JRPGs are known to have complicated battle systems that can take a substantial amount of time to master, and it can be an overwhelming experience, especially if you’re a newcomer. The Xenoblade series embodies this stereotype with multiple tools that systemically interact with one another to provide combat mechanics that, at times, seem confusing. With Xenoblade Chronicles 3 arriving later this month on July 29, you should probably be aware of one of the game’s most important mechanics called Arts.
What Are Arts In Xenoblade Chronicles 3?
Arts have been an integral part of the Xenoblade series since the first installment in 2010, though they have since been tweaked in Xenoblade Chronicles X and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. In Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Arts will be used in a similar fashion to the second numbered entry, with 4 arts being assigned to the X, A, B, and Y buttons respectively. But what exactly are arts, and how can they be used during combat?
Aside from your auto-attack, Arts will be your primary form of outputting damage in Xenoblade Chronicles 3, with each one acting slightly differently depending on your character builds. However, to use arts, you will need to use your auto-attack to regenerate an art’s cooldown meter, which will be displayed in the bottom-right corner of your screen. As the name implies, auto-attacks occur when you engage an enemy and are within range. Positioning is a key area of focus in Xenoblade games, so you will want to make sure you’re utilizing auto-attacks and arts strategically.
Choosing which Arts you want on a specific party member is probably one of the most important gameplay elements present in Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and here’s why.
Each Art has a specific description attached to it, so for instance, they may inform you that hitting the enemy from behind will deal extra damage and so on. However, you’ll want to pay extra attention to buffs and debuffs, two important mechanics that can easily change the flow of combat.
Buffs and Debuffs
In an Art’s description panel, you will be able to review information regarding status effects such as paralysis, poison, blazed, physical defense down, and more. Additionally, this also applies to buffs for your party, such as ether defense up, strength up, ether up, haste, and more. Although these specific buffs and debuffs are useful, they don’t come close to the effectiveness of Break, Topple, and Daze.
Some arts will have these specific debuffs attached to their descriptions, so you will want to make sure that your party has access to all three of these specialized attacks. Unlike other arts, Break, Topple, and Daze must be chained back-to-back for them to work. To get started, you will need to hit an enemy with a Break art, and if successful, a meter will appear next to the enemy that clearly states that it has been hit. You then need to quickly use a Topple art to make the enemy fall over before the previous meter runs out, and finally apply Daze before the second bar depletes.
Enemies that are affected by these arts will be stunned for a short period of time and will often provide you with the opportunity to deal more damage. Daze is the best one for this specific purpose, so you will need to react fast to reach this final stage of the cycle. That’s everything you need to know about Arts prior to the launch of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 later this month on July 29. We will be updating this guide with any new changes after we get our hands on the game.