Characters / Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Heroes

Main Character Index | Ouroboros | Heroes | Inhabitants of Aionios (The Founders) | Moebius (Consul N)

Special party members whom Ouroboros encounter and join their ranks.

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In General

• Ability Required to Proceed: Several Heroes will teach the party a Traversal Skill, enabling them to do things like climb ivy-covered walls or walk up sandy slopes. However, only two of these are actually required to progress with the story.
• Badass Normal: Compared to the Ouroboros, Heroes don't have the ability to access other classes, change their gear (until post-game where you gain the ability to change their Accessories but not their Gems), use Fusion Arts, or transform into an invulnerable Humongous Mecha at will, but they're still quite powerful in their own right. Though in Melia and Nia's cases, the "normal" part is downplayed and more like Wrong Context Magic in practice; as neither of them were reborn through Origin, their powers still work the same way they did in their respective worlds. In Nia's case, that includes her Healing Factor as an Alrestian Blade, which is what saves her from D's attempted assassination.
• Big Damn Heroes: Pun aside, the Heroes all help turn the tide in the final battle against Z. First with Monica and Ghondor transforming the City into a Humongous Mecha, then Melia and Nia transforming their castles into mecha, then summoning the individual Heroes to assist Ouroboros when they're separated, and finally joining in themselves during the final phase.
• Boss Rush: All of them are fought in the "Heroes Frontline" Challenge Battle, except for Riku and Manana, Melia and Nia, and the DLC Heroes. Ethel and Cammuravi, Triton, and Shulk and Rex have their own Challenge Battles.
• Companion-Specific Sidequest: Most of them have sidequests tied to either their recruitment or to unlock their class levels.
• Crutch Character: Downplayed. Heroes are automatically equipped with Gems with strength based on their levels, meaning that they may have significantly more powerful Gems than the Ouroboros members at some points — though of course, the Ouroboros can catch up with some grinding. At Level 99, their Gems will have the highest strength at X rank, which is incredibly hard to grind for (let alone for three).
• Defeat Means Friendship: Nearly all of them are fought in the main story before becoming allies with Ouroboros. The exceptions are Riku and Manana, Isurd (at least not directly, since you fight him while he pilots his Ferronis and isn't even the real Isurd anyway), Ashera (ironically enough, although you do fight her during later quests), Monica, Fiona, and the postgame heroes (as similar to Isurd, you fight robotic copies of them during the main story).
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: For the sake of gameplay, the classes of Heroes not directly affiliated with Keves or Agnus — Yumsmith, Full Metal Jaguar, Lost Vanguard, Martial Artist, Noponic Champion, and Lapidarist — are treated as such in terms of Arts and Master Arts. Downplayed, since the Heroes do have a connection to their respective nation (such as Ino being an Artificial Blade and thus hailing from Alrest, or the City Heroes having an Iris in the left [Agnus] or right [Keves] eye).
• Interface Spoiler: Played With. In the Hero Roster menu, you can see silhouettes of each of the Heroes, and a few have pretty distinct designs, meaning you can probably guess that they'd be joining you once you see them in the game. On the other hand, when actually choosing the classes for Ouroboros, they're all presented as Super-Deformed chibi sprites in the menu, which can make that a bit harder to discern. About the only obvious one is Riku and Manana since their silhouttes are very clearly two Nopon. Averted with the Lifesage and Royal Summoner Heroes, who don't even get silhouettes or show up in the Hero Roster at all until they join you, most likely due to the fact that they're only recruitable in the postgame and are very plot relevant, being the true queens of the two nations.
• Mutually Exclusive Party Members: You have only additional space in your party for one Hero at a time, but you can usually switch them out at your leisure in the overworld.
• Non-Player Companion: They fight as the seventh party member of the team, but they are purely AI controlled.
• Optional Party Member:
  • Only Ethel, Valdi, Riku and Manana, Juniper, Ghondor, and Miyabi have their Hero Quests as part of the main plot (in Ghondor's case, she does not have a Hero Quest and is automatically unlocked at the start of Chapter 6). While Isurd, Cammuravi, Melia, and Nia are relevant to the plot, and Monica temporarily joins your party when introduced, unlocking them as a permanent Hero is optional.
  • Ethel is an interesting case: while she joins your party as a Hero, plot events remove her from the roster and she dies in Chapter 4, becoming completely unusable. While her Ascension Quest adds her back into the party, it is also optional.
• Power Copying: Recruiting a Hero also grants one party member access to their class, while the rest can unlock it through fighting battles alongside the Hero and/or their initial inheritor. Most of them get to show off what they can do as both an enemy and an ally before they properly join.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: Many of them are the commanders of their respective Colonies as well as their strongest fighters (in Aionios the two positions are usually equivalent). This means that recruiting the Hero to their cause also gives the party the opportunity to destroy that Colony's Flame Clock, freeing it from Consul control and opening up most of the other sidequests in that region. Melia and Nia — the real Queen of Keves and Queen of Agnus — are the rulers of their respective nations and are more than happy to travel alongside the party, being two of the most powerful Heroes in the game.
• Red Baron: All of them have a title or epithet that can sometimes refer to them, like Silvercoat Ethel or Undying Blade Ashera.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Many of the commanders distrust the Ouroboros to one degree or another on their first encounter, but are usually willing to hear them out and very quickly come to see things the party's way. That the Consuls are addicted to being Bad Bosses certainly helps.
• The Unfought: Riku, Manana, Melia, and Nia are the only Heroes not to be fought in any capacity, as the boss versions of Melia and Nia fought during the story are fakes.

With Ouroboros

Riku & Manana (Both)

Peerless Riku & Manana

Class: Yumsmith
Weapon: Variable Arms
Role: Attacker
Class Inheritor: Sena
Heroic Chain: When chosen, multiplies TP from next character to act by 125%.
Chain Order: Increases everyone's TP.

Riku (right) and Manana (left)

Manana: Maybe it impossible for one Nopon...
Riku: But not for two!

A pair of Nopon who accompany the protagonists on their adventure.

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• Advertised Extra: Played With. Despite being with the party since the beginning and showing up in almost every cutscene, they only become heroes and assist the main characters in combat during the middle of the third chapter. Additionally, unlike Tora or Riki (Tora especially) they have very little direct plot relevance, mostly serving as ways for the main characters to bounce off in Character Development. Then it turns out that Riku's backstory ties him to the conflict against Moebius from the very beginning.
• Alien Non-Interference Clause: Downplayed and ultimately defied. As Nopon, they are expected to not get involved in the Forever War even if they do assist Ouroboros from the start. At the end of their Hero Quest, Manana encourages Riku to help her assist Ouroboros in battle. They both get flack from X and other Nopon for being more actively involved.
• Big Anime Eyes: Riku and Manana sport detailed anime-style eyes unlike the typical Black Bead Eyes seen on Nopon in previous Xenoblade entries.
• A Day in the Limelight: The two get some time in the spotlight when the group travels through the Urayan Tunnels to get to their next destination, and both join the crew as a Hero.
• The Dividual: Though being two Nopon, they fight together as one unit, Riku using a pistol and Manana using a cooking pot that doubles as a shield.
• Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: Inverted. Manana uses her cooking pot as a shield and to bash enemies with and while Riku's weapon can transform into a sword, he mainly uses it as a pistol, befitting their personalities.
• Happy Dance: They both dance in their idle animations. Manana is enthusiastic, while Riku bashfully looks around before dancing.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Although Riku and Manana's ages are unknown, given that both Kevesi and Agnians have a maximum lifespan of ten years, it's safe to assume that this is probably in place. And since Riku really is centuries old, then this trope definitely comes into play.
• Interspecies Friendship: As Nopon, Riku and Manana were already close friends with their respective human trios before the groups joined forces. This is especially the case with Riku as unlike Mio, Sena and Taion who only met up and became friends in the same colony in their later terms, presumably only meeting Manana at this point; Noah, Eunie and Lanz were all in the same colony together and friends since their first term and Riku had been looking out for them since the very beginning.
• Meaningful Name: Riku and Manana's pistol and cooking pan are known collectively as the Variable Arms because they're so different.
• Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Riku (male) is blue while Manana (female) is pink.
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: They have this dynamic, as Riku is often very cool-headed and collected, while Manana is much livelier and energetic.
• Ship Tease: With each other, which fits since they could have very easily been Ouroboros candidates if there wasn't a hard limit to the number of Ouroboros that can be around at once. Riku is also noticeably very protective of Manana at various points in the game, so it's actually harder to tell what Manana's feelings on this are because of how subtle she is about it in comparison to Riku, who often blurts out something that makes it obvious to pretty much everyone that he likes her. In regards to Manana though, note how often she holds one of Riku's wings during cutscenes, especially when scared, implying that she must feel at least somewhat close and secure with him and, in the context of being stuck in prison, is willing to try and comfort him. And while she likes to make sure that everyone is well-fed, she seems to take particular joy in feeding Riku, and gives him, in her words, "a whole mountain of seconds" when her cooking is praised by him. Also, both of them are very distraught when at the game's conclusion, they know they will be separated from each other when their worlds split apart again.
• Sixth Ranger: They travel with Ouroboros throughout the whole adventure even though their presence in the actual battle party is optional.
• True Companions: With each other and the main party. That last one is really relevant with the reveal the Nopon aren't under Consul control. Meaning these two could just up and leave if they so desired without having to worry about Moebius targeting them, but they love their friends enough to stand by them.
• Vague Age: Riku and Manana do not appear on the Affinity Chart, and being Nopon, they do not have the limited lifespan or marks of the Kevesi and Agnians, so it is hard to pinpoint their ages. Riku is the bigger enigma, as he looked as old as he does now when Noah, Eunie, and Lanz were in their third Term, and it is implied that he and Melia know each other, which means his age ranges between "really old" and "predating the creation of Aionios". Future Redeemed confirms it's the latter, as he says that Melia and his father were traveling companions, implying that he's the son of either Riki or Kino.

Riku (MASSIVE UNMARKED SPOILERS)

Riku

Voiced by: Sayaka Senbongi (Japanese), Tarinn Callender (English)

"Riku just Riku, common variety Nopon."

The Kevesi Nopon companion of the party. An experienced blacksmith, mechanic, and mentor to the group whose past is shrouded in mystery.

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• Ambiguously Related: Says his Dadapon and Melia were once travelling companions. Whether that means his father is Riki or Kino is not elaborated on. Given that Riki's children are shown to all be yellow or pink like their parents, one of the Liberators in Future Redeemed is the adult daughter of an NPC who was a young child in 1, and Riku's Nopon dance animation ends on a move done specifically by Kino, it's likely that Riku is either Kino's son or a later Riki adoptee who was mentored by Kino. The Aionios Moments artbook confirms he is indeed one of Riki's children.
• Big Brother Mentor: Riku acts this way to all of the Ouroboros, dispensing wisdom and encouragement as needed, even when things are extraordinarily dire, from urging Noah to never give up the fight to getting Eunie to keep her cool against the taunting Consul X, etc.
• Big Eater: While perhaps not as obvious as Manana, Riku is quite capable of clearing multiple helpings, at least if it's Manana's cooking. Otherwise, he's really quite self-restrained, something that Lanz of all people points out to Manana during the missing rations incident.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: Riku is seen sporting a pair of prominent eyebrows which the official Twitter account describes as "dapper". He's remarkably expressive with these. He gives a rather telling eyebrow waggle when Moebius X demands who gave Noah the Sword of the End, i.e. the Origin Blade, when Noah is able to pull the sword out of himself in his Ouroboros form, leading to N's defeat at Agnus Castle.
• The Blacksmith: Riku is in charge of gem crafting, and with enough materials (or with Gold Nopon Coins), you can acquire gems that boost everyone's stats during battle. In Future Redeemed, he's responsible for upgrading the party's weapons for a money cost and appropriate materials.
• Blatant Lies:
  • At the beginning of Chapter 6, Noah questions who Riku really is, given his knowledge of Lucky Seven and that he was the one to give the sword to Noah in the first place. Riku says he is just a common variety Nopon. Noah doesn't buy it for a second.
  • He definitely wasn't worried about Manana nearly injuring herself as she tries to battle even though his cheeks are blushing.
  • In the "Unspeakable Being" sidequest, Riku is absolutely not jealous of the Pippito being seen as cute and adorable by the party.
• Brutal Honesty: Riku isn't averse to being brutally honest when the situation calls for it:
  • In Noah's first term, Riku calls out Noah for pretending that he can't call his Blade, asking if he wants his friends to kick the bucket or leave them to die and that thinking of one's self is the way of a coward, even if he knows the feeling well himself.
  • In Colony 9, he calls Kite the biggest joker of them all and that he will always be a runner-up in life because of his hopeless second-best attitude.
  • He says straight to Manana's face that she is a bottomless pit when it comes to food.
• Cassandra Truth: Nobody believes him when he says it, but he's not actually lying when he says he's a common variety Nopon. Nopon are allowed to remain exempt from the endless cycle of rebirth and keep their knowledge of the old worlds in exchange for not interfering with the Forever War, and it's heavily implied anyone who entered Aionios directly from the old world instead of through Origin gets to be The Ageless due to Aionios being frozen in time, so Riku is not unique. What does make him special is that, due to being the son of Riki or Kino, he has personal relationships with the cast of Xenoblade 1, giving him the knowledge and motivation to oppose Z more proactively than other Nopon who lack those same ties.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Riku serves to be the pivotal reason why the Flame Clocks can be destroyed. During Noah's first Term, when it seemed like he was unable to summon his Veiled Sword, Riku offered him the sword Lucky Seven, which Noah turned down because he didn't actively want to bring people to harm. After Riku called his bluff, Noah managed to summon his Veiled Sword, and nowadays he only keeps Lucky Seven as a Godzilla Threshold in case things go horribly wrong. During the fight against K, the Veiled Sword and the power of Ouroboros don't even leave a dent in Colony 4's Flame Clock, so on a whim, Noah decides to cut it with Lucky Seven, which ends up being powerful enough to rip the Flame Clock to shreds, and Noah only manages to do so because Riku offered him such a weapon in the first place.
• The Chooser of the One: Riku gives Noah Lucky Seven when the latter is in his early terms declaring as him as 'hero material' when the young Noah admits his reluctance to fight in such a brutal world. In Future Redeemed, if you backtrack to Riku's workshop after the event showing the wrapped-up Lucky Seven, Riku will reveal to Matthew that once his obligations to the City are finished, he plans to wait for as long as it takes to give the sword to someone he sees worthy of it. And considering that Riku knows who N is, having witnessed his multiple fights and seeing him maskless, it doesn't seem like mere coincidence that he happened to choose Noah to pass the sword on to.
• The Comically Serious: In contrast to previous Nopon companions, Riku is a serious, no nonsense mentor type to the Keves trio, and his lighthearted moments are usually him being too proud or serious to admit what's really on his mind.
• Composite Character: Riku's contribution to Colony 9 is a combination of Shulk and Gem Stall Man. Like Shulk, he is responsible for weapon and armor development and maintenance. Like the Gem Stall Man, he is also an expert on Gem Crafting.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Unlike previous Nopon companions, Riku is serious, professional, and acts as a Big Brother Mentor to the Kevesi trio. He has little to none of the silly antics that are common to the Nopon race save for also having a random dance animation which is just seemingly inherent to being a Nopon. Also, the previous Nopon companions' involvement in the plot was only incidental, while Riku turns out to be already involved with the conflict against Moebius before the main cast became Ouroboros.
• The Dog Was the Mastermind: Future Redeemed reveals that Riku, of all people, was the Seventh Founder of the City.
• Drives Like Crazy: Hilariously enough, in a campsite discussion, the party complains that Riku's piloting of the ship Boundary is starting to make them feel seasick, given his constant sharp turning and so on. In Riku's defence, he protests that the only reason he's piloting like this is because the group keeps changing their minds on what course to take.
• The Engineer:
  • Before leaving Colony 9 with Ouroboros, Riku was head of maintenance and crafting. As such, Riku's many jobs which he still performs for the party include Blade maintenance, Power Frame maintenance, Levnis repairs and Ferronis maintenance (and he also supplies materials too alongside this). He sees equipment maintenance in particular as a solemn responsibility that brings everyone back alive. As such, he is pretty much called upon very frequently throughout the story to fix something or another. He is that skilled at this that in Taion's sidestory, he fixes up an almost completely dead Ferronis and makes it battle-ready with his own additional tweaks in about thirty minutes by himself and a handful of additional parts. There's a reason Valdi calls him "Chief".
  • Future Redeemed takes it even further by showcasing that Riku is responsible or at the very least partially responsible for such innovations as the Ether Lifts and Slides, powerful improvements to the Ouroboros Stone, and the technological advances that the second City demonstrates which he helped found.
• Expy: Of Citan Uzuki, particularly the suspiciously knowledgeable Decomposite Character aspect of him exhibited by prior Citan Expy Dickson. He's a Big Brother Mentor to the Fei Expy protagonist and a Double Agent who is questioned for his seeming abundance of insider knowledge about the world they live in due to being a close friend of the Big Good overseeing and steering their efforts to successfully overthrow the oppressive system. Like Dickson, he is far Older Than They Look and has close connections to a secret third faction on the outskirts of the main conflict that he keeps hidden for their protection's sake.
• Funny Afro: Riku appears to have one. It's unclear if it's his hat or his hair, though when reclassed to Yumsmith, Noah and the other Keves characters get an ushanka that looks like it.^note In the oasis cutscene, Manana isn't wearing her hat while swimming and Riku still has his afro, which is also the case in the bathhouse scene, so it may well be his hair after all, unusual as it is a for a Nopon.
• Hand Behind Head: Riku has a tendency to scratch the top of his hair (or hat?) whenever flustered, thoughtful or attempting to explain something.
• Heroic Lineage: Future Redeemed reveals that Riku's Dadapon was one of Melia's traveling companions, meaning that he's either one of Riki's children or his adoptive grandson via Kino.
• Humble Hero: Riku is a curious mixture of this and Pride. On one hand, Riku will proudly declare that getting the treasure in the Urayan Tunnels was thanks to him, has fairly boastful battle lines despite his earlier reticence about fighting^note a full list of this and other lines can be found here, is quite proud of being a Nopon in general, and is usually pretty happy to talk about his engineering methods at length if given the chance, being crestfallen when denied it. On the other hand, he hates being flattered and doesn't like to talk about himself much. He also insists that he's just doing his job when it comes to keeping others safe and sound and alive, and it's clear how much he concerns himself with looking out for everyone. Also, he never reveals his status as one of the Legendary Nopon able to use the Ultimate Hammer until he has no choice in the sidequest since he otherwise saw no point in saying anything. Future Redeemed takes it further, with him explaining he does not like standing out, and this is why he asks Matthew to not reveal Melia is his Masterpon who gave him Lucky Seven that she forged to give to a worthy person, and likely also why he did not want his name or appearance recorded as the Seventh Founder of the Second City. While Noah clearly comes to realize there is a lot Riku is keeping to himself, nobody in the present day ever finds these things out.
• Insistent Terminology: In Riku and Manana's Hero Quest, Riku repeatedly states that they are looking for ore and minerals, not rocks.
• Meaningful Name: Riku's name is derived from the Japanese word for "land", which goes along with his knowledge of gemstones and ores.
• Mix-and-Match Weapon: Riku's pistol can turn into a laser sword, though this is primarily seen on others using the Yumsmith class.
• Mysterious Past: It's implied that there's much more to Riku than meets the eye. When talking about how the Lucky Seven came into Riku's possession, Noah begins to suspect that Riku isn't exactly who says he is, but Riku feigns ignorance. Later, when Melia is freed from captivity, she apparently recognizes Riku and they share a glance, but doesn't comment on it otherwise. Riku also owns a Legendary Hammer bestowed to him by his Masterpon, of which only seven exist. Future Redeemed finally reveals that he is related to Riki — specifically, either his son or the son of Kino, Riki's own adopted son. It also reveals that his Masterpon is Melia herself (or "Melly" as Riku calls her). Riku also explains the truth behind Lucky Seven's creation, namely that it's made of Origin Metal, which contains the souls or data of those dearly important (implied to be any of the previous games' main cast).
• Nerves of Steel: Hardly anything fazes Riku, as he keeps his cool in almost any situation. Not even staring down execution alongside the rest of Ouroboros gets to him.
• Not So Above It All:
  • Riku is unusually excited in the Urayan tunnels — something the party comments on with surprise — when he sees their latest expedition as an excellent chance to go gem-hunting, a personal hobby of his. Manana even says that she had taken him for "the cool and brooding type". And later on, he gets thrilled at the idea of scouring the world for Origin metal required for Mr. Samon's ship that allows the party to enter Origin, comparing it to a treasure hunt.
  • As serious and stoic as he is, Riku still adheres to his race's perception about their absolute cuteness. In the sidequest "Unspeakable Being", he and Manana all but blatantly set up the Ouroboros to make offerings to a monument that releases a Pippito so that they can then tell them off and express disappointment at the party for considering that monster to be cuter than their Nopon companions. Riku even says (in a jagged speech bubble reserved for shouting or extreme emotions) that Nopon are not to be out-cuted!
  • Even Riku finds the newborn baby that the party meet in the City hospital to be absolutely adorable.
  • He's really quite proud of the name Lucky Seven and he can't help but smile at it, describing the name as cool, terrific, magnificent even!
  • Riku gets upset when Shulk politely complains about the craftsmanship of his prosthetic arm, and also takes offense when Matthew names him last among the second City's Founders.
• Not So Stoic: Despite his usual stoicism, in the ending, when Agnus and Keves must separate into two worlds again, Riku's seen bawling his eyes out over the possibility of never seeing Manana again.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: When the party is asked by Dr. Hollis if they want to know how babies are made, Riku is raising his hand along with the rest of them. Given that he is from the Bionis and has been around for millennia, he would already know what this entails but keeps it secret.
• Pals with Jesus: Future Redeemed reveals that he was around since before Aionios, and was acquainted with both Shulk and Melia (with her even being his Masterpon). Justified, as he mentions that his Dadapon once traveled with Melia, with means he's either Riki's son or his grandson via Kino.
• Really 700 Years Old: He and Melia mutually recognize each other at the end of the game, despite Melia being at least a thousand years old. Future Redeemed reveals that Riku is one of the few to make it to Aionios with his memories of the old worlds intact, and was part of the Liberators with Shulk and Rex, all of whom operated a millennium before the events of the game. He is also revealed to be the second City's seventh Founder, and is, along with Nikol, responsible for the Ouroboros Stones that have empowered generations of Ouroboros.
• The Stoic: Riku almost always has a calm and measured disposition. Even while witnessing Mio's Homecoming and Ouroboros facing execution, Riku is mostly focused on inspiring Noah to fight back.
• Technical Pacifist: Before taking to battling alongside Manana, Riku was arguably this, believing that Nopon do not fight, despite never being seen without his weapon. Nevertheless, as a blacksmith and engineer, Riku was and continues to be responsible for repairing and maintaining Blades, Levnises and Ferronises all for the purpose of war and other battles. At the beginning of the game, he is in the absolute thickest part of the battlefield alongside the Kevesi trio which no other Nopon is seen doing, during which he remarks upon his role as their "Nopon rearguard" although it isn't specifically stated what that role consisted of.
• Through a Face Full of Fur: While not present on his model, Eunie teases Riku over how his blushy little cheeks aren't fooling anyone when he denies being worried about Manana after she randomly throws herself into battle by spinning around on her cooking pot and nearly injures herself. Although since some Nopon have permanent Blush Stickers, it might well be possible for Nopon to blush like humans.
• Ultimate Blacksmith: Riku is one of the seven Legendary Nopon who can wield Ultimate Hammers and work with Origin metal to upgrade the party's initial Blades, which also means he may have personally helped forge Lucky Seven (depending on just when it happened, since he states he was taught by a previous Legendary Nopon). The details of how this came to be are another element of the Nopon's Mysterious Past.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Lanz. The two sometimes share jabs at each other, but they're also still very close with each other like the rest of the Ouroboros crew.
• Vocal Dissonance: Riku has a very deep voice in the English dub despite being a Nopon and speaking in their normal manner.
• You Didn't Ask: Riku turns out to be one of the seven Legendary Nopon able to use the Ultimate Hammer. When Lanz asks why he didn't mention this to Mr. Samon when he was right there, Riku replies with this. And also he had left the object in question behind at Colony 9 because it wasn't needed.

