Ffxv Return To Open World

Final Fantasy XV is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix as part of the Final Fantasy series. It was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2016, Microsoft Windows in 2018, and Stadia as a launch title in 2019. The game features an open world environment and action-based battle. If a character's current HP reaches zero, they enter Danger Mode,. R/FFXV: In a time unknown, only a prophecy keeps hope alive in people's hearts: 'When darkness veils the world, the King of Light shall come.' Possible SpoilerQuestion about returning to Open World. Without spoiling anything, do you ever return to the open world after going to Altissia? I got the ability to call Umbra, but do you just go.

. PlayStation 4, Xbox One. November 29, 2016. Windows.

At a certain point in Altissia you get a notice that you can use Umbra to return to Lucis. Go to any hotel or rest stop and use the Call Umbra option that appears.

March 6, 2018Mode(s)Final Fantasy XV is an developed and published by as part of the long-running series. It was released for the and in 2016, and for in 2018, with a version for scheduled at later date. The game features an environment and action-based battle system, incorporating quick-switching weapons, elemental magic, and other features such as vehicle travel and camping. The base campaign was later expanded with (DLC), adding further gameplay options such as additional playable characters and.Final Fantasy XV takes place on the fictional world of Eos; aside from the capital of Lucis, all the world is dominated by the empire of Niflheim, who seek control of the magical Crystal protected by Lucis's royal family. On the eve of peace negotiations, Niflheim attacks the capital and steals the Crystal., heir to the Lucian throne, goes on a quest to rescue the Crystal and defeat Niflheim. He later learns his full role as the 'True King', destined to use the Crystal's powers to save Eos from eternal darkness.

The game shares a thematic connection with, a subseries of games linked by a common mythos which includes and.began in 2006 as a spin-off titled Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Served as the original director and character designer. After a development period of six years, it was changed to the next mainline title in the series in 2012; Nomura was replaced as director by, and the game shifted to. Due to the changes, the story needed to be rewritten and some scenes and characters were repurposed or removed. The setting of Final Fantasy XV was 'a fantasy based on reality', with locations and creatures based on elements from the real world.To supplement the game, Square Enix created a multimedia project called the ' Final Fantasy XV Universe', which includes a few spin-off games, as well as an. Gameplay and story-based DLC is also set for release up until early 2019.

Upon release, Final Fantasy XV was well received by journalists. Praise was given for its gameplay, visuals, and emotional weight, while reception towards its story and presentation was mixed. By November 2018, the game had sold over 8.4 million copies worldwide. Contents.Gameplay Final Fantasy XV is an where players take control of main protagonist during his journey across the world of Eos. While accompanied by his three companions Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto, Noctis is the only character directly controlled by the player: he can navigate through simple movement, jump over small obstacles, sprint for a limited time, and perform context-based actions such as taking cover behind objects. The kingdom of Lucis is a large connected landmass that can be explored on foot, by using the party's car 'Regalia', or, recurring galliform birds in the Final Fantasy series. Both the Regalia and chosen Chocobos can be customised by the player, and Chocobos can join in battles if their connection to the characters is strong enough.

While Chocobos are controlled manually, the Regalia can be either manually or automatically controlled. The party can also fast-travel to areas unlocked on the world map. The Regalia must be refueled periodically at petrol stations. In towns the party can visit, there are inns and hotels where they can stay, shops where items and equipment can be purchased with the in-game currency gil, and local tipsters, (NPCs) who provide information on quests, from main story missions to side quests.

Side quests are also available from individual NPCs found in towns. During some story sequences, dialogue choices appear for Noctis, with the selected option altering the response from NPCs. The game also contains two difficulty modes, with players being able to switch between the two.

Battle system. The Active Cross Battle system in action, showing Noctis attacking a hostile soldier in one of the game's environmentsThe game uses an action-based real-time battle system, called the Active Cross Battle system.

Instead of using a menu interface, the player selects commands directly mapped to buttons on the controller, such as 'Attack', 'Defend', and 'Item'. Battles take place within the current environment rather than transitioning to a separate arena, and can range from open plains to enclosed building interiors. When approaching enemies, a threat meter appears on the top of the screen, growing in intensity the closer the party gets to the enemy.

