There are dozens of rare crafting materials that players can acquire during their time in Final Fantasy 16. These materials are primarily used to upgrade your gear so that you can have more attack, defense, health, etc. One of the rarer materials that is used to craft a specific piece of gear in Final Fantasy 16 is the Earth Shard, which is mainly needed in the crafting recipe for the Grindstone.
The Grindstone is one of the best swords Clive can wield in Final Fantasy 16, so players will be desperately trying to acquire the Earth Shard. If you want to see exactly how to find this rare material, you can check out my guide below for all of the details.
Getting the Earth Shard in Final Fantasy 16

Like all other elemental shards in the game, the Earth Shard is only acquired by defeating the Eikon it’s associated with. In this case, the Eikon of Earth is Titan, whose Dominant is Hugo Kupka. You meet Hugo very early on in Final Fantasy 16, as he’s the hulking man that is called into battle to defend the Dhalmekian Republic against the Ironbloods in the opening minutes of the game.
Later on in Final Fantasy 16, you will face off against Hugo Kupka. This takes place during the quest Capital Punishment, which you need to complete to unlock Gelatinous Mass. Hugo is not easy to defeat, as it’s one of the toughest battles in the entirety of Final Fantasy 16. The fight has three phases, all of which are difficult. Each phase has different attacks as well, so you will need to learn on the fly.
After defeating Hugo in Rosalith, you will receive the Earth Shard as a Spoil and it will be deposited into your inventory. From here, you can head to the Blacksmith to see the full crafting recipe for the Grindstone. You will need a Levinbolt and Meteorite to complete the recipe and craft the sword. The Grindstone has 225 attack damage and 225 stagger damage, making it one of the best weapons in Final Fantasy 16.