How to defeat Fafnir in Final Fantasy 16

Square Enix's Final Fantasy series is home to some really unique and challenging boss fights, with its latest entry, Final Fantasy 16 being no different. From legendary knights to gigantic beasts, this title has a lot of difficult-to-take-down foes for you to test your combat skills against. One such boss, which you meet fairly early in this game, is the flightless drake, Fafnir.

This reptilian creature is incapable of flight akin to its wyvern brethren. However, makes up for its shortcomings by being incredibly powerful and agile. While Fafnir might not be the toughest encounter in the game, it is a great test of your combat skills.

Here's a comprehensive guide on how to find and easily defeat Fafnir in Final Fantasy 16.

Note: This article contains mild spoilers for Final Fantasy 16.

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Where to find Fafnir in Final Fantasy 16?

Fafnir is a mandatory boss fight that you will come across in the game's main story quest Fanning Embers, where Clive, Cid, and Torgal make their way through a forested area before reaching the Snabrequois fortress. As you proceed through the woods, fighting hordes of wyverns, hounds, and poisonous plants, you will eventually come across an empty area. This is Fafnir's lair.

This is a returning monster type that has previously appeared in a number of mainline FF games, including Final Fantasy XIV, where it was an Elder Dragon found in The Forbidden Lands, Eureka Anemos.

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How to beat Fafnir in Final Fantasy 16

Although it might not look like an intimidating foe, Fafnir can deal massive amounts of damage if you're not careful and fail to time your dodges properly. While this foe's moveset is quite limited, it is constantly on the move, giving very little time for you to land consecutive hits.

What makes this boss fight even more challenging is that, unless you're on your New Game+ playthrough, you will only have access to a very limited set of Phoenix powers. However, with knowledge of the wyvern's moves and careful use of your Eikonic abilities, you can defeat Fafnir without much hassle.

Here are a few tips on how to easily defeat this foe in Final Fantasy 16:

• The most damaging attacks to look out for are Fafnir's body-slam moves and its claw swipes. Fortunately, you can easily dodge both of these and if you time it right, you can even immediately retaliate with a counterattack for massive stagger damage.
• Fafnir is very mobile. As such, you should not shy away from using Phoenix's Flame abilities to constantly hit the boss' stagger bar.
• It is recommended to keep both of your Eikonic abilities for use during the "Staggered" phase of the fight since they deal the most amount of damage.
• Another attack to look out for, especially in the second phase of the boss fight, is the cannonball dive, which can deal a ton of damage if it connects. Fortunately, it is very well-telegraphed and is quite easy to dodge.
• It is recommended to invest Ability Points (AP) into Clive's Perfect Dodge and Magic Burst skills, which come really handy during this boss fight.

Defeating Fafnir is all about staying on your toes and properly timing your attacks, along with your dodges. As long as you keep your distance from the wyvern's body slam as well as cannon-ball attacks and time your Eikonic abilities for maximum damage, you will be able to defeat this foe without breaking a sweat.