AP farm strategy. FF16 has only been out a matter of hours, really, and there’s already a way for you to unlock all the Ability Points you need to max out the skill trees on offer.
Shared online by RPG-focused content creator ‘PrimalLiquid‘, Final Fantasy 16 players can farm upwards of 30,000 AP per hours using a farming strategy that takes advantage of the Arete Stone’s Stage Replay function and a handful of items that you should be able to unlock by the time you get to this stage of the story. This isn’t an AP farm for players just starting out, but it’s certainly a fantastic way for those of you part-way through the game to max out all your Eikon abilities before you continue onto one of the late-game bosses. And, of course, for those of you tackling Final Fantasy 16’s New Game Plus mode.
First things first, as mentioned above, you’re going to need to have unlocked access to the Arete Stone – something that you should find in Cid’s Hideaway. This area will unlock during Clive Rosfield’s twenties, and it’s located in the Central Storm Deadlands. As a major hub location in FF16, you shouldn’t miss it when you get there. But, it’s just a matter of playing until you have unlocked it.
However, once you’re there and you have access to the Arete Stone, you’re going to need to complete the quests “Cloak and Dagger” and “Evenfall”. This will then unlock the Free Cities of Kanver as a stage you can replay using the Arete Stone’s Stage Replay feature; this is where the AP farm is located.
If you look at a Final Fantasy 16 quest list, this is one that pops up in the last third of the game. You can find out a little more information on how to get there in our Final Fantasy 16 walkthrough here. As mentioned above, though, this isn’t really for early-game players. However, when you consider the fact that completing the skill tree in FF16 takes upwards of 100,000 AP – something you may struggle with in a full playthrough and a New Game Plus playthrough combined – it’s well worth checking out as soon as you can.
Once you’ve reached this stage, you need to equip the On Fortune And The Heavens accessory item – which will boost your EXP earned by 15%. This is an item you can buy from Charon’s Toll in the Hideaway itself. You’re also going to need to pair this with The Wages Of Warcraft accessory item, which boosts the AP you earn from normal encounters by 20%. This one’s key, as you might imagine, for an AP farm.
You’re also going to need the Ring Of Timely Strikes accessory item, ideally. This is going to allow you to execute complex ability combinations simply, something that smoothens the process just a little bit more.
When it comes to Eikons, PrimalLiquid suggests the Flames of Rebirth, Heatwave, and Ignition abilities for the Phoenix Eikon and the Judgement Bolt ability for the Ramuh Eikon. To their credit, these are some of the best Eikon abilities available in the game. However, there is also some method to this madness. The strong AoE damage these skills can deliver together are what makes this AP farm so successful. However, PrimalLiquid does say that they haven’t fully optimized this strategy yet. So, it may be worth experimenting with other abilities when you familiarize yourself with the AP farm itself.
Once you’ve prepared yourself with all of the above, you need to head into the Free Cities of Kanver and get through the first three groups of enemies. As you can see for yourself in the video below, this doesn’t have to take you very long at all – and you’ll be able to get through this section of the Free Cities of Kanver even quicker the more you play it.
Once you’ve got through the first three fights, you’re going to want to leave the area. You might lose story progress doing this, but you’ll keep all your EXP, Gil, and – of course – AP you’ve earned while playing. Using all of Clive’s abilities in this area will let you get through this section of the Free Cities of Kanver in a couple of minutes at most.
How does this become an AP farm, though? Well, you just need to jump back into the Free Cities of Kanver and repeat the same three fights. PrimalLiquid has explained that there isn’t a dynamic scale to how much AP you earn as you play through FF16 and – while this is going to sacrifice your EXP earnings a little bit – it’s going to help you take advantage of a particularly sweet spot when it comes to the amount of AP you get.
Final Fantasy 16 hasn’t been out for too long, so we’re expecting a few more AP farm spots to pop up as players start getting more familiar with this game’s map – and, with any luck, some of them will be better-suited to newcomers to help them get a head start on everything Valisthea has to offer.