After defeating Benedikta in Caer Norvent, you must face her for the second time as Garuda in Final Fantasy 16. She poses more challenges in her Eikon form due to her size and speed, and some players may struggle to beat her, especially when not using timely accessories. Luckily for you, we have created this guide that can offer you some great tips to defeat the Warden of the Wind easily.
Final Fantasy 16 Garuda Boss Fight Guide
The Garuda boss fight consists of two phases. During the first part, you will face her as Clive, and in the second half, you will enter another Eikon battle as Ifrit.
Clive vs. Garuda
The biggest challenge when facing Garuda as Clive is the Eikon’s size. Her massive body makes her attacks hard to dodge, and the cramped boss arena does not help either. Although you may want to rush in and land many combos, I recommend playing it safe and focusing on evading Garuda’s attacks.
Initially, the boss will hit you with punching moves that you can easily dodge. However, she will sometimes perform a sweeping kick with a massive area of effect, but you can evade this attack by moving toward the boss. Don’t try to dodge sideways or backward, or you will definitely get hit.
When you manage to reduce Garuda’s Will Gauge to half, you can perform a takedown by using Deadly Embrace. If you use the original button set-up, you can activate this ability by pressing the Circle button.
Clive will grab the Eikon’s face with magic and slam her head onto the ground, staggering the boss. This is the perfect chance to land massive damage on Garuda since her defense will weaken while she’s stunned.
Don’t get too cocky, though, because Garuda will launch magical attacks when her health is reduced to half. The most annoying move is Aerial Blast, where the boss creates several tornadoes around her. Since the arena is quite cramped, you will have limited room to avoid the whirlwinds.
At this point, I suggest holding back from attacking and focusing your attention on dodging. If you fail to avoid this move, you will lose around 100 HP, and Clive will get sent flying into the air. Once Garuda stops performing Aerial Blast, you can continue your attack on the Eikon, but be careful because one tornado will continue to spawn in the arena.
Ifrit vs. Garuda
Although Clive will heavily injure Garuda, the Eikon will refuse to go down so easily. You have to continue the boss fight as Ifrit, and in this section, you won’t get access to timely accessories.
At the start of the battle, Garuda will attack you with two massive wind projectiles that you can avoid by dodging to the side. Afterward, there will be a short opening where you can launch a Fireball at the boss. I recommend approaching Garuda diagonally until you’re close enough to Lunge toward the Eikon and perform close combat.
One move that you need to be careful of is called Tornado, where Garuda will create three whirlwinds that will quickly approach you. This move usually comes after the two wind projectiles, and you can easily avoid it by keeping your distance.
Another attack that can pose a problem is Aerial Blast. It’s more of a defensive move where Garuda tries to keep you from closing in, but it can still hurt you. Luckily, the boss requires several seconds to perform this attack, and you should have enough time to create some distance from the Eikon.
Afterward, you just need to keep hitting Garuda with Fireballs and melee attacks until she’s almost dying. Once she’s at quarter health, you will enter a lengthy cinematic fight where Ifrit slowly beats Garuda to death.
Hopefully, you now understand the best strategy to beat Garuda in Final Fantasy 16. Although she’s much harder than Benedikta, she can still be defeated with enough patience and persistence. Just remember not to get too greedy when attacking and always focus on avoiding damage.
