How To Start Final Fantasy XVI‘s The Rising Tide DLC

The second DLC pack for Final Fantasy 16, The Rising Tide, is officially playable around the world. Compared to its predecessor, Echoes of the Fallen, The Rising Tide promises a longer campaign and new Eikonic powers for Mr. Clive Rosfield to bring into battle. That said, if you’re still early in your journey across Valisthea, don’t expect to use Leviathan’s powers any time soon.

To cut to the chase, The Rising Tide has the same prerequisites as Echoes of the Fallen does. This means you’ll need to reach the main story quest Back To Their Origin, which is the final story quest in the game. Like a proper RPG, this will put the world into an endgame state that features side quests as far as the eye can see. Of all these available quests, you’ll need to complete Priceless to access the DLC.

Once you meet all these requirements, you can begin The Rising Tide by checking Clive’s Reading Table in The Hideaway.

If you can’t access The Rising Tide despite meeting all the requirements, double-check and make sure you’ve downloaded the DLC pack. If you’ve downloaded the DLC onto your system, you should see its corresponding logo on the main menu screen. Note that you don’t need to complete Echoes of the Fallen to access The Rising Tide

How to unlock the Priceless side quest in Final Fantasy 16 (if you haven’t already)

If you’re looking to unlock The Rising Tide ASAP, note that the Priceless side quest has its own set of prerequisites. To unlock it, you’ll need to complete the following side quests:

Cut from the Cloth

Phoenix, Heal Thyself

Where There’s a Will

Once you’ve completed these, the Priceless side quest will appear at the Reading Table in The Hideaway. You’ll know you’ve completed this quest if Jill appears on your save file as a party member.

How to unlock Kairos Gate

In addition to the new story campaign, The Rising Tide features a new game mode called Kairos Gate. In short, this is a kind of roguelike-y piece of optional content that pits Clive against several waves of enemies in succession. The further you venture in, the more boons and enhancements you can unlock to customize Clive’s stats and abilities.

That said, you can’t access Kairos Gate the second you start The Rising Tide. In fact, you’ll need to complete The Rising Tide and the entire main story quest before this becomes available. If you’ve been putting off the final boss until now, you’ll need to give him what for before you step into this battle arena.

Once you meet these prerequisites, you can access Kairos Gate by visiting the Arete Stone in The Hideaway. Good luck!