Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed details characters, combat, other features

Nintendo and Monolith Soft blew the lid off of the Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed DLC this week and revealed that it’s coming in just a few days. A bunch of information has since been posted on the official Japanese Twitter account. Details were shared about characters, combat, and other features in the DLC.

Most of the tweets have only been published in Japanese (aside from a few exceptions on Nintendo’s North American Twitter account), but English translations were posted to the unofficial XenobladeEN Twitter account. We’ve rounded up everything below.

Characters

Matthew (VA: Junya Enoki): a young man hailing from the City, which fights against Moebius. He fights using the special power in his fists, and has an honest and helpful personality. He is searching for Na’el, his missing sister.

Matthew’s Blade was given to his grandfather, Ghondor. It has a special function as it has the function of an Ouroboros Stone, although its power is limited.

Matthew fights using the “Martial Artist” class. His weapon of choice is the Ouroboros Knuckle. He is an Attacker who uses a flurry of hits, smashing the enemy without giving them time to attack! His Talent Art, “Gigantic Beat,” recovers 50% of the charge for all of his arts.

Shulk (VA: Adam Howden/Shintaro Asanuma): a kind swordsman who wields a great red sword. Due to previous battles, his right arm has been replaced with a prosthetic. He can only wield his sword with his left hand.

Rex (VA: Hiro Shimono): a powerful swordsman who wields dual greatswords. He’s flexible and frank, and alongside Shulk, leads the Liberators. He lost his left eye in battle.

Na’el (VA: Akari Kito): Matthew’s younger sister. She has a kindhearted personality, taking care of the kids in the City. Due to certain events, she goes missing…

Nikol (VA: Masamu Ono): a Kevesi soldier skilled in mechanical engineering. Normally quiet and shy, he actively joins in once the conversation turns to machines. Instead of a Blade, Nikol fights using a pair of mechanical arms he crafted himself.

Nikol’s class is Machinist, and he wields the Variable Backpack. He’s a defender, and can activate numerous effects when attacking and blocking. His talent art is Total Destruction, which nullifies enemy defense and increases Nikol’s defense during the attack.

Glimmer (VA: Shino Shimoji): an Agnian soldier who fights with a stringed staff, has a strong minded personality and can sometimes be a bit harsh. Often unable to accept the bitter truths of the world she lives in, she acts in a self-centered way.

Glimmer’s class is Shimmering Musician, and she wields the Brilliant Heavenly Flame Cane. She is a healer who plays music to aid her allies. Her melodies can produce a number of effects. Her talent art, Roaring Flame Song of Heaven, restores HP to all allies when it hits.

A (VA: Rina Sato): Wielding a thin red sword, A travels together with Matthew. A is the type to make calm, calculated decisions, making for a good partner for Matthew, who tends not to think his actions through.

A’s class is “Monado Fencer,” with the Monado as a weapon. A is an offensive Healer who uses sharp slashes to vanquish foes! A’s Talent Art, “Vision,” disables attacks on the party for a period of time. While using Vision, you can also use “Vanishing End,” which hits all foes!

Ghondor (JP VA: Satoshi Shimada): he is the grandfather of Matthew and Na’el. As a driving force behind the establishment of the City, everyone trusts him very much.

N (VA: Harry McEntire/Ryohei Arai): a member of Moebius. He attacked the city and drew his blade against Ghondor…

Z (VA: Harry Lloyd/Akio Otsuka): the leader of Moebius. He was the one who commanded N to attack the City.

Riku (VA: Tarinn Callendar/Sayaka Senbongi): a nopon sporting awfully thick eyebrows. He works alongside Shulk and Rex in the Liberators. Is this the same Riku? Riku excels in mechanics and technology, and even made Shulk’s prosthetic arm! There sure are a lot of mysteries surrounding this Nopon…

Combat

Just like the base version of Xenoblade Chronicles 3, there are three roles in combat. “Attacker, Defender, and Healer.” Fight by making full use of their powerful techniques, known as “Arts,” which have various effects.

“Ouroboros Power,” which is stronger than normal Arts, can be set on the left side and “fused” with other Arts to obtain various additional effects. The effects obtained will vary depending on the combination of Ouroboros Power and Arts. 

Unleash special moves known as “Union Combos” by combining the power of two party members. By performing these special moves on an enemy in the Launch state, you can do a Union Combo. The recast of them can be increased by using more arts.

Union Combos vary on the combination of party members and vary in damage. Also, they will always inflict “Smash,” “Burst,” or “Blowdown.” In addition, the two characters who perform the combo will receive an “Awakening” buff, so be sure to act aggressively with it!

Features and Mechanics

In addition to the normal leveling system, Future Redeemed features a new mechanic called the Bond Navigator. You can strengthen Matthew & co. using the Bond Points you’ll collect by achieving certain goals, such as defeating enemies or collecting items.

You can strengthen the party through the use of Bond Points in the Bond Ability Growth menu. Bond Points are shared throughout the party, so it’s quite difficult to decide who to strengthen and how…

Items you obtain throughout the world will be listed in the Collectopaedia, an item encyclopedia! By collecting and registering certain numbers of items, you can earn Bond Points. Pick up as many rare items as you can!

Enemies you battle throughout the world will be registered to the enemy encyclopedia known as the Enepaedia. Just like the Collectopaedia, you can earn Bond Points by defeating certain numbers of enemies. I’m still looking for a strong foe I have yet to find…

The party can strengthen their weapons in Riku’s Workshop. Weapons are strengthened by exchanging money and materials, which can be obtained from chests as well as unique monsters. 

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed will be out for Switch on April 25, 2023.