The battle against Tiamat follows on from the the Shiva’s Dominant fight, during the A Chance Encounter main story quest. There will be a small reprieve between the two battles, though, as you will be forced to defeat some Ironblood troops before you get to the main event. While the 
Dominant was a tougher challenge, especially for an early game boss, 
Tiamat is definitely a lot easier, as his moveset is fairly limited and basic.
You will fight Tiamat right after Shiva’s Dominant.
How to Beat Tiamat in FF16¶
If you thought Shiva’s Dominant was a tough battle, then you’ll be glad to hear that Tiamat is a lot simpler. He really only has a few moves in his arsenal, and most of them are very easy to dodge. In fact, other than Enruin, you will see the majority of his skills from the beginning of the fight. As always, you might want to play a little defensively at first, until you get used to the moveset from this boss.
All Tiamat Attacks in Final Fantasy XVI¶
Let’s take a look at all of the attacks you will see when fighting with Tiamat.
Magic Projectile¶
Tiamat can fire a small magical projectile from his hands at you. This goes in a straight line and has a short charge time, so you can pretty much see it coming. That means it’s very easy to dodge. He will sometimes fire another one, right after the first, so be prepared for that.
Dashing Slice¶
Sometimes, when far enough away, Tiamat will dash towards you, then slice at you with his sword. Again, you should be able to move out of the way of this easily, so you really shouldn’t be getting hit by it at all.
(1 of 2) Tiamat’s projectile pales in comparison to the previous fight’s blast.
Tiamat’s projectile pales in comparison to the previous fight’s blast. (left), Tiamat will dash forward and try to slice you with his sword. (right)
Dashing Slice Magic Combo¶
This is similar to the above attack, except Tiamat will follow it up by blasting you with a short-range magic burst. You can tell he will use the follow up, as his one hand will have a blue glow to it, so make sure you don’t attack after the initial strike.
Sword One-Two Combo¶
If you’re up close, Tiamat will sometimes swipe at you with his sword, then follow up with another sword swing. There’s really not much else to say here, though, so you just need to keep an eye out for the attacks as they happen.
Enruin¶
Once you get Tiamat’s health to a certain threshold, he will add this move. He coats his sword in magic, then will unleash a combo of attacks. First will be two sword swings, in quick succession, then a third after a very short delay. The fourth, and final, hit will be a stab-like maneuver, which will expend the energy on his sword. It’s best to just ignore trying to get hits in (unless you use magic) and stay away until he does all of the attacks.
(1 of 3) Tiamat can block your attacks at times.
Strategy for the Tiamat Boss in FFXVI¶
After the battle with Shiva’s Dominant, which can put up a decent challenge, Tiamat is a nice breather. His attacks are mostly just simple to dodge, but you do need to watch out for the slice and magic combo, as it can be difficult to see that follow up, other than the faint blue glow on his offhand. You will also want to be mindful that Tiamat can block your attacks, so if you don’t see damage numbers popping up, back off before you get pushed back from being blocked too much.
Other than that, keep fighting until you get his health to about 50% or so, which will trigger the phase change. Of course, the only new thing to worry about is one new attack, Enruin. Ignore trying to damage him during this move, since there are four hits to it, but they’re not in quick succession. So, just stay away from Tiamat until he’s completed Enruin, then you can go back on the offensive.
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