Manana

Manana

Voiced by: Aya Suzaki (Japanese), Grace Saif (English)

"Manana help with fighting!"

The Agnian Nopon companion of the party, and a skilled cook.

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• Armor-Piercing Question: Manana asks if the Ouroboros crew are "supervillainpon" like Moebius because they used to also end lives. When the party say that they never had a choice in the matter unlike Moebius who play with people's lives for kicks, Manana decides that the world is the "supervillainpon" because it makes people do nasty things. It makes the group question what their purpose in life really is.
• Big Eater: She eats the same portion sizes as the human characters, and she is accused of eating their food supplies when they disappear. During an argument over said food disappearing, Riku says Manana does not know moderation. Considering how she says she can eat 1000 Tasty Sausages in one sitting, he's got a point.
• Chef of Iron: She's a Supreme Chef who fights with her cooking pot. She can keep up with the rest of the party without using a power frame or having Blade genes.
• Cute, but Cacophonic: When using the Roasty-Toasty art, she doesn't so much call its name as scream it.
• Exotic Eye Designs: Manana appears to have little stars as pupils.
• Frying Pan of Doom: Manana uses a combat rated Nopon cooking pan, which noticeably glows green like Agnian Blades. It's very much not meant to be used as a bludgeon: the pair's Ascension Quest revolves around her cooking going down in quality simply because her skillet is too damaged by all the fighting to be optimal for its main purpose.
• Genki Girl: She's usually pretty full of energy, especially if there's delicious food involved, to the point that sometimes Mio or whoever else has to tell her to wind down. This also makes her contrast against her counterpart in Riku, who is far calmer and reserved in comparison. This is even apparent in her battle stance where she sways from side to side while everybody else is relatively still.
• Happy Dance: She dances in one of her idle animations, but she also does the Nopon equivalent of the Running Man when she's happy.
• Hero-Worshipper: She looks up to Tempapa as a legendary chefpon and desires to be his apprentice in order to make even better food. Even when it turns out that Tempapa isn't really a chef but just happens to make and impart wisdom on the importance of good quality and well-kept cooking utensils, she still very much appreciates his advice, believing that she has learnt important things from it.
• I Just Want to Be Badass: She starts out as a chef, but bemoans the fact that she cannot Interlink. Her motivation for fighting in her and Riku's Hero Quest is that she doesn't want to watch from the sidelines anymore.
• It Is Beyond Saving: Interestingly, she is the first of Ouroboros to suggest that Aionios is too evil to exist. Noah acknowledges that he didn't think that way until she brought it up.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: She wields her cooking pan as a makeshift shield in combat.
• Nice Girl: She's just sweet and innocent and constantly throwing out encouragement to her friends in battle and concerns herself that everyone is well-fed and in good spirits. Even during the Trauma Conga Line that is the entire group locked up and awaiting execution and Mio her fatal Homecoming at the end of Chapter 5, she still tries to smile and encourage Noah to eat something.
• Obsessed with Food: As the chef for Ouroboros, she naturally loves food. Many of her scenes usually involve her being excited about food in some way, like when the team have to scavenge for more ingredients in Maktha Wildwood, or being relieved that everyone still gets fed even in the Li Garte Prison Camp.
• Ocular Gushers: Manana's tears run like mini waterfalls down her face on the very rare occasions she is sad or simply overwhelmed with emotion. At the end of the game, she cries knowing she will be separated from Riku once the worlds are separated again.
• Production Throwback: Manana's design strongly resembles an unused costume concept for Riki in which he is dressed in armor patterned after a chef's suit along with a blue bandana around his neck and a metal shield on his back.
• Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: She says "GASP!" when she sees there's no food left in a cooking pot. This quirk is copied by Sena when she notices their food supplies are gone.
• Shy Finger-Twiddling: Manana does this with the tips of her wings on more than one occasion, especially if being complimented or if she wants some reassurance.
• Supreme Chef: Manana is an amazing cook whose food everybody loves.
• Team Chef: She is the resident chef for the team, and she can cook meals for everyone that can boost what rewards you get after combat like getting more EXP or having higher drop rates. Prior to the story, she became a chef for the Agnian trio on account of Taion's cooking being tragic.

Kevesi Heroes

Ethel

Silvercoat Ethel

Voiced by: Atsumi Tanezaki (Japanese), Lucy Doyle (English)

Class: Flash Fencer
Blade: Dual Rapiers
Role: Attacker
Class Inheritor: Noah
Heroic Chain: Multiplies TP by 150% when first in line to attack.
Chain Order: Increases damage ratio and grants Critical Rate Up to all allies.

"The actions you believe to be correct don't always lead to good outcomes."

A military commander of Keves' Colony 4.

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• The Ace: Described as such for her combat ability, having risen both herself and Colony 4 to Silver Rank when she was only on her third Term, ie. 12 years old and is introduced in a flashback single-handedly destroying a large Levnis with one attack not long after gaining Silver Rank for her colony. In one scene she appears to cleave a whole landbridge apart with a swipe of her swords. Indeed, it's stated that she's more powerful than some of the Consuls. After she is reborn she is noted by Cammuravi to enjoy sparring with the soldiers in the City, but is stated to keep beating them all despite them being much older and more experienced and her being in the body of a ten year old.
• A Taste of Power: Ethel provides a very potent Critical Hit Class to the party with some excellent skills and Arts (the best of which are available as Master Skills/Arts), but she's only a Guest-Star Party Member and leaves the party early in Chapter 3. She can't be re-recruited and ascended until her rebirth late in the game, which also requires one of the Ouroboros to reach Level 10 in Cammuravi's Seraph class, and is mandatory to access the fully powered version of said skills and Arts.
• Badass Bookworm: If the Ouroboros party walks with Cammuravi in the City and they pass the bookstore, Cammuravi will remark how Ethel enjoys reading since her rebirth and has been making him get more books, and she's one of the most skilled warriors in Keves.
• Better to Die than Be Killed: Rather than allow O and P to completely drain away her life force, Ethel instead challenges Cammuravi to a final duel where they both kill each other.
• Big Damn Heroes: Years before the main game, Ethel single handedly saves a young Noah and his friends from an Agnus war machine.
• Blood Knight: Has a Worthy Opponent in Cammuravi, but her desire to fight him doesn't mean she wants to kill him. Her sparing him after winning a fight is the reason her Colony got demoted. When she is ordered to fight against Ouroboros, she ultimately ignores this order to fight Cammuravi for one final time.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Like everyone else in Agnes and Keves, the Consuls hack her internal Flame Clock so she can only perceive Noah and the rest of the party as horrifying Living Shadows and is possessed by a insatiable desire to destroy them — the Black Fog interferes with the Consul's control, causing her to stop fighting and experience substantial mental distress. Once the Flame Clock is broken she recalls only vaguely that she had been fighting what she thought were horrific monsters.
• Cool Big Sis: Has this dynamic with Noah, Eunie, and Lanz; she's (slightly) older than them and her experience saved their lives years before, and since then the three of them have looked up to her.
• Disc-One Nuke: As the first Hero Class you can obtain, Flash Fencer immediately outclasses Swordfighter and Ogre in terms of damage output, and offers early access to Smash, potentially one of the most powerful techniques in the game. Even when other classes begin to catch up or outright surpass it, it can still pass down a myriad of powerful Master Arts and Master Skills like Cross Impact, Hidden Thorn, and Capable Hand, making sure that everyone benefits from mastering this class.
• Dual Wielding: She fights with two swords at once, the Dual Rapiers. Unlike with Elma and Brighid, her left-hand sword is shorter, as is the case with most real-life styles.
• Dual Boss: She and Cammuravi fight the party in their Ferronises.
• Expy: To Mòrag, as a military commander with a Dual Wielding fencing style who initially opposes the party due to a misconception but joins them after the understanding is cleared up. Her English dub voice also sounds similar, only with an English accent instead of a Scottish one. Gameplaywise she is one for Fiora, being a damage-dealing Glass Cannon instead of a tank with Arts that share the names and effects of hers.
• Glass Cannon: Her Flash Fencer class has monstrously high damage output compared to everything else in the player's arsenal up to that point, but generates an equally monstrous amount of aggro and doesn't have much ability to take a hit. Her Acceleration Art pushes it even further by boosting her auto-attack and Arts speed, but also raising the damage she takes.
• Go Out with a Smile: Has a blissful smile on her face as her body dissolves into red motes of light from her life being drained, happy with having been able to finish her duel with Cammuravi to her satisfaction. The satisfaction carries over to her next life, where her focus becomes being Cammuravi's partner rather than his rival.
• Guest-Star Party Member: She temporarily joins the party in Chapter 3, but is forced to leave when N threatens to destroy Colony 4 if she doesn't comply. She does return in Chapter 4, however, only to get killed off. Later she's reborn as a child and can be permanently re-recruited after a side quest that rapidly ages her back up thanks to the machines Y created to grow soldiers to their final Term.
• Hero Antagonist: She's only attacking the party because she thinks they're Humanoid Abominations due to being Brainwashed and Crazy. She's a perfectly nice person otherwise. Though she's forced back into this when N blackmails her with Colony 4's safety.
• Honor Before Reason: She defeated Cammuravi in battle when his Ferronis suffered a technical malfunction, but refused to kill him as she respected him too much to see him die in such a way. Keves Castle demoted her colony all the way down to Dirt rank, the lowest possible ranking in the country, as punishment.
• Hostage Situation: During Chapter 4, she is coerced into fighting Ouroboros by virtue of Keves holding Colony 4 hostage, threatening to destroy them with the Annihilator if she does not obey.
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: Played with. Her skills have not dulled at all, still holding the title of Silver Rank and remaining a fearsome foe on the battlefield. Her Colony, however, has long since been dropped down to Dirt Rank, i.e. the bottom of the barrel.
• Infinity -1 Sword: Ethel is an extremely powerful character for her Guest-Star Party Member stint in the early game, but after leaving the party, she can't be re-recruited and ascended until Cammuravi's Hero Quest in Chapter 6. Like Cammuravi, her skills and Arts are some of the best of the game (especially when given to other classes), but can't be used to their full potential until this event.
• Irony: Her sparing Cammuravi in battle resulted in her Colony's dropping to Dirt rank. Given the mid-game reveal that the whole rank system is made to single-out the best Colonies for Moebius to harvest life force from, this act likely saved Colony 4 from destruction.
• Mutual Kill: She and Cammuravi manage to kill each other with stabs to their respective Ferronis' chest compartments.
• My Country, Right or Wrong: Despite the corruption of the Consuls being exposed, Colony 4's Flame Clock being destroyed, and her allying with Noah and his party, Ethel remains loyal to Keves. It's not until she sees the Queen actively complicit with the Consuls' corruption that she decides to rebel.
• Mythology Gag: Two of the art names for her class Flash Fencer are the same as Fiora's in Xenoblade Chronicles 1 in "Cross Impact" and "Hidden Thorn".
• Nice Girl: Very kind and understanding to her soldier's current plight and gives the party shelter after they save Colony 4. She also hunts for supplies solo to reduce casualties amongst her men.
• Oh, Crap!: Despite being otherwise stoic and collected, her jaw drops along with Bolearis when N and the Keves queen reveal they intend to fire the Annihilator on Colony 4.
• Red Baron: She's nicknamed "Silvercoat Ethel" due to her getting her Colony to that rank, and literally wearing a silver-colored coat. Doubles as an Ironic Nickname due to currently being Dirt ranked.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Same with other brainwashed Kevesi soldiers, the Flame Counter in her right eye glows red when hijacked by Counsuls.
• Ship Tease: Pretty blatantly with Cammuravi. They want nothing more than to enjoy fair fights with one another, and even as they are condemned and dying both wish for nothing with their freedom than to cross blades with each other in earnest, and the sheer joy she displays as she fights him here is in stark contrast to her generally stoic demeanor. When Noah tells her about how he and the others became Ouroboros, she even laments the fact that she and (who is implied to be) Cammuravi weren't there as well (implying she wished for a relationship that went beyond fighting him as a enemy). Course during this particular life neither had any concept of romance, but the implications remain. The two are strongly drawn to each other after their revival, and upon regaining her adult body Ethel pledges to walk "hand in hand" with him from then on as they stand together in front of the rising sun. She also declares together she feels like they can do anything. Their mutual declarations of companionship with each other also seems to be what causes their Class Ranks to ascend.
• Worthy Opponent: To Cammuravi; the reason she's currently Dirt ranked is refusing to kill him when his Ferronis broke through no fault of his own.
• Younger Than They Look: She could pass for being in her late twenties at the youngest, but she's listed as a 10th termer, meaning she's physically 19 and only around a year older than the Ouroboros sans Mio.

Valdi (Rudy)

Artificer Valdi

Voiced by: Yuu Kobayashi (Japanese), Mack Keith-Roach (English)

Class: War Medic
Blade: Relief Rifle
Role: Healer
Class Inheritor: Lanz
Heroic Chain: When chosen, increases TP by 50 if the enemy is a machine-type.
Chain Order: Heals all allies and grants them Regenerate.

"It's just that, as a Mechanic, you can't start getting moody just because something's broken."

A mechanic from Keves, who attacks the party to test his mechs against them.

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• Accidental Hero: During Alexandria's Ascension Quest, it is revealed that he defeated Colony Iota entirely by accident due to his Levnises running out of control and wreaking havoc on the Agnians, an action Alexandria is still peeved about. Ironically, this may have also saved Iota too, since it brought them further from reaching Gold Rank and becoming harvested.
• Achievement In Ignorance: During his own Ascension Quest, Valdi manages to establish lasting diplomatic relations with not only Colony 4, but Colony Lambda, one of his former enemies. He does this entirely through Chronic Hero Syndrome and being his usual Cheerful Child self, and views the situations as simply making new friends.
• Actual Pacifist: After the party inspires him to build a helpful non-combat Levnis, but it's wrecked by Consul Q, he resolves to keep Colony 30's hands clean from combat.
• Admiring the Abomination: If any member of the party transforms into their Ouroboros form when fighting him, Valdi marvels at them instead of being terrified.
• Aloof Leader, Affable Subordinate: Inverted. Valdi's a lot nicer than his Lieutenant Yuzet, but only because Valdi isn't very good at his job and Yuzet ends up saddled with all of his work.
• Authority in Name Only: Officially, he's the commander of Colony 30, and was promoted there on the basis of his raw engineering skills. The thing is, he either doesn't know or doesn't care about anything that doesn't involve robots, so his second-in-command is for all intents and purposes the real administrator of the Colony.
• Badass Pacifist: He goes about his attempts to keep Colony 30's hands clean from combat when facing off against Consul Q the only way a genius Robot Master knows how. By researching Agnian Auto-Levs (and restoring friendly relations with Colony Iota in the process), he builds Dorrick, a huge Gastrates that can defend Colony 30 from Levnis attacks by redirecting their targeting systems to not recognize anyone as a combatant.
• Combat Medic: One of the purest Healers in the game, there are no classes that can beat War Medic in terms of flat-out restoring health. It has solid support capabilities too.
• Crutch Character: Valdi is the first guaranteed permanent Hero the player gets, since Ethel leaves very shortly after you get her, and Zeon and Teach are optional. If the player doesn't do a ton of sidequests early on, the player will go a good while without another Healer class, making Valdi a good character to bring around. Once the player does start getting more Heroes, and other Healers, Valdi's strengths gradually go down as while his class is good, he himself is generally outperformed by other characters.
• The Dreaded: Downplayed. In Valdi's Ascension Quest, Isurd calls him the most feared mechanic in Keves because of his technological genius, even admitting he pictured Valdi as a ruthless, pragmatic commander who would do anything to achieve victory and is pleasantly surprised to see Valdi is anything but. Part of the reason Valdi earned this reputation has to do with his former Consul, though Valdi also realizes his previous uncaring attitude of sending out Levnises to get scrapped also played into his reputation in Agnus.
• Dub Name Change: His name is changed from the rather mundane "Rudy" to the more fantastic "Valdi" in the English version.
• Establishing Character Moment: Valdi introduces himself by threateningly surrounding Ouroboros with Levnises, demanding them to fight him... then he politely apologizes when Manana points out that they could have been crushed and states that he didn't want to hurt a Nopon.
• Expy: Essentially a Flanderized version of Shulk at the start of 1, since he's an absolutely brilliant Gadgeteer Genius, but is so preoccupied with his passion for machines that he lacks a lot of basic social awareness. Likewise, he has a metal gauntlet/prosthesis of Nopon make given to him after a past injury, and Shulk's Aionios incarnation lost an arm, which Riku built a mechanical replacement for.
• Friendly Sniper: The gun Valdi (and anyone else who's using War Medic) uses for his class is extremely similar, if not identical, to Mwamba's in terms of model and attack animations, and it's pretty clear Valdi's... a tad too nice to be a soldier. Immediately after jumping the party with a pair of Levnis, he starts having small talk with them about his mechs and their technical details. Heck, the kid has to be reminded that he's trying to fight Ouroboros and that they're supposed to be evil with the party themselves being the one to tell him this before he actually does it.
• Easily Forgiven: He's on the giving end of this. No matter how many times someone tries to sabotage his work, he'll immediately forgive them as a token of friendship.
• The Engineer: He focuses more on working on the mechs of Colony 30, despite being the Colony's commander. He is said to be the best mechanic in Keves.
• Genius Ditz: He's Keves' most feared Levnis technician, but his people skills are a little south of sufficient. This is reflected in his base TP value of 20, which is the third-lowest of all base TP values in the game (a value he shares with Segiri, who similarly has social skill problems), but his Heroic Chain causes it to increase by 50 points if fighting a machine-type enemy.
• Healing Shiv: As is Xenoblade tradition, Valdi's Relief Rifle Blade fires bullets that spread ether into the air and have a restorative effect on tissue... or something.
• I Call It "Vera": His description on the Japanese Twitter mentions that he names each weapon he works with.
• Interspecies Friendship: Out of all the Commanders, he's the only one who has meaningful friendships with the Nopon and it's likely due to this that Colony 30 has such an unusual number of Nopon in comparison to every other Colony. He also apprenticed under the Nopon Fixifixi, whom he always speaks highly of, and was given his arm-length gauntlet by him as a gift in celebration of recovering from an injury implied to have been pretty serious. He bonds very quickly with Riku and Manana as a result, admiring the former in particular for his mechanic skills.
• Modern Major General: He is incredibly talented, but he is too focused on his Levnises to be a competent commander. He starts being more involved after seeing the toll it takes on his Lieutenant, but he still delegates to him a little.
• The Peter Principle: He was promoted due to his skills when it comes to machines, but he is a relatively incompetent commander. Ironically, this lack of skill helped him defeat Iota and Lambda as he was too difficult to predict.
• Robot Buddy: Built one named Mechafriend after the party convinces him to build something he wants to build himself. It ends up saving his life after Consul Q seizes control of his incomplete siege Levnis in an attempt to kill him.
• Robot Master: He commands Levnises, the Mechon-like battle machines employed by both Keves and Agnus. Rather than seeing them as mere weapons, he considers them his friends and hates how they're incessantly forced to kill and destroy because of the war.
• Theme Naming: He tends to name each Robot Buddy of his with the pattern of using a word for robot combined with a word for friend: Mechafriend, Robobuddy, Cyberchum, etc.

Zeon

Dutiful Zeon

Voiced by: Ryōta Ōsaka (Japanese), Neil Newbon (English)

Class: Guardian Commander
Blade: Gutsy Gladius
Role: Defender
Class Inheritor: Noah
Heroic Chain: Adds 15 TP upon own reactivation.
Chain Order: Increases Defender aggro and grants Armor Veil to all allies.

"Whatever the outcome may be, only we can change it."

A Keves soldier from Colony 9 who was friends with Noah and his group. After the latter are branded as traitors, Zeon is named the new Commander of Colony 9.