When the party gets close and attacks or is detected, the battle begins. Running away from enemies and out of the combat zone in normal battles ends combat. During battle, each character has (HP), and Noctis also has (MP). HP is depleted whenever a character is attacked, while Noctis's MP recovers over time when not in combat or when not using associated abilities such as or special weapon skills. If a character's current HP reaches zero, they enter Danger Mode, during which the maximum HP cap steadily decreases; the character is defeated when all of their maximum HP is lost. Some enemies, such as Daemons, are able to lower the HP cap with their attacks. If Noctis is defeated, there is a brief period where a revival item must be used.

Should the player fail to do so, the game ends.Noctis can perform four actions in battle: the standard attack; defending, which blocks and parries attacks; warping, which takes Noctis to a targeted area such as another enemy or an out-of-the-way warp point, and using items. There is a 'Wait Mode' option available, where if all player input stops the battle pauses, and players are able to select new enemies to attack or actions to take within a time limit.

An option available for both Noctis and Ignis in Wait Mode is Libra, an ability which displays an enemy's health, strengths and weaknesses. Noctis can find and equip a wide range of weapons, including single and double-handed swords, polearms, axes, shields, firearms, daggers and Royal Arms.

The weapons manifest from thin air as Noctis fights, and can be manually shifted by the player. The type of weapon equipped determines the attack speed and the amount of damage on normal attacks. In addition to normal attacks, there are attacks that deal more damage based on Noctis' position such as 'Side Strike' or 'Blindside', in addition to the Warp Strike attack. Attacks from enemies can be parried, and depending on the quality of the parry Noctis can counterattack. If wielding a shield-type weapon, a successful block staggers an enemy, leaving them vulnerable to attack. Noctis can launch a special attack with the Royal Arms dubbed 'Armiger', when the meter fills during combat: while more powerful than standard weapons, Royal Arms consume HP with each use.

Noctis can also use two classes of firearms—Guns, which range from handguns like pistols to rifles; and Machinery, powerful weapons that have varying effects depending on the type used, from generating a powerful shockwave to dealing high melee damage.Noctis's companions, controlled by the game's (AI), can perform contextual commands. When Noctis successfully parries an enemy attack, or performs a Side Strike or Blindside, cooperative attacks between him and his companions called Link-strikes can be triggered. During battle, a meter called the Tech Bar fills. When full, Noctis can command his companions to perform special moves called Techniques: Gladiolus performs a sweeping attack with his sword, Ignis uses his daggers to mark enemies so Noctis can perform a warp strike attack, and Prompto uses his firearm to fire a powerful shot that pierces through tough opponents. After each of these, Noctis can initiate a follow-up attack. Noctis can also trigger an Armiger Chain, where he splits his Royal Arms between his companions before launching a single attack.Magic is separated into two types: Elemancy and Arcana.

Elemancy is separated into three types: Fire, Ice and Lightning. Elemental energy is drawn from points across the world map, being absorbed into special flasks and used to craft magical bombs that can be used on enemies. Elemancy can also be combined with specific items to add new effects, such as healing party members while damaging enemies. Both Noctis and his companions are able to use Elemancy. Arcana, accessed when Noctis has acquired and equipped a story-related item called the Ring of the Lucii, has access to more powerful magical abilities such as 'Death', which drains an enemy's health. After a certain point in the game, Noctis can call upon summoned monsters called Astrals, which aid the party by launching a devastating attack. The summons featured are series regulars including Titan, Ramuh, Leviathan and Shiva.

Their types of attack, and even whether they assist at all, is dependent on the environment: for instance, Leviathan can only be summoned in the open when there is a body of water nearby. At certain points in the story, Noctis is joined by guest characters who have their own Link-strikes and Techniques. Character progression After each battle, characters earn (EXP), but they do not automatically level up when a certain amount of EXP has been gathered. Instead, the party must go to safe zones called 'Havens', namely rest sites like inns or campsites. When the party rests at night, each character gains levels depending on the amount of EXP earned.

If defeated in battle, all EXP gained up to that point since the last level up is permanently lost. Activities in the overworld earn the party Ability Points (AP). AP is spent on the Ascension Grid, the game's leveling system, which is divided into skill trees called 'Astralspheres'. Each Astralsphere is sorted by type, being associated with magic, combat or passive abilities. Spending AP opens up nodes within the Astralsphere, which in turn grants access to further nodes which require higher amounts of AP to unlock.Noctis' companions each have their own skills which themselves level up based on usage, and affect equipment.

