How to access the Thousand Tomes in Final Fantasy XVI (FF16)

Medieval Wikipedia

Final Fantasy XVI, like pretty much any other mainline game in the series, has a ton of information to parse through. Whether that’s places to visit, characters you meet, storylines, or items. It’s easy to get confused or forget important details, especially in such a long game.

Thankfully, the developers at Square Enix have covered this by adding the Thousand Tomes to the game. The tomes provide you with a handy way of looking up any information you may want to learn or remember, kind of like a built-in Wikipedia for the game. Here’s everything you need to know to locate and view the Thousand Tomes.

How to find and access the Thousand Tomes in Final Fantasy XVI

The Thousand Tomes will be available to players a few hours into the game. If you played the demo, it’s unlocked around an hour from where you pick back up. To access the Thousand Tomes, you will need to have progressed far enough into the story to have met Cid and unlocked the hideaway.

The Thousand Tomes will become available after reaching the hideaway and progressing through some mini-side quests. First, you’ll talk to Goetz and visit the Blacksmith to upgrade your armor, then you will help some wounded people by fetching the healer Tarja. After completing these two mini-quests, the hideaway will open up, and you’ll be able to access the Thousand Tomes, along with a few other locations around the base.

To find the Thousand Tomes, head to the Fat Chocobo pub. This is the location where you went to meet with Cid after first arriving at the hideaway. There are two staircases in the Fat Chocobo, you need to head up the one to the right of the entrance. Here, you’ll see the Wizened Man sitting alone at a table. See the screenshot above for his location.

Speak to the man, and he will tell you how he enjoys collecting stories and passing them on. When you are through the introductory conversation, you will be able to talk to him at any time to access the Thousand Tomes.

Each time you talk to Harpocrates and view the tomes, your progress will be updated, and any new characters, places, or animals that you’ve come across will be added to the tomes.

You can then come back to Harpocrates in the hideaway at any time to find out more information on what you’ve played so far.