Final Fantasy XVI has taken the world by storm. In the first week alone, the title sold over 3 million copies – and the number keeps rising. People love the gameplay, music and story of Clive as he struggles to understand what’s happening to him throughout the game.
Cinematic-filled, fun and interactive, you’ll need to upgrade your gear and rock only the best weapons in Final Fantasy 16 if you want to have a chance of:
- Completing all of the hunts.
- Living through epic Eikon battles.
Once you go through the Titan fight (there’s still plenty left), you’ll realize just how epic of a weapon you need to be able to complete the game. We’re going to attempt to rank the top 10 best weapons in FFXVI.
P.S. If you want to get ready for an epic journey, you’ll need to stock up on PSN Gift Cards from OffGamers.
10 Best Weapons in Final Fantasy XVI Ranked
Final Fantasy allows you to pave your own path with weapons. You can head to the blacksmith, have a new sword made, or the vendor sells some swords, too. The swords that are most powerful often require crafting items from the Eikons (read all about Eikons) and you’ll need to go through the story to get a lot of these items.
You can swap weapons whenever you like, but upgrades have clear stat advantages that you can’t ignore.
Note: Weapons have both Attack and Stagger damage. The higher the number, the better.
With this information in mind, we’re going to rank the weapons from the worst of the 10 to the best.
1. Brightburn
Brightburn is a powerful sword with high attack and stagger, and it’s arguably better than Excalibur. It’s a sword that Blackthorne will be glad to craft for you if you do the following:
- Acquire Bahamut’s light shard.
- Obtain all of the necessary mats.
Like many of the weapons in the game, when you beat an Eikon, you’ll receive special mats that you can make into a weapon or some other gear. Bahamut will give you the main crafting material for the sword, but you’ll also need to have the following for Blackthorne:
- Grindstone
- Light shard
- 4 meteorite
Grindstone is another weapon that you’ll be able to craft after your fight with Titan.
Note: You cannot upgrade this sword after killing an Eikon.
The sword has 270 attack and stagger, so it’s slightly stronger than our next choice, but who isn’t curious about Excalibur?
2. Excalibur
Blacksmith’s Blues II is the follow-up to the Blacksmith’s Blues quest that you unlock when you play through the main quest, “Out of the Shadow.” Blackthorne is an iconic character in the game and a tad moody, but he is also the blacksmith who will help you craft powerful weapons in the game.
Similar to the original quest, Blackthorne is questioning his craft and you’ll need to find a way to get him out of his funk. You’ll need to head to Dalimil, where you’ll go through a quest that ends with you being rewarded with the Sundered Whetstone. You’ll take this mat back to Blackthorne and be given the design draft for the sword.
You’ll need the following items to craft this weapon:
- Bomb ember (you need to get this by completing the Bomb King mark)
- Grimalkin hide (you need to get this by completing the Grimalkin mark)
- Scarletite
- 300 Wyrrite
Excalibur is a powerful weapon and has an inscription that reminds you of King Arthur. The sword has 268 attack and stagger, making it a major upgrade at this point in the game.
3. Icebrand
Icebrand looks awesome and is a powerful sword worthy of Clive wielding it. The main reason this sword isn’t higher on the list is that you need to complete quite a few requirements before you can obtain it.
But if you’re having a blast in the game like I am, you won’t mind spending more time in-game to get this sword.
You’ll need to:
- Obtain Shiva’s Eikon (don’t worry, you’re not beating Jill to death)
- Complete the quest “Through the Maelstrom”
Once you meet these requirements, you’ll also need to bring a few materials to Blackthorne so that he can work his magic and craft the Icebrand. You’ll need the following materials:
- Ice shard
- Brightburn
- 6 meteorite
- 200 magicked ash
Icebrand may be hard to obtain, but it has 300 attack and stagger.
If you progress through the main quest, you’ll have the opportunity to make Icebrand. The same sword was in one of the early Final Fantasy games, but the new iteration looks far better than the pixelated sword of the past.
4. Runeblade
Runeblade is one of the game’s most powerful weapons and it’s not made by Blackthorne. Instead, you will find this sword at Charon’s shop, and you’ll only spend 4,000 Gil to get it. You can also craft the sword, but it takes quite a bit of crafting materials and makes more sense to purchase.
Players will want to save mats to upgrade the sword, including:
- Rune blade, sanguine insignia, 180 magicked ash and 180 wyrrite for the first upgrade to 285 attack and stagger.
- Rune blade +1, 6 meteorite and 120 magicked ash will upgrade the sword to 295 attack and stagger.
Icebrand is certainly a more powerful sword that you should use if you have it already. But you can get the Rune blade with just a little Gil, making it a much easier sword to obtain. Upgrades also make this sword even stronger and are relatively easy to obtain.
Rune blade’s base sword has 275 attack and stagger.
5. Masamune
Masamune is one of the easier weapons to get, and that certainly makes it one of the weapons that you won’t want to miss.
Why?
It’s a super powerful weapon that is found in a chest.
Simply:
- Head over to the Shadow Coast.
- Make your way east of Rikmal’s Roost.
And you’ll find it in a chest. You don’t need to fight anyone or go through a major quest to get the sword. However, you will need to have the following quest – “Footfalls in Ash.”
