Level Level , also known as LV and Lv . , is the measure of how far a character has progressed in their personal growth potential . Gaining levels is the way for the player characters to advance throughout most of the " Final Fantasy " games . The characters advance in levels by gaining Experience Points . Both enemies and player characters have a level , but most times the opponents ' level is fixed . Gaining a level is called a " Level Up " . Gaining levels may augment stats , unlock new magic and skills , and enable the use of new items . The party ' s level may also influence the enemy ' s stats . The typical highest level is 99 for players , but 100 + for boss es and enemies . In " Final Fantasy VIII " the limit for player characters goes up to 100 , but it can also be as low as 41 in " Final Fantasy Mystic Quest " . It is considered a challenge to attempt a " No Leveling Up Game " , whereupon the player tries to complete the game without the player characters having gained a single level . Levels are also widely used to measure an enemy ' s strength in the series , and some games allow enemies to level up in the middle of battle . Appearances . " Final Fantasy " . The level system is the prototype used in many future installments . The maximum level is 50 . Character class dictates the stat growth gained from level ups . In Final Fantasy Origins and later versions , the level cap is 99 . The amount of experience required to level up is also capped , at 29 , 000 . Characters ' levels were originally meant to determine the success rate of fleeing from battles , but in the NES version this is glitched . " Final Fantasy II " . " Final Fantasy II " is unique in the series for not utilizing experience - based levels ; each character develops depending on what they do during battle , e . g . , characters who use a particular weapon become adept at wielding a weapon of that type , as well as gaining in physical strength ; characters who frequently cast a particular magic learn more potent versions of that spell , as well as gain Magic Power . HP and MP , similarly , increase depending on need : a character who ends a battle with little remaining health might earn an increase in maximum hit points . The system is associated with numerous issues , such as that it encourages players to hit their own characters to finish battles in low health . The target - cancel bug also lets the player level up weapons and spells by repeatedly cancelling actions . " Final Fantasy III " . The level up system is based on the first game ' s system , though being more refined . Also differently from the first game , the characters can use different jobs and gain separate levels by acquiring Job Points and stat growth within those jobs . The max level is for each jobs is 99 . " Final Fantasy IV " . " Final Fantasy IV " employs a traditional level up system where characters level up by gaining EXP from battles , which boosts their stats along a predetermined path ; physical characters will earn more strength and HP when leveling , and magic - users will gain more magic power and MP . The characters learn new skills as they gain higher levels . However , after Level 70 the stat gains characters earn from leveling up become somewhat random , with eight different options the game randomly chooses from , and characters can lose stats , though in general they will have higher stats at Level 99 than Level 70 . " Final Fantasy IV - Interlude - " . Level returns in the sequel to " Final Fantasy IV " , and works the same way as it did in that game . The same system used in the game ' s predecessors returns , though stat gains are no longer random after level 70 , but level caps are in place depending on the chapter . The level caps ( for at least the Wii version ) are as follows : The exceptions to the information above are for generic characters ( Black Mage , White Mage , Monk , etc . ) who cap at level 20 . In the " " version , Golbez ' s level in the Lunarians Tale is capped at 45 , and Fusoya ' s is capped at 40 . " Final Fantasy V " . The job system returns , this time separate from the character levels : characters and jobs have their own levels , e . g . a character can be on level 38 , but his job may be on level 5 . Characters boost their base stats by leveling up , and gain new abilities as their job levels up . Characters level up by gaining EXP from battles , and jobs level up when the characters gain ABP while using said job . The maximum level is 99 . The EXP needed for max level is 9 , 696 , 668 . There are various ways to temporarily change level in battle , such as the Mix skill , Dragon Power , which raises a character ' s level by 20 , and the song Hero ' s Rime that continually boosts the party ' s levels while the Bard is singing . In the mobile and Steam versions the player earns achievements by mastering jobs and leveling up characters . " Final Fantasy VI " . " Final Fantasy VI " has a traditional