Imperial Cannonier is a boss that appears during the The Crystals' Curse quest in Final Fantasy 16 (FF16). See the best strategies for how to beat Imperial Cannonier, how to counter its attacks and abilities, as well as its location, quest appearance, spoils, and drops.

Imperial Cannonier Overview

Imperial Cannonier Location and Drops

Imperial Cannonier
Quest	The Crystals' Curse
Location & Region	Drake's Head , Holy Empire of Sanbreque
Rewards	・70 EXP ・110 AP ・2000 Gil ・ Wyrrite ・ Steelsilk ・ Imperial Link ・ The Favor of the Inferno (Ignition)
Abilities	・Black Powder ・Rocketeer ・Hard Launch

How to Beat Imperial Cannonier

Step-by-Step Guide
Observe the Timing of Cannon Swings Evade Cannonballs and Black Powder Spam Dodge on Flamethrower Attacks Utilize Limit Break

Observe the Timing of Cannon Swings

The Imperial Cannonier will swing and hammer you away with basic cannon swings. Observe and follow the motion each time he hauls his cannon as it's really easy to determine where he would sway it due to how heavy the weapon is.

You can easily attain some perfectly timed precision dodges here, giving you an opportunity to retaliate and fight back.

Launch Your Combos After Dodging

There's a lengthy period of recovery for the boss after finishing up his sequence of cannon attacks so take advantage by chucking out abilities that provide great DPS and damage such as the Gouge and Rising Flames.

Best Abilities to Learn and Master

Evade Cannonballs and Black Powder

The cannon isn't obviously designed for melee, but rather it's also going to be used to shoot flaming cannonballs at you or springing up Black Powder explosions from the ground.

Once you see magma rising up from the ground you can simply move away from it or dodge if you have to.

Black Powder Becomes Stronger Later On

As the battle ensues, the Imperial Cannonier will enter an enraged version and will start spawning Black Powder at shorter intervals and more explosions than what he usually does in his previous state.

Spam Dodge on Flamethrower Attacks

Surpirsingly, the cannon can be used as a flamethrower and he'll start pumping out fire while chasing you. When this happens, keep spamming the Dodge Button (R1) until you're out of reach of the flames.

By the time the ability ends, you'll probably be several feet away from the boss, use Phoenix Shift to get close then activate Limit Break to increase the damage of your attacks.

Utilize Limit Break

At this point of the story, you'll have Limit Break unlocked so use it your advantage by activating it then spam attacks with your increased damage. This can also be used once you're on the brink of death as you cannot be KO'd while you're in this state, even if your HP is 0!

Limit Break Ability Effects 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