Final Fantasy XVI: Walkthrough & Boss Guide

This page is a spoiler-heavy story outline of Final Fantasy XVI's main plot, in the order the Wikipedia plot summary gives it. It does not cover side quests, hunts or combat strategy, and the boss entries below describe only the story context of each Eikon fight, because we could not verify combat details such as attack names, phases or weaknesses.

Final Fantasy XVI opens with Clive Rosfield, a Bearer with a trace of the Phoenix's power, serving as bodyguard to his younger brother Joshua. During Joshua's awakening ceremony, Sanbreque soldiers ambush the group and Duke Elwin is killed, which triggers Joshua's destructive awakening as the Phoenix. The Eikon Ifrit then kills the Phoenix. Clive swears revenge. Their mother, Anabella, betrays Rosaria to protect her bloodline and has Clive enslaved to Sanbreque's army.

Thirteen years later Clive is sent behind enemy lines to assassinate the Iron Kingdom's Dominant, who turns out to be an enslaved Jill Warrick. Clive deserts to free her, and Cid Telamon rescues them and agrees to help search for Ifrit's Dominant.

While tracking an unknown Dominant, the group fights Benedikta, and Clive takes the power of her Eikon, Garuda. Bandits then attack the defeated Benedikta, and she transforms into a raging Garuda. This triggers Clive's own transformation into Ifrit, and he kills her. Clive despairs at being Ifrit, the Eikon that killed Joshua, but Cid urges him to keep searching for the truth.

After seeing the oppression of Bearers in occupied Rosaria, Clive and Jill join Cid in destroying the nations' Mothercrystals. In Sanbreque's capital the Mothercrystal's guardian, Ultima, mortally wounds Cid before the crystal is destroyed. When Ultima tries to possess Clive, Joshua, who survived thanks to the Phoenix, pulls Ultima into himself.

Five years later Clive, now calling himself Cid, destroys the Iron Kingdom's Mothercrystal with Jill. Hugo, who loved Benedikta, has been manipulated by Barnabas's agents into seeking revenge on Cid and invades Rosaria to lure him out. Clive mutilates him and reveals that he killed Benedikta, and Hugo transforms into a raging Titan. Clive, now in full control of Ifrit, kills him and destroys the Dhalmekian Republic's Mothercrystal.

Anabella replaces Dion as heir with her son Olivier. On Joshua's advice Dion stages a coup against Anabella and accidentally kills Emperor Sylvestre during it. Olivier, who is revealed to be a vessel for Ultima, transforms Dion into a raging Bahamut. Clive destroys the Crystalline Dominion's Mothercrystal, reunites with Joshua and helps him defeat Bahamut. Dion, now aware of Ultima, then kills Olivier.

Barnabas, king of Waloed and Dominant of Odin, later confronts Clive and reveals Ultima's plan to turn Clive into Mythos, a vessel Ultima could inhabit. After Jill gives Clive the power of her Eikon, Shiva, Clive kills Barnabas and destroys Waloed's Mothercrystal.

Joshua's research reveals that the ancient Fallen seeded Valisthea with Mothercrystals to siphon aether for a resurrection spell, a plan that would also erase humanity. Clive, Joshua and Dion assault Ultima's sky fortress, Origin, where Ultima's fragments merge. Ultima kills Dion, tears his fragment from Joshua and mortally wounds him. Joshua sacrifices himself to give Clive his Eikon. Clive kills and absorbs Ultima, heals Joshua and destroys the final Mothercrystal, removing magic from Valisthea. A post-credits scene set in the future leaves the fates of Clive and Joshua deliberately ambiguous.

According to Wikipedia, New Game+ carries your character stats and equipment into a new playthrough, and Final Fantasy Mode is a harder mode that raises overall difficulty and changes enemy placements. Arcade Mode, which grades combat with a point system, is separate.