Reyn

Reyn (, Rein) is a playable character in Xenoblade Chronicles. He is Shulk's best friend and a member of 's Defence Force.

Appearance and personality
Reyn is a Homs with short and spiky red hair, brown eyes, and a tall muscular stature. His main appearance comprises an orange sleeveless shirt with metallic bracing, orange fingerless bracers, bulky grey pants, and grey boots.

Reyn is an emotional fighter