No ability inFinal Fantasy 16is more satisfying to pull off than a level five Zantetsuken. After besting Barnabas and obtaining Odin’s strength, you’ll be able to put your sword-slashing skills to the test in Odin’s Trial Chronolith. Odin’s powerful and flashy abilities make this trial a fun and challenging thrill.
Found late-game in the Kingdom of Waloed, this trial focuses on your ability to build the Zatetsuken gauge and let it rip to quickly defeat enemies. Enemy attacks are capable of canceling many of Odin’s abilities upon startup, which means you’ll have to precisely execute your abilities to make sure they aren’t interrupted.
General Odin Trial Tips
For this trial, you want toconstantly fill that Zantetsuken meter to level fiveand unleash it to instantly clear enemy waves and nearly defeat mini-bosses.
The Zantetsuken gauge fills up any time youuse Odin’s abilities or attack while Arm of Darkness is activated.
Zantetsuken has ahuge area of effect, don’t worry about being right next to an enemy before using it. As long asan enemy is in your general vicinity, a level-five Zantetsuken will hit them.
When using the Gungnir ability,continue pressing the attack button to extend the ability’s duration.
The same holds true for the Heaven’s Cloud ability, as continually pressing the attack buttonwill allow you to slash multiple timesbefore the ability ends.
Using your abilities to their full extent and using max Zantetsukens will reward you withBattle Technique Bonuses that replenish the trial’s timer.
Smaller time bonuses can be achieved fromPunish attacks and using magic burstsin your combos, which can’t be done while Arm of Darkness is activated.
While using Arm of Darkness,Limit Break will not be restored.For massive damage output,rely on Zantetsukeninstead. Your Limit Break is mostlyuseful in this trial for regaining health.
Location Of Odin Chronolith
To get to Odin’s trial,travel to the Vidagraes Obeliskin The Kingdom of Waloed.Travel southeastfrom the Obelisk andfollow the path to The Badbach Conservatory.
To theeast of the conservatory,the Chronolith will bein the middle of a field of flowers.
Odin’s Trial Guide
A fully powered Zantetsuken is enough to take down any enemy in the three stages of the trial. Your biggest challenge will come from timing your attacks so that enemies don’t foil your attempts to build up your Zantetsuken gauge.
1-1
1-2
1-3
1x Darkbound Minotaur
At the start of this stage,Lunge into the crowd of enemies and use Gungnir.The beginning of Gungnir has a large overhead slash that sucks in enemies and traps them until the ability ends.
Then,finish off any stragglers with Punish attacks and combos with magic burststo get some extra time bonuses.
If you failed to get the Punish attack and magic burst time bonuses in the previous wave,this round is your last chance.
You should have a full Zantetsuken gauge at this point; unleash this ability toinstantly defeatthe crowd.
The Minotaur is a great opportunity to get theSteel Counter time bonusobtained by parrying an attack with Arm of Darkness.
To parry,you have to attack at the same time as an enemy.Then,after a successful parry, press the attack button to perform a Steel Counter.
To defeat the Minotaur, use your abilities and Arm of Darkness toprepare a level-five Zantetsuken.Be careful when using Gungnir asthis lengthy attack will leave you vulnerable.
2-1
2-2
2-3
1x Darkbound Lancer 3x Darkbound Legionnaire
Begin raising the Zantetsuken meter bydishing out damage against the Nodes with Arm of Darkness.Dealing with the Panther can be a hassle and waste precious time; useRift Slip to recover instantlyif the Panther knocks you down or sends you flying.
Thissecond waveof enemies is where you’llspend time refilling Zantetsukenand chaining together time bonuses.
To get the Rift Combo time bonus, you have toRift Slip after landing a full combo.Using Rift Slip to recover will alsoslow down time; usethis time to get in more hits with Arm of Darkness.
The Lancer enemy is a Dragoon-type enemy with a hefty knockback. You shouldrely on Rift Slip during this battleto avoid time losses.
Eliminate the nearby Legionnaires firstto prep Zantetsuken. OnceZantetsukenis ready,use it while the Lancer is on the ground; waituntil they land if they’re using the Jump ability.
3-1
3-2
3-3
1x Darkbound Marshal 1x Darkbound Salamander
Now you’re able to use Dancing Steel, a powerful ability thatdeals a lot of damage andnearly fills the Zantetsuken gaugeto max.
However, this ability hasa lengthy startup animation that leaves you vulnerableto enemy attacks. Even if you do manage to pull off this move,Dancing Steel won’t fully activate if the first strike doesn’t hit anyone.
To land Dancing Steel in the first wave,lure one of the Orc enemies away from the Guardianand try to hit them instead. When you manage to pull off this attack, use your maxed-out Zantetsuken to destroy the Guardian.
In the second wave,use Arm of Darkness to restore Zantetsukenand eliminate enemies.Switch off of Arm of Darkness once Zantetsuken is fulland defeat enemies with regular attacks.
Save Dancing Steel until the final waveto have an easier time overcoming the mini-bosses.
The Marshal and Salamander will attack you relentlessly, making itnearly impossible to land Dancing Steel.To pull off Dancing Steel, you’ll need toprepare the attack while time is slowed down from Rift Slip.Perform a full combo on the enemy of your choice, then use Rift Slip to slow down time.
Final Boss
Darkbound Chimera
While terrifying in appearance, Gungnir and Dancing Steel make this fight an easy battle, even if you’re running low on time.
To land your abilities,wait for the Chimera’s fire-breathing attack.While the Chimera is spitting fire,move to the side of the Chimera and use Dancing Steelto avoid being interrupted.
Use your maxed-out Zantetsuken tocut the Chimera’s health in half.Continue attacking with Arm of Darkness anduse a full Gungnir whenever Chimera attacks with fire.Another level five Zantetsuken will put an end to Odin’s Trial.
