How to Beat the Final Boss of FFXVI Without Getting Hit

Medals of Valor. Square Enix’s challenge to any gamer whose dopamine receptors are so fried they have to resort to masochism to feel any sense of achievement. There are a total of 16 medals in the game, one for each major boss of each main mission. If you didn’t get it from the title, the medals are gained by beating their associated boss without taking a single hit of damage. The platinum trophy requires you to get at least one of these medals, so trophy hunters know about them but otherwise the game keeps them relatively hidden.

Other than the trophy, they’re completely useless. They don’t change the game in any way whatsoever, so there’s really no point in collecting them at all … I have all 16 medals. I may not have a wife or any kids, but I do have 16 Medals of Valor in Final Fantasy 16 so who’s the real cool guy here? Everyone I’ve told that to has been so impressed that they adorned me with affection and money and fame and I’m lying.

Time your Rook’s Gambit right for a Counterstrike

If you are anywhere near as defective as I am, you would’ve collected one of these medals and then decided that you must have them all. If you are collecting them, I highly recommend doing it during a playthrough and not waiting until the endgame to get them in the Stage Replay section of the Arete Stone. Mainly because it doesn’t let you save during the Stage Replay. If you’re in a current playthrough of a game, you’re allowed to save right before each boss and practice them without having to replay the whole stage.

Most of the bosses aren’t too difficult to get their attack patterns down but some can be super frustrating because of all the cutscenes. Titan is particularly bad for this. But once you get to Odin, there is a noticeable spike in difficulty. A spike that reaches its peak at the final boss, Ultimalius. If you’ve fought Ultimalius, you may wonder how it’s even possible to not get hit with all the attacks flying around all the time. Well, that’s what this guide is here for.

If you see this attack, you’re pretty much dead

First Things First

Beat the game. On your first playthrough, you only have the difficulty options of Story-Focussed and Action-Focussed. Once you beat your first playthrough, you unlock Final Fantasy Mode which is hard mode. You’re doing the most challenging thing in the game, you might as well do it on the hardest difficulty. You also have a lot of opportunities to get your level up. I was level 90 when I did this challenge and I got to that without any grinding. It also means you get to go through the game and get all the best gear.

Gear Setup

For anyone going for no-hit runs, you know that defense is meaningless. So you have to maximize your loadout for damage output. But FFXVI’s armor customization system is pretty basic in that there’s really no customizing at all. As you progress through the game, you just get better armor and weapons. So you might as well get the best: Ultima Weapon, Reinforced Ouroboros, and Reinforced Son of Ouroboros.

On the accessory side, I found I needed to cut down on wait time for a couple of the more powerful abilities. Most importantly, I needed Shiva’s Kiss +1. This cuts the cooldown time of Shiva’s Diamond Dust ability by 15 seconds. I also equipped Bahamut’s Mercy +1 which cuts the cooldown of Bahamut’s Gigaflare by 12 seconds. I’m not sure how important Bahamut’s Mercy is, I didn’t really experiment too much with other accessories. I just use Gigaflare a lot so it’s pretty much always equipped. Lastly, I slapped on Genji Gloves +1 for some added damage which you can buy from Dravozd after finishing that questline.

Gigaflare is great for both damage and Invincibility frames

Eikon Setup

Again, we’re looking for maximum damage output so we need some of the strongest attacks. But there’s a lot more strategy necessary than choosing all of the abilities with the highest attack. By far the most powerful attack on its own is level 5 Zantetsuken by Odin. But Zantetsuken needs a specific setup to efficiently get it to level 5. For the first Eikon, I chose Odin with Rift Slip and Dancing Steel.

The next strongest attack is Gigaflare. So for the second Eikon, I chose Bahamut with Diamond Dust and Gigaflare. I found I didn’t need to use Megaflare at all so you can change out Bahamut for any of the other Eikons if you think it’ll help. Just as long as you’ve mastered Gigaflare so it can be equipped to any Eikon. By this point, you would’ve completed two playthroughs of the game so I’m writing this under the assumption that you’ve mastered all abilities.

