Part 3: Flight of the Fledgling

Main Walkthrough

The Nysa Defile

Enemies

  • Ironblood Commander
  • Ironblood Crusader

Complete the flashback to Clive's youth and you'll be returned to modern day, where you started Final Fantasy XVI. Clive's squad - minus one man - will set out again, and you'll gain access to Clive's Abilities as an adult. You'll hereafter be able to learn two additional Eikonic Abilities:

  • Scarlet Cyclone, a quick AOE attack that is great for wiping out crowds of enemies
  • Heatwave, a short-range block that also unleashes two long-range shockwaves

You'll start out knowing Scarlet Cyclone, but you'll have to teach Heatwave to yourself via AP. Note that you can continue to use Rising Flames alongside Scarlet Cyclone, and you can change their respective buttons via the Gear & Eikons submenu.

Follow Clive's squadmates along the rocks, climbing when necessary. You'll find two Stoneskin Tonics and two Strength Tonics as you proceed, all in plain sight. Keep going until you get into a battle.

Shiva's Dominant

This battle consists of a cluster of Ironbloods - whom your comrades will handle - and Shiva's Dominant, who will keep her attention on Clive. The Dominant uses the following attacks:

  • A slow, ranged Ice spell
  • A line of three Ice blasts that zip quickly at Clive after a second of charging
  • An AOE Ice spell that erupts around the Dominant's feet
  • A charging stab attack where she rises into the air for a second before launching herself at Clive
  • A slower charging attack where the Dominant jabs at you with a lengthy cluster of Ice, wrapped around her sword
  • Blizzaga, an arena-wide spell that creates marks on the ground that are pummelled by huge chunks of Ice moments later
  • Conjured blue lines on the ground that mark the path of falling icicles

This battle isn't too bad. It begins against a number of enemies, though the only one worth paying attention to is Shiva's Dominant. Lock onto her and watch her movements. In general you want to spot any little hops that she performs, as this heralds an incoming attack - usually her arena-crossing stab, which is the most painful of the lot. Once the Dominant has performed an attack you can use Phoenix Shift to zip over and slash her up. Clive's unfriendly buddies will eventually join in when they defeat the Ironbloods.

Stagger Shiva's Dominant and the battle will take a bit of a turn, as she'll start using Blizzaga and her icicle-dropping attack. At this point you'll need to keep an eye on your own footing, as the marks on the ground will always tell you which areas need to be avoided. Dodge out of the way whenever you're standing on a patch of blue and wait for the magic to subside a bit. The Dominant will usually charge at you when she's done casting, and you can use this opportunity to avoid her attack and then launch a flurry of your own. The Dominant often leaves herself wide open after these charges, giving you a prime target for your Eikonic Abilities. All in all, not that bad.

You'll receive Frozen Tears, Steelsilk, Potions, and High Potions for defeating Shiva's Dominant. Afterward you'll need to take down several more Ironbloods, which is a piece of cake... though what follows is a touch more challenging.

Tiamat

Looks like Clive is done taking orders. Tiamat uses the following attacks:

  • Simple, ranged magic blasts
  • Overhead chops
  • A charging blade sweep that ends in a Magic Burst
  • Enruin, a magically-charged combo attack
Tiamat fights like a less-powerful version of Clive. He's swift, but not overly so, and swaps between normal attacks and ranged bursts of magic. In the first phase of the battle you should dodge out of the way of most of his attacks, waiting for him to perform an overhead chop of his blade. Hit Square once he raises his blade above his shoulder and you'll almost always manage to Parry and stun him. Dance away as soon as Tiamat starts blocking, or he'll likely knock you back with a shockwave.

Stagger Tiamat and he'll start to use Enruin, his magically-infused combo. This lasts longer than you might expect, and ends with a stronger Magic Burst than before. Get out of the way as soon as Tiamat's sword glows blue and stay away until it fades back to normal. He doesn't always seem to follow up with the final Magic Burst, but don't go back to attacking until you're sure he's finished with the combo. Otherwise, the fight is about the same.


You'll receive Wyrrite and a Meteorite for defeating Tiamat. A number of cut scenes will follow, introducing (and reintroducing) a few characters. Once that's done you'll need to follow one such character to his home base.

Main Walkthrough