Xenoblade: Definitive Edition Gameplay Tier List

[@EnelXC]

timestamps: 7: 1:02 6: 5:11 5: 8:49 (spoilers) 4: 10:38 3: 14:24 2: 18:15 1: 22:23 So what's the verdict? Am I dumb and is your favorite character actually the best?

[@mohamedfr6456]

When u open the monado (don't use any monado art ) the game count it as an aura so some things can work like aura heal ect

[@BigPupito]

not sure if you know, but if you write the timestamps in the description, and write in 0:00, it turns the video timeline into chapters for easy access

[@corrosive_sage4479]

I don't think Reyn shouldn't be number 1

[@mohamedfr6456]

@@corrosive_sage4479 agreed

[@lorenzofort184]

Aww man I hoped the spoiler character was higher :c I’ll still use them

[@daddyzuko4937]

The right tier list S+: Heropon Riki S: Bird Lady Melly A: Sidekicks F: Smelly Orluga reyn

[@CH-lm7xl]

Riki like fighting easy monsters

[@janluca8872]

NYAPAKAPOW.

[@aiexmonsterhunter]

What about Dundun? He isn't just a simple sidekick, he is the Herohom!

[@lindakan9809]

Heropon riki BESTEST

[@TyandOnGoing]

Nene and Kino liked this comment.

[@TheGreyJayLP]

"All Monado Enchant does is allow normal weapons to affect Mechon and adds a tiny damage bonus" "Yup" "Everyone in the party has Machina weapons, which can damage Mechon without using Enchant" "Yup" "So using Enchant offers very little advantage whatsoever and is a clear waste of the Talent Gauge" "Makes sense to me" "Use Monado Armor" "YOU'RE NOT INVINCIBLE"

[@ikaru886]

Enchant actually provides 500 flat damage to every single hit that you can do outside of chain attack (yes, including arts, not just auto attacks) and paired with seven speed shift or soaring tempest and wordly slash, it can actually represent a good amount of damage on deadala, and 400-500 damage in mechonis when you're lvl 60ish is stupid high and help you melt mechons in no timz without any other optimization

[@MineNAdventurer]

This is why you just disable Monado Enchant

[@rottytops296]

MineNAdventurer and how do u disable the manado arts?

[@Unawareofsurroundings]

Rotty Tops go on art set up and press plus on monado enchant to remove it

[@greenhardin1700]

Ikaru has a point. Enchant stacks on a massive flat damage boost for every attack, which really compounds when using haste+double attack, not to mention it easily lasts longer than a minute. In total, Enchant is actually the Monado art that probably increases damage output the most (the obvious exception being chain attack-boosted Buster). Armour is pretty awesome, but don't underestimate Enchant.

[@windwaker0rules]

i still think Dickson, Mumkhar, and Alvis are better. Being indestructible and beating Avalanche Abassay at lv1 without topple can't be underestimate

[@fryrice]

Despite being the worse character in the game, Juju is the best party member. Vanea and Otharon come close.

[@justinbowman1342]

Spoilers! Cleary the best party member is human Fiora, and is way better than mechon Fiora.

[@D.Dragon]

On top of this, Alvis has two red arts, making him better for chain attacks than Sharla, though his lack of a talent art hurts him here.

[@aliveisuppose]

The problem Is you only get to use them 1 time each, and that 1 time is before mechonis

[@clintwoodlock4974]

Jonathan Shamis Technically, Dickson is a party member for two battles.

[@myb3331]

Skipping to the end of the video so i can see sharla at number 1

[@jesusquirino1109]

My B

[@captainkabob6320]

You fucking legend.

[@GuardianAngelEatos]

Excuse me? Do you seriously think that she's the best character? I'm sorry, but she's nowhere close. Now I would not put her at the bottom personally, but she's definitely down there.

[@bigyoshii]

@@GuardianAngelEatos there’s something called a joke pal

[@GuardianAngelEatos]

@@bigyoshii And how was I suppose to know that it was a joke when I can't hear people's expression and when some people would actually think that way?

[@CH-lm7xl]

Enel: puts Riki 2nd last "Enel you're embarrassing Riki"

[@keystone5750]

"You have 5 seconds to pause the video" -Gets an ad that can be skipped after 5 seconds

[@wub2898]

Dunban has a good ai until he uses Blossom Dance on an enemy one auto attack away from death

[@kevinflynn4649]

Dunban also has the grace of not being too complicated for the AI to deal with. Spamming arts with him is actually viable, given that he wants the aggro

[@BeanoNintendo]

That's not bad AI. That's him flexing and going out in style.

[@GuardianAngelEatos]

It's a shame than Dunban is one of the only characters that is fine as an AI, because he's one of the only two that I enjoy playing.

[@BrentOfMan]

@@GuardianAngelEatos This is a year late but same dunban is my favourite too play but I feel like I'm being punished for using the him since his ai is good and the others like shulk are not

[@GuardianAngelEatos]

@@BrentOfMan It's fine. It's not too late. We are discussing a game that is 12 years old, so It's still relevant. Haha! Yeah, Shulk using Battle Soul at the start of battle or using Monado arts at the wrong time. I think everyone that played Xenoblade 1 can agree that Melia is the worst AI in the game, and everyone that played every one can agree that she is the worst AI in the series. If you have Melia in the party, you're playing her. Her AI is so bad!

[@jpegwarrior5431]

Tier list version: S: Everyone except Sharla A: B: Sharla

[@kkim5000]

i don't know, you placed sharla pretty high.

[@manbearpigsereal]

@@kkim5000 A, B and C are powergaps, then Sharla gets the D.

