Main Menu

Main menu is a key part of Final Fantasy XV where you can take a look at all current status of your characters such as current HP/MP, attack, defense, EXP, and more. Gil, AP points, and the total number of playtime are also displayed here. In addition, you can literately control everything from here. There are 8 sub menus inside as followings:

Map

Show map of the current area. It can locate outposts and other points of interest. Areas you visit and objects you encounter as well as quest destination will be automatically added to the map. It can be updated by talking to tipsters at diners, and new points of interest in surrounding areas will be automatically added to the map.

5 sub menus can be found inside the map: return to rest point, return to car, call car, tow car, and return to entrance.

Quests

Check the list of all undertaken quests, both in progress and completed, and select a destination to display on the map. It is still unconfirmed how many side quests you can take at once though.

Gear

Equip weapons, accessories, outfits and techniques to all characters. Noctis can equip up to four weapons at the same time, while his friends can only equip two. Noctis and his friends’ outfits can be changed based on their attire. They can wear black jacket, military uniform, or even sport attires.

There are 13 types of weapon in FFXV: sword, greatsword, polearm, dagger, handgun, shield, machinery, royal arms, fire, thunder, blizzard, summon, but the last one is still unknown.

Ascension

Assigning AP (Ability Points) to all characters. AP is the game abilities system such as Libra (lock on to an enemy while in cover to scan for weaknesses), Accessory Slot (equip two accessories), Phase (automatically evade attacks while holding down square), and a lot more.

AP can be earned by leveling up, completing quests, strategic ops, and even by impressing friends in conversation.

Skills

Still do not sure what is it about since the game hasn’t shown it yet.

Magic

Craft spells using the elemental energy you have collects, then equip magic flasks to use them in the field. Magic can be equipped though “Gear” menu as well.

Items

Shows all items in possession

Photograph

Shows all photograph taken by Prompto

Items

Items can be purchased at a various shops or NPC inside the game. An NPC inside the diner is going to be your main supplier. Recovery items, cooking ingredient, and more can be purchased here. Recovery items are quite similar to the previous installments: potion to recover HP, elixir to recover HP and MP, Phoenix Down to revise a fallen character, and an antidote to cure status alignment.

However, the only different is that potion now restores half of HP, instead of a slight exact amount of HP. Hi-Potion can store full HP. And elixir is not a rare item anymore. It can be purchased from an NPC but restores only half of HP and MP. You need to use Hi-Elixir for full HP and MP.

Quests

There are mainly two types of quests in Final Fantasy XV: main quests and side quests.

Main Quest

It’s a primary way to progress the game story. It will begin after Noctis have a conversation with a certain character marked with a red icon. Sometimes during the conversation, a player is able to decide the flow of conversation eg when Noctis talked to Cindy in an early game regarding the Regalia, a player had 3 choices to question Cindy which are to ask for a discount, ask for a loan, and ask Noctis’ friends. The conversation that impresses an NPC will be rewarded with Ability Point.

The main quest will be always marked in red for both icon and quest title in the mini map. And after you completed it, a certain NPC, mostly a quest giver, will contact and tell you what to do next.

Side Quest

It’s an optional quests received from various. It comes with different rewards for example, hunting quest gives gil and exp, weapon upgrading quests give a more powerful weapon, and so on.

Hunting quest can be received from an NPC at the diner. The NPC will tell you available monsters in a hunting list with recommended level and rewards. Complete hunts to earn starts and increase your hunter rank. Increasing the rank will allow you to undertake more challenging hunts.

After accepting the quest, it will mark with different colors based on quest types. Hunting quest will be marked with yellow, blue for weapon upgrade, and so on.

Elemental Magic

Unlike previous installments, a player now requires to collect magic ingredient called “elemental energy” in order to case elemental magic such as fire, blizzard, and thunder. The energy can be absorbed from deposits found near havens (camping areas) and in other places around Eos. Some enemies also drop elemental magic as well.

