Unlock the Power of Flight in FFXIV

Discover the incredible convenience and speed of flying in FFXIV. Flying mounts provide the fastest means of transportation and are essential for accessing certain areas.

One such area is the Sea of Clouds, which is only accessible through flying. As the name suggests, this area is full of content that can only be unlocked once you have the ability to soar through the sky.

How to Unlock Flight in Final Fantasy XIV

If you want to experience the freedom of flight in FFXIV, you must first complete the Main Scenario Quest (MSQ) in A Realm Reborn. This will unlock the ability to fly in the base game. However, to access flying in the expansions, you’ll need to collect all the aether currents in each respective region. Remember, this process needs to be done separately for each area within each region.

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How to Fly in FFXIV

In order to fly in FFXIV, you’ll need to unlock flight for each specific area individually. However, to unlock the technical aspect of flying, you simply need to complete the MSQ for A Realm Reborn.

Having a mount is also crucial for flying, as the Warrior of Light is unable to fly without one. Fortunately, you only need to unlock flying once for all your mounts. To achieve this, you must complete the My Little Chocobo questline.

The questline begins with a blue quest that appears after joining a Grand Company in the MSQ. It is advisable to complete this quest as soon as possible, as having a mount significantly speeds up travel time, even on land. You can track the quest in the top left corner of the screen under MSQ. Clicking on it will guide you to the quest location.

Heavensward and Beyond

Unlocking flying in areas beyond the base game requires some effort on your part. It is not a passive process and must be actively pursued.

Collect Aether Currents

Aether currents are wisps that you need to attune to in order to unlock flying in each area beyond A Realm Reborn. Use your Aether Compass, located in your collections, to locate them. It is recommended to assign the compass to your hotbar so you can easily use it like an ability.

When you activate the compass, it will display a prompt on your screen indicating the distance and direction of the nearest aether current. While it may take some getting used to, after a few attempts, it becomes much simpler. The distance is measured in yalms, but you can simply start moving in the direction of the aether current.

Feel free to use the aether compass as often as needed, as there is no cooldown. You can use it every 100 yalms without any limitations. It always points towards the closest aether current, so if the distance changes significantly, it means you’re getting closer to a different one.

Quest Aether Currents

In addition to the aether currents scattered throughout each region, there are also quest aether currents that can be obtained by completing specific quests. These gold quests are found in the area where you are collecting aether currents and typically require a certain point in the MSQ to access. For comprehensive information on locating aether currents, be sure to check out our aether current guide.

Swimming with a Mount

If you want to swim with a mount, you must first have flying unlocked in that particular area. Without flying, mounts are unable to traverse bodies of water. However, once you do have flying, you can travel much faster underwater with a mount. While this may not be useful in most situations, there are exceptions. For example, having a flying mount in the Ruby Sea makes completing the Kojin beast tribe quest much easier.

Now that you know how to take to the skies in Final Fantasy XIV, why not share your least favorite area to travel through without a flying mount? Leave a comment below and let us know!