leveling up system , where characters gain EXP from battles . Terra and Celes gain new magic when reaching certain level thresholds , Sabin learns new Blitzes , and Cyan learns new Bushido skills . The characters can equip magicite to boost their stats while leveling up ; without magicite , the party only earns HP and MP from level ups . When a character joins the party , their level is calculated based on the average level of the current party members . The level for each character is recalculated at certain points . The new character ' s level equals the average of all current member ' s level rounded down . If a character rejoins in the World of Ruin , the new level will never be lower than their old level . If a character is joining for the first time , a value is added to the average party level to determine their new level . The " Advance " version has a level reset glitch that lets the player reset the characters ' levels . " Final Fantasy VII " . Unlike in most games , characters will also gain EXP to level up from boss battles . In the final battles Bizarro and Safer∙Sephiroth have more HP if more members of the player party are on level 99 . During Battle Square battles certain handicaps can temporarily lower the player ' s level , and the effect stacks . Apart from the player characters , Materia can also be leveled up by gaining AP from battles ; this unlocks new abilities and births new Materia when a Materia reaches its maximum level . Cloud will always level up from level 6 to level 7 in the first battle ; this may be one of the many subtle allusions to the number 7 used throughout the game . The playable characters require slightly different amount of EXP to reach level 99 . Aeris requires the most EXP for level 99 : 2 , 484 , 643 . Leveling a character to level 99 gains the Top Level achievement in the PC version re - release . Doing so in the PlayStation 4 version earns the Liege of Leveling trophy . " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " . Zack gains levels through the Digital Mind Wave reel : as the reel rolls to 777 , Zack will level up , boosting his stats . The maximum level is 99 . It appears random , but in fact , isn ' t ; the game has a hidden value that works the same way as gaining experience points in the rest of the series , and the reel will gain a chance to spin to 777 once Zack has killed enough enemies to enable it . Zack can also level up his Materia to a max level of 5 , at which point the Materia become mastered . " Final Fantasy VIII " . " Final Fantasy VIII " is the first game in the series where the maximum level for character and enemy growth is 100 instead of 99 . The game is different in many other aspects as well : instead of the EXP required for a level up gradually growing , the requirement is set at the fixed value of 1000 EXP for a level up , but the amount of EXP enemies give after battle varies , depending on their level in comparison to the player party ' s . As the junction system functions separate from the leveling system , a viable style of play can include keeping the party ( and thus monsters ) low level . Character levels . The player ' s level affects how far they can progress in the SeeD rank tests that can be undertaken in the menu ; the player cannot take a test that is of higher grade than Squall ' s current level . Squall always starts at level 7 with his EXP bar half - way filled , similar to how Cloud always levels up in his first battle . Squall ' s first level up being from level 7 to level 8 may thus be an allusion to the number 8 , " Final Fantasy VIII " being the eighth installment in the series . Finishing the game with Squall on level 7 earns the player the achievement Contrived Finish in the Steam version . Getting a character to level 100 earns the achievement Top level . Characters who join the party start with a set level . In the PlayStation demo , the player characters cannot level up at all . Enemy levels . The enemies ' level is normally not fixed , and depends on the active party members ' current levels , according to the following formula : Normal enemies will never have levels " between " the two values given by the formula ; however , bosses have level caps , which are used to limit their levels if the value resulting from the formula is too high . In certain locations enemies ' levels are subject to specific conditions : The LV Down and LV Up abilities learned by Tonberry let the player manipulate the enemies ' levels and thus affect which spells can be drawn , what items they will drop , and how much EXP they give . Bosses are immune . Guardian Force levels . Guardian Force s also gain levels , and certain Guardian Force abilities cannot be used until said Guardian Force has reached level 100 . Guardian Forces share the EXP the player characters earn from battles , but it is distributed evenly between the GFs the character has junctioned . Different GFs require a varying amount of