When battling enemies in Xenoblade Chronicles X, it helps to know your character’s attributes and abilities, including how to embrace their combat Arts and Soul Voices. By doing this, you’ll be able to get the most efficiency from your battles – not to mention live to fight another day.
Here are some of the basics to keep in mind with your character when it comes to combat.
Classes
We discussed this in our beginners’ tips, but choosing your Class is crucial, depending on what style you prefer to play with. For instance, the Striker class is best suited for those who prefer melee strikes; the Commando is strong in all-around combat and maneuvering; the Partisan Eagle class relies more on long-range attacks with sniper rifles; and the Enforcers rely more on party support and debuffs.
There really is no wrong way to go with these classes, as each one offers a diverse set of Skills and Arts you can take advantage of. You can also level up efficiently in each class and learn new Arts, as well as stronger overdrive that will increase your character’s TP.
General Attacks
No matter which class you choose, you’ll have two general attacks you can turn to, letting you chip away at the enemy. Usually, they range from guns to melee-based weapons (like swords), and while they may win the battle by themselves, they’re handy when trying to defend yourself, waiting for your other attacks to recharge.
As we mentioned previously, aiming for particular spots on enemies (like a tail or the head) and attacking with your main Arts may be the most effective technique, as these weak spots can bring down their hit points and make them vulnerable to your special Skills. Aiming is the best way to go, so make sure you use the right analog stick to target, then have at it with your attacks.
These are helpful, but the most effective techniques lie within the Signature Arts and Skills, found below.
Signature Arts
The Signature Arts are your additional abilities, which you’ll be able to call upon over the course of each fight. These can usually be executed with ease, though their effectiveness can depend on whomever you’re facing, and the accuracy of your hits.
Guns aren’t bad at all when it comes to being utilized as Arts, but I prefer to use melee strikes, because they seem to result in bigger hits. To each their own, though – once again, it comes down to your style of play and what you want to use. Be sure to experiment and see which Arts are right for you.
Skills
Skills vary between characters, as a number of them can be activated over the course of battle, resulting in different results based on what’s utilized. The main character has these, along with party members, and they can change quite a bit depending on characters.
For example, let’s look at Alexa, a party member you’ll find over the course of the game. Alexa can choose from a number of Skills that can be used as boosters in battle, such as Steel Flesh, High Tension, Electric Boost, Quick Reload, Fortified Flesh, TP Overdrive, Stellar Entry and Synchrony. Obviously, you’ll have to make a selection from a big list, but each of these can come in handy in one form or another, depending on who you’re up against.
Soul Voices
We’ve done a whole special piece talking about what Soul Voices can do for characters, but here’s the gist. With commands shouted out by party members over the course of a fight, you’ll be able to gain extra incentive towards winning, spread across six different types, depending on your character and party members.
These can offer varying results, ranging from earning extra TP per hit to increasing your damage by 100 percent to reducing the cooldown for your special Arts and Skills by 50 percent. There are various types available, depending on your voice options.
If all of this sounds a bit confusing, don’t worry. As you get into Xenoblade Chronicles X, you’ll see how effective each of these abilities become, and make yourself a well rounded fighter as a result. Remember to keep synchronicity with your team, because the less chemistry you have, the less effective you are as a unit. Teamwork is everything in this game.
For more tips, visit our Xenoblade Chronicles X Guide!