For the third Eikon, you need Garuda. Deadly Embrace is integral to setting up level 5 Zantetsuken. I give her Rook’s Gambit and Lightning Rod.

Most of Ultimalius’ attacks will fill the screen

Validation

So why do I choose these abilities? Each one is just as important as the other when it comes to setting up the strategy I use.

• Rift Slip is necessary to cut the long animation at the end of Dancing Steel and to perfect the timing of Lightning Rod.
• Dancing Steel is used to charge Zantetsuken up to level 5. You may wonder how I do that with one Dancing Steel, I’ll get to that in a second.
• Diamond Dust is effective because Ultima is weak to stagger damage. Diamond Dust is perfect for getting past the halfway mark of his stagger gauge.
• Gigaflare is really just for dealing damage. You need it to get Ultima’s health past certain thresholds.
• Rook’s Gambit is great for stagger damage but it’s most useful for its invincibility frames. Some of Ultima’s attacks have weird hitboxes and if you’re uneasy, you can always pull our Rook’s Gambit to save from taking damage.
• Lightning Rod, Rift Slip, and Dancing Steel are all completely necessary for setting up efficient level 5 Zantetsuken.

All you have to do is mash the attack button during cutscenes

Level 5 Zantetsuken Strat

This will be a small section. The key to getting to level 5 with only one Dancing Steel is in the knowledge that hitting the ball left behind by Lightning Rod while in battle counts towards building up Zantetsuken. The strategy is simple but it might take a few attempts to get the timing down. So practice in the Hall of Virtue against some big enemy, one with a stagger gauge. What you do is get their stagger gauge down past halfway. You’ll hear a distinct tone as they’re knocked back. This is your chance to stun them with Deadly Embrace.

Once they’re down, use Lunge to get in close to them then quickly use Lightning Rod. Time it right for when he swings his hand then cut the animation with Rift Slip and immediately follow with Dancing Steel. This will build your Zantetsuken to level 5. Deadly Embrace isn’t always necessary. This strategy works for any moment when the enemy is standing still for a while, which we will see soon. Enough of the beforehand stuff, onto the actual fight.

One Dancing Steel can charge you all the way to level 5

Ultima

Ultima’s first form has two phases. Once you get him to about 60% health, a cutscene will play and he’ll move into his next phase. What you will learn quickly is that the key to beating Ultima without getting hit is inducing his phase changes before he has the chance to pull out any of his weird AOE attacks.

As soon as I gain control, I lunge in close to him and use Diamond Dust, using a Strength Tonic right before the first hit. This takes his stagger damage down for later. As soon as the second hit of Diamond Dust connects, I engage Limit Break to cut the animation short and instantly use Gigaflare then switch Eikon to Garuda. Ultima always starts by shooting a bunch of projectiles at you so you have to be quick or else one might hit you. Once you get Gigaflare out, you’re safe because you’re invincible during the attack. Once the attack is over, cut your Limit Break so you don’t waste it – you want to still have two bars of limit break left.

If you do it right, you’ll never have to see this attack

Ultima will then follow up with one of two attacks. He’ll either teleport above you and slam down or charge at you. It may take a bit of practice for the timing but you have to hit him with Rook’s Gambit Counterstrike. This ensures you’ll do enough damage to force him into phase two. Then follow up with a few quick hits before the cutscene plays. If you miss the timing of the Rook’s Gambit, he’ll use Flare against you which is difficult to dodge. I usually just reset if I miss the Rook’s Gambit Counterstrike.

Phase Two

Here is where the stagger damage you did earlier comes into play. First, he does a ground attack which is easy to dodge, just make sure you’re not in range of it. Then he’ll do a punching attack which you will counter with another Rook’s Gambit then follow up instantly with Diamond Dust. It might take a bit of practice getting the Eikon switching down. Diamond Dust will push his stagger bar past halfway so quickly switch to Garuda and use Deadly Embrace. Once he’s down, use the Zantetsuken trick.