EXP for a level up ; e . g . Siren requires only 200 EXP for a level up , whereas Eden requires the full 1000 . Boko ' s level . Upon winning a battle in " Chocobo World " , Boko receives a magic stone which is randomly placed on a tic - tac - toe - style board . If three stones line up in a vertical , horizontal , or diagonal row , Boko gains a level of experience , which increases his hit point count in " Chocobo World " and his strength when summoned in " Final Fantasy VIII " . If Boko is leveled up to level 100 in the Steam version , the player earns the trophy Top Level Boko . " Final Fantasy IX " . " Final Fantasy IX " uses a traditional level up system . Leveling up boosts the party ' s stats and the number of Magic Stones used to equip support abilities . As bosses do not give EXP , it is possible to attempt a no leveling up challenge and finish the game at level 1 . Joining party members ' levels are determined by the previous party members ' levels . Zidane , Vivi , Dagger and Steiner are the characters the player starts with , but when another party member joins and the player party is at a higher level than LV1 , the joining party members level up to match the rest of the party . Joining party members will not gain any level up bonuses for the number of Magic Stones , and for that reason , if the player levels up a lot early , party members who join later will miss out . If the player wants maximum Magic Stones for all party members , they must stay on level 1 till Amarant joins . The maximum amount of EXP required to level up to 99 is 6 , 633 , 167 but the maximum that can be displayed in the menu is 9 , 999 , 999 ; the following formula is used in game to achieve this : formula _ 4 " Final Fantasy X " . Characters and enemies don ' t have specific levels and their strength is measured in stats only , however , gaining AP from battles advances the characters through the Sphere Grid through Sphere Level , abbreviated as " S . Lv " . The AP required for gaining sphere levels increases the further a character has progressed through the grid , up to a maximum of 22 , 000 . " Final Fantasy X - 2 " . The traditional leveling up system returns , with characters gaining levels based on the EXP they earn in battles . Levels will not carry over when using the game ' s New Game Plus feature . The maximum level is 99 . The character ' s level determines their stats in their currently equipped dressphere , apart from the special dresspheres , whose stats are also affected by the number of nodes the character activated to change into it . Initial levels of recruitable allies in the " International " and " HD Remaster " versions depend on the average level of the three leading girls . Even if the girls all have the same EXP totals they progress at different rates . Paine is a little faster than Rikku and Yuna tends to lag behind . " Final Fantasy XI " . " Final Fantasy XI " deviates from the traditional level - up system by having levels tied to each job class , rather than the character . Each class receives their own experience tally , and can be individually leveled up to the maximum level of 99 . At the release of " Final Fantasy XI " , the level cap was 50 , and was raised five times in intervals of 5 after the release of the first expansion , " " , up till 75 where the level cap remained for nearly seven years . When " " was released in 2010 , the level cap was progressively raised again at intervals of 5 to hit the final cap of 99 in December 2011 . " Final Fantasy XI " also employs a level system for combat and crafting skills that is similar to the system used in " Final Fantasy II " . Repeated attempts at crafting and uses of a combat skill have a chance at increasing the proficiency of that skill . To prevent exploitation , such attempts must be performed with crafting recipes and enemies of a certain range relative to one ' s current skill or job level . " Final Fantasy XII " . " Final Fantasy XII " employs a more traditional level up system , with characters progressing through levels by gaining EXP from defeated enemies . The " International Zodiac Job System " version has a couple of New Game Plus features that allow the player to attempt a new playthrough with either all characters starting on level 90 , or all characters on level 1 , while being unable to gain levels . The exact equation describing EXP and level is : The player starts the game as Vaan , but any party members who join him have their starting level determined by the levels of the characters in the current party . E . g . , when Balthier and Fran join Vaan in Royal Palace of Rabanastre , their level is Vaan ' s level + 1 . The enemy ability , Growing Threat , doubles the subject ' s level . Unlike " Final Fantasy XII " , the character ' s starting level is not based on Vaan ' s or the rest of the party , but is fixed . If the character leveled up more than the fixed level when rejoining , their level is retained . For example , if Penelo leaves the at level 3 , when she rejoins later , she ' ll be at level 6 or 7 . However , if she leveled up more than level 6 or 7 ( for say , level 12 ) she ' ll rejoin the party at level 12 . The player characters level up by gaining EXP from battles . When they level up they learn new abilities and their stats are increased . If the player completes all missions , the enemies in the final boss battle will be on level 99 . In conjunction with Monster Melee and Summoning Melees , all enemies ' levels are tied up by the total average of the party ' s level , so the party can level up by fighting any type of enemy , with a fair amount of EXP gained . " Final Fantasy XIII " . The characters ' roles gain levels by advancing through the tiers in the Crystarium , meaning that it is the character ' s " role " or " job " that gains level , not the character itself . The level gain is capped , and new tiers in the Crystarium are opened by progressing through the storyline . Role levels make the role more powerful when the character is using it and grant more powerful role bonuses . More traditional leveling system is seen in the characters ' weapons and accessories , whose stats the player can enhance by giving them EXP through the various components gained from battles and bought from the Retail Network . Mechanical components give more EXP , but organic components add a multiplier to the equipment pieces ' EXP intake , giving the chance to as much as triple the received EXP . Every weapon and accessory has its own growth potential and maximum level . After a piece of equipment has reached its maximum level , it is often possible to use a catalyst component to transform it into a new item , usually a more powerful version of the original , at the cost of the new item starting back at its base with no EXP . The enemies have fixed levels , but unlike in other games in the series , it is not an indication of the enemy ' s strength , and the levels vary widely . The only things the enemy ' s level determine are whether the enemy is immune to or not ( enemies above level 49 are immune ) and the rate of TP recovery after battle . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . Paradigm roles gain levels , but now each role can level up all the way to level 99 . At certain milestones the Crystarium expands and allows for further customization of a character or a Paradigm Pack monster . Levels are gained by expending CP , which Serah and Noel gain by winning battles . Monster allies do not gain CP , and must be given items to level them up , and the items ' attributes define the quality of the stat boosts . While Serah and Noel can reach level 99 in all their roles , the monsters have only one role , and depending on the monster , their level may be capped at lower than 99 . " Requiem of the Goddess " . In a downloadable content scenario , " Another Beginning - " , Lightning returns as a playable character . Her leveling system returns to its roots as when a certain amount of Experience Points are acquired she levels up . Crystarium Points are not gained from battles , instead , Lightning must complete , which at most times raise her maximum HP , Strength , and Magic , but at times ATB , Item Limit , and EP are raised as well . Abilities can gain levels by synthesizing the same ones at magic shops . Abilities locked on cannot gain levels . " Final Fantasy XIV " . A character ' s progress was originally measured in two ways : physical levels representing one ' s actual physical development , with class ranks measuring how adept one is with various arms and tools . This system was later changed to something similar to " Final Fantasy XI " , each class having its own level tied to it and no " global " character level . " Final Fantasy XV " . Party members obtain EXP from felled monsters , but cannot use it to level up unless they rest . By setting up a camp site at a safe location the player can cook food from ingredients they obtain from shops and monsters for buffs , and to apply the EXP earned to level up the party . If the party stays at a caravan they cannot cook , but receive EXP at an expedited rate . Forgoing resting allows for low level challenge playthroughs . The system calls back to the early " Final Fantasy " series that had the use of Cottage s and Tent s in a larger role . The party ' s level cap at launch was 99 , but this was increased to 120 in version 1 . 