Masamune has 310 attack and stagger, which you’ll want to have because Odin is a powerful foe who you’ll be fighting shortly after opening the chest. If you pass the chest, you’ll still have the brawl with Odin, but your weapon is unlikely to be as strong as Masamune at this point in the game.
Wait: If you’re just starting your journey into Final Fantasy XVI, be sure to read through our Beginner’s Guide to FFXIV. We share a lot of great tips that will help you master gameplay and the game’s mechanics.
6. Everdark
Everdark is a sword that you’ll only be able to obtain after you finish off Odin. A lot of hardcore gamers love the fight and love the challenge that it poses. You’ll need to have Blackthorne craft the sword for you by bringing him quite a few mats:
- Ice brand
- Dark shared
- 8 meteorite
- 400 sharp fangs
You cannot upgrade Everdark, but you won’t need to – it’s a beast of a sword that has 315 attack and stagger.
7. Ragnarok
If you don’t mind going through multiple side quests, you’ll be able to obtain the Ragnarok weapon. This weapon does require you to make your way through the game’s main quest, but you’ll also need to help Blackthorne quite a bit by completing all of his side quests.
Your faithful blacksmith goes through a lot of ups and downs throughout Clive’s story, and if you’re willing to help him, you’ll receive diagrams to make strong weapons.
So, what quests do you need to complete:
- Blacksmith’s Blues
- Blacksmith’s Blues II
- Blacksmith’s Blues III
- Blacksmith’s Blues IV
You can only obtain the final quest for Blackthorne after you reach the following main quest – “Across the Narrow.” I don’t want to ruin the sword’s inscription for you, but be sure to look at it for yourself because it relates to Clive and the Dominants.
For all of your troubles and hard work, you’ll receive a sword with 325 attack and stagger.
But there is some bad news: you cannot upgrade Ragnarok. The sword is a nice addition to the game and pays tribute to the game’s Norse undertones, such as Odin.
8. Defender
Defender is one of the swords that are easiest to obtain because you can simply go to the shopkeeper and purchase it for 5,000 Gil. However, you won’t be able to buy it at your hideout from Charon. Instead, you need to go to Goetz’s shop when you have the quest “Streets of Madness.”
The quest is one of the main story quests, so you won’t miss it along the way.
We love this weapon because:
- It’s just 5,000 Gil.
- Upgrades for an additional 10 attack and swagger per upgrade.
You’ll need the following to upgrade this weapon:
- +1
- Behemoth shackle
- Fallen iron
- 40 Clutchmine
- 790 Wyrrite
- +2
- +1
- 8 meteorite
- 40 clutchmine
- 400 sharp fang
Fallen iron is found either in the Atlas hunt or from killing Iron giants. Otherwise, the mats aren’t too difficult to obtain.
When you purchase the Defender, you’ll be able to have Blackthorne upgrade it from 320 attack and stagger to 330 and 340.
9. Gotterdammerung
Gotterdammerung is pure power and is going to help you beat the game the first time around. You can play the game again after you beat it with NG+ and the weapons are even more powerful than they were originally.
With that said, Gotterdammerung is the strongest weapon for your first playthrough of FFXVI.
And you don’t have to worry about missing this sword. It’s a super easy sword to obtain if you have Ragnarok. Completing the following quests will be required:
- Blacksmith’s Blues
- Blacksmith’s Blues II
- Blacksmith’s Blues III
- Blacksmith’s Blues IV
You’ll also need the Ragnarok weapon to forge this sword, along with the following materials:
- 2 Darksteel
- 3 Orichalcum
- Primitive Battlehorn
Unfortunately, you’ll need to take down some of the monsters on the Hunt Board to be able to obtain the darksteel. You’ll need to kill:
- Prince of Death
- Usher to the Underworld
Orichalcum can be obtained for killing Atlas and completing the “Under New Management” questline. Multiple other hunts have this material, including Gorgimera, Svarog and the Demon King.
And how powerful is Gotterdammerung?
Gotterdammerung has 375 attack and stagger. If you reach this point and have Gotterdammerung, start preparing to beat the game for the first time around. You’re ready to go into the thrusts of battle with Ultima and will finish out the game’s story.
10. Ultima Weapon
Ultima is like hitting your foes with a truck, and it’s by far the most powerful weapon in the entire game.
How powerful?
It has 700 attack and stagger.
But it’s still not an easy weapon to obtain. You’ll need to craft the Ultima weapon, which requires you to have:
- Everdark (reforged)
- Gotterdammerung (reforged)
- Utterance of Creation
Utterance of Creation is given to you when you complete the main game and begin the New Game+ version. You’ll need to go through quite a bit of quests and hunts to make this weapon, but it’s going to put so much power into your hands that you’ll be blown away.
Final Thoughts
Final Fantasy XVI is going to go down as one of the best games of 2023 – if not in the past few years. The title is loads of fun and pushes the PS5 console to the limit with stunning gameplay and graphics.
If you want to slice through your enemies, be sure to obtain the top 10 best weapons in FFXVI.
The second playthrough is worth the effort if you want to experience the damage of the reforged weapons or want to test out the Ultima weapon. It’s also a lot of fun to go through the game again and notice little tidbits that you may have missed.
YouTube and Twitch streamers are also having a lot of fun showing players how to beat Eikons and manage the more difficult fights in the game.
