Top Xenoblade Chronicles X Party Members Revealed

Picking the best Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition party members can feel like a daunting challenge. The game features over a dozen unlockable characters, many of whom appear to have nearly identical classes, and the game doesn’t exactly go out of its way to explain how everything works.

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Our Xenoblade Chronicles X best party members guide highlights the five most essential allies for your squad and what makes them truly shine in battle.

Elma

Elma may be one of the first characters you can recruit, but that doesn’t make her any less powerful. She wields the Full Metal Jaguar class, one of the strongest in Xenoblade X, and her AI makes excellent use of it in almost every scenario. Her key abilities—Ghostwalker, which creates a decoy, and Ghost Factory, which boosts party evasion—are incredibly valuable. Prioritize leveling those up. Additionally, she has a range of position-based attacks that pack a punch.

The only minor drawback is that she sometimes experiences downtime while repositioning before attacking. However, as a hybrid tank, support, and offensive unit, Full Metal Jaguar isn’t meant to be a pure DPS class. Elma also has access to numerous self-buffs, including several that increase critical hit chance, and a technique that grants 1,000 TP instantly—helping fuel her more powerful skills. Since she’s required for many story missions, having her in your lineup is both practical and necessary.

Irina

Irina stands out as the game’s top supporter, even surpassing other support-focused characters like Hope. She excels at healing the party, removing debuffs, and increasing evasion—making her an ideal backup if Elma isn't using or can't activate Ghost Factory. Irina also serves as a steady source of TP, provided she can maintain her own health. Abilities like Energy Source and Last Stand grant TP to the party at the cost of her HP, so keep an eye on her.

While she won’t be taking down Tyrants solo, she plays a crucial role in enabling your team’s damage dealers. For best results, pair her with at least one, preferably two, strong attackers to avoid drawn-out battles.

Nagi

If you're not playing as a Duelist yourself, Nagi is a fantastic addition to your team. As one of the few characters in this class, he brings high damage output and versatility. Duelists are effective in both close-range and long-range combat, and they gain access to area-of-effect moves. His standout ability, Blossom Dance, is not only powerful but ignores enemy resistances—allowing you to take down some of the game’s toughest foes in just one or two hits.

To maximize his potential, Nagi benefits from being paired with a supporter or someone who can apply debuffs. Consider placing him alongside Irina, or if your party slots are full, use Mastermind skills to weaken enemies before he strikes.

Mia

Though Mia belongs to the Psycorruptor class, her skillset closely resembles that of a Drifter. She's a jack-of-all-trades who performs each role exceptionally well. From inflicting debuffs to reducing enemy debuff resistance, Mia offers flexible utility. Her Beam Barrage and Myopic Screen deal heavy damage, with the latter potentially causing blackout. Most of her attacks become stronger when an aura is active, and she can even topple enemies.

Her only real weaknesses are poor survivability and lack of healing capabilities, so ensure she’s grouped with a character who can protect or heal her during combat.

H.B.

H.B. is a reliable alternative to Lin whenever you need additional defense and want to swap her out. He essentially improves upon Lin’s abilities, making him a superior choice in nearly every situation. With the Shield Trooper+ class, H.B. brings more than just solid tanking—he’s efficient at drawing enemy aggro, which is especially useful if you’re playing an aggressive class or running characters like Elma or Nagi.

He also generates TP through taunt attacks, increases debuff resistance, boosts ranged attack power, topples enemies, applies debuffs, and can create a strong shield. If you find yourself struggling to survive outside the main campaign, completing his affinity mission and recruiting H.B. should be a priority. He’s one of the game’s best defenders and a versatile asset to any team.