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• Call to Agriculture: Zeon quickly takes to the idea of becoming a farmer to solve Colony 9's food shortage. If brought to the desert, he'll comment on the sadness of a place with so little arable land.
• The Comically Serious: Zeon rarely wavers from his knightly demeanor, which makes for humorous scenes like Mio mistaking Zeon's intense interest in her Gormotti ears for being wary of her as an Agnian, or Zeon eating a Spongy Spud right out of Juniper's hand while they're explaining how their Colony grow their crops.
• Crutch Character: He's the first available Defender Hero, and while his Chain Attack abilities and Aggro management leave a lot to be desired, he does serve as a decent damage sponge and source of Topple until you acquire his Master Art and better tanking abilities.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Zeon can be briefly seen in the intro cutscene featuring Colony 9's battle with Colony Sigma, riding atop a Levnis. He's also an NPC in Colony 9 during your first trip with no readily apparent indication that he's important.
• Inadequate Inheritor: Played with. Kite and some of the soldiers in Colony 9 regard him as this, feeling he's been failing in protecting and providing for the Colony ever since he was named Commander. That said, Zeon has also been working his ass off and only really started to prove himself as the new Commander after Noah and the others killed the Consul and destroyed their Flame Clock.
• Knight Templar: Subverted. At first it seems like he's fully bought into the spiel that Noah, Eunie, and Lanz have gone rogue. He keeps conversations to the minimum and bluntly says he expects them to betray him, even pondering in front of them if the Agnus assault in his Hero Quest is their doing. In truth, Zeon does still think of them as friends, but he feels as though their relationship has changed and their positions are far too different now. When Consul B reveals that he had been watching their entire battle with Agnus but did nothing to support Colony 9 and then insults the soldiers who died, Zeon declares that he would rather trust the "traitors" who risked their lives to protect the Colony than a so-called leader who couldn't care less about its survival.
• Knightly Sword and Shield: He uses a sword-and-shield combo, the Gutsy Gladius Blade, and belongs to the Defender role.
• Mercury's Wings: He seems to be a High Entia hybrid, but his head wings are even smaller than Eunie's, suggesting that he has less High Entia blood than her.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: To prove that the Spongy Spuds are safe to eat, he eats one raw. The members of Ouroboros and Colony 9 do not live this down.
• Production Throwback: Zeon is very similar to "PC2", a scrapped party member found in the files of Xenoblade Chronicles 1 who was likely intended for testing purposes. Like Zeon, PC2 had blond hair, fought with a sword and shield, and wore knightly armor with large pauldrons and leggings with chevrons on the sides.
• Robbing the Dead: Due to the dire straits of Colony 9, Zeon is forced to scavenge supplies from the Everblight Fields, where the battle from the opening of the game took place, essentially looting Agnus and Keves dead troops alike. Kite's group is abhorred by this whereas Zeon felt it was the better alternative compared to raiding other Colonies.
• Sword Beam: His Art Celestial Blade attacks with a wave of energy from his sword.
• Trademark Favorite Food: After his Ascension Quest, Spongy Spuds quickly become his favorite due to a combination of good taste and bringing his Colony out of a food shortage.
• We ARE Struggling Together: The Colony 9 arc revolves around the conflict between him and Kite. The latter and some of the soldiers are convinced he's not fit to be Commander and work to help the Colony amid the supply shortages. On the other hand, Zeon has been seen as being more effective since Noah and company freed the Colony and has since been trying to implement farming methods (albeit with mixed success prior to his Ascension Quest). For Zeon's part, he doesn't seem to mind that Kite is trying to undermine his authority and understands that he's simply concerned about the Colony's future.
• We Used to Be Friends: A more positive example than most. When the Ouroboros Keves group are named traitors and Zeon encounters them again, their different positions and loyalties makes him think their relationship isn't the same anymore and is unsure how to interact with them. It takes until the end of his Hero Quest and Noah's words for him to realize that they are still friends even if things might be different.
• You Are in Command Now: After the events of Chapter 1, the previous Commander of Colony 9 was forced to step down. Zeon was named as his replacement, though many including Kite believe he's not doing enough for the Colony. He himself contemplates yielding his position in favor of allowing the Colony to vote for whoever they thinks is best suited to lead them.

Ashera

Undying Blade Ashera

Voiced by: MAO (Japanese), Cassie Layton (English)

Class: Lone Exile
Blade: Twinsaber
Role: Defender
Class Inheritor: Eunie
Heroic Chain: Guarantees an "Amazing" rating when Ashera completes an order, but she won't reactivate.
Chain Order: Increases damage ratio and grants Power Charge to all allies.

"Live fiercely, die spectacularly! That's what I want the battlefield of my life to be."

A hero from Keves and the commander of Colony 11 renowned for her skill in battle. She helps the party liberate her own Colony seemingly just for the fun of it.

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• The Ace: Like Ethel, she's one of the few named Silver-ranked Keves Commanders and an absolute beast on the battlefield.
• Achey Scars: Her neck scar appears and aches as her incarnations get older and she starts remembering how prior to the system of the Queens, Homecoming was just the Consuls personally executing soldiers that had reached the end of their lifespan in a ritual that supposedly celebrated and offered up "the light of their life". She states the pain will get worse and worse over time until she is driven insane by it and gets herself killed one way or another, and asks that Eunie end her life should it come to that. It's not made clear if there is any way to avoid this fate, though Eunie's words that her life is not just her own anymore seems to motivate her to try.
• Ambiguously Brown: She has a darker complexion, albeit lighter than Taion, and has ethnically ambiguous features.
• Ambiguously Gay: Ashera is a Combat Sadomasochist who enjoys fighting a bit too much, which she often directs towards Eunie's direction, and it's obvious enough that Sena sort of calls them out on their Foe Romance Subtext together (noting she can't tell if they're going to hug or throttle each other). Likewise, when Eunie threatens to give her a thrashing, she responds that she might actually enjoy dying that way before catching herself.
• Ambiguously Related: She bares a lot of similarities to Dunban in terms of apperance, personality, and gameplay. Appearance wise she has his dark skin tone and black hair, she takes up the same role as as a dodge tank, even sharing his talent art Blossom Dance, and while she's not as level headed as Dunban she has his the same thirst for battle that earned him the nickname of "Beast" and occassionally expresses the same melancholy. It's left unclear whether she's Dunban's daughter (by proxy making her cousins with Nikol) or just someone who deliberately patterned herself after him due to admiration.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: She keeps authority over her pack of Blood Knights by being much stronger than they are.
• Atop a Mountain of Corpses: When the Ouroboros first meet Ashera, she's found lounging atop a pile of wrecked Keves mechs.
• Blood Knight: Her Establishing Character Moment has her acting rather gleeful fighting her own countrymen, and is quick to rope the Ouroboros into helping her fight her own Colony and its Consul for no other reason other than it would be fun, which unsurprisingly makes said Consul call her a "beast". Even her own men share this attitude. Unlike the other Heroes, Ashera doesn't mind fighting until her final day or even if she drops dead in combat, so long as her death has meaning. It's revealed that this is because of the torment borne of her regaining her memory of being executed by a Consul for Homecoming via beheading in the time before the current Homecoming ceremony began. In her mind, a glorious death is preferable to a undignified, humiliating execution or having to kill herself to escape the pain that awakens in her each life after along with the neck scar.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: During Ashera's Ascension quest, she gets brainwashed by Consul W and the party is forced to fight her.
• Broken Pedestal: Lanz knows about her and idolizes her as a legendary soldier, but after seeing just how much of a Blood Knight she is, he starts to think less of Ashera and views her as crazy. Downplayed in that he still admires her, as shown in battle dialog.
• Creepy Monotone: When she is possessed by W, her voice lines lose their inflection.
• Double Weapon: Her Blade, the Twinsaber, is a two-sided sword.
• Expy: Pretty overtly to Dunban from the first Xenoblade Chronicles. She has a similar black hair color and tanned skin to him, a similar Received Pronunciation accent, is similarly Famed In-Story among Kevesi Defenders as one of the strongest fighters in all of Keves, is similarly introduced fighting Kevesi automata that resemble the first game's Mechon, is a high-damage dodge tank Glass Cannon just as he is, has five of his Arts^note Demon Slayer, Gale Slash, Soaring Tempest, Jaws of Death, and even his signature Blossom Dance as a Talent Art., is referred to as a "beast" by Consul R just as Dickson refers to Dunban in the prologue of the first game, has a similar reckless and Hot-Blooded personality to him as he was in that prologue, and even a line where she refers to the Crapsack World of Aionios as "a world of strife".
• Famed In-Story: According to Lanz, there's not a single Keves Defender who hasn't heard of her.
• Foil: To Teach. Ashera's Colony is full of battle-hardened soldiers renowned for their craziness (not helped by the fact that anyone who was sent there was deemed insubordinate or "crazy" by their former colonies). Colony Gamma, under Teach, is staffed with reserve soldiers or inexperienced greenhorns due to their more experienced soldiers mysteriously vanishing or dead after the events of Chapter 1. While strict in his methods, Teach is nonetheless a respected and father-figure to his Colony. Ashera, while respected among her men, has to fend off their attempts to kill her for one reason or another.
• Hidden Depths: Ashera's Ascension Quest reveals that underneath her badass exterior and devil-may-care attitude to conflict is a deeply traumatized woman tormented by her past, or in particular her past lives ending in her dying an ignoble death at the hands of the Consuls, or to suicide when the memory and pain from those executions returns in other lives, which is the source of her desire to die gloriously, even if it's a friend who kills her.
• I Am Very British: She has a Received Pronunciation accent that, along with her sassy and snarky attitude, makes her sound a lot like a Gender Flip version of Dunban, whom she is an Expy of.
• Irony: Despite Ashera being an absolute Blood Knight, and being delighted at the prospect of fighting Ouroboros, she is one of the few Heroes you do not recruit via Defeat Means Friendship. You do fight her during two other quests though.
• Lightning Bruiser: Ashera doesn't have the highest HP, but her Lone Exile class is a dodge-tank that attacks fast. Properly specced, a Lone Exile is capable of never getting hit while dishing surprisingly high damage. In addition, due to her skills she's amazing at Chain Attacks despite her low TP.
• Made of Iron: After Eunie shoots her dead center to snap her out of W's mind control, Ashera remarks a normal person would have been killed by that. Instead she feels invigorated.
• Meaningful Name: Ashera sounds very close to "Ashura", also known as 'Shura' in Hindu mythology. While "Ashura" are classified as guardian deities or rebelling against the gods, not unlike the Ouroboros who challenge Moebius, the "gods" of Aionios, "Shura" in Japanese Mythlogy is the name of a Buddhist God of War, referring to someone who fights without end with vicious, almost inhuman ferocity. Fittingly, Ashera is the biggest Blood Knight associated with the heroes.
• Mirror Character: To Alexandria. Both are highly accomplished Action Girls whose colonies have reached Silver rank, but Ashera is a boisterous Blood Knight who proudly calls the battlefield her home, whereas Alexandria is more of a Lady of War anwith an elegant appearance compared to Ashera's more wild looks.
• The Paragon Always Rebels: Not to the same extent as Ethel, but she's a famed soldier among Keves' Defenders and her Colony is currently ranked Silver, the second-highest position in the proverbial totem pole. However, she's also fighting against not just the Consuls, but also her own Colony; it's played with in that she's rebelling not because she learned the Consul's plans, but because she thinks fighting the Consul and her own soldiers would be fun (and she dislikes how the Consul only gives them fights they know they will win). To the bewilderment of the Ouroboros, even her men are happy to fight their Commander because she and the party will give them a good fight.
• Past-Life Memories: In every life Ashera over time regains memories from past incarnations that appear to go back to around the very beginnings of the Forever War, as she recounts the fact that at the time the Consuls would just brutally execute soldiers that made it to ten instead of having the Queen and off-seers send them off peacefully. Unfortunately, these restored memories come with other issues.
• Red Baron: Due to her prowess and enthusiasm on the battlefield, Ashera has earned herself the reputation of "Undying Ashera", but her more common title is "That Suicidal Maniac". She laments how dull the latter sounds, and nothing else.
• Scars Are Forever: Her neck scar always appears once she gets older, as a constant reminder of her deaths at the hands of the Consuls.
• Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: In the quest "Festival of War", she has her subordinates fight Ouroboros and Teach in a game whose rules and name she keeps changing. Notably, she says she doesn't take part as she's already the strongest, but changes her mind when she sees Teach fight.
• Spin to Deflect Stuff: She spins her weapon as a way to block attacks. Anyone who uses her class does the same thing.
• Suicidal Overconfidence: She's so reckless when it comes to fighting against overwhelming odds that she's renowned throughout Keves as "That Suicidal Maniac". In gameplay, this translates to her having a base TP value of 15, which is the same value as characters like Lanz and Sena, and she even gets a Skill called Maniac which increases damage dealt against higher leveled enemies.
• Throwing Your Sword Always Works: In her very first scene, she throws her weapon at a Keves mech about to assault the heroes and hits it square in the face. It's a more practical move than in some other settings, as she can dematerialize the blade at will to call it back to her hand.
• Too Kinky to Torture: An exchange has Eunie threatening to throttle Ashera if she annoys them by running off again, only for Ashera to respond that now that she thinks about it it wouldn't be a bad way to die.
• Western Samurai: Fittingly enough for a Dunban Expy. Her Twinsaber weapon is a pair of katanas bolted together and she is one of the only Kevesi characters to have kanji-based Art names in Japanese.
• Younger Than They Look: She could pass for being in her late twenties at the youngest, but she's listed as a 9th termer, meaning she's physically 18 like the rest of Ouroboros sans Mio.
• You're Insane!: Repeatedly has her sanity called into question during her Hero Quest.

Triton (Triden)

Defiant Triton

Voiced by: Takaya Hashi (Japanese), Stanley Townsend (English)

Class: Soulhacker
Blade: Mimic Knuckles
Role: Attacker
Class Inheritor: Lanz
Heroic Chain: Either adds 50 TP or removes 50 TP upon reactivation.
Chain Order: Randomly increases all characters' TP.

"I may like an odd scrap with some tough 'uns, but goin' on some idiot adventure with 'em sounds fun, too!"

The Consul and Commander of Colony 15. An oddball who seems to live for adventure more than anything, and refuses to be called T.

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• Batman Gambit: He wants to gain Ouroboros's trust and liberate his Colony at the same time, so he comes up with a contest that is obviously skewed in favour of Ouroboros. Lanz and Taion have reservations, so Triton goads them into taking part by saying they're too "lily-livered" to go up against him. After he loses the contest, Triton challenges Ouroboros in combat and loses, ultimately earning their trust and freeing Colony 15.
• Benevolent Boss: In contrast to pretty much every other Consul, Triton treats the people of Colony 15 as friends to him, and even asks the party to destroy their Flame Clock, only because he's unable to destroy it himself.
• Big Fun: He's the physically largest recruitable hero (not counting Segiri's mech) and joins the party only out of a lust for adventure, enjoying himself the entire time.
• Calling Your Attacks: When he sneak attacks Lanz, he does so while shouting "Man of the Sea Sucker Punch!" Somehow this still manages to work.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Triton is a Moebius who doesn't try to kill Ouroboros on sight, instead inviting them on a jaunt across Erythia Sea before encouraging them to smash Colony 15's Flame Clock. When the party presents his Lieutenant with valuable booty for his contest, he claims he beat them because he found a coconut that's larger than their fossil, and greater size means greater value. Even his own Colony's personnel admit that while they're grateful he treats them well, unlike most Consuls, they have no idea what's going on inside his head.
• Combat Pragmatist: He's got no problem going for cheap shots in a fight, sucker punching Lanz while his guard's down.
• Cool Old Guy: He's one of the oldest Heroes to join your roster, albeit a bit senile, but he's also a fun loving, adventurous old man who'd rather sail the high seas than have anything to do with Moebius.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Implied by his Heroic Chain ability. He starts with 10 TP, which is the lowest value of any character in the game (which aligns with his senility). However, upon reactivation, his Heroic Chain will either decrease it by 50 points (which drops it to 0 if the decrease happens on the first reactivation) or increase it by the same amount.
• Denied Food as Punishment: Fiona threatens him with this when he goes a little too far in playfully scaring her subordinates while visiting Colony Mu.
• De-power: Soul Hacker has the ability to copy the arts of unique monsters and use them for themselves, on top of being able to change what role it functions as (Attacker, Healer or Defender). However, Triton forgot how to use his powers so he only has access to his basic set of arts and functions as a standard Attacker Hero. He also forgot how to use his Moebius form. Having him in your party also does not count towards the requirements of Soul hacking new skills off monsters.
• Dressed to Plunder: His Moebius armor resembles a typical 1700s pirate get-up if you examine it closely. His helmet even has a ring around it that looks like a corsair.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Despite being both the Consul and Commander of Colony 15, its residents have no problem arguing with him or even calling him an "ugly lump". However, this shows that they actually like him rather than fear him as he never retaliates outside out a bit of complaining.
• Establishing Character Moment: He catches the party off guard while they are out exploring. After they draw their weapons in self-defense, Triton raises his fist...only to instead put his hand to his chin and remark at their impulsiveness before inviting them to come eat some food with him, carrying a dead shark-like Gyaark monster over his shoulder. The party is understandably bewildered by this but follows him anyway.
• Evil Is Petty: Subverted. While he doesn't like losing and starts a fight by sucker punching Lanz, he's far from being evil.
• Expy: Of the Captain of the Thames from Xenogears, to the point where he even calls himself a "man of the sea".
• Father Neptune: One of the older looking Moebius members who lives by the sea and loves making sea-based metaphors.
• The Fog of Ages: He's been alive long enough to start to forget things. And it's implied he became Moebius while he was already getting up in age.
• Forgetful Jones: As a result of having lived for so long, he admits that his memory isn't the best. His Ascension Quest revolves around him trying to remember the location of an object that someone entrusted to him long ago, and he's even long forgotten how to activate his Moebius form since he hasn't used it in so long.
• Friendly Pirate: He's friendly with the Ouroboros right off the bat and saves his violence for the monsters he encounters, which is especially notable in that he comes from a faction of jerkass villains who partake in regular dog-kicking.
• The Friend No One Likes:
  • It's implied that none of the other Moebius think highly of Triton since he doesn't bother to follow or partake in the typical Moebius practices. I in particular refers to him as "Stupidhead" in her notes.
  • Among the Ouroboros group, about half of them (Eunie, Taion, Lanz) find him and his antics very annoying while the other half (Noah, Mio, Sena) simply tolerate him.
• Heel–Face Turn: Completing his quest and liberating Colony 15 will result in him joining Ouroboros as an ally. Downplayed in that he was never evil and in fact deliberately sought to have his Flame Clock destroyed, something only Noah could do.
• Immortality Immorality: Inverted. If anything, him living for so long is why he's got the perspective to realize that what the rest of Moebius does isn't for him, and that it's not the length of life that matters, but what one does with it.
• Intergenerational Friendship: He and Fiona become fast friends when he stumbles into Colony Mu during a late-game sidequest.
• Jack of All Stats: The Soulhacker can not only use the various Arts of Unique Monsters, but change its active role via its Role Skill, meaning that the class can fit nearly any role or situation in the game.
• Magikarp Power: His Soulhacker class starts out with very limited options, with only three Arts and no Skills or Talent Art to speak of, in addition to not being able to use any other class's Master Arts or Master Skills. However, whenever a new Unique Monster is defeated while someone is deployed with it, the class gains a new skill, Art, or Master Art that all characters can use from then on. Each of the skills and Arts also has its own upgrade condition, most of which can be completed simply by using it. With all of its abilities unlocked and upgraded, the class becomes extremely customizable and powerful, and its Talent Art increases in strength with each new ability.
• Manly Facial Hair: Sports an impressive beard, and is also pretty manly, with a big, imposing figure, fitting his boisterous nature and his love of fighting monsters.
• Manly Man: Big, brawny, boisterous, and loves to fight monsters to the point that his Establishing Character Moment shows him with a freshly punched Gyaark casually slung over his shoulder. He also has Super-Strength and creates holes in the landscape just by punching.
• Mechanically Unusual Class: Soulhacker can't equip the Master Skills or Master Arts of other classes, leaving it purely limited to its own skillset. It also passes no Master Arts or Skills to any other class aside from the Soul Hack skill itself, which simply allows unlocking new Soul Hacks without needing a Soulhacker in the party. Triton himself uses a completely different set of fixed skills and Arts, none of which are the same ones the Ouroboros get.
• Mundane Utility: In one of his tall tales during his ascension quest, he points out that he used to use his Super-Strength to punch holes in a cliff at the Great Cotte Falls just for fun.
• Mythology Gag: Triton calls himself and his crew "Men of the Sea" similar to the Captain of the Thames.
• Nice Guy: Despite his senility and being a member of Moebius, Triton is a generally friendly and affable old guy.
• Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Fits two and a half parts of the trope name literally, as he's a futuristic undead pirate who pilots a Humongous Mecha.
• No Sense of Personal Space: He greets the party by getting so close into Lanz's face that they're almost touching.
• No-Sell: He shrugs off a couple of cannon blasts when visiting Colony Mu and they mistake him for an enemy before the party clears up the misunderstanding.
• Noble Demon: Downplayed in that he's not afraid to resort to cowardly tactics in his attempts to best the party, but it's tame compared to his fellow Moebius. Aside from that, he treats the soldiers in his Colony like his own crew and doesn't transform into his true form when he fights the party, saying that using anything other than his fists in a brawl would taint things... well that, and he forgot how to transform.
• Oireland: His English voice actor is from Ireland, and he speaks with a West Country accent with a few Irish influences (two accents that are often used for pirate characters).
• One-Letter Name: Defied, despite the insistence of his fellow Moebius members he refuses to go by "T".
• Pirate: His main motif. He talks with a heavy sailor's accent, complete with plenty of nautical terms peppering his dialogue, and he asks the party to call him "Cap'n Triton". His Moebius helmet is even styled to look like a captain's hat, and he lets out a couple of "yarrrrr"s for good measure.
• Power Copying: The main perk of his unique Hero class, Soulhacker. As a trade-off for not having any set Master Arts and Skills of his own, character using this class can acquire the unique arts and skills of Unique Monsters when they defeat them. Triton however, is stuck with the arts he comes with and can't be used to learn new skills.
• Punny Name: Fitting his Pirate motif, his Japanese name is one letter off from the word "trident", whereas his English name is a Barely-Changed Dub Name that's also named after a Greek god.
• Rambling Old Man Monologue: Since Triton is a Scatterbrained Senior, he is quite prone to these, and because of his poor memory, it's quite likely that he'll forget what he's even talking about. This is especially apparent in Triton's ascension quest, where his ramblings send the gang on a wild good chase.
• Sailor's Ponytail: Visible alongside his beard once he removes his helmet.
• Scatterbrained Senior: Hoo boy. Triton fits into this trope like a glove! He’s always forgetting things and will sometimes ramble on about nothing. Although he has a good heart, nobody can ever tell what’s going on inside his head.
• Sea Dog Beard: An epic, unkempt one, grayed by age, and crusted with salt.
• Sliding Scale of Gameplay and Story Integration: Due to his old age and degrading memory, Triton forgot how to use his Moebius powers. As a result, as a Hero, Triton can't copy and use monster arts like the rest of the party using his class, nor can he transform into his Moebius form. Owing to his senile nature, he also has the lowest base TP value in the game at 10 points. His Heroic Chain effect also either gives more TP or makes him lose TP, which suggests that while he might have a plan of attack like anyone else during a Chain Attack, he'd have a habit of forgetting it, explaining why he'd lose TP.
• Sole Survivor: As a result of his defection to the heroes' side, he is the only known Moebius to come out of the game in one piece. Assuming he didn't disappear after Z's death, that is.
• Sore Loser: While he subjects the party to a series of challenges and handicaps himself for the sake of fairness, it becomes clear that he never intended to actually lose by the time he adds a fourth part to his triple challenge. After he loses that, however, he admits defeat with no complaints.
• Super-Strength: He's strong enough that a friendly pat on the back sends Lanz, the biggest member of the party, stumbling, and he can casually defeat giant monsters.
• Token Heroic Orc: He becomes a recruitable Hero after completing his quest, making him the sole Moebius to side with Ouroboros. He even requests that the party destroys his Colony's Flame Clock.
• Uncertain Doom: He's the only Hero who doesn't appear in the ending cutscene, suggesting he may have died after Z's defeat due to being Moebius. However, Joran was revived as his original self in the ending despite also being Moebius and having died, so it's possible Triton might have been reborn too, but ultimately, his fate is still left unknown by the end of the game.
• Vague Age: In the Affinity Chart, he is ??? years old. Unlike previous Xenoblade games, this isn't because his real age is a spoiler, it's just because he doesn't know how old he is.
• Victory Is Boring: He's simultaneously both the Consul and Commander of Colony 15, and he's known for not losing any battles he fights. However, constantly being on top of everything has left him unsatisfied, as it denies him the chance for proper exploration, hence why he joins forces with Ouroboros, as it grants him a new experience.
• White Sheep: Disregarding C, I, S, and J's complicated cases and M being an outright hero, he's the only Moebius to not be a complete sociopath. Since his version of their trademark hedonism boils down to adventure and fighting stuff as much as he wants, he doesn't have the same total lack of care for humanity his peers show. In fact, he seems to really appreciate the people he hangs out with, and openly asks the Ouroboros to bust his Flame Clock just to see what they'll be able to do without being shackled to it.
• Willfully Weak: Subverted. When asked by Taion why he didn't transform against them during their battle, Triton says initially that he would rather not use anything other than his body and fists, only to admit immediately after that it's been so long since the last time he transformed, he straight up forgot how to.

