The title pretty much says it all. I have no experience with JRPGs or the FF franchise and was hoping for some quick n dirty tips on FFXV's basic mechanics to set me along the path. For example:

-How should I level Noctis initially? Can I level the rest of my party like I would in a Bioware RPG?

-How should I approach combat out of the gate so as not to get my ass kicked?

- Do I need to grind for materials to level up certain weapons?

Any advice you folks may have would of course be appreciated. Thanks!

-So, essentially there aren't any individual stats you'll be putting any points into like with other RPG's. With FFXV, as characters level up, I'm pretty sure only the amount of health goes up and Noctis gains more MP as well. You'll gain AP as you level and do quests. AP, short for ability points, are used in the Ascension menu and that's where you'll be improving your team. So to actually answer your question, I'd recommend initially unlocking the increased warp strike damage and air step abilities for Noctis. Afterwards, definitely dedicate some points for the teamwork and technique sections in the Ascension menu. It'll make the combat much easier and your teammates will actually be useful. Also, putting some points into exploration wouldn't be a bad idea either. Those abilities help you gain more AP from just doing things you'd already be doing like driving and camping.

-Get used to blocking and dodging. The combat isn't too difficult but just holding attack will definitely get you killed more often than not and you'll end up using a lot more items then necessary. If you're the type to do a lot sidequests, you'll end up incredibly overleveled so the difficulty of combat will go down quite a bit.

-I'm late game and haven't really had to grind for anything. Usually, you'll just pick up the items you need for upgrading as you play the game and do quests. That experience might vary for you since I tend to do every sidequest I see before I do the story ones. Anyway, there's a guy named Cid you meet in the beginning of the game and he'll upgrade weapons for you. Oh right, I should mention that only certain weapons can be upgraded. They'll have a yellow plus sign next to the name indicating that. Noctis starts the game with a weapon called the Engine Blade and that can be upgraded into one of the strongest weapons in the game called Ultima. And you can get it really early. Like around the level 25-30 range.

I'd be happy to answer any other questions you might have.

The game isn't super difficult. It has a recommended level for each mission. As long as you keep within 5 levels of that and buy new gear you'll be fine.

Dont be too scared to use Magic. Sure there is a bit of friendly fire but it does not do direct damage to your party.

Dont get to bogged down with having to do every side mission you come across. The game has to have at least a hundred of them and its super easy to overlevel.

Finally, find out what items Cid needs to upgrade your weapons and dont accidentally sell something hard to find. Fuck finding an another stury helixhorn.

P.S. Kill steal from your party members with the warp strike as much as you can. It is the fastest way to get extra AP as far as I know

Leveling

• As others have said, its super-easy to over level, so don't worry about needing to do sidequests
• If you're looking to level quickly, remember that staying an an inn, as opposed to camping, gives you an XP multiplier. The Galdin Quay Inn costs 10,000 per night, but it doubles the experience you accrue. I've gone up 15 levels by staying there before.
• Buy and carry around a few repair kits with you. There are people with broken down cars around the road. Giving them a repair kit is a really easy way to earn some cheap XP and money.
• If you are struggling to get AP, you should know that you get one anytime you kill and enemy either with a warp strike or a link-strike. Therefore, fighting lower level enemies and one-shotting them with a warp strike is an easy way to earn a lot of AP quickly.

Combat

• The Block/Parry Riposte is a hold, not a press. When the prompt shows up, just keep on holding square until you get the parry riposte prompt (block and parry are the same thing. This bothers me more than it should).
• Use the roll to get behind enemies. Blindside attacks to lots of damage and if you're close to your bros, it'll trigger a link strike. These can be upgraded to do more damage on the ascension grid.
• It's usually a good idea to stick close to your party rather than being too far away. Proximity will determine whether and who will participate in link strikes. Plus if you go down, they're closer to you to revive you.
• Use your bros' techs, even if you don't need to. These level up with use, generally increasing the crit rate. Prompto's first tech, for example, can pretty quickly be leveled so that it will crit every single time.

Weapon Upgrades

• Basically the rule is don't sell anything. The items he wants tend to be hard to acquire but it's usually worth it. The level 3 sword upgrade is ridiculously overpowered.

Bonus

• Play that dumb pinball game if you can. You can easily grind out some of the best accessories in the game by playing it enough. And the reward repeat, so they aren't a one time thing either. Rewards are determined by the number of gold plaques things you collect from the bonus spinners.

