The Lifehold Core has been located. Nothing else need be said.
Chapter Prerequisites
Story Mission Walkthrough
You’ll get a long preparatory cutscene and a long dinner. Enjoy it, because this will be your toughest battle to date.
New Story Mission: Chapter 12
Secure the Lifehold Core.
Objective 1
Talk to Commander Vandham in New LA’s BLADE Tower.
You’ll learn more about your mission after reaching Vandham. Turns out the Lifehold’s just like a set of keys—it’s always in the last place one looks.
Objective 2
Head to the waters off Cauldros.
Head directly west from the center of the continent. Follow the arrow, and don’t be thrown off by the ocean’s vastness—you’ll know the site when you see it. It’s rather hard to miss!
Objective 3
Head via Skell to the Lifehold Core off the western coast of Cauldros.
Keep away from conflict! Weave around the Ganglion forces until you reach the vicinity of the Lifehold Core.
Objective 4
Enter the Lifehold Core.
Elma tells you that there’s no going back from here. Listen to her. If you haven’t saved your game already, tell Elma that you’re not ready and then do so before proceeding. Once you go inside, you can’t leave to regroup or repair your Skells, so make sure you’re ready and that you’re fully prepped!
Objective 5
Head to the center of the Lifehold Core.
Just go straight. This is the easiest objective in the game—even “Leave the BLADE barracks” back in “Chapter 1” had you looking for which corner to turn.
However, the easiest objective in the story’s narrative gives way to the hardest. Meet Luxaar and his war Skell, the Vita. The real fight begins now.
Objective 6
Defeat the Vita.
Vita
Lv. 50: Boss
Link Satellis
Lv. 50
Shield Satellis
Lv. 50
Enhancer Satellis
Lv. 48
Pursuit Satellis Alpha
Lv. 47
Strike Satellis
Lv. 47
Have your entire party enter their Skells immediately in order to stand a chance against this monster!
Much like last chapter’s Prog Ares battle, the Vita fight has two phases. The first is a four-on-one throwdown that can be won by aiming all of your most powerful attacks at the Vita and never letting up. The Vita can be affected by Bind as well, so take advantage of the opportunity whenever it pops up! Meanwhile, be aware of Vita’s powerful ether projectile attacks, many of which attack multiple foes at once. The multi-targeting Multi Cannon and Ether Megacannon in particular hurt like crazy.
You need to get the Vita down to half of its HP to beat the first phase, after which it will transform.
For the second phase, the Vita will be joined by multiple satellis bits, all of which buff the Vita up and make it more powerful and nearly impervious to damage. You need to hunt them down and take them out if you want a chance of bringing the Vita’s HP down to zero.
The shield satellises, in particular, will need to be snuffed out. Have your party concentrate its fire on them. They appear to not take damage at first, but keep whaling on them and you’ll eventually crack them in two. Make sure you dispatch them fast, because while the Vita is protected, it can regenerate its HP!
Never let up the pressure, even in the face of the Vita’s attacks, and you’ll eventually win. If your Skells still live after the battle, then you’ve just beaten arguably the most complicated boss the main story has to offer. Congrats!
Now you just have to get past the rest.
Objective 7
Defeat the soldier chimeras.
Soldier Chimera x10
Lv. 41-50: Enemy
Suddenly you find yourself up against a pack of soldier chimeras. They’re relentless, and you’ve never fought this many enemies at once—certainly not as many that move this fast! If you don’t have at least one functional Skell, then things are bleak.
However, if you do…then just fly up and rain down ranged attacks and tell your party members to do the same. In lieu of that, hit and run with your Skells’ most powerful melee weaponry. The chimeras won’t be able to do much in response. It’s like shooting mutant genetic abominations in a barrel!
Objective 8
Defeat Lao.
Lao
Lv. 50: Boss
At last, the final boss of Xenoblade Chronicles X’s story is upon us. This fight is, one more time, broken up into two phases. If your Skells are still functional, you’ll want to use them for heavy hits and Binding throughout the battle.
Lao’s attacks are similar to the Vita’s—powerful multi-hit melee and fast single-hit ether bursts are the order of the day. Lao can also be fought in the same manner as the Vita, and you won’t have to worry about him being buffed up by outside parties, either. He can, however, inflict status effects like Sleep on your party without a second thought.
Get Lao to half his life, and it’s on to the second phase. Early into the battle, Lao saps the fuel from your Skells, and you have to continue the fight on foot. Fortunately, even in his giant form, Lao can still be Staggered and Toppled. Do both to him to ensure he launches as few attacks as possible.
At times, Lao calls forth queen chimeras or soldier chimeras. Quickly take these out with concentrated fire from your party as soon as they come into range, then continue your assault on Lao. Lao will still be able to hit you while you concentrate on the Chimera, but it’s better to be able to attack him without interference, so get rid of all of his help!
When Lao gets down to about 20 percent HP, he rains lasers from the sky in all directions. Be ready to fortify your party before and after this happens.
Endure the punishment while dealing the damage and, eventually, you’ll pull through. Enjoy the ending—it’s a meaty one.
Congratulations on beating the game’s central story thread! Kick back and relax—you’ve earned it—but don’t rest on your laurels—there are still plenty of adventures to be had and stories to be shared on the world of Mira. When you’re ready, turn the page to get started!
Mechanical Advancement: PostgameAfter the credits, you can continue your adventure on Mira. Strengthen your party, complete standing and newly unlocked missions for the story and rewards, go for upgraded tech you haven’t unlocked yet, and challenge monsters that you could only dream of battling up to this point! The world is your oyster if you’re willing to reach out and grab it. 
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Mechanical Advancement: Support MissionsWhen you beat the story, Eleonora opens up support missions on the Network Console in the BLADE barracks. These allow you to quickly build up credits, Affinity, miranium, and other essentials to further support your in-game growth. Very handy. 
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