Nintendo has just given a sneak peek of the combat system in the upcoming Xenoblade Chronicles 3. The game is currently scheduled for a worldwide release on July 29, 2022. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is being developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. .
The news comes from an official Nintendo post that was kindly translated from Japanese by RPG Site. This highlights the various combat roles in the game and some of the new additions to the battle system that was first introduced in Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
“As in other Xenoblade Chronicles games, the vast field is inhabited by a wide variety of creatures, from organisms that are easy to defeat to huge enemies that are very difficult to defeat in the early stages of the adventure,” Nintendo describes. “It is up to the player to choose to fight or run away from stronger opponents. Even if the monster has a bit higher rank, feel free to challenge it.”
There will be three separate combat roles in Xenoblade Chronicles 3. These consist of Attacker, Defender, and Healer, each of which has different strengths and weaknesses.
Attachments are “capable of dealing heavy damage from the flanks and rear of the enemy. They are crucial for the group, but they can also be easily attacked by the enemy.” Defenders, on the other hand, “are good at both defending and evading. They draw Aggro from enemies to prevent their friends from being attacked.” The weaknesses of both combat roles are covered by Healers who “can restore Hit Points, support allies’ offenses and defenses, and revive comrades who are incapacitated in battle.” Nintendo explains that “without a healer, your friends’ health points will constantly deplete as enemies attack them, so this is a very important role, especially when fighting strong enemies.”
Nintendo describes how to use Target Line by noting that “enemies will tend to target attackers and healers more often and these will be marked with red lines.” The company goes on to say that players “will want to use Defenders to be attacked by enemies to soak up damage on their target lanes.”
As in previous games in the Xenoblade Chronicles franchise, healers will have a limited range, meaning that “if an attacker’s hit points start to drop, they can be recovered by moving within the circle. Healers are also the only characters that can revive knocked down allies by holding ‘A’ near them, so the player will need to make sure the healer isn’t knocked down first.”
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will require players to keep their builds flexible. “Attackers can deal the most damage from the sides and rear of the enemy. If the enemy is targeting the Attacker, the Defender must stay close to receive attacks and the Healer must be ready to heal allies. But if the enemy targets the Defender, the Attacker can attack the enemy from the sides and rear with more ease. Depending on the situation, pay attention to the position of allies in all three roles and attack while keeping track of everyone’s hit points.”
Some of the characters in the game will have an ability known as Quick Move. They will be able to “move quickly while sheathing their sword after an attack”. Nintendo goes on to say that players “will find this especially useful for getting attackers into a proper attack position.”
Nintendo finally notes that players can “switch between the 6 playable characters (Noah, Lanz, Eunie, Mio, Taion, and Sena) at any time, while on the move or in battle. No matter which character you are controlling, the other party members will act on their own.”
This comes in the wake of news that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will feature “deep cleavage” and “partially exposed breasts,” according to a statement recently released by the Entertainment Software Classification Board. “This is an RPG in which players follow combatants through a conflict between two nations,” the group says. “From a third person perspective, players complete quests and engage in melee battles against enemies (eg animals, creatures, human bosses). Combat is highlighted by impact sounds, explosions, and screams of pain. Scenes show more instances of violence: characters run through by a sword, a character being shot off-screen, a man stabbing himself off-screen. A handful of scenes depict blood (e.g. drops falling from an injured character, drops of blood on a character’s face).”
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