Final Fantasy 16: The Rising Tide will be adding everything from a new explorable location to a challenging new endgame activity, but it’s fair to say that the DLC’s biggest highlight is going to be its boss fight against Leviathan. As part of a recent panel at PAX East, producer Naoki Yoshida and DLC director Takeo Kujiraoka revealed more details on what to expect from that particular set piece.
Interestingly enough, the Leviathan boss fight has been described as an “especially challenging” one, and according to the aforementioned duo, players will be best served brushing up on their skills with the game (and especially Ifrit’s moveset) before the DLC launches. Additionally, the developers also say that the battle is being position as a final hurrah for Ifrit, which means the focus will be less on Clive and more on his primary Eikon.
Of course, with a new Eikon entering the equation, players will also unlock an entirely new set of abilities. The Eikonic abilities that Clive gains through Leviathan will be focused on ranged attacks, as opposed to other Eikons in the base game. The Eikon Feat, dubbed Serpent’s Cry, will transform his basic attacks (used with square and triangle) into a wide-ranging laser and an impromptu shotgun.
The new Eikonic attacks will be especially powerful, but they’ll come at a cost. Each one will deplete your new Tidal Gauge, which, once fully depleted, will have to be reloaded before you can use more abilities. Interestingly, this will come with an active reload mechanic- time your reload perfectly, and you can gain temporary ammunition for a limited period of time.
Check out the panel below for more details on the Eikon battle (starting at 26:42) and Clive’s new Eikonic abilities (starting at 43:50).
Final Fantasy 16: The Rising Tide launches for PS5 on April 18.
