Shiva’s Dominant is fought not too long after the initial prologue, during the A Chance Encounter main quest. It goes without saying that this is only a warm up to some of the bosses you will come up against later on your adventures, but it is still an decent early test of your abilities.

How to Beat Shiva’s Dominant in FF16¶

First and foremost, Shiva’s Dominant will be accompanied by some Ironblood troops, so you will want to get rid of them first. Thankfully, you have two helpers in this battle, so they will definitely get those Ironblood mooks down, although you will want to assist them. From there, you will be able to concentrate on the boss, and boy, she can be quite the doozy. Playing defensively is great, once you become accustomed to her attacks.

All Shiva’s Dominant Attacks in Final Fantasy XVI¶

The following list contains all of the attacks performed by the Shiva’s Dominant boss in the game.

Ice Projectile¶

Shiva’s Dominant can shoot a single projectile made of ice at you. There’s really not much to say about it, as the projectile is small and very easy to see, so it should be simple enough to dodge.

Triple Projectiles¶

A variant of the above attack, Shiva will form three slightly larger ice projectiles in front of her, keep them in front of her for a second or two, then launch them all in your direction (basically, as a single projectile). While it’s still pretty easy to dodge, the fact that it’s a bigger projectile means it might be a little tougher to avoid.

Ice Blast¶

If you keep close to Shiva, you will eventually see some ice on the ground, surrounding her position. That’s your cue to move away from her, as she will summon a bunch of ice to surround her. If you do a lot of hit-and-run tactics, then you might see much of this attack. However, if you are aggressive with melee strikes, then you might see this more often than not.

Dashing Stab¶

Shiva will float in the air for a few seconds, then quickly dash forward, attempting to stab you with her sword. Once she starts moving, the attack is executed very quickly, so you need to make sure to dodge if you know it’s this maneuver.

Dashing Combo¶

She has another move that is similar to the above dash, except it seems to be much shorter in length and she doesn’t float as much. She’ll do a quick dashing attack, then follow up with another dashing-like attack, except the second one will have a chunk of ice appear on her blade.

Blizzaga¶

Happens after the first stagger or once a certain amount of health is lost. Shiva will float in the air and summon a bunch of large ice crystals, which will have their drop points shown on the ground. The first round is randomly placed, but there will be a second round of ice crystals that will follow your positioning. It’s best to ignore trying to attack the boss and just concentrate on not getting hit. It does seem like after using this move, smaller chunks of ice will randomly fall to the ground around the arena for a short period of time.

Falling Ice Spikes¶

Only seems to happen after the first stagger or once a certain amount of health is lost. Shiva will make a line of ice appear on the ground, right in front of her, then make a bunch of small icicles fall to the ground, along that line. She will do this twice in a row. Since this move only goes straight, it’s fairly easy to avoid.

Ice Eruption¶

During the second half of the battle, Shiva’s Dominant will sometimes shoot a line of ice along the ground, after which, large chunks of ice will sprout from it. Considering it’s telegraphed with the ice on the ground, it’s easy enough to avoid.

Strategy for the Shiva’s Dominant Boss in FFXVI¶

When the fight first begins, things might be a little hectic, since you have a bunch of the Ironblood troops, as well as Shiva’s Dominant. Help your two buddies in the battle dwindle the Ironblood troops, while keeping an eye on Shiva, since she will take shots at you with her attacks. Once the other enemies are gone, you can now solely concentrate on Shiva. Note that the first phase of the battle is fairly simple, and you will want to keep an eye on the moves where Shiva lunges at you, as those are fairly quick in execution.

Once you either stagger her or get her health to a specific threshold, the second phase of the battle will begin. She will usually open up with Blizzaga, which looks scarier than it actually is. You just need to dodge the initial wave of ice, then keep moving to avoid the second wave. You will also need to keep a lookout for the falling ice shards after the Blizzaga, so always stay moving then, too. From there, the second phase isn’t that much more dangerous than the first, with her lunges being the most dangerous attacks.

After the battle with Shiva’s Dominant, there will be some cutscenes, then you will have to do battle against more Ironblood troops. Clear them out, watch the cutscene after that, then it’s another boss, this time against Tiamat.