Noctis' fishing ability improves the more times he fishes and the better items he uses, which in turn spreads to his equipment. Gladiolus' Survival skills increase based on the distance the party has travelled in a day, which improves the quality of their equipment and items. Ignis' cooking can be improved based on ingredients either purchased at shops or found in the wild, and his meals grant stat boosts to the party. Prompto takes photos during the party's journey, and the quality of his own skills increase over time. A post-release update enables control of all four characters during battle after unlocking a dedicated node in the Ascension Grid; each character uses specific weapon types and abilities tied to them. Multiplayer A multiplayer mode called Comrades was released as an, with gameplay and combat lifted from the main game and tailored for multiplayer; rather than a pre-set character, players take the role of a who takes part in a portion of the story skipped over by the main narrative. The game begins with players choosing their gender, hairstyle, clothing and other aspects.

Using the in-game city of Lestallum as their base, the player is assigned missions with three other characters—either other players or AI-controlled. During missions, the player fights monsters either on sorties or to defend transports; at the end of each mission, the player is awarded Gil, materials used for crafting and enhancing weapons, and 'Meteorshards' which can power up settlements around Lestallum and open up new quests. Some areas unlock Royal Tombs which grant the player a Royal Sigil; these Sigils both increase specific statistics and grant new themed abilities such as healing or increasing combat moves. The player has access to a variety of weapon types from normal swords to maces and shurikens, which are enhanced using materials to increase passive abilities such as their damage capacity. Synopsis Setting Final Fantasy XV takes place on the -like world of Eos, which is divided between four nations: Lucis, Accordo, Tenebrae and Niflheim.

Lucis, occupying a whole landmass, possesses a magical artifact known as the Crystal, gifted to the reigning Caelum dynasty by the world's deities in antiquity and accessed through the hereditary Ring of the Lucii. Accordo, located in the southern part of Eos, is an island nation formed through a union of free trading cities. The western continent is home to the technologically-advanced empire of Niflheim and the nation of Tenebrae, which is ruled by the Oracle—a priestess who can commune with the gods. The Oracle's main task is curing the Starscourge, a plague that absorbs all natural light and turns those infected into nocturnal monsters known as Daemons.: 318–319Central to the lore of Eos are the Astrals, six divine beings who serve as the guardians of the natural world and are based on summoned monsters from the Final Fantasy series; and the True King, a legendary figure prophesied to appear when the Starscourge threatens to plunge Eos into eternal night. A key part of Eos's backstory is the Great War of Old, a conflict born when the ancient human civilization of Solheim turned on the Astrals and their patron Ifrit; Ifrit's attempt to destroy humanity defied the Astrals' duty to protect Eos, forcing them to kill Ifrit. The Great War of Old is implied to have caused the spread of the Starscourge across the planet, hastening the fall of Solheim.: 318–319For centuries, Lucis has been at war with the militaristic Niflheim, who seek to emulate Solheim's glory. To that end Niflheim has subjugated most of Eos, including Accordo and Tenebrae; Tenebrae retains limited political autonomy due to the Oracle's influence.

Only Lucis's capital city of Insomnia remains unconquered due to the use of the Crystal's power, which is slowly draining the current king's life force. At the game's beginning an is declared between the two nations due to the king's failing health; as part of the peace agreements, Niflheim will gain control of all Lucian territories outside Insomnia, and a is arranged between the heirs apparent of the royal families of Lucis and Tenebrae. Characters. Main article:Final Fantasy XV was primarily developed by Business Division 2 of, creators and developers of the franchise. Additional studios that helped with development included, Plusmile,. Adobe audition free for mac. Staff included director; producer; main writer Saori Itamuro, who wrote the scenario based on the original draft by; and art directors Tomohiro Hasegawa,. Character designs were by and Roberto Ferrari, with later revisions by Naora.

The main characters' clothing was designed by Hiromu Takahara, lead designer for Japanese fashion house Roen. The was composed primarily by, while both real-time and CGI cutscenes were directed by Takeshi Nozue of, Square Enix's in-house CGI production studio. Logo illustration was by regular series artist.Development began in 2006 as a spin-off title for the called Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

It was announced as part of the, a subseries of games linked by a common mythos, and ran in Square Enix's proprietary engine. Developed by the team behind the series, it was intended to be a darker entry in the Final Fantasy series than allowed in the main series.

Nomura was the original director, designer, and created the initial concept and scenario. The project suffered from a prolonged and troubled development, only making fragmentary appearances over the following six years. As early as 2007, the project's scale prompted talks of rebranding it as the next mainline entry.

