Defeating Ignis – The Seventh Boss of the Nether Dimension and a formidable adversary requires careful preparation and a strong understanding of his mechanics.
Ignis is one of the most challenging fights in the Cataclysm mod. With powerful armor and weaponry craftable from the Ingot drops, Defeating Ignis is not just a battle; it’s a monumental achievement.
Finding the Burning Arena
Before defeating Ignis, you must first locate the Burning Arena. It’s a massive structure that can only be found in the Nether. After much time exploring the Nether looking for a Fortress, you might randomly stumble across the Burning Arena.
If not, you can find the Arena by crafting some Eye of Flames by combining 3 Blaze Powder, 2 Netherite Scrap, 3 Soul Sand, and 1 Eye of Ender. Launch the Eye of Flames and follow its trajectory to reach the Arena, a striking three-story cylindrical tower surrounded by columns.
Alternatively, you can enter some commands, provided you have cheats enabled. You can use the commands/locate cataclysm:burning_arenaor/locate structure cataclysm:burning_arenaif you’re on Minecraft 1.19+.
How to Summon Ignis
The journey to defeating Ignis leads you through the Burning Arena. It’s an immense, open-floor coliseum with spiral staircases containing only Ignis and two minibosses, the Ignited Revenants.
To be able to summon Ignis, these must be defeated for their Burning Ashes drop. Burning Ashes can be taken back to the Altar upstairs and used to summon Ignis. Though do be careful, as Ignited Revenants can pack a punch.
They resemble Blaze, though they’re much stronger. Their attacks can blind you, and due to their shields, you will miss lots of attacks you try and do. But they do have less than one hundred health.
Recommended Items
Due to the difficulty of beating Ignis, a few items are recommended. To navigate the Burning Arena, craft at least one Eye of Flame. The Monstrous Helm, which can be obtained from the Netherite Monstrosity, can also help in this fight due to the buffs it provides after your health drops.
When it comes to armor, you’ll want to ensure you have the highest tier available, such as Netherite Armor. This should also be enchanted with Protection and Unbreaking, so it lasts the entire fight duration.
One of the most powerful items you can use to beat Ignis is the Void Core, obtained by the Ender Golem. This item will allow you to damage Ignis from a distance. The Wither Assault Shoulder Weapon is also helpful in dealing more damage from a distance and is obtained from the Harbinger.
Echanted Golden Apples are extremely useful, not only do they increase maximum health, but also give fire resistance, which is imperative when fighting Ignis. Otherwise, bring Potions of Fire Resistance, as the arena breaks, you might fall into Lava.
One of the key methods of beating Ignis is by kiting him and keeping your distance. For that reason, bring Ender Pearls, which can be thrown any time Ignis gets close. You’ll want to bring as many as you can.
About Ignis
Ignis is one of the most challenging bosses in Cataclysm. He is a three-phased boss with a sizeable health bar and powerful life-stealing and damage output. His complex mechanics take a while to get used to, but he is entirely beatable with proper gear and a good understanding of his attacks.
There are various attacks to look for, with the most essential mechanics detailed below. Getting hit by the boss is a double-edged sword, as he not only applies a debuff that temporarily reduces your armor, but he also regains a significant amount of health with each hit that you don’t dodge or block. So keep your distance if possible.
With that in mind, it’s worth noting that you shouldn’t expect to be able to avoid every attack each time, as Ignis can sometimes overwhelm you with attacks in a way that makes taking damage unavoidable.
As the fight progresses, his attacks slowly break the floor of the Arena, opening up lava pools that are easy to miss and fall into during the battle. This is why Enchanted Golden Apples and Ender Pearls are handy, though you can also use the Elytra and stay away from the ground.
All three phases are similar in terms of attacks, but during the third phase, Ignis increases the frequency of his attacks. During this phase, there is also a new attack that is considered significant. In the final phase, Ignis will lose his shield, exposing him to ranged attacks.
Best Technique
The best technique to defeat Ignis is to use the Void Core, obtained from the Ender Golem in the End, specifically the Ruined Citadel. Keep your distance from Ignis by constantly running around the Burning Arena. When you see Ignis jump, keep running, but be ready for him to land.
Fire the Void Core at Ignis, and it will deal considerable damage if it hits, likely around 5%. During this time, you can also get a shot in using the Wither Shoulder Assault Weapon, which can deal high damage over time.
Keep repeating this process, and you’ll quickly defeat Ignis. Stay out of melee range, as any attacks that hit will cause him to regenerate. Use Ender Pearls if needed to keep you and Ignis far apart, and Enchanted Golden Apples to keep stamina up, while also preventing you from taking fire damage.
Notable Attacks
Below is a breakdown of some of the most significant moves that Ignis will do during a fight, and ways of countering them.
Fireballs
One of Ignis’s most common attacks is summoning multiple fireballs that fire at you one at a time. Four balls of fire and one Purple Explosive ball levitate above him as he fires them toward you one by one.
You can easily dodge this attack by moving out of the way as they fire toward you. Their presence is crucial as you can use this attack against him to deal damage. If Ignis is hit by three of these purple balls, his shield will break.
Joust
The Joust is one of his most dangerous attacks, which you should avoid. If you see him draw his weapon back like he’s about to jab you and you are close to him, get in even closer and run to the boss’s side.
Otherwise, you will need to use your shield to block this attack. This should prevent him from jousting you with his sword. If this attack hits you, you’ll be incapacitated for a few seconds and be unable to move, and Ignis will regenerate a significant amount of health, setting back the fight.
Pull Shockwaves
Ignis has multiple shock wave attacks, but most only become a concern if you are too close to the boss. You can dodge these shock waves by correct movement and placement and throw an Eye of Ender in some situations.
You want to watch for the shock wave he can produce that works its way toward the boss, as this will set him up nicely to finish you off with a joust and for him to regain some health. Always keep your distance if you aren’t going for a melee-styled fight.
Rewards & Drops
After defeating Ignis, he will drop three Ignitum Ingots. This is nowhere near enough to create every item associated with Ignis, so the boss will actually need to be defeated multiple times.
Firstly, Ignitium can be used in a Smithing Table to upgrade Netherite Armor. Not only are the stats much higher, but each item has a bonus. Most of these bonuses are associated with lava, but the Chestplate can have an Elytra attached to it.
A new mighty sword, the Incinerator, can also be made by combining 2 Ignitium Ingots, 4 Blaze Rods, and a Netherite Sword. The Incinerator has a colossal attack damage value of 14 and a unique ability, allowing it to summon a Flame Strike after a small charge-up period.
Bulwark of the Flame, a new Shield, can also be crafted by combining 2 Ignitium Ingots, 4 Nether Brick, 2 Blaze Rods, and a regular Shield. When holding this Shield, you can charge forward, damaging any entities in-front of you. If they hit a wall, they’ll take additional damage.
