Once you defeat Hugo Kupka in Into The Darkness, you will be given a brief respite from challenging dungeons and boss battles during Out of The Shadow. The quest has you once again running around for the energetic Mid to help her complete another project. This is a medium-sized quest that focuses on letting you spend more time with your allies. The guide below goes over how to complete the thirty-first main story quest, Out of The Shadow and all three parts of Letting Off Steam in Final Fantasy XVI.

Enemies in Norvent Valley¶

Items in The Velkroy Desert¶

How to Complete Out of The Shadow in FF16¶

After defeating Hugo Kupka, Clive returns to the Hideaway to tell his allies about the victory. Once you arrive, head up the elevator and speak with Charon, Blackthorne, and Harpocrates. Next, go to Otto’s usual spot near Vivian, where you will find Gav, Jill, and Otto gathering around. A cutscene will play where you tell them the news. Afterward, walk over to Vivian to get an upgrade on the realm’s movements. Once Vivian is done, you will need to see Mid, who has a new invention she’s working on, and she needs Clive’s help to complete it. Go speak with Blackthorne to start the first part of Mid’s list, Letting Off Steam I.

Completing the Letting Off Steam I Main Quest¶

For this mission, you will need to speak with Blackthorne to decide which NPC you want to take with you. You can choose between Otto or Gav. Depending on who you choose, there will be slightly different dialogue, but the quest is the same. You will want to head back to the Dalimir Inn area using the world map. Once there, follow the quest marker outside of the city, to the Southern Velkroy Desert. You will find your companion standing near a building. After speaking with them, head down the river and begin picking up the Stardust. There are five spots to collect it, three near the river, and two up from the end of the river, they are all easy to spot and have a quest marker over them.

Once you’re done grabbing the Stardust, head back up the river and speak with your companion. You’re now ready to head back to the Hideaway. Visit Blackthorne again and give him the Stardust. You will now want to return to Mid to let her know that the first task she gave you is complete. A cutscene will play and she will instruct you to speak with Helena to start Letting Off Steam II.

Completing the Letting Off Steam II Main Quest¶

Head across the workshop and speak with Helena, she will tell you that you need to meet her up at Lostwing. Use the world map to travel to the town, and take the right road through the forest to Norvent Valley. The enemies you fought before will still be here, but they are stuck around level 13, so just run past them. You will see Helena again when you come to the clearing. She will then send you to defeat a monster in the field, depending on if you’ve done hunts before or not. If you haven’t fought an Ahriman before then keep reading below for some quick tips to defeat the monster.

The Ahriman Battle¶

The Ahriman is an annoying enemy to fight as it teleports around the field, and has both close and long-range attacks. You can use Phoenix Shift to quickly catch up to it when it moves away from Clive. The move you will really need to watch out for is Doom, as it will instantly kill you if not dodged. During this move four flames will appear around Clive and a four-second countdown will start. When the flames all disappear a large red circle will surround you, quickly dodge outside of it and keep from getting sucked back in. If you need more help defeating the Ahriman, you can also check out our full hunt guide here.

Once the enemy is defeated, you simply need to speak with Helena again. After the cutscene return to the Hideaway and speak with Mid in her workshop. She will give you the final blueprint to take to Harpocrates, this will start the third and final mini-quest Letting Off Steam III.

Completing the Letting Off Steam III Main Quest¶

Speak with Harpocrates and you will learn that you need to go shopping in the market at Northreach. You can choose between two characters to take with you once again, Jill or Tarja. Once again, this won’t change the quest itself, but the dialogue will be different. Once you have decided who to take with you, open the world map and proceed to Northreach. Once there, find your companion near the entrance to the market, you will now need to go to two separate shops to buy some ingredients. The first is on the left just north of your companion, speak with the trader to buy garlic.

Once you’re done there, head towards the Obelisk and you will see the second trader, speak with them to buy pepio nuts. Once this is done, find your companion back near the gate and a small cutscene will play. You will now need to return to the Hideaway and speak with Harpocrates. Mid will finish the first part of her invention and then head off, and speak with Otto in the usual spot. For the final part of the mission, you try to catch up with Mid before she leaves, but end up speaking with Obolus to find that Byron has sent a letter requesting Gav’s help. After this cutscene, the world map will gain a new location, Cid’s Legacy, go here to watch another cutscene, and then you will be able to head to Laetny’s Cleft to start the main story quest Onward.