You can’t have a Final Fantasy without Chocobos, and there are plenty of the feathery beasts wandering around in Final Fantasy XVI, but can you actually ride them? The answer is yes, although the game does make you wait a bit for the privilege. While you can’t hop on a Chocobo right away, you can unlock the ability around midway through FF16, at which point, you can call up your feathery mount whenever you want. Here’s how to unlock Chocobo riding…
Warning: This article contains minor spoilers for a mid-game Final Fantasy XVI sidequest.
The ability to unlock Chocobo riding becomes available around halfway through Final Fantasy XVI’s campaign after completing “The Crystal’s Curse” mission, resulting in a major change in the game’s world.
1. Warp to the obelisk near the village of Martha’s Rest in Rosaria.
2. Talk to the guy just south of town and accept the quest “The White-Winged Wonder.” He’ll ask you to look for a mysterious heroic Chocobo the villagers have named “Whiteheart.”
3. Continue south along the bridge into town, then head a bit west. You’ll find a telltale white feather, then your quest marker will be updated.
4. Head further south into a marshy area. You’ll find a group of bandits here, led by a large lvl 24 club-wielding Huntsman. They’re planning to take their frustrations out on the oddly-familiar-looking Whiteheart and her Chocobo crew. Needless to say, these guys need to pay for their Chocobo-harassing ways. Take them out.
5. It turns out “Whiteheart” was your childhood Chocobo Ambrosia! Reunited at last!
Now that you and Ambrosia are a team again, you can summon her whenever you want in open fields. Whatever companions you have with you will also ride Chocobos, so don’t worry about leaving any party members behind. Ambrosia has an unlimited dash ability (No stamina bar!) and can even drift if you want to take a tight corner. Once you’ve unlocked Chocobo riding, you can outrun pretty much any enemy you encounter in the field, making non-boss encounters largely optional.
Final Fantasy XVI is out now on PS5. You can check out Wccftech’s other Final Fantasy XVI guides here.
