Final Fantasy 16’s The Rising Tide DLC centers around Leviathan, and players will eventually do battle with this powerful Eikon. While much of the fight with Leviathan is quite straightforward, there is a fairly tricky DPS check in its third phase. This guide explains how to get past that check, and it will help players beat Leviathan inFinal Fantasy 16: The Rising Tide.
This guide was written while playing onFinal Fantasy 16’s Action Focuseddifficulty setting.
Final Fantasy 16: The Rising Tide - How to Beat Leviathan
Phase 1
Players should approach the first phase ofFinal Fantasy 16’s Leviathanfight with a defensive mindset, looking to useprecision dodgesto avoid the Eikon’s various lunges, dives, projectiles, beams, and tail whips. Indeed, fans who focus primarily on dodging Leviathan’s assault will find that the beast provides numerous opportunities for counterattacks, with the momentsimmediately following a lungeacting as the biggest windows. Players can make the most of those opportunities by usingSpitflareor the followingcombo(which ends with an Aerial Backdraft Finish): square, triangle, square, triangle, square, triangle, triangle.
While players should feel free to useBrimstoneas an offensive tool during Phase 1, it is recommended that the skill be used to block a couple of attacks. Specifically, Brimstone is a great way to deal withRiptideand the projectiles fromGrand Fall, andFinal Fantasy 16fansshould simply hold R2 + square to absorb the damage from those attacks.
Phase 2
A strong defense is once again the key to completing Phase 2 of the fight with Leviathan, and players should useprecision dodgesagainst theEikon’s basic lunges, tail whips, beams, and projectiles. Indeed, dodging those straightforward attacks frequently puts Ifrit in a good spot for a counter, andSpitflaresandsquare, triangle, square, triangle, square, triangle, square, triangle, triangle combosare great ways to take advantage of those opportunities.
Unlike Phase 1, Leviathan’s head will not always be perfectly positioned for a counterattack after dodging a lunge, tail whip, or beam. If a player does find themselves out of position following a dodge, they should useIfrit’s Wildfire to quickly close the gap.
With respect to addressing the more elaborate attacks that Leviathan performs during Phase 2, here are defensive strategies for all of them:
Phase 3 (DPS Check)
As has previously been indicated, this is perhaps the most difficult phase of the fight, as the window for dealing the requisite amount of damage is quite small. For those players who are struggling with this DPS check inFF16’s The Rising Tide DLC, here are details on how to break through Leviathan’s shield:
Phase 4
The fourth phase is quite similar to the second, andFF16playersshould once again be looking tocounter after precision dodginga basic lunge, tail whip, beam, or projectile. Leviathan does have some nasty new attacks at its disposal during this phase, though, and here are details on how to address them:
