Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has a deep, rewarding, rather complex combat system, allowing you to do a wide range of things during an encounter, from entering your Ouroboros Fusion to launching into a Chain Attack to combining powerful Master and Combat Arts to create devastating Fusion Arts.
Fusion Arts are the backbone of any build. They allow you to mix and match Master Arts and Combat Arts to perform both actions simultaneously, opening the door for endless possibilities. This mechanic will enable you to deal damage while applying a buff to your party, stack Healing Arts for a more potent heal, and much more.
Fusion Arts Overview
As covered loosely above, Fusion Arts are the combination of Master Arts and Combat Arts, allowing you to utilize the effects of both Arts to create clever and devastating pairings. But before diving into how this mechanic works, let's quickly review how to unlock Master Arts and Combat Arts.
How To Obtain Master And Combat Arts
Master Arts are Arts you learn from Mastering Classes and can use freely with other Classes. Combat Arts are the default Arts assigned to Classes, allowing you to perform that role's Arts while mixing in a Master Art from a completely different one.
Once you Master a Class, you should switch off to another one as quickly as possible unless you have Ascended the Class. In that case, you would want to reach Level 20 with the Class to obtain even more Master Arts for your collection.
How To Pair Fusion Arts
To make a Fusion Art, you must pair a Master Art with a Combat Art. To do this, you will want to open the Menu and then navigate to Characters. Once here, open the Arts tab of your Character of choice. From here, you will see two separate columns for Arts, the column on the left will have three slots for Arts, and the one on the right will have four.
Assigning an Art in the slot directly across from the other in the opposite column will pair them, creating a Fusion Art. For example, if you place a Master Art in the top slot of the right column, whichever Combat Art you put in the top slot of the left column will create a Fusion Art. Use the image above for a clearer example of how the pairings work.
Pairing Fusion Arts
There are four Art types in Xenoblade Chronicles 3, all of which can be paired with one another to create potent attacks that can give you a significant battle in combat. Furthermore, you will also be able to pair two of the same Art types together to create a more potent action in one move, allowing you to deal excessive damage or provide buffs or heals for your team.
Using Fusion Arts
Now that the foundation of Fusion Arts is laid, it's time to put them into practice. After you pair your Combat and Master Arts, you will have to do a few things in an encounter before you can use a Fusion Art. You can find out how to build up and use Fusion Arts in the section below!
Using Fusion Arts
To use a Fusion Art, you will need to have your Combat and Master Art pairing charged simultaneously, hold down the 'ZR' button, then press the pairing's corresponding button to activate it (X, Y, B). You can charge all three of your pairings and release them one after another in rapid succession if you wish, or you can unleash a Fusion Art as soon as it becomes active, and anything and everything in between.
Additionally, we recommend creating clever, helpful, and devastating Fusion Arts for your entire party. This might take some time to set up, but it's well worth it, thanks to the Tactics system in the game. Bringing up the Tactics Menu with the 'ZL' button in an encounter and pressing right on the D-pad will have your party build up and use Fusion Arts, which will be a tremendous help against the more challenging fights.
How To Charge Arts
Charging Arts is a critical and fundamental part of using Fusion Arts and even using Arts independently. Your Combat Arts will immediately be fully charged and ready to use at the start of every encounter. The Master Arts, however, will be depleted and need to be recharged before you can use them.
Depending on the Class, your Combat Arts and Master Arts will be displayed in a Diamond or Circle icon, making it tricky to pinpoint or track how they will recharge. However, there is an easy way to do this. Any Art displayed in a Diamond will need to be charged via auto-attacks, while Arts displayed in a Circle will recharge gradually over time.
Again, this varies from Class to Class, but the important thing to note and remember is that you will always begin an encounter with your Combat Arts fully charged and will have to recharge them after use. You will also always have to charge your Master Arts before using them. How these two Arts charge will depend on your current Class and their display icon.
Fusion Art Examples
Lastly, let's go over some examples of Fusion Art pairings in Xenoblade Chronicles 3. These are only a small selection to preview the importance and power of Fusion Arts, and there is likely way more out there that surpass these on a larger scale. Still, the Fusion Arts below are excellent and will hopefully inspire you to create clever pairings of your own!
|
Fusion Art |
Effects |
|---|---|
|
Break + Topple |
There are many ways to pair a Combat Art with Break and a Master Art with Topple (or vice versa) together and create a devastating 1-2 punch to set up a Combo. |
|
Positional Attack + Positional Bonus |
Any positional Art, such as "Side Break, Topple, etc." pair excellently with Arts that boost damage when attacking from that position by 150 percent. This can be used on Front and Back attacks as well. |
|
Evade + Healing |
Using an Art that guarantees you evading an incoming attack (such as Wide Slash) paired with a Healing Art will allow you to heal your party without worrying about being interrupted in the process. |
|
Daze + Burst or Launch + Smash |
In some cases, you will be able to pair the last two actions of a Combo, which you can hold onto until you or a party member can successfully Topple an enemy. Myopic Screen + Way Home is an example of an excellent Daze + Burst Fusion Art. |