FFXIV Ifrit Hard Mode Guide

Unlike Final Fantasy XIV’s level 20 story battle, the Ifrit Hard Mode fight is an intense battle. In this guide I will cover the proven methods for beating the fight. The big things to note going into this fight are, it’s an eight person fight, you’ll want at least one Paladin, you’ll also want at least one mage DPS be it Summoner or Black Mage, and you’ll want everyone other than the Paladin to remove all stuns from their bar.

Stun Tactics

So the most important part of the fight is the tank setup. As I said before you’ll want at least one Paladin, however this Paladin’s only job is to auto-attack and stun Eruption. It is very important that Eruption is stunned. If Eruption is not stunned, odds are you will lose one or more of your ranged players, also it speeds the increase of the Limit Break meter by stunning Eruption. All other members are to remove all stuns from their hotbars as Ifrit will usually resist the Eruption stun if he was stunned during another move or just randomly. Also of note, Dragoons are not to use the Behemoth Lance as there is a possibility that it has a latent stun effect.

Fight Mechanics

Phase 1

At the start of the fight, after situating tanks, you’ll want the primary tank (aka the one not on stuns) to pull the boss to the far side. Ifrit always opens with a conal AoE fire breath so DPS are to wait until it is pulled to the far side. Once on the far side, the stun tank and the DPS can approach it.

To start out with the only moves Ifrit will do are the fire breath, an AoE knock back, Eruption, and a straight shot full distance charge attack. The first two attacks are done with little to no warning, the fire breath should not hit anyone but the tank, however the knockback AoE will hit all melee at the very least. Eruption needs to be dodged if the stun tank misses a stun. The charge attack in phase one is easily avoidable, just don’t stand directly across the arena from Ifrit when he lands in preparation for the attack.

Around one third of the way through the fight the charge attack will be done by two Ifrits, if you are looking head on at them, the left will always go first. There will also be an additional move added to Ifrit’s attacks as well, Radiant Plume. For phase one Plume will always be an outside ring then middle of the room rotation as far as unsafe areas, these will be plainly visible. Phase one ends when Ifrit summons four nails in the arena.

Phase 2

Phase two starts with breaking the four nails before Ifrit uses Hellfire. All DPS are to focus the nails, tanks are to remain on Ifrit. If you have a mage DPS they will use the Limit Break as soon as all three meters are full. With full melee DPS you will have to have one DPS Limit Break the bottom right nail, then move to the top right, while the other three DPS burn the top left followed by the bottom left. By then the Limit Break should be back to one full bar so use it on the top right and burn it the rest of the way.

During Hellfire, anyone with defensive skills should pop them immediately or self-heals as soon as Hellfire goes off. This will lighten the load on the healers enabling them to cap everyone off faster. After Hellfire, Ifrit will add another Ifrit to his charges, There will also be a massive Eruption very soon after Hellfire that absolutely must be stunned or it’s a wipe. Radiant Plume also has some changes, in addition to the normal rotation, Ifrit will also add in a full area plume with a small space near him that is safe. Other than that the rest of the fight remains the same as phase one.

If you have any comments, questions, concerns, or specific guide requests leave them in the comments section below. Also please share this out so that we will have smoother runs for everyone, making it easier for everyone to get their Ifrit weapons. For more guides please check my all encompassing list of guides.