Khalithar's mini guide to flying.

This is going to be a short post, I don't have the ability to get screenshots or collect specific locations right now, so this will just be a quick guide for those that haven't been able to go to ishgard yet which I will keep as a spoiler free as possible.


When you reach Ishgard you are eventually given two story quests to help a set of NPC's, this leads you to the first two zones you can do. After you clear the first two questing zones (Cloud Top and Western Coerthas Highlands) you get a quest where you have to do a somewhat annoying solo battle against some dudes. After you win, you get your black chocobo whistle and a Key Item called the Aether compass.

The Aether compass can be equipped to your hotbar and used as an item (note the compass is NOT consumed after use and can be used while mounted) in zones where you can fly. When you enter that zone the compass will point you to the closest aether current and it will give you the distance and direction of it but NOT it's location relative to your height, it could say the aether current is 5 yards away but it could be above or below you. There are 15 currents you must gather in a zone before you can fly. Ten of these currents are found using the compass, the other five can be found in either the main quest or the side quests. The quest reward screen will also specifically say if you can obtain a current from that quest.

Once you obtain those 15 currents merely summon your black chocobo and jump in to the air and you will be able to fly. Once you unlock flying in a zone it will give you an achievement that tells you specifically that you are able to fly inside of a zone. To determine how many currents you have left before you can fly, hit P, go to Main Commands, and scroll down, you'll see an icon that says "Aether Currents" that will show you how many Aether Currents are left. The icon itself looks like a whirlwind.

The Aether Currents themselves appear as glowing green mini-whirlwinds that say "Aether Current" above their head. Some of them require a bit of light platforming or in some cases you need to figure out how to get up to a rock, this is usually done by going around somewhere and finding a ramp up to the current.

Also note that the currents only apply to the zone you're in. Additionally, in some areas, the aether current screen that says how many you need will not pop up in the menu until you actually find one. There is a zone called "Churning Clouds," it did not appear in my Aether current menu until I went and found a current myself. The compass will also tell you if there are no more currents left in the zone you're in.