Ifrit (Final Fantasy XIV)

Ifrit is fought as a boss in Final Fantasy XIV, as part of the quests It kills with Fire and Ifrit bleeds, we can kill it!. The first fight is balanced towards level 25 characters, while the second one, known as "Bowl of Embers (Hard)", is for level 50s.

A third fight, known as "Bowl of Embers (Extreme)", was added in patch 1.22c. This final fight is only accessible by players who have accepted "A Relic Reborn", which is no small feat. It is also a requirement to complete this quest.

Bowl of Embers (Normal)
This battle occurs during the storyline of A Realm Reborn and is required to complete the quest "Lord of the Inferno." The minimum level to participate is 20, with a level sync to 22.

This trial is a four-man battle for players in the lower 20s, so Ifrit is significantly toned down compared to his incarnations in other trials, and isn't particularly difficult to defeat. Initially he only uses Incinerate breath attack in front and his area-of-effect Vulcan Buster attack. Once his health reaches around half, he summons an Infernal Nail and readies Hellfire; the nail must be destroyed to survive the attack. When his health gets low, he begins to use Radiant Plumes on the ground, requiring more evasive maneuvers.

Strategy: Bowl of Embers (Hard)
It is advisable to have as much materia melded gear as possible, including some fire resistance materia for extra defense. Having defensive skills like Sentinel also helps even if not tanking, although some of the Jobs introduced in 1.21 lack such abilities.

During the beginning of the fight, Ifrit only uses physical attacks; use this period to apply any DoTs on him, such as the bleed effect from Aero. A Conjurer's Aero can at least partially counteract his regen for a short time, but is best used if unable to raise fallen DDs and not healing the tank. Since his regen can also be reduced by incapacitating his horns, this stage can be used to use the proper weaponskills safely from the front.

Once his HP hits 75%, he will start using up skills every 15 seconds. It is advisable to refresh all party buffs and debuffs on Ifrit before he reaches this point.

Incinerate is a fire breath attack used on whoever is incurring the higher enmity; this should always hit only the tank. Vulcan buster hits everyone around him and knocks the targets back. The tank should avoid this effect by always being near the corner. Ranged DDs can stand outside the burst, while healers can keep Stoneskin on themselves to eliminate the knockback. Radiant Plume creates lava zones all over the zone, and can be avoided by running towards Ifrit while he's casting, since it will not appear closer to him. These lava zones are arranged in relation to his body, so as long as he holds still, a player can position his or herself so that they never get hit by them. Eruption works similarly, but creates a lava circle directly below one of the party members, and can be avoided by running outside it before the explosion. This is by far his most dangerous attack, and should be watched for at all times. Zooming the camera out makes this easier.

When casting both Eruption and Radiant Plume, Ifrit makes a different pose that hints towards which move is gonna be used.

His last attack during this phase is the Crimson Cyclone, where he jumps out of the screen and lands on one of the corners of the area, rushing towards the other and hitting everyone caught by his flames. The whole party should gather near one of the "safe spots". These safe spots are roughly the space between each cardinal position (IE, positioning between the NW and N most areas of the battlefield is safe). It is advisable to refresh buffs and heal the party while Ifrit is jumping, as it's safe from damage and generates no enmity.

When Ifrit reaches 50% HP, he will start casting up Eruption three times in a row, and jump / rush three times with each Crimson Cyclone. He will cast Sear, which is a damage pulse that hits everyone around him every 10 seconds. Lancers can keep attacking him without being hit if they are on the maximum spear range.

His behavior changes once again at 30% HP, where he will summon four Infernal Nails. It is imperative to destroy at the very least one Nail (they have roughly 2.000 HP), as they empower his signature move, Hellfire, always used 60 seconds after the nails are summoned. Hellfire will instantly kill the party (dealing 9.999 damage) if the four nails are on the battlefield when it is used. It is possible to destroy all four nails before Hellfire with a team of Black Mages or Thaumaturges, but recommended to destroy at least two and save the remaining time for pre-Hellfire preparations.