Segiri (Nagiri)

No. 7 Segiri

Voiced by: Ai Kayano (Japanese), Brigid Leahy (English)

Class: Machine Assassin
Blade: Doom Axes
Role: Attacker
Class Inheritor: Sena
Heroic Chain: Multiplies TP by 150% when Segiri completes an order.
Chain Order: Reduces enemy physical and ether defense.

"Ouroboros command structure accepted."

A young soldier from Colony 0, a secret Colony directly under Moebius' command tasked with causing trouble behind the scenes in order to keep the Forever War going. As a Machine Assassin, she pilots a Mini-Mecha known as a Ferron, functioning as a debuff-focused Attacker.

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• Ambiguously Human: While everyone from Keves and Agnus is considered human even when displaying non-human physical traits, Segiri has the dual skin tone and red eyes of a Machina, but her main skin tone is distinguishably humanlike compared to the metallic gray of other Machina. Whether this is just part of her Non-Standard Character Design or she and No. 13 are Homs-Machina hybrids isn't clear or even acknowledged, especially since Sena initially wonders what nation she belongs to despite having visible traits from a distinctly Kevesi race. Since Colony 0 is made up of people from both sides of the war, the ambiguity seems intentional.
• Angsty Surviving Twin: Though Aionios society does not understand the concept of twins, it turns out that the presumed-dead No. 13 is almost identical to Segiri in appearance, heavily implying the two were sisters before being assimilated and reborn through Origin. Her Ascension Quest involves her learning of a Ferron that's stealing supplies, which she correctly believes is piloted by No. 13.
• Beware the Quiet Ones: Despite never raising her voice, she commands a lot of respect from her troops. She's about the only one who can get the hot-tempered No. 9 to stand down when she's in a bad mood simply by stating her name.
• Cast From Life Span: The Ferrons have a miniature Flame Clock tied to its pilot's lifespan, which will be heavily drained if its limiters were removed to increase power output. After Noah destroys them, the Ferrons can no longer drain life or remove their limiters, being powered by ether cylinders instead.
• Composite Character:
  • Her being a cyborg that rides inside a Mini-Mecha brings to mind the Poppibuster from 2, as well as sharing the same Robo Speak mannerisms as both Poppibuster and the original Poppi, though obviously without the added Nopon dialect.
  • The fact that her life is tied to her Mini-Mecha also brings to mind Fiora post-Mechonization from Xenoblade Chronicles 1, though unlike the latter, she seems to have been born for the role instead of subjected to Unwilling Roboticization. Her "No. 7" designation also happens to be the order in which Mechon Fiora joined the party in 1, which many players used as a nickname to refer to her without spoilers.
  • Her psychic connection to her less-than-stable twin sister No. 13 is highly reminiscent of Jr.'s connection with his Ax-Crazy twin Albedo in Xenosaga.
• Creepy Child: Segiri's assassin conditioning left her with a bad case of Dissonant Serenity, to the point that she's A-OK telling Ouroboros to their face that she's part of Moebius' black ops team and was sent to kill them. One conversation with her reduces Sena to tears.
• Declaration of Protection: Her Ascension Quest reveals she pledged one of these to her subordinates even before she was recruited due to No. 13's disappearance. This, plus Sena's words of encouragement, contributes to her turning against Consul F when he orders everyone to engage in suicidal overclocking.
• Dual Wielding: Her Ferron dual wields axe Blades known as the Doom Axes.
• Dub Name Change: Her original name is Nagiri which got localised as Segiri in the English dub. She's also one of the few characters to have an additional name change in other European languages,^note similar to how Fire Emblem: Awakening changed many character names in non-English Western localizations despite not having accompanying dubbed versions, being called Rizette^note Combination of Riz and Sept, and a pun on the name Risettein the French localization and subtitles.
• The Dog Bites Back: After Consul F risks all her comrades' lives by overclocking their Ferrons against her wishes, then orders her to kill Sena, Segiri turns on him and mortally wounds him, allowing Sena/Lanz to finish him off.
• Extreme Doormat: Due to her upbringing, she has a really hard time doing things for herself unless directly ordered. When told she's free now after F's death, she has to rationalize it by imagining "Segiri" and "No. 7" as two separate things with one ordering the other around, because she's just that dependant on the chain of command.
• Guide Dang It!: Segiri is probably the most obscure Hero to unlock, as you have to encounter her invisible Ferron attacking you throughout various side quests until you're able to happen upon her actual recruitment in the Upper Aetia region. When it comes to her Ascension Quest, you have to do a few more quests, some of which can only start once you have the right info pieces, and some of those only unlock at different times of the day.
• Hiding Behind Your Bangs: They cover her left eye and add to the sense of mystery when the team first sees her face.
• Identical Twin ID Tag: Aside from their names, which are literal ID tags, Segiri can be distinguished from No. 13 by their hair. Their bangs cover a different eye and are slightly different shades of grey.
• Mini-Mecha: She uses a Ferron, which is essentially a miniaturized Ferronis.
• Non-Standard Character Design: Unlike other Machina-traited Kevesi, Segiri's main skin tone is distinctively humanlike instead of metallic gray while her secondary skin tone is a pale gray (similar to Valdi's main skin tone) instead of dark gray, a trait she also shares with her sister. She and No. 13 also have metallic "horns", whereas most Machina-Kevesi lack any explicitly technological components that the original Machina had save for their metallic skin, and these horns aren't seen on any of the other Colony 0 soldiers (who come from both Kevesi and Agnian races) either. If one were to see her character art before her in-game model, they could mistake her for a Homs or Alrestian human with cybernetic modifications at first glance due to her bangs obscuring her secondary skin tone.
• No-Sell: Segiri unlocks the ability to traverse damaging terrain without harm.
• Polar Opposite Twins: She is quiet and logical, her twin sister is loud, emotional, sadistic, and her bangs cover the opposite eye.
• Rei Ayanami Expy: A thin, Emotionless Girl with silver hair, bright red eyes, and in her early teens who ends up hospitalized and is deeply loyal to an abusive leader.
• Robo Speak: Due to being raised as a subservient assassin, she communicates in a robotic fashion and refers to herself in third person. What's strange is that no one else in Colony 0 talks like this, even though they've also been raised the same way.
• Teenage Wasteland: The 12-year-old Segiri is the Commander of Colony 0, and its de facto leader once she removes Consul F from the equation.
• Theme Twin Naming: The numbers 7 and 13 are both associated with luck.
• Token Mini-Moe: The youngest and smallest member of the party (not counting her mech), and cute in her own distinct way.
• Trademark Favorite Food: When Sena makes her onigiri as an apology for suddenly running away, she ends up liking it so much that her first independent desire is to have some more.
• Trauma Button: Segiri's is her implied twin No. 13, who she believes died before the events of her Ascension Quest. When No. 9 mentions her name out of anger while arguing with No. 3, everyone is immediately put on edge and she immediately apologizes.
• Twin Desynch: Downplayed, but is still what ultimately causes Segiri to come into conflict with No. 13 after they're reunited, as Segiri has changed due to Sena's influence.
• Twin Telepathy: She and her twin sister, No. 13, had a mental link before 13's initial disappearance. It's re-established after her Ascension Quest.
• Tyke Bomb: Eunie pegs her for about three Terms old (i.e. 12), which is young for a frontline soldier even by Kevesi and Agnian standards.
• Unexplained Accent: Segiri is the only Kevesi hero to have an American accent rather than an English or Irish one.
• Useless Useful Spell: Machine Assassin is generally a pretty bad class for story bosses and high-level Unique Monsters, not because of any inherent weakness the class has, but because most of them have an outrageous level of Contractual Boss Immunity that makes it nearly impossible to debuff them.
• Weaker Twin Saves the Day: Downplayed, since it is revealed that her twin sister No. 13 was the previous commander of Colony 0. Her "death" lead to Segiri inheriting the role, teaming up with Ouroboros, killing Consul F, and freeing Colony 0 from their Flame Clocks.
• You Are Number 6: Colony 0 is mentioned to scrub as much personal info from their future assassins during their growth to maximize efficiency; before meeting Ouroboros, she was nothing more than No. 7. Sena gives her the name Segiri (Nagiri) by combining "seven" ("nana" in Japanese) and "onigiri" because she doesn't want to call her by a number.
• You Didn't Ask: Her response when Sena asks her, "Why didn't you tell us about this?!" during an event is, "That line of questioning has never been established."

The Royal Summoner (MASSIVE UNMARKED SPOILERS)

Melia Antiqua (Melia Ancient), Queen of Keves

Voiced by: Shiori Katsuta (Japanese), Jenna Coleman (English)

Class: Royal Summoner
Blade: Elemental Staff
Role: Attacker
Class Inheritor: Noah
Heroic Chain: Prevents order from completing if it reaches 100% through Melia's action, letting you select another character.
Chain Order: Reduces enemy ether defense.

"My mind is made up — you have my full support."

The true queen of Keves, returning from Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and its Future Connected expansion. She is the creator of Noah's Sword of the End, and the second half of the game revolves around awakening her along with her Agnian counterpart and friend, Queen Nia. For tropes specifically pertaining to her original appearance, click here.

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• The Archmage: She is the most powerful magic-user in Aionios.
• The Artifact:
  • Even after the fake Queen is destroyed for good and Melia returns to her castle, it will still retain its Mordor ambience and background music. One would expect that it'd be a much more cheerful place similar to Agnus Castle and return to its former glory as Alcamoth, but it still remains bleak and gloomy even as its benevolent ruler returns and has a few sidequests to her name there. Likewise, while the fake Queen is replaced with the real deal on the Affinity Chart once Melia is rescued, the leader of Keves Castle is still listed as "Queen of Keves" without a proper name, unlike most other Colonies. She'll also be wielding the fake Queen's elemental staff rather than her own World Ender, making it clear that she's simply using the fake Queen's model with the mask removed.^note The fake Melia has two models in-game — one with her SkeleBot 9000 face beneath the mask, and one with Melia's normal face underneath (that is shared with the real Melia).
  • Related to the above is the fact that Keves Castle's throne room is still used for cradles/growth modules after Melia is awakened, despite their being part of a system that she opposes. This is justified in that waking her up doesn't magically get rid of Aionios' cycle of death and rebirth, so she's presumably forced to take over her fake's duty of tending to newly reborn soldiers (albeit in a more benevolent manner).
• Background Music Override: Having her in the party will change the battle music to "Brilliant Wings", a jazzy remix of "Time to Fight! (Bionis Shoulder)" from Future Connected.
• Badass in Distress: She has been captured by Moebius and is being used as an energy source.
• Bait-and-Switch:
  • Used for comedy as she makes it looks like her Chain Order is going to have her blast the enemy with magic. Instead, she uses the Starlight Kick. And actually nails the execution.
  • Early on in the story, it's implied that Noah's Sword of the End was forged by Nopon. While their exact involvement isn't well-defined, it's made clear later on that Melia herself was its main creator.
• Beauty Equals Goodness: She is very beautiful and is unquestionably heroic, while her Evil Doppelgänger looked mostly identical except for a hideous skull-like robotic face that was hidden by her mask.
• Benevolent Mage Ruler: She is a powerful magic user and she is portrayed as a good leader before and after the creation of Aionios.
• Big Good: Shares this role with Nia in the endgame, where the two Queens work together to unite the warring nations against Moebius.
• Black Mage: Her class is an Attacker and she uses powerful magic. Anyone using her class has the same role.
• Continuity Nod: Her outfit in the epilogue and as a recruitable Hero is based on her Future Connected garb, and her energy wings are based on those of Telethia. Her Elemental Staff is also the World Ender Shulk made for her in Future Connected.
• Cute Clumsy Girl: She notably lets out an "ouch!" when performing her returning Starlight Kick art, as even after all these years she still normally can't pull the move off without falling over in the process.
• Dark Is Not Evil: She's first seen wearing the same somber black gown as her Evil Doppelgänger, but herself isn't malevolent or even anti-heroic in the least. She changes into her contrasting white battle outfit for the final battle and postgame.
• Easter Egg: If she's in your party (or if you just maneuver around from the top), you can visit her room in Keves Castle, as a Secret Area labeled the "Queen's Chambers". It's not much, but she'll promptly tell the party not to touch anything as they enter, and you can see a portrait of Alcamoth in her room. The ending sequence reveals that she has also kept Shulk's Monado REX+ as a keepsake.
• Foil: Melia and Nia are both queens of a major nation, but their personalities and backstories differ. Nia wasn't born into royalty and remains to be seen how she became queen. In her queenly duty, she acts appropriately, but out of it her old brash self comes out from time to time. Melia, however, was born into royalty and became ruler despite being the daughter of the second consort. Melia is more proper and civil in and out of her queenly duty.
• Gathering Steam: One of the main ways to utilize her is to have her summon her Elements and using Elemental Discharge as her Elemental Boost Skill increases her damage potential each time Discharge is used. If kept alive long enough she's capable of insane numbers. This even applies to her Heroic Chain ability as if she keeps getting used, it's possible to get Bravo and Amazing ratings consistently.
• Glass Cannon: Melia and her Royal Summoner class have a very high Attack stat and can rack up huge damage with Elementals, but have paper-thin defenses and can crumble quite easily. One of her Skills boosts the entire party's attack as well as reducing enemy block rate while her Power Effect Art boosts damage by 80% but lower her defenses by 40%.
• Greater-Scope Paragon: She created Origin (together with Nia), the ark that would allow both worlds to be reborn, along with the Sword of the End, the weapon that allows Noah to destroy Flame Clocks. When she awakens in the final chapter, she graduates to Big Good along with Nia.
• The High Queen: Carrying over from her role as Empress of the High Entia, she is the true ruler of the forces of Keves, and rescuing her is a pivotal point of the endgame.
• I Am Very British: Being The High Queen, she retains her Received Pronunciation accent from Xenoblade Chronicles 1 in the English dub (something snarked on by the Cockney-accented Reyn), and her dialogue even includes the rare "British-ism" to match.
  Melia: Temper, temper...
• Infinity +1 Sword: Her class is one of the strongest of the Attacker classes ^note Only being below a maxed out Soulhacker, and can only be used for postgame content (including her Hero Quest). She's a ridiculously powerful damage dealer with her Heroic Chain allowing easy access to high percentages. Furthermore, her ascension quest requires all other Colonies to be freed from their Flame Clocks.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Becomes fast friends with the Ouroboros despite being hundreds of years older than them and looking and acting at least 10 years older.
• King Incognito: Melia makes a point that her post-game adventures with the party are to be undercover, and nobody is to know that she's traveling the world. The in-game purpose seems to be to Hand Wave how NPC's don't act any differently when they see the Queen of Keves in your party, and why Kevesi enemies continue to attack you. Despite this, a few characters recognize her regardless.
• Lady of Black Magic: She is a powerful mage who wears a Pimped-Out Dress as the Queen of Keves.
• Leitmotif: Her main story scenes are accompanied by an arranged version of the Eryth Sea theme from the first game.
• Light Is Good: Her battle outfit is a stark white, her Mercury's Wings give her an angelic appearance, and she's one half of the Big Good duumvirate.
• Long Hair Is Feminine: Invoked. Having come into her own as the Queen of the High Entia, Melia let her hair grow out to better fit the role.
• Magic Staff: She wields the World Ender from Future Connected.
• Mercury's Wings: Like all High Entia, she has a pair of large wings sprouting from her head. During her recruitment event, Eunie even remarks on how similar hers and Melia's are and how special it makes her feel. Ironically, her wings used to be smaller than average and a mark of scorn (owing to her Half-Human Hybrid heritage) but in Aionios they're now the largest in Keves and a point of admiration.
• Messianic Archetype: She is one of the two people who created The Ark that would save both worlds, and also used the power of her own heart to create the Sword of the End, the weapon that would allow Noah to liberate the people of Aionios. Furthermore, when imprisoned inside Origin, she is held in a crucified position similar to Jesus. What makes this even more blatant is how Moebius used her image via the fake Queen as a religious figurehead to enforce their ideals of Fantastic Racism, Forever War and complete obedience, similar to how some sects of Christianity use Jesus' image to enforce strict hierarchies and discrimination — qualities that run counter to the actual Jesus' values.
• Mirror Match: In New Game Plus, she can be used to fight against (and most likely utterly thrash) her Rotten Robotic Replacement. Same goes for the Archsage's Pro Gauntlet, though the copy Queen puts up a much tougher fight.
• Older and Wiser: She's definitely filled the role of a queen well, giving a graceful, awe-inspiring presence and showing she was fully capable of waiting for centuries to enact her plans.
• Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: While she normally speaks in a Received Pronunciation accent, she will occasionally lapse into a "regular" South English accent when things get heated, most notably when she uses her Starlight Kick. Shulk's group clearly rubbed off on her somewhat.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: Her Hero outfit is one, as she emphasizes that nobody is to know that she's leaving the castle to travel the world with Ouroboros. Keep in mind that she already showed her face to all her subjects earlier during the endgame when she rallied them to prepare to fight the Moebius. Funnily enough even the party doesn't immediately recognize her when they first see her in the new outfit.
• Post-End Game Content: Melia can be permanently recruited to the party after defeating the Final Boss.
• Power Gives You Wings: She's even more powerful now than she was in Future Connected, and in battle sprouts Telethia-like wings of energy. It's not clear if she can fly with them, but her ability to teleport gives her about as many movement options.
• Previous Player-Character Cameo: She was one of the playable party members in her own game, and returns as one of the final recruitable Heroes in this one.
• Progressively Prettier: Melia in her original game was already very pretty, but having fully grown into an adult woman, she now looks even more beautiful and graceful with her longer hair, more mature face and more developed features.
• Really 700 Years Old: As a High Entia, her life spans centuries if not millennia. She still barely looks any older than she did in Xenoblade Chronicles 1. Thanks to the behavior of her Rotten Robotic Replacement, some of her in-universe detractors use this to claim that she is inhuman and views humans as insects below her... something anyone who's interacted with her more than five minutes can easily disprove, as she often talks about her old friends and everything she's learned from them.
• Remote Body: After being rescued, she reveals that she was watching the party's actions the whole time through the eyes of her Rotten Robotic Replacement. It's unknown whether this means she had any control over the decoy beyond being able to destroy it when the party's lives were in danger.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: It's her belief that if a royal doesn't help their subjects there's no point in them being around at all. After being freed from her captivity in the Origin, she's audibly frustrated over having effectively done nothing of worth for literal centuries and immediately resumes adventuring and helping people. Her Ascension Quest revolves around this, where she helps rescue the people of Colony 9 from a landslide, uses her diplomacy and fighting skills to quell an Agnian uprising, and visits the City to give a pep talk to some of the Lost Numbers.
• Secret-Keeper: A minor, Played for Laughs example. She's the one of the only people shown to know Nia's "graceful lady" persona is an act (the other being Poppi), presumably because she's also a queen who is genuinely prim and proper and thus sees right through her.
• Signature Move: Her Starlight Kick, one of the Arts that the fake Queen wasn't able to copy. Unlike in the first Xenoblade, it acts as a regular Topple Art (since Spear Break doesn't exist in this game), and her Chain Order has her finally pull off the move successfully.
• Sudden Name Change: Her World Ender is known as the Elemental Staff in this game. Justified, as the Elemental Staff describes Melia's general weapon while the World Ender was merely one type of elemental staff.
• Teleportation: When Sena asks Melia if she needs needs an escort from Origin to get her to Keves Castle, she replies with a "might you have forgotten who I am?" and effortlessly warps to her castle. Melia was always adept at magic via ether, but here she shows she's become an even greater master.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: After spending the whole of 1 and Future Connected constantly beefing it every time she used Starlight Kick, in 3 Melia can finally stick the landing (albeit only as part of her Chain Order).
• Title Drop: Gives one to Future Connected when rallying the Heroes and Kevesi forces to help out against Moebius at Origin.
  Melia: Everyone, lend Ouroboros your power! All is for the future connected!
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The refined, elegant long-haired Girly Girl to Nia's brash, snarky short-haired Tomboy.
• Took a Level in Badass: She was already a strong Ether user in the first game, but she's become almost godlike in her utilization of it now, being able to teleport across a continent on a whim and is a Purposefully Overpowered Hero character.
• Tragic Keepsake: Melia keeps Shulk's Monado REX+ behind the painting of Alcamoth in her personal quarters.
• Ultimate Blacksmith: Melia created the Sword of the End with the combined power of Origin and her own heart.
• Vague Age: Her age is listed as ??? in the Affinity Chart. She was already pushing 90 in the first game (though for a High Entia like her, it was the equivalent of being in her late teens) and predates the creation of Aionios, which has been around for a millennium at the bare minimum.
• Wrestler in All of Us: Starlight Kick, based off of wrestler Keiji Mutoh's Shining Wizard kick, returns as one of Melia's arts from Xenoblade Chronicles, complete with her infamous cry of pain from the fall that accompanies using it.

The Grand Marshal [DLC] (MASSIVE SPOILERS)

See here for the first Future Redeemed Hero, Shulk.

Agnian Heroes

Teach (Shido)

Inscrutable Teach

Voiced by: Hiroki Takahashi (Japanese), Martin Sherman (English)

Class: Thaumaturge
Blade: Martial Linkstaff
Role: Healer
Class Inheritor: Mio
Heroic Chain: When chosen, grants 10 TP to all active characters except self.
Chain Order: During Chain Attack, heals % of damage dealt as HP, up to 200% of Healing Power.

"If you do not offer that honor to your opponent, then all that remains is the shadow of enmity."

Mio, Taion, and Sena's commanding officer from Colony Gamma. In addition to overseeing the Colony, he acts as a harsh, but fair training instructor.

