When it comes to the weapon and equipment in Final Fantasy XVI, the simple goal that you should have is to make Clive Rosfield the most potent character he can be.
To do this, you’ll want to unlock some of the best weapons in the game, with one of the top swords being the Gotterdammerung. You can learn how to do this in the Final Fantasy XVI Gotterdammerung guide.
You’ll find out below that Gotterdammerung is one of the most potent weapons in Valisthea. If you want to take down bosses, hunt marks, and anything else in this game with ease, this is the sword to pick up.
It’ll even do you well in a New Game+ playthrough. Find out how to get your hands on Gotterdammerung in this Final Fantasy XVI Gotterdammerung guide.
How to Obtain Gotterdammerung in Final Fantasy XVI
The Gotterdammerung is a weapon that any player should aim to unlock in Final Fantasy XVI. Unfortunately, it is one of the hardest to get in the game. To unlock this weapon, you’ll have to obtain four different types of materials and items to add to your inventory.
Here is what you need to create Gotterdammerung:
- Ragnarok sword
- One primitive Battlehorn material
- Two Darksteel materials
- Three Orichalcum
Once you have all three items, you can head to the blacksmith forge, speak with Blackthorne, and make the Gotterdammerung weapon. Unfortunately, this is much easier said than done. Obtaining all four materials above will take a considerable amount of time. Thankfully, I have your back with this.
How to Get the Gotterdammerung Crafting Recipe
Before you can start gathering up all of the materials you need for this recipe and crafting, you need the actual recipe itself.
This is pretty simple, as you’ll also need to do the same steps to unlock something else on the list. All you want to do for this part is complete the entire Blacksmith’s Blues chain of quests for Blackthorne.
There are four quests in total that you’ll need to complete, and this is the exact requirement you must meet to unlock the Ragnarok weapon in the first place. The only difference is that while getting the Ragnarok sword through this quest chain is easy, you only get the recipe when you complete these quests.
Once you’ve gathered up all four of the different items you need for this crafting recipe, it is now finally time to create the second-most mighty sword in the game.
Take it to the Blacksmith and make yourself the long-awaited and highly powerful Gotterdammerung sword with which you can safely beat the main story. Twice, even, if you’d like.
How to Unlock Ragnarok in FF16
First and foremost, let’s start with the base of the entire Gotterdammerung weapon in Final Fantasy XVI, which is Ragnarok.
This is also one of the best swords in the game, and you could certainly beat the game with this weapon alone if you are leveled up enough. But you don’t settle for just “good enough” because you want the best.
To start, we need to acquire this weapon. This is pretty easy to do, but it requires a bit of time, and you won’t be able to get it until very late into the main story. Blackthorne, the Blacksmith for the Hideaway, has a series of side quests known as Blacksmith’s Blues.
Four of these quests in total make up his storyline, and you have to complete all four to get this weapon as a reward. Unfortunately, there are some stipulations with this otherwise easy task that you should know about.
You don’t get access to the entire side quest line at once. You get the first quest at a decent point in the story after the time skip following The Crystal’s Curse main story quest. But you must continue the main story until you get the others, so it’ll be a while before you get this sword.
Secondly, you can only obtain the Ragnarok weapon once per game playthrough. Do not at any point sell this weapon or get rid of it, or else you will never be able to make the Gotterdammerung sword. Once you have this weapon, it’s time to move to the second step.
Where to Get Primitive Battlehorn
Next up is a single Primitive Battlehorn material that you’ll need for the Gotterdammerung in Final Fantasy XVI. Your only option is to take out the Gobermouch hunt mark to get this. This is a rank A hunt mark, and you must be pretty deep into the main story to unlock it.
This mark is slightly northwest of the Eistla obelisk in the Kingdom of Waloed. Take out this reasonably simple boss hunt mark, and you’ll earn the Primitive Battlehorn from it as one of the rewards, in addition to the plethora of Gil, renown, experience, and ability points you receive.
How to Get Darksteel
Darksteel is a bit harder of a material to obtain in this game, mainly because you have to find two of these rather than a single one. Like the primitive battlehorn, this requires you to take out two specific bounty marks, as it is unavailable through any type of side quest or found in the world.
The first hunt mark you want to focus on is the Prince of Death mark. This one sounds wild, and it only slightly is, but the Grim Reaper isn’t nearly as challenging to take down as it initially sounds. This A-rank mark is found at the end of the significant path that goes directly west from the core gate city of Northreach in the Empire’s lands.
For the second, you have to take on yet another hunt mark in this game. This time around, it is Thanatos, which comes soon after the Prince of Death mark, so long as you have already done the Under New Management side quest. It is also an A-rank hunt mark that is only ever so slightly more challenging than the Grim Reaper, but not by much.
How to Get Orichalcum
Finally, you need Orichalcum, and you’ll be able to make this sword. However, once again, the game makes this much harder for you than it initially seems to be by requiring you to get not one, not two, but a whopping three pieces of Orichalcum for this particular requirement.
If you’re anything like me, this is about to give you some mad Kingdom Hearts vibes, and for a good reason. Fortunately, you have a few options for this material. First up, there are the hunt marks that you should take on to obtain some Orichalcum for this task.
