Final Fantasy 16: How to Defeat Akashic Dragon

Akashic Dragon is a boss that players will have the chance to face in Final Fantasy 16 during the main quest “The Crystals' Curse” after defeating the Imperial Cannonier. This is the second boss of three that players will have to face in this mission. As usual, we advise you to be prepared and have an excellent strategy in order to defeat this fearsome boss. In this article, therefore, we will give you useful advice on how to best face this battle to come out on top.

Location, rewards, and abilities

As already mentioned at the beginning of this article, the Akashic Dragon boss can be encountered during the main quest “The Crystals' Curse”, which is located in the Drake's Head area in the Holy Empire of Sanbreque region. Players who manage to emerge victorious from this confrontation will receive various rewards, including 90 XP, 120 AP, and 3000 Gil, as well as very important items to continue in the game such as Meteorite, Bloody Hide, and Black Blood.

However, as we usually recommend, Akashic Dragon is a boss that shouldn't be underestimated and that needs a well-studied strategy to be defeated. Several players, in fact, in the event that they venture into this battle without a minimum of programming, may find it difficult and not be able to defeat the boss. Also, like other bosses in the game, to make things more difficult there are also the special abilities that Akashic Dragon can use against his enemies, such as Cauterize and Dragon Dance.

How to defeat Akashic Dragon

Similar to other bosses we've talked about before, Akashic Dragon is also vulnerable to his head. This being his vital point, your aim will be to implement a combat strategy that allows you to hit this point as many times as possible, in order to inflict greater damage and make this confrontation last as little as possible. To do this, we advise you to use Deadly Embrace and Wicked Wheel before launching any attack, in order to be able to reach his head and deal a large amount of damage. Once you land your attack, you can make use of Rising Flames for a super attack before moving from that position.

Once Akashic Dragon's Will Gauge reaches 50%, you'll be able to prolong his dazed state by using Deadly Embrace, then start using a combo of basic attacks and abilities to deal as much damage as possible. One thing to keep in mind is that, if your skills are on cooldown, you can make use of Limit Break to make Clive's damage dealt greater for a certain amount of time, which will allow you to face the boss in a simpler and faster way.

Akashic Dragon's abilities

Like almost all of the bosses in Final Fantasy 16, Akashic Dragon also has some special abilities in its repertoire that it will use during the fight to make your life even more difficult. One of these is Cauterize, an ability that allows the boss to spit fire in a zig-zag pattern as he slowly makes his way toward you. To recognize when the dragon is about to use this skill, all you have to do is watch its behavior. When he stands high in the sky it means he will be ready to attack with this ability. In order not to be hit, the strategy to use is among the simplest ever: run around the arena trying not to walk on places where there is already fire.

The other ability Akashic Dragon possesses is called Dance Dragon. When he performs this skill, the boss will rise high in the sky and start shooting fireballs that will do a lot of damage to you if they hit you. Once the phase in which he shoots these projectiles is over, the boss will approach you to lean on him. This is the right time to attack. Since he will need time to regain his strength and launch other attacks, this is your opportunity to attack consecutively without stopping, also using your skills. One piece of advice we want to give you to maximize this phase is to try to get as close as possible to the boss while he is still performing his skill, being careful not to be hit by fireballs. This way you will be closer and you will have more chances that your attacks are successful.