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• Ambiguously Human: Or Ambiguously Indoline, as he looks like an Indoline on the surface, but has a Core Crystal on his right cheek, which is an unusual location for a Blade. This suggests he's either an Indoline Blade Eater, a Blade that looks like an Indoline, or an Indoline-Blade hybrid owing to how all of the races that make up the forces of Keves and Agnus are considered human at this point.
• Ambiguous Situation: Ashera believes that she and Teach fought some time in their past, though Teach does not recall that happening. It is unclear whether Ashera fought Teach when he was All-Slayer Oleg and he's pretending not to remember, or if Ashera's past life memories have blurred together and Teach (or at least, his current incarnation) genuinely hasn't fought her. The Affinity Chart even calls it a "mysterious connection".
• Armor-Piercing Attack: One of the skills from his class that can be acquired will drop the foe's physical Def by 50%, letting physical attackers deal even more damage.
• The Dreaded: As revealed by the Avenger in his Ascension Quest, Teach hides a past as the infamous Commander Oleg of Colony Chi. Known as the "All-Slayer" in Keves, he boasted superb effectiveness in battle but a very high mortality rate among his troops.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: Don't like his polite demeanor fool you. Teach is very serious about his training regimens. According to Taion, new recruits would very much rather go onto the battlefield than partake in his training.
• Dub Name Change: He is named "Sydow" in the German version, which, as an actual name, notably averts the Only Known by Their Nickname-nature of the English version.
• Expy: Of Citan Uzuki, or more specifically, his true identity as Hyuga Ricdeau. Like Citan, Teach was once known under a different name before reinventing himself as a mentor to the heroes who uses martial arts as his fighting style. Specifically, as Oleg he was legendary for being a General Ripper willing to throw his soldiers through the grinder to ensure victory at any costs until he experienced a change of heart after it cost him his entire colony. Likewise Hyuga Rikudo was a feared strategist willing to do the bidding of the evil Empire of Solaris until he experienced a change of heart and defected to Shevat. Both changes of identity were heavily implied to have been enabled via a man whose name begins with G, in Teach's case Consul G, and in Citan's case being his father-in-law Gaspar Uzuki.
• Genocide Backfire: Zig-zagged and Justified due to the nature of Aionios encouraging Colonies to wipe out opposing Colonies to fill their Flame Clock, but Teach believed he wiped out everyone in three Kevesi Colonies in the same battle where he lost Colony Chi. This comes back to bite him when The Avenger, who was a sole survivor of one of the aforementioned Kevesi Colonies, kidnaps Kyrie to get his revenge against Teach. However, Teach had changed since taking command of Gamma and The Avenger is killed before he can complete his revenge.
• Good Is Not Soft: Despite his polite demeanor, Teach is strict when it comes to his training.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: His tendency to sacrifice his soldiers to maximize victory eventually caught up to him as his first Colony suffered a mutual defeat against a Kevesi Colony, an event that he barely escaped from alive.
• I Gave My Word: He is honor bound to never reveal the details of his past to anyone, despite having made that pledge to his former Consul.
• Improbable Age: His design, role and backstory generally make him seem like a forty-something veteran with a long history, but he's actually listed as being younger than Mio. Assuming that is his true age, that would mean the events of his past are way more recent than it first seems.
• Life Drain: One of his class skills lets you restore a little bit of HP upon a successful auto-attack, giving your character a bit of self sustain.
• Loophole Abuse: He swore an oath to Consul G to never divulge his past, but he never promised to stop other people from looking into it. He gives Ouroboros his permission to seek the answers for themselves.
• Martial Arts Staff: His Blade is the Martial Linkstaff, a three-section staff that can shrink down into nunchaku.
• Meaningful Rename: Teach is not his original name, but a nickname he adopted at some point in the past. It's technically a real albeit uncommon name in English, but it's also a literal descriptor for the work he does as a mentor to younger soldiers. It's later revealed that his real name is Oleg (Ougai in Japanese) and that he was once known as the All-Slayer until he had a change of heart, faked his death, and reinvented himself under the new alias of "Teach".
• Morph Weapon: The Martial Linkstaff is capable of transforming between a full-length staff and a single nunchaku.
• Noodle Incident: He once saw someone become corrupted by power and was eventually consumed by it. Who that person was and their connection to him is unknown, save for that it left a very lasting impression on him, but it's strongly implied he was referring to his old self as All-Slayer Oleg.
• Older Than They Look: He's listed as being in his tenth Term and close to the party in age, but Taion implies that the events at Colony Chi took place a long time ago, which would imply he's older than that.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: It's pretty apparent that "Teach" isn't his real name, what with it being a rather on-the-nose description of his position as a teacher who imparts lessons to those under his care while also training them in combat^note Likewise, his Japanese name Shido is short for shidousha or "Mentor". In the Italian translation he's renamed to Master (written in English), making it even more obvious. He later tells the party that he's forbidden from revealing what his real name is due to an oath he swore in the past.
• Pyrrhic Victory: During his days as All-Slayer Oleg he developed a reputation for victory at all costs, often winning battles at the expense of getting most of his men killed.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Like Ethel, he's willing to hear the party out and even gives them a free shot at destroying Colony Gamma's Flame Clock. This puts him at odds with Consul G, who is none too happy with Teach's decision.
• Secret Test of Character: Teach takes the Ouroboros to a secluded location under the pretense of eliminating a potential threat to the world. It's not until his health is depleted halfway that he reveals he wanted to test the heroes' resolve and whether they had control over their powers.
• The Spartan Way: He ran Colony Chi in a Social Darwinistic manner that prioritized strength, which ultimately lead to its downfall. Teach rejects this philosophy and does not like that Colony 11 operates in this manner.
• That Man Is Dead: When the Avenger calls him Oleg, he calmly states that he goes by Teach now.
• This Is Gonna Suck: Both Mio and Taion have this reaction when Teach invites them for "a little stroll" during his Hero Quest, knowing that it's going to be anything but due to being familiar with his training methods.
• Token Minority: Teach is the only Hero who appears to be Indoline, owing to his ears and blue skin.
• Training from Hell: As the Commander of Colony Gamma, he frequently puts the soldier under his purview to this. For example, his idea of a "stroll" is a tiresome hike through the upper area of Melnath's Pass. By the time the Ouroboros reach their destination, the only ones not exhausted or tired after the exercise are Teach and Sena.
• Vague Age: It's unclear if Teach truly is the age he is listed as (making him younger than Mio) and that his past as All-Slayer Oleg was a result of him being extraordinarily accomplished at an Improbable Age, or whether he's actually older than he seems as one of the stipulations of the deal he made with Consul G to become The Atoner (which is implied to involve something beyond just a mere name-change).
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Although he put the heroes through the aforementioned secret test to determine their character, he was wholly prepared to die at their hands or kill them himself, having seen what happens to people who become corrupted and consumed by their power. And as the Commander of Colony Chi, he employed tactics that maximized his chances of victory but cost him lots of soldiers, due to his belief that the duty of soldiers is to stamp out evil at all costs.

Isurd (Isurugi)

Dawnhero Isurd

Voiced by: Tomoaki Maeno (Japanese), Ian Bouillion (English)

Class: Strategos
Blade: Disc Launcher
Role: Healer
Class Inheritor: Taion
Heroic Chain: Guarantees a "Bravo" rating when Isurd completes an order.
Chain Order: Reduces enemy physical and ether defense during Chain Attack.

"Let's walk the path ahead, together."

A military commander of Agnus' Colony Lambda and Taion's former mentor.

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• Advertised Extra: Isurd has maybe half an hour's worth of story relevance, is never directly fought (with his boss battle being fought against his Colony's Ferronis which also is not being piloted by him to be begin with), and for most of his present day screentime, he's not even himself; rather, it's just a mudpuppet that looks like him. After the brief section of the game he and J debut in, he's only marginally more important than any other hero.
• Ambiguously Human: Or Ambiguously Blade. He has the ether lines and American accent typical of a Blade, but he has a term mark where a Core Crystal should be. He could be a Blade Eater with stronger Blade attributes, a Blade who donated their Core Crystal to a Blade Eater, descended from a Blade and a Human, or be a regular Blade with his Core Crystal elsewhere or overwritten by the term mark.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: When the real Isurd helps the party defeat the rampaging Auto-Levs during his Hero Quest, he strikes the final blow by having Taion collect a storm of energy discs from his guns inside his Mondo, then firing one shot at the perfect angle to send them all crashing into the Auto-Levs' weak points.
• Beleaguered Bureaucrat: He is the commander of Lambda and also in charge of the Colony's administration. When he starts helping Ouroboros, the Colony struggles to navigate the red tape without him and he has to intervene in some side quests. Him overextending himself is one of the reasons Ouroboros finds him a spring in his Ascension Quest.
• Benevolent Boss: Isurd spends a few of his sidequests working to improve amenities for his subordinates in Colony Lambda, and obviously seems to have cared for Nimue and Taion.
• Big Brother Mentor: He's Taion's senior by about a year. Taion respects him a great deal, and the two have a very close bond and a great deal of concern for one another.
• Calming Tea: One of his animations at a campsite is him sitting down with a cup in his hand, which he occasionally drinks from.
• Crutch Character: His Heroic Chain ability in Chain Attacks functions this way. It guarantees a 150% "Bravo" rating when he completes an order, which can help kick things off early in a chain or provide an easy route to better chains for players less experienced with the TP mechanics. But once a player gains more experience, they're more likely to reach percentages above 150, meaning Isurd's flat 150% will hold chains back if relied on too much.
• Deadly Disc: His Blade is a pair of energy disc guns wielded like tonfas called the Disc Launcher. The discs are capable of bouncing off walls or changing trajectory mid-flight.
• Die Laughing: Upon his defeat, his mud puppet just laughs maniacally at Ouroboros before he disintegrates into the mud.
• Evil Is Hammy: He's very expressive and over the top when he taunts Taion about his past, attempting to drive him into despair. Being just a mud puppet of the real thing, this resentment is all there is to this Isurd, and the real Isurd is nowhere near as cruel.
• Exhausted Eye Bags: Has prominent tired eyes due to being a heavily overworked bureaucrat. It actually comes up as a plot point in his Ascension Quest, which has the party find him a hot spa so he can take time off and relax.
• Expy: Is one to Kahran Ramsus... Or so the game wants you to think at first. He shares a lot in common with Ramsus designwise, and like Ramsus he is reknowned as a genius tactician and army commander who has a close and ambiguously romantic relationship with an aloof purple-haired female subordinate. Like Ramsus, he also has a fanatical and all-consuming hatred with a member of the main party, with the fact that the main target of his ire is his former friend Taion giving him elements of Ramsus analogues Margulis and Mumkhar. However, it's revealed after defeating him in combat that the Isurd the party fought is actually a mud clone who exemplifies Isurd's darkest thoughts ramped up to their worst extremes, and that the true Isurd is nothing like that, instead being a kind Big Brother Mentor and A Father to His Men whose greatest enemy is mundane overwork. Ironically, he better exemplifies the kind of person Ramsus might have been had he been more well-adjusted instead of falling prey to Myyah's machinations and letting his inferiority complex utterly consume him, being an Inverted Shadow Archetype.
• Guns Akimbo: His weapon, "Disc Launcher", is described as a pair of special guns.
• I Let Gwen Stacy Die: While he does have some subconscious resentment towards Taion in regards to Nimue's death, he mostly blames himself. As revealed in Taion's Ascension Quest, he is the reason Nimue came to Colony Lambda in the first place, having rescued and nursed him back to health at her Colony after a disastrous battle against Keves, leaving with him after he fully recovered. As she was a part of the Lost Colony prior to meeting him, she was freed from the struggles of the Flame Clock, and thus didn't need to participate in the war either, something Isurd was aware of as well.
• It's All My Fault: He blames himself for Nimue's death, since he was the one responsible for her coming to Colony Lambda in the first place.
• Not So Above It All: Normally, he's very serious and working himself to the bone. During his Ascension Quest, after Lanz and Eunie (literally) throw him into a hot spring to rejuvenate him and begins to enjoy it, he commands Eunie to throw Taion in as well after the latter hesitates.
• Prematurely Gray Haired: His hair is graying, but is only on his 10th term, making him physically 19. It's unknown if this is a result of stress or a sign of his Blade ancestry (as they are known to have unusual hair colors).
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: His left eye's Iris is glowing red, an indicator that he also sees Ouroboros as the enemy. It's not exactly the same case as with Consul K's plan however, as Consul J just made a clone of Isurd with his resentment towards Taion amplified, while the real Isurd was knocked out unconscious during the encounter.
• Revenge: He seeks revenge against Taion in particular, not having forgiven him for his part in getting Nimue killed. However, this Isurd is just a mud puppet with his feelings of revenge pushed to the max. The real Isurd does have some resentment towards Taion, but ultimately understands that Nimue's death is not entirely Taion's fault, and he still values and trusts Taion as a friend.
• Ship Tease: He remarks that it was only after being freed from the Flame Clock that he had come to understand Nimue's feelings and why she had left her Colony to join him. He refuses to check himself if she has been reborn due to him fearing he would not be able to control his feelings and would end up saying something that would convince her to go with him again.
• Smart People Shoot: He's The Strategist, and his fighting style revolves around throwing energy Deadly Discs with unusual properties, encouraging a more creative use of them.
• Stationary Boss: Colony Lambda, obviously being a massive Ferronis, doesn't have the luxury of moving around in its boss battle. This can work to its favor depending on the player's build, somewhat, as its massive size makes it a lot harder to get any benefits from moves that require attacking from the side or behind.
• The Strategist: During the conflict he has gained a reputation as a skilled tactician, a skill he has imparted to Taion.
• Tron Lines: Has blue lines on his face, which combined with his American accent indicates that he has Blade ancestry.
• The Unfettered: In contrast to his usual self, he throws all of his resources, soldiers, and even Colony Lambda at Ouroboros in the hope of killing Taion. The fact that it's so out of character for him makes sense, given that the Isurd that you fight is just a fake copy of the real guy, just with all of his negative thoughts and traits left unchecked.
• The Unfought: You never fight him directly, as he just pilots Colony Lambda for the entire boss fight. You never fight the real Isurd either.
• Warm-Up Boss: Not in the traditional sense — the fight with Colony Lambda is much too late in the game to count — but its ability to place down a unique area of effect that can debuff or damage characters is introduced here, and serves as an easily avoided and tutorialized version of similar, much more dangerous abilities used by lategame bosses such as D placing down his own AOE debuffs in Cloudkeep, or Z shooting off pillars of fire in the final boss fight.
• World's Smartest Man: Has the highest TP at 40 and is considered the greatest strategist of Aionios. However, he is incredibly modest and insists that Taion is a better tactician and Ethel and Cammuravi are better commanders.
• Younger Than They Look: Given his role as Taion's mentor, his gray hair and Exhausted Eye Bags, you'd think he is in his late thirties at the youngest. However, he's listed as 10th term, making him only physically 19 and younger than Mio.

Juniper (Yuzuriha)

Ghostbow Juniper

Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (Japanese), Lilly Hart (English)

Class: Stalker
Blade: Luminescent Bow
Role: Attacker
Class Inheritor: Noah
Heroic Chain: When chosen, increases damage ratio by 50 percentage points.
Chain Order: During Chain Attack, boosts damage dealt to low HP enemies.

"Nothing happens without a reason, without a cause. Perhaps this event will teach me to see things in a new light..."

A hunter from Agnus and commander of the abandoned Colony Tau.

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• Ambiguously Human: Played with, as they're ambiguously Gormotti. They have a Core Crystal at the back of their shoulder, which is an unusual location. They also have distinctively green hair that is normal for Blades but abnormal for Gormotti. However, they have a Welsh accent that is typical of Gormotti. Either Juniper is a Gormotti Blade Eater, a Blade that looks Gormotti, or they're a Gormotti-Blade hybrid owing to how all the races that make up the soldiers of Keves and Agnus are considered human at this point.
• Ambush Enemy: Not unlike an actual cat, their official bio states they use ambush tactics to hunt their enemies.
• Awesome, but Impractical: One of the reasons the Stalker class, and by extension Juniper, isn't regarded as a good class/Hero can be chalked up to cool abilities on paper, poor execution. For specifics:
  • Rapid Shot is one of the strongest Combat Arts in the game, which already has one of the highest power multipliers in the game at 355%, but is further boosted by 100% when attacking from the side. The issue is that Rapid Shot is one of the single slowest attacks in the game animation wise, meaning outside of Chain Attacks, it is not only hard to use, but also just clunky to line up.
  • In Cold Blood is a class skill that gives 75% more damage to enemies with the Bleed debuff. A good boost of damage, but landing debuffs in this game is very hard due to enemies having very high debuff resistances that require specific late game items to really get around. Since only two skills in the game inflict Bleed, this results in it being a fairly useless skill.
• Badass Adorable: Like Nia and Mio, they're Cat Folk with Cute Kitten traits and are quite petite yet proficient in battle.
• Braids of Action: They have a single braid on the left side of their head and they are a proficient archer, able to effortlessly survive in the wilderness.
• Country Mouse: They're from an isolated country with a low population. Visiting another Colony with Juniper in the party has them remark on how busy the Colony is and how overwhelming it is.
• Dub Name Change: Referred to as Juniper instead of Yuzuriha in the English verison. Both are names that refer to a kind of evergreen tree (Juniperus for the former, Daphniphyllum macropodum for the latter) while doubling as gender-neutral names used by both boys and girls.
• Ears as Hair: Juniper's Gormotti ears lie low and blend into their hairstyle, requiring bringing them on a specific sidequest to confirm that they are in fact ears.
• Energy Bow: Their Luminescent Bow is solid, but its bowstring and arrows are made out of bright-green energy.
• The Fatalist: Juniper and their Colonists are fully apathetic about their Flame Clock running out, considering it to be simple natural selection at work. Between this and Colony Tau's location in the nearly impassable Maktha Wildwood, their Flame Clock is almost completely empty.
• Forest Ranger: Juniper is both this and the City Guards, given the dual nature of the Maktha Wildwood.
• Gender-Inclusive Writing: Juniper is referred to exclusively using they/them pronouns. Much like Roc in Xenoblade 2, Juniper's nonbinary status is also included in the game's coding, this time with their gender assigned as the number 2^note In contrast to male characters who are assigned a value of 0 and female characters who are assigned a value of 1.
• Grind Boots: They teach the Traversal Skill which allows the party to grind down ropes to new areas.
• Love at First Sight: Is on the receiving end of this when Kite first meets them during Zeon's Ascension Quest, though neither one of them have a clue that that's the case.
• Modesty Shorts: They wear shorts under their jumpsuit, which exposes their navel, crotch, and inner thighs.
• Multishot: In their character video, they fire three arrows at once.
• Non-Standard Character Design: Downplayed, but their outfit exposes more skin in comparison to the other Agnian characters. This is one sign of how removed from Agnian society and the Forever War they and their Colony are.
• Oblivious to Love: While the concept of romantic love is foreign to Kevesis and Agnians to begin with, when Kite falls in love with them, Juniper doesn't bother calling attention to Kite being flustered, or even acknowledge it in the first place.
• She's a Man in Japan: In the original Japanese version and in the game's code, Juniper is said to be nonbinary. And while the English, German, and Korean versions follow suit, the French and Spanish versions refer to them with explicitly-gendered terms, with the French localization combining feminine pronouns and articles with masculine nouns. However, this is downplayed, as those versions still only use the English or Japanese audio (meaning that characters still audibly refer to Juniper as nonbinary regardless), and it's also partly a consequence of those two languages using binary gendered pronouns almost exclusively (even for inanimate objects).
• Stealth Pun: In the game's code, they're assigned the number 2 as gender, when male and female are 0 and 1 respectively. Their gender is literally nonbinary.
• The Straight and Arrow Path: Their weapon is the Luminescent Bow, a bow that fires explosive arrows. As shown by Eunie, Riku, and Valdi, guns are readily available in the setting.
• Trick Arrow: During their attack on the party, their arrows are shown to explode shortly after hitting the target.

Alexandria (Nina)

Craftmaiden Alexandria

Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu (Japanese), Sharlit Deyzac (English)

Class: Incursor
Blade: Exponential Edge
Role: Attacker
Class Inheritor: Taion
Heroic Chain: Multiplies TP by 125% when first in line to attack, and makes all attacks critical.
Chain Order: During Chain Attack, increases Critical Rate.

"Doing the same as everyone around you, it's always the same outcome. Following the playbook to the letter is hardly a strategy."

One of the Heroes from Agnus, hailing from Colony Iota. She is a famous soldier, renowned for her ability to analyze combat situations. The Core Crystal on her chest indicates she is of Blade origin.

