Primals are powerful entities that roam the world of Eorzea in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Fans of the series will recognize most of them as ‘summons’ in the older games. FFXIV account holders face Primals in difficult Trials or dangerous FATEs, and defeating them will reward you with powerful weapons, unique armor, special mounts, and story / quest progression.
The Bowl of Embers for FFXIV Account Holders
Hard Mode Ifrit is actually quite similar to his Story Mode counterpart. Other than the difference in difficulty, you’re also fighting with an eight-player Full Party now instead of a four-player Light Party. You’ll need to defeat Ifrit as part of the A Relic Reborn quest, but he also drops some good beginning endgame weaponry for your Final Fantasy 14 account.
Ideally, it’s helpful to have several jobs on hand for this fight, if possible. A Black Mage or Summoner is extremely useful to have around for their Limit Break, and a Paladin is a useful tank to have around for the stunning Shield Bash ability, which will be used frequently throughout the battle.
Phase 1: Crimson Cyclone for FFXIV Account Holders
The same as you did during his story mode incarnation, tank him with your back against the wall to avoid being pummeled around by Vulcan Burst. If the tank is a Paladin, use Shield Bash to interrupt Eruption every time it comes up. Warriors and Dragoons can also alternate on stunbot duties, but a Paladin is by far the most effective job to use here.
Ifrit’s uses a new main ability for Hard Mode called Crimson Cyclone. Here, he’ll disappear and reappear on a random side of the arena, and a moment later, will blast forwards in a straight line across the arena. Move out of his trajectory as quickly as possible to avoid damage.
At 75% HP, you’ll move onto the next phase.
Phase 2: Radiant Plume for FFXIV Account Holders
Radiant Plume appears again here, functioning much as it did before. However, eruptions will start occurring more frequently and you may not be able to stun all of them, so be ready to dodge if necessary. When Crimson Cyclone occurs in Phase 2, there will be two Ifrits to deal with instead of one. Ensure that you are not in the path of either of them; the one which will fly out first will be marked with a purple glow.
At 50% HP, Ifrit will summon four Infernal Nails towards the middle of the room. You should have built up a Level 3 Limit Break by this point, which a Summoner or Black Mage should fire off to use Meteor and destroy several of the nails at once. In the event that you do not have such a caster in your party, knock down the nails as quickly as possible via melee Limit Break on one, then focus down two more, then kill off the last with another melee Limit Break.
Ifrit will leap up once the Nails are destroyed. Everyone should move into the center of the arena, Scholars should cast Succor and White Mages should cast Medica II immediately. Scholars can also use Sacred Soil to reduce damage, but as long as the nails were destroyed fast enough, everyone should survive the incoming Hellfire.
Phase 3: Defeating Hard Mode Ifrit for FFXIV Account Holders
The final phase follows a strict pattern. Firstly, Ifrit will perform a Crimson Cyclone with two additional copies of himself, so take care to stay out of the way of all three of them. Secondly, he will use Radiant Plume around the edges of the room, followed shortly by another Radiant Plume in the middle, so move in then out to avoid both of these. This will then be followed by an Eruption which should be interrupted without fail to ensure no one is wandering around out of position. As with many other primal boss battles, positioning is key. There will be a new Radiant Plume pattern, with the only safe zone being practically on top of Ifrit, so have everyone stack on Ifrit to avoid it. After this, there will be one more interruptible Eruption, after which the cycle will repeat. In between dodging things, throw all the abilities you’ve got at Ifrit and it won’t be long before he falls, granting your Final Fantasy XIV account rewards.
