The Ability Points system in Final Fantasy XVI is essential to your progression through skill development, from the basic mechanics of combat to the more elaborate combination of Eikon Abilities that you can learn to master for The Phoenix, Garuda, Ramuh Dominant forms and more. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about how to quickly farm Ability Points in FF16 on this page.

Best Ability Point Farming Methods in FFXVI¶

The first thing to note about Ability Points is that you won’t be able to earn enough to purchase all skills and Eikon Abilities during your first playthrough. You may even struggle to do this on a second playthrough in New Game+, so it’s worth keeping in mind how to maximize your Ability Point gains from the beginning of the game. Aside from playing through the story naturally while ensuring that you complete all Side Quests and Hunts as they become available, you can also make sure that you kill every creature that you encounter out of principle, without running by them as you make your way to an objective.

Purchase The Wages of Warcraft Accessory From Charon’s Toll¶

Aside from the above tips for maximizing AP which include completing all side content and killing anything and everything that you come across, you can also increase the amount that you earn from normal encounters by using The Wages of Warcraft accessory. This can be purchased from Charon’s Toll shop at the Hideaway, and it’s worth doing as soon as it becomes available. The effect of this accessory will grant you +20% more AP for each enemy or group that you defeat, but it won’t increase the amount that you earn from quests or Hunts.

Once you reach New Game+, you can increase the bonus from this accessory to +40%, since you’ll be able to purchase two of the same item and then combine them at the forge in the Hideaway.

Farm Bighorns, Bluebirds, and Gigas Around Martha’s Rest¶

Now we’ll come on to the best ways of earning AP outside of main quests and side content. Once you have The Wages of Warcraft accessory equipped, you can think about venturing out into the wilderness to kill as many creatures as possible to maximize your gains. One of the best areas to do this is in the marshlands around Martha’s Rest, where you’ll find plenty of regular enemies, but also some rarer ones such as Bighorn, Gigas, and Bluebird.

A normal group of enemies will usually yield anywhere between 14 - 28 AP per encounter. Examples of these enemies include Killer Bees, Cray Claws, Death Blossoms, and Footpad bandits. The larger, rarer enemies such as the Bighorns, Gigas, and Bluebirds will often yield around 48 AP per kill, so be sure to look out for these by thoroughly exploring the marshlands. You can generally find between 4 - 6 of these rarer enemies each time that you spawn into the area.

You will often find Bluebird among groups of Wild Chocobos, while the Bighorns are more often found alone in wide open spaces. The Gigas can be found alongside groups of Goblins, so you’ll often earn more than the base 48 AP when you kill them, netting you something closer to 60 for each encounter. The larger, rarer enemies are the real focus when farming in this area, but it doesn’t hurt to kill groups of enemies along the way.

Farm Hyenas in Kritten Hollow¶

The Bighorns, Bluebirds, and Gigas provide some of the best early to mid game AP farming, but there are other enemies that you’ll encounter later in the game which provide much more. Among these are the Hyenas in Kritten Hollow, which generally provide between 80-100 AP each. You can reach this area by traveling to the Ravenwit Walls obelisk, in the Waloed region. There aren’t many Hyenas here but if you fast travel back to the area after killing them, they will all be respawned.

You can increase the efficiency of this farming method by always traveling back to the Hyenas from the obelisk on your mount, and by using powerful, high-damage abilities which will kill them all more or less instantly. AoE (Area of Effect) abilities such as Pile Drive, Scarlet Cyclone, or even Judgment Bolt are good for this.

Unlock the Yes, Eikon and Masterclass Trophies¶

There may not be much of a reason to invest in all skills and abilities that are available using Ability Points if you’re fine with sticking to a few that work with your playstyle, but if you’re a completionist you’ll want to do this to unlock two trophies: Yes, Eikon and Masterclass. However, not only will you need to unlock all of the skills and abilities, but you’ll also need to upgrade and master them. The total amount of Ability Points required to unlock all skills (aka feats) and abilities is around 120,000, so there’s a lot of farming ahead!

If you’d rather not spend your time mindlessly slaughtering various monsters and creatures, rest assured that after completing everything in the game for a second time on New Game +, you should have less than 40,000 Ability Points left to unlock everything. It’s still a fair amount to amass, but much more manageable once you’re fully upgraded after a NG+ playthrough.

More Final Fantasy 16 Guides¶

If you’re looking for more Final Fantasy 16 guides, be sure to check the links below. We’ve covered all Main Quests, Side Quests, Hunts, Chronolith Trials, and more!

• List of All Main Quests in Final Fantasy XVI
• List of All Side Quests in Final Fantasy 16
• All Hunt Locations in FF16
• Where to Find All Chronolith Trials in FF16