The Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed expansion is not particularly difficult, as a solid knowledge of the game’s mechanics, which are not all that different from those of the base game, can carry you quite far. Once Rex joins your party, however, things become almost trivial, as you will be Double Spinning Edging all sorts of enemies into oblivion with ease.
But what happens when Rex, alongside Shulk, is your opponent? You get one of the most challenging fights of the expansion, one that can take a while to win, even at low difficulty. With the right strategy, however, you can make short work on the duo and continue through the story.
How to Beat Shulk and Rex in Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed
As you only have Nikol and Glimmer for this battle, it can be rather difficult to take down the legendary heroes who saved their respective worlds, especially if you have neglected them and did not expand their Affinity Growth trees and their arts and gems slots. Even so, Shulk and Rex are definitely beatable, even with the lowest amount of upgrades, if you employ a solid strategy.
At the start of the fight, control Nikol and immediately draw aggro so as to keep Glimmer out of harm’s way. She will still take damage as both Shulk and Rex have area-of-effect attacks, but by keeping aggro, Nikol should take the brunt of the damage, leaving his companion to do what she does best: healing. As you want to heal at the right time, you will have to control Glimmer for the majority of the fight, switching to Nikol only if he
The key to winning this fight is healing exactly when it is needed, keeping arts that restore HP, such as Daybreak Hymn and Great Garland, ready to go. These two arts should also be assigned to the art palette so that you can use the Garland Hymn Fusion Art, which increases Evasion, something quite beneficial for both Nikol and Glimmer, while greatly restoring HP. When these two arts are on cooldown, use any other art in your kits as often as you can to build up Glimmer’s Talent Art Elysian Anthem, which is another great healing art.
As Nikol and Glimmer aren’t capable of unleashing decent damage due to being a Defender and a Healer, respectively, the fight against Shulk and Rex in Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed can take a long time. Thankfully, their Unity Combo is pretty powerful and does very good damage to unleash it as soon as you can. Since the two characters cannot combo, don’t worry about it getting wasted on an enemy that is not launched, as dealing as much damage as you can in the shortest amount of time is your priority. Focus on Rex first, since he is the main threat, and worry about Shulk later.
As for which gems to use for both characters, you should use those that make them better at what they do, such as Steel Protection and Brimming Spirit for Nikol and Lifebearer and Lifesaving Expertise for Glimmer. Same for accessories: survivability and healing power are the things you need to make it out for this fight at any difficulty.
With this strategy, beating Shulk and Rex in Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed is more than doable, even without upgrading either character. If you want to make things a little easier, however, you should upgrade both their weapons to their max possible level at the time of the fight and unlock additional skills on their Affinity Growth tree. In case you need an extra kit, and this is your first visit to Gotrock Oracle Ruins, you can find one on a small platform located to the left of the ruins’ entrance. Get on the rock platform to the left and continue ahead until you reach the end of the road. Move the camera around to spot the platform and jump on it to get an Affinity Growth Kit that can make your life much easier in upcoming fights.