[@196IMBA]

You are right

[@firenze6478]

Sharla makes good support there aren’t really bad characters she just falls behind the rest

[@platy4700]

@@manbearpigsereal From Reyn

[@danielmoreira7085]

I like how Enel calls Break+Topple+Daze a Driver Combo even when talking about the first game

[@boohoo723]

If he's using Reyn, it is a driver combo. He uses drivers.

[@armadillocutz4664]

@@boohoo723 Aegis Guarder...

[@liamkqn]

@@armadillocutz4664 "A Homs? Don't make me laugh. That Reyn... HAS MADE HIMSELF THE AEGIS'S DRIVER!"

[@arek.k8688]

@@liamkqn *NOW ITS REYN TIME!*

[@RadiantBeachShulk]

Hi folks, just here to give you your daily reminder that Poppi QT Pi can do over 200 million damage in a single special hit with the damage cap removed

[@momol2l285]

Hot

[@RadiantBeachShulk]

@@momol2l285 Yup

[@antimatterstudios8395]

Nut

[@abnerscudder7390]

It is over 9999!!!

[@samsonik5885]

Reyn to the rest of the party: What a bunch of jokers

[@jupiter843]

I was expecting "You can't have a rainbow without Reyn!"

[@joshshrum2764]

Pancake-kun's Best Friend What a joker he never saw it coming.

[@kermitlovers1039]

lets not lose are heads though

[@guadatamayo3545]

I was expecting It's Reyn time

[@GuardianAngelEatos]

Leave it to Reyn!

[@Scerttle]

“Melia is definitely really nice” Ouch even Enel friendzones best girl.

[@Scerttle]

Incidentally I would swap 3 and 2 just based on AI. I was never sad having 3 in my party but I went like a third of the game without 2 in my party.

[@MarcelJ17]

In any other game Melia WOULD be best girl. But Fiora is just so goddamn top-tier waifu it’s hopeless for anyone else. Melia chose the wrong game to be in.

[@seven_8434]

@@MarcelJ17 I'm gonna say it... Fiora worst girl... worse than Sharla... I'd pick Rikki over Fiora

[@Scuuurbs]

Seven _ Well that’s ironic.

[@seven_8434]

@@Scuuurbs how exactly?

[@Phazon8058MS]

Just casually soloing Final Marcus with a level 1 Reyn in the background...

[@kfmole]

Such a shame for Sharla. I actually like her as a character; her heat-to-hearts with Reyn make me smile, what can I say. If cooldown released all that built-up heat in a strong blaze attack she would be way cooler and I think much more viable. I never finished the game on Wii, I think in part because I stuck with Shulk, Reyn & Sharla as I couldn't see how to cope without a dedicated healer. It turns out you absolutely can after about the point you get Riki. Mix it up people, the game is so much more enjoyable once you start experimenting and relinquish control of Shulk once in a while. I found way more success and fun playing as Dunban, Reyn, or Melia.

[@CreepyBlackDude]

I'm actually very bad at trying other party members, but with Xenoblade, I just naturally went about experimenting. Melia, once I learned to use her, became my favorite to play as...which worked, because she's also my favorite character in the story. Dunban is also fun, as is Seven.

[@justzay4473]

@@CreepyBlackDude I agree 100% and went through the same exact experience as you

[@nuotatorre8741]

For most of the mid game whenever I had to face somethig realy strong I used the origibal trio. Mainly beacause Riki Melia and Fiora are preatty weak when you first get theam, and Shulk Reyan and Sharla have such good sinergy. Later when you start to have more options Sharla kinda fells flat or her face. But just for the fact than she carried me for the entire mid game I HAD to use her for the final fight.

[@Hironomus]

Characters like Sharla have their niche. This list was compiled by someone who is very good at the game. For less skilled me on my first play through she was an absolute godsend at around the 50% mark giving me the confidence to focus on bursting down the harder enemies with DPS characters. I had basically shelved her before that.

[@NeroLordofChaos]

That idea kinda reminds me of a class from TERA. as you used moves on your rotation, you built up meter for a super move which did ABSURD amounts of damage but also locked you place for a moment. if Sharla had a system like that, with the drawback being that if she over heated her rifle she had to force cool it instead of launching the attack, it would make an interesting combst loop especially if it was rigged so there was a bonus the closer you were to redlining the gun. get as close to red as possible then dump her ult with the risk of going over and her just cooling off her instead.

[@coldjolteon5799]

You really wanna know how to make Sharla even worse? Link Glorious future to her. As soon as you get a vision, she does what she always does: cool down in the middle of a dangerous moment

[@brazyfever787]

Honestly if they change her talent art and make her offensive art have smaller cool down, people would’ve use her more

[@WaddleDee45]

Also link the skill that occasionally maxes the talent gauge when dealing damage for maximum Cool Off uptime.

[@altarium4220]

@@brazyfever787 One of my hopes for the Definitive Edition was that they would change her talent art. Maybe remove Heal Round and Cure Round from her art list and make it so her talent art was both of these combined: a party-wide HP and debuff heal. I think it could work with a proper cooldown and some numbers adjusted.

[@tricmagic]

They could also have just made side-quests to reduce how long she is on cooldown. A 1 second cooldown would be fine for her, compared to the 5 seconds. Alternatively, upgrading how much Heat her guns could handle. Or both types of quests.

[@zekkavo]

This is like Eldritch Knowledge that I wished I hadn't laid my eyes upon.

[@papermarkis]

To emphasize how bad Shulk's AI is, I was fighting a Mechon UM that has a spike and the other two characters had Machina weapons equipped. The first thing Shulk does is use Monado Enchant instead of Monado Purge and my team ends up losing the fight despite being 10 levels higher than the UM.

[@QwixLF]

It was Lightning Ronove in Sword Valley, wasn't it? That one just sucks in general.

