You’ve spent eighty hours slashing through orcs, watching political backstabbing that would make George R.R. Martin blush, and wondering why the sky turned that weird, depressing shade of purple. Then you meet him. Or them. Or it. Ultima Final Fantasy 16 is a bit of a trip. He isn’t just your run-of-the-mill JRPG "god" who shows up in the final act to give you something to hit. He’s the architect of every single tragedy you’ve witnessed in Valisthea.
Honestly, he's also a giant hypocrite.
He talks about "will" and "consciousness" like they’re diseases. But if you look closely at his history, he’s doing exactly what Clive and his friends are doing: trying to survive. The difference? Ultima thinks he’s the only one who deserves a seat at the table.
Who is Ultima Final Fantasy 16 anyway?
Let's clear up the confusion about what Ultima actually is. He isn’t a single dude. He’s a hivemind. Thousands of years ago, his race lived in a different land. They used too much magic. They triggered a Blight. Sound familiar? It should. It’s the same cycle of ecological collapse that’s currently eating Valisthea alive.
To escape the end of their world, sixteen survivors cast off their physical bodies. They became spirits and drifted through the cosmos until they hit Valisthea. Think of it like a cosmic life raft. Once they arrived, they realized they couldn't just "be" anymore without physical forms. So, they hatched a plan that spans millennia.
The Great Human Farm
Ultima didn't just find humans; he made them. He created humanity to be a biological filter. The goal? To eventually birth a "vessel" strong enough to hold all his power and cast a spell called Raise. This spell would remake the world, bring back his dead race, and—crucially—delete humanity in the process.
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You, playing as Clive, are that vessel. You are Mythos.
He didn't give humans free will on purpose. That was an accident. An "anomaly," as he calls it. He wanted mindless husks that would just gather aether and wait to be consumed. Instead, he got people who fell in love, started wars, and decided they didn't really want to be fuel for a dead alien’s rebirth.
Why the Final Boss Fight is a Marathon
If you're gearing up for the final encounter at Origin, bring snacks. It's a long one. The Ultima Final Fantasy 16 boss fight is a multi-stage gauntlet that tests whether you’ve actually mastered the Eikonic combat system or if you’ve just been button-mashing your way through the game.
The fight starts as a duel of wills.
Ultima uses moves like Neutron Flare and Graviga. These aren't too bad if you're used to the rhythm. But then things get weird. He starts combining mechanics. He'll throw a slow-moving energy ball at you while raining down lightning. You have to watch the floor, watch the air, and watch his tells all at once.
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The Evolution of the Fight
- The Base Form: Mostly standard projectiles and sword swipes. Learn the dodge timing for Neutron Flare here; you'll see it a lot later.
- Ultima Risen: This is where the scale goes off the charts. It becomes an Eikon-level spectacle. You’re flying, everything is exploding, and the music is doing most of the heavy lifting for your adrenaline levels.
- Ultimalius: The final, desperate merger. This is Ultima at his most "human," ironically. He’s angry. He’s failing. He starts using the same Eikonic powers Clive has been using the whole game.
Pro tip for the Deliverance attack: He swings a giant flaming sword about five times. Don't even try to counter. Just dodge. If you get caught in the final uppercut, you're going to lose a massive chunk of health.
How to Get the Ultima Weapon
You can’t get the actual "Ultima Weapon" on your first playthrough. Sorry. Square Enix decided that the best sword in the game should be a reward for people who really, really like the combat. You have to beat the game once, unlock Final Fantasy Mode in New Game+, and then start the grind all over again.
It’s worth it, though. The thing has 700 Attack and 700 Stagger. It makes even the hardest hunts look like tutorial mobs.
The Shopping List
You need three specific items to craft it at Blackthorne’s forge:
- Utterance of Creation: You get this automatically when you start New Game+ on Final Fantasy Mode.
- Everdark Reforged: You have to kill Barnabas (Odin) again in the late game to get the Flawless Dark Shard needed for this.
- Gotterdammerung Reforged: This is the annoying part. You have to redo the entire "Blacksmith’s Blues" side quest line. That means hunting down the Griffin, the Atlas, and the Gorgimera all over again to get the Orichalcum.
Don't sell your Ragnarok sword from the first playthrough. You need it to make the Gotterdammerung, which you then need to make the Ultima Weapon. If you sold it, you’re basically locked out until the next loop.
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The Problem with Ultima as a Villain
A lot of people in the community find Ultima a bit... boring?
Compared to the raw, personal hatred you feel for someone like Annabella Rosfield, Ultima is very cold. He’s an abstraction. He doesn't understand why Clive is fighting so hard for a world that’s basically a garbage fire. To him, humans are just "broken tools."
But that’s kind of the point.
The game is a deconstruction of the "Creator God" trope. Usually, the god is all-knowing. Ultima isn't. He’s a failure. He failed his own world, and now he’s failing to control his own creation. When Clive finally punches him in the face—literally—it’s not just a hero beating a villain. It’s the "tool" proving it has more soul than the "maker."
Actionable Tips for Mastery
If you’re struggling with the lore or the gameplay surrounding Ultima Final Fantasy 16, here’s what you should actually do:
- Check the Thousand Tomes: Seriously, Harpocrates is there for a reason. If you update your lore level to 8 or higher, the entries on the Circle of Malius explain exactly how Ultima manipulated the religions of Valisthea to prepare for Mythos.
- Don't Grind to Level 99: You don't need to. If you're in the mid-80s, you can take down the final boss in Final Fantasy Mode. Your skill with the Titanic Block and Precision Dodge matters way more than your raw stats.
- Master the "Will": In the final fight, the game introduces a mechanic where you have to mash buttons to "resist" Ultima. It’s not just a QTE; it’s a thematic beat. If you fail these, you take massive damage.
- Equip the Berserker Ring: If you haven't been using this, start. It turns your precision dodges into high-damage counter-windows. Against a fast boss like Ultima, it's the best accessory in the game.
Ultima is the ultimate test of whether you've bought into Clive's journey. He offers a perfect world where no one suffers because no one is really "alive." By defeating him, you’re choosing a world that’s broken, messy, and painful, but one where people are actually free to choose their own ending.
To prep for the final battle, ensure you have finished all "Plus" marked side quests in the Hideaway. These unlock the final inventory expansions for potions, which you will absolutely need if you plan on surviving the "Purgatorium" phase without seeing the Game Over screen. Once you have your potions and your gear, head to the final map marker. There's no turning back after you enter the Interdimensional Rift.