How to Beat Infernal Shadow

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

Infernal Shadow Overview

Infernal Shadow Location and Drops

Infernal Shadow
Quest	Buried Memories
Location & Region	Phoenix Gate Ruins , Grand Duchy of Rosaria
Rewards	・450 EXP ・180 AP ・3200 Gil ・ Magicked Ash ・ Fire Shard
Abilities	・Fira ・Molten Thrust ・Incinerate ・Hammer and Anvil ・Hellfire ・Crimson Rush ・Eruption

Shared drops between Infernal Eikon.

How to Beat Infernal Shadow (Human Form)

Step-by-Step Guide
Parry Sword Attacks Evade Fireballs and Molten Thrust

Parry Sword Attacks

For the first phase of the battle, the Infernal Shadow will execute a lot of sword slashing combos, as well as ultra fast dashing maneuvers.

You can parry his attacks by understanding the timing of his swings as he'll be winding up his sword up slowly before striking you down.

How to Parry Attacks

Evade Fireballs and Molten Thrust

The Molten Thrust ability sees the shadow lunging and stabbing at you at quick speed. When you see him charging up his blade, prepare your Dodge Button (R1) to perfectly execute a Precision Dodge at the last minute, then press the Attack Button (Square) to counterattack him.

He'll also be throwing out basic fireball spells at you and Fira, the latter of which is an upgraded version of regular fire spells as it's casted out quicker than the normal variant, so be on your toes when you see it.

Watch Out For Teleportations

Before stabbing you with Molten Thrust, he'll usually teleport to a different location first to throw you off guard. Be sure to Lock On in order to stay focused at him.

Lunge or Phoenix Shift After Evading

After dodging, start up your combo by Lunging or using Phoenix Shift, then spam your attack buttons to deal damage to him.

Best Abilities to Learn and Master

How to Beat Infernal Shadow (Eikon Form)

Step-by-Step Guide
Anticipate His Enchanced Abilities Keep Moving Around During Hellfire Take Advantage of Clive's Ifrit Form

Anticipate His Enchanced Abilities

The Infernal Shadow will transform into his Eikon Form in the second phase which buffs up his speed, damage, and gain access to more abilities. Be on your guard as he'll now be able to perform AoE spells and throw multiple Fira fireballs at you instead of just one.

Steer Clear of Incinerate

Stay away from Incinerate as it's an Area of Effect (AoE) ability that rises up flames from the ground—you'll know this when you see lava forming up on the ground.

Observe the Ground for Eruptions

Once you flames emerging from underneath you, hit dodge as the ground will erupt and burst into flames after a few seconds.

Equip the Ring of Timely Evasion

Due to the shadow's increased speed, it might be best to have Ring of Timely Evasion equipped as he'll be constantly lashing out his abilities without any cooldowns in-between them.

All Timely Accessories and Effects

Keep Moving Around During Hellfire

One of his deadly abilities in his Eikon form is Hellfire as it calls upon flames from the sky and will land on various locations in the arena. Keep running around using the L Stick as you'll also be sucked into the fire surrounding him which will burst up once the ability ends.

Take Advantage of Clive's Ifrit Form

Clive will later on take control of Ifrit's power which similarly, also provides a huge buff to his speed and damage, making the battle even with the Infernal Shadow.

You can take advantage of this by using basic attacks until you stagger the boss, then use a variety of abilities such as Gouge, Rising Flames, and Scarlet Cyclone as these will now have increased damage due to the Eikon's power.

Ifrit Summon Guide and How to Unlock

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