Burn my dread
If there’s one thing Final Fantasy fans know, it’s to never mess with a red chocobo. Just ask anyone who played Final Fantasy XIV and watched entire parties fall to one such boss in the sands of Bozja. True to form, Final Fantasy XVI introduces us to one of these beasts via the A-rank Dread Comet hunt. Thankfully, this monster isn’t as bad as some of its counterparts from past games.
The Dread Comet appears at level 38, which fortunately should roughly match your level by the time you unlock it. Additionally, while this chocobo can look overwhelming at first, it’s quite easy to dodge once you know its main attacks. Here’s everything you need to know.
Dread Comet location & directions in Final Fantasy XVI (FF16)
Like the hunt description states, players can find the Dread Comet in Dhalmekia. To find it, warp to the Dravozd or The Jaw waypoints. Make your way to The Sickle and look for the small passage that leads into the The Fields of Corava. This will be your battle arena.
Once you reach the area indicated in the screenshot above, you’ll see the Dread Comet. With its bright colors, you really can’t miss it. Approach it and you’ll engage the bird-horse in combat.
Final Fantasy XVI (FF16) Dread Comet tips & tricks
Before you even begin earnestly fighting the Dread Comet, you’ll notice that this monster lacks a Will Gauge. In other words, there’s no staggering this monster. This may throw you off if you’re used to dealing damage during burst windows, so adapt accordingly. I recommend spamming your skills immediately to start piling on damage, especially if you have enemy-stopping super moves like Flames of Rebirth equipped.
By the time you finish your opening onslaught, Dread Comet will counter with Choco Meteor. Small red markings will appear on the ground, indicating where said meteors will strike. However, once the meteors make impact, they will emit a shockwave that strikes a large area around it. In other words, if you only pay attention to the markers, you’ll take a lot of damage.
To handle this, focus on the shockwaves and Precision Dodge right over them. If you have Bahamut equipped, this is a great opportunity to use the Wings of Light ability to accrue stacks of Megaflare. Once you have a full charge, you can passively deal damage to the Red Comet while you focus on dodging.
Aside from the Choco Meteor, Red Comet will rush towards you and use a jumping kick attack. It will repeat this quite a bit, so once you get the timing down, you can trigger some easy counters here. Make sure you use all abilities that came off cooldown after Choco Meteor resolved.
When the Red Comet’s health drops low, it will surprise you with Choco Meteorain. This attack functions identically to Choco Meteor, except the meteors fall faster and the attack persists for longer. Again, if you’re having trouble, Bahamut works wonders here. Keep up your dodging and get hits in when the arena isn’t exploding.
Get the Comet Feather by defeating Dread Comet!
As you may have expected, the Dread Comet will award you with the unique Comet Feather item upon its defeat. This is a key ingredient for crafting the Ouroboros Belt, which any player aiming for maximum stats will want. Congratulations!
