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Why You’ll Fall In Love With This Indie Horror Romance Mashup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/video><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFortunately, this fight is<\/em> surmountable with a bit of patience and strategy. There are checkpoints for each phase of this encounter, and dying will replenish your stack of Firelights if you need extra healing. Also, Leviathan will repeat attacks throughout each phase, so you don\u2019t have to memorize too <\/em>much to make short work of the fish. Here\u2019s what you need to do.<\/p>\nNOTE:<\/strong> This guide is based on the Final Fantasy mode version of the fight. However, the mechanics appear to be identical to those seen in Story-Focused and Action-Focused mode.<\/p>\nPhase 1: Through the Maelstrom<\/h2>\n At the start of the encounter, Ifrit will be in freefall against Leviathan. You\u2019ve seen this gimmick in other Eikon fights (namely Titan), so the same rules apply. Your movement is limited here, so use long-range magic attacks when Leviathan is far away and melee attacks once it enters into close range. Remember that of Ifrit\u2019s two special moves, Spitflare<\/strong> is a long-range attack and Brimstone<\/strong> is a charged melee attack. This will become very important in phase 3<\/strong>.<\/p>\nYou\u2019ll predominantly rely on precision dodges to avoid damage, so learning Leviathan\u2019s attacks is crucial. Leviathan won\u2019t always use the same attacks in order, but it will almost always telegraph them in the same way throughout this phase. Here\u2019s what to look out for.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Screenshot: Square Enix \/ Kotaku<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nOne of the first main attacks Leviathan will use is telegraphed by its tail beginning to glow. It will spin around and try to whip you vertically, so you\u2019ll want to time your dodge once Leviathan is upside down and about to smack you<\/strong>. See the above picture for reference.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Screenshot: Square Enix \/ Kotaku<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nLeviathan will also spit a water jet from its mouth, starting at one end of the arena before twisting its head (and the beam) to the other side. To handle this, wait for its head to begin turning, and dodge roll into the beam. This will give you a generous window to land a precision dodge and avoid damage.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Screenshot: Square Enix \/ Kotaku<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nFortunately, Levithan\u2019s other attacks will be called out with ability names. When Leviathan casts Riptide<\/strong>, rings of water will appear around Ifrit that will damage him on contact. After about two seconds, the rings will close in on Ifrit. Similar to the water jet, wait for the rings of water to close in, then dodge in any direction to pull off a precision dodge.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Screenshot: Square Enix \/ Kotaku<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nSpinning Dive<\/strong> is a similar story, but it\u2019s a bit trickier since the attack will go off only a second after the name appears on the screen. Fortunately, you can predict when it\u2019s coming, since Levithan will swim into the wall of the waterspout before using it. The water will start to glow, and then you\u2019ll want to dodge right when Leviathan\u2019s head appears out of the water<\/strong>. There will be a loud splashing sound when Leviathan emerges, so you can use that as a cue for when to dodge.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Screenshot: Square Enix \/ Kotaku<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nThe other two named attacks are long-range, which makes them a bit easier to handle. The first of these is Tidal Roar<\/strong>, in which Leviathan will telegraph a huge AoE before blasting it at you. While this seems<\/em> to cover the entire arena at a glance, the sides are<\/em> safe spots as long as you don\u2019t accidentally tiptoe into the attack. Use Wildfire to get out of the way, and use ranged attacks to get some free hits in.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Screenshot: Square Enix \/ Kotaku<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nWhen Leviathan uses Grand Fall<\/strong>, several water orbs will appear in a spiral. Each orb will flash before zooming at whatever location you were in at the time they light up. There\u2019s honestly not much to say here; zip around the arena to dodge the orbs, and time your dodges whenever any orbs get close. You can chain precision dodges one after the other here, but you can get unlucky and have an orb hit you right when your invulnerability frames wear off, so be careful.<\/p>\nNote that these water orbs will be a recurring attack throughout all phases of this fight<\/strong>. Even in Phase 1, Leviathan can shoot groups of water orbs at you without using Grand Fall. But regardless of the situation, remember that they\u2019ll flash before shooting toward you. Time your dodging accordingly.<\/p>\nAttacks will repeat from here, so just keep dodging and inflicting damage in any safe openings you can find. Once Leviathan reaches about 75% HP, a cutscene will play which will launch you into Phase 2. There is a cinematic dodge to pull off here, so press R1 at the prompt during the scene<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Screenshot: Square Enix \/ Kotaku<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nPhase 2: Surging tides grow bold<\/h2>\n Fortunately, the remaining phases of the fight will put Ifrit on a proper battle arena instead of the more limiting freefall of Phase 1. What\u2019s more, you\u2019ll start to see attacks from Phase 1 repeat here. Since you can dodge most of them in much the same way as you did before (with one slight exception), I won\u2019t cover each move in detail. However, if you didn\u2019t nail the dodge timing before, you now have a lot<\/em> more wiggle room to just Wildfire out of the way of any attacks you see coming.