[@pesky2119]

I always control shulk in every mechonis area because of this, shulk's ai makes me want to die

[@flameheadshero]

AI Shulk loves to use Monado Speed randomly so he doesn’t have Monado arts when you need him to.

[@olderythia]

Alright, Sharla time. Both times I've played through this game Sharla has been absolutely essential throughout the early and midgame. Shulk, Reyn, and Sharla make a great chain attack party for most midgame unique monsters if you give her headshot and headshaker. In each chain attack you can break with Shulk, topple with Reyn, then combo 3 daze arts, use Shulk's talent art, then sword drive or something similar, and then headshot. Sometimes headshot even inflicts instant death which is quite nice, but it also deals really nice damage throughout the midgame. In my first playthrough when I didn't fully grasp the game mechanics, I never would have beaten the final fight with Metal Face because everyone just killed me so fast. I tried using Riki as a healer first, but his healing was never enough. Sharla was exactly what I needed to survive long enough to beat that fight. I get that she isn't great in the endgame, but I can't emphasize enough how crucial of a crutch she is to new players who aren't running optimal builds. I imagine the majority of new players will keep using her because in many JRPGs you always have a healer. It just feels wrong that she gets so much hate when I can't imagine beating this game blind without her.

[@planetary-rendez-vous]

Yeah I guess when you're not optimal she's pretty important I myself used her in Satorl Marsh trying to defeat the Igna unique monster in his throne and all of his boys at the same time. Quite a challenge.

[@They_are_Arthur]

I agree with this. Even as someone who understands all of the intricacies of party set ups, I still find myself using Sharla in my party without much of a bad effect on my general performance. I had the AI on her for the boss against the Telethia and Tyrea in the High Entia Tomb and made it through that boss on my first try. Same for a boss later in the game (I'm pretty sure you know who the later boss is but for spoilers sake I'll call it Face Mechon in Agniritha).

[@drakath5727]

Yeah I find a lot of these guides are way more focused on the post-game superbosses rather then realistically through the early and midgame. Sharla is objectively 6th early game with Riki slowly beating her out slightly in mid-late game when you're going through mechonis.

[@heroponriki8240]

Idk man I was like 12 when I played the original and I ditched Sharla right away as soon as I got Dunban, and managed to beat the game without any difficulty. The only boss that ever gave me trouble was Lorithia but that’s like a rite of passage at this point. Light heal got the job done

[@higuys6881]

Heropon Riki sharla is actually such a crutch for me.

[@AdrenalStorm]

The best part about not putting melia on the bottom 3 is that this gives us an opportunity to stick a middle finger to ign’s review on how melia is one of the weaker characters, and thus deserves a much lower score >:)

[@aprettyfunnyperson4516]

Dunno, I think Mumkhar should be no.1

[@lanceran8964]

Wdym it should be Alvis

[@gleen9843]

You all forget about Dickson

[@xx_pit_xx8492]

you all guys, are sleeping on Tyrea

[@mimidotcat]

I mean, Bana is pretty much the best character in the game

[@philiphunt-bull5817]

HOMS FIORA

[@robertosalba3851]

I think it demonstrates how well balanced the characters are that even the bottom tier characters on this list are relatively useable. Only character I really wish Monolith Soft had changed was Sharla, she completely just gets the short end of the stick

[@Sidnv]

Yeah, just remove the dumb cool-off mechanism and she's still probably bottom of the list but so much better and, more importantly, so much more fun to actually use.

[@markercrayon457]

Siddharth Venkatesh I feel like a super headshot could work for her talent art if cool off got removed.

[@firenze6478]

Too bad xenoblade 2 didn’t do this Zeke is useless without eye of shining justice Tora sucks unless you spend hours on that dumb mini game Morag literally needs to have rex for maximum damage and it still sucks Nia is better with rex Rex literally at all times far surpasses everyone, which sucks cause I hate him. Why is rex so stupidly more viable than everyone else.

[@ryful_z3]

@@firenze6478 Don't forget that you could just spam the same art over and over again with Mythra's ability which no one else can get

[@firenze6478]

Ryful Z3 yeah rex was really imbalanced and basically forced to be on you’re team especially since you can’t even get max damage from brighid without mythra, that sucked

[@spacemanspiff4777]

I'm late to this party but I'm pretty sure the reason your Reyn guide has low views it's because even a beginner like me can easily see his viability. The tools he has available are very straightforward and it makes him easy to use effectively even if you don't understand the ins and outs. Tank? Burst damage? Topple lock? Or a mix. Great character for sure

[@horizon6539]

I swear Melias AI has been majorly improved in DE because for me she seems to use her force topple quite often and never holds on to elementals. Like she plays really good on the AI in my playthrough.

[@SifArtorias]

I think you're right, although if you get low health she still seems to be more likely to keep the elements for the buffs.

[@wiseman43801]

How to fix sharla: cool off talent art now has the same effect as her aura drive boost. Drive boost art replaced with a red art that inflicts a debuff. I’d use her then.

[@paualmenar1648]

It’s reyn time

[@Nick_Pixels]

Haven't watched yet, is he number 1? Edit: it's Reyn time baby

[@kenjitakashima1041]

It's always reyn time

[@momol2l285]

Its shulk time

[@couchalmark675]

I find it interesting that Reyn is basically good in the same way that QTpi is, and shares a similar party role: the meat tank that a lot of players ditch in favor of the blink tank for being less resource-intensive, but comes to be the strongest party member through having extreme burst damage and unmatched skill at Topple locking.

[@kip3978]

The heropon may be number 6 on the list, but he will always be number 1 in our hearts.

[@They_are_Arthur]

I pretty much expected Sharla at low tier but I think it really says something when the lowest tier character can take out a superboss pretty easily.

