The final boss of Final Fantasy XVI is not going to take things sitting down, with there being three distinctly different boss battles. The first fight was against Ultima, who had a slightly updated look over his usual self. The second fight will be against Ultima Risen, where you will be donning the Eikon once more. This page will focus on all the tips and strategies you will need for the Ultima Risen boss battle.

How to Beat Ultima Risen in FF16¶

You will be controlling Ifrit Risen for this fight, which is the same form you had during the battle with Bahamut. The increased mobility will be sorely needed in this battle, as Ultima Risen will have plenty of attacks that can be quite annoying to dodge. It also doesn’t help that the background is a bit distracting, too, making it difficult to discern some of his moves. Playing defensively is a good idea at first, until you start learning the timing of the various moves and can dodge them reliably.

All Ultima Risen Attacks in Final Fantasy XVI¶

Apart from controlling Ifrit Risen, this battle is pretty standard, with there being two distinct phases. The first phase has a lot of attacks, then once you stagger him for the first time, you will start seeing some new moves being added to Ultima’s arsenal.

Spinning Dash¶

Ultima will do his best Sonic impression and dash straight at you, while spinning. The only thing that might make it hard to detect is the background, but the move itself is the normal charge move that’s pretty much standard to most bosses in the game.

Double Claw Combo¶

You might see this attack right after the Spinning Dash, where Ultima will do a quick slash with his claws, then follow that up with a double claw slash, kind of like an X-pattern. The first attack can happen suddenly, especially since you might be used to a little downtime after another attack, so just be prepared for this potential move after the Spinning Dash, and dodge accordingly.

Scratch Melee Combo¶

Ultima will have a four-hit combo, where he tries to basically melee you with his claws. The first strike can be initiated by a quick dash, so be prepared for that. Also, each subsequent strike is delayed a bit, so it’s not in quick succession. You’ll need to dodge/block each hit, but if you do take damage, you won’t be getting hit by the others because of the delay in between the attacks.

Projectile Combo¶

Ultima will teleport away, then fire a mass of small projectiles at you, which do track you. You’ll need to dodge carefully to avoid these, but you also need to worry about the second attack, which is a big ball of energy. This second one is much easier to dodge, though, so you should concentrate on the first attack more. Note that he might do the reverse, with the big ball first, then the smaller projectiles.

Energy Dash¶

Yes, Ultima has another dash maneuver, which is slightly different to the Spinning Dash. It might be a little harder to dodge, since he surrounds himself with some energy, but it’s nothing too bad.

Circle of Orbs¶

After the Energy Dash above, Ultima will usually release a bunch of energy orbs that circle around him for a few seconds, before disappearing. The attack isn’t too bad by itself, but it comes right after the dash, so you might get suckered in to try attacking yourself and get hit by a few of these.

Smite¶

This is the same exact move as the previous fight, where Ultima will charge up some energy, then teleport next to you to fire a large beam. The only difference this time is, you don’t get knocked up into the air should you get hit, and there doesn’t seem to be a second beam at all.

Antistrophe¶

Kind of similar to Smite, except that Ultima seems to do two beams in a row. In between the two beams, he appears to do a close-up explosion attack, so you will want to try and wait until the second beam to get back to your offense.

Aureola¶

Ultima will unleash a bunch of rings that cover a large portion of the area. These rings are in all sorts of orientation, so you won’t need to try and dodge all of them, as some likely won’t even hit you. This is probably one of Ultima’s least threatening attacks.

The Rapture¶

After you stagger Ultima Risen for the first time, he will immediately use this move right out of it. This is similar to the Ultima attack from the previous fight, where he will just create a huge wall of energy that starts from him and moves outward. Your best bet here is to use Wildfire to move as quickly as possible away from him, as soon as the first stagger ends. He will also use this after the other times you stagger him.

Stellar Xyston¶

An attack you will see after the first stagger, Ultima begins by firing two large beams from his arms, to his sides. While the beams are active, he will then spin around, attempting to hit you with the beams. You won’t be able to outrun the beams, either, as he moves fast enough that not even Wildfire will work. That means, you will need to learn the timing of your dodge to go through them.

Purgatorium¶

This is one of those big special moves, which Ultima will begin at around 50% health or so, with the purple bar replacing his normal health. While this is charging, Ultima will perform a number of moves on you, so it’s not exactly free, like most of the bosses’ special attacks (it’s similar to the one in Barnabas’ fight). He can do the Stellar Xyston attack, as well as sending out some orbs and shooting volleys of small projectiles.

As the countdown timer depletes, he will start doing some bigger moves, like a huge array of beams that he’ll rotate around his center in various directions. Should you fail to stop this attack, you will take heavy damage and you will want to keep a finger on your healing item, in case you need to use it during the move. If you succeed in stopping it, though, then Ultima will become staggered. Don’t forget to use both Brimstone and Spitflare liberally here.

Pulsar¶

You saw this attack during the Purgatorium special, but it wasn’t actually named at all. Ultima fires a bunch of beams in all directions, then he will rotate them around in random directions. This is an annoying attack, only because the movement of the beams seems random, and you won’t know if you need to dodge the beam heading in your direction or not.

Dimachairos¶

Ultima will charge up a single large beam, which will fire for a few seconds, before splitting up into two separate beams that head in opposite directions. So, even if you avoid the initial beam, you will need to dodge the split beam after the matter.

Strategy for the Ultima Risen Boss in FFXVI¶

Due to you controlling Ifrit Risen in this battle, you don’t get a choice of which skills to equip, as your moveset is already given to you. You will also want to be a little cautious during the battle, as you will only have six Firelights, which are your healing items. There’s no other way for you to heal in this fight, as opposed to when you’re controlling Clive. While being aggressive isn’t necessarily a bad thing in this battle, the background makes it challenging to see some of Ultima’s attacks, so you may want to play defensively during the first phase, so you can get used to his attacks.

It’s also important to remember that he will usually follow up one attack with another, like with the two dash maneuvers. You may be used to a lot of bosses doing a move, then stopping for a few seconds, before moving onto their next attack. You will want to make sure that he’s completely done attacking, before using Lightspeed to rush in with your own offense. And speaking of offense, don’t save your abilities for the stagger, either, so use both Brimstone and Spitflare freely throughout the entire thing. The less time that Ultima has here, the less you’ll see the more dangerous attacks.

Both Smite and Antistrophe are essentially the same attack, and probably the biggest problem in the first phase. However, your mobility is much better with Ifrit Risen, so don’t forget about using Wildfire to escape those attacks. It isn’t until the second phase that Ultima will become much more problematic. The Rapture is easy enough to avoid, as long as you completely run away, but Stellar Xyston is definitely one of the worst moves here. You won’t be able to outrun it with Wildfire, so you’ll need to learn to dodge through the beams. It’s a good idea to concentrate solely on dodging the beams, while sitting still.

When you get the boss’ health to around 50%, he will begin charging for Purgatorium. Of course, similar to Barnabas, Ultima will be attacking with a lot of abilities while this is going on. You absolutely want to stop this move, though, as it deals major damage. However, you still want to be a little careful in avoiding the skills used during the charging process. Don’t forget about your own abilities, either, as those can significantly decrease the purple bar. After stopping the attack (or not), you will start seeing Pulsar and Dimachairos, two new beam attacks.

The remainder of the battle is just him spamming attacks one after another, then taking a small break for you to smack him around. Once you beat this form, there will be another cutscene, then you will be facing the true final boss of the game, Ultimalius.