Summary of "The Evolution of Final Fantasy 15 Speedrunning"

The Evolution of Final Fantasy 15 Speedrunning

Storyline Overview

Final Fantasy 15’s main story follows Noctis, who must defeat Ardyn and stop the Star Scourge from plunging the world into darkness. The game is split into 14 chapters, progressing linearly through main quests. Noctis collects Royal Arms from fallen Lucian kings and fights deities to reclaim the city of Insomnia from Niflheim forces.

Gameplay & Speedrunning Highlights

The game features an open but segmented world, which initially made speedruns lengthy—early runs took over 7 hours. Early speedruns closely resembled casual playthroughs, but over more than eight years, major skips and glitches revolutionized the category.

Key movement techniques include:

Driving the Regalia (car) for fast travel.
Warp striking to quickly cover distances, limited by MP.
Using items like ethers and magitech boosters to restore or conserve MP.
Repeated jumping to increase movement speed.

Combat speed involves weapon swapping, damage boosting skills, critical hits, and stat-boosting foods. Fast travel is limited and only useful for small portions of the run.

Major Speedrun Milestones & Strategies

2016–2018

Runs improved from over 7 hours to about 4 hours through route optimizations and minor skips.
The community split the any% category into two:
- Ring of Lucy (RNG-heavy ring-based instant kills)
- No-ring categories.

2018–2019

Glitch hunters like Fern and AI discovered game-breaking skips:

Chapter 10 skip to fight Malboro early.
Skipping the Quac Cotal fight.
The Active Menu Glitch (AMG), allowing menu manipulation while playing.
Zero Camera Bug (ZCB), letting runners go out of bounds by manipulating camera mode.

2021

Western runner The Divine Winds (DWIs) and AI pushed times drastically using AMG and ZCB, achieving runs under 3.5 hours.

AMG setup improvements included:

Using secondary save files and glitches to access chocobos and Regalia Type D early.
Vehicle duplication glitches.
Costumes and menu tricks to bypass safety checks and boss fight phases.
Using the magitech suit to tank damage.

Boss fight optimizations:

Skipping phase two of the final boss fight by going out of bounds and completing side quests.
Preventing inventory wipes during the Ardyn fight to speed up phases.

2022–2023

Further route optimizations and faster load times with SSDs and 120 FPS gameplay.
Skipping the trip to Lalum for attack-boosting food, opting for a faster but weaker alternative.
New glitches like keeping Dead Eye (a boss) stuck on a cliff to avoid fight time.

Late 2023 – 2024

Weapon swap glitch discovered, allowing runners to equip powerful, otherwise inaccessible weapons (e.g., Pain of the Vortex from FF14 collaboration).
Infinite warp strikes through menu refreshes, removing MP constraints.
Chocobo dash glitch for faster stamina recovery.
New AMG methods removing the need for Regalia in setups.
Single-segment runs under 1 hour became common.

2025

Japanese runner Rio set a world record of 39:05 in the any% category.
Real and Kos pushed times even further, with Real achieving a 30:49 run on PS5.
Continuous discovery of new glitches and routing improvements keeps the category evolving.
The current human limit remains unknown, with frequent record-breaking runs.

Key Tips & Strategies

Master the Active Menu Glitch (AMG) and Zero Camera Bug (ZCB) for major skips.
Efficiently use warp strikes balanced with MP management (using items or infinite warp glitch).
Exploit out-of-bounds areas to skip large chunks of the game.
Utilize boss fight glitches to skip phases or complete fights faster.
Optimize routes to avoid unnecessary detours (e.g., choosing faster food buffs).
Running on SSD and higher FPS settings significantly improves load times and smoothness.
Constantly adapt to new glitches and community discoveries.

Featured Gamers & Sources

Early runners: Rudy, Cry Cleon, Haw Snow, Barbados, The Oot
Japanese runners: Ramaru, Kumata, ARG, Chitos, Real, Rio
Western runners: The Divine Winds (DWIs), AI, Fern, Yamota, Kos, Tito, Kio’s Little Monster
Glitch hunters and community contributors: Fern, AI, DWIs
Video creator: Dr Swan

This summary captures the evolution of Final Fantasy 15 any% speedrunning, highlighting key glitches, route optimizations, and the community’s collaborative efforts over nearly a decade.