Leveling up can only take you so far in Final Fantasy XVI. In fact, I often just use it as an excuse to replenish my health bar while I’m on the field. If you want to land stronger attacks and finish battles quickly, the best way to do so is to get a good weapon. Depending on how far you are into the story, these are the best weapons to get in FF16.
FF16 Best Weapons for every part of the story
Stormcry
Stormcry is a sword you can craft after defeating Garuda and obtaining a Wind Shard. At 135 attack and stagger power, it outclasses most swords at that point in the game unless you’ve grinded enough material for a Gaia Blade +1 (150). Stormcry will automatically be replaced with a better sword by the main story eventually.
Flametongue
Flametongue is the best early-game weapon to get at 180 power. It’s crafted using a Flame Shard, which is dropped by the Eikon you fight during your trip to Phoenix Gate. Later, you’ll also acquire a Lightning Shard to craft Levinbolt, which is only slightly more powerful than Flametongue.
Grindstone
If you haven’t crafted Levinbolt at this point, do so. This is because Grindstone requires it and an Earth Shard. At 225 power, Grindstone is the mid-game sword to have.
Excalibur
Excalibur is a special and, most importantly, missable sword you can craft in FF16. Its recipe is the reward for clearing the Blacksmith's Blue II side quest. You can take accept the quest in your missives at some point in the game. Occasionally, there will be quests there, so be sure you check your room often. It has 268 attack and will power.
A few chapters later, you’ll be able to craft Gotterdammerung, and no other weapons will matter after that.
Gotterdammerung
Once you’re far enough to do the Blacksmith’s Blues sidequest chain, you can slowly progress on the quest that will net you Gotterdammerung, its recipe, and materials. Gotterdammerung is the best weapon you can get in the base game on your first run at 375 attack and will power. Blacksmith’s Blues has four parts (I, II, III, and IV) and starts with the hunt for Griffin.
Gotterdammerung requires the Ragnarok you get from Blacksmith’s Blues, two Darksteels, three Orichalcums from S-Rank hunts, and one Primitive Battlehorn. You can get most of them from defeating Marks.
Ultima Weapon
Once you’ve completed Final Fantasy 16 for the first time, you can now play the game again in Final Fantasy mode (or the game’s Hard mode). The two materials you need for Ultima will be available as you progress through FF mode. The third material, Ragnarok, you can get by completing Blacksmith’s Blues during this run again.
For more help with Final Fantasy XVI, take a look at How to get a Chocobo in Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 16 Arcade Mode Explained here at Pro Game Guides.
Bianca has over three years of experience in gaming journalism, specializing in anything remotely turn-based and strategic, like Pokémon, Final Fantasy, and Honkai: Star Rail. She's a huge fan of Square Enix, RPGs, party games, and visual novels, but will play anything with a banger OST. She's a proud early bird.