After beating Garuda in Final Fantasy 16, the next major boss fight is against Typhon. There is a battle against an Akashic Dragon right before it that can get pretty intense, but I wouldn’t put it on a similar level to the fights against Garuda or Typhon.
If you’re a longtime fan of Final Fantasy, then you should be familiar with Typhon, although this version of the creature is quite different from what you know.
This boss fight can get pretty challenging, so you may need all the help you can get if you’re not an expert. That’s what this guide is for, so let’s get right into it!
Preparation
Usually, I recommend using up your ability points on functional upgrades before any boss fight, but you can get by here without needing to do so.
This is because, like the fights against Benedikta and Garuda, there are two phases in this battle; the first one as Clive and the second as Ifrit.
Your ability upgrades only make a real difference to Clive, so they’re only useful in the first phase of the fight. However, that phase is fairly easy, so upgrades may not be necessary.
First Phase vs. Typhon
In the first phase of the fight, Cid transforms into the Eikon Ramuh and impales Typhon, after which Clive is transported into another realm where he’s alone with the impaled creature struggling to remove the staff from his chest.
While Typhon is busy with that, he summons a couple of waves of Akashic creatures, wraiths, and specters) to keep you busy. These should be easy to dispatch with ranged and melee attacks, but the real fight begins when Typhon finally pulls the staff out of his chest and faces you.
Clive is no match for Typhon, so he rightfully changes into Ifrit to challenge him. You’ll remember that the last time this happened was during the fight against Garuda. This time, Ifrit feels a tad more powerful and moves across the battleground more smoothly as well.
In this first phase, Typhon has some nasty attacks, but there’s a pattern to them that should make him easy to deal with.
There’s an attack called the Overhead Slam where he raises his arm/s into the air and slams it or tries to slash down with them. A Precision Dodge can help you avoid this easily, followed by a series of combo attacks before he gets himself up from the ground again.
Another attack called the Underhand Swipe has Typhon swiping up his arm from the ground. A vertical blade of energy erupts from that motion, so I recommend tapping and holding the Circle button to sprint to safety.
That move is called the Wildfire and can also be used to close down on him quickly when he teleports to different areas of the battleground.
Another move called the Thrusting Attack sees Typhon pull off a ranged attack where he charges his fists with energy and lunges forward. Be prepared to dodge when the build-up animation starts. Alternatively, he could also shoot balls of energy at you from range, but you can also avoid this easily by dodging.
The Unending Clamor attack is another ranged attack where Typhon teleports to some distance away from you and builds a large, circular zone of energy that stretches across the battleground beneath your feet. To dodge this, simply use Wildfire to sprint outside the zone.
Typhon also has two laser attacks in his locker. There’s one where he simply points at you and shoots the laser, and there’s another where he drags the laser across the ground so there’s a wider range for potential damage.
You can avoid this by sprinting behind him before the laser gets to you. This takes you out of the line of fire and opens up an opportunity for you to attack before the animation is over.
This pattern of counterattacking during his attacks is actually applicable multiple times during the fight because he’s not quick, and the animations for his attacks are a bit drawn out as well.
When you manage to stagger Typhon, I recommend using the heavy melee attack (hold down and release the Square button) instead of the regular combo attacks because it deals more damage.
You can also deal some heavy damage with your Backdraft attack. Use that as many times as you can throughout the fight to increase your chances of winning the fight quickly.
The end of the first phase is marked by a cutscene that ends with Typhon transforming into a four-armed, overpowered version of himself – the Transgressor.
Second Phase vs. Typhon the Transgressor
This second phase is where the real challenge lies. The same attacks from the previous phase are still present, but they are way more powerful in terms of speed, volume, and effect.
There are several new attacks as well. This means that you have to be quicker on your feet and more aggressive with your counterattacks to keep up.
There are three major new attacks that you have to deal with. My least favorite is the Demon Wall because it covers such a large area and you can easily get caught out.
To avoid it, you have to somehow be in the small gap in the wall by the time it gets to you, but that will rarely be the case unless you use Wildfire to sprint to the gap as the wall closes down. There are five walls that follow each other in quick succession, and the last wall usually has its gap directly in front of Typhon, so you can prepare for that.
The Spinning Attack can also drain a substantial amount of health from Ifrit, but it is relatively easier to dodge. Sprint away from Typhon and be prepared to jump over the shockwaves that he’ll hurl at you.
For the attack where he points a finger that shoots a laser that tracks you, try to get up close to Typhon while dodging the laser. If you’re close enough, you’ll be out of range of the laser and you can deal some damage while the animation lasts.
One useful tip to apply in this fight is that wherever Typhon teleports, resist the temptation to immediately close in and attack because more often than not, he’s loading up an attack himself and you might be running right into it.
Instead, keep moving around but keep your distance until you have some idea of the type of attack that he’s building up and you know the best way to avoid it.
Generally, there are smaller windows of opportunity for you to deal damage on Typhon in this phase, so you have to make the most of each opportunity.
Use your Firelights sparingly to heal yourself and try not to let the fight drag out for too long because you’ll almost certainly run out of Firelights if it does.
When you manage to get his health down to 10%, the battle is pretty much over because the rest of it is QTEs and those are easy pickings.
If, after trying to apply these tips, you still can’t seem to best Typhon and it’s not fun anymore, then you may want to consider adjusting the game mode temporarily (or permanently) for a more relaxed experience. Best of luck!
