So you’re exploring in the Regalia and hanging out with your Chocobros in Final Fantasy 15, starting to rack up some levels and AP. But which skills will give you the most benefit early on? We’ve chosen a few of the Ascension nodes that have helped us most so far in our playthrough, loosely in order of priority, drawn from several (though not all) of the eight trees.
Techniques Tree
Regroup (8 AP, for Ignis)
Can’t emphasize this one enough: it’s incredibly useful and dirt cheap. You will probably use this in almost every boss battle or challenging hunt. For two tech bars, Ignis will rally the party around him, restoring HP and bringing any characters in the Danger (aka “death countdown”) status out of trouble. It’s great to have extra healing capabilities, especially in the early game when Gil and curative items are relatively scarce. Also, this skill works well for getting everyone in one place so you can use magic without hurting your allies.
Enhancement (18 AP, for Ignis)
Another must-have for your stodgy butler. This skill, best used with Wait Mode and the Libra scanning ability, allows Ignis to imbue Noctis’ weapon with whatever element your enemy is weak to. It’s a great way to make a dent in the HP of a big baddie fast by racking up those orange damage numbers. (BTW, you can toggle between Regroup and Enhancement as Ignis’ skills by pressing the menu button in battle; you’ll probably be doing so frequently.)
Recovery Tree
Hang In (12 AP, for Noctis)
You’ll be point warping out of the fray as Noctis, all day erryday. Why not make that HP restoration a bit faster? (Note: the Rapid Regen node for 10 AP is similar and also restores MP, but you’ll probably spend more time Point Warping than crouching for cover.)
First Aid (24 AP each for Ignis, Prompto and Gladio)
Great for early game when HP is low and even basic healing items, like Potions, feel expensive. This skill allows a character to restore 20 percent of their HP without using an item. Each character can only use the skill on themselves, so you’ll want to give the AP to Prompto first.
Combat Tree
You’ll want to invest in all of these abilities for Noctis evenly, but once you’ve done the entry-level skills for each branch, give Airslip (18 AP), Warp Factor (24 AP) and Ultralight Phase (32 AP) priority, in that order.
Exploration Tree
Get extra AP for stuff you’ll be doing all the time anyway; invest in Happy Camping (20 AP) and Road Running (32 AP) to pick up passive skill points. It’s not much, but it adds up when you’re exploring and doing sidequests for long stretches in the early sections of the game.
For the trees we didn’t mention specifically -- Stats, Armiger, Teamwork and Magic -- it’s not that these skills aren’t useful, but nothing jumps out as being essential straight away.
Which Ascension nodes do you think are important to have early in the game? Any key ones we missed? Let us know in the comments below!
Want more Final Fantasy 15 guides and tips?
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- Engaging main cast of characters
- Fun, fast-paced combat
- A massive, beautiful world to explore
- The Regalia!
- Continuous updates have addressed some shortcomings of the initial release
- Major aspects of the story feel rushed or absent, particularly toward the end of the game
- Stealth sequences feel out of place
