With its shift into a full action RPG, Final Fantasy 16 has seen the franchise tradition of turn based combat transform into all out active battles taking place in real time. For longtime fans of the franchise, the abrupt change to the fundamentals of a Final Fantasy game may be more difficult to overcome than expected.
Boss battles in Final Fantasy 16 continue the franchise trend of epic confrontations, but the weight of these skirmishes takes on a whole new feel. On his journey to meet up with Gav, Cid’s scout, Clive encounters the fierce dragoon known as the Knight of the Dying Sun, whose arsenal of slick abilities make him a worthy opponent.
Before You Fight The Knight Of The Dying Sun
Clive does not have much time to explore before running head first into the Knight of the Dying Sun, which means the player will not have had a ton of time to learn how to use Garuda’s Eikonic abilities. This is important because the O ability for the Phoenix and Garuda Eikonic abilities are drastically different. Phoenix Shift sends Clive warping toward his designated foe, allowing him to finish the warp with a phase attack that deals increased damage and stagger damage. Garuda’s Deadly Embrace, however, pulls enemies to Clive. It does not pull large enemies, though, so accidentally using it on the Knight of the Dying Sun causes Clive to do minimal damage and an awkward flip.
The Knight of the Dying Sun attacks with an Aevis dragon, which handles like the other few Clive has already disposed of. It is recommended to kill the dragon first so Clive can provide his full attention to the battle with the dragoon. Clive is accompanied by Cid and Torgal in this battle, so utilize Torgal to heal Clive if the situation ever gets tight.
How To Defeat The Knight Of The Dying Sun
Similar to the first dragoon Clive fought in his flashback at Phoenix Gate, Knight of the Blinding Dawn, the Knight of the Dying Sun is agile and powerful. He wields a large halberd with ease, striking quickly and launching attacks that can travel across the entire arena. Clive should master the perfect dodge mechanic in order to boost damage and deplete the stagger bar a bit more efficiently. It will take approximately three staggers to fell the Knight of the Dying Sun, and he powers up after each stagger. This battle is perhaps the most challenging boss fight up to this point, so learning the dragoon’s skillset will help turn the tide of battle.
The Knight Of The Dying Sun’s Skillset
The Knight of the Dying Sun will utilize his halberd to deal quick and numerous attacks that have a wide reach. He will slash in normal patterns, but he will also swing the spear to attack behind himself should Clive try to sneak around back. He will also charge an attack to thrust himself and his halberd across the map, dealing decent damage if Clive is caught in between. The player can identify this particular attack as charging by the blue aura that surrounds the Knight of the Dying Sun. If the player can reach near the end of the thrust attack’s path and time a perfect dodge, the payoff damage will be worth the effort.
- Jump: The iconic dragoon attack will see the Knight of the Dying Sun launch himself off the screen into the air. He will automatically land in the vicinity of where Clive is standing, which will be highlighted by a blue line descended from the skies. Clive can either move out of range of the attack or attempt a perfect dodge. Keep in mind that missing the dodge will result in pretty heavy damage.
- Double Jump: After Clive staggers the Knight of the Dying Sun the first time, the dragoon will use his double jump ability. Much like the initial jump, the double jump simply adds a second dive at Clive. Just like the single jump, both strikes will be highlighted by a blue line, indicating the landing zone.
- Mirage Dive: Once the Knight of the Dying Sun recovers from a second stagger, he will begin utilizing mirage dive. Where the jump and double jump resulted in a single or double jump from the skies, mirage dive sees the dragoon launch numerous strikes from above. Multiple blue indicators will rain down from the skies, each slamming attacks into the ground. For this attack, Clive should continuously move and dodge as necessary. Perfect dodges mean nothing here, as Clive cannot attack the Knight of the Dying Sun before he finishes the entire attack.