05 . The Nixperience Band accessory can be used to limit how much experience is gained by the party , so that players can choose to set their own caps and complete low - level runs of the game . " Final Fantasy Type - 0 " . Characters have levels that determine their base stats and level up by gaining EXP from battles . The maximum is 99 . The enemies on the Arena have their levels depend on the chosen player character . The game ' s difficulty setting determines enemy levels . In the HD remake players can choose between Cadet ( easy ) , Officer ( normal ) , and Agito ( hard , enemies + LV30 ) . The Finis difficulty level ( very hard , enemies + LV50 ) is unlocked after completing the game once . The player first chooses the difficulty level at the title screen , and the difficulty can also be changed mid - playthrough , albeit not mid - mission . Levels carry to New Game Plus playthroughs . " Final Fantasy Tactics " . Lv . stands for Level . As each human character takes action in battle , they gain experience , which will increase their overall level . Characters also gain Job Points ( JP ) , which allow them to level up within a job until they have mastered it . The character ' s level is determined with an experience system where every 100 experience grants a level up . Each successful action grants EXP based on the target ' s level . If the target is the same level as the user , 10 EXP is granted . For each level difference 1 EXP is added or removed . For example , if a level 50 character successfully attacked a level 60 character , they would gain 20 EXP . The stat boosts for leveling up depend on what job the player is when they level up . The maximum level is 99 . The abilities Accrue EXP and EXP Boost can be equipped to gain more EXP . The job level is determined with a JP ( Job Points ) system . JP is gained the same way as experience , with successful actions , but instead of trying to gain 100 JP to level a job up , it depends on the specific job , and leveling up takes more JP at each level . The maximum for each job is 8 . The abilities Accrue JP and JP Boost can be equipped to gain more JP . As a character gains more experience in various jobs , they gain access to other , more advanced or specialized jobs . Some jobs , like Arithmetician and Mime , require invested time and experience in several jobs , and require mastery of others to be truly effective . Once learned , skills and job - specific commands can be used even after a character switches jobs , though a penalty may be applied . " Final Fantasy Tactics Advance " . Unlike " Final Fantasy Tactics " , the level system in " Final Fantasy Tactics Advance " is more simple as it doesn ' t have Job Level , and leveling up only raises the character ' s own level and stats . Similar with " Final Fantasy Tactics " , character ' s level is determined with an experience system where after exceeding 100 experience , the character will level up . Each successful action grants EXP based on the target ' s level . If the target is the same level as the user , 10 EXP is granted . For each level difference 2 EXP is added or removed . For example , if a level 20 character successfully attacked a level 30 character , they would gain 20 EXP . The minimum EXP gain after an action is 1 while 99 in maximum . The stat increase when leveling up depend on what job the player is when they level up . The maximum level is 50 . Based on the " Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Official Nintendo Power Guide " book , stat growth / increase upon leveling up is rated to the maximum of three stars . The stars indicates how much and how quickly the specific stat will grow upon leveling up . The stars are representative percentage , not a hard number . When a new clan member joins , their level is based on the average of all the current clan members ' level . Their maximum level when joining the clan is 30 , but certain characters that join — Ezel Berbier , Babus Swain , Shara , Ritz Malheur and Cid Randell — are a few levels above the average . Leveling up is no longer possible during missions as participating party members only gain EXP when a mission has been declared " Complete " . Still , with this feature , enemies also can no longer level up during battles . It is also possible to gain more than 100 EXP , so a character can level up more than one level . If the character ' s level is higher than the mission ' s level , the character may gain considerably less EXP , or no EXP at all . The maximum level for one character is 99 . Like in " Final Fantasy Tactics Advance " , when a new clan member joins their level is based on the average of all the current clan members ' level . Their maximum level when joining in the clan is 30 , but certain characters that join — Adelle , Cid , Hurdy and Frimelda Lotice — are a few levels above the average . " Final Fantasy Mystic Quest " . Only Benjamin can level up . Phoebe , Kaeli , Tristam , and Reuben are at fixed levels and do not gain experience , although allies who leave and return later are at a higher level . Unlike the majority of the series , Benjamin cannot exceed Level 41 . Upon level up , Benjamin will gain 40 HP , 2 . 5 Attack , 2 Defense , 2 Speed , 1 Magic , and 0 . 