Final Fantasy XVI Guide: “Fire and Ice” Walkthrough

Final Fantasy 16 Guide – Main Story Quest #36

At the start of this quest, you’ll find yourself in another dungeon, this time at Drake’s Breath. Much like the others we’ve faced up until this point, this is a linear path with very little deviation. Follow the path ahead until you reach the first combat area.

These outdoor areas will see you fighting Akashic versions of the monsters we’ve faced before, which are basically exactly the same, albeit a little more aggressive than the versions seen up until this point.

After taking out the enemies, go through the next doors and up the steps. There will be more enemies to face, including an Akashic Minotaur. This one doesn’t have any new moves but due to its extra strength, it can do a fair chunk of damage if you’re not careful, so be mindful of this and evade its big attacks.

After getting rid of these enemies, keep following the path and keep your eyes peeled for any potions that may be lying around.

A cutscene will happen just after this, and then lead into our first Boss Fight of the quest.

Mini Boss Fight – Akashic Morbol
Tips for beating: Remember the Morbol from the start of the game? This one is very similar. There’s a new attack it’ll perform though, coming in the form of Worse Breath. It’s just like Bad Breath, only, he’ll spin around while performing it. Just be ready to continue dodging to the side when he does this. There’s also another attack that will see a good number of tentacles sprout from the ground but it’s best not to take your focus off the main bulk of Morbol’s body and keep pummeling him with attack combos. If a tentacle does hit you, just dodge from left to right to avoid extra damage while pummeling away. Halfway through the fight, Morbol will start using Wild Rage, along with the other attacks seen earlier in the game. Avoid these and when he’s on cooldown mode (where it’ll slump down in a dazed state), you’ll get an extra opening to attack while he’s recovering. Morbol shouldn’t be too difficult to take out though.
	Rewards:
18 Magical Ash	2 Meteorite	180 EXP
120 Ability Points	2000 Gil

Fighting In The Mountain

After fighting Morbol and watching the short cutscene, keep going straight and you’ll find yourself inside the mountain, well on your way to reaching your destination.

As you progress through the linear path, you’ll come to a fork in the road. While these both lead in the same direction, it’s advised to choose the path on the left, as you’ll avoid an extra fight with a Salamander miniboss.

After dealing with more groups of enemies, including a couple of Bombs, you’ll need to jump off to a new area to progress. In doing so, you’ll start fighting a Red Mousse, which is basically like the Flans in the old Final Fantasy games. This can use Firaga to deal hefty fire damage at you but given there’s no elemental damage in this game, be sure to pummel this Mousse with all your Eikon abilities – including your Phoenix skills – to take it out.

Be sure to grab the chest right beside where it originally showed up once its bested, as it contains a vambrace called Mythril Wristlets. Next, jump down toward the next large platform, for another boss fight.

Mini Boss Fight – Flame Lizard
Tips for beating: It seems this is a reunion quest, as the flame lizard is identical to the Fafnir we fought in the woods earlier in the game, but with beefed up attacks and a few variations. The moveset is almost identical to the earlier one, so watch out for it raising legs and rolling from side to side. However, new to the party are some extra moves, including Incense which sees the Flame Lizard cover its body in fire temporarily and enact more powerful attacks temporarily. It’s basically like the Lizard’s very own Limit Break. This will be timed, so be sure to keep evading and dodging attacks, hitting with projectiles from afar until it’s back to normal. It’ll also perform Firewater too, which sees the Flame Lizard spew fire forwards in a sweeping motion. Halfway through the fight, after staggering the big guy a few times, be ready for Overdrive, which is a combination of Incense and Firewater. Don’t even bother attacking here, just dodge and evade until he’s back to normal. Soon, you’ll take the big guy down.
	Rewards:
1 Gnarled Scale	18 Sharp Fangs	220 EXP
150 Ability Points	2500 Gil

Heading To The Inner Sanctum

After fighting Flame Lizard, jump up on the rocks and then up the ladder. Open the door at the top and wait for the cutscene to start. After, keep going down the path and you’ll run into some soldiers.

This area will follow the conventional corridor/open arena layout that’s the norm in dungeons within Final Fantasy 16, albeit with many more enemies appearing through hallways this time. That’s great news because it means your splash damage Eikon abilities will be put to good use, so be sure to use these when lots of enemies are around.

Keep following the path ahead and you’ll eventually come to a large, open area with a final group of enemies, including an Ironblood Fanatic. Deal with all of these, and be sure to open the chest on the left before opening the next gate. This includes the accessory The Grace of the Inferno (Will-o-the-Wykes).

Once you’re ready, open the gates and be ready for another big fight.

Boss Fight – Liquid Flame
Tips for beating: Liquid Flame is a speedy boss that’ll use its agility to punish you if it can, so watch out for that. Liquid Flame will use either a combo of stomps or a combo of swinging arm attacks, but there is a small window after it deals these blows that you’ll be able to get some strikes in. Fiery Impact is an attack you’ll need to watch out for. Within this, the boss will wrap away and then use an attack to close the distance back in. Just be sure to dodge these when it arrives. There’s also Eructation too, where Flame will slam on the ground, erupting a geyser of fire to erupt out the ground from a lit spot. Once you’ve got the boss down to 50% health, more fights will come your way. The first, will see Liquid Flame transform into a dragon, which is an excellent opportunity to get some good attack combos and Limit strikes in. However, do be wary of it using Fiery Impact. Soon, Liquid Flame will start using Eleventh Hour. This nasty move is the most damaging of them all. This will see it transform into a series of animals, including four beasts that’ll descend on your location and charge one at a time. Be sure to dodge these as it comes crashing in your location. It’ll then switch to four dragons, breathing fire in a deadly X on the ground. Finally, the attack will see a large circle of splash damage show up, so quickly get out the circle before Flame completes its attack. Avoid these attacks as best you can, and when it’s transformed back to normal again, get those combos and Eikon abilities in until you take the big guy down.
	Rewards:
18 Magical Ash	2 Meteorite	180 EXP
120 Ability Points	2000 Gil

Once Liquid Flame has been bested, there will be a number of cutscenes so watch these to end the quest and gain another story-based trophy too.

Here Be Monsters	After The Storm
You can check out our full walkthrough and game guide here!