With the internal unveiling of the and, it was decided to change it into a mainline entry, with a proposed PS3 version being scrapped due to technical troubles. The game's engine also changed, shifting to the company's new proprietary game engine. At the time of its rebranding and shift to next-generation consoles in 2012, Versus XIII was described as being on 20-25% complete, with Tabata saying it never took shape.When Tabata took over from Nomura, the entire development team was reshuffled and development started over again, although he worked as a co-director with Nomura until late 2013 to ensure the project remained as true as possible to its original vision. Among the changes were the removal of the original story's opening, and the replacement of the original heroine Stella Nox Fleuret with the similarly named Lunafreya.

The connection to Fabula Nova Crystallis was also reduced, with branding and mythos-specific terminology removed to aid in the game's marketing. Thematic, aesthetic and design elements were retained due to their core place in the world and backstory.: 592–597 The main concept behind Final Fantasy XV was 'a fantasy based on reality', with the world being very similar to Earth and having fantasy elements gradually intruding into an otherwise normal setting. In pursuit of this, locations in Eos were based on real-world locations such as, and the. Final Fantasy XV Universe. Main articles:, andDue to the scale of the game's narrative and Tabata's wish to release a single game rather than a series of games similar to Final Fantasy XIII, aspects of the planned narrative were refashioned into supplementary media projects. Known as the ' Final Fantasy XV Universe', the projects were split into two parts; media designed to reach a wider audience than the game might manage alone, and additional game-related content such as ports to other hardware and DLC.

The project was first revealed at a March 2016 press event called 'Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV'. Tabata later stated that those who just played the game would miss context for story events shown in other related media.The two central parts of the ' Final Fantasy XV Universe' are the feature film and the. Brotherhood was produced by anime studio under supervision from Square Enix; the narrative focused on the backstories of Noctis and his companions. The series was released online between March and September 2016.

See also:Initially announced in 2006 alongside XIII and Type-0, the game was publicly rebranded at the 2013, with regular updates on the title beginning the following year. A demo titled Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae was released in March 2015 as a limited addition to. The game's localization was handled by Dan Inoue, who used different accents for characters to denote their origins on different parts of Eos. In addition to English, Japanese and European languages, the game was localized for with and text: this was the first time a Final Fantasy title was localized into these languages.Its initial worldwide release, September 30, was announced at the 'Uncovered' event.

Despite this intended date, further polishing work resulted in the date being pushed back to November 29. Further fixes were applied to the game through a Day One released concurrent with the game. The game was published in multiple editions, called 'Day One', 'Deluxe', and 'Ultimate Collector's Edition'. The 'Deluxe' edition included a edition of Kingsglaive, while the 'Ultimate Collector's Edition' included both Kingsglaive and a version of Brotherhood with additional footage related to Luna. In 2018, a version of the game called Royal Edition was released, which contained both all DLC published to that point in addition to further story and gameplay additions alongside technical improvements.A version for was released on March 6, 2018. Square Enix developed the port with using an upgraded version of the Luminous Studio engine, featuring graphical enhancements and all DLC.

These improvements and additions were also released as part of the console-exclusive Royal Edition. Another version, titled, was released in February 2018 for. The game was co-developed by Square Enix, SummerTimeStudio, and XPEC Entertainment. Development began in 2015 following the release of Episode Duscae; the game was produced by Kosei Ito, who was producer on Tabata's first major Square Enix title. Downloadable content Multiple pieces of (DLC) were created for the game by a smaller development team from the core Final Fantasy XV staff. The team was supervised by Tabata and headed by new producer Haruyoshi Sawatari. Both free and paid DLC were announced, with paid DLC being a necessity due to overall production costs.

Among the DLC were additional story elements intended to address player criticisms of the game's narrative structure and missing details. The main DLC episodes focusing on filling in narrative gaps related to Noctis's friends— Episode Gladiolus, Episode Prompto and Episode Ignis—were released respectively in March, June and December 2017.A mode called Comrades was released in November 2017, with Final Fantasy XV becoming the first mainline single-player Final Fantasy to include multiplayer content. A standalone version of Comrades was released for PS4 and Xbox One in December 2018. Other DLC included temporary events such as the 'Moogle Chocobo Carnival' event and a collaboration with.Episode Ignis was intended to be the last story-based DLC, but positive player feedback resulted in Square Enix wanting to develop further content focusing on other main characters, such as Ardyn. Episode Ardyn was released in March 2019 and is set to be the final post-release update for Final Fantasy XV. Originally part of a tetralogy of story-based DLC episodes dubbed The Dawn of the Future, the other episodes were cancelled due to structural changes within Square Enix. Announced features related to the PC port such as mod support were also cancelled.

