Final Fantasy 15 Guide: How to Beat Adamantoise
By Cody Gravelle 14 December 2016
When it comes to Final Fantasy 15, there is no boss bigger or badder than Adamantoise. Beating Adamantoise isn’t for the faint of heart, but our guide will make it easier.
Final Fantasy 15 might have brought a myriad number of innovations to the JRPG genre with it upon its release, but the game also has a very old-school mentality regarding its monsters. Final Fantasy 15‘s main narrative is relatively easy, and players willing to grind a few hours in between the early story missions will find themselves well-prepared for anything the campaign has to throw at them. Better still, Final Fantasy 15‘s combat is the series’ best, so early grinding can often feel a lot more fun than previous iterations’ endless monster killing treks did.
That’s the main campaign, however, and once players unlock post-game missions and bosses, Final Fantasy 15‘s difficulty ramps up significantly. Among the over 200 Final Fantasy 15 sidequests, there are terrifying monstrosities and complicated puzzles to be solved, and it is here that Final Fantasy 15 is most reminiscent of its earliest predecessors. Although many of these enemies are difficult, however, none of the post-game combat can measure up to Final Fantasy 15‘s most grueling challenge – felling the mighty Adamantoise.
Although Conan O’Brien’s encounter with the Adamantoise going poorly shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, the fact is that any gamer unprepared for the battle will struggle greatly. Luckily, we’ve completed the Adamantoise battle and developed a few tips and tricks that will save gamers a lot of experimentation during the hours-long fight. For anyone looking for an edge heading into the struggle against Adamantoise, read on.
Prepare Ahead of Time
This one should go without saying, but because it’s so important, we’re saying it anyways – make sure you’re stocked up on all of the hi-potions, elixirs, and mega phoenixes you can get your hands on. Adamantoise doesn’t usually hit that hard outside of a few special, blockable attacks, and Final Fantasy 15‘s party member AI is refreshingly great, but party members will become endangered. The battle is agonizingly long, and even flawless play while controlling Noctis won’t be able to protect party members at all times. Losing valuable DPS from Ignis, Gladiolus, and Prompto can drag the battle out way longer than it needs to go.
Also, remember to camp and eat a particularly beneficial meal before the battle. Attack boost if your Noctis isn’t routinely hitting 9,999 on his own is recommended, and HP bonuses never hurt either. If you’re feeling ambitious, eating a meal that increases EXP gained might be a good idea, but be warned – the Adamantoise battle is so long it’s likely the effects of the meal will wear off well before it actually goes down, meaning the EXP bonus won’t occur.
Invest AP in Warp Strike Powers
Warp striking is by far the most effective way of dealing with Adamantoise. While the boss does have a weakness to Ice magic, its HP pool is so gigantic that even using multicast Blizzaga spells will only make a small dent in its health, and it’s very cost inefficient to do this for an entire battle given the cooldown on magic abilities. Instead, having the Warp Strike ability that guarantees a critical hit when Warp Striking from close range and reducing the MP cost of phasing is vitally important. Chaining Warp Strikes together in mid-air is the best way to chip away at Adamantoise’s health.
It’s In the Eyes
Whether you’re using Wait Mode or Active Mode, taking the time to aim at the right body parts of Adamantoise will both speed the fight along and deal maximum damage. In particular, aiming for the eyes of Adamantoise with Warp Strike will often hit for 9,999 damage and position Noctis directly beside the beast’s head, allowing him to chain together more Warp Strikes quickly. When combined with the close range critical bonus ability, these Warp Strikes will deal a significant amount of damage and keep Noctis safe from Adamantoise’s ground attacks for a prolonged period of time.
Warp Your Hair Back and Forth
Out-dated pop culture reference? Check. Abusing the game’s Warp Strike system to its fullest? Tick that box too, as it’s the single most important element of the Adamantoise fight. Using Warp Points is vital to surviving the fight and constantly regenerating MP enough to continue chaining Warp Strikes together. There are Warp Points on either side of Adamantoise that are a fair distance apart, meaning that Noctis can efficiently navigate around the field of battle to avoid wherever Adamantoise is attacking at the time. These Warp Points, based on character build, can also instantly regenerate Noctis’ MP pool and make chaining Warp Strikes in mid-air against Adamantoise a thing of ease.
Use Your Summon When Available, But Don’t Count On It
Noctis will inevitably have one of his summons come online in the middle of the battle, and it would be foolish not to use free damage when available. We recommend sitting on the summon until you begin to feel tired or feel your focus in the fight beginning to slip – the Final Fantasy 15 summon cinematic that plays is a perfect excuse to take a couple of deep breaths and get ready for the fight once it begins again. It may seem silly, but Adamantoise isn’t necessarily a fight that measures player skill in combat, but rather patience, execution, and focus.
The Tortoise Beats the Hare
The Adamantoise fight is a marathon, not a sprint. It is nearly impossible to complete at an average post-game player level (between 50-65) before 45 minutes or an hour have passed, and it is easy to get impatient and begin spamming Warp Strike attacks and hoping they connect. That’s a recipe for disaster, however, as having Noctis enter Stasis when he’s near Adamantoise’s head will result in him plummeting hundreds of feet into the rocky ground, which will almost always put him in Danger immediately. Instead, keep an eye on your MP bar, make sure to chain Warp Strikes when available, and always play it safe and use a Warp Point whenever you think Adamantoise is gearing up to strike back.
Bonus: Make Sure to Block and Parry at Least One Attack
While this goes against the general advice of this article, if you’re comfortable in the middle of the fight with the rhythm and strategy required, we highly recommend sitting underneath one of Adamantoise’s charged attacks and timing the block right so that Noctis can parry it. It results in one of the cooler party animations in the game, and it’s a neat little easter egg that doubles as a quick source of burst damage against Adamantoise.
The Adamantoise fight is daunting, to be certain, but it is a very doable fight that relies less on perfect timing and more on a patient, measured approach. While an hour or two might seem like a ridiculous length for a boss fight, keep in mind that Final Fantasy 15‘s Adamantoise fight was originally advertised as lasting multiple days. Remembering that fact during the fight will help make it go by a bit more quickly, and if you follow the tips from this guide, the Adamantite Bangle, 50,000 gil, and most important, sick bragging rights will be yours in no time at all.
Final Fantasy 15 is available now for PS4 and Xbox One.