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• The Ace: She's a skilled combatant with a tactical mind to match, which earned her Silver Rank.
• Awesomeness by Analysis:
  • During her first fight against the party she's able to easily ascertain their strengths and weaknesses, such as Taion's reticence, Sena being Unskilled, but Strong, and Noah being a Determinator but having issues giving up when he knows he's outmatched.
  • In the discussion topic Colony Iota's Goods, Alexandria mentions she was able to figure out that someone wanted to keep Agnus and Keves in a Forever War based on the data of the Collectopaedia Card system she created, noting how the resources, supplies, and tech both sides used were even and balanced.
• Badass Crew: Unlike most of the commander Heroes whose troops are largely just cannon fodder, Alexandria's party is just as capable of keeping up with the Ouroboros as she is, and starting her quest causes several packs of them to deploy across the desert as far more powerful enemies than anything else in the region.
• Batman Gambit: Her plan to deal with the Ouroboros boils down to this. By hounding them, she'd eventually force them to confront her, and by extension the Consul. As was her plan, since she wants Colony Iota to be free from the Flame Clock.
• BFS: Despite her relatively young age she wields an enormous sword called the Exponential Edge that strongly resembles Zeke's Big Bang Edge from 2.
• Born Winner: The girls in the party describe her as one, and she certainly fits the bill as the exceptionally young commander of one of the most powerful and prosperous Colonies in all of Aionios. Where most Colony sidequests center around their persistent resource shortages, Colony Iota's are instead about having such an abundance of resources that they need to decide where to best trade their excess stock in exchange for future favors.
• Brutal Honesty: She initially doesn't hide her dislike for Valdi and his Levnises. She outright says to his face she doesn't like him, which is in contrast to her usual self.
• Combat Pragmatist: The first time Alexandria fights the party, she bogs them down fighting her underlings before attacking at high speed from behind with only Mio's hearing giving any warning. It's also revealed in her Ascension Quest that she's not above resorting to poisoning her way to power, although in her case it was because the previous Iota Commander was an incompetent fool who put the entire colony at risk.
• Critical Hit Class: Her class, Incursor, specializes in dealing critical hits for maximum damage, but at the cost of the damage bonus resetting if they're stunned.
• Dub Name Change: Her name from the Japanese version has been changed from Nina to Alexandria in the English version.
• Foil:
  • To Ethel and Ashera, skilled Commanders from Keves. Ethel was Silver-ranked but was dropped to Dirt when she refused to kill Cammuravi when his Ferronis malfunctioned and Ashera, another capable Commander, seems more interested in fighting than anything else. By contrast, Alexandria is cool and level-headed, keeping her Silver rank. Furthermore, whereas Ethel had to be broken out of her mind control by K to aid the heroes or Ashera asking for their assistance in taking down R, Alexandria orchestrated things so that the Ouroboros would have to confront her eventually and give them a clear shot at Iota's Flame Clock. It also helps that she's technically been on the party's side from the start since she figured out someone was orchestrating a Forever War through her Collectopaedia Card system.
  • She is also one to Valdi, as they are both inventors and commanders of Colonies in the Fornis region. While Valdi is passive and delegates so he can focus on his Levnises, Alexandria is a more proactive commander who specialises in software.
• The Gadfly: Loves to tease and confuse the party even after they officially become allies, Taion especially as a fellow tactician. In one camp discussion, they even remark how her smile tends to get a rise out of them, Mio and Sena excluded.
• Genius Bruiser: This game's Collectopaedia? Her invention, and she's no slouch as a warrior either in terms of strength or tactics.
• Girly Bruiser: Fond of wearing makeup and nail polish, and a powerful physical combatant.
• Heart Drive: Looking at her from certain angles reveals a Core Crystal in her chest normally obscured by her clothes.
• Horned Humanoid: She looks basically human save for a pair of horns atop her head, which resemble Obrona's from 2. It's unclear if they are part of her body or some kind of technology she wears as a headpiece, but her seemingly being a Blade would indicate the former.
• Klingon Promotion: Her Ascension Quest reveals that she killed the previous commander before taking over as the current leader.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Q reveals that he learned from E that Alexandria had poisoned Iota's previous Commander in order to weaken him, then made his death look like he had been killed in battle, with her accomplices being her future subordinates. Alexandria states right afterwards that she has no regrets doing so, calling him a tyrant whose outdated tactics and wasting of men and resources would've ultimately gotten everyone killed. That said, her expressions and tone of voice indicate she does feel a great deal of guilt over it.
• Insufferable Genius: While she's not quite smug, she's so self-assured and confident in her abilities she can come across as pretty obnoxious. Eunie openly admits to wanting to punch her in the face at times. When she meets Valdi in her Ascension Quest, she seems to take any chance at first to demonstrate her knowledge, partially cause she has a bit of a chip on her shoulder because of him.
• Klingon Promotion: She got her Commander position by poisoning the previous Commander in his sleep to weaken him and make his death look like a normal battle death, which she doesn't even deny, stating that she did it to save the Colony from his outdated tactics and tyrannical leadership that were getting everyone killed.
• Light Is Good: More so than the other liberated Agnus Colonies. She's A Mother to Her Men, approved of a system where the ones who contribute to the Colony the most get whatever they want within reason, and even somehow managed to convince Consul E to approve of the Collectopaedia Card system used by Keves and Agnus to provide supplies to whoever needed them.
• Male Gaze: During the cutscene where her group ambushes Ouroboros and she's running towards Noah to attack him, the camera focuses on her ass for a few seconds.
• Meaningful Name: Her English version name Alexandria evokes Alexander the Great, who was similarly renowned for his military prowess despite his young age. Said historical figure also named every city he conquered "Alexandria".
• Power of Trust: The neon-lit moral of her Ascension Quest. She thinks nobody trusts her because of her sordid past, and so she doesn't really trust anyone. But when trusting Noah saves her from taking a cliff dive, she begins to open up, starting by agreeing to an engineering exchange with Valdi.
• Precocious Crush: Pulipuli from Colony 30 has one on her and repeatedly tries to get her attention via espionage on and sabotage of Colony 30's activities, even after the two Colonies are on friendly terms.
• Prim and Proper Bun: She wears her hair in a bun to add to her regal bearing.
• Sinister Surveillance: Alexandria's initial motive for inventing the Collectopaedia system was to secretly keep tabs on other Colonies, but she abandons that idea after realising the war against Keves was engineered to last as long as possible. After joining Ouroboros, she decides to use the Collectopaedia to identify Colonies in need of supplies instead.
• Spotting the Thread: Alexandaria was one of the first people to figure out something was off with the war between the two factions, as after creating and distributing the Collectapedia, she noticed that both sides were unnaturally evenly matched in resources and forces, making it clear that someone was deliberately manipulating things on both sides. This is what convinces her to go from spying on other Colonies, to liberating and helping them from behind the scenes.
• Statuesque Stunner: She's taller than Noah, which makes her age reveal all the more shocking, and has a number of admirers even before the Colonies begin emerging from their enforced asexuality.
• Unknown Rival: To Valdi. Prior to the start of the game, Colony Iota and Colony 30 had a battle that, despite being Silver-ranked and having more supplies, ended in a loss for Iota due to 30 having superior mechs and just generally being impossible to read, due to the eccentricities of the residents living there. As a result, she's held a bit of a grudge against them for it, and is initially standoffish towards Valdi when they meet. Valdi for his part, doesn't seem to recall this happening.
• What the Hell, Hero?: After learning the true reason she fought the Ouroboros, Taion rips into her for being so willing to sacrifice her troops just to get them to fight her head-on. Alexandria calls Taion "old-fashioned" because of this, though it's clear even she feels she's crossed a line.
• Wolfpack Boss: While the game recommends that you pick off her subordinates one by one while they're out on patrol, you can simply beeline straight to Colony Iota and fight her and all of them at once. However, it's only possible if you first wade through a crowd of grunts and an Ulula.
• Teen Genius: She's effectively only 15, but is a skilled strategist and the creator of 3's Collectapedia.
• Young and in Charge: She's only in her sixth Term (15 in other words) and is the head of Colony Iota.
• Younger Than They Look: She looks like someone in a late Term, but she's only in her sixth Term, making her roughly 15 years old, which is lampshaded by Mio, who thought she'd be closer to her own age. According to Alexandria and Chickadee, the method is a combination of cosmetics and affecting a regal bearing (her subordinates usually refer to her as "dame Alex" to further enforce the image of her being regal and respected), and the reason is a combination of wanting to be taken more seriously because of her youthful features without makeup and to protect the Colony from its enemies by obfuscating when the soldier turnover will be. She makes the party promise to keep this a secret following her Hero Quest (though in a late game sidequest she decides to reveal her real age and true birthday to the Colony).

Fiona (Mashiro)

Proudbanner Fiona

Voiced by: Aoi Yūki (Japanese), Rebecca Benson (English)

Class: Signifer
Blade: War Standard
Role: Healer
Class Inheritor: Lanz
Heroic Chain: When chosen, multiplies the TP of all active characters except self by 120%.
Chain Order: Charges Chain Attack gauge and grants Power Charge to all allies.

"I just wish I wasn't such a weakling, I can't run away from my responsibility."

One of the Heroes from Agnus. The young commander of Colony Mu in Erythia Sea, her Class is a Healer Class called Signifer, which specializes in buffing itself and its allies.

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• Ambiguously Human: She looks like a Blade, and even has the horns typical of the species. The pattern on her bag is also similar to one Electra has. However, she has a Scottish accent in the English dub and she has something that is either a Core Crystal or an earring on her left ear. She is most likely a Blade, but there is the possibility that she is also part Human.
• Badass Adorable: She develops into this as part of her backstory and character arc. By the end, she's able to cow Triton with words alone and join the party in taking on her entire Colony all while retaining her kind nature that everyone loves her for.
• Beware the Nice Ones: In one sidequest, she manages to talk Triton into backing down from teasing her crew by threatening to not feed him. Lanz and Sena mention they're now afraid of her.
• Brave Scot: She has a mild Scottish accent in the English dub, and takes on a lot of responsibility as the Commander of her Colony despite her young age.
• Call-Back: Two actually. Her purse bears the same symbol that's seen on Electra/Raiko from the previous game. She's also a Horned Humanoid just like Electra and Kora and has electrical abilities like them.
• Dub Name Change: In the English version she is named Fiona rather than Mashiro. Both have the same meaning of "bright white", although the former is Irish and the latter is Japanese.
• Failure-to-Save Murder: She blames herself for Irma's death even though Irma would have killed her and Ouroboros otherwise.
• Foil: She serves as one to her Class Inheritor Lanz. While they look completely different (Lanz is tall and physically strong, while Fiona is younger and more petite), they both hide their true feelings behind an upbeat facade, and they feel responsible for the death of a friend who was also a Moebius.
• He Is Not My Boyfriend: They don't have the words for it, but rest of Colony Mu thinks something is going on between her and Tallow during Fiona's Ascension Quest, to the point that she has to set the record straight about their relationship.
• The Heart: Of Colony Mu. It's clear she keeps the Colony together simply because everyone there loves her. The problem is, she's not a very good commander outside of that; after the destruction of the Flame Clock, the loss of their united purpose quickly causes discord in the Colony. She does eventually work on her leadership skills as her Hero Quests progress.
• Horned Humanoid: She has a pair of small red horns on her head.
• Innocence Lost: Fiona's Hero Quest exposes her to the true danger of the war, with the quest beginning with Noah and Mio having to send off her dead friends in the midst of an attack, and it ending with Fiona's best friend Irma turning out to be the Consul responsible for all her troubles who decides to pull an implied Suicide by Cop.
• Intergenerational Friendship: She and Triton become fast friends when he stumbles into Colony Mu during a late-game sidequest.
• Let's See YOU Do Better!: How she got promoted to Commander despite her young age and naivete. Following the previous Commander's death, she broke down in tears, begging on her knees for the Colony's Consul to change the way the Colony operates. The Consul's response was to put Fiona herself in charge and tell her that if she wants things changed, do it herself.
• In-Series Nickname: She's nicknamed "Shiro-chan" in Japanese, "Fifi" in English.
• The Nicknamer: Fond of nicknaming the people she likes, including Lanz (Lan-Lan), Sena (Sennie), and Manana (Manana-Banana).
• Random Effect Spell: The Signifer class' Aureole and Cry of Faith Arts each apply a random buff, either one to herself or two to all party members.
• Shock and Awe: Her trident is charged with electricity when used as a weapon.
• Something In My Eye: When Fiona starts crying while telling the story of why Colony Mu's flower field exists (as a memorial to the fallen), she initially claims that it's just the pollen she's allergic to.
• Support Party Member: To the extreme as the Signifer class doesn't have a lot of direct healing Arts despite being a Healer class. Instead, its power comes from the ability to grant itself buffs and then give them to the party. Done right and the party will be swimming in literally every buff in the game.
• Young and in Charge: She's pretty young but is the commander of Colony Mu, though it's downplayed in the sense that basically everyone there save for Ayase (in her seventh Term, ie. 16) is in their early teens at most.

The Troubadour (UNMARKED SPOILERS)

Glorysong Miyabi

Voiced by: Misato Fukuen (Japanese), Sorcha Groundsell (English)

Class: Troubadour
Blade: Siken Ivy
Role: Healer
Class Inheritor: Mio
Heroic Chain: When chosen, Mio gains TP equal to 100% of Miyabi's TP.
Chain Order: One additional character is reactivated, with a chance for 1 more.

"I'm giving you my whole self. So please... Live life in my stead."

An old friend of Mio and Sena's and a fellow Agnian off-seer.

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• Ambiguously Human: She has a tiny Core Crystal below her neck, but she is otherwise indistinguishable from a baseline Alrestian human, has no Ether lines on her skin, and speaks with an English accent in the English dub (whereas Blades typically have American accents). It's unclear if that tiny Core Crystal is a part of her or just a jewel attached to her choker, and if it was the former, that still begs the question of whether she's a Blade that's all but indistinguishable from a human (like Haze), a human Blade Eater (like Zeke and Mikhail), or the child of a Blade parent who inherited her Core Crystal hereditarily (like Na'el and Linka).
• Blow You Away: Her fans use wind-based attacks.
• Came Back Wrong: After her death, she was revived by Y but placed under his control along with certain other soldiers from both factions until Mio and Noah manage to snap her out of it. Then inverted in that unlike the other revived characters (who get few or no restored memories) she gets all the memories of her previous life back. How exactly is not understood by the party themselves.
• Combat Hand Fan: Her main weapons are a pair of combat fans, the Siken Ivy.
• Color Motif: Contrasting Mio's off-seer outfit that's white with red accents, Miyabi's is white with green accents.
• Dance Battler: Her attacks come off as if she's doing a fan dance.
• Distaff Counterpart:
  • Her being an off-seer who doesn't actually like fighting and is willing to off-see even the enemy faction brings to mind a female, Agnian version of Noah.
  • Her being the person who exemplified everything an off-seer should be to Mio before dying brings to mind a female version of Crys, Noah's off-seer mentor.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: Her being The Klutz doesn't affect her performance in battle and, while she's stated to dislike fighting, she still willingly takes up her fans without complaints when called upon by the party.
• Graceful Loser: Though she doesn't win the cooking contest in her Ascension Quest, she is nonetheless happy for taking part in it and for the winner, Manana.
• Heart Drive: Miyabi looks almost completely baseline human save for the square Core Crystal in her chest.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Sacrificed her life to save Mio and Sena from deadly gas within Colony Omega.
• Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Fights in her ceremonial-looking off-seer outfit.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: She's on the receiving end of this when Noah and Mio convey their feelings through their off-seer melodies to break her free from Y's brainwashing.
• The Klutz: In comparison to Mio being a skilled soldier, Miyabi was infamous for being very clumsy, though she personally doesn't mind because she doesn't particularly like fighting. In gameplay, this translates to her having a base TP value of 15, a value she shares with Lanz, Sena, Ashera, and Fiona (who isn't cut out to be a leader).
• Meaningful Name: "Miyabi" means "elegance" in Japanese, and is particularly associated with the beauty of impermanence. The character is similarly an elegant dancer pitted against the heroes by Y, who presents her to the party with other soldiers fighting right on the brink of expiry.
• Mirror Character: To Crys. While he and Miyabi were Noah and Mio's mentors as off-seers respectively, and both never show any signs of malice, the two ultimately wound up on opposite sides. Miyabi initially became Y's zombified puppet before becoming a Hero that aids Ouroboros, whereas Crys ended up being resurrected as part of Moebius.
• Nice Girl: She gets along with the residents of the City so well that, by the time of her Ascension Quest, Travis introduces her at the cooking contest as, "Everyone's Sweetheart."
• Palette Swap: Her outfit is identical to Mio's military uniform, except with the orange accents recolored green. Justified as it's the standard uniform for all female offseers in Agnus.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Her left eye glows red while under Y's control.
• Supreme Chef: One in the making during her Ascension Quest, where she takes place in a cooking contest and earns praise from all the judges despite only bringing forward a simple teishoku meal. Following the contest, she asks Manana to teach her more about cooking, and the Nopon is more than happy to name Miyabi her apprentice.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Shares this dynamic with Mio; Miyabi is the demure and delicate off-seer who doesn't like fighting, while Mio is more athletic and prepared for combat, to the point where Mio didn't even intend to become an off-seer.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Exemplifies many traditional Japanese feminine virtues while also being courageous enough to lay her life down to protect her friends Mio and Sena.

The Seraph (UNMARKED SPOILERS)

Smoldering Cammuravi (Kamunabi)

Voiced by: Taiten Kusunoki (Japanese), Shai Matheson (English)

Class: Seraph
Blade: Heatshimmer Spear
Role: Attacker
Class Inheritor: Taion
Heroic Chain: Multiplies TP by 200% when first in line to attack, but TP returns to pre-action state upon reactivation.
Chain Order: Increases damage ratio and grants Attack Up to all allies.

"My Way demands we fight! Come then, and test your mettle against my lance!"

The honorable (former) commander of Agnus' Colony Delta. Imprisoned after taking the blame for the loss of his Colony, he enters the story again by getting recruited by Consul N.

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• Advertised Extra: While he received a lot of emphasis in pre-release trailers, his actual main story relevance is fairly miniscule, with the vast majority of his scenes featuring Ethel as the main focus. He does get some character-specific focus in the Hero Quest to recruit him, but it's completely optional.
• Back from the Dead: He's revived by Y as a zombie during Mio's Ascension Quest, but the party helps him fully regain his humanity and he becomes a fully recruitable Hero afterwards.
• Better to Die than Be Killed: After O and P start forcibly draining his life force, he realizes he won't survive the battle and accepts Ethel's challenge to duel her where they both consequently kill each other.
• Blood Knight: Has a Worthy Opponent in Ethel, who he takes pleasure in fighting. When he is manipulated by O to attack Ouroboros, he rips out his eye with the Iris so he can fight Ethel one final time.
• Cast from Hit Points: The whole gimmick of Cammuravi's class, Seraph. He has enormously powerful Arts that cost 10% of his HP to activate, and once he's self-damaged for at least 35% of his maximum HP, he becomes Awakened and powers up his Talent Art.
• The Chessmaster: He's actually a very skilled strategist despite seeming to be just a strong warrior at first glance, as he's known to feign weakness to lure overconfident Kevesi armies into traps.
• Code of Honour: He's insistent on adherence to something called a Warrior's Way, and seems to believe everyone has one. One part of his code is to not attack someone who is unarmed.
• Dual Boss: He and Ethel fight the party in their Ferronises.
• Exhausted Eye Bags: Features these even after being reborn. It's never commented on, but presumably a result of overwork and other stresses. Ironically he mistakes Travis in the City as being horribly overworked due to not understanding aging yet, Travis not taking kindly to the perceived digs at his appearance.
• Eye Scream: When O attempts to take control of him through his Iris, he rips out his own left eye to prevent that. His next incarnation gets it back, but is blind in that eye and suffers periodic pain in it as a result of some deep part of his being remembering the injury.
• Fate Drives Us Together: Believes this to be the case between him and Ethel, that one way or another they will always meet and become bound to one another, and his first Hero Quest strongly supports this idea through the extreme coincidences that cause them to meet and partner up. Some memory of each other even is retained in their new lives from the previous ones.
• Genius Bruiser: The powerful commander of Colony Delta, and a skilled strategist capable of leading overconfident Kevesi troops into traps.
• Infinity -1 Sword: Cammuravi and his Seraph class are one of the most potent Attackers in the game, but can't be used until very late in the main story. Ethel can't be re-recruited until even later, but she still leaves behind her Flash Fencer class until then.
• Interface Spoiler: While he appears early in the story, he isn't recruitable until much later, yet his silhouette can still be seen in menus.
• Manly Man: He's a badass, samurai-coded stoic warrior with a deep voice (in both English and Japanese) and who wields a massive lotus-shaped flaming spear that gives him the highest base Attack stat out of all the Heroes. Not to mention that he's determined enough to rip his own eye out to free himself from Moebius' control.
• Meaningful Name: His Japanese name Kamunabi is a reference to natural sites that house divine spirits in Shinto, and fittingly he is a very spiritual person who finds peace in being one with nature.
• Mutual Kill: He and Ethel manage to kill each other with stabs to their respective Ferronis' chest compartments.
• Nothing Personal: In their first encounter Cammuravi tells Noah and Mio that he has nothing against them personally, but his personal code demands that they fight.
• Playing with Fire: Both his armour and his lance are engulfed in flames, and even his hair seems to be on fire, just like with Sena.
• Rapid Aging: After his death, his next incarnation was aged up by Y's experiments, out of his belief that the flame of life shines brightest towards its end. As such, he looks just like he used to but he's a bit more naive than his original self.
• Red Baron: He is renowned as "Smoldering Cammuravi", befitting of his fiery appearance, and "Crimson Lotus Cammuravi" in Japanese. He's regarded as being unmatched in strength among the current Agnus warriors.
• Resurrection Sickness: As a result of ripping his left eye out shortly before his death the reborn Cammuravi has difficulties with his vision, implied to be partial blindness in his originally ripped out eye, and is prone to suffering random bouts of pain.
• Samurai: His strict honor code, status as a renowned military leader, the general Japanese aesthetic of Agnus, and his recurring self-sacrifice, in both the story and gameplay, make Cammuravi rather samurai-coded overall.
• Satellite Character: It's downplayed, but Cammuravi has a sum total of one scene alone (that being a scene that exists solely to show off his tactical skills) that Ethel is not a part of before fighting and dying with her in Chapter 4. He never interacts with the party before said boss fight either, and his name isn't mentioned a single time the entire rest of the chapter following his death, with all focus being put on avenging or fighting for Ethel. Justified in that none of the party knew him personally at the time. He gets more personal focus when he's reborn, showcasing a somewhat adorably earnest side to him.
• Ship Tease: Pretty blatantly with Ethel. They want nothing more than to enjoy fair fights with one another, and even as they are condemned and dying both wish for nothing with their freedom than to cross blades with each other in earnest. Of course, during this particular life neither had any concept of romance, but the implications remain. After being reborn, he and Ethel are drawn to each other, and become "partners" in the City, their friendship very fulfilling. But upon Ethel regaining her adult body, Cammuravi recognizes her on an emotional/psychological level, and the two pledge to walk hand in hand with each other from then on.
• Sliding Scale of Gameplay and Story Integration: His Establishing Character Moment has him sacrificing many of his soldiers to perform an overwhelming curbstomp to a Kevesi Colony. In gameplay his Seraph Class sacrifices HP in exchange for devastating damage output.
• Survival Mantra: Has several, which he seems to recite in stressful situations (namely when experiencing a fear of heights after he is reborn).
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: As revealed on the ride to the City, Cammuravi (at least now) is deathly afraid of heights. Taion decides not to tell him about how high up he stood on his Ferronis in his previous life.
• Worthy Opponent: According to the relationship chart, he and Ethel are "Fateful enemies". This changes to "Partners" after they are revived.
• Younger Than They Look: He could pass for someone in his late twenties at the youngest, and the presence of Exhausted Eye Bags make him seem older. In truth, he's only a 10th termer, making him physically 19.

The Lifesage (MASSIVE UNMARKED SPOILERS)

Nia (Niyah), Queen of Agnus

Voiced by: Hitomi Ohwada (Japanese), Catrin Mai-Huw (English)

Class: Lifesage
Blade: Anima Sword
Role: Healer
Class Inheritor: Mio
Heroic Chain: Reactivates all characters except self when Nia completes an order.
Chain Order: Chance to revive all downed party members, allowing them to participate in the Chain Attack.

"I'll come with you, and together we will build the future."

The true queen of Agnus and the tritagonist of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. She is the creator of the Ouroboros Stones, and the second half of the story revolves around awakening her and her Kevesi counterpart and friend, Queen Melia. For tropes pertaining to her original appearance, click here.