Story material for the cancelled DLC has been turned into a novel, released in Japan on April 25, 2019, with a Western release planned for a later date. Reception ReceptionAggregate scoreAggregatorScorePS4: 81/100XONE: 83/100PC: 85/100( Royal Edition) PS4: 77/100Review scoresPublicationScore9/107.5/1038/408.5/108/108.2/109/10Hardcore Gamer3.5/5Final Fantasy XV has received 'generally favorable' reviews from critics for all versions, according to review aggregator.

Japanese gaming magazine gave both versions of the game a score of 38 points out of 40. Various game designers stated Final Fantasy XV was their favorite game of 2016, including Final Fantasy series creator, ' Shigeo Komori, 's Takashi Morinaka, and 's Teruyuki Toriyama and.Opinions on the story of Final Fantasy XV were mixed, although the main cast was praised for its chemistry. 's Andrew Reiner praised the change to a simple straightforward plot after the complex lore of Final Fantasy XIII. Peter Brown of and Philip Kollar of praised the mundane activities and character interactions, with Kollar calling Noctis's companions the game's 'beating heart', In contrast, Jonathan Leack of found the characters lacked interest during the early parts of the campaign, and Hardcore Gamer 's Adam Beck called the main story and characters a 'monumental disappointment'. The minimal representation of supporting characters was also frequently faulted. David Roberts of, 's Mollie L.

Patterson and 's Chris Carter also noted the crucial part played by the game's expanded media in grounding or fleshing out the main story.The visuals and realistic style were positively received, with 's Vince Ingenito enjoying the unusual use of realistic aesthetic details for the towns and environment. Roberts, Brown, Leack, Beck and Kollar praised the open world design and depth of detail, in addition to its scale and similarity to open worlds from recent Western games. Beck also noted the setpiece moments as beautiful in appearance despite weak narrative elements and confusing or convoluted gameplay. Leack positively noted the main cast's eye-catching design, which he felt helped maintain a connection during the early sections of the game. Shimomura's score was also positively received by critics.The gameplay was praised for its fast pace and engaging mechanics despite a lack of depth compared with other action games, with several reviewers comparing it to Kingdom Hearts; Patterson positively compared normal battles to the CGI cutscene-exclusive battles of earlier Square Enix titles, while Leack called the combat system ' Kingdom Hearts meets ' and praised its depth and accessibility. 's Kirk McKeand praised the behaviour of Noctis's companions in battle, saying they were effective supporting units. The linear second half drew criticism, with Roberts predicting that it would be one of the game's most divisive elements.

The summons were seen as spectacular, but either lacking meaning in gameplay or being too difficult to activate. Several reviewers noted the in-game camera's occasionally erratic behaviour. Sales In Japan, the PS4 version topped Japanese gaming charts, selling 690,471 units. The Xbox One version sold nearly 3,800 units.

Total sales of both versions came to 694,262 units, with the game's release boosting console sales for the PS4 over the previous week by over 42,000 units. Second week sales in the region were 79,792 units, down 88% from launch week and causing the game to drop to fifth place. Different rankings in January the following year placed the Japanese sales of Final Fantasy XV as between 900,000 and one million copies. In the United Kingdom's all-format gaming charts ending December 3, Final Fantasy XV was the second biggest launch for the series after Final Fantasy XIII.

According to the December data released by the, Final Fantasy XV was the second best-selling title of the month behind. The game also became the month's best-selling PS4 title, and saw the best console launch month in the franchise's history.Within the first twenty-four hours, Square Enix reported that Final Fantasy XV had shipped five million units worldwide in both physical shipments and digital sales—a figure which allowed the game to 'break even' on development costs. This gave Final Fantasy XV the biggest launch in the franchise to date, the most first day digital sales in Japan for a game up to that point, and set records for physical shipments and downloads in mainland Asia. Commenting on the large numbers, Tabata revealed that the strong sales saved the Final Fantasy franchise as a whole, which had seen declining commercial success in recent years.

