Assault craft



Magitek engine is a type of airship used for transporting goods and deploying of imperial troops by Niflheim in Final Fantasy XV. Niflheim is the only nation in Eos to use magitek and thus use airships, and the basic magitek engine is the most common one. The technology originates from the ancient civilization of Solheim,. Niflheim's use of airships superseded their need for sea travel and armored tanks (whose rusted remains are still found around Lucian outlands and some older imperial military installations), and Niflheim stopped using some sea ports, such as Galdin.

Magitek engines appear randomly in the open world to drop enemies, somewhat reminiscent of the random encounters of past series's games.

Profile
Magitek engines are flying armored vehicles about the size of a small shipping container. They all appear the same model, the only unique one belonging to Aranea Highwind who uses a red variant of the basic steel-colored model. The magitek engines have "SAF" written on the side as well as the red crest of Niflheim.

The front opens up to allow passage, and the back of it glows in the familiar red hue associated with magiteknology. When deploying troops magitek engines don't usually land, but hover aboveground while the troops jump down while the magitek engine takes off. When grounded in the imperial bases the player can visit, the magitek engines are shown to eject landing gear. Magitek engines don't have propellers or any any obvious means of propulsion; they can take off vertically off the ground and stay stationary while airborne. Their flight is stable but not particularly fast, and an active magitek engine emits a droning hum. Magitek engines appear to operate on auto-pilot, as no cockpit or pilots are ever witnessed.

The exact way magitek engines operate is unknown, but from their name and and red glow it can be surmised they use magiteknology. Solheim's use of magiteknology was associated with manipulating time-space and gravity-defying phenomena are seen in the ruins this civilization has left behind, but whether this is related to Niflheim's airship technology is unknown. Magitek engines likely don't use magitek cores, as that is a relatively recent invention and highly volatile.

Magitek engines are used for transporting goods and deploying imperial forces, including the imperial infantry, magitek infantry and magitek armor.

Gameplay
From Chapter 2 onwards the player is accosted by magitek engines that appear near to the player's location to deploy imperial enemies the player can then either ignore or engage. They sometimes drop troops on the roads blocking the Regalia, and appear as fixed encounters for some events, such as Vyv Dorden's sidequest for photographing imperial bases in Lucis. They appear on the open world during the daytime and in the evening. Magitek engines often appear in same spots repeatedly. When a magitek engine approaches the player's party members notify Noctis.

The player rides a magitek engine as part of the story twice: end of Chapters 4 and 7. A cutscene of the party inside the magitek engine was added in a patch, which shows the interior of the vehicle as entirely barren.

In Chapter 8 and 15 Aranea Highwind can arrive on her red magitek engine when the player is battling daemons on the open world. She will jump down from the aircraft which will hover above the battle area until the party wins or flees; Aranea will then jump into the magitek engine and leave. If the player was using Armiger Unleashed, Aranea's arrival interrupts it.

In Chapter 11 the player must down magitek engines by point-warping to them during the battle on the Magna Fortia and fighting the magitek troopers inside; as the MTs explode the magitek engines begin to lose power and the player must point-warp to another aircraft in time.

Creation and development
The first imperial airships unveiled in trailers were the imperial dreadnoughts that have a small role in the final game as appearing in cut scenes.

The "SAF" written on the magitek engines represents the general command of "Safay Roth," a character who was cut from Final Fantasy Versus XIII, he precursor to Final Fantasy XV. The letters were left "to honor the famous generals that existed". Ardyn Izunia was added after Safay was cut.

Trivia

 * When magitek engines deploy imperial troops on the open world, after a drop they rise into the atmosphere until they despawn and disappear into the sky.
 * Magitek engines can deploy the superboss MA-X Angelus-0 in Chapter 15.
 * Derelicts of abandoned magitek engines are found in the Duscae region of Lucis. One is in a crater and one west of the Disc of Cauthess where the player can find a map scrap as part of the Scraps of Mystery sidequest.