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Screenshot: Square Enix \/ Kotaku<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nOne of the central new attacks to watch out for is Breach<\/strong>. Leviathan will dive into the water before the attack name will appear, and a wide area of effect marker will be telegraphed around Ifrit. To dodge Breach, immediately use Wildfire to get out of the circle<\/strong>. The timing on this is tight, so you\u2019ll have better odds of dodging if you start moving once Leviathan enters the water. I wouldn\u2019t recommend trying to precision dodge this one, but if you can do it, knock yourself out!<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Screenshot: Square Enix \/ Kotaku<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nBreach is not to be confused with Riptide<\/strong>, which reappears from Phase 1. However, the rings of water will appear in a way that looks similar<\/em> to Breach at a glance, so make sure you notice the difference. That said, you can dodge Riptide in the exact same way. Wait for the rings of water to close in, and dodge into them to perform a precision dodge.<\/p>\nAs another visual clue to differentiate between Breach and Riptide, note that Leviathan will be out of the water for Riptide, unlike the dive that precedes Breach<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Screenshot: Square Enix \/ Kotaku<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nSalt Spray<\/strong> is technically a new attack, but this is similar in concept to Grand Fall<\/strong> from Phase 1. Orbs will appear in front of you, and they\u2019ll fly at you after they individually flash. Nothing new to cover here, you have so much free space to dodge this one that you can honestly wing it.<\/p>\nAs far as I can tell, Leviathan doesn\u2019t have a specific HP checkpoint that triggers the next phase (I\u2019ve had its health bar above and below 50% when the transition occurs). However, you\u2019ll certainly know when the next phase begins, because it\u2019s time for\u2026<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Screenshot: Square Enix \/ Kotaku<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nPhase 3: The DPS Check (Troubled Waters)<\/h2>\n After a short cinematic plays, Leviathan will cast Troubled Waters<\/strong>, creating a shield around it. Like other shield phases from the main game, your goal is to shatter it within a (mostly) invisible time limit. You have approximately two minutes, and you\u2019ll only know you\u2019re running out of time when you see the words \u201cThe sea rises in\u2026\u201d before a five second countdown.<\/p>\nWhile you do need to worry about attacks from Leviathan here, there aren\u2019t any complex mechanics to deal with. To inflict as much damage as possible, use the following strategies:<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Screenshot: Square Enix \/ Kotaku<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n1: Use your Spitfire ability ASAP<\/strong>. Since it\u2019s a ranged attack, you can whack Leviathan with this right at the start of the phase as long as it\u2019s off cooldown. Using Spitfire early means it cools down sooner, letting you potentially sneak in an extra cast before you run out of time.<\/p>\n2: From there, spam Wildfire to get into melee range of Leviathan. You\u2019ll have to contend with some basic attacks here, including some water spurts and more water orbs that behave like Salt Spray and Grand Fall earlier. You can skirt around these without too much trouble, though you may need to precision dodge the water orbs as you close in. Don\u2019t try to brute force this part and eat unnecessary attacks<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Screenshot: Square Enix \/ Kotaku<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n3: Once you\u2019re in melee range, charge up and use the Brimstone <\/strong>skill immediately. If both special moves are cooling down, spam Ifrit\u2019s basic combo of Square-Square-Square-Triangle to end your attacks with a burst finish. This will bounce Ifrit into the air, but you can keep repeating the combo while airborne, so don\u2019t bother waiting for Ifrit to land. If Ifrit\u2019s combo string pushes him away from Leviathan, just Wildfire or dodge back into melee range and keep the pressure on.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Screenshot: Square Enix \/ Kotaku<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n4: Leviathan will continue to use basic water orb and water burst attacks while you\u2019re in melee range. Again, do not try to brute force and eat these hits, since you\u2019ll wind up inflicting less damage while you recover from the knockback. Taking a second to dodge at just the right time is worthwhile, so don\u2019t get too stressed about the time limit here. If you can pull off a precision dodge, you can chain right into a precision counter that will inflict boosted damage (nearly on par with a three normal melee attacks)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n5: After enough time in melee range, Leviathan will glow as the water underneath it ripples. This means it\u2019s casting a knockback ability that will create distance between you and the boss again. This is a relatively long cast, so just keep dealing as much damage before the ability goes off. It inflicts no damage, so don\u2019t worry about dodging anything here.<\/p>\n
6: To sneak in a little extra damage, you can charge your magic by holding Triangle while the knockback animation plays<\/strong>. This will let you sneak in a charged shot as soon as you regain control.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Screenshot: Square Enix \/ Kotaku<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n7: Repeat the above steps, since there are no new mechanics to learn. Use Spitfire regardless of range, close distance with Wildfire, and keep comboing Leviathan while using your abilities as soon as possible. You\u2019ll see one more knockback cast before the phase ends, so brace yourself for that as you pile on the damage.<\/p>\n
Make no mistake, this is a tight damage check, especially on Final Fantasy mode. However, it does not<\/em> require perfect play, especially if you follow the steps above. If you slip up along the way, just keep fighting. You\u2019ll get it eventually, and you can keep practicing thanks to the fight\u2019s generous checkpoints.<\/p>\nOnce you shatter the shield, Leviathan will be staggered. Take advantage of this opportunity, since this is all free damage you can inflict before the next phase begins. If you happen to have abilities off-cooldown, make sure to use them now while you can stack up damage multipliers!<\/p>\n\n