Final Fantasy 16: How to Defeat Infernal Shadow

Infernal Shadow is a boss that players will face in Final Fantasy 16's “Buried Memories” main quest after defeating the boss Infernal Eikon. As usual, it is very important to keep in mind the fact that to face this boss you need to think and act precisely and quickly. Also, we remind you that this is the last of the three bosses you will have to face during this mission. In this article, you will find some strategies and useful tips to refer to if you want to defeat the Infernal Shadow boss.

Location, rewards, and abilities

As previously mentioned, the boss Infernal Shadow can be faced during the main mission “Buried Memories”, which takes place in the Phoenix Gate Ruins in the Grand Duchy of Rosaria. Players who manage to defeat this fearsome boss will receive 450 XP, 180 AP, and 3200 Gil as a reward, which will be used during the adventure to upgrade the character. In addition, the same items obtained in the boss fight against Infernal Eikon, Magicked Ash, and Fire Shard will also be available as a reward.

However, it is important to note that this boss is not to be underestimated. Infernal Shadow is a type of boss that can create more than a few headaches for players, so it is very important to prepare well and find the right strategy to deal with it. Furthermore, like almost all the bosses you will encounter during your adventure, Infernal Shadow also has a selection of special abilities that he can use during combat and they are Fira, Molten Thrust, Incinerate, Hammer and Anvil, Hellfire, Crimson Rush, and Eruption.

How to defeat Infernal Shadow

The boss fight against Infernal Shadow is divided into two phases. During the first phase, the boss will mainly make use of attacks with his sword, accompanied by super-fast dodges that will test your reflexes. The fundamental advice that we would like to give you to be able to overcome this first phase of the fight is to learn the timing of his attacks, in such a way as to be able to perform perfect parries and therefore have windows to be able to counterattack. One thing to observe to succeed in all this is his sword. When Infernal Shadow will slowly raises his sword upwards, it means that he will be ready to make his attack on him.

As for the second phase of the battle, however, Infernal Shadow will transform into his corresponding form of Eikon, which will allow him to be faster, inflict greater damage and make use of more skills. All this translates into the fact that he will become even more difficult to face and, consequently, to kill. In this phase, we suggest you be very careful about his abilities, since many of them are AoE-type and also because he will start throwing more fireballs at you than before.

Finally, it is important to know that Clive will be able to control Ifrit's powers towards the end of the battle which will prove to be very useful in concluding it with your victory. Similar to Infernal Shadow, Clive's speed and damage will also increase, making the battle an even match. We advise you to use basic attacks to stagger the boss, and then make use of different abilities such as Gouge, Scarlet Cyclone, and Rising Flames to increase the damage dealt more.

Infernal Shadow's abilities

Infernal Shadow has access to a multitude of abilities to make life more difficult during the fight. One of them is Molten Thrust, which allows the boss to lunge and stab at you with great speed. The strategy to adopt in this case is to keep an eye on his sword to see when he is reloading it, in such a way as to be able to dodge at the right time and also have the possibility to counterattack. Infernal Shadow will also make use of fireballs and the Fira ability, which is nothing more than a more powerful version of simple fireballs that can be thrown with greater speed than the standard ones.

When the boss transforms into his Eikon form, as mentioned earlier, he will increase his speed, damage dealt, and the abilities he can use. The most important thing to keep in mind is the fact that now Infernal Shadow will be able to launch air strikes, which will be more difficult to avoid than the others. Among these, there is the Incinerate ability which allows the boss to create flames that sprout from the ground; to identify the moment before the ability is cast, just look at his and see if there is the presence of lava (which means that Infernal Shadow is ready to cast his ability). To avoid these flames, you will have to be able to dodge with the right timing.

Another very powerful ability that Infernal Shadow will acquire after assuming his Eikon form, is Hellfire. This skill allows the boss to summon flames from the sky that will fall in different places on the battlefield. To avoid these flames, the strategy to use is to run across the entire surface of the arena, which will also allow you not to be sucked into the fire that will be created around him once the skill is over.