5 Accuracy per level , and typically gains a few Magic Left for at least one of the three types of magic . Although level is capped at 41 , players can continue to accumulate experience , with every 10 million experience gaining two or three Magic Left per magic category , to a maximum of 99 each . Unlike in the rest of the series , where current HP remains the same after a level - up , Benjamin ' s current HP is adjusted after leveling up so he remains at the same percentage of health . The next level formula seems to be : Leveling itself seems to change after level 40 . Upon reaching level 40 , the next battle will cause a level up , regardless of experience points . Reaching level 41 is also different in that HP is the only stat to experience growth . " Final Fantasy Adventure " . Only Sumo can level up , and every time the player defeats an enemy , they will gain Experience and GP . The level maxes out at 99 . After gaining a certain amount of Experience , they will gain a level . A message will appear on the screen telling the player that Sumo leveled up , and that their HP / MP has also been restored to full . A new screen will appear asking the player to choose what type of stat they want to boost . This will boost that stat by 2 , and two related stats by 1 . The remaining fourth stat will not be boosted . By carefully boosting two " opposite " stats , the players statistics could be raised evenly , or the player could aim for specialization . " Final Fantasy Legend III " . Level is called L within the game . Only Arthur , Curtis , Gloria , and Sharon can level up . The temporary party members are at fixed levels and do not gain any experience . The player characters level up by gaining EXP from battles , and their level determines the characters ' stats within the they are wearing . The maximum level is 99 . The Salve - Maker ' s Level Serum increases the party ' s level by one for the duration of the battle . The Seamstress ' s final ability , Sew Together , causes the user and an ally to combine their levels and double the user ' s stats . " Bravely Default " . Characters level up when they get a certain amount of EXP . Job levels are separate from character levels and can be increased when the characters obtain enough JP ( Job Points ) from the enemies . By satisfying certain combat bonuses players can gain more EXP or JP to help level faster . " Final Fantasy Dimensions " . Characters earn Experience Points to level up . Upon gaining a Level , their overall stats increase , thus making them stronger . Experience Points are earned to participating characters of the battle , but are not awarded to participants who have been Knocked Out . Characters can gain levels until they reach Level 99 . Afterwards , any Experience Points obtained in battle are deemed useless to them , and their Experience Point count stays capped at 11 , 315 , 479 . The job system also returns . Job levels are gained with AP , with rewards earned similar to a characters base level . Characters are awarded 69 JP overall from the main story line . Later on , JP can also be earned by Moogle Coin s . JP is used to increase the character ' s maximum Job Level , up to a maximum of 20 . Similarly to a characters base level being capped , AP is also deemed useless when a character is assigned a Job that has been mastered . Different jobs require a different amount of AP to level up . All jobs equivalently assigned to characters do not require a different growth rate . In the beginning of the game , all jobs that are available to characters start out at level zero , with a maximum level of three , and done so respectively to jobs earned later on . " Dissidia Final Fantasy " . Characters gain experience by dealing HP damage to the opponent in battle , the higher the opponent ' s level and the more damage dealt , the more experience the character gains . As the character levels up they learn new attacks and abilities . Equipment pieces have a level requirement that require a character to be at that level or higher to equip them . Characters max out at Level 100 with a total of 1 , 964 , 655 EXP gained . The item Chocobo Cologne , which can be won from the Easy Arcade Mode , can be traded for in the shop to increase a character ' s level by 1 . Some Booster Accessories trigger depending on the character being a certain level . " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " . Leveling works identically to how it functioned in " Dissidia " , but the player has the option to adjust a character ' s level to a lower level . As a new mechanic , Gateway s may have a Bonus Line ; if the character ' s level is higher than the Bonus Line level the player receives a penalty to the KP they earn for completing that gateway , but do not actually subtract the player ' s current total KP . Conversely , setting a character ' s level lower than the Bonus Line grants an automatic bonus to the KP that will be earned for completing the gateway . The Chocobo Cologne can still be traded for a single - level increase to a character . Several new Booster Accessories rely on the gap in level between the player ' s character and their opponent .