Iron Giant is a boss that appears during the Buried Memories quest in Final Fantasy 16 (FF16). See the best strategies for how to beat Iron Giant, how to counter its attacks and abilities, as well as its location, quest appearance, spoils, and drops.

Iron Giant Overview

Iron Giant Location and Drops

Iron Giant
Quest	Buried Memories
Location & Region	Phoenix Gate Ruins , Grand Duchy of Rosaria
Rewards	・50 EXP ・100 AP ・1800 Gil ・ Wyrrite ・ Meteorite ・ Fallen Iron
Abilities	・Atomic Ray

How to Beat Iron Giant

Step-by-Step Guide
Leap Up and Attack the Head Prevent the Atomic Ray Explosion Time Your Evades and Parries

Leap Up and Attack its Head

The Iron Giant's main weakness is its head, however you'll have to leap up in the air using Deadly Embrace to attack it as the boss is quite tall and you won't be able to reach it without soaring up.

Follow Up With Gouge then Wicked Wheel or Stomp

A neat combo you can do after flying up in the air is to use Gouge to release a swarm of claw attacks at the boss's head followed by Wicked Wheel or Stomp to prolong your stay in the air, then spam basic attacks afterwards.

If you find the giant about to attack in your direction, you can always dodge, or use Swift Recovery if you get hit it to get back on your feet fast.

Best Abilities to Learn and Master

Prevent the Atomic Ray Explosion

During the latter half of the battle, the Iron Giant will charge up its Atomic Ray ability which will explode within a short period of time. You'll know that it's about to cast it out when you see the Discharge notification and a 5-second countdown will ensue.

Keep attacking it until you completely drain the Purple HP bar on the top right all the while avoiding its horizontal flame attacks. If you fail to deplete it in time, it will unleash a huge explosion, causing you to lose more than half of your HP!

Time Your Evades and Parries

One of the efficient ways to avoid taking damage is to observe the direction of where the giant is holding up its sword. Notice that the animation before swinging at you is slow and this should give you more than enough time to prepare a well executed dodge.

If you're feeling confident enough, you can also attempt to parry to temporarily stagger it, allowing you to deal more damage while its knocked out.

How to Parry Attacks

Be Careful of Follow-Up Attacks

The Iron Giant will occasionally swing its sword a second time right after you dodge. It will either slash vertically or spin in a circular motion so anticipate that and prepare to dash away again after successfully avoiding its initial attack.

Final Fantasy XVI (FF16) Related Guides

List of Bosses and Formidable Foes

All Formidable Foes

All Formidable Foes
Gigas	Morbol	Knight of the Blinding Dawn
Eikon of Fire	Shiva's Dominant	Tiamat
Dragon Aevis	Fafnir	Midnight Raven
Chirada	Suparna and Chirada	Benedikta
Garuda	Knight of the Dying Sun	Iron Giant
Infernal Eikon	Infernal Shadow	Imperial Cannonier
Akashic Dragon	Typhon	Republican War Panther
Akashic Morbol	Flame Lizard	Liquid Flame
Coeurl	Hugo	Undertaker
Titan	White Dragon	Necrophobe
Bahamut	Sleipnir	Barnabas (First Encounter)
Control Node	Aurum Giant	Barnabas (Second Encounter)
Behemoth	Ultima (First Encounter)	Ultimalius