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• Ambiguously Bi: Like in her base game, Nia does have feelings for Rex and before Aionios, seemingly married him and had a child. However, the nature of her relationship with Pyra and Mythra, who are also strongly implied to have become Rex's wives as well, is more unclear. As a recruitable postgame Hero, she wields spectral copies of their swords and incorporates their appearance into her outfit and hair, but it's left ambiguous whether it's for platonic reasons (as friends content to be Rex's wives together) or romantic reasons (not just being co-married to Rex but to each other).
• Armor-Piercing Attack: Her Lifesage class allows her to use attacks that can ignore an enemy's defenses.
• The Artifact: After being awakened in the Cloudkeep, Nia will replace her Rotten Robotic Replacement on the Affinity Chart, but the leader of Agnus Castle will still be listed as "Queen of Agnus" without a proper name.
• Auto-Revive: Nia's Chain Attack Order lets her revive any fallen party members if completed, with increasing likelihood as her level increases. At higher levels, your party will be completely fine for Chain Attacks just as long as Nia herself is kept alive along with enough party members to reach 100%+ TP with her.
• Babies Ever After: Along with Pyra and Mythra, she had a child with Rex as seen in the ending. The game heavily implies that said child is actually Mio.
• Background Music Override: Having her in the party will change the battle music to "Kaleidoscopic Core", a combat remix of Drifting Soul.
• Balance Buff: In Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Nia was a Crutch Character who often couldn't catch up to the other Drivers when optimized and when the party gained access to more powerful Blades, not counting her (still not amazing) potential as a healing Blade for Rex. In this game, she's one Infinity +1 Sword of two among the Heroes and her class is considered a solid midtier class.
• Battle Couple: In the Archsage's Gauntlet mode, she can fight alongside her husband Rex if both are unlocked, although being a non-canon mode focused on gameplay, they don't have any special interactions with each other.
• Beneath the Mask: She tries to act like a prim and proper queen should, but when she thinks nobody's looking or lets her emotions get the better of her, the same brash and crude woman who traveled with Rex so many years ago slips out.
• Big Good: She's the creator of the Ouroboros Stones, is awakened by the party late in the game, and serves as one of the most powerful forces for good in the final stretch of the story.
• Bootstrapped Leitmotif: She's pretty much inherited Drifting Soul from 2 as hers. The original song played during several key emotional moments, with the most relevant one being when Nia revealed her Blade form to Rex and confessed her love for him.
• Boyish Short Hair: As before, but with a twist — she's in her Blade form this time, which was known for Rapid Hair Growth when switching from her short-haired Gormotti form. She had a major haircut.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: While Nia serves as The High Queen, her true demeanor is still far from queenly, being the same headstrong, vulgar rebel she was in her younger years.
• Calming Tea: One of her animations when resting at a campsite is her sipping from a cup. Quicky subverted when she burns her tongue and rapidly blows on the too-hot liquid.
• Cat Girl: She is a Gormotti, one of a race of cat people, although in reality she is a Flesh Eater Blade forced to consume her Gormotti sister.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Her outfit in the epilogue and as a recruitable Hero is based more on her Driver outfit than her Blade one (unlike her royal robes). She also uses spectral versions of Pyra's and Mythra's Aegis swords in battle, and wears tights that very closely resemble Mythra's from her "Massive Melee Mythra"/Super Smash Bros. Ultimate outfit as well as a white band around her right leg like the one Mythra normally wears, while her haircut more closely resembles Pyra's than her previous haircuts. She even mentions that the outfit was one made for her back when the worlds were separate.
  • Her Enhanced Cellular Stimulus skill is based on when Nia used her healing powers to interfere with Malos' cells during their battle at the Cliffs of Morytha during 2.
• Disney Death: Right after she awakens, Nia is stabbed in the "heart" by D. However, after his death, she turns out to be none the worse for wear given that her Core Crystal functions as the closest thing to an actual heart for her and as a Blade unaltered from the original world she can regenerate from any other kind of injury.
  Nia: Two cetris to the side and things'd'been a slight worse...
• Dual Wielding: Or rather, triple wielding. She wields three swords: her Catalyst Scimitar Blade weapon from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and spectral copies of Pyra and Mythra's Aegis Swords.
• Establishing Character Moment: Nia is introduced cursing out the man who just shot her, noticing the party, and then greeting them in an obviously overcompensating graceful manner. This quickly shows her tendencies to hide her generally coarse demeanor under a queenly façade.
• Fire, Ice, Lightning: A variation — when she uses her Divine Sword Talent Art, she performs a flurry of slashes with her water-based Catalyst Scimitar before grabbing her simulacra of Pyra's and Mythra's swords to strike the opponent as they glow with their original elements of fire and light, respectively.
• The Fog of Ages: One way to interpret her words when talking to Ghondor about Vandham and the events of Uraya in 2, she remarks that the events happened so long ago that the memory of them is all but gone, but she herself seems to remember everything important about it (to the point of saying that what Vandham taught her about life made her who she is today) so she may simply be referring to how the memory of the Vandham she knew is all but gone from the world (as it’s likely only she and Poppi remember him).
• Foil: Nia and Melia are both queens of a major nation, but their personalities and backstories differ. Melia was born into royalty and became ruler despite being the daughter of the second consort. Melia is more proper and civil in and out of her queenly duty. On the other hand, Nia wasn't born into royalty and remains to be seen how she became queen. In her queenly duty, she acts appropriately, but out of it her old brash self comes out from time to time.
• Former Teen Rebel: The Queen of Agnus was once a member of the organisation of Torna, which actively sought to destroy the world she lived in.
• Gameplay and Story Integration: Nia being a unaltered Alrestian Blade (or rather, a Flesh Eater) means that she can survive almost anything as long as her core crystal isn't damaged. In gameplay her healing class is the most durable thanks to her passives and high stats, as well as her regeneration abilities in lore tying into her party wide effect that makes everyone Made of Iron.
• Greater-Scope Paragon: She is the creator of Origin (together with Melia), the ark that would allow both worlds to be reborn, and the Ouroboros Stones, the devices that allow the Ouroboros to team up and gain their powers in the first place. Once she is awakened, she graduates to Big Good, later sharing the position with Melia.
• Harmful Healing: Her Lifesage class gives her a chance to add her healing power as pierce damage on a hit. Said skill that grants this is called 'Enhanced Cellular Stimulus', no doubt inspired by the attack that she used to incapacitate Malos in XC2.
• The High Queen: The true leader of the forces of Agnus, she sealed herself away in the Cloudkeep to evade Z's clutches while the Consul installed a robotic decoy in her stead. With that said, she's more of a subversion than anything: unlike Melia, who has a much easier time with the role, Nia has a really hard time playing the impossibly wise and dignified queen.
• I Am Very British: Played for Laughs as she tries to behave like a queen, up to and including the posh Welsh accent. However, she regularly slips up and speaks with her natural Welsh accent around Ouroboros.
• Infinity +1 Sword: As stated in-game, Nia's Lifesage class is the most powerful of the Healer classes at direct healing, and can be only be used for postgame content (including her Hero Quest). Furthermore, her ascension quest requires the player to trudge through an area of aggressive Level 90+ monsters.
• Intergenerational Friendship:
  • Becomes fast friends with the Ouroboros despite being hundreds of years older than them and looking and acting at least 10 years older.
  • She befriends Ghondor in her Ascension Quest, as Ghondor reminds Nia of herself from Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
• Irony:
  • In Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Nia was a Crutch Character who often couldn't catch up to the other Drivers when optimized and when the party gained access to more powerful Blades, not counting her (still not amazing) potential as a healing Blade for Rex. In this game, she's one Infinity +1 Sword of two among the Heroes.
  • Compared to Melia, who came from a Polyamory family and is implied to still be single after Fiora became the Victorious Childhood Friend, Nia finds herself in a polyamorous family with Rex and the Aegis.
• Karmic Jackpot: In her original game, Nia was nothing but supportive of Pyra and Mythra getting together with Rex, despite having feelings for him herself. She even encouraged Rex to pursue a relationship with the newly revived Aegis. Throughout their journey, she often expressed feeling lonely and her desire to find a place where she belonged. In this game, it is revealed not only that she has maintained her connection with her found family, but seemingly managed to get together with Rex (alongside Pyra and Mythra) and had a child together.
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: For players who didn't play through 2, this is where they'll learn that the petite Gormotti girl Nia is actually a Flesh Eater Blade with supreme healing powers. Being a Flesh Eater made her an outcast in Alrest, but now she no longer needs to hide her true nature.
• Lightning Bruiser: Nia is both this and a Support Party Member. While her main focus is on healing, she also has high Attack and the Steelcleaver gem to make her defense-annulling attacks hit hard, along with high Agility, a decent Block Rate, and above-average defenses to make sure she herself can take a hit and heal it off.
• Long-Lived: As a Flesh Eater Blade left to her own devices, Nia has been around a long time with no visible signs of aging. With the exception of the Art Shift and an Important Haircut between games, she looks just like her Blade form in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. She will die from old age eventually (as stated in her original game by Nia herself and with a quest involving extending Cole/Minoth's life), but her body may never show it.
• Luke, I Might Be Your Father: Her conversation with Mio in the Memorial Hall heavily implies that Nia might be Mio's mother (or at least, the mother of the original Mio), and that she is quite possibly the baby Nia is holding in the picture seen at the game's end. Aside from that, Nia is also shown to have trusted M (a previous version of Mio) with hiding the location of the Cloudkeep, and when Nia awakens from her slumber, her gaze lingers more on Mio than on the rest of the party.
• Making a Splash: Like in her original game, she uses water to attack and heal, which makes it even more fitting that her castle is situated above a large ocean. Her mock Aegis swords also seem to be made out of water.
• Messianic Archetype: The imagery isn't as obvious as with Melia, but Nia helped create The Ark that would save both worlds from destruction and also invented the device that would allow future generations to rebel against Moebius. When she awakens, the background music shifts to an angelic choir singing "Drifting Soul", and her inherent regeneration ability as a Blade lets her survive an assassination attempt. Also like with Melia, Moebius using her image for a fake Queen to reinforce their ideals is reminiscent of how some sects of Christianity use Jesus' image to reinforce repressive hierarchies and systems that oppose his actual teachings.
• Mirror Match: In New Game Plus, she can be used to fight against (and most likely utterly thrash) her Rotten Robotic Replacement.
• Ms. Exposition: After being rescued, she tells the story of how Aionios and Moebius came to be.
• Mythology Gag: Quite a few, given that she's one of the very few returning characters from previous games:
  • During her recruitment cutscenes, she briefly sings the Torigoth field theme from XC2 to herself. She also refers to herself as an "old fox," which might seem to be the wrong animal for a Gormotti, but only if you didn't know that her Blade form in XC2 gave her kitsune traits as well as feline ones.
  • She also sometimes hums the "quest complete" jingle from the same game after winning a battle.
  • The entryway to her chambers in the Cloudkeep features a carving of Dromarch, her tiger-like Blade companion from XC2
• Not So Above It All: There are a couple of instances of her Happy Dance making an appearance when she thinks no one's looking. She's also almost as hot tempered as she was in the second game despite trying to hide it.
• Polyamory: It's revealed at the very end that Rex married Pyra, Mythra, and her.
• Post-End Game Content: Nia can be permanently recruited to the party after defeating the Final Boss.
• Precision F-Strike: One of her death quotes has her drop the "elegant queen" act harder than ever.
  Nia: Aaaargh, bloody hell!!
• Previous Player-Character Cameo: She was one of the playable party members in her own game, and returns as one of the final recruitable Heroes in this one.
• Proper Tights with a Skirt: Much like Mio, and seemingly inspired by her old friend Mythra, she wears tights resembling those of the Massive Melee Mythra armor in 2 with her skirt. It fits the regal image Nia tries (ineffectually) to uphold.
• Progressively Prettier: In her original game, Nia looked cute but a bit frumpy in her Driver outfit, and much more elegant as a Blade. Here, she's matured while embracing her Blade features and so looks much more graceful and beautiful than before, with more well-developed curves and facial features.
• Rags to Royalty: Went from a wandering fugitive in the original Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to the Queen of Agnus here. Though interestingly, she did go Royalty To Rags before that.
• Rule of Cool: Nia now inexplicably has the ability to wield spectral Aegis sword replicas based on Pyra's and Mythra's weapons. Out-of-universe, this serves as fanservice, and in-game she only uses them for the final hit of her Talent Art.
• Sealed Good in a Can: Unlike Melia, Nia chose to lock herself away and go into stasis to avoid Z's notice.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Despite being the Queen of Agnus, she's the same Nia as she always was and is quite the pottymouth. When she awakens in front of the party, after a few rapid repetitions of "ow" (having just been stabbed through the chest by D) the first thing out of her mouth is "That bastard!"
• Sliding Scale of Gameplay and Story Integration: One might be surprised to learn that Nia, the co-creator of Origin and the creator of the Ouroboros Stones, has the second-lowest TP of all characters at 15, tied with Lanz and Sena. Gameplay-wise, this seems to be to prevent her from becoming even more Purposely Overpowered than she already is, because her Heroic Chain reactivates all Ouroboros members; character-wise, this seems to be a hint towards her hot-headedness and animal instincts as seen in Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
• Spell My Name With An S: While her name has previously been spelled Niyah in Japanese romaji, the Japanese character names in the credits use the English spelling of Nia.
• Sudden Name Change: Her weapon is known as the "Anima Sword" rather than the "Catalyst Scimitar", though this is most likely because it refers to her complete set of weapons (the Scimitar plus her simulated Aegis swords).
• Sure, Let's Go with That: Plays this trope to a tee when after revealing she doesn't know how to get to Origin, the party members figure out a means themselves and Sena ends up deciding that in Nia's infinite wisdom she planned it all out as a sort of test of character and ingenuity. Nia, in an almost Blatant Lies fashion agrees by repeating Sena's own words in a uneasy tone.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: During her recruitment scene, she makes it clear to the party that she's coming along only so there's enough time for her to tell them about the past, and definitely not because she's sick and tired of being cooped up in her ivory tower and she definitely isn't proud of herself for coming up with a plausible excuse.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The brash, snarky short-haired Tomboy to Melia's refined, elegant long-haired Girly Girl.
• Tomboy Princess: Try as she might, she's still the same feisty and crude adventurer at heart despite growing up and becoming a mother and queen. She actually volunteers her services as Hero upon being recruited, in part due to wanting to feel that sense of adventure once more.
• Took a Level in Badass: Nia was already plenty badass, being both a potent Driver and a supreme healing Blade, but here she has become the Queen of Agnus, fights without the need for a Driver or Alrestian Blade of her own^note her Catalyst Scimitar is now her "Blade" by Aionios' definition of the term, wields additional weapons based on those of her legendary wives/partners, helped come up with The Ark that would have saved all life on Bionis and Alrest, and can pilot her entire castle as one of the two largest Ferronises in Aionios.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Thanks to Character Development. Nia is Older and Wiser than before, and is considerably more mellow towards her friends and allies. While she still has sudden angry outbursts and fits of swearing, they're mostly merely used as exclamations or cries of pain and/or directed towards the villains.
• Tough Leader Façade: Played for Laughs. Nia repeatedly tries to hide her brash personality behind a stoic, serene demeanor befitting the Queen she is. When she's recruited as a playable Hero, the party stumbles upon her dressing up in her old clothes while talking very crudely, only for her to embarrassingly return back to her more demure persona when she notices them.
  Nia: Ahh, SCORE!! ...I mean... what... good... fortune!
• Vague Age: Her age is listed as ??? in the Affinity Chart. At the very least, she predates the creation of Aionios, which has been around for a millennium at the bare minimum.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: While it can be presumed that he is one of the "countless" lives stored in Origin, there's no specific word on where Dromarch is, despite the fact that Nia being alive and well means he should be too. At the very least, Nia honored him with a carving of his head on the archway to her chambers in the Cloudkeep, and he appears in her family photo during the epilogue.

The Master Driver [DLC] (MASSIVE SPOILERS)

See here for the second Future Redeemed Hero, Rex.

Nopon Caravan Heroes

Ino [DLC]

Artificial Blade Ino

Voiced by: Aoi Koga (Japanese), Ina Marie Smith (English)

Class: Noponic Champion
Blade: Inosabers
Role: Defender
Class Inheritor: Noah
Heroic Chain: When Ino completes an order, adds 30 to TP of the character with the least TP and reactivates them.
Chain Order: Greatly increases damage ratio.

"Ino is creation of Nopon, legendary Grandmasterpon Oosoo... Final, bestest and most strongest... of all Artificial Blade!"

A mechanical girl that Ouroboros encounters searching for High Ether canisters. She has knowledge of one of the old worlds, refers to herself as an "Artificial Blade", and after bonding with Noah declares him to be her destined "Driver".

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• Alien Non-Interference Clause: Downplayed, but Ino mentions that Oosoo didn't want her to get involved with humans. She implies that she only got involved with the Nopon caravans and not any Nopon that join the Colonies.
• Ambiguously Related: It's heavily implied that Ino's creator Oosoo is a relative of Tora's, but it's not made clear whether it's Soosoo under a pseudonym (as was hinted in 2) or another relative, or if Oosoo is related to them at all.
• Angrish: During Ino’s Ascension Quest, after the Nopon Eater escapes from the gang, they try to report it to Sunny, only for Ino to spout gibberish. Somehow, he understands everything she says. Noah is just as baffled as the audience. See for yourself.
• Background Music Override: During the final fight of her Ascension Quest, after her and Noah establish an affinity link between them, the music changes to Xenoblade Chronicles 2's battle theme.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Downplayed on the main character front to Poppi from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 as Ino is exclusive to the DLC Expansion Pass (not unlike fellow DLC-exclusive Artificial Blade Poppibuster) and Poppi is a main character in 2. Whereas Poppi starts off the game with somewhat robotic mannerisms and speaks in a monotone voice while growing more animated and lively as the story progresses, Ino acts like an excitable Genki Girl from the start. She also actively participates in battle alongside Noah and the others, whereas Poppi's Driver did most of the fighting while providing support. On the subject of their Drivers, Poppi's is Tora, a Nopon, while Noah is a Homs, i.e. a human from Keves. Their weapons also differ, with Poppi's being a shield while Ino uses twin blades in combat.
• Curtains Match the Window: Has green hair and eyes.
• Disc-One Nuke: Ino isn't the most amazing Hero due to having a lot of clashing Arts and Skills that are at odds with her main class function, but you can get her as soon as the start of Chapter 3, as long as you've gotten the early-game Hero Teach for his Scree Walking Field Skill first. Ino is your only Evasion-based Hero until late midgame (the other source of Evasion Defender classes being Mio, a party member), her Chain Attacks abilities are incredibly useful all game long, and her Noponic Champion class grants you an early, direction-independent source of Agnian Break in a game where combos are extremely powerful.
• Dramatic Irony: Everything she says regarding Blades and Drivers is this. While no one in the party gets what she's talking about, anyone who's played 2 most certainly will.
• Exotic Eye Designs: Ino's eyes have white pupils and red flecks in their irises.
• Expy: Of Emeralda, like Poppi was, and in some ways even more so. Like Emeralda, Ino is a green-haired robot girl who latches onto the main character (with Noah already being a Fei expy himself) as sort of a surrogate daughter. Her body even has the same red-and-black color scheme as Emeralda's clothes.
• Expy Coexistence: Ino is an expy of Poppi, who is alive and well in Aionios serving as Nia's supercomputer in the Cloudkeep. Neither of them seem to be aware of the other's existence, however.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: She acts and talks like she's in Alrest during the time of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Unlike most of the inhabitants of Aionios, she still uses the term "Blade" to refer to the Living Weapon lifeforms connected to Drivers, and in fact calls and treats Noah as her own Driver (though the end of her Ascension Quest implies that this has become true). That said, it's implied all her knowledge of Alrest comes from things Oosoo told her, rather than direct experience, and other odd aspects of her behavior stem from her having simply never been close to anyone except Nopon before.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: A strange mix of this and Sliding Scale of Gameplay and Story Integration. In case you were hoping for Unexpected Gameplay Change like what Elma did in her DLC appearance back in 2, Ino functions like any other Hero you recruit despite recognizing Noah as her Driver. Furthermore, while Noah is officially her Driver, this won't stop the rest of the Ouroboros from using her Nopon Defender class once they've unlocked it. This actually tracts with the fact no one in the party has any idea what Ino is talking about.
• The Ghost: Her Grandmasterpon Oosoo never appears onscreen.
• Heart Drive: She has a green crystal right at the center of her chest.
• Hero of Another Story: More so than the other Heroes. For an unknown amount of time, Ino has been protecting the Nopon Caravans. She's apparently famous enough to earn the nickname "Ino-Ino". Anyone who's played 2 knows just how big a deal that is, as Nopon only give nicknames like that to those they hold in very high esteem.
• Jet Pack: Her feet have rocket boosters of some sort equipped in them like Poppi, however they don't seem able to do more than let her hover, boost her jumps, etc. and are only seen in action during her Chain Order.
• Last of Her Kind: Proclaimed herself as the "Strongest and final Artificial Blade". Though whether this is true or not, considering Poppi is still alive even if her existence is mostly kept secret, is still up in the air.
• Mechanically Unusual Fighter: Downplayed; her Starry Beat/Tri-Slash art is the only Break Art that doesn't require specific positioning to take effect (not counting Ouroboros arts).
• Metaphorically True:
  • Ino agrees with Noah when he asks if Drivers and Blades are partners. While that's technically true, she leaves out a lot.
  • When Ino refers to herself as an "Artificial Blade", Taion surmises that she's an Anthropomorphic Personification of the Blade weapons found in Aionios. This is true in a conceptual sense, but not in a literal one.
• Mythology Gag: Due to the franchise’s tradition of the main protagonists being normally associated with the color red, it’s no surprise that Ino, whose primarily red in color, would choose Noah as her destined Driver.
  • There is also her Inoswap mechanic, which works completely differently from Poppiswap in the previous game despite sharing a similar name.
• Neutral No Longer: Ino aligns with the Nopon Caravans, and thus is not involved in the war between Keves and Agnus nor is she fighting with the City against Moebius. Oosoo didn't want her to get involved with humans at all, in fact. However, upon meeting her "Driver" Noah, Ino joins Ouroboros in helping liberate Aionios.
• Red Is Heroic: Ino is the self-proclaimed champion of the Nopon and the majority of her body’s armor is colored in a vivid shade of red.
• Robot Girl: Ino appears to be mostly mechanical in makeup save for her head, and calls herself an Artificial Blade as per Xenoblade Chronicles 2. She shares similarities with Poppi, namely the green crystal in her Chest, the fact that her class is "Noponic Champion", and the fact that she speaks in the same third-person way that all Nopon and their creations do.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: She appears to be one to Poppi from Xenoblade 2, being an Artificial Blade, having ties to the Nopon and speaking in their dialect, and even having her own version of Poppi's Poppiswap system, the Inoswap. A key difference is that her creator did not become her Driver, meaning she had to fight on her own until she met Noah and bonded with him.
• Third-Person Person: Ino refers to herself in the third person while speaking, using the same dialect as Poppi and most Nopon.
• Wham Line: She name drops her Grandmasterpon as a completely new character named Oosoo. That someone aside from Nia, Poppi, and Melia is aware of the old worlds' existences has many implications, on top of the fact it sounds a lot like Soosoo, Tora's grandfather and the original creator of Artificial Blades. Future Redeemed reveals that a small number of people from the original worlds were brought in with their memories intact and were able to pass their knowledge onto members of the City and others. It's implied Oosoo is a member of this group along with Riku, and by extension many other Nopon as well.
• Wrong Context Magic: Played with. During her Ascension Quest, Ino and Noah gain an Affinity Link and do effectively a Level IV Blade Special, demonstrating that Noah has indeed become her Driver as she claimed. Outside of that, however, she functions more or less like the other Heroes.

