How to beat Leviathan in Final Fantasy 16 The Rising Tide
Water palaver.
In Final Fantasy 16, Clive is tasked with beating a number of Eikons in unique boss battles, and The Rising Tide is no different, culminating in a battle with water Eikon Leviathan.
The Rising Tide is the second part of the DLC expansion for Final Fantasy 16, and is overall more difficult, with the final battle against Leviathan proving particularly tricky thanks largely to a mid-phase DPS (damage per second) check.
To help you out, here's our guide on how to beat Leviathan throughout its four phases in Final Fantasy 16: The Rising Tide.
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How to beat Leviathan in Final Fantasy 16 The Rising Tide
In the battle against Leviathan, Clive will transform into Ifrit. As such, you won't need to worry about selecting which of Clive's Eikon abilities to use.
As a reminder, Ifrit has three special abilities to consider along with regular attacks:
- Wildfire - A movement boost that also deals damage
- Brimstone - A flaming combo of powerful swipes
- Spitflare - A long-range beam of energy
The Leviathan battle takes place over four phases, with its attacks gradually increasing in complexity. An overall tip is to learn these attacks and dodge them accordingly with precise timing. Don't forget your Firelight heals replenish if you die and restart at the most recent phase, meaning you can somewhat brute force your way through if necessary.
How to beat Leviathan - Phase 1
The first phase takes place inside a thunderous maelstrom with Ifrit and Leviathan fighting in mid-air.
As with much of the Leviathan battle, it's recommended to focus on dodging attacks with correct timing and counter with basic combo attacks: square, triangle, square, triangle, square, triangle, triangle is a good option. Patience is key - this will be a long fight overall.
Use Brimstone and Spitflare between Leviathan's attacks whenever ready for big damage, especially once staggered from regular attacks.
How to beat Leviathan - Phase 2
The second phase moves to a flat open sea for a less disorientating battle. Again, the best tactic is dodging Leviathan's various whips, thrusts and beams and counter attacking with strong basic combos.
For Leviathan's more elaborate attacks like Breach, Riptide, Waterjet and Salt Spray, use Wildfire to quickly dodge to the side and then quickly close the distance. Brimstone can also be used to counter Riptide as Ifrit won't take damage during the build up animation.
Again, pepper in Brimstone and Spitflare when the opportunity arises.
How to beat Leviathan - Phase 3 (DPS check)
For the third phase, Leviathan will summon an impregnable barrier around itself and push Ifrit back some distance. The aim is to cause as much damage as possible in a short time frame, otherwise Leviathan will summon a Tsunami wave for an instant fail. Be warned, this is the trickiest and most frustrating part of the battle.
To cause maximum damage, follow this strategy to break the barrier:
- Immediately use Spitflare. This causes high damage and, when used at the very beginning, there should be enough time to use this skill three times throughout this phase.
- Use Wildfire to close the gap as quick as possible, dodging the beams of water but always moving forwards.
- Hit Leviathan with a Brimstone once reached.
- Precision dodge any projectiles or water eruptions while dealing as much damage as possible with basic combos: square, triangle, square, triangle, square, triangle, triangle.
- When knocked back, use Wildfire again to close the gap once more.
- Continue with this strategy, using both Brimstone and Spitflare as soon as they are available. The timing will be tight!
- The real clincher is learning the timing to dodge each attack. If you've been hit, that's time lost when you need to be attacking!
How to beat Leviathan - Phase 4
The final phase is similar to the second, though Leviathan has some new more powerful attacks. Again, the key is dodging its attacks and countering with combos plus Brimstone and Spitflare whenever possible.
Leviathan will reel off multiple attacks one after another in quick succession, so knowledge of how to dodge from phase two is imperative.
Maelstrom is the most difficult attack to dodge, as Leviathan summons a swirling vortex. Brimstone can be used to absorb the damage before dodging the projectiles.
Part way through, Leviathan will summon Waterspout, a huge cyclone of water. This is imposing but simple to dodge with Wildfire.
This will be followed by Angry Seas, a combination of previous attacks. The Riptide-esque closing circles can be jumped and dodged, the Maelstrom vortex absorbed with Brimstone, and the projectiles and charged beam attacks precision dodged.
Once down to a sliver of health, Leviathan will once again summon a Tsunami, triggering Ifrit's final attack. Congratulations on beating The Rising Tide - literally!