After casting Hellfire, the last phase of the battle begins; Ifrit will now start using abilities every 5 seconds.

A few of his moves change once again:
 * Sear now pulses every 5 seconds.
 * Eruption is used on two party members at the same time.
 * Ifrit divides into three when using Crimson Cyclone.
 * Radiant Plume hits the entire battlefield except the area already affected by Sear.

During this stage, survival is the main focus. Always prioritize healing over damaging, and slowly whittle away his life. At this time, if one Conjurer or White Mage has a spare moment, Stone and Aero can help immensely; Stone for the Magic Evasion Down effect, and Aero for the bleed effect. The safest way is to use a single attack before every enemy move, making it easier to react to his abilities. Players seeking to earn the Ifrit Defeated in Short Order! achievement might want to risk attacking more often.

Strategy: Bowl of Embers (Extreme)
In this variation, Ifrit gains a considerable buff to his HP and attack power. The basic strategy still applies for most of the battle; players must focus on avoiding his moves over damaging, but should still try to deal enough damage to offset the primal's powerful regen.

Ifrit will switch to the final phase of the hard battle at 85% life and cast Hellfire multiple times during the fight.

Most of his moves are powered up in some way: Hellfire summons more nails and deals more damage than the regular version; Sear affects a larger area, and can be attached to a player so that they damage allies around them periodically. Eruption can be used on more than two players at once, and Radiant Plume cover an even bigger area of the battlefield, with very few safe spots. Incinerate causes a DoT effect.

Incapacitating Ifrit's horns is crucial for this fight, as it weakens his abilities. If no horns are broken, some of his abilities are completely unavoidable. Due to this factor, a melee heavy party composition may be preferable, since casters cannot incapacitate or deal enough AoE damage against the nails (since black mages' main AoE abilities are Fire-based spells and white Mages will likely be too busy healing to cast Stonera or Aerora).

These are patterns for each ability:
 * Radiant Plume
 * From the center of the map 4 radiant plumes in circle shape - HP > 85%.
 * From the outside edge several radiant plumes in circle shape - HP < 85%, both horns broken.
 * Radiant plumes around everywhere except Ifrit's feet and center area - HP < 85%, one horn broken.
 * Radiant plumes everywhere except by Ifrit's feet - HP < 85%, one horn broken.
 * Radiant plume on entire map, unavoidable - HP < 85%, no horns broken.

Always resets enmity after each use, Ifrit will focus on a random target and use Incinerate after landing.
 * Crimson Cyclone
 * Lands on a corner and charges towards other end of the map - HP > 85%.
 * 3 copies land in clockwise order in either east/west/south/north corner and charges in clockwise order - HP < 85%, both horns broken.
 * 4 copies land in clockwise order in either east/west/south/north corner and charges in clockwise order - HP < 85%, one horn broken.
 * 4 copies land clock wise order and all charge towards other end at same time, unavoidable - HP < 85%, no horns broken.


 * Eruption
 * Targets 5 people and effect starts in order.
 * Targets 2 at same time 3 additional eruptions follow.
 * Targets 6 and effect starts in order - HP < 85%, one horn broken. Also uses previous versions.
 * Targets 3 at same time and 3 additional eruptions follow, explosion is faster - HP < 85%, no horns broken. Also uses previous versions.


 * Hellfire'''
 * Ifrit first uses Hellfire when his HP is down to 85%, works the same as the hard version. Second use is around 60%, this time 8 nails must be destroyed within 65 seconds. Final use is around 30% HP, 13 nails will appear with a time limit of 75 seconds. The use of AoE weaponskills like Rain of Death and Aura Pulse is extremely important to avoid a 9999 damage Hellfire.

Trivia

 * As players have grown significantly stronger through weapon upgrades and skill since the initial release of Ifrit, it is likely that "Bowl of Embers (Extreme)" was added as a reaction to the current ease of the Hard fight.