The second boss in the main quest The Crystal’s Curse, you’ll encounter this foe rather close to the end of the quest, as you approach the Mother Crystal. This page will provide strategies and tips for defeating the Akashic Dragon in Final Fantasy XVI.
The !Akashic Dragon guards the bridge leading to the Mother !Crystal.
How to Defeat the Akashic Dragon - FF16 Akashic Dragon Boss Fight Guide¶
The Akashic Dragon is quite a different battle from the Imperial Cannonier. Unlike the previous boss, you probably don’t need to fuss over this one as much - the Akashic Dragon doesn’t punish Eikonic Abilities with a long commit time nearly as much, and while you can continue to utilize quicker Eikonic Abilities, 
Gouge works extremely well in this fight.
Your strategy, at least for the start of this fight, should be fairly simple; get to the bosses flank and glue yourself to your foe. When on all fours and on the ground it’s surprising how few attacks the Akashic Dragon has that can reliably hit attackers at its flank. If it changes its facing, just dodge over to stick to the dragon’s flank, abusing it the entire time. You can regularly get away with full combos and even utilize commit-heavy Eikonic Abilities like Gouge and Incinerate between the Akashic Dragon’s attacks. Gouge is especially useful, as it’ll make significant progress towards depleting half of the Akashic Dragon’s Will Gauge - be sure to use 
Deadly Embrace when the Will Gauge reaches 50% to buy yourself extra time to punish.
(1 of 2) The !Akashic Dragon can shoot fireballs both while in the air,
The !Akashic Dragon can shoot fireballs both while in the air, (left), and on the ground. (right)
Akashic Dragon All Attacks - FF16 Akashic Dragon Boss Fight Guide¶
The Akashic Dragon will initially perform the following attacks:
-
Breathe and Smash: The Akashic Dragon shoots a laser which then expands into glowing fissures on the ground, marking the attack’s area-of-effect.
Dodge away from the marked area, as the Akashic Dragon will soon slam itself down on the fissures, causing them to erupt. As the fight progresses the Akashic Dragon may perform this multiple times in a row, but it takes a while to go from laser to explosion, so it should always be easy to dodge. -
Fire Breath: Standard fireballs, pretty much the same thing the Imperial Cannonier shot at you. The Akashic Dragon also likes shooting these in threes, although it may do fewer while flying.
-
Sweeping Bite: The Akashic Dragon will perform an exaggerated bite while swinging its head in an arc. This won’t hit you while you’re at the Akashic Dragon’s flank or likely while you’re right in front of it, as it’s something of a midrange attack. Just more time to punish this boss, really.
-
Swooping Charge: Landing gracefully is for smaller, weaker fliers. The Akashic Dragon is no such thing, and sees fit to sneak some offense in while landing by swooping at its enemies. Not all that hard to dodge, be wary for it every time the Akashic Dragon is in the air.
-
Stomp: The Akashic Dragon will rear up and slam the ground with its arms. Can’t hit you if you’re off to the side. More punish time.
If you stick to the !Akashic Dragon’s flank, only its Wing Sweep attack should be a serious threat to you… at least early on in the fight.
-
Wing Sweep: One of the few attacks you’ll need to watch out for while striking the Akashic Dragon’s flank, the Akashic Dragon will rear back and after a windup will perform a spin, using its wings to swat nearby enemies (that’s you). Somewhat tricky, as the windup is so obvious it may cause jumpy players to dodge early. Wait for it and dodge under the meaty, leading edge of the wing when it approaches and don’t worry about the membrane.
-
Flying Lash: When in the air the Akashic Dragon may perform a spin, lashing enemies underneath it with its tail. This attack doesn’t affect a wide area, so dodging should be pretty easy.
As you can see, many of its attacks aren’t that hard to dodge, and quite a few aren’t remotely dangerous if you’re at the dragon’s flank. As it sustains damage it’ll start to become more aggressive, as is the norm with bosses, so you’ll need to be wary of the odd sequential attack and it’ll dawdle less time between attacks, giving you less time to go on the offensive and forcing you to dodge more to remain at the Akashic Dragon’s flank.
After the first stagger period, be on the lookout for the following attack:
Be wary when the !Akashic Dragon takes flight, especially after it has been injured, as it may use its Cauterize attack, a zig-zagging fire breath run.
- Cauterize: The Akashic Dragon will fly away, getting some distance before circling back and emitting a sustained gout of fire breath. This attack affects a wide area and the Akashic Dragon sweeps from side to side across the bridge while performing this attack. If you watch its pattern you can find a gap between the zig-zagging flames, and generally you’ll have more space at the margins of this attack.
(1 of 3) When grievously wounded, the !Akashic Dragon may perform its “Dragon Dance” attack, starting with a barrage of fireballs,
When seriously injured, you’ll need to be on the lookout for the Akashic Dragon’s ultimate attack:
- Dragon Dance: A three-stage attack, the Akashic Dragon starts by spitting a barrage of fireballs at you. This is similar to its standard Flame Breath attack, just much faster - spam dodge and you’ll be fine. Next the Akashic Dragon will spit two lasers, similar to the “Breathe and Smash” attack, but affecting a much larger area. Avoid the glowing fissures to stay safe - one laser attack will resolve before the second one begins. Finally the Akashic Dragon will end with a spinning charge, similar to its Swooping Charge attack, albeit this time it’ll breathe fire. Dodging to the side works just as well as with Swooping Charge.
When the Akashic Dragon is below 33% or so of its health it’ll become quite a determined attacker, flying and using its breath weapons (both fireballs and lasers) more regularly. You’ll need to compensate by taking what hits you can, dodging more often to maintain position and avoid attacks and generally relying on quicker Eikonic Abilities
Defeat the Akoshic Dragon to score 10x 
Bloody Hides, 2x 
Meteorites and some 
Black Blood.
To return to the the walkthrough for the main quest The Crystal’s Curse, follow the link here. To skip ahead to the final boss encounter during The Crystal’s Curse, follow the link here.
Sign up
No Comments