[@TransparentlyDuplicitous]

Glorious Future Sharla must be 0th place.

[@camusreviews6877]

Sharla would actually be much more useful if you could just use cool off in a chain attack. It would help with the multiplier and she could cool the rifle off without taking the risk of being vulnerable while the opponent is attacking

[@zekkavo]

Man I haven't watched yet but I guessed for fun. Looks like I only messed up one placement: 7: Sharla 6: Riki 5: Seven 4: Melia 3: Shulk 2: Dunban 1: Reyn I've been trying to level up everyone else's affinity through sidequests, combat related to sidequests or random shit (along the way to completing said horrifying amount of sidequests) so I've only controlled Shulk maybe like an hour out of the last 25 hours of gameplay. Forgot how much shit he can do when he's not controlled by a janky AI lmaooo

[@papaG6423]

Reyn is also my favorite. He's just so reliable with his insanely powerful arts, his aggro raising abilities, his topple to daze combo, and his great defense and HP stats. Also, I just love his personality, character arc, and implied relationship with Sharla.

[@aliveisuppose]

Sharla: F tier in terms of fun(my opinion) Broken rifle challenge: S tier meme

[@Doglover745]

Does the "S" stand for "Sharla"?

[@kirbo603]

When Enel spoils the party member in Melia's bit

[@rubendortland7601]

Giving my man Reyn the spotlight he deserves! He's very underrated in my opinion. Fiora is surprisingly low. I've seen people claim that she's the best character in the game, so it's interesting to see her in the bottom half of the list. Melia right in the middle is great in my opinion. If AI Melia was as good as Player Melia she would be best character no questions asked, but since her AI is worse than Sharla's Talent Art, I think her placement is good. I've noticed that you mainly talk in the context of time attack and superbosses, which is fine, since those are by far the most difficult in the game and as such differences in character performance become more noticeable. Reyn specifically becomes a god in time attack, as you said. If we're looking at the entire game the list probably wouldn't change that much. Sharla would still be bottom tier, Fiora would still be bottom half since she isn't around for half of the game and Shulk would be above Reyn since player controlled Shulk is just necessary during early- to midgame Mechon and Telethia fights (which there are a lot of). Overall, great list, wouldn't change anything to be honest.

[@brazyfever787]

Melia ai’s isn’t bad in my opinion

[@nesoukkefka1741]

I think if we talk about the overall game not just Superboss/time attack Riki would place much much higher, his cheer utility and support makes him really good throughout the game he really only fall from grace due to the lack of damage endgame.

[@firenze6478]

Riki would be higher on my list and so would Melia , but he does have fair counterpoints

[@firenze6478]

Nesouk Kefka not even endgame, riki is the best until postgame superbosses

[@rubendortland7601]

After thinking about it a bit I do agree that Riki would be higher in a list about performance throughout the entire game. I would place him above Melia and Fiora actually. I think that Dunban, Reyn and Shulk still have him beat though. When talking about the entire game Melia would place a lot lower on the list, she's just awful when you get her. Only when she gets Starlight Kick and Earth/Ice does she become amazing, but by that point you're almost at the Fallen Arm, so she's about as useful as Fiora, but Fiora's AI is better. This would be my list based on the entire game: 1. Shulk 2. Reyn 3. Dunban 4. Riki 5. Fiora 6. Melia 7. Sharla

[@bylewisholland5729]

70% aren't subscribed, ummm why aren't you? Enel is the best.

[@manditochiang]

We need to get to 69, come on people!

[@chaincat33]

Something to note, DoTs will have their timer reset if the enemy is hit with the same type of DoT art. As such, Melia and Riki have a very strong Synergy, where Melia unloads high damage dots, and Riki sustains them until she can reapply. Riki's AI will usually do this by mistake consistently since it spams his ether arts

[@aarondx3764]

Rex now is is now without a doubt a possibilty for smash lets go!

[@EnelXC]

He already kinda was since fighter pass 2 was announced, still I'm holding out for KOS-MOS myself haha. I won;t care either way though, I'm not a big smash fan

[@planetary-rendez-vous]

How fucking cool would it be to have a Duo Rex/Pyra and the switch mechanic. Holy shiiiit

[@Ash_Wen-li]

@@planetary-rendez-vous With a *Switch* mechanic. It practically writes itself!

[@wenyntrout]

If we do get Rex, I really hope he can switch between Pyra and Mythra and that changes up his moveset. Actually, throw Roc in there as well, why not. Maybe he could have a Blade wheel similar to Shulk’s Monado. Pyra could do the lowest damage but apply a burn effect, Mythra would have a similar moveset but hit harder, and Roc could completely change up Rex’s moveset. I would like to see Rex but I’d personally prefer Elma. Gotta get that XCX representation eventually!

[@icemage8837]

Minmin proved that spirits don’t deconfirm

[@moberlysquad67]

Poppi QTPi, and she’s not even in the game. All jokes aside, my favorite character to control is Dunban. I guess I just never really utilized Reyn well enough

[@Pokemonleafmon]

Reyn is kinda intimidating with all the move options

[@falconstriker87]

My tier list: S+: Every Party member except Sharla (including temporary party members) F: Sharla

[@RudiMyDear]

Also; technically when you activate the Monado and open up the Monado Arts pallete, it does count as an aura. Basically useless Aura, but still an Aura.

[@JM-vl3cy]

To compensate for Dumban's HP I remember one character (Sharla or Melia I think) has a passive that you can share that restores some HP whenever you crit. Used with his 100% crit art this actually gives him the fastest self-healing ability in the game.

