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Final Fantasy 16’s dramatic prologue, which recounts Clive’s traumatic past, is more emotional than challenging. However, some of the bosses you encounter, such as theKnight of the Blinding Dawn, still pack a punch, and it may be worth your while to learn his move set and how to counter each move if you plan to play the game on higher difficulties.
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This boss can be encountered once you take control of Clive after Joshua’s small playable section. As soon as you open the door to the castle grounds and finish off the enemies lingering there, the screen will immediately cut to an upward shot featuring the Knight of the Blinding Dawn standing at the top of the castle, and the battle will begin from there.
Before You Fight Knight Of The Blinding Dawn
There’s not much you may do to prepare for this fight, but you’ll haveenough ability pointsby then to unlock all of Clive’s basic abilities. The abilities you should definitely focus on grabbing areStomp,Swift Recovery, andBurning Blade.
Stomp will allow you to jump in midair andavoid some of Knight of the Dawn’s spinning spear attackson the grounds, while Swift Recovery will allow you toquickly rebalance yourselfif you’re unable to avoid those attacks and get knocked back. Burning Blade is a really sweet ability that you cancharge while movingand use tocounter some of Knight of the Binding Dawn’s attacks at precise times. It’s also an ability that mightdefine the course of battleif you use it wisely.
You will also be joined in battle by Clive’s teacher, CommanderMurdoch.
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Knight Of The Blinding Dawn’s Moveset
Knight of the Blinding Dawn will first greet you with a QTE prompt that you must press in time. He will then start using his long Dragoon Lance to repeat a series of attacks for the first segment of his health.
When he is down to half health, he will acquire three new attacks.
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Defeating Knight Of The Blinding Dawn
You don’t need to worry about working with Murdoch, asprecision dodgingis your true friend here. First of all, don’t forget that the knight’s downward smash can transform into a spinning launch, so you should remember tododgeandthen move away from the area.
As for the other attacks, the trick here isn’t to avoid them but toface them head-on. Don’t attack haphazardly, though. Keep your sword sheathed and yourBurning Blade charged at all times, and when he lunges at you,deflecthis attack with your Burning Blade, which willstagger him for a considerable amount of precious seconds.
Using theMagic Bursttechnique (pressing Triangle after landing a melee attack can sometimes stun the Knight for a short time, but only if you cast itwhen you’re standing behind his back.
This technique is namedParry, or as most players would like to call it,precision counter. you’re able to also use the initial movement of the Burning Blade tostep aside and hit him from behindif you can’t time the parry or precision counter correctly, although I personally found that countering waseasierfor me when I used the charged Burning Bladerather than doing it with a bare sword.
This technique is also very effective when the knight goes into the Spinning Launch, and there’s aslow window you can useto effectively counter and stagger him during that combo. As for when he gets serious later on, make sure you completelyavoid getting close to his three-step combodue to its large hit window and focus onexploiting the plunge attack,as this is arguably the point where he can be considered most vulnerable.
Make sure to use theStrength Tonicin your inventory only when he’sstaggeredto deal the maximum amount of damage, and you’ll easily win the fight if youkeep your distanceandexploithis moves with your Burning Blade parries. you’re able to also use your trustyPhoto Modefrom the launcher menu to get some good pictures ofthis burning-counter move, like the one I’ve attached above.
