Best FF16 Tips For Beginners [Top 15]

Final Fantasy 16 packs a lot of mechanics that returning and new players should master since this is the first game going into real-time action RPG. There are tons of features that will go unnoticed provided you don’t keep a keen eye on learning them. That is why I have listed the 15 best FF16 tips for beginners’ guide that you start learning from the get-go.

The Best FF16 Beginners Tips

Here is an overview of all the beginners’ tips and tricks guide in Final Fantasy 16 for players:

FF16 Beginners Tips	What It Offers
Selecting The Right Difficulty Option	Tailors gameplay to skill level.
Fight Better & Faster For Rewards	Optimizes gameplay, maximizes rewards.
Equip The Timely Rings	Enhances combat capabilities.
Master Dodge & Precision Dodging Early	Enhances survival during combat.
Stagger Anytime, Anywhere	More damage to larger enemies.
Always Increase Your Damage Multiplier	Maximizes damage output.
Always Play The Side Quests	Earns rewards, upgrades character.
Understanding Eikons & Picking The Right Ones	Improves strategic combat approach.
Stock Up & Equip Important Items	Ensures readiness for battles.
Respec You Abilities For A Better Combat Approach	Customizes abilities, optimizes combat.
Use Limit Break Every Now & Then	Enhances combat power temporarily.
Don't Forget About Torgal	Uses ally for combat support.
Learn Parry Mechanic Early	Increases combat effectiveness.
Use Magic Bursts	Extends combo hits, increases damage.
Select Frame Rate Option	Offers Smooth & Fluid gameplay.

1. Selecting The Right Difficulty Option

Whenever you start Final Fantasy 16, you will always get two sets of difficulty options to select & begin Clive’s journey in the game. The first one is Story Focused mode and this heavily emphasizes you enjoying the game’s narrative first and not being much bothered by the mechanics of combat and other intricacies.

The second option is Action Focused mode which is for the veterans of the Final Fantasy series of players who like the hack-and-slash genre in general. There will be no assistance whatsoever in Action Focused mode and you will experience the combat in its full swing the way developers intended it to be in the first place.

2. Fighter Better & Faster For Rewards

To ensure maximum growth of your character, follow my tailored tips. Now that you have selected the difficulty option that you want your first playthrough to be, the next important aspect of the Final Fantasy 16 experience is to fight with style. That is because the rewards you get at the end of any small or large-scale battle system depend on how fast or how quickly you executed combos. 

This should not be a problem in the first place as Clive comes with a jam-packed list of various skills and abilities that will give you enough room to be creative when it comes to combat. The only thing next you should do is memorize various combo patterns that offer the highest amount of combo points so as to maximize your gains or rewards at the end of a battle. 

3. Equip The Timely Rings

Assuming you picked the Action-Focused mode and got good with early-game combat but struggle a lot later, well in that case, you should not sleep on the Timely Rings. While many veterans would know about Timely Rings, if you’re new to the franchise then you must know that Timely Rings are basically accessories that help you in combat and you can equip up to three Timely Rings at a time to get three unique effects for Clive. 

Here is a list of a few Timely Rings that you can get early:

1. Ring of Timely Strike: Simplifies combat, enabling combo execution with the attack button.
2. Ring of Timely Evasion: Automatically dodges incoming attacks upon button press.
3. Ring of Timely Focus: Slows time, allowing players to choose when to dodge incoming attacks.
4. Ring of Timely Healing: Automatically consumes health potions when Clive’s health is low.
5. Ring of Timely Assistance: Relieves the player from triggering Torgal’s passive attacks manually, making combat easier.

4. Master Dodge & Precision Dodging Early

Dodge is the basic brick-and-mortar method for evading attacks for Clive in Final Fantasy 16. Every time you perform dodge, you get some invincibility frames, giving you enough room to just become immune from attacks from microseconds. No matter how simple the Dodge mechanic is, learning the perfect timing to execute this one is still important. 

The advanced version of the Dodge mechanic in Final Fantasy 16 is the Precision Dodge. This one basically requires you to press the dodge button just as Clive is about to get struck by an incoming attack. If you land this move perfectly, Clive will just shimmy through the attack without taking a hit whatsoever. Landing a Precision Dodge is important as it gives you more combat points than a regular Dodge mechanic.

The best part about why I am telling you to master Precision Dodging in Final Fantasy 16 is you get to land a Precision Counter right after perfectly landing a Precision Dodge. Not only this kind of attack gives you more points but Clive also strikes the enemy much harder than any other regular attack. By incorporating these tips, you’ll become adept at exploiting enemy weaknesses for faster progress.

5. Stagger Anytime, Anywhere

Anytime you see enemies in Final Fantasy 16 larger than Clive, you must go for the Stagger approach to beat them. As a rule of thumb in most RPG games, a staggered enemy always takes more HP damage when hit, and this same rule applies in Final Fantasy 16 as well.

Each enemy comes with a posture bar that once depletes, the enemy gets staggered and falls to the ground. This especially applies to larger-sized enemies and if you manage to stagger them, they will lie on the ground to get the bar refilled. This is the perfect timing to strike and deplete a massive amount of HP for such enemy types. 

Additionally, there are tons of Eikonic Abilities for Clive that you can unlock and equip that support enemy stagger damage. Abilities such as Garuda’s Deadly Embrace always pull the opponent to the ground provided you have already depleted half of the stagger bar. Abilities like these are a welcome addition in this fast and fluid combat of Final Fantasy 16, otherwise, it would have looked awkward as Clive landed 100+ hits on these large-sized enemies before killing them.

That is why, I recommend you keep an eye out for Eikonic Abilities with stagger damage and don’t forget to equip the ones that offer the most damage. 

6. Always Increase Your Damage Multiplier

Assuming you have mastered any and all types of Stagger-related approaches in Final Fantasy 16, the next big thing you should know about is how to increase the damage multiplier. The damage multiplier increases as you stagger enemies and keep attacking them. 

The easiest way to increase your damage multiplier in Final Fantasy 16 is to save the high-staggering abilities for the last moments when you’re about to deplete an enemy’s stagger gauge. Till this point, use your regular brick-and-mortar attack to deplete the bar and then unleash the gauge-breaking or depleting ability on that particular enemy. 

This will ensure you get a higher damage multiplier and each of your attacks on that particular staggered enemy hits hard & eats away a greater chunk of health.

7. Always Play The Side Quests

Final Fantasy 16 being an action RPG is no short of side quests. In fact, there are two types of side quests that players can explore, earn rewards or some permanent upgrades for Clive. The 2 types of side quests in Final Fantasy 16 are:

1. Common Side quests are marked with the green symbol & exclamation mark.
2. Important Side quests that have a green symbol but plus symbol.

If you spot these 2 types of side quests already, know that the Common ones will give you rewards but those will be like free items, accessories, and stuff like that, the small ones. On the other hand, if you do the important side quests that have plus sign on them, they will always give rewards to Clive in the form of character upgrades or gear upgrades. 

Some of the notable rewards that I got while doing these important side quests were an increased potion supply, the ability to ride a Chocobo, and a dozen new recipes at Blacksmith. You’ll be mastering every side quest with ease using these tried-and-tested tips.

8. Understanding Eikons & Picking The Right Ones

Final Fantasy 16 starts with Clive having the power of Phoenix Eikon only. However, this changes as you progress the story and unlock more powerful and varied Eikon types or summon types. A better approach would be to learn, study, and analyze which Eikon can perform better in a particular situation. 

Of course, this only becomes possible after you have unlocked a couple of Eikons other than just the Phoenix one in Final Fantasy 16. For example, Phoenix’s abilities work better against enemies that are weak towards fire damage. So it makes sense if you equip this one against a weaker elemental fire effect.

Another good example of Phoenix’s abilities is the Flames of Rebirth, as it allows you to do basically an AoE damage in a large radius. Any enemy that is caught in this attack gets a good amount of health bar depleted. Now this ability is good for dealing with multiple enemies at once but poor for single-target. That is why you must understand your Eikons, their abilities & which situation calls for a better approach.

9. Stock Up & Equip Important Items 

As with many action RPG titles, items are the supporting elements that give a second chance to your character and the same can be found in Final Fantasy 16. Clive can carry up to three unique items, even though he can carry much more than that. 

You can switch between a non-equipped item and to equipped one once you are in combat. For that, you need to switch items before entering a combat situation. That is why is important to stock up on items that offer the most value to Clive as he enters the heat of a battle. With my tips, you’ll master efficient resource management to keep your team in peak condition.

There are small potions, High Potions, Strength Tonics, Stoneskin Tonics, and much more than you can slot into Clive’s three-item equip inventory & use on the fly during combat. Almost all of them either heal Clive or give him an extra layer of protection against an incoming attack. So, I’d recommend you choose your items wisely and never let your guard down.

