Overview
This guide will give you the most optimal ways to gain experience and level up in Final Fantasy XV and the Royal Edition update. In this guide, we’ll cover both leveling early game and later in the game.
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EXP tips for starting out
At the beginning of the game, the best way to get some easy EXP will be to run some of the hunts, you’ll get from the diner. Hunts will be provided by any diner or restaurant owner in the world of Final Fantasy XV. These will place a marker on the world map, where you can beat up some enemies and head back to the hunt giver for some items and gil. The enemies are usually unique and will provide some great EXP for the portion of the game you’re up to.
Starter DLC gear provides a minor boost
The base game of Final Fantasy XV offered a variety of free and paid DLC items that give a decent little boost to your stats. While not required, it can give you a minor advantage. I’m hoping that the Royal Edition for PC comes with this DLC included, but we’ll see on that. There are also a bunch of great accessories that boost AP gain and some attire costumes that will boost your stats.
Farm Cactuar for the best EXP farm early
With Expericast magic, this will net you a whole lot more. Just combine those debased and rare coins into magic to get access to the bonus.
Food & Equipment
Lasanga and Sandwiches offer extra EXP bonuses
You can purchase Lasanga al Forno from the Maagho restaurant in Altissa. Purchasing this will let Ignis learn Lasagna di Maagho, both of which give you a +100% EXP gain bonus. The Sandwich from Wiz Chocobo Outpost gives 50% EXP gain and can be accessed a lot sooner, so don’t pass this up either.
To cook the Lasagna at any campground, you will need the following ingredients:
- Fine Cleighne Wheat found at Old Lestallum Outpost
- Cleighne Darkshell found at Cape Caem Outpost
- Jabberwock Sirloin found at Meldacio Hunter HQ
Moogle Charms give permanent EXP bonuses
By finding and equipping Moogle Charms, you can get a +20% EXP gain bonus. Equipping 3 on a character will give you a 60% bonus.
Here’s the locations you can find them:
- Daurell Caverns
- Iris’ tour quest “A Flower For Iris”
- Justice Monster Five reward for 40 reward points in Altissia
- Costlemark Tower near the Lightning deposit
- Crestholm Channels
Ring of the Lucii Magic Build
The next few points of this guide will require use of the Ring of the Lucii found in Chapter 13. This will give Noctis access to the Ultima and Death spells, which will one hit kill some enemies.
The following equipment is recommended:
- Prince’s Fatigues
- Sword of the Father
- Bow of the Clever
- Scepter of Pious
- Ring of the Lucii
- 1x Moogle Charm
- 2x Magic Stat Items
With this build, you should get enough Magic to instantly kill some enemies with Death and have a higher chance of Ultima eliminating enemies.
Expericast and bonus EXP Method
Expericast is a spell attribute that can be applied to magic with certain items. For this guide, we’ll focus on the Rare Coins, as they offer the best value in terms of bonus per item. Each coin will give you Expericast Level 12, times this by 8 coins and you get to Level 96. It’s not worth using a 9th coin as you’re cannibalizing 9 of those levels. Expericast gives a flat EXP bonus for each cast of 100 EXP. At 96, you’ll be getting 9,600 EXP per cast.
It’s also worth noting that by getting a completion rating of A+ in Offensive, Time and Finesse will give you the best possible EXP when finishing an encounter. This can give you up to 10 times the EXP you would normally get. Paired with Moogle Charms and Lasagna, you will tear through EXP and ascend into the clouds with levels.
A Reddit user by the name of wmxp coined an amazing 114k EXP method when used with the Altissa hunt ‘The Tragic Facts. You can find this method here.
Link:
The 114K Method: Power Leveling to 120 like a Boss! from FFXV
The Ultima Way to Destroy Adamantoise
Later in the game, you’ll gain access to the hunt ‘Lonely Rumblings in Longwythe’, which will allow you to fight the Adamantoise super boss. Normally, this boss is a lengthy battle that will require a lot of patience and a lot of elixirs. However, with the Ring of the Lucii, you have a chance to destroy this boss in one hit with Ultima. With the above magic build, you can cast the spell, pop an elixir, cast again and repeat until the boss is no more. With Lasagna and a Moogle charm you will net between 150 to 300k EXP.
Ravatogh Wyvern Hunt Method
Another great method for farming EXP to come out of Reddit is Zetsunaii’s Wyvern Hunt method. By taking on the ‘Verinas Mart Under Threat’ hunt from Verinas Mart at Ravatogh, you can get into a flow of completing the quest and repeating for some bulk EXP. Zetsunaii reported getting to the point of gaining 10,000 EXP per 20-30 seconds with optimal runs.
Link:
[SPOILERS] [No Rare/Debased Coins Needed] Legitimate EXP/GIL Farming – Wyvern Bounties from FFXV
Once you accept the quest, hop on a Chocobo and head to the Hunt location just up the road. By keeping your distance and getting just close enough to cast Death with the Ring of Lucii, you will be able to pop the Wyverns one by one without any hassle. Run back, hand in the quest and grab it again for masses of EXP and Gil.
Timed Quests are also an option
In the current form of Final Fantasy XV, you’ll be able to take on Timed Quests. These are noted in the menu under ‘Timed Quests’, giving you a rough idea of where the quest can be taken on. These rotate on a daily basis, but the best one to look out for is the Cactuar and Slactuar quest, as this will give the best EXP output. Also, once you build up enough QP, you will be able to exchange it for 50,000 EXP. Not a great deal, but it all adds up.
Best ways to cash in or shelf your EXP
The Nixperience Band was given to us in the 2016 Free Holiday Pack for Final Fantasy XV. This item, once equipped, will prevent EXP from being tallied when staying at an Inn and forcing you to level up. The idea behind this is that some Inns multiply your EXP, so the more you have, the higher the EXP output you will gain. Equip this when you’re building up your EXP and need to rest to change from day to night or progress time.
The first high EXP multiplying Inn you come across is the Inn at Galdin Quay. This one offers you 2x EXP tally for 10,000 Gil or 5,000 Gil with the Travel Pack Pre-order and now available to all DLC. Once you reach Altissa, you can access The Leville Hotel or the 3x EXP Inn. You’ll also gain the option at this point of the game to travel between Lucis and Altissa with the use of Umbra, by calling the dog at the Inn instead of staying at it from the option list.