Leviathan from Final Fantasy 16 The Rising Tide DLC
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides

FF16 The Rising Tide: How to stop Leviathan’s Tsunami

Why are you somehow stronger than Ultima...

Any time Ifrit is defeated by Leviathan, the fight can be retried from the current phase. In theory, it wouldn’t be such a timestopping Eikon battle if it weren’t for the Tsunami phase—a race to stop the attack before it instantly floods everything in Mysidia. Here’s how to break Leviathan’s shield in Final Fantasy XVI: The Rising Tide.

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How to break Leviathan’s shield in Final Fantasy 16 The Rising Tide - Leviathan Phase 3 Eikon fight

Leviathan phase 3 doesn’t discriminate, its difficulty up there no matter which mode you’re playing the game in. The key is to never have a moment when Ifrit isn’t on the offensive.

Spitfire every time it charges

Spitfire is Ifrit’s laser ability (R2 + Triangle). Every time it charges, no matter when you are, use it.

Ifrit using Spitfire in Final Fantasy 16
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides

Brimstone when you’re near

Brimstone is a charged explosive shield ability that can only hurt monsters at closed range. When you’re right next to Leviathan, Hold R2 + Square until the gauge is in the red zone and unleash. Much like Spitfire, the goal is to use it whenever it’s charged for another use.

Ifrit using Brimstone in Final Fantasy 16
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides

Melee as much as possible

When you’re out of special moves, the next attack(s) that will damage Leviathan the most are your melee moves. Wildfire (Circle) dash to it to get close.

Always aim for a Backdraft Finish

When you’re doing your Melee combo, always aim for a Backdraft Finish. On a PS controller, that’s:

  • Square + Square + Square + Square (4 claw hits by Ifrit)
  • Triangle (for a Fireball Burst combo)
  • Triangle (and another one for a Backdraft Finish)
Ifrit pushed back after performing a Backdraft Finish  in Final Fantasy 16
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides

A Backdraft finish deals roughly four to six times more damage than a claw attack.

Related: All Dominants in Final Fantasy 16, Ranked

Charged shot when you're too far

When Leviathan is too far from your claw’s reach, unleash Charged Shots when you can. Hold Triangle and release it once you hear a tiny “ping!” The latter is a sign that it’s at maximum power. It's more efficient than lobbing regular fire.

Dodge everything

Finally, be extra sure you don’t get hit by Leviathan’s attacks! Never mind the damage it does to your HP, getting hit will lose you precious seconds you could be using to stop the Tsunami.

Leviathan is a pretty forgiving Eikon… kind of. At least, it’s more forgiving than the Timekeeper, which we only defeated with an arm of potions. Once you’ve overcome the Tsunami phase, you will have reached your last checkpoint. Whenever you’re defeated in the upcoming phases, the battle will always return here.

For more Final Fantasy XVI: The Rising Tide guides, check out All Aquamarine Locations (Map) in FF16 The Rising Tide here at Pro Game Guides.


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Author
Bianca Versoza
Bianca Versoza is Pro Game Guides' Weekend Editor. With over three years of experience in gaming journalism, she specializes in anything remotely turn-based and strategic, like Pokémon, Valkyria, and Honkai: Star Rail. Bianca is a huge fan of Square Enix, RPGs, party games, and visual novels, but will play anything with a banger OST. She's a proud early bird.

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FF16 The Rising Tide: How to stop Leviathan’s Tsunami

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