The events leading up to the clash against Hugo Kupka inFinal Fantasy 16are really quite shocking. In a bid to draw Cid the Outlaw out of hiding, Hugo takes his personal army and attacks Rosalith, the capital of Rosaria and Clive’s home. Needless to say, it’s a trap that serves its purpose, as Clive has no choice but to venture back to the capital.
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After a gauntlet of tough battles, which include a clash with a cat and a bout against two ninja-type enemies, you’re faced with the man himself: the Dominant of Titan, Hugo Kupka. He’s a tough boss with hard-hitting moves, and you can read on below to learn how to take him down.
How To Beat Hugo
As you’d expect from his personality and his weapon of choice,Hugo likes to get up-close and personal. His moveset is definitelymelee-oriented, and many of them are quick to come out, requiring fast reflexes. He’s also very mobile andwill spend quite a bit of time leaping around to confuse you- to counter this, larger or ranged moves are your friends.
For this reason, one of the better abilities to equip for this fight isWill-o'-the-Wykes, which will provide some protection and serve as a useful source of chip damage.
The table below lists all of Hugo’s moves. Those initalicshave names that will show up on the screen when Hugo uses them.
Description
Blocking Rush
Hugo summons two massive fists, crossed over each other, and then rushes toward you. Hugo uses this as a gap-closer.
This is a large attack that is relatively easy to predict, so you should have no trouble dodging out of the way.
One-Two Combo
Hugo will leap at you with a punching attack and follow the punch with a kick. He will usually use this after bouncing back and forth for a while to confuse you.
This attack comes out quickly, so you’ll have to be on your toes to react to it.
Uppercut
Hugo summons a massive arm and uses it to perform an uppercut in your direction. This attack will knock you flying if it connects.
Try to dodge around Hugo when he uses this attack and counter by attacking his back.
Sledgehammer
Hugo will dash at you, shoulder-first. If this connects, Clive is flung into the air and then smashed down by Hugo.
The dashing opening to this attack is very quick, so you’ll need to react to the name of the attack popping up to best avoid this one.
Block Explosion
Hugo can infrequently block one of your attacks. He will follow up a successful block with a quick Uppercut.
Use this part of the battle toget used to Hugo’s dancer-like movements and fast attacks- once you deal enough damage to him and Stagger him the first time, it’s only a matter of time before a short cutscene plays, which progresses the fight to its second phase.
After the cutscene,Hugo will be semi-primed. This will make him more aggressive and gives him lots of new attacks.
Geocrush
Hugo will use this attack from underground. A large patch of the ground will start glowing, and after a few moments, a massive fist (and Hugo) will burst up.
As with all of these types of attacks, verify you get out of the glowing circle as soon as it appears.
In this phase, Hugo’s normal Uppercut move now has a followup. He will now punch forwards after the uppercut motion with the second stone fist. As he gets lower on health, Hygo will add more punches to this attack.
Just keep in mind that this attack is extended in this phase and you shouldn’t have trouble remembering to dodge the second part of the attack.
Weight of the Land
Hugo creates puddles of earth magic that will eventually explode.
Do not stand in the earth magic puddles to avoid damage.
Force of the Land
Hugo covers the entire battlefield in a glow by placing his hands on the ground, and then summons a floor full of spikes by pressing down.
You’ll need to either use your dodge’s invincibility frames to avoid damage or time a jump to avoid the spikes. Jump just as Hugo pushes down on the ground.
Landslide
This is a linear attack that is telegraphed by the ground underneath you glowing in a line.
The trajectory of this attack is linear, so simply move to one side quickly to avoid damage.
Titanic Block
Hugo will summon his fists and use them as a shield to block your attacks. After blocking so many attacks, he will counter with this move, which is a multi-hit combo that you won’t be able to avoid.
To avoid this, simply do not attack Hugo while he stands stationary, holding his shield in front of him. Alternatively, you can break this shield with Eikonic abilities.
Tumult
Hugo performs a jumping attack that sends out shockwaves when he hits the ground. He will send out three shockwaves in total.
Jump over the shockwaves as they appear.
Stripmine
Hugo creates a massive fan-shaped attack indicator. After a while, he will send out a shockwave of rock.
The only safe zone with this attack is behind Hugo. Get behind him and use this long attack to get some easy damage in.
Torment
This is a long attack that involves Hugo making lots of punching attacks, smaller versions of Stripmine, and finally, some ranged attacks where he fires his fists at you.
Keep your eyes on Hugo and react accordingly to his attacks. Dodge the punches, get out of the Stripmine indicators, and get out of the way of his ranged attacks.
Earthen Fury
This is simply a larger version of Stripmine totally focused on Hugo, creating a huge radius around him.
Get out of the radius to avoid damage. Hugo will be stunned for a while after using this attack, so dash in and exploit this window for damage.
Hugo will only useTorment and Earthen Furywhen he’s very low on health.
Hugo has one of the most expansive movesets in the entire game, so it is quite difficult to rely on learning his attacks. You’ll have toadapt on the fly, especially as his attacks get more hits and slightly more erratic with damage.
The attacks to look out for most areSledgehammer, Geocrush, and Stripmine, as these are incredibly high-damage attacks that can be difficult to avoid if Hugo uses them at the wrong time. In addition, remember to stop attacking Hugo when he starts blocking you, lest you get struck by aTitanic Blockcombo.
In terms of attacks, you’ll want tobreak out your best single-target damage attacks. For this reason, Ramuh’sJudgement Boltis a good ability to have. Use this at the end of Hugo’s Staggers with the highest damage multiplier that you can manage.
1,200
270
4,000
Spoils
Earth Shard x1, Steelsilk x35, Meteorite x2
You will also gain access to Titan’s repertoire of abilities, multiple of which you’ll have faced in this very battle. Notably, you’ll have your own version ofTitanic Block, which gives you a great alternative to the dodge-focused style of combat that you’ve likely become accustomed to so far.