According to Square Enix, shipments had reached over six million worldwide by January 2017. In May of the same year, Square announced the game and helped to increase sales and profits for the 2016-2017 fiscal year. In a later interview, president stated that the game had sold seven million copies worldwide by January 2018, ranking it as a 'huge success'. By November 2018, that number had risen to over 8.4 million. Accolades Final Fantasy XV won numerous awards from various gaming publications, including 'Game of the Year' from RPG Site and RPGFan, and 'Best RPG (People's Choice)' from IGN, awarded Final Fantasy XV awards in the categories of 'Best PS4 Game', 'Best Use of Pro', 'Best Soundtrack', and 'Best Visuals'; and in Game Informer 's 2017 RPG of the Year Awards awarded the game for 'Best Post-Launch Support'. At the 2017 the game won Game, Franchise Role Playing and Song, Original or Adapted.

It was also nominated for 'Best Original Soundtrack Album' and for 'Best Original Instrumental' ('Valse di Fantastica') at the 15th Annual Game Audio Network Guild Awards. In 2017, the game was nominated for 'Best Visual Design' at the, and for 'Best Role-Playing Game' at, but lost to and, respectively. The Comrades DLC was nominated for 'Best Add-on' at the Awards. The game was also nominated for 'Evolving Game' at the. References Citations. Archived from (PDF) on November 15, 2016.

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Final Fantasy 15 (or Final Fantasy XV) has been a long time coming. Starting life as a spin-off in the Fabula Nova Crystallis series around a decade ago, a combination of scale, ambition and protracted development saw it morph into a fully-fledged entry in the series.

Whether you're a long-time Final Fantasy fan, or fresh to the series and RPGs in general, there's a lot that's new and unusual to take in at first.

Our Final Fantasy 15 walkthrough can help you navigate the huge open world and challenging dungeons, while this Final Fantasy 15 guide page provides tips on how to make the most of the game's many systems, and in the coming days, explain how to tick off the game's many side-activities and post-game challenges.

Final Fantasy 15 walkthrough

Final Fantasy 15 more or less spits you out into the open-world from the off, giving you plenty of distractions and side-activities. You can track it easily with the menu's Quest log that offers story objectives in red, side quests in blue, while smaller activities like tours are in green and monster hunts are in yellow.

You can dip into any of the above as you see fit, though it's well worth prioritising the story quests to begin with to open up the game world and raise your levels in a natural way.

Final Fantasy 15 walkthrough:

Other Final Fantasy 15 guides

Final Fantasy 15 side-quests:

Final Fantasy 15 end-game challenges:

Final Fantasy 15 DLC and additions:

Final Fantasy 15 tips for the game's many systems and activities

You can sprint indefinitely

Until you get the flying car Regalia Type F or a Chocobo, you'll be spending a lot of time on foot. While Noctis has a short stamina bar which means he gets out of breath easily after a quick sprint, you can circumvent this by using an infinite sprint trick that allows you to refill your sprint bar as soon as it depletes. It takes some timing and practice, but proves invaluable if you want to explore the world at a reasonable pace.

Learn how your car navigates the world

Navigating the three core regions of the world requires your trusty Regalia car, and it pays to know how it works. You'll need it to navigate the game's huge world, but it's a fairly linear affair, sticking to the game's highways and dirt roads rather than allowing you to go off the beaten track. You can, however, manually drive it from A to B if you wish, and stop at the side of the road to look at points of interest.

These journeys take a while, and while we recommend taking in the sights as you drive somewhere first time, by visiting parking spaces you can then fast travel around without the lengthy journey first. On foot, you can also fast travel to your parked car and the last place you rested. Also, it's well worth visiting each mechanic at every outpost you visit to buy new decals, upgrades and most importantly, soundtracks from other Final Fantasy games to listen to as you drive.

Always visit every new restaurant and diner

When you arrive at a new area, speak to the local food vendors and select the 'Talk' option. It'll add out nearby points of interest on your map - places you can camp, quest givers, elemental magic sources, treasures and sources of natural ingredients - to help when exploring new locales. Even if there are multiple food vendors in an outpost or town, chat to them all, as they will add even more points of interest nearby.

Rest up and eat meals regularly

Before any dungeon or tough encounter, make sure you eat a meal or rest up at a campsite and have Ignis prepare you a status-boosting meal for the party. The game naturally nudges you in this direction when night falls, which is when more dangerous enemies (known as daemons) emerge, so if you want to make life easier, rest off the dark hours, get a good cooked meal and try again when it's light.

