The first Main Scenario Quest, “Sunrise, Sunset,” is now complete. It’s time to move on to your first actual mission in the town of Stillwind in Rosaria as part of a new quest called “Lost in the Fog”. Sir Wade and Sir Tyler will join Clive as he travels through this section of the map. This first area is one of many linear locations you will visit throughout the game.

A dialogue box will provide a brief explanation of how the “Timely Accessories” work. Even though you probably selected the “Action Mode” gameplay option, you will still have access to these special accessories if you’re having trouble with any specific component of the game.

For those interested in playing through the game without assistance, i.e., at the “normal difficulty” level, you can ignore all of the accessories labeled “Ring of Timely __________”. But if you’d like to learn more about how they work, check out the “Gameplay Modes” page in the Tips and Tricks section:

Walk forward through the swamp on your way towards the old village of Stillwind. You will come across a Glimmer that contains 2 measly Gil. At this point, it’s worth adding a reminder that, while some of the Glimmer spots hold Potions and High Potions to help you refill your inventory, many others contain almost nothing, like this first one on the way to Stillwind.

Continue following the path under the fallen tree trunk. A short cutscene will play as Clive, Wade, and Tyler attempt to sneak up on a group of Goblin Muggers. Before the battle begins, you will get a short explanation of how the Magic Burst combo works (by pressing in between sword swings). The combo timing will take some getting used to, but it’s something worth practicing, especially in these early, easier areas of the game.

After the battle has concluded, you will be awarded with both Experience Points and Ability Points, so it’s worth spending a bit of time discussing what you should be focusing on when it comes to using your Ability Points specifically. Open up the menu screen and navigate to the “Abilities” tab.

There are two different types of Abilities on this page—Eikon abilities, at the top, which have the “Phoenix” label on them, and Clive’s regular abilities in the center of the page. You can use your Ability Points to learn any of the new Abilities at the bottom of the circle, or you can use them to upgrade (“Master”) the abilities you already have. Press the button while hovering over an ability to see what happens when you Master an ability.

You don’t need to go too deep into the explanations at this early stage of the game, but if you want to learn more about how the Ability upgrading process works, check out the Abilities section of the guide:

There are two routes you can go when it comes to spending your points—a recommended route and an alternative route. The recommended route is to unlock all of Clive’s abilities one by one, as nearly all of them come in handy at various points during a playthrough. Magic Burst has already been unlocked, but consider unlocking the following abilities next:

• Charged Magic
• Burning Blade
• Downthrust
• Lunge
• Swift Recovery
• Stomp

Alternatively, you can start saving up some of your ability points to “Master” some of your more commonly used abilities. For example, mastering the Magic Burst or Precision Dodge abilities extends their trigger window, meaning it’s much easier to get a combo going or execute a precision dodge. It takes a lot of points to master these abilities, anywhere from 300 to 500, so your best bet is to start by unlocking the other abilities Clive can access.

Continue forward by ducking under the broken wooden gate to continue following the path. There’s another Glimmer on the right side of the trail inside a broken-down wooden structure. You can access it by squeezing through two of the boards, and you will receive a Strength Tonic for your efforts.

Stillwind

Head into the town proper, and you’ll face off against another group of Goblin Muggers. During this battle, you will get a brief explanation about how loot is picked up after the battle. Loot will drop into glowing, glittery icons on the ground that are automatically retrieved (they just float over to you) after the battle has concluded. In addition to loot, you will sometimes receive “Spoils” at the end of other battles, which can be seen on the “Spoils” screen.

Enter the wooden structure on the left side of the screen to find another glimmer that contains a Potion. It is at this point in the game that it may be worthwhile to spend some time explaining how healing works. In short, Potions and High Potions are your primary methods of recovering HP throughout your travels through the world of Final Fantasy XVI. There are no Cure, Cura, or Curaga spells like you may be used to from other titles (with one minor exception).

You can only hold a maximum of 4 Potions and 3 High Potions at this stage of the game, so any consumables you pick up after that will automatically be used as soon as Clive touches them and will refill his health if it is low. There are a few more nuances that are not too important to know just yet, but if you want to read up more about how healing works in this game, check out the “Healing” page in the Tips and Tricks section:

Head over to the large, wooden, walled-off pathway and press the button to have Clive break through it. On the other side is another glimmer on top of a busted-up cart that contains a Potion. Inside the house on the left, at the top of the stairs, is a Strength Tonic. You can jump out of the window on the second level to exit the house quickly.

Climb the ladder on the opposite side of this area and drop down into the next section of the town to initiate another battle. One of your compatriots will mention that some of the enemies are “spell-slingers”, and in this case, it’s the Goblin Weaver standing on top of the rocks in the center of the room. You’ll see it start casting a blue, glowing spell shortly after the battle begins.

A good habit to get into is to target the spellcasters first. Not only are they typically the weakest of any group of enemies you face, but they sometimes cast healing spells on other mobs, and it’s difficult to dodge their spellcasts from a distance. Another spellcaster will join the battle partway through as well.

There is a doorway into one of the wooden structures, which is blocked by some wooden planks that Clive can knock down. Inside is a glimmer that contains a Potion. Use the button on the blanks blocking the bridge and head across to find another glimmer with another Potion. Jump across the bridge to initiate your first boss battle.

You’ll receive the Hard Leather Armlets as a reward for defeating Gigas. Open the “Gear & Eikons” menu and equip them in Clive’s open vambraces slot. The game will remind you to do this at the end of the battle, and it will also remind you to spend some of your Ability Points if you haven’t done so already.

Go into the wooden structure towards the glimmer. This one contains a High Potion while the next one, just a bit further up, contains a Potion. Keep chasing the Goblin with the horn along the trail, but before you get too far ahead, consider saving your game at this point because there is another boss battle coming up. This one isn’t too much harder than the previous boss fight, but the attacks are a bit more difficult to dodge, and this will allow you to restart if you want to give it another attempt.

Keep following the Goblin for another short cutscene before the battle begins.

Select Phoenix Gate from the map once you’re back in control to kick off a few more cutscenes. This concludes the Lost in a Fog Main Scenario Quest.