Gathering AP in Final Fantasy 16 allows Clive to learn new abilities to unleash on his foes. AP can be gained by fighting big and small foes, and there are plenty of moves to learn. Each set reflects the Eikon it’s learned from, adding flavor and skill to the game as you progress. The only problem is finding enough AP to unlock them all.
While AP is not a rare resource to gather in the game, gaining enough to unlock all the abilities Clive can learn can be difficult. Thankfully, there are a few tried and true ways to find AP at each stage of the game.
What Is AP?
In Final Fantasy 16, you can earn Ability Points (AP) to spend on new attacks and passive features for Clive as you progress through the game. You can upgrade your existing abilities with AP as well, ensuring that your favorite moves stay relevant the further you get in the story.
With each Eikon Clive unlocks, another wheel of abilities becomes available. While you can reset your abilities at any time to regain the AP you had, allowing you to unlock or upgrade different abilities without penalty.
It’s safe to say that you’ll need to gather more AP sooner rather than later if you want to take down enemies easily.
Where To Find Bluebirds For Large AP Gain
One of the best ways to earn AP is by defeating enemies.
Big enemies like bosses can give you plenty of AP when you defeat them, but there are only so many bosses to go up against. They can also be time-consuming, which makes them less than ideal to challenge repeatedly.
Instead, the standard enemies that drop the most AP are the chocobos. You can find them in several places throughout the game, but you’ll want to focus on the bluebirds.
The blue chocobos are brightly colored and resemble peacocks. These fearsome fighters drop 40 AP, making them the most efficient enemy to take down for AP gathering.
You’ll often find one or two surrounded by wild chocobos, which drop eight AP per bird, making their little groups the perfect target for hunting.
The chocobos are formidable beasts that won’t hesitate to challenge you if you get too close. Prepare your weapons and get ready to collect AP as you make your rounds through the fields.
The Meadows Location – The Holy Empire Of Sanbreque
One of the best locations to find bluebirds is in the Meadows. You can fast-travel there using the Northreach Obelisk.
Go through the town and past the barracks to reach the meadows. You’ll see the Holy Empire up ahead and several groups of chocobos in the fields.
Equip the Ring of Timely Strikes to make combat go by faster. This will make running through enemies much easier.
There are often one or two groups to the west of the road, away from the farms and closer to the sea. These can be easily taken out and reset for quick AP collection.
Sorrowise Location – The Imperial Province Of Rosaria
Another location where bluebirds gather is in Sorrowise. Fast-travel to Martha’s Rest Obelisk and take the elevator down to the path leading to the abbey. You’ll find a few groups of chocobos here, including bluebirds.
There’s a lot of ground to cover when making the rounds to gather AP. If you’ve unlocked Ambrosia, you can travel around the area faster than on foot. Summon her to speed up your hunting. You can also attack while mounted.
The chocobos near Martha’s Rest are spread out, meaning that it takes a bit longer to reach each group. While it’s easy enough to take out the groups, walking between them can slow you down.
Other enemies can get in the way, and while they may also reward you with AP, it won’t be as efficient.
You can also sell Black Blood, which drops when slaying chocobos, to earn extra gil on the side, making chocobos a great target for multitaskers.
Using the Bluebird method is best suited for early play. Progressing further in the game can affect the appearance of Bluebirds, so take advantage of the opportunity while it’s available.
Otherwise, you will need to find another method of collecting AP before the end of the game.
Story-Based Opportunities For AP
Throughout Final Fantasy 16, there are areas in the world that will benefit you most for AP gain. These come from areas with a high concentration of enemies that give a decent amount of AP in a short amount of time.
They are also easy to reset, allowing you to make quick work of your enemies and return shortly after to do it over again. These can be done as you progress through the story and complete side quests.
The world changes around you in-game, as illustrated by The Point Of No Return, so you’ll want to take advantage of these AP-abundant spots before you go too far.
Unlock The Free Cities Of Kanver
This is more of a mid-game option in Final Fantasy 16, as the quests to unlock this area come in the last third of the game.
You’ll want to equip the Wages of Warcraft item and the Ring of Timely Strikes to grant Clive a 20 percent boost in AP collection and execute complex combinations at the press of a button.
Taking a trip to the Free Cities of Kanver grants a unique and profitable opportunity to continually reset the enemies in the area to collect AP.
The first few groups of enemies will provide a decent amount of AP, which can be collected again by resetting the map.
There is no limit to how many times this can be done in a playthrough, so long as you do not progress forward with the quest. This is a unique and worthwhile opportunity to collect those much-needed AP points.
Late-Game Opportunities For Ability Points
If you’re already past the Free Cities of Kanver area and don’t have a recent save to use, there are still opportunities to collect AP before the end of the game.
One such opportunity lies near the Ravenwit Walls Obelisk. There, you can continually fight the hyenas that appear when you enter the area.
Remember to reset the map by fast-traveling elsewhere and then returning to the area. This ensures a steady stream of enemies to take down, providing you with AP to unlock more abilities.
How To Use The Arete Stone
Another great way to collect AP, especially if you’ve progressed through a good portion of the game, is to use the Arete stone. Using the stone, you can replay stages to collect missed items, redo battles, and gather AP. It can be done as many times as you like, with no limit.
When replaying stages with the Arete stone, you earn less AP than in the original stage. It is better overall to continually collect AP in the aforementioned areas before moving forward with the story.
Use this opportunity to try out new techniques and gather any items that might come in handy. It’s available in the Hideaway, and there are plenty of stages to retry and collect AP from.