Play a lot? The game more or less forces you to level so a low level run would amount to not really doing anything in the game. Always have a ton of potions and virtually any fight that doesn't involve spellcasting enemies is winnable at almost any level (including 30-40 levels lower than the enemies); abuse the instant revive for exiting combat if you feel like it/to make sure everyone gets experience.

My personal approach to the game (as someone that likes challenges, I basically did every hunt 10-20 levels lower; of course now the main story is trivial but I'm almost positive it would have been trivial anyway):

This game is pretty flexible in terms of how you can play it. Mix it up and try some things, and develop a style you like. After you get in a flow, look at the ascension board to see what skills would best help the way you play. I like to warp strike, roll and go for the back hit. If you want to level, knock out some side quests. There are a ton.

@sincillian: @blackichigo: @lawgamer: Thanks for the detailed responses, all. Two quick follow-ups: Is XP and AP the same thing? and What are 'techs' and how do I use them?

@stryker1121 said:

XP and AP are different. You get XP after every battle and for turning in a quest. XP is what gets tallied when you camp so you increase in level. AP is what you use to activate nodes on the ascension grid. You get 2-3 points every time a character gains a level. You also get them from the aforementioned killing enemies with warp-strikes or link-strike. Ascension upgrades also allow you to earning them for driving, fishing, riding chocobos, camping, etc.

As far as techs, that's the green meter on the left side of the screen that has three segments. Each companion has a tech that they can deploy in combat when the bar charges enough. To activate one, you hold L1 and press the directional button for the character you want. These level up when you use them a lot, up to a maximum level. You can check what tech is equipped and it's level by going to the "gear" screen on the menu. You may only have one equipped at a time on a companion. The ascension grid has new techs available for purchase. Most of these cost an increasing number of segments on the bar.

A good one to get early is Ignis' "Regroup" because it is essentially a full-party heal for anyone still up at the time.

Yeah, the techs can be really useful. I used Prompto's defense lowering one quite a bitt on the tougher enemies, and Gladio's is good in mobs or when you need to buy yourself some time. Regroup can be a lifesaver in a pinch.

Thanks again for this, duder. This is all very helpful.

@lawgamer: Hey duder, quick question for you since you were so helpful on getting me started in FFXV:

I'm in post-game content now and trying to upgrade the engine blade. I have one upgrade from Cid I received early on, but when I visited him again in Hammerhead, i'm not getting any option to upgrade the blade further. Cid's not upgrding any other weapons for me currently - when i approach him I get random comments and nothing else. Am I missing something?

Hmmm. I did most of the upgrade quests prior to the end game. That said, there are two possibilities here:

1. Sometimes he just talks to you if you have the quest but don't have the necessary item to begin the upgrade. I'd check to see if any upgrade quests are in your quest log or not. For the Engine Blade, I think I recall the second upgrade requiring a Glass Gemstone, which is just a drop in the world or from Gladio's survival skill.

2. Because he only upgrades one weapon at a time, he also speaks random lines if he's in the process of upgrading one but hasn't completed it yet. The game is a little misleading on this point, since it always tells you to do hunts and quests to pass the time. What it doesn't tell you is that you need to do that and then camp or else he won't complete the upgrade.

I wouldn't worry too much about it if the game is bugged on this point. There is a side-quest chain in the post-game that provides you with much better weapons than you can get from Cid. Most of those quests run Lvl 55+ and involve tough hunts though, so you might need to spend some time leveling.

@lawgamer: I don't have any upgrade quests in my log. Cid wouldn't talk to me beyond NPC chatter after the first engine blade upgrade. I don't have the items needed for the next quests so maybe I'll hunt those down and see what happens. Otherwise, I'll move onto some dungeons and other stuff I missed. Thanks for your help!

@lawgamer: What would you suggest for interesting end-game content, besides completing some of the dungeons I missed? Where can I find higher-level quests, like the +55 one you mentioned?

@stryker1121 said:

So the primary end-game content is:

1. The weapon quests, which you get in Lestallum

2. Once you complete all the dungeons, you can talk to a lady in the Hunter HQ to get the key for the locked door in the dungeons. These lead to some super-monsters.

3. Adamantoise

4. Getting the airship.

5. The airship is needed to get to the Pitioss Ruins

Honestly, I wasn't all that into any of the end-game content. It's all sort of pointless since you've already gotten through the story. A lot of it is for Lvl 99 and I don't particularly feel like grinding all of that out.

@lawgamer: Cool, much appreciate the run-down. Not sure I'm too keen on grinding for lvl 99 stuff, either, actually.

You should check out a video of how to do that. Going from level 50 to 99 is like 40 minutes worth of effort if you do it right, and doesn't really require much effort in that 40 minutes either.