Tales of Xillia 2 Guide 2 Characters Jude Mathis
Tactics
Boost Your Quick-Steps to Dominate Close Combat
Jude boasts the highest Agility of all your party members, so you’ll want to put it to good use by having him fight in close combat, chaining his effective normal attacks and artes together. Quick-steps are particularly essential for close-range fighters, allowing them to slip in and out of combat to evade when necessary and attack when openings present themselves. The chart shown here lists skills Jude can learn to further strengthen his short-range combat skills by enhancing his quick-step prowess. This can lead to increased AC and even the ability to deal damage with the quick-steps themselves.
When you have the Assault Step skill active, use your quick-steps as combo starters.
Quick-Step-Related Skills
| Skill | Effect when Active |
|---|---|
| Mirage Step | AC will not be consumed while quick-stepping. |
| Momentary Gain | While on the ground, gain +1 AC for evading an attack with a back-step (up to +3 AC) . |
| Momentary Gain 2 | If Momentary Gain is also equipped, using it gains +3 AC. |
| Step Guard | Jude won’t be staggered if attacked during a quick-step. |
| Long Step | Extends range of front- and back-steps. |
| Assault Step | You can perform an attack during a front-step (but only the first if using continuous quick-steps). |
| Adrenaline Rush | When you evade an attack with a back-step, your movement speed and quick-step speed are boosted for 8 seconds. |
Crowd Tactics—Isolate and Attack Individual Threats
When fighting large groups of foes, Jude should target and attack foes who are apart from the group or attempting to cast artes from afar. Assigning the Spread Out Target Strategy to your allies will make it easier to divide and isolate your foes. Once Jude learns the extremely wide-range Whirlwind Snap arte, he’ll also be able to attack into a cluster of foes and physically scatter them. Engineer one-on-one battles so Jude can focus on his target without having to worry about attacks from other foes.
Special—Deal Heavy Damage with Post-Knockdown Attacks
Since Jude can use many artes that knock foes down—like Beast and Aqua Sweep—he should be able to capitalize on the opportunity to attack fallen foes. The skills Down Burst and Down Rush allow him to deal 20% more damage against a fallen target, so make sure to give them a try.
Knockdown-Related Skills
| Skill | Effect when Active |
|---|---|
| Down Burst | Your attacks deal 10% more damage against fallen foes. |
| Down Rush | Doubles the effect of Down Burst. |
Special—Boost Jude’s Quick-Steps Further with Support Warp
Muzét’s handy Support Warp partner ability allows characters to use front-steps to instantaneously close the distance to a foe. The ability to reach your target without having to worry about interference from other foes is particularly invaluable to the quick-step-focused Jude. Note that when using a back-step to evade an attack, Jude’s Snap Pivot will take precedence over Support Warp, so you’ll be able to use this combination of abilities effectively when battling foes.
Support Warp will instantaneously take you to any target, no matter how distant. Slip in and start that combo!