The first hunt mark that gives you this immensely valuable material is the Gorgimera hunt. This is one of the most challenging hunts in the entire game, marked by its S rank. You’ll want to come to the desert just northwest of the Dalimil Inn in the Republic fully prepared to take down this foe and earn the first piece of Orichalcum.
Another S rank hunt mark you should take out for the second piece is Atlas. This is roughly on the same level as the previous one, so if you were able to take it out, you should be totally fine to defeat this foe. Head to Cressida in Rosaria and follow the path east to its end to find this enemy. Take it out, and you have two pieces now.
For the final piece of Orichalcum, it is ultimately up to you. There are a couple of ways to go about this, but the two main ones are to either take out the Behemoth King on the bounty hunt board or simply do the Under New Management II side quest.
The latter is what I opted for in this case since it is a much easier route. For this side quest, you have to, of course, finish the initial Under New Management quest. You’ll already have to do that anyways for one of the other hunt marks, so you might as well continue the side quest story and do this one as well for a relatively straightforward piece of Orichalcum.
What Gotterdammerung Does: Stats Explained
The reason why players want the Gotterdammerung sword comes down to its stats, plain and simple. Unlike some other RPGs, the weapons in this game are pretty straightforward.
They don’t generally give you specific buffs or bonuses that affect your character or abilities in any particular way; you’ll want the accessories for that endeavor.
Instead, the weapons that Clive uses in this game purely affect your attack stats, and that’s pretty much it. Of course, there is also the visual component of the weapon, but that is only so helpful, and to be fair, the Gotterdammerung is one of the better-looking weapons, at least.
Here are the general stats for the Gotterdammerung in FF16:
- Attack: 375
- Stagger: 375
It is the second-highest of those two stats out of any weapon in all of Final Fantasy XVI. And the worst part is that the better weapon is only available in the second playthrough of your game. So, it is functionally the best weapon you can get across the board in your first playthrough.
It gives the right balance of dealing impressive damage to your foes while also providing exceptional stagger damage.
This makes it excellent for taking out regular enemies, bosses, hunt marks, and the like. You can beat the entire game with this weapon alone, and you can even opt to use it in a New Game+ run, and it will treat you well there, too.
To make the most of it, I recommend taking the time to pair this weapon with other excellent gear. Some of the items and armor, I suggest players use are the Ouroboros belt and The Son of Ouroboros vambraces. These are the best armor pieces you can find without even needing to upgrade them.
Best Alternatives
As mentioned, Gotterdammerung is not the best sword in this game. So, theoretically, you would want to get that other, more powerful sword at some point in your time with Final Fantasy XVI, so long as you are able to meet the requirements for it.
In addition, while you can get this sword, it’s going to be a long time until you can unlock it. As such, here are a few close alternatives to Gotterdammerung that will treat you right, even if you aren’t able to get this sword.
- Everdark: There is a long line of Eikon-related swords, and this is the final one. It takes the Icebrand, Stormcry, and all the other versions to reach this one eventually. But it is worth it for how easy it is to get (once you reach a certain point) and how it is the fourth-most powerful weapon in the game with 315 stats.
- Ragnarok: This is the third-most powerful weapon in the game and one of the requirements to obtain Gotterdamerung in the first place. You could certainly use this sword to beat the game, as it isn’t too far behind in its base form with 325 stats for both attacks and stagger. Just complete Blacksmith’s Blues IV for it.
- Ultima Weapon: This is the most potent weapon in all of Final Fantasy XVI. You have to play on New Game+ even to get this weapon, and then a whole bunch of other requirements you’ll need to meet. But it is certainly worth it for a weapon that has 700 attacks and stagger stats right off the bat, which is nearly double what its predecessor, Gotterdammerung, can do.
Final Fantasy XVI Gotterdammerung Guide: FAQs
Question: How do you get Gotterdamerung in FF16?
Answer: You can get the Gotterdammerung in FF16 by acquiring the Ragnarok weapon. Once you have it, you need to do bounty hunt marks and side quests to get one primitive battlehorn, two darksteel items, and three Orichalcum to be able to craft this sword.
Question: Who is the main antagonist in Final Fantasy 16?
Answer: Answering this question would be spoilers, but there are several candidates for the main antagonist in Final Fantasy 16. Without spoiling some of the later enemies and twists, the Emperor, King Barnabas, the Hooded Man, Hugo Kupka, and others are the main antagonists of this game.
Question: How do you get the Ultima Weapon in FF16?
Answer: You can only get the Ultima Weapon in FF16 by beating the main story and making it in a New Game+ playthrough. It is the most potent weapon in the entire game.
Check Out All of the Other Weapons and Equipment in Final Fantasy
The Gotterdammerung is the single best sword you can use in all of Final Fantasy XVI, at least on your first run of the main story. As such, it is the most sought-after weapon when you are playing the game for the first time, and for a solid reason. Its attack and stagger stats are incredible and only beaten by a single weapon.
The Gotterdammerung may take quite a bit of effort and time to unlock in the game, but it is certainly worth all of that. This is a sword that will take you through the final boss of this main story and even beyond. You could use this weapon in New Game+, where the level cap is raised, and still do well with it.
But, at the end of the day, the Gotterdammerung is only a single slim part of the Final Fantasy equipment, including weapons and armor, from across the series. We’ve previously broken down all of the various types of weapons and equipment items you can use to power through the 16 mainline games in the series.