Sleeping is also when you tally up your earned EXP for the day, leveling you and putting you in the best shape you can be for the coming battle. If you're interested in logging your EXP only, then make sure you locate more luxurious accommodation - like a hotel - gives you more of a multiplier to make those EXP gains worthwhile. We discuss this and other ways to get experience in our EXP farming and sources page.

There are easy ways to get bonus AP

As well as experience, you also need to amass AP - or ability points - to unlock new skills in the Ascension ability tree. You can get AP in a number of ways, but it's best to unlock nodes in the ability tree that give you AP as a byproduct of doing common activities, such as driving, riding a Chocobo, or casting magic. You can see where to get more points in our Final Fantasy 15 AP sources and how to get AP fast page.

Items are everywhere

As you play, you'll notice many sparkling pieces of light as you explore the world. These are items you can collect to sell, combine into recipes (your recipe list grows as you get more ingredients, so collect everything you see) or for crafting with Cid at Hammerhead, and it's worth grabbing everything you see. It's one of the best ways to get Gil - the game's currency - which you can read more about alongside other ways in our how to get Gil fast through farming and other sources page.

Combat is deeper than you think

Initially holding Square / X to dodge and Circle / B to attack while your team mates do their own thing feels a little straightforward for a Final Fantasy game, but there's a lot more to combat than it first appears, which will become evident when you come up against tougher adversaries. Learn to use Libra to scan for an enemy's weaknesses and you'll find out the elements and specific weapons they're weak - and strong - against, forcing you to tweak your arsenal on the fly.

Positioning is vital; make use of Warp Points around the arena to retreat and gain health and MP, before returning with powerful attacks (the further you are away, the more powerful the Warp Strike), and if you attack enemies from behind or return a block with a parry, any nearby teammates can follow up with a Link Strike. If you're struggling to keep up with the frantic pace of battle, then changing Combat to Wait rather than Active pauses the attention whenever you sit still, giving you time to focus on what to do next.

Don't worry about side-quests or Hunts too much

Apart from set moments in the story - which the game will tell you about in advance - you can break off and participate in side-activities pretty much whenever you please. While it's ideal to take part in side-quests and Hunts as you come across them - there are certain dungeons that will require a small bump in level in order for you to tackle them - you don't have to grind extensively to progress through the game's main story beats.

So while it'll make life easier to accumulate AP, EXP and resources by exploring, don't feel guilty about leaving a huge list of quests hanging. Same applies to Fishing and other mini-games, too. It's worth noting that nothing is missable - they'll be waiting for you to come back to them - so feel free to mop them up later when you're more powerful. There's also a series of quests that open up when the story is over, so feel free to see the credits if you're towards the game's end, and come back later.

Ignore those locked doors at the end of dungeons (for now)

You have to come back to them much later as part of end-game content to take on some bonus challenges and bosses. We'll have more on end and post-game activities in the coming days, from how to access and complete them, so stay tuned.

Be on the look out for seasonal events and DLC

The game's first Timed Quest has recently gone live, tasking you to take on a hunt - a battle against 100 Cactuar and Slactuar targets - for a limited-time only for a series of rewards. The end date has yet to be revealed, but expect more of these to roll out in the coming weeks and months.

Before that, during January and February, we saw the Moogle Chocobo Carnival, introducing new mini-games, quests and exclusive items in a special version of Altissia. It's no longer playable, but hopefully players will have a second chance of visiting one day.

There is DLC for each party member - starting with Episode Gladious DLC, as well as hopefully other events to come, so keep your eyes peeled on new game updates.

Watch Kingsglaive and Brotherhood if you care about the story

Final Fantasy 15 centres around a long-standing conflict between two countries - Lucis, the last nation in possession of a powerful crystal, and Niflheim, an empire of warring factions who lost their own crystals over years of battle - but despite a day-one patch to address some absences in story-telling, the game generally does a pretty poor job about telling you about the state of the world's politics or the backstories of your party members.

If you can, it's worth watching Kingsglave: Final Fantasy XV, a feature-length CGI film which centres around the royal guard protecting the King of Lucis and explains what happens at the start of the game, as well as animated series Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, which delves how Noctis got to meet Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto. The former is on Blu-ray and digital download, while the later is free-to-watch on YouTube. While it's a shame to rely on transmedia to fill the gaps of the game's storytelling shortcomings, Final Fantasy fans will get a kick out of watching both.