There’s no two ways about it: Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is a deep, deep, game. It has systems on top of systems, across every facet, and that absolutely includes its combat system. It can all feel rather overwhelming at first. And by “at first”, we mean… for, like, twenty hours or longer.
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Thankfully, there are numerous ways in which to make things easier on yourself, both in the short-term and in the long run. Follow our advice, and you should find Xenoblade Chronicles X far less daunting in the field of battle. Don’t worry, however; there’ll still be plenty to master elsewhere in the game…
Destroy Those Appendages
Many enemies in Xenoblade Chronicles X have multiple target spots, including limbs, vital organs, claws, and what-have-you. The game is swift to inform us that destroying various appendages can raise the likelihood of rarer loot, but it’s slower to state something just as important.
Namely, destroying specific appendages can actually disable certain attacks outright. That’s… kind of a big deal. Many powerful enemies rely upon those claws, poison sacs, and more for their strongest strikes, so eliminating these early on can tilt the scales in your favour.
Choose An Art… And Specialize In It
The scaling in usefulness for many Arts improves dramatically as you upgrade them with Battle Points. The amount of Battle Points needed for each upgrade also increases dramatically, but it’s well worth the effort.
Choosing an offensive Art for the player character that you find particularly useful, and saving Battle Points until it reaches max level, can lead to terrific results.
Take Rising Blade, for example, which is available via the Striker class. If you’re targeted, it deals additional damage. The amount of damage dealt improves with extra upgrades, and if you take the time to max it, you’re going to be dishing serious numbers even at lower character levels.
While you’re sacrificing more even Art upgrades in the interim, the results will pay off in spades, and you can get to leveling your other favourites in due time.
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Unlock Quick Cooldown ASAP
This ties in with the above somewhat. Quick Cooldown, a new feature in Definitive Edition, allows you to keep using Arts even when they’re on cooldown. Rising Blade, that example we just gave? Spamming it with this mechanic, once it or any other offensive Art is maxed, is highly advised.
There’s a catch, of course: You’re using up your Quick Cooldown meter each time, and it doesn’t replenish until after fights are finished. Just the same, this is invaluable in terms of speeding up regular encounters. It needs to be deployed more strategically against bigger fare, but still!
You’ll unlock Quick Cooldown after Chapter 3’s Main Mission, and it’s well worth pressing ahead in the game until then before doing much optional fighting.
Don’t Hesitate To Leave Drifter Behind
There’s no reason to stick with the Drifter class once it’s reached Rank MAX, which means Rank 10. Zilch. You’re styming the player character’s progress if you don’t move ahead to a new Class.
New Classes provide additional Skill Slots, further Skills, entirely new Arts offerings, and all-around significant power increases. Keep moving forward with the Class Tree, and only return to Drifter much later, as its flexibility is unparalleled, and you can bring everything you’ve learned through other Classes back with you.
The Best Defense Is… Nonexistent
So. About that Defense stat. You can largely ignore it. Believe it or not, this stat doesn’t amount to much. Its actual damage decrease is highly underwhelming, making it a last consideration when comparing equipment. If all else aligns, sure, go ahead and choose the higher Defense.
That’s not to say defense itself is irrelevant. Far from it. Physical Resistance is far more important, and should be looked at instead of Defense. Its damage mitigation modifer is substantial by comparison.
The same applies to other Resistances: Beam, Ether, Thermal, Electric, and Gravity, although these are generally more for specific encounters. Raise them when you can, but prioritize Physical Resistance unless you’re struggling against an enemy with a particular element involved.
Install Additional Effects On Gear
This one snuck past us for hours… somehow. In the Ground Gear screen, be sure to press ZL on individual pieces whenever you see an empty slot under the Additional Effects part of the information window.
You’ll acquire Augments throughout the game, and you can equip these Augments into those empty slots. It’s kind of wild how much of a stat difference this can make, or a Resistance to a troubling element, for that matter. Always be on the lookout for Gear with spare slots.
Do be advised, however, that Augments only affect the specific Gear they’re equipped on. Put another way, don’t waste Melee Attack Up on Ranged Weapons, or Ranged Attack Up on Melee Weapons, as they won’t do anything!
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