[@johnhatzis3113]

I absolutely have an amazing time using any party members.... Except from Sharla. Seriously, the only "complain" I have with this game is that the party members are so fun to use and watch, but I have to pick only 3 every time. My battle preparation screens take so much time. XD

[@Robodob0]

w00t! Agreed! Reyn time! One thing players need to realize is that endgame optimization revolves around taking out monsters as fast as possible. This allows them to attack less and prevent them from putting you in a bad position. If the monsters get momentum, you'll be forced to use heals, forced to get close to allies to wake them up or encourage them, etc. What Reyn provides is a very potent burst damage which gets you closer to the fast kill goal.Most bosses just fall to this one combo alone. I like running Back Attack Plus on him as that makes his burst damage even more disgusting. At the start of battle, using berserker let's other party members go in and take initial aggro, which allows Reyn to go backside and follow with the Magnum Charge to Sword Drive combo. If the AI somehow managed to inflict any physical defense down debuff along with Dundun's Peerless, it's glorious to see Reyn's burst damage number. From there he usually takes aggro and makes Back Attack Plus useless, but the monster should either be down or close to it at that point that it doesnt matter that much anymore. :)

[@TealZero]

Fun fact: Sharla is S tier in a "No damaging combat arts" run. I also am a Masochist, unrelated.

[@alexdiep8714]

Just watching out for new people avoiding spoilers. The 7th party member is spoiled when enel goes through the menu in the sharla section of the video at 3:55.

[@StarlightNkyra]

My Teir list based on use described by somone who has never played the series S- cool monado boy, badass disabled man A - cool knife girl, cute furball B- young highness D- Gun girl F - Annoying big man

[@justanoreo3928]

I love how I dodged using reyn as much as possible during during my playthrough and would never give up on using sharla, even during the post-game:)

[@MorganEAshton]

I never properly appreciated Reyn as a fighter during my initial Wii playthrough (in which I was pretty dang bad at the combat in general), and only really got a hang of him when I played Future Connected and Nene became my go-to party leader. Now I really get why you have him as #1! I'm really, really enjoying your content, Enel, and am definitely gonna check out your in-depth character videos to get an even better idea how to use everyone!

[@seankim4137]

You are my goto guy when it comes to this series my man.

[@letsgoshuckles266]

You say that shulk doesn't have access to any auras but, according to the help thing that tells you about status effects, clicking on his talent art gives him an aura called "monado activated" which is the thing that lets him monado arts. Idk if this works with aura boosting skills or if there is any relevant aura skill but it's just something I noticed while playing.

[@Xorital]

"You have 5 seconds to pause the video without being spoiled" *5 second ad starts* Me: suspicious

[@4backpack1]

When I look at characters 7-2: "What a bunch of jokers!"

[@piffluigi6049]

Now It's Reyn time

[@MakenaForest]

ive had some incredible experience with the ai in de, far more than others report. ive seen reyn (on ai) consistently berserk, magnum charge, sword drive, or melia on ai set up for devastating chain attacks, or just wreck final marcus' shit solo shulks pretty bad though. like absolutely atrocious

[@SifArtorias]

Battle Soul! Monado Busta! Oh, a vision!

[@lpfan4491]

Players: It's time to stop! It's time to stop, okay? Shulk: I'm really feeling it! Players: ...

[@corrinflakes9659]

I think Dunban having the input prompt Talent Art (Blossom Dance) felt really unique pre-XC2. But wish in XC2 the driver and blade would shout a mantra like Dunban, at least at III or IV.

[@amicidellambiente7852]

Damn Juju is so bad he isn’t even on the list

[@fromthedlek1295]

lol

[@clintwaki6936]

In my playthrough, I thought for sure Melia was the best character in the game just because arts were the only ones that could actually hit the lv.90+ enemies during endgame; she's also by far the best character in chain attacks. I wasn't aware of night vision gems so I thought everyone else, especially Reyn, just weren't as good.

[@clintwaki6936]

My list would've been: 1. Melia 2. Fiora 3. Dunban 4. Shulk 5. Riki 6. Reyn 7. Sharla

[@eweng903]

Nice video. Tier lists are always going to be subjective. For myself I would place Melia and Shulk equal first place for DE because they are the most intricate characters to play in the main game (others can be well enough controlled by the AI), and they are also the main characters of the new Future Connected story. Not mentioned in the video, but Melia is very viable for endgame in a more topple-team setup for the Superbosses with more defensive gear/gem setup and her Spear Break/Starlight Kick arts (which work very efficiently at level 12) in addition to DoTs.

[@greyrifterrellik5837]

You forgot what, in *my* opinion at least, may be Riki's *greatest* advantage: HE IS LOOT GOD. Seriously; you want to farm loot? Use Riki; ALWAYS use Riki.

[@zanis_summers8284]

Reyn can do WHAT? Honestly this is my favorite game of all time, but I haven’t dabbled in the “make your characters busted” aspect of it, so this is all very new to me! Now I want to find auto-attack break things to solo as Reyn now 😂

[@angeldude101]

My takeaway from this video is that Shulk and Fiora are the best characters because they can equip the Junknado and Meyneth's Monado respectively in normal battles.

[@heavylobster4339]

Reyn is #1 because Enel mostly cares about optimized speed cheese kills. Nothing wrong with that when you can beat the game with any character, but Shulk/Dunban/Melia/Riki come in handy more to me when it comes to getting through mandatory boss fights with the least amount of trouble and general flexibility. But all of the characters outside of Sharla are at least good if not great and have their uses. And offensive Reyn is a build everyone should at least mess around with a little bit and clearing out trash mobs with him is always fun.

[@selder_7]

It’s a really strong party of characters cos even though Sharla is obviously the worst she’s still a really great healer for most of the game and if you play it safe she’s an anchor on most teams alongside a character to draw aggro and one to deal the damage

[@Robodob0]

For Sharla's talent art, Enel makes it clear that it would be nearly impossible to let anyone die. It might not have been necessary as there are other ways to gimp her healing abilities, but they just went with the cooldown talent art. They couldve just increased the cooldowns of her skills more, so they can give her a more useful talent art instead. At the very least anything that does something good in a chain attack to contribute to dealing damage and increasing chain attack multiplier. Maybe something like "Talent Art: Pinpoint Weakness - makes sharla immobile and unable to act for a few seconds but great increases team's critical hit chance and critical attack damage for the duration. Or as a single turn action in a chain attack that provides the same buffs until the chain attack ends so she can join and benefit from her buffs just until the end of that chain attack." This can gimp her healing, allow her to deal damage through other active party members, and gives her a decent reason to participate in chain attacks. Just a thought that i think would be cool to share.

[@videogameexpert6434]

Despite Sharla being not useful in the endgame, she helped me out during the final boss thanks to the amount of healing my team was getting.

[@wulfric7202]

So I know you put in timestamps for the party member number 7, but in your footage of Sharla you show the parry screen with all the characters lol.

[@JohnSmith-hs1hn]

I played the original back in 2013, and people on forums were saying that Reyn was the worst, but I actually couldn't beat the final boss until I swapped out for Reyn. I believe I had Shulk, Reyn, and the medic.

[@mune3409]

Bro that game need a multiplayer, imagining being with the homies with your team of 3 reyns making a plan to beat a big boss

[@Hc2p3n4t4rp]

Changes I would make to characters Talent Art (only some) Give changable Talent Art Reyn: give him the ability to change Mad Taunt for Magnum Charge for Talent Art Riki: Yoink! being separated in 1 that steals items only or stats only, only for comodity Sharla: this is the big one, before the talent art I would change Head Shaker for a red art that of used on the back can inflict confuse, now, 1st Talent Art would be a more straightforward form of it, before you fill it your Heal Arts are stronger and lower Attack Arts, once filled your Attack Arts have increased attack (no automatic cooldown) and lower Heal Arts, but it inflicts %damage to Sharla to use them, starting with 1% and up to 5%, the fill rate of the Talent Gauge is normal, using Cool Off is like normal and when filled can be used in Chain Attacks 2nd variation, the Talent Gauge fills slower, as if a Heat Sink gem with 25% was equipped, Art scaling is minimal, no automatic use and Cool Off time is standard regardless of fill rate (10 seconds, 5 with Ultimate Sniper) when using Cool Off the effect depends on fill rate and arts equipped, not full, creates an AoE heal effect similar in range to Melias Summon Orb Status Up effects ticking the heal every 2 seconds, not an Aura, healing for a % of Sharlas max hp to herself and allies in range, amount healed and aditional effects depend on number of Blue and Orange arts equipped, each art equipped increases by 2% starting at 10%, with 3 arts equipped it purges debuffs, with 5 it stops buffs time from running thus increasing the length of auras and buffs, when the Talent Gauge is full it then releases a a hits for Ether Electric Damage that inflicts Blaze (and electric burn, and those exisit), scaling of arts is each Red, Pink and Purple Art in a spiking formula, 1 adds 1.05x to damage, 2 adds 1.2x to damage, 3 adds 1.5x to damage, 4 adds 2x to damage and 5 adds 3x to damage, aditional effect are at 3 arts remove buffs from enemies, 5 lengthens the duration of all debuffs For the rest I find they are ok as is, but I would change something about Monado Arts, more specifically with each change of the Monado increase the effects of them a little Enchant and Buster 2, adds aditional damage to all enemy types except Telethia, Gigants and God, and 3 adds aditional damage to all The Attack Monado Arts that change the color of the blade giving Shulk an Aura too Change Shield to be like Speed but at 2 they become AoE and 3 adding a buff, Speed giving Haste 15% and Shield damage immunity for around Sharlas Shield Bullet at lv 6 for non Talent Arts, Armor would always start at 2 so no need to speak of it, but its buff at 3 is status immunity but not debuff clear Now for the ones that attack and change the color Purge at 2 giving the aura to inflict Agility Down 15% with each attack (not only auto attacks) and a Haste 20%, and 3 becoming a Line attack so it can be somewhat of an AoE Cyclone giving Aura to Inflict Ether Defense Down 25% and 3 increasing topple time Eater not inflicting Bleed but stealing the buffs for Shulk and 3 giving an Aura to inflict Bleed on attacks with 20 seconds time (Back Slash)

[@Hc2p3n4t4rp]

So after thinking it some more, I know what the Monado art auras could be Eater would be a 1.5x art damage multiplier and next phisical attack art would become a Bleed Cyclone would be a Double Attack +25% and on hit fill Talent Gauge by 10% and inflict Ether Defense Down by 25% (thinking more on it as set up for Buster) Purge would be a bit more unconventional, while active it would lower the resist value of enemies, that is to say, if an enemy is inmune to something it then becomes resistant, if it has high resistance then it becomes lower and also Haste +20%

[@bctalicorn809]

I really liked playing as Melia a lot this past playthrough. I like the fact that Starlight Kick can topple the enemy without breaking them first, it really speeds things up if you open with it. My go-to team was Melia, Reyn, and Dunban, and I found it to be pretty fun.

[@lightshiner3742]

Not only is #1 the best fighter, but also just the best character in general. Great job on this list

[@davidgeorge1943]

3:59 fun fact: Sharla's the only party member who doesn't have a Topple art. Shulk has Monado Cyclone, Reyn has Wild Down, Dunban has Steel Strike & Demon Slayer, Melia has Starlight Kick, Riki has Roly-Poly, and Seven has Final Cross.

[@ixchel3330]

Fun!

[@Kasaaz]

Reyn missing Wild Down in the B Roll for Dunban hurt my soul...

[@Neogears1312]

I generally think melia is on the lower end just because she needs to be played in order to get anything good out of them, and is far less flexible with who you run with her. She’s really strong in your hands, but so’s shulk in your hands. And so’s Reyn. And their Ai functions so you can still rely on them on as partners where as melia at best is good for chain attacks. Buts so’s Reyn dunban and shulk. She can easily destroy anything and she’s super great, but everyone can destroy stuff in this game so jumping through more hoops for a similar reward just makes her less significant in my opinion. She’s also kinda meh against normal enemies as she’s all about set up and takes longer than characters like Reyn for getting through enemies.

[@WolfPawArmoury]

So basically this video just LEAVE IT TO REYN!

[@cantdestroyher7245]

Your guides are absolute top tier mate. Subscribed

[@RainbowStray]

It sucks about seven because I love healers in video games and tend to play them. I'm playing XC:DE right now and right at the snow mountains. I've mostly used Sharla the whole time and have fun with her, even though her cool off mechanic is annoying.

[@rufflefpv]

10:50 "mage princess"?? Where'd you get that from? Everybody knows she's "one of the weaker characters"

[@Pwister]

So, it's a bit weird but it is worth noting; Shulk actually does have an aura, albeit not a very useful one. Activate Monado counts as an aura, and while active does grant all the benefits of one, such as Aura Heal gems. Just be thankful he can't link the skill that gives party gauge on activating an aura from Dunban, or oh man, you would be able to just activate and deactivate monado until you had a full gauge. I'm almost certain this is the reason he doesn't have a hexagon slot for Dunban in the first place. He CAN, however, take melia's aggro reduction while an aura is active, which really only lets him auto attack for less aggro, but it is something if you're waiting for a cooldown I guess. Still not worth taking, but just worth noting that it does in fact function that way.

[@brett3706]

Agree with some of these, disagree with others, but to be fair, my criteria is also different. I did my first playthrough of XC1 Definitive Edition recently, and played through everything intentionally underleveled, at least 6 below any enemy I fought (and many times even lower). So my list is which characters I generally found the most useful getting through the game as a first-time player on expert mode. With that in mind, my ranking is: 1. Reyn 2. Riki 3. Shulk 4. Fiora 5. Melia 6. Sharla 7. Dunban The main thing you have to watch out for in Expert mode is 1) Actually being able to hit the enemy, and 2) Not getting one-shot. So it's basically a necessity to have Night Vision gems equipped and fight any difficult fight at night. You also need need characters who won't get one-shot, hence why having Reyn or Riki on your team is absolutely critical in certain fights. Of the two, I find Reyn to be more reliable at drawing aggro and not dying. Dunban is at the bottom because high Agility doesn't do much against higher-level enemies who get massive bonuses to hit, and his health is way too low to be a reliable tank; pretty much any big attack will KO him (also, maybe I'm being a little bit of a contrarian since a lot of people place him as their #1 pick... he might deserve to be placed over Sharla at least). I wrote a thread about my thoughts tinyurl.com/3ytxf2s6. Obviously I don't have the kind of experience in the game Enel has, and my criteria is different than his (he's focused on endgame performance), but I thought it might be interesting to compare opinions.

[@dehydratedbowser5261]

I thought for sure Seven would be no.1 Cycling chain attacks is not to be underestimated

[@Cloud-dt6xb]

I don't know where you got the idea that Riki is bad late game I kept him in my party all the way to the end and he was a lifesaver numerous times for me. All of his abilites are super helpful and he's a debuffer which I love to use in rpg's.

[@presion5628]

I love how when talking about Reyn he´s just topple loking Marcus

[@DaakkuuYRS]

Xenoblade is so balanced game. When even the "worst" character, Sharla, has her niche.

[@Kazuma1391]

I subscribed! Your Fiora video made it an easy decision because you opened my eyes to some things i didn't consider. You have a great channel and this video is great as well.

[@ijustsawthat]

4:57 Enel: You shouldn't really need healing in any point in this game Me: flashbacks of dark souls you died screen in every single boss in this game

[@TheLloydLightning]

Love this guides. Finally someone who knows what he is talking about. Mild criticism: You should try not to repeat yourself too often. You are extremely knowledgeable about this game and how to play but it feels like you missing the structure to keep these short and informative. Not that I don't like elaborate explanations tho.

[@Realag666]

I really apreciate the Tierlist, but aviablitity matters aswell imo. If we look at the list from a pure lategame perspective it does makes sense. But Shulk just becomes extremely good in the lategame, where he get´s all his cool stuff, but is @Riki´s Tier at best before he get´s his fancy stuff. And Sharla for example allowed me to challenge the Mechon-Fortress Monsters, way before I could with other combs by the time I hit sword valley. Overall a Tierlist or a Ranking in a game with very specialized characters, is kinda meh, but I see how it translates into good content for your channel and thats important aswell

[@user6171]

I'd love a video where you mention what we should do before starting "New Game +" :3

[@AlvisMonado]

I get told all the time by friends that Reyn is unfun to play. I disagreed but it's entirely because they see him as a Mad Taunt bot. Getting Dunban really reinforces a new player that aggro is based on how much damage is dealt and whether or not there is an "aggro lock" effect going on or not. Mad Taunt is the safety net, not the goal. So Reyn allows you to use high damage arts without caring about positioning, having too much aggro on you, or waiting for some other AI to take the aggro. We're all playing and enjoying the remake, since a bunch of us enjoyed the original. Though they don't care about superbosses or challenge mode, I'm hoping sending them enough of you videos gets them into it. Personally, even as a "veteran" I really enjoy these. I never knew about DPS Sharla (yes she's bad but it's a cool flex). Or how good Peerless and Dive Sobat were (I totally misread the arts) I thought Peerless only boosted Dunban's Strength and thought BOTH effects needed Bone Upper to work. Keep it up man!

[@jhon1406]

It sounds like: S Reyn > Shulk > Dunban A Melia > Seven B Riki D Sharla Would you agree @Enel?

[@chrislee9429]

Thanks again Enel, always love your insight and knowledge. Your passion for the game shows in all of your videos.

[@myhr2320]

Awesome video, seems pretty right, in terms of lategame power where damage is king, but I love your disclaimer about every character being useful. My personal tier list, based on character build diversity, not power : 7. Shulk. No Art variation, and Monado Arts are designed to be effective answers to everything the game throws at you. The only challenge is constant positioning during battles, which is interesting, but gets a bit old after a while. 6. Reyn. Reyn does physical damage, and he does it well, but it's all he does. He has 1 Ether attack, Aura Bust, which is super situational during most of the game, and can only use it in chain attacks in the endgame, when auras last long enough for him to always have one active. Also, his Talent Art is for tanking, and that's it. Yes it can be used to power Magnum Charge, but when left to the IA, you always have to assume that he'll get the aggro at one point or another in the fight, even whitout an aggro aura, and his best aura IS an aggro aura. 5. Melia. The thing with Melia is that once you've set her with two-three Summons, Summon Copy, Reflection, one of the two Burst finisher, you can either run the forced Topple combo, meh control Arts, or her healing Art, so, she's kinda rigid to build. Also, I hate Shadow Stitch with a passion, why does it have such a long CD for such a situational effect? Why? (edit : often, just running in circle will achieve the same result and no cost you a frigging Art slot. Worst Art in the game, grmbl!) 4. Dunban. You'll always, alway slot Gale Slash, since it's the beginning of so many of Dunban's Combo. Also, its cooldown is noticeable, and slows his flow, which can be pretty annoying. Finally, while Blossom Dance is super stylish and lots of damage, it takes a loooong time, meaning you can't react in a clutch during it outside of chain attacks. Still, he gets higher than Melia because of the Tempest Kick + Thunder ether combo, wich is hilariously strong on ennemies not immune to Daze. 3. Sharla. I love building Sharla, because I always try to bring just the right amount of healing. It's pretty easy to bring all the heals and be super safe, but what's interesting is bringing as much offense as you can while still being an effective healer. That being said, she has some really, really bad Arts (Talent Arts aside), especially Metal Blast : very high cooldown for unimpressive damage and Break of all effects, which make it very clunky colour-wise, and an aoe that's pretty much impossible to aim in the middle of a battle. Ok, it's good against birds, yay. 2. Riki. While Riki has a ton of versatility, the thing that bugs me is that you will always bring Happy Happy and You Can Do It, because it would be really dumb not to, they're amazing Arts that are useful no matter what you want Riki to do. But as a result, I often see myself only choosing 6 other Arts instead of pondering each slots. But aside from that, ton of fun to spec, since he can go tank, ether damage, physical damage, or clunky hybrid with Say Sorry, and these play quite differently. 1. Seven. The only character where I feel all the Arts are interesting and balanced, none is an auto-slot, and even her Talent Art has situational variations. Yes, some of her CD are super long, but with her, you'll get so many chain attacks you will be able to use her cool toys (and those of your other party members) very often. In fact, I'd go as far as saying she makes every character's gameplay that much more fluid and interesting, and yes, she doesn't link that well because she can't equip Shulk's star skills, but having good timing solves that, and I prefer more chain attacks to endless chain attacks anyway (even if the later is more powerful, whitout doubts). Awesome character overall.

[@GuardianAngelEatos]

I also want to add for Shulk that you can start with a full talent art gauge every battle by using Battle Soul from afar, then stopping the battle and doing it over again. You can do the same with Dunban too.

[@xord5293]

My tier prediction before watching lul: 7. Sharla 6. Riki 5. Reyn 4. Shulk 3. 7th (Chain Attack Generation) 2. Dunban (Physical Damage) 1. Melia (Ether Damage)

[@markercrayon457]

You didn’t watch the reyn guide I’m assuming

[@xord5293]

@@markercrayon457 Hahahah true. But what I know comes from playing the original and I hear the lvl 12 books fix what Reyn's cooldowns, which was a major hiccup for him in the original. But still, against super bosses, I firmly believe Melia and Dunban do it best; controlling Dunban I sort of learned how to put Melia on the AI, and the party just evaporates the superbosses when using Melia's ether and Dunban's physical attacks in the same party.

[@markercrayon457]

Xord interesting

[@kirindas4691]

Nice list~ Except for Fiora’s placement, I wasn’t too surprised with your placements after seeing each of the character guide videos.

[@giglymeshtalrac]

used a lvl 1 Reyn to beat a lvl 100 enemy, lawd

[@sorenfan1964]

Why didn't you mention light heal when talking about Shulk

[@EnelXC]

I mean...It exists and can be moderately helpful but it isn’t really a selling point of the character.

[@sorenfan1964]

@@EnelXC you generally don't seem to value healing that much

[@justinbowman1342]

@@sorenfan1964 healing isn't that great when the super bosses start one shooting you.

[@sorenfan1964]

@@justinbowman1342 I fought all 5 and was usually always able to prevent that from happening

[@davidluna7]

@@sorenfan1964 but not with light heal. with armor or shield. light heal is decent in a pretty stacked kit

[@TheAnimeotaku2k]

I've had multiple situations during the story where I got screwed over by the AI. If there was one thing that I thought was a negative from this game, it would be the AI.

[@presion5628]

Wait you forgot Fiora, the legendary Homs