City Heroes

Gray

Ashenpelt Gray

Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba (Japanese), Shaun Dooley (English)

Class: Full Metal Jaguar
Blade: Gun Drones
Role: Attacker
Class Inheritor: Eunie
Heroic Chain: Multiplies damage ratio increase by 1.5x upon completing an order that Hero participates in.
Chain Order: During Chain Attack, boosts damage dealt to low HP enemies.

^{Click here to see him without his mask}

"Whoever goes up against me, they're getting crushed."

One of the Heroes, whose allegiance is at first unknown.

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• Attack Drone: In addition to his primary handguns, his Full Metal Jaguar class utilizes drones in combat which are each mounted with a BFG capable of firing sweeping laser attacks across a wide area.
• Badass Cape: The primary costume component of his class is a tattered black cape, and he's a master gunslinger.
• Boring, but Practical: His Chain Order is nothing flashy, just him firing off his drones and then doing an evasive firing dive, but it gets the job done.
• Chekhov's Gunman: A more literal example than most, Gray is a completely optional hero that requires backtracking whom is also a travelling resident of Swordmarch. A lot of things about him (such as the eyepatch) start to make sense once you head to the City, and if he's in your party while there, he'll comment on it and — either directly or through inference — let a few things loose a bit early (such as the fact the Lost Numbers also use Blades over traditional weapons, or telling you where to find important city personnel later on).
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: It requires getting a close look at him, but Gray has visible aging lines along the exposed part of his face, an immediate indication that he's not from Agnus or Keves.
• Good is Not Nice: Gray is good-aligned and has a hidden soft spot for Ouroboros, but he's also terse in demeanor and pretty ruthless. When he and Ouroboros have cornered the hardliners, Gray says that he'll kill Yarmil and only keep Broo alive for information and kill her if she doesn't tell him anything worthwhile, with both Lanz and Eunie remarking that he doesn't mess around. That said, he ends up not actually killing them.
• Guns Akimbo: He wields two guns.
• Happily Married: He has a wife, Rozana, living in the City. It seems he's extremely rarely home and even when in the City will frequently refuse to visit her while he's "on business". Despite this, the marriage appears to be stable and happy, with Rozana merely saying Gray's always been like this and she doesn't mind.
• Hates Small Talk: He has absolutely no patience for chit-chat.
• Hidden Depths: A side quest in the City reveals that for all his gruffness, he genuinely does like traveling with Ouroboros as his wife mentions that he constantly talks about them whenever he comes back home.
• May–December Romance: As eventually revealed on the Affinity Chart, his true age is 60 while his wife, Rozana, is 30 years old, half his age by a thirty year gap.
• Mythology Gag: His class is "Full Metal Jaguar", the same as Elma from Xenoblade Chronicles X. He also uses time recharge Arts, as X did as well.
• Not So Stoic: He usually maintains a stiff, distant attitude towards basically everything. However, when Eunie asks him if he and his wife have had any babies, he becomes flustered and can't answer the question.
• Older Than He Looks: Has the appearance of a middle-aged man visibly older than the party, but is even older than he looks, being a whopping 60 years old.
• Old Soldier: He's approximately the same age as Guernica (60), and was a close friend of his. And of course, age hasn't slowed him down one bit on the battlefield.
• Rewatch Bonus: After learning he's from Swordmarch, it makes sense as to why the eye covered by his eyepatch lights up when activating Chain Attacks, as opposed to not lighting up at all like Riku and Manana or simply just lighting up the other eye — he wears the eyepatch in order to avoid Moebius detection, not because of anything regarding his vision.
• Shoot the Bullet: In his initial encounter with the party, Gray blocks one of Eunie's shots from her Gun Rod with a blast from one of his own guns, using the resulting explosion as cover to make a run for it.
• Silver Fox: He's got a few wrinkles, but you likely wouldn't guess that he's 60 years old from how in shape and overall attractive he is. Notably despite having seen a few old people by the time they meet him, none of the party members figure out he's not from Keves or Agnus until after they reach the City.
• Sword Limbo: In his character video he dodges Noah's sword by bending backwards, allowing it to pass over him.
• Throw-Away Guns: Instead of reloading, he drops his guns to the floor, dismisses them, and summons a new, fully-loaded pair.
• Terse Talker: Gray doesn't talk much and when he does it's straight and to the point. Rozana even lampshades how his tendency to keep words to a minimum makes it hard for people who haven't known him for a long time to realize what he's trying to get at.

Monica

City's Bulwark Monica Vandham

Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe (Japanese), Pippa Bennett-Warner (English)

Class: Lost Vanguard
Blade: Defense Mace
Role: Defender
Class Inheritor: Eunie
Heroic Chain: When Monica completes an order, adds 15 to TP of the character with the most TP, and reactivates them.
Chain Order: One additional character is reactivated, with a chance for 1 more.

"A partner in romance. The feeling of having someone very precious to you... That'd be one way of putting it. You'll understand too someday. Or... It might be that you already do."

Guernica's daughter, and one of the Elders of the City.

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• 11th-Hour Ranger: While she can be used before, storywise, she and Ghondor join the party as they're travelling down Origin, the final area of the game, and are present for the battle against Z.
• Action Mom: She's Ghondor's mother and a formidable fighter on the battlefield.
• Amazonian Beauty: Notably toned at her arms and core and she's got at least one admirer amongst the Lost Numbers.
• Ambiguously Brown: She doesn't really have what could be called a race, but she's noticeably darker-skinned than her father and lighter-skinned than her daughter, and has a Black voice actress in the English dub.
• Awesome Aussie: Has an Australian accent like her father and is quite the badass.
• Big Damn Heroes: When the party is surrounded by seemingly endless monsters within Origin, Monica saves them by having Gilgamesh crush them with a single punch, before joining the party herself.
• Big Eater: Or more precisely, speed eater. She explains in her line of work you get used to polishing off meals fast. During her Ascension Quest she finishes a large plate of food while the rest of the party barely start theirs.
• Big Good: Serves as the main shot-caller among the good guys after her father's death, leading the resistance against Moebius and directing the party on how to defeat them.
• Frontline General: She's an Elder but has no issue fighting alongside her troops.
• Giver of Lame Names: She gave Ghondor her name, which Ghondor expresses displeasure about. She also calls her signature dish "Monicurry".
• Good Parents: Despite Ghondor insulting her constantly, and the fact that her position as Elder means she's forced to act more as Ghondor's commanding officer rather than as her mother, Monica is nothing but patient and considerate toward her.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Her Lost Vanguard class uses a massive tower shield in tandem with her Defense Mace.
• Married to the Job: When one of her subordinates/former Ouroboros candidates confesses his feelings for her at the end of her Ascension Quest, she cites the fact that she's not only his commanding officer, but one of the Elders of the City, as a reason why she can't return his feelings right now. Though an NPC remark from earlier in the game about how admirable she is to have stayed strong despite the pain of losing her spouse and her father indicates she may also still be grieving her husband's death. A final wrinkle is that the man who confessed to her in the aforementioned quest, Jansen, is the little brother of her late husband. Accepting his feelings could prove more than a little awkward for the rest of the family.
• The Matchmaker: Downplayed. After explaining a bit more about human romantic relationships following the party learning how babies are made in the City, Monica notes the potential between Noah and Mio by stating that they might've already figured out the newly learned concept of romantic love.
• Meaningful Name: The earliest known use of the name Monica was for a North African Saint who was the mother of another Saint, which is indicative of Monica's Heroic Lineage.
• Missing Mom: Monica's mother isn't mentioned during the main story despite the huge role that Guernica (through his relative absence) had in shaping her growing up, so it can be assumed she's long deceased.
• Ms. Exposition: Explains the nature of the City and how humans are supposed to work with the party, in a way almost acting as the closest thing they've ever had to a parent.
• Navel Outline: Her outfit doesn't show much skin, but it is so form-fitting that her bellybutton is visible through the fabric. This outfit can also be worn by any member of Ouroboros who can use her class.
• Not So Above It All: Comes across as a no-nonsense leader, but names her famous curry "Monicurry".
• Reasonable Authority Figure:
  • Notably, when a group of Lost Numbers try to secede from the City, her first instinct when catching up with them is to question how thought-out their plan was, and to send them back to the City so that they can come up with an actual idea for secession, and then present it to the Senate. None of the Lost Numbers try to argue with her on this either, indicating that they realized she was right about them doing things too fast.
  • Despite their frequent ideological clashes, she holds no real animosity toward the Conservative faction, at least as long as no one gets hurt. Indeed, she deeply respects Garret in particular and is happy to work with him on the occasions they agree on something, appreciating that his criticisms keep her from getting too confident and knowing he wants what is best for the City. That she is willing to compromise with the Conservatives unfortunately gets her labeled as soft by extremist members of her own faction.
• Shared Family Quirks: Like her ancestor Noah, she is terrible at naming things.
• Stacy's Mom: Downplayed as she is a 33-year-old with a 22-year-old admirer. However, said 22-year-old is an Ouroboros candidate and closer in age to her daughter and fellow candidate Ghondor. Monica lets him down gently at the end of her Ascension Quest.
• Statuesque Stunner: Taller than Noah and a certified Amazonian Beauty with a man much younger than her pining for her.
• Teen Pregnancy: Looking at her and Ghondor's ages in the Affinity chart (33 and 18 respectively) makes it clear that she had her when she was only in her mid-teens.
• Tranquil Fury: While she's usually very level headed and only raises her voice when barking orders to the Lost Numbers, when Shania's mother starts badmouthing her dead daughter at the end of Sena's accension quest Monica is absolutely livid, grabbing her and looking as though she's about to beat the woman senseless. Ultimately she lets her run away, but it's clear Monica is furious.
• "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: Her father, Guernica, was always distant from her due to how busy his line of work was. Thus, she joined the military in hopes of spending more time with him. However, this ended up making him treat her like a soldier rather than a daughter.
• Young and in Charge: She took on the position of City Elder the day her husband was killed in the line of duty, which judging by her current age means she became "Elder" at the mere age of 19. She notes that while her father would seemingly be a better fit for the role, he preferred to go out and do missions personally rather than stay and lead the City itself.

Ghondor (Gondou)

Wrathfist Ghondor Vandham

Voiced by: Satomi Akesaka (Japanese), Dominique Moore (English)

Class: Martial Artist
Blade: Turbo Cestus
Role: Attacker
Class Inheritor: Sena
Heroic Chain: When chosen, assures self-reactivation in addition to the standard # of reactivations.
Chain Order: During chain attack, increases critical hit damage bonus.

"It's my job to blaze a trail for you dags!"

A young woman in Agnus captivity. She's always followed by two escorts, Aggy and Oggy, who highly respect her. She's the daughter of Monica, making her the granddaughter of Guernica.

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• 11th-Hour Ranger: While she can be used before, storywise, she and Monica join the party as they're travelling down Origin, the final area of the game, and are present for the battle against Z.
• The Ace: She was ranked first in the Ouroboros tests, while Shania by comparison was ranked 8th (admittedly out of a 100 people).
• Ancestral Name: Named after her ancestor and N's son Ghondor, hence her disgruntled acceptance of the name even if she finds it unfitting for herself.
• Badass Normal: Manages to shatter Moebius S' Core with her fists alone.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: She specializes in hand to hand combat using her gauntlet Blades, the Turbo Cestus.
• Bodyguarding a Badass: She has a pair of personal bodyguards even though she's stronger and more powerful than the both of them.
• Bratty Half-Pint: Repeated disappointment with changing the world has made her into an angry Knight in Sour Armor that regularly insults her own mother, referring to her as "Bitchqueen", due to her belief said mother is too reckless.
• Brutal Honesty: Ghondor never minces her opinions on events or people and says things as they are. Unfortunately, this comes back to bite her in the ass; although she meant well in trying to tell Shania not to emulate her and to be her own person, the way she said it (plus Shania's own growing envy) is what ultimately kickstarted her Start of Darkness.
• The Bogan: An extremely rare female, teenage example. The English dub portrays her with a thick lower-class Australian accent, and she's the crudest Hero in the game, who loves a good scrap.
• Character Development: When she's introduced, she pointedly mocks the party for wanting to fight the war against Moebius because of the massive amounts of deaths; she is content in the prison because while people will still die (including her), it will be fewer than if they tried to escape. After some convincing from Ouroboros, she is convinced to fight on. Downplayed as it's indicated a lot of her initial reticence was planned as some kind of test for Ouroboros, as she had already been informed by M that she should help the group and had promised to do so.
• Cradling Your Kill: Shania dies in her arms after Ghondor destroys her Heart Drive. She tells Shania in her final moments that there were people who loved her, which causes Shania to smile.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: In Sena's side story, Ghondor kills Moebius S by punching her in her Heart Drive. This is notable as she's the only character who's not an Ouroboros to directly kill a Moebius.
• Disappeared Dad: An NPC in the City comments their admiration for Monica's strength for pressing forward for the good of the City despite losing both her father and her spouse, the latter presumably being Ghondor's father. Monica's Hero Quest explains he died on a mission to collect ether 14 years ago, i.e. when Ghondor was only around 4 years old.
• Embarrassing First Name: Ghondor dislikes her name, but when Shania asks why she continues to go by it anyway, she says it's to keep her family close to her.
• Establishing Character Moment: Upon meeting the party she first insults them, calls her mother "Bitchqueen", and dropkicks a guy because she thinks he made fun of her name.
• Expecting Someone Taller: Ouroboros is surprised to find out that the Ghondor they've infiltrated a prison to meet isn't either of the two tall, stoic-looking men who serve as her bodyguards, but the short, foul-mouthed Bratty Half-Pint sitting between them.
• Expy: Of Rico. First encountered in a prison surrounded by personal bodyguards? Check. Fights with Good Old Fisticuffs? Check. Familial connection to the leader of a major city? Check. Betrayal by a close friend at the end of a major story arc? Check. Their biggest difference is in their gender and size, with Ghondor being a female Pint-Sized Powerhouse and Rico being a hyper-masculine Mighty Glacier.
• Foil: To Mio, as made clear by Sena's Ascension Quest. Both are The Ace of their respective factions and were close friends and mentor figures to a troubled girl who suffered from All of the Other Reindeer. But whereas Mio was a supportive Cool Big Sis to Sena who encouraged her to embrace her differences, Ghondor's Jerkass behavior and horrific communication issues drive Shania down the path to villainy until she betrays the City for Moebius, a fact she only realizes once it's too late.
• Gender-Blender Name: It's revealed that "Ghondor" was the name of her male ancestor, which explains her dislike of it.
• Genius Bruiser: While it's not apparent due to her crude personality, Ghondor has the third highest TP at 35. This puts her at the same level of intelligence as Taion. As for the bruiser side, she is a Pint-Sized Powerhouse that was the top of her 100-strong cohort after taking the Ouroboros test.
• Innocently Insensitive: Not innocently per se, but Ghondor's attempts to help Shania be more independent backfired, because instead of coming across as Tough Love, Shania took it to mean Ghondor hated her. Eventually, Shania couldn't take it anymore, fracturing their friendship enough to convince Shania to defect to Moebius.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Ghondor is rough around the edges but a deeply kind person underneath it, though she'd rather die than admit it openly.
• Lady Swears-a-Lot: Is she ever. And unlike Eunie, with her mostly flame-based profanity, her potty mouth uses actual profanity to really get across how rude she is. She calls her mother "Bitchqueen" and is rude to just about everyone.
• Like Mother, Like Daughter: While she'd probably never admit it, both Vandhams share a moment later in the game when both of them join Ouroboros on their assault on Origin, having broken through with one of their mechs, saving the party from a group of enemies. Monica admits that she got curious and wanted to see the true enemy they've been fighting all along. Ghondor, who enters the scene shortly after, admits the exact same thing, much to the amusement of Ouroboros.
• Lost in Translation: The reason Ghondor resents her name so much is unclear in English,^note the implication is that it sounds too masculine, given that the Ouroboros think that "Ghondor" refers to Aggy or Oggy at first but in Japanese it's a clear homonym for 巨頭 ("big head"), though it can also mean 厳道 ("stern path").
• Meaningful Appearance: She wears a black belt, and is described as a proficient martial artist.
• Meaningful Name: As much as Ghondor might hate her name, and whether or not it's a good name for a person, it's just one letter off from (and pronounced the same as) a kingdom known for its great cities. It's also the name of one of her ancestors, the grandfather of the Vandham Founder.
• My God, What Have I Done?: She takes full responsibility for the aftermath of her Ascension Quest due to being indirectly responsible for the death of the Jumbo Tirkin and fulfills his dying wish to take care of his kids. She takes them back to Agnus Castle to watch over them there.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Without fail, and even on the Affinity Chart, Ghondor always calls Monica "Bitchqueen". Whenever you hear Ghondor actually call her "mother", you know she's being serious, particularly during Sena's Ascension Quest where the City was under attack and Monica was in danger, and afterwards when Monica gives some insightful words about what it means to be a parent.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: She's even shorter than the roughly at or slighly under 5 feet tall Sena, and specializes in physical combat, contrasting her taller than average mother and grandfather.
• Poor Communication Kills: She had good intentions in telling Shania to stop trying to copy her and find her own identity, so that Shania would no longer be dependent on her. However, Ghondor's combination of Brutal Honesty and her heart of gold being too hidden caused Shania to think Ghondor hated her, kickstarting Shania's Start of Darkness and eventual defection to Moebius.
• Power Fist: Her profile picture shows her wearing two large, mechanical fist Blades known as the Turbo Cestus.
• Samus Is a Girl: The party is a bit surprised to find out that Ghondor is a woman, not to mention Monica's daughter. Monica neglected to tell them that, because she was acting as the Elder of the City, and not as Ghondor's mother. This is because the original holder of the Ghondor namesake was a man, and the previous incarnation of Noah and Mio's son.
• Shared Family Quirks: Of all the members of House Vandham, Ghondor is the one that's closest to the actual founder Matthew Vandham, being the only one to use a fist type weapon^note It's unclear what weapon Guernica used as he was shown using multiple guns as well as his fists and has similar attacks and skills as a hero, while also being the most crass and least refined of the House, amusingly befitting of Matthew's descendents. For added bonus points, she's the only member to tie her hair back and outright wears the same pants as Matthew's grandfather Ghondor.
• Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Downplayed but she notably overshadows Sena during the latter's Ascension Quest as a result of the quest being about confronting Shania after she becomes a Moebius.
• Smarter Than You Look: She doesn't seem like it with her crude personality, but her TP amount is actually on par with Taion, the smartest person in Ouroboros and established strategist.
• Tough Love: Several flashbacks from Shania's perspective show Gondor being unnecessarily harsh towards Shania for copying Ghondor's fighting style. Ghondor says she did that because she cares about Shania and wanted her to do what she's good at. After Ghondor lethally injures Shania, Shania remembers that Ghondor originally praised her drawings and encouraged her to become an artist.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Despite her complaints about the name, it's implied hers is the Monicurry.
• Tsundere: Ghondor is quite willing to talk smack about the people she cares about, but loves them dearly. She complains about Monica calling her curry "Monicurry" but clearly enjoys it nonetheless.
• We Used to Be Friends: Despite growing up with Shania, their relationship nowadays is considerably strained due to the latter's envy towards her, and Ghondor's seemingly dismissive attitude towards her, and is eventually soured completely following her Face–Heel Turn.
• Wrestler in All of Us: Her Hyper Dropkick art is Exactly What It Says on the Tin.

Masha (Matia) [DLC]

Jewelwright Masha Cassini

Voiced by: Rie Tanaka (Japanese), Hannah Morrish (English)

Class: Lapidarist
Blade: Dazzling Rings
Role: Healer
Class Inheritor: Mio
Heroic Chain: When Masha completes an order, adds 15 TP to each remaining active character while Masha loses 10 TP.
Chain Order: Increases the Critical Rate of attacks in the Chain Attack by 30 points.

"I know it's rather late, but allow me to formally introduce myself. Masha, Lapidarist Extraordinaire, at your humble service."

A lapidarist of Aionios who considers herself to be an expert on her craft.

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• Affectionate Nickname:
  • Two of her commissioners, Jake and Tessa, lovingly call her "Mash" and "Maz" respectively.
  • On her end, she refers to Monica as "Monnie Dearest".
• Ambiguously Human: Masha wears a jewel on her chest which may or may not be a Core Crystal; if so, it indicates that she has prominent Blade ancestry compared to most other inhabitants of the City who do not seem to have such traits.
• Ambiguously Related: As the head of House Cassini, it is implied that Masha may be related to its founder Linka, who is the daughter of Zeke and Pandoria. At the same time, it's also mentioned that inhabitants of the City may become affiliated with a House via marriage to existing members of the house, making it unclear whether the descent is direct.
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: She jokes that she needs a clerk to deal with her forgetfulness due to having so many varied interests that she gets easily distracted from her work.
• Bad Liar: When Jake and Tessa confront her about the accessories they had commissioned, she tries her hardest to deny the fact that she forgot, albeit in an extremely unconvincing tone. She manages to fool Jake, but Tessa can see right through her lies, causing Masha to come clean out of guilt.
• Blithe Spirit: Wears bright yellow in a city where browns are standard, and pursues aesthetics over the destruction of Moebius. Her clan, House Cassini, is made of these kinds of people.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Gemstone appraising and fashion designing are two of her hobbies, which she's very proficient at, but her way of doing so is very outlandish, between her speech patterns and her attention to detail.
• Combat Medic: Her Lapidarist class passively increases critical hits and heals the team when a crit is scored.
• Connected All Along: Though initially introduced as a random accessory-maker, she's actually the head of House Cassini.
• Eccentric Fashion Designer: She's very talented at crafting fashionable clothes and jewelry out of gemstones, but she's also very quirky, often stopping herself mid-sentence to elaborate on what she's trying to say and being very prone to poetics.
• Exotic Eye Designs: Her eyes aren't just golden, but actual have crystal facets in her iris, making them look like cut gems.
• Gemstone Assault: The Lapidarist's arts involve precious stones, offensively and defensively.
• Heroic Lineage: Descended from Linka Cassini, one of the Founders of the City. By extension, she's also implied to be descended from Zeke and Pandoria, as Linka was implied to be their daughter in Future Redeemed, which would also trace her ancestry as far back as the Tornan Royal Family via the Tantalese Royal Family (of which Zeke is a part of) being implied descendants of Zettar.
• Item Crafting: Gaining her as hero also unlocks the ability to craft accessories made from Enigmatter.
• Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Her clothes are better suited to a fashion show than a world of war, yet Masha slays just as much in combat.
• King Incognito: She hides her status as head of House Cassini to the party until the very end of her questline.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: She's the current head of House Cassini, making her almost equal to Monica in terms of importance to the City.
• Rings of Death: Masha fights with bladed metal rings decorated with jewels.
• Uneven Hybrid: Despite presumably being descended from Founder Linka Cassini, a human-Blade hybrid born in Alrest, Masha herself is categorically Kevesi, with a right-eye Iris and Kevesi arts. Considering there are at least a thousand years between Linka and Masha, it's understandable that there is enough biological difference between them to produce a member of the House that is more of one nation than the other.

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