By a show of hands, whose jaw hit the floor when they saw the first Realm Boss lurking in the corner of the Crystal Scar?
This gigantic Iron Giant was the first of what will become an ongoing feature in the game known as a Realm Boss, and they make Behemoths look like a Chocobo hatchling!
This article will discuss the types of Realm Bosses that exist in Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire, what items they drop, and how to do the most damage to them.
What is a Realm Boss?
A Realm Boss is a new type of monster that is 3 tiles wide by 3 tiles long and sits on one of four designated areas in the Crystal Scar.
These new Realm Bosses are the most difficult monsters to defeat yet and require the help of the entire realm to bring down. Whoever lands the killing blow that defeats a Realm Boss will receive all sorts of special rewards.
How to Prepare for a Realm Boss
Realm Bosses are so tough that most normal attacks won’t even damage them. (However, don’t be discouraged! Even if you deal 0.00% damage to a Realm Boss, you will still receive the items it drops, as usual.) Some people give up right there, but there are a few tricks you can use to ensure that every attack against a Realm Boss deals maximum damage.
Hero Research
First, it’s essential to complete all of the Hero Research you can for your University level. A level 40 University will allow you to master most of the Hero Research tree, but if you have Monster Tactics 5 completed and are working on Monster Tactics 6, then you are in a good position to fight a Realm Boss.
When prioritizing Hero Research, the most important ones, in descending order, are:
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Hero Attack Streak
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Hero Attack
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Hero Critical Hit
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Max MP
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MP Cost Reduction
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MP Recovery
The most important thing is to have your maximum available Attack Streaks as high as possible, allowing you to deal more damage with each successive hit. Having the best possible rate of landing a Critical Hit is also essential, since normal attacks often won’t do any damage at all.
Getting your hero’s MP as high as possible will help you get as many attacks as possible when selecting “Max Attack”. MP Cost Reduction will also allow you to get more attacks in overall.
While we’re on the subject of Research, don’t forget about Hero Attack, MP Cost Reduction and MP Recovery in the Adventurer Research tree!
If you want to get an edge on the competition, be sure to check out the new Hero Research that now goes all the way up to Monster Tactics 7! Don’t forget to subscribe to The Hub newsletter to be notified when we add our expanded Hero Research Guide.
Equipment
In order to deal the most damage to a Realm Boss, you will need three things: Beastmaster’s Claw, Hunter’s Carapace, and Giant Slayer. Although Beastmaster’s Claw and Hunter’s Carapace are not specifically required to slay a Realm Boss, they definitely help save time and will allow you to do more damage by building up your Attack Streaks.
The only way you’ll be able to deal damage to a Realm Boss is with a Giant Slayer weapon. To craft a Giant Slayer, you’ll need lots of Dark Iron, a new crafting material dropped by Iron Giants. We recommend crafting an Epic or Legendary Giant Slayer for those who are trying to land the killing blow to a Realm Boss.
The more Legendary Beastmaster’s gear you have, the better off you will be when fighting a Realm Boss. The MP and Hero Attack boosts this equipment gives is the best available, with the exception of the Giant Slayer weapon, mentioned above, and the Noxious Dagger accessory, which requires Bottled Bad Breath from Marlboros in order to craft.
From the Hunter’s gear set, the Carapace is the only item we need. Although Hunter’s Insignia (accessory) will give you more MP, thus allowing you to get in more attacks, we prefer the Beastmaster’s Talismen (accessory), which boosts both Hero Attack and MP Recovery rate.
Other Hero Boosts
We need to point out that having the MP Doubler boosts active for as many of your heroes as possible is extremely helpful. If you can only have MP Doubler on one hero, make it Noctis, for sure. You can either craft these in the Oracle Temple or purchase them in packs.
Noctis is notably the only hero with a skill that increases attack against monsters. Although it only goes up to 50% Hero Attack when mastered at level 100, every little bit helps.
There are also several items that you can use to help you deal even more damage against a Realm Boss, such as:
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1,000 Needles Monster Boost (5 Minutes): +500% Hero Attack, +250% Monster March Speed, +100% MP
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Ignis Birthday Monster Boost (2 Hours): +25% Max MP, +75% Hero Attack, +500% Monster March Speed
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Monster Slayer Blitz (2 Hours): +25% Max MP, +75% Hero Attack, +500% Monster March Speed (Can be crafted in the Magitek Converter).
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Hero Attack (15 Minutes, 30 Minutes): +25% Hero Attack. (Commonly found in chests, Casino, Proving Grounds).
How to Defeat a Realm Boss
This is how you can do maximum damage to a Realm Boss.
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Choose a hero with the most MP or a full MP bar.
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Equip the Beastmaster’s Claw weapon and Hunter’s Carapace armor.
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Attack the Realm Boss until you have maxed out your Attack Streaks.
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Equip the Giant Slayer weapon and Beastmaster’s gear set for the rest of your equipment.
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Select “Max Attack” against the Realm Boss with a full MP bar for maximum damage.
You must do this at least once so that you are familiar with how much damage your hero can inflict using a Max Attack with full Attack Streaks. Now switch heroes and repeat steps 1-5.
Having two heroes with their Attack Streaks maxed out and full MP will give you the best odds of landing the hit that finally kills the Realm Boss. Keep in mind that you get a full MP bar every time you level up one of your heroes. Just after a hero levels up, their equipment can still be changed without losing MP. Also, as of right now, MP items can be obtained after meeting the requirements to unlock a Bonus Chest in your inventory under Treasure.
Conclusion
Realm Bosses are an exciting new addition to the game that give an abundance of rewards for those brave enough to stand against them. Keep working on your Hero Research and equipment to make sure you’re ready for the next Realm Boss.
