The day of reckoning has arrived. The mission begins with some tearful goodbyes at the Hideaway, followed swiftly by some cool cut scenes of combat. As soon as Clive, Joshua, and Dion get into Origin, well...
Ultima Prime
The first phase of your battle with Ultima is a lengthy series of cinematics, including the occasional Cinematic action. Watch the screen and act accordingly. Nothing too complicated. Eventually the trio will unleash a spectacular attack, ending the first phase and beginning a series of cut scenes.
Eventually you'll need to walk. Walk. More cut scenes pop up, and once they're done...
Ultima
Well, that was tragic and all, but we have a god to kill. This form of Ultima isn't quite as tough as the one you fought two quests ago, but he's still pretty powerful. Ultima uses the following attacks:
- Punch combos that create AOE spheres in front of Ultima
- A charge attack
- A flurry of magic darts that fly at Clive
- A teleporting attack from above that generates an AOE explosion
- A set of AOE marks around Ultima that erupt as swords after several seconds
- Flare, a series of large flame orbs that move in towards a central point on Clive's position, exploding when they collide
- Holy, an AOE eruption that spreads outwards in lines
Ultima likes to teleport around in his new god bod, and only physically moves forward when charging at Clive or unleashing punches. For the most part you'll need to wait for Ultima to come to you, dodge his moves, and then hit him. Ultima doesn't stay in one spot for long, so don't expect to get more than one attack off. Ranged moves are handy, if you have them, and even normal magic darts can make a ding in Ultima's health.
Do enough damage and Ultima will add some new moves to his repertoire:
- A short line attack that spreads along the ground
- A circling attack where Ultima fires darts at Clive, ending in a full-body charge attack
- Smite, a teleporting attack where Ultima tries to hit Clive with a beam at a short range
- Meteor, a series of falling rocks that try to land on Clive's head, erupting into slow shockwaves on impact
- Ultima, an AOE attack that sucks Clive towards the boss, then expands outwards as an explosion
Ultima becomes more mobile in this phase, circling around Clive in addition to occasionally charging at him. His new moves are fast and ferocious, but if you can get in close to Ultima as they're going off you'll have a chance to hit him while he recovers. So long as Ultima is floating in one spot as his wings slowly dissolve, he's open to an attack.
Fully deplete Ultima's health and you'll move on to a new battle.
Ultima Risen
Hoo boy. Now that is epic. The two combatants have shifted to their Eikonic forms, and you're battling in... space? Something like that. Ultima has a bunch of different attacks in this phase, though they typically boil down to one of four different forms:
- Close-range claw attacks
- Swift, spinning charges
- Long-range beam attacks, named and unnamed
- Medium-range AOE attacks that spread outward from Ultima
The fight can get confusing thanks to the sheer amount of effects on the screen, but it's pretty simple. Watch Ultima's range to determine what's happening. If he moves out at a distance, he's going to use a beam attack. You can dodge around or through the beams. If he starts to spin, he's going to charge, so get out of the way. If he's close, expect some claw slices. Leap aside, wait for Ultima to attack, and unleash some attacks of your own once he stops moving. Spitflare (R2 and Triangle) is your best move, though Ifrit Risen has plenty of options.
Do enough damage to trigger a stagger and Ultima will use Rapture, which just seems to inflict damage no matter what. After this ends he'll start using smaller beam attacks, though overall your approach to the fight shouldn't change.
Continue to damage Ultima and he'll eventually begin to charge up to Purgatorium, a battle-ending move. Ultima will encase himself in a shield during this time, and you'll need to charge up to Ultima (Circle button), avoid any beams that erupt out of his shield, and lay on heavy damage. You'll have about a minute to chew through the damage meter before the move goes off. Normal melee hits, Backdraft (three Squares and a Triangle), Brimstone (R2 and Square), and Spitflare will all give you ample opportunities to stop Purgatorium.
Stop Purgatorium and the fight will go back to the way it was, though the beam attacks will get more intense and Ultima will spend more time trying to avoid Ifrit. You can try to charge after him, but the better, less damaging course is to keep your distance, dodge through the wall of beams, and wait for Ultima to use a close-range attack. If nothing else Spitflare will hit Ultima just about anywhere on the battlefield.
Defeat Ultima Risen and you'll end the battle... or not.
Ultimalius
One more round, winner takes all. Ultima has tranformed into Ultimalius, and in the progress has become a heck of an opponent. You've come this far, though, so... don't worry. You've got this. In addition to the moves used by Ultima in previous parts of this quest, Ultimalius uses the following attacks:
- Divine Embrace, which grabs Clive and pulls him over to Ultimalius
- Fulmen and Fulgor, which creates AOE fields all over the arena
- Cataclysm, an AOE attack that spreads progressively outward over time
- Euroclydon, which generates a series of stomping legs, followed by one large one that zips in from a distance
The first phase of this battle combines Ultima's moves with those of Benedikta, Cid (the OG), and Hugo. Otherwise, Ultimalius fights more or less the same as before - you just need to keep an eye out for the extra abilities. Euroclydon will prove the most annoying, so just keep dodging when those flying claws come out. Ultimalius gets in your face constantly, so don't bother trying to chase him down. He'll give you many opportunities to get in hits.
Do enough damage to Ultimalius and you'll receive several Cinematic Clashes. Push through them and the phase will change, giving Ultimalius some new attacks:
- Boreal Rhapsody, a series of falling chunks of ice
- Severance, a maze of line attacks that will go off after several seconds
- Exaflare, a sweeping beam attack that moves one direction, then back in the other direction
- Smite, a close-range beam attack
This time around Ultimalius borrows attacks from Jill, Barnabas, and Dion (presumably). His 'normal' attacks also shift to those from the second phase of Ultima from earlier, so he's more evasive. If you don't have ranged moves you'll have to wait for Ultimalius to tire out, then move in and attack. Don't bother trying to chase him while he's launching beams, you won't get to him.
Stagger Ultimalius again and you'll need to endure a few more Cinematic Clashes. Ultimalius will then use a surprise move, shifting to his final phase. You'll need to contend with a few more moves:
- Multiple line attacks across the ground in a row, usually in conjunction with other moves
- Empyrosis, an AOE attack that will catch Clive in a combo if you don't dodge fast enough - If you do dodge it triggers a large shockwave
- Ashes to Ashes, a series of fire darts combined with a rushing, exploding attack from Ultimalius