This Zantetsuken will be enough to deplete the rest of his life

Lunge, Lightning Rod, Rift Slip, Dancing Steel. This will get your Zantetsuken to level 5. Engage your Limit Break to cut the end of Dancing Steel’s animation then quickly change to Bahamut and use Gigaflare. Cut the Limit Break again once Gigaflare is over. Ultima will do an attack that doesn’t do damage but pushes you back. During that time, hold down attack to charge your sword then use Zantetsuken as soon as you can. This should be enough to take his health down to zero. You just beat Ultima’s first form and he was only able to use four attacks.

If he’s still alive after the Zantetsuken, just dodge his projectiles and use Rook’s Gambit to counter his next close-range attack. Next, we have the most annoying part of the fight.

Goodbye, arena

Ultima Risen

After beating his first form, Ultima transforms into his version of Ifrit and blasts away reality turning the arena into some spacey black hole environment. For this fight, the best advice I can give is to spend some time learning the timing of his attacks. There’s a lot of precise dodging you’ll have to do. Luckily, most of his attacks are pretty well telegraphed and most of them have names so you know what to expect. Watch out for his two different combo slash attacks. One of them attacks three times and the other attacks four, and you just have to remember the build-up animation for each one.

I recommend spending some time in the fight and familiarising yourself with his attacks without fighting back. I think I spent about half an hour just getting the dodging timing down for each attack before I even attempted to fight him for this challenge. Once you get him around half health, he will use Purgatorium.

Make sure to fly away when he comes out of Stagger

Purgatorium

Purgatorium is a charge attack that will kill you instantly if you don’t do enough damage to him within a certain amount of time. He always does the same set of attacks in a row during this phase so it’s simple to memorise. And if you want to practice it, just wait for the attack to kill you and it’ll restart from the beginning of the attack, which is nice.

He starts off by shooting some slow-moving rings at you. I just dodge through them and counter with Fireballs. Then I teleport in close to him and use a Brimstone and Spitflare in between normal attacks. He’ll try to hit you by spawning blue balls that shoot out of his barrier. These are easily telegraphed, just stay out of their range. He’ll then shoot two big energy blasts out his sides and start rotating. I dodge through them and use counterattacks. After, he’ll have a cooldown for you to get some damage in, also your Brimstone should have recharged so use that.

He’ll then push you back and shoot clusters of beams at you that track to your position. These are frustrating because they can be quite hard to see. I lost count of how many runs were lost to these things. What I found that helped was not concentrating on any singular projectile. Let your eyes relax a bit then dodge as soon as you notice one of them curving in towards you.

Dodge right when you see the projectiles curve towards you

Afterward is another double beam attack, repeat as above. Then he’ll start shooting out blue balls from his barrier again but in a different orientation. For this, I found it best to stay back and shoot him with charged Firabeams until Spitflare charges. Hit him with Spitflare then let it charge, don’t use it against him again during the Purgatorium phase, wait until he’s Staggered. He’ll do another double beam then cooldown for you to do some damage. His purple health should be quite low at this point so he’ll finish with a Pulsar attack. Just hit him with Firabeams until he staggers.

After Purgatorium, he’ll gain a few new attacks so it might pay to stay in this phase for a while and learn their timings.

Utimalius (Garuda, Ramuh, Titan)

Ultima’s final form is Ultimalius. This whole fight is broken up into segments, each with its own unique attacks that correspond with the Eikons he’s using. Much like his first form, the key is to do enough damage as quickly as possible to force him into his next phase. For this first phase, you want to make sure you do enough damage without staggering him.

He’ll start with his Fulmen and Fulgar attack that puts electricity all over the floor. Don’t worry about it too much, you’ll be invincible when they go off. First, drop Lionheart and Strength Tonics. Have Rook’s Gambit ready. He’ll charge at you, make sure you get him with Rook’s Gambit Counterstrike. Lunge to get close to him then immediately engage Limit Break and use Diamond Dust. Rift Slip as soon as the second hit connects then use Gigaflare and switch to Garuda. As soon as you gain control, use Rook’s Gambit. Hopefully, it’ll Counterstrike and push him past halfway of his stagger gauge. If not, use dodge counters on his punch combo and it should do the trick.

You know what comes next, the Zantetsuken trick. Deadly Embrace, Lunge, Lightning Rod, Rift Slip, Dancing Steel. Make sure to cut your limit break when you hit him with Deadly Embrace so it can charge back up. Then engage Limit Break again at the end of Dancing Steel and use Zantetsuken right away. This will force him into his next phase. The key here is quickness. If you leave it too late, he’ll use Euroclydon or Cataclysm which are challenging to dodge.

Ultimalius (Bahamut, Shiva, Odin)

This phase is far easier than the last because of how close he is to staggering. All you need to do is hit him with one Diamond Dust and you should be good. For this phase, take it slow. Make sure to keep safe from his early ranged attacks. Then once he charges at you, hit him with a Rook’s Gambit then Diamond Dust and he’s Staggered. Once you stagger him, pop Lionheart and Strength Tonics, then do the Zantetsuken trick.

Phase 2 of Ultimalius starts with a lot of ranged attacks

Once Dancing Steel is over, you should have at least a bar of Limit Gauge. Engage Limit Break and hit him with level 5 Zantetsuken followed by Gigaflare. Then just smack him around for the duration of his staggered state to build your Limit Gauge. If you notice that his life bar stops going down when you attack him, that’s a good sign.

Limit Break

This phase is his last-ditch effort to ruin your run. At this point, all he needs is one level 5 Zantetsuken and it’ll push him into his final phase. What you’re looking for is one of two attacks, Holy or Meteor. He’ll start off by doing ground attacks and then more than likely use Smite. Staying out of the splash range of the ground attack is easy enough but Smite can be annoying. Don’t even bother trying for the Counterstrike with Rook’s Gambit. Instead, use Rook’s Gambit as soon as you see him teleport and the invincibility frames should keep you safe. Afterwards, dodge any other attacks he does but he should do Meteor or Holy.

Meteor can be a bit intimidating because it fills the screen with massive fireballs that are hard to avoid. Lucky for us, we have Garuda. As you see the ground fill up with fiery circles, avoid the first few you see then go in close to Ultimalius. Start spamming him with Deadly Embrace, it’ll lift you up and keep you in the air as the ground becomes hazardous. Stay off the ground until it’s clear.

For Holy, move in close to Ultimalius and stay out of range of the hazard area. It’s pretty easy to avoid. Both Holy and Meteor have really long recovery times. Long enough for you to charge up a Zantetsuken. Pop your last Strength Tonic then you know the drill. Lightning Bolt, Rift Slip, Dancing Steel. Rift Slip out of Dancing Steel directly into Zantetsuken. Follow up with Gigaflare just to be sure.

Time to destroy him

Final Step

We’re on the home stretch now. After the cutscene, he’ll be all weak and frail. You have plenty of time to get him with one final Zantetsuken. Lunge, Lightning Rod, Rift Slip, Dancing Steel, Rift Slip, Zantetsuken, then finish off with a final Gigaflare if necessary.

And you’re done! You just beat the hardest boss in all of Final Fantasy XVI without getting hit. You are among the minority of gamers who will go to the very edge in their love for challenge. If you want to one-up me though, you can. I said Final Fantasy Mode was the hardest difficulty before and I lied. There’s an even harder difficulty in the Arete Stone Arcade Mode, but you don’t have the option of saving before each boss. That is a level of masochism I am not yet comfortable with.

Check out the video of me getting the Medal of Valor below.