Choosing the best party members for *Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition* can be daunting with over a dozen characters and seemingly similar classes to navigate. Our guide highlights the top five party members and their unique advantages to help you build an effective team.
Elma
Elma, one of the first characters you'll recruit, is far from weak. Her class, Full Metal Jaguar, is one of the best in *Xenoblade X*, and her AI uses it exceptionally well. Her key skills, Ghostwalker and Ghost Factory, create decoys and boost party evasion respectively. Prioritize leveling these skills up. While her position-based attacks might lead to brief downtime, Elma excels as a hybrid tank, support, and offensive unit. She has numerous self-buffs, including critical hit enhancements, and can instantly gain 1,000 TP to unleash powerful skills. Her presence is crucial for most story missions, making her an indispensable ally.
Irina
Irina stands out as the game's top supporter, even surpassing other support specialists like Hope. She excels at healing, removing debuffs, and boosting evasion, especially useful if Elma's Ghost Factory is unavailable. Irina also generates TP for the party, albeit at the cost of her own. While not suited for solo combat or taking down Tyrants, Irina's role is to bolster the team's endurance. Ensure she's paired with one or two strong attackers to prevent prolonged battles.
Nagi
If you're not a Duelist, Nagi is your go-to party member. As one of the few Duelists in *Xenoblade X*, he's a self-sufficient damage dealer effective at close and long range, with area-of-effect capabilities. His signature move, Blossom Dance, is exceptionally powerful and can bypass enemy resistances, often downing tough foes in one or two hits. To maximize Nagi's potential, pair him with a supporter or someone who can debuff enemies, like Irina, or use Mastermind skills if your team is full.
Mia
Despite being a Psycorruptor, Mia embodies the versatility of a Drifter. She can debuff enemies, reduce debuff resistance, and deliver heavy damage with attacks like Beam Barrage and Myopic Screen, the latter of which may also cause blackout. Mia's attacks gain strength when an aura is active, and she can even topple enemies. However, she lacks defensive and healing capabilities, so ensure she's teamed with someone who can cover these roles.
H.B.
H.B. is a superior alternative to Lin when you need additional defense. As a Shield Trooper+, he excels at everything Lin does, but better. H.B. effectively draws enemy attention, crucial if you're playing an aggressive class or have members like Elma or Nagi in your party. He can generate TP with his taunt attack, increase debuff resistance, boost ranged attack power, topple enemies, inflict debuffs, and create a sturdy shield. If you struggle to survive outside the main storyline, completing H.B.'s affinity mission and adding him to your team is highly beneficial.
