Rookie Hunter Tragedy¶

Requires Hunter Rank 4 . Ashenhorns are nothing more than beefed up Dualhorns and are level 39, so it’ll likely take a bit to down each one. You can find them directly south of the “e” in The Weaverwilds’ “The.” They are weak to polearms, shields and fire, while being strong against ice and holy. You shouldn’t have too much trouble against them, since you already know how to fight the Ashenhorns, due to their lesser selves.

The Pride of the King¶

Requires Hunter Rank 6 . Another staple enemy of Final Fantasy games rears its head for this hunt, the Behemoth. You will find the Behemoth roaming around in front of the Keycatrich Ruins to the north. Your experience with this particular enemy has been limited in the game, although you have fought at least one, possibly two, so far (Deadeye and a Rogue Behemoth, if you chose the meat option in The Perfect Cup). At level 47, it can prove to be a challenging fight, although it only has around 103,000 health.

It is weak to greatswords and shields, while being strong against fire and holy. Its attacks can deal some big damage, although nothing is too crazy that can’t be dodged or blocked. Be mindful that it can perform a tail sweep if you’re attacking it from behind, as well as a move where it can hit you with it horns. Be on the lookout for opportunities to block, followed by a parry, as this will basically be free damage against the beast.

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The Behemoth is just waiting for its prey (left). Watch out for its tail attacks (right).

Serpent of the Abyss¶

Requires you to finish the Crestholm Channels dungeon/sidequest . This fight isn’t any different than when you fought it while going through the dungeon for the first time. With that said, you will definitely want to have protection against fire, so if your cooking level is at 9, then making the Lasagna al Forno at the nearby camp right outside the dungeon will cover you. The normal enemies will have likely respawned inside of the dungeon, but you don’t really need to fight them, especially since you should have shortcuts available to you.

As already mentioned, the fight against the Jormungand isn’t any different than the first time and having fire resistance/immunity makes the battle a complete joke. The fight is similar to the Midgardsormr, except the majority of the attacks are fire-based instead. If you don’t have fire immunity, watch out when it stands up and spews fire around its body and it also has a fire spit attack. It does have one bigger area-of-effect move, but it doesn’t seem to use this too often.

Lonely Rumblings in Longwythe¶

It’s finally time to hunt down the Adamantoise, which is definitely many, many times larger than you are. In order to start this hunt, you first need to progress to Chapter 9 in the main story, where you’ll gain the ability to use Umbra to “go back to the past.” As soon as you gain access to Umbra, use him to go back to Lucis, where you will receive a call from Cindy. Do the Let Sleeping Mountains Lie sidequest and this hunt will be available from Takka at his diner in Hammerhead. This battle is not overly difficult, instead being one of patience, as it’s possible the fight could last upwards of an hour or two. So, if you feel like things are taking a long time, pause the game and take a small break.

The Adamantoise is definitely one of the longer hunts, due to having a whopping 5 million HP. However, don’t let its size fool you, as it can be a rather simple fight. It is a very good idea to have Noctis at least level 60+ and you should have finished Rudolph’s line of sidequests, with the last one awarding you the Zwill Crossblades. This weapon increases the damage you deal whenever you’re at full health and considering the Adamantoise isn’t a daemon, you can chug Hi-Potions during battle to keep your health topped. Other things that are needed are strength-increasing accessories for Noctis, Muscle Stimulants/Power EXs, Enhancement for Ignis and Piercer for Prompto.

Start the hunt and the Adamantoise will wake up, so go and join him to serve him a nice breakfast of steel. If you have a lot of strength-increasing items, pop them off from time to time and begin by working on the fins (either of the front ones closest to the head) of your large turtle friend, applying Enhancement and Piercer whenever possible to deal extra damage. You can also use your Armiger to help in dealing damage to the fins, as the damage output is likely higher than just your normal attacks with the Zwill Crossblades.

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Keep attacking the fins (left) until its head is lowered, making is vulnerable for more damage (right).

After dealing enough damage, you will witness a small scene where the Adamantoise’s head will crash to the ground. This is your opportunity to deal major damage to the boss, as his most vulnerable spots are now exposed. The one spot you want to hit is located on his neck, right behind his tusks. This is a much better spot than attempting to keep yourself up in the air to attack its eye area. Eventually, the Adamantoise will raise its head back into the air, which is your cue to go to the other front fin to continue the process. Keep going back and forth like this to eventually fell the colossal turtle.

As for the beast’s attacks, it doesn’t have many, but the majority of them have a sign that they are coming. Note that when his head is down on the ground after dealing enough damage to the fins, you don’t have to worry about any attacks and can relentlessly abandon all defense for offense. Back on track, the one attack you’ll likely see most often is when the Adamantoise move its fins back and then forward again. It will also raise up the fin and stomp the ground with it, which is one attack you don’t want to get hit by, so warp away. There is one more attack, where it will kick up some dust, most likely by smacking its head on the ground. Basically, if you see the turtle flash, it will be attacking and as its health gets low, it will attack more often.