Final Fantasy FFXIV isn’t an open-world game. It’s broken up into different zones. So what you have to do is attune yourself to each zone to gain the ability to fly in them.
Where to Start?
It all starts with the main questline. It is given at level 50, so it’s very early on indeed in the life of heavens ward, and completion of it will grant you a black Chocobo which can fly in flying zones as well as the Aether compass.
Aether Compass
The Aether compass is significant because it’s the item that will allow you to find the Aether currents in each zone and is what we need to attune ourselves to gain the ability to fly.
Zone Attunements
There is a way to track how well you’re doing in the achievement of a zone. If you go to your main commands and scroll down, you’ll notice an Aether currents button that can be dragged onto your Hotbar should you wish. Click on it and see precisely how you’re doing. If you haven’t been in the zone, no information will be displayed at all. If you have been into an area and completed all the Aether attunements, then you’ll notice it comes up complete.
In the bottom left-hand corner, the sea of clouds, you’ll notice that it is a work in progress. And there’s a total of 15 attunements. 5 red that turns to yellow once you’ve found them and 10 black which turns to green when you’ve found them.
So what do the different colors represent?
The red ones, which turn into yellow once done, are storyline attunements. And can only be completed by either doing the main storyline or sub-quests in that zone. And the bottom one, the black ones which turn into green, are exploration only Aether currents. And you have to get out into the area, explore and try to find them.
Aether Compass Usage
And that’s precisely where the Aether compass comes into play. Assuming you moved to the sea of clouds, an area which you need to get yourself a attune to still. Go to your key items.
This is where you’ll find the Aether compass that you can drop down onto your Hotbar. When you click onto it, it will tell you where it feels the Aether current is. And it’s most likely in an undiscovered area. Don’t worry if you get yourself lost. The Aether compass is on a very short cooldown only-just a couple of seconds. Feel free to spam it as many times as you need to.
Finding the Aether Current
Once you’re on the exact location, you will see a swirling green arrow calling itself Aether current. Beware; of course, it could potentially be guarded by some pretty big monsters.
Go up and right-click onto it, and that is how you are attuned yourself to the Aether. And you’ll also notice that a crystal has been filled in the sea of clouds tab because you found it. Use the compass again; it will start to set you off in another direction to try and find another Aether current.
So what happens when all of the crystals have been filled up in those zones?
Well, you can fly. You have attuned yourself to all the Aether in the zone; you can immediately take off to the skies. Remember that black Chocobo whistle from the initial questline? That’s a flying mount, so you can jump onto it and immediately get up there and explore other areas of that zone which can only be reached via flying and not through ground exploration. And this can also open up potentially more quest opportunities for you. A quest reward on level 55 can switch out your mount with regularity.
But the essential aspect, have some fun. Explore these fantastic-looking zones in Heaven’s Ward and have a great time and experience.