After obtaining some amounts of elemental energy, a player needs to craft spells under “Magic Menu” and then equip magic flasks in order to use it during combat. Each magic flask gives different abilities as well based on components. For example, combining fire energy with a potion can cast a fire magic dealing damage to enemies and healing allies at the same time. The amount of damage is based on numbers of energy used in the spell craft.

It is recommended to always equip a magic flask. A proper combination of fire magic can deal a maximum damage at 9999 easily even in an early game making it becomes very useful when dealing with hordes of enemies or a difficult boss.

Camping and Cooking

Camping at havens is the only way to get all EXP counted up from the day as well as getting a status-boosting meal. Ignis uses ingredients to prepare meals at camp. Each recipe requires different ingredients and provides different buffs.

For example, an open-faced breakfast sandwich, increasing attack by 30, requires two Gighee hams and two birdbeast eggs while Veggie Medley Stew, increasing attack by 20 and maximum HP by 150, requiring each of funguar, sheep milk, and laiden potato. Food buff only lasts for a day.

As soon as you acquire cooking ingredients necessary for a new recipe, Ignis’ will learn how to do it automatically. There are mainly four ways to obtain cooking ingredients: monster drops, loots, fishing, and buying from an NPC.

One thing to remember is that a player will not level up without camping and risk to encounter a difficult beast at night. For example, a level-30 iron giant can appear at night even in an early game.

Fishing

Fishing is Noctis’ specialty. There are four things you need for fishing: Line, Lure, Rod, and Reel. Different line provides different durability. Different lure is suitable for a different fish. Rod and reel are for attack and defense.

To begin fishing, go to a fishing spot and press “x”. As soon as a fish bite a hook, immediately move L stick to a designated direction. Then, try to reel it in without breaking tension of the line.

Regalia

Regalia is a main transportation in Final Fantasy XV. It will take the band of bros from places to places. When the game progress to some point, it can be modified into an airship. Noctis can drive it himself (manual drive) or ask Ignis to do the job (automatic drive). However, Ignis will not drive at night when the demons are out.

To start the automatic driving mode, select a destination from the list of locations and Ignis will drive there using the shortest route. Locations can be a parking spot, quest location, and any point in the map. When choosing a location, the game will tell you how long it takes to reach there.

When the driving starts, you can see a new icon showing how close you are to the destination. And when Noctis pass a specific location, he will talk to his friends about it. Driving seems to be limited than what we expect since we can only drive on the road.

Chocobo

A player should be able to ride a chocobo in Chapter 2 at the Chocobo Post after defeating the dead eye, the one-eye behemoth from the Episode Duscae. Chocobo can be customized by color and medal. A player can use seeds and fruits found in the wild to create dyes to change chocobo’s color.

Medals can be obtained by winning a chocobo race. It is only a decorative item which does not give any buff.

A chocobo can run, glide, and even swim. It is possible that there will be areas that are only accessibly by riding a chocobo at a later point of the game.

Royal Arms

Royal arms are mystical weapons embodying the power of the rulers of old and only eligible for the king bloodline, Noctis. These weapons are incredibly powerful but cost MP to wield. There are thirteen known royal arms each located at a royal tomb.

Noctis can easily get the first royal arm after meeting Cor. It is quite difficult to get the rest since most royal tombs are all abandoned and full of traps and monsters. Sadly, we still do not see the power of these weapons from the gameplay video.

How to Level Up

In every battle, the amount of experience will be calculated based on monsters you defeat as well as how well you fight such as how well you parry, how well you do a counter attack and so on. However, you do not technically gain these experience points right away.

Camping and resting are an important part of leveling in FFXV. When you rest, all the experience you gather during the day will be summed up and gives to all characters. Note that, all of your incomplete side quests will be immediately abandoned if you rest. You can do them again next day but all the process you made will be gone.

All at the camp, you will enjoy eating happily with your friends. Whatever you eat will give you a different buff for the next day. The more you have material in your stock, whether from gathering or buying, the more choice you have for your meal.