Final Fantasy 16: These are the domini of Titan and Garuda

Hey the hype! At the June 2022 Playstation State of Play, the implied and eagerly awaited new trailer for Final Fantasy 16 could finally be seen! The Dominance trailer shows a lot of the legendary espers who can control the so-called Domini of the six realms of Valisthea. Nice! Because with that I can now put my theories from January 2021 to the test, because even then I asked myself which characters from the first trailer for FFXVI could well be Domini.

Safe as the amen in the church: Joshua Rosfield

It was already clear at the time of the announcement that Joshua Rosfield, brother of the protagonist Clive, is the Dominus of Phoenix and thus controls the Espers of the Kingdom of Rosaria. And from the descriptions on the official Final Fantasy 16 website, we were also able to conclude that there are likely at least four Domini in the six realms of the world of Valisthea. In the meantime we have even reached the number eight. I’ll explain why later.

Titans Dominus: Hugo Kupka – and what we learn from him about Espers

I suspected that two characters from the first Final Fantasy 16 trailer were likely to be Domini – but assumed that one of them is definitely the Dominus Titans. It said: “The Dominus of the southern Republic of Dhalmekia acts as a special adviser to Parliament and even has a say in parliamentary decisions.” This special adviser, we now know, is called Hugo Kupka and seems to be more of a power-hungry, seedy sort.

Hugo Kupka, Special Advisor to Dhalmekias and Dominus Titans

Source: Square Enix




Once a foot soldier in the Dhalmek army, he awoke as the Dominus of the Esper Titans and had a meteoric rise, culminating in the Dhalmek Parliament in the capacity of Special Counselor. As a simple soldier (who is obviously very, very, very tall)! And this position appears to grant him power over the fused empire of five states. Kupka consistently uses the resources of the republic to increase his influence and wealth. That really doesn’t seem like a nice guy.

But what the phrase “began with his awakening as a Dominus the Esper Titan” teaches us about the Espers is that no Dominus knows from the start of his life that he has this power within him – the question is whether others know that . Because Joshua’s “eruption” in the first trailer for Final Fantasy 16 suggests that he may not know about his fate, but that this ignorance does not apply to the characters in his immediate vicinity.

Garudas Dominus: Benedikta Harman – and now we know the Esper Waluths

Waluth in eastern Valisthea is a monarchy. Before the State of Play in June 2022, it was said that Waluth was once home to orc and animal tribes, but was then pacified by the royal ruler. This royal ruler is also the dominus of an esper. “Using the power of his mother crystal, Dragon Ridge, this new king has raised a mighty army that he intends to use against his neighbors.”

Benedikta Harman, possibly royal leader of Waluths, certainly Dominus Garudas

Source: Square Enix




This royal ruler, we now know, is Benedikta Harman, Dominus of Garuda. It’s possible that the people at Square Enix have changed the “royal ruler” but haven’t adjusted the texts on the official website yet. Because Benedikta’s description “As Dominus of Garuda, the Lady of the Wind, she is sent on a mission to find the mysterious second Esper of Fire” sounds like she can’t just freely decide what to do next. We are curious to see how the whole thing will develop – there is (unfortunately!!!) still a lot of time until the release in summer 2023. Incidentally, in our speculation in January 2021, I assumed either Hugo or Benedikta to be the dominus of Titan.

The Espers Valistheas

In summary, we now know eight Esper Valistheas, namely Phoenix, Garuda, Titan, Shiva and Ifrit. And Ramuh, Odin and Bahamut were also seen in the new trailer. We know three of the Domini; Joshua is Phoenix’ Dominus, Hugo is Titan’s Dominus, Benedikta is Garuda’s Dominus.

I wouldn’t put my hand in the fire, but assume that Naoki Yoshida and Co. want to lure us on the wrong track: At the end of the Dominance trailer, it seems as if Clive Ifrits Dominus. I’m not biting yet, Yoshi-P. That would be too big a secret to be revealed too soon.

However, I previously assumed that there was an Esper with a Dominus for each realm of Valisthea, and that was it. However, there are six kingdoms in Valisthea, the Crystal Dominion in the middle has no Dominus, in the Iron Kingdom Domini are hunted down and killed. Eight espers for the remaining four realms? Might get there. I further suspect that Jill, childhood friend of Clive and Joshua, is Shiva’s dominus. And I theorize that this gentleman who wants to unite all the Dominions might be the Dominus of Bahamut.

It is not yet known who this gentleman is. But he gives the impression that he came out of the kit for antagonists.

Source: Square Enix

The Mystery of the Crystal Dominion

The color of the gentleman would match the flag of Sanbrèque, but I have the wild theory that you can recognize the corresponding espers in the coats of arms of the realms. The flag of Sanbrèque screams Shiva to me and Shiva is controlled by Jill to me. The question of the crystal dominion arises. Officially, the description goes like this: “The Crystal Dominion is located in the heart of Valisthea, built around the highest of all mother crystals, Dragontail. Due to its strategic importance, many bloody battles were fought for control of this small piece of land, until a permanent truce was finally agreed . As part of the peace treaty, the islands around Dragontail were declared an autonomous dominion, governed by a council of representatives from the surrounding realms, to give each realm an equal claim to the blessing of the Mother Crystal. No Dominus has his home there.”