10. Respec You Abilities For A Better Combat Approach

Final Fantasy 16 is one of those action RPG titles that doesn’t demand players to put extra effort into respecing the abilities they already earned and invest points for. There are more than a dozen of Eikon abilities that you can unlock while using the AP, however, once you have upgraded your skills or a skill tree, you can always respec, get all points back & reinvest them into other or unique sets of Eikon abilities you never tried before. 

All this sea of abilities is easy to respec as Final Fantasy 16 offers the ability lock mechanics as well. Basically, you just lock abilities that you do not want to respec and the game will skip those and reset the rest of them. Also, this goes the other way around for the players who are too confused over picking or skipping abilities. There is a recommended upgrade button as well that facilitates auto ability investment & is best for players who do not want to put much thought into Eikon ability trees.

11. Use Limit Break Every Now & Then

Limit Break is basically the Super Saiyan version of Clive in Final Fantasy 16. There is a Limit Break bar that fills slowly during combat and once it is full, you can unleash the Limit Break by activating it. Doing so will allow Clive to enter a frenzied state where each of his attacks hit like a truck and also heals enemies back. Consider this like the Devil Trigger mode found in Devil May Cry 5 where attacks get buffed and the health starts regenerating for the duration of Devil Trigger mode.

The best aspect of Limit Break is its usage. You will be wasting it if you trigger it when either your health is full or there is a last-standing enemy in the combat. That is why I recommend that the perfect time to use Limit Break is when Clive’s health is low, or when you’ve already staggered a big-sized HP target and need to kill it quickly. 

12. Don’t Forget About Torgal

Between using Precision Dodging, Precision Counter, items, equipping the right accessories, and improving the combo game, it is very easy that you to forget about Torgal. This wolf is your trusted ally in every single battle & is not good at attacking only but also can heal Clive when prompted.

Whenever you press the Left button on D-pad, you can see Torgal’s command menu with Sic, Heal, and Ravage prompt types. Each one of these three has a cooldown state so make sure you utilize Torgal fully when it comes to attacking enemies or healing Clive in Final Fantasy 16. 

13. Learn Parry Mechanic Early

• Pressing the square button at the right moment executes a successful parry, slowing down time.
• Parrying provides an opportunity to create distance or counterattack effectively.
• A successful parry results in a high-damage follow-up attack, even surpassing Precision Counters.
• Mastering parry is crucial for both regular enemies and boss battles.
• Start learning the parry mechanic in the early stages of the game, focusing on studying enemy attack patterns and practicing timing, especially against melee attacks.

14. Use Magic Bursts

Learning all the above-mentioned techniques is essential to master Clive’s combat against enemies. However, the supplement attack here is the Magic Burst damage. In the heat of the battle, it is quite easy to get carried away by so many combat mechanics and completely forget that Clive has the potential to do magic damage as well.

Whenever you press the Triangle button, Clive executes a magic spell that basically extends the combo hits, does much more damage than regular sword slashes & at the end gives you more stagger damage as well. That is why I recommend you use the magic bursts every now and then and increase the potential of Clive’s combat by extending his combo count and eliminating enemies at a much faster pace. These tips on efficient magic usage in FF16 will significantly elevate your combat strategies.

15. Select Frame Rate Option Over Graphics One

While this FF16 tip is more of an opinion in the beginner’s guide, I personally recommend you pick the frame rate option and not the graphics one while playing Final Fantasy 16. The reason is pretty simple & straightforward. FF16 is a very fast-paced real-time action RPG and there are many things that happen all at once when you enter the combat. 

Not only does the combat look fluid and fancy in frame rate mode but it also gives you an increased sense of immersion due to the extra smooth setting. The Graphics option in Final Fantasy 16 is still good, don’t get me wrong, but the extra butter smooth setting of prioritizing frame rate setting is easily the best pick here.

Also, fast-paced combat is better enjoyed at a smooth frame rate in Final Fantasy 16, and this is something that is absent in the Graphics option. Trust me, you will find yourself in a tough spot due to a poor frame rate. These tips in FF16 can help you decode the narrative and immerse more deeply into the game world.

This brings me to the end of the FF16 Tips & Beginners guide where I have listed 15 useful tips helpful for new players & returning veterans of the Final Fantasy franchise. Before you jump onto the next page, read How To Save, Voice Actors, and FF16 Plot & Story guides.

Next:

• Final Fantasy 16: All Dominants
• Final Fantasy 16 Trophy List
• Final Fantasy 16: How To Beat Benedikta
• Final Fantasy 16: Is It Available On Game Pass