As Final Fantasy 16 players begin the ninth main scenario quest, "Headwind", they may recognize this area from the demo. The Eikonic Challenge used this quest to give players a taste of the powers that Clive gains over the course of the game. While players will see a lot of things that were in the demo, the actual quest offers a great deal more story content than what was in the demo.
Up to this point, combat has been pretty sparse in Final Fantasy 16. But as players infiltrate Caer Norvent, the action will ramp up significantly. Here is what players can expect as they begin "Headwind".
This walkthrough contains spoilers, so players should proceed with caution.
Search Caer Norvent
As the cutscenes wrap up, Final Fantasy 16 players will find themselves in one of the lower levels of Caer Norvent. Go up toward the stairs and through the narrow corridor. Continue following this corridor to reach the dungeon. The cells are all empty, so approach the gate blocking the way forward. Just like with the door encountered in the first main scenario quest, players will need to press and hold 'R2' several times to get past this gate.
As players go up the stairs, they will hear that the guards are aware that there are intruders. Continue going up the stairs and be ready for a fight in the next room beyond the door. There is a large group of enemies, but they aren't particularly strong. Deal with them and then approach the door that leads outside. This triggers a brief cutscene.
Turn around and go to the alcove on the left. There will be a window that players can climb out of. Out in the courtyard, go up the stairs and follow this path to reach a gate. On the other side of the gate is another group of enemies. This batch has several casters among them, so make sure to deal with them first.
After that, go toward the gate in the corner and proceed down the steps toward another group of enemies. Before going through the door, turn around and loot the chest to receive some Gil and Steelsilk. Go through the door to enter a large open area. As players already suspect, a tougher enemy appears to greet Clive and Cid.
This enemy casts both fire and lightning magic. Both are easily dodged, but players should stay on their toes as it can be easy to get tunnel vision and miss the tells. This enemy can also teleport as well, so watch out for that. After this enemy falls, open the gate on the left side of this area. Pick up the Potion and loot the chest before going up the stairs. Keep following this path to reach another open area where players will get a tutorial about dealing with enemies that are guarding. In this next area, players will have to deal with several waves of enemies.
Before going through the large door that leads into the chapel, make sure to heal up any damage that was taken. Once players open the gate inside the chapel, a cutscene will play and a battle will soon follow.
How to Beat Suparna & Chirada
This is not the first time players fight Chirada, but this time Chirada has brought a friend to fight Final Fantasy 16 players. Chirada uses all the same attacks as before. But with Suparna using their own abilities, players will need to be careful as there will often be several attacks they need to dodge at once.
Early on in the fight, a Cinematic Evasion and Cinematic Strike sequence will occur. Use this opportunity to stagger both enemies and then damage them as much as possible. When the bosses get back up, watch out for their Perfect Storm attack which creates a large tornado in the middle of the arena. At this point the bosses will repeat their attacks until they are both slain.
Persue Benedikta
Once the bosses are dead, another cutscene will play. From there, go up the stairs directly ahead. Continue going upstairs and through corridors to reach a room with some enemies in it. Kill this group and then go through the door to find another set of stairs leading up. This leads outside toward a ladder that can be climbed. Take care of the group of enemies beyond this point and continue up another flight of stairs to find more enemies in a room with a large table.
There aren't many areas that players can go other than up. But if players lose their sense of direction in the middle of battle, they can click the left stick to have Torgal point the way forward. Keep going forward and fight any enemies blocking the way. Once players reach the top of the Green Tower, they should make sure that they are ready for an upcoming boss fight.
How to Beat Benedikta
Being Garuda's Dominant, Benedikta uses a lot of wind magic. In addition to casting spells like Aerora and Aeroga, Benedikta will also use her wind magic to quickly dash away from players when she gets hit. When Benedikta casts Windblade, three lines will appear on the ground. Don't stand in these lines as she will follow this up with a second Windblade. These abilities repeat until Benedikta's health bar is completely depleted.
After a brief cutscene and a Cinematic Evasion sequence, phase two of the Benedikta fight begins. Benedikta takes the fight more seriously in phase two and channels more of Garduda's power. She will fly around and attack far more swiftly than she did in phase one. One ability to watch out for is Aero Rain. Benedikta will fly around in the sky and shoot green spheres at players. Keep dodging as there is no way to hit Benedikta while she uses this ability.
Move back as she tends to follow this attack up with Nose Dive which is similar to the Jump ability used by the boss near the end of "Flight of the Fledgling". When Benedikta reaches 60% health, a combination of a Cinematic Evasion and a Cinematic Strike will occur. Deal as much damage to her as possible while she is staggered.
As Benedikta's health depletes, she casts Gathering Clouds. This is then followed up by a smaller version of the attack she used during the Cinematic Evasion, and this is easily dodged. If Benedikta casts tornado, move away from her. At roughly 30% health, Torgal rejoins the fight and players gain the upper hand after a series of Cinematic Strikes. Keep damaging her and she will eventually fall. This is followed up by several cutscenes, and players will unlock a trophy as they start the next main scenario quest.
Final Fantasy 16 is available now on PlayStation 5.
