How to Unlock Leviathan in FFXVI Rising Tide and Is It Good?

The Final Fantasy XVI Rising Tide DLC is now available, and you can finally unlock the new Leviathan Eikon Summons. This guide will explain how to unlock Leviathan in FFXVI and if the water Eikon is worth purchasing the Rising Tide DLC for.

Where to find Leviathan in FFXVI (exact location)

The Leviathan FFXVI Eikon is located on Mysidia island, a new region added to the game in the Rising Tide DLC. You will also need to progress your save file to the game’s final chapter, “Back to their Origin,” before you can access the water Summons.

With that said, we are going to explain below every step you need to take to unlock Leviathan in FFXVI:

• Reach the “Back to Their Origin” main story scenario.
  • Complete: “Cut from the Cloth,” “Phoenix, Heal Thyself,” “Where There’s a Will,” and “Priceless” side quests.
• Purchase and download the Rising Tide DLC from the PlayStation store. Reload your game.
• Visit Clive’s Chambers in The Hideaway. Interact with the “Reading Table” and click the “(Unmarked)” Missive to unlock the “Rising Tide” quest.
• Travel to Northreach and speak to the NPC named “Leyla” in the Veil City.
• Take the north exit in Northreach and inspect the “Tent” and “Skiff” on the cliff near the ocean.
• A cutscene will trigger, and you will travel to Mysidia.
• Keep following the main story in Mysidia, and it will eventually take you to the “Surge.”
• After a cutscene, Clive interacts with the dominant trapped in the wave and unlocks Leviathan in FFXVI.

Unlocking Leviathan

The first step can be a bit overwhelming as you need to have completed quite a few things before you can access the expansion. For a deeper breakdown, check out our How to Start the FFXVI Rising Tide DLC guide. Simply put, you need to have a save file before the game’s final boss, with the quest “Back to their Origin” active.

Once you’ve progressed the story far enough, you then must complete “Cut from the Cloth,” “Phoenix, Heal Thyself,” and “Where There’s a Will” side quests. This will then give you the final “Priceless” quest. If you have all of these prerequisites met, visit Clive’s Chambers at the Hideaway and interact with the reading table.

At the Reading Table, you will now find an “(Unmarked)” Missive. Click and agree to accept the “mystery request” to unlock “The Rising Tide” quest. A cutscene will then trigger with Clive talking to Otto, Jill, and Joshua about the mystery letter.

Once you have the “The Rising Tide” quest active, fast travel to Northreach. Once here, walk through the gates to enter the Veil City and look for one of the Dame’s ladies named “Leyla.” She will have a golden marker over her head, so it’s hard to miss.

Leyla will then give you a new quest marker and tell you to exit Northreach and head for the coast. After taking the north exit, you will find a tent near the cliff. Search it, and then interact with the Skiff which is on the cliffside by the water. After searching the Skiff, a cutscene will trigger where Clive will be introduced to Shula.

Shula will now take you to Mysidia by boat, and you will walk on foot until you reach her village called “Haven.” The next step is fairly easy, as all you need to do is progress the main story quest by speaking to Shula in Haven. The game will then automatically take you to “The Surge,” where the Leviathan FFXVI Eikon is located.

A lengthy cutscene will again trigger, and it will be revealed that the Leviathan Dominant is a baby trapped in a wave. Clive will agree to ease its burden by taking its Eikon power. After this scene, the Leviathan FFXVI Eikon power will now automatically be unlocked for Clive.

Is Leviathan good in FFXVI?

Yes, the Leviathan FFXVI Eikon is not only good, but it’s one of the most powerful Summons in the game. Leviathan essentially gives Clive a gun that can target enemies with the power of Bahamut’s “Gigaflare.”

The water summons also gives you access to one of the game’s best AOE spells, “Cross Swell,” which is incredible for crowd control. Overall, Leviathan is perfectly balanced, as Clive is given both ranged and close-combat spells that are pretty devastating.

Best Leviathan FFXVI abilities

Here are the abilities of Leviathan in FFXVI and their ratings:

• Serpent’s Cry: Summon a water serpent that transforms Clive’s basic “Square” and “Triangle” actions into powerful ranged attacks.
  • S-Tier: One of the best basic Eikon attacks. Clive’s arm is turned into a cannon, which can hit enemies ranged. However, when charged, Clive will hurl crashing waves at enemies, which will cause devastating damage.
• Deluge: Launch a long-range, rapid-fire salvo of water that is capable of knocking back smaller enemies.
  • S-Tier: Clive’s water cannon is turned into a turret that is as powerful as Bahamut’s “Giga Flare.” This attack can chunk a single enemy’s health bar quickly. It can also be used for crowd control as it knocks down smaller enemies.
• Cross Swell: While not as powerful as the above attacks, Cross Swell is one of the best crowd control attacks in the game.
  • S-Tier: Clive summons two waves that crash together, sweeping enemies underneath them. When paired with Gigaflare or Diamond Dust, this becomes one of the deadliest combos in the game.
• Abyssal Tear: Rip open a slowly expanding gateway to the murky depths of the sea, and when the timing is right, summon forth an abyssal storm that hones in on nearby enemies.
  • A-Tier: Clive summons a floating water particle, which then turns into a turret that auto-targets any nearby enemy. This is a solid spell, as it can be used for crowd control if multiple enemies are on the field. The only reason it’s not ranked higher is because Leviathan’s other spells are, in my opinion, better. However, some may prefer this spell over Cross Swell due to its power potential.
• Tsunami: Conjure a whirling wave of titanic proportions to swallow up and spit out all enemies caught in its surf.
  • S-Tier: One of the best Eikon ultimates in the game, that is essentially a second Gigaflare. However, unlike Bahamut’s spell, this one engulfs the entire map and hits all enemies without needing to be aimed. It’s absolutely broken and totally awesome.

Final Fantasy XVI and the Rising Tide DLC are now available on PlayStation 5.