Final Fantasy 16: The Rising Tide’s Leviathan Will be “Really Different from Past Eikon Battles”

The first of Final Fantasy 16’s two expansions, Echoes of the Fallen, launched in December, but ever since they were announced, the one that fans have really had their eye on is The Rising Tide, the second expansion, which will see players finally battling against the Eikon Leviathan, who was notably missing in the base game’s story.

But what exactly should players expect from the big boss fight that will serve as the centerpiece for this upcoming DLC? The base game’s Eikon battles were its highlights by far, and each offered a unique experience both visually and mechanically, so will the Leviathan fight bring something new to the table as well?

According to Takeo Kujiraoka, director on The Rising Tide, it will. Speaking recently with Game Informer, though he was unwilling to dive into too many details, Kujiraoka did say players should expect a very water-heavy fight (appropriately enough for Leviathan), and added that it’s going to be “really different from past Eikon battles.”

“One thing I can say is that there’s going to be a lot of water involved – visually, graphically, there’s going to be a lot of attacks made from Levithan and that comes with a lot of water,” he said. “It’s going to look really different from past Eikon battles, and that’s one thing that players can look forward to.”

And of course, the fact that Final Fantasy 16 is the series’ first mainline game with a fully real-time combat system is also going to lend a new flavour to the Leviathan fight. Kujiraoka said, “When you look back at past Final Fantasy titles, there actually aren’t many cases where you see Leviathan moving around crazy and in a real-time action battle system.”

Previously, it was also revealed that The Rising Tide will be roughly 10 hours long. New details on the expansion are expected to be revealed at a PAX West panel later this month.

Final Fantasy 16: The Rising Tide is due out for PS5 this Spring. Producer Naoki Yoshida has said that though the possibility of a third expansion isn’t “entirely zero”, it’s still not something players should expect.