During the main quest Things Fall Apart you’ll be given three objectives, which branch out into three subquests. The Flames of War is one of these three subquests, which will begin when you pursue the objective Aid Martha’s Rest in its dilemma. This page will provide a walkthrough for the main subquest The Flames of War in Final Fantasy XVI, including details on how to beat back the Akashic horde and defeat the Akashic Plague.
This quest starts when you talk to !Martha at !Martha’s Rest.
How to Start The Flames of War - FF16 Flames of War Main Quest Walkthrough¶
To start this quest properly, you’ll need to travel to Martha’s Rest (Central Rosaria) and visit the eponymous Martha’s inn. When you enter you’ll get a scene where 
Martha explains the goings-on, which will officially kick off this subquest. The main thrust of this subquest involves fending off waves of attacking Akashic, which essentially boils down to three battles (with reinforcements) at the various entrances to Martha’s Rest.
Enemies Encountered During The Flames of War Quest¶
| Enemies |
|---|
| Akashic Chocobos |
| Akashic Claw |
| Akashic Dragonet |
| Akashic Plague |
| Akashic Recluse |
| Akashic Thistle |
| Akashic Vulture |
| Horde Adamantoise |
| Horde Crab |
| Horde Goblin |
| Horde Wolf |
First head to !The Fallen Gate to fend off waves of !Akashic fodder - a fine time to make use of some of those new !Bahamut abilities.
How to Defeat the Akashic at the Three Reeds - FF16 Flames of War Main Quest Walkthrough¶
The first mob of attacking Akashic can be found to the southeast, near the entrance to the 
Three Reeds area on the map. Just head southeast past The Fallen Gate, across the bridges, past some barricades and down to the swamps. You’ll find some beleaguered sellswords here, and when you approach you’ll trigger the Akashics to spawn. Nothing too crazy here: you’ll find Horde Wolves and Akashic Thistles in the first wave and Akashic Recluses and Akashic Vultures in the second wave. These are just stronger reskinned versions of enemies you’ve faced before, and have little in the way of new tricks to surprise you with. Defeat the Akashic horde to trigger some scenes which will eventually put you back at Martha’s Rest before tasking you with fending off a second wave of Akashic.
At Sorrowise you’ll encounter a host of !Akashic led by a Horde Adamantoise.
How to Defeat the Akashic at Sorrowise - FF16 Flames of War Main Quest Walkthrough¶
Another entrance to Martha’s Rest, another Akashic horde to disperse. This time head west down the elevator to trigger a scene with the remnants of 
Sir Wade’s scouting party, after which the Akashic you seek will arrive. Seafood’s on the menu, this time! You’ll be attacked by Horde Crabs and their ringleader - a Horde Adamantoise. Nothing new here, just palette-swaps with more health: 
Heatwave can counter the turtles spit attacks, 
Titanic Block and Titanic Counter can punish most of its melee attacks, and you should dodge the spinning charge. Once the Horde Adamantoise is weakened (likely after its first stagger) some Akashic Claws will arrive as reinforcements. Defeat these enemies to trigger another scene, after which you’ll be sent to repel the approaching third wave of Akashic.
Approaching from !Eastpool is a third horde of !Akashic, including an !Akashic Plague, which is a toned-down !Ahriman. !Heatwave is an excellent way to burn through its !Will Gauge.
How to Defeat the Akashic Plague Horde Approaching from Eastpool - FF16 Flames of War Main Quest Walkthrough¶
Only one more entrance to cover, this time the north. Cross the bridge north of Martha’s Rest to reach Greensheaves to intercept the final Akashic horde. The first group of enemies you’ll encounter here consists largely of Horde Goblins, assisted by a pair of Akashic Dragonets. The Horde Goblins aren’t terribly interesting, just being melee fodder (a single 
Ignition should wipe out most of them) while the Akashic Dragonets are content to buff the goblins with Bravery and spit the odd fireball. After these enemies are exterminated you’ll be assailed by several Akashic Chocobos, and the third and final wave of reinforcements consists of some Akashic Thistles serving as distractions for an Akashic Plague.
The Akashic Plague is basically an Ahriman, sans the Doom attack… which means it’s a toned-down variant without the archetype’s most dangerous spell. It can shoot Homing Thunder Orbs (easily countered with Heatwave), Eye-Laser and Quake, and given how much it depletes the Will Gauge you should definitely fish for Homing Thunder Orbs to counter with Heatwave. From here, you know the drill - reduce the Will Gauge 50%, use 
Deadly Embrace and 
Gouge to remove the second half of the Will Gauge, then punish.
Defeat the Akashic Plague to trigger some scenes, which will complete this quest. You’ll obtain a Guardian Scarf, a whopping 100x Magicked Ash and 1x Meteorite. Continue progressing through the main quest Things Fall Apart, by checking out the pages for the subquests Why We Fight and Down the Rabbit Hole.
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