Ardyn Izunia Guide

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John-Carlo Vijuan

John-Carlo has been a gaming writer for quite some time, and this expertise shines through when covering his favorite JRPG series, Final Fantasy. When Carlo isn't busting out insane Limit Breaks, he often swaps Mana for madness and plays some GTA for a more casual gaming experience.

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Ardyn Izunia is the main antagonist of Final Fantasy XV. He is notable for his Joker-Esque persona, albeit a toned-down version of the psychopathic clown.

Ardyn’s clothing looks modern and elegant to some extent, accompanied by his signature fedora that complements his robust facial features such as amber eyes and even his red-violet hair.

In this Ardyn Izunia guide, we will be tackling everything there is to know about Ardyn Izunia, starting with his boss battle in Final Fantasy XV and even his own backstory. Let’s get to it!

Ardyn Izunia Boss Guide

Ardyn’s Statistics

• Level: 58
• Experience: 6,501
• HP: 200,000
• Strength: 4,760
• Vitality: 164
• Spirit: 152
• Immunity: Libra, Instant Death, Alterna, Poison, Stop
• Elemental Weaknesses: None

Battle Strategies (Noctis)

We highly recommend stocking up on items before fighting Ardyn as he has two phases that players will encounter during the final boss fight. Prepare to stock up on Hi-Potions, Elixirs, and Hi-Elixirs.

Another thing that we would recommend is at least to level Noctis up to 45. Doing so would allow you to go toe to toe with Ardyn without losing too much of your health in the process.

Ardyn wields a red version of the royal arms, allowing him to use dark-elemental spells. This battle is a one-on-one match between Noctis and Ardyn, so expect no help from your other teammates.

First Phase

Ardyn would start in a very aggressive state and expect that throughout the fight. He can phase in and out of attacks like Noctis; adding to this, he can warp-strike when you distance yourself from him and often warps away when attacked.

Upon fighting this boss, I used an aggressive tactic to outlast him. It’s best not to prolong the first phase as this can cost you problems during the second phase.

Here are a few tips to help make this fight more manageable:

1. Lock On to Ardyn
2. Fill up your Armiger Meter (Best way to damage Ardyn)
3. Dodge and Counter
4. Always keep track of Ardyn

Those are only a few tips to help make the fight easier; now, let’s break all of those down.

Locking on to Ardyn would make it much easier for you to track him and dodge his warp strikes, which can get annoying if you get hit often by those. Instead of distancing yourself from Ardyn, go for warp-strikes as often as you possibly can.

After warp-striking, unleash a barrage of attacks onto Ardyn to fill your Armiger meter; preferably, use your daggers as these are the fastest attacking weapon you have.

Dodge as best as you can; after Ardyn’s finished with his flurry of attacks, he usually taunts you or stands there, leaving him open for counter-attacks. Although you can essentially tank some of Ardyn’s attacks, it isn’t advisable, especially if you don’t have many HP-restoring items to use.

Lastly, keep track of Ardyn even though you’re trying to dodge his magic spells. He can usually warp-strike towards you, leaving you no room to breathe.

I have to admit; I died a few times to Ardyn during his first phase because I was unprepared for his aggressiveness and lack of healing items. He is far from the usual enemies in the game. Also, take this fight as if it’s the true PvP potential in Final Fantasy XV.

Second Phase

The second phase begins with a cutscene of Ardyn provoking Noctis and his crystal against all he has become. In this phase, Noctis and Ardyn will battle with their Armiger while floating through the ruins of the Crown City.

The key to this fight is to be patient and wait for your proper turn to attack. Be prepared to take damage, as some of Ardyn’s attacks hit hard and are unpredictable. Remember to take healing potions when necessary and avoid

Utilize your Airdash, Warp Strike, and phase to its fullest extent without overcommitting your attacks. Alternatively, you can try to exchange attacks with him, leaving you vulnerable to his attacks; only do this when you’re over-leveled for the fight!

Remember, Ardyn hits like a truck in this phase, so be very careful as there’s still a third phase we have to deal with.

Third Phase

Once you’ve dealt enough damage, Ardyn and Noctis will both fall to the ground, signaling the start of the third phase. The third phase is straightforward and a lot easier to manage.

Utilize Warp Strike and blocking as Ardyn will mostly only use melee attacks in this phase. If you deal enough damage to him, a sequence of QTEs will start, indicating that the battle is finally over.

Congratulations, you have beaten Ardyn Izunia, one of the most interesting villains in the Final Fantasy franchise.

Battle Strategies (Final Fantasy XV: Comrades)

Since we have minimal experience with the Final Fantasy XV: Comrades, we got this build from Allgorhythm from GameFaqs; massive thanks to him for this build.

• Sigil: The Fierce Sigil: Rampage (Martial Arts)
• Weapon: Double Penetrator X Dragon Whisker
• Abilities: Double Penetrator X, Immun, Jitterbug, if possible get Curaga
• Approximate Statistics: 2000 Strength, 1200 Vitality, 0 magic, 150 Sprint, 100% Lightning resistance

From Asetoni FFXV: Glass Cannon Build

• Sigil: The Tall’s Sigil: Aura
• Weapon: Kain’s Lance, Kitchen Knive III, Gilgamesh Daggers, Penetrator X, Yagyu Darkroad
• Abilities: Warp Combo: Thundaga, Charge Strike: Chaosbringer, Everyone’s Enmity, Rush Boost X, Penetrator X
• Statistics: Strength at 4,756,  Vitality at 66, Magic at 55, Spirit at 156

This build is a glass cannon, meaning that you primarily invest your points in damage and disregard all forms of defense.

Here’s a video of Asetoni FFXV doing a no-damage run with this build

Here are tips from various Redditors and Allgorhythm himself.

1. Bayarea757 “High Str + Martial Arts sigil, do the ground pound, then dodge roll after, keep repeating until you need MP. Focus on Ravus first, and when Ardyn starts doing a flurry of attacks, warp-heal your AIs.”
2. Allgorythm “Immune prevents shocked status from Ravus. Consider investing in HP or spirit after you’ve reached 100% lightning resistance” and “Use a weapon that provides Curaga plus MP boost such as Artemis’ Bow, The Vitanova, and Crimson Flashes.”

Ardyn Izunia: A Villain Bound By Destiny

Ardyn is the eldest son in the revered Izunia family and is also a gifted child who can heal people. He grew up alongside his younger brother Somnus, who he became close with during their childhood. As they grew older, their interests diverged, leading the once close brothers to be more of an acquaintance instead.

The Starscourge

During Ardyn’s childhood, a plague called The Starscourge scoured the land of Eos. The Starscourge is a plague that consumes humans turning them into daemons overtime.

The Astrals couldn’t contain the plague directly due to a war waged by Ifrit against the other Astrals. The Astrals slayed Ifrit, and after the battle, their power diminished significantly, causing them to fall into a deep slumber.

Bahamut is the only remaining Astral left to guard humanity; however, Bahamut does not hold the same power as he has before.

As the Starscourge emerged, Bahamut knew that he couldn’t handle the looming threat to humanity. He turned to humanity to help him repel the Starscourge. Since society has high regard for the Izunia family, Bahamut granted the power of the crystal to Ardyn and Somnus.

The Izunia family became the Lucis Caelum family; Ardyn and Somnus now have Lucis Caelum as their last name. Bahamut also granted another family (Royal Family of Tenebrae) the power of the crystal. They will serve as the oracle and keep the Starscourge at bay.

The Calm Versus The Storm

Somnus and Ardyn, now significantly more powerful, decided to combat the Starscourge. However, the brothers had different ideas for dealing with the plague, hence further splitting them apart from one another.

Somnus went for a more barbaric yet straightforward route. Hunt the daemons and burn those who the plague has infected. Ardyn chose to aid the people with his power to heal them.

Further amplified by the crystal, Ardyn’s power can now absorb the plague away from the victim. However, as noble as it may seem, this action has its twisted and dark consequences.

Over time, the absorption of the Starscourge affected Ardyn’s health as the plague was consuming him from the inside. Every time Ardyn heals someone, the side effects of the Starscourge get worse.

Since a lot of people look up to Ardyn, he worries that people may see him as a monster. He decided to severe contact with the people and isolated himself.

With Ardyn gone, his followers created a rebel group to put a stop to Somnus’ aggressive and brutal way of dealing with the plague. However, truth seeped into the rebels and decided to fully support Somnus’ methods to cope and find hope amidst the threat of the plague.

The Fallout Between Brothers: A Trap in Disguise

As the plague continues to ravage the land of Eos, so to was Somnus. He became more aggressive with his actions, even coming to the point that Somnus wanted Ardyn to change his name back to Izunia. When Ardyn refused this command by Somnus, he branded Ardyn as a vigilant.

Despite this conflict with his brother, Ardyn still attempted to continue his mission of healing other people; however, it became increasingly difficult for him. With Somnus’ people advancing towards Ardyn and the sickness he is experiencing from all of the daemons he absorbed, it truly is a challenge for Ardyn.

One day, Ardyn learned that the crystal chose him to be the one true king who would be able to unite the people and the one who’ll be able to rid the Starscourge, once and for all. With these in mind, Ardyn happily accepts his new role as the one true king.

Ardyn went to the crowning ceremony only for Somnus to betray him and confess that he lured Ardyn in order to kill him. Somnus drew his sword against Ardyn in front of all of the people; he pushed Ardyn to the corner, forcing Ardyn to fight his brother.

The fight between brothers has begun; however, with Ardyn’s detrimental health and Somnus’ experience in combat, Ardyn was no match. As Somnus was about to strike the killing blow, the oracle, which happens to be Ardyn’s fiance, stood in front of Ardyn, giving her own life so that Ardyn could live.

Enraged by what happened, Ardyn manifested the daemons inside of him. He showed the world the monster that he is. Instead of attacking the people and Somnus, he instead went to the crystal to check if Somnus was indeed the chosen king.

With the crystal seemingly unresponsive to his touch, Somnus then tried to kill Ardyn; however, he failed as Ardyn’s body regenerated so fast due to his healing ability.

When Ardyn touched the crystal, the crystal absorbed his soul. The Starscourge then fueled Ardyn‘s healing ability instead and granted Ardyn immortality and unimaginable power. Learning this, Somnus created an eternal prison for Ardyn on the Island of Angelgard.

The Rebirth of Ardyn Izunia

Two thousand years later, Verstael Besithia of Niflheim freed Ardyn from captivity. Lucian Royal Guards attacked him as he escaped prison, and that’s when Ardyn found out that he could transform other people into daemons and gain their memories.

After a few months, Verstael showed the frozen body of Ifrit at the laboratory. Verstael asked Ardyn to daemonify Ifrit; however, Royal Guards attacked the laboratory cutting their conversation short. Ardyn hallucinated, seeing the Royal Guards as Somnus, leading him to decimate the guards.

When the Ifrit awakened, Ardyn daemonified the deity allowing him to access Ifrit’s memory. He learned that he was supposed to be the king, and Ardyn’s hatred for his brother finally consumed him. Ardyn crafted a path of darkness and didn’t care about following the Gods anymore.

Ardyn’s Path to Darkness

During the Founder King’s Day festivities, Ardyn posed as a border patrol guard to infiltrate the city. He then summons the Ifrit and causes a massive rampage among the town. Verstael initially asks Ardyn to retreat; however, he still goes after King Regis forcing the king to summon the Old Wall.

Summoning the Old Wall allows Somnus to manifest his spirit and fight against Ardyn. While fighting each other, Somnus admitted his mistakes and was jealous of Ardyn.

After losing to Ardyn, Somnus asks Ardyn to understand his case; this enraged Ardyn further. About to kill the unconscious King Regis, the Bahamut intervenes and summons Ardyn into another dimension.

The Bahamut informed Ardyn that the Gods now have a new purpose for him; The Gods tasked Ardyn to envelop the world in darkness and die in the hand of the True King as a sacrificial lamb.

After this series of events, the story of Final Fantasy XV in the main game unfolds.

Frequently Asked Questions