Tthe Flame Lizard is the second of three boss fights encountered in the Fire and Ice main story quest. It shares some similarities to the Fafnir of the North boss fought earlier in the game, although there’s plenty enough there to make the Flame Lizard its own boss.

How to Beat the Flame Lizard in FF16¶

When you first see the Flame Lizard, you will notice it’s the same species as the Fafnir boss you fought earlier in the game. This may lead you to believe it’s the exact same boss, as there are some bosses/minibosses like that (the Dragoons), but the Flame Lizard is definitely its own thing. Despite being a fire enemy and actually lighting itself on fire during the battle, you can still attack it normally, so don’t even worry about that.

All Flame Lizard Attacks in Final Fantasy XVI¶

Similar to the Akashic Morbol, you will see that there are many attacks from Fafnir that the Flame Lizard will borrow. However, like the other situation, there are other attacks that the Flame Lizard introduces in this battle.

Head Bash¶

The Flame Lizard will rear back, then lunge forward, where it tries to use its head too attack you. There seems to be a bit of a delay before the boss will lunge its head forward, so keep that in mind when you try to dodge, as you might do it too early.

Tail Swipe¶

You’ll see this attack if you’re positioned behind the boss, where it will do a sweep to one side with its tail, then a sweeping motion to the other side. Depending on how you dodge, you may need to do it twice, since the tail swipe will happen twice.

Leg Stomp¶

The boss will start lifting up the front of its body, as well as one of its legs. It will then crash that leg onto the ground, right in front of it. This is a relatively easy attack to avoid, since it’s easy to tell what it’s going to be.

Rolling Attack¶

Whenever you’re on the side of the boss, it will lift up the opposing side, then roll towards you. This can be a little difficult to dodge, especially if you’re fully on the side. Your best bet is to either try to get out of the reach of the attack, or move towards the front or back of the creature.

Jumping Ball Smash¶

The Flame Lizard will jump into the air, roll up into a ball, then try to smash you while it’s in ball form. It’s not a particular difficult attack to avoid, since it’s more telegraphed than the others and not hard to dodge at all.

Incense¶

This is one of the moves that the Flame Lizard will utilize in this battle, quite often. It will basically cover itself in fire, while pushing you away from it with a roar. Note that if you get pushed away, you don’t take any damage at all. While Incense is active, all of its moves will be powered up in some manner, like the Ball Smash occurring three or so times in a row, instead of just once. Note that even though it has fire coming off its body, you can still attack it normally, as the fire doesn’t hurt you. When the move is over, the fire will dissipate.

Firewater¶

Firewater is basically a fire laser that the creature will spew from its mouth, then do a sweeping motion across the battlefield. You can dodge through it, by timing the evade at the last second to get a Precision Dodge. With Incense active, the boss will do a second laser in the opposite direction.

Overdrive¶

You will see this whenever you get the boss to about half health or so, and it’s more of a series of attacks than a singular one. To begin, the lizard will shoot two fire lasers in your direction, one of which will be vertical, and the other horizontal. After that, it will rush in and try to knock you into the air with its one claw. Should you get knocked into the air, then you will take damage from the follow-up, which is the ball smash attack. Note that it ends with the Flame Lizard slamming down onto the ground, causing a small explosion.

Strategy for the Flame Lizard Boss in FFXVI¶

If you had trouble with Fafnir earlier in the game, then you will definitely have problems with the Flame Lizard, as it’s essentially the same battle, but harder. The main thing to be cautious about is Incense, as this makes all of its moves faster and more dangerous. Of particular note is the Jumping Ball Smash, which will happen three times, so be ready to dodge more than once. The rest of its basic moves aren’t all too different than their normal counterparts, so you should know what to do with them.

Once you hit the threshold to push the fight into the second phase, you will see Overdrive. This series of maneuvers will start with two fire lasers, then transition into a claw swipe that will knock you into the air, should it connect. If that happens, then the following jumping ball attack will always hit, meaning you’ll take some big damage. Upon getting to the tail end of the fight, the double laser should be pretty standard at that point, and the ball maneuver will gain another two hits to it.

After completing the battle with the Flame Lizard, you will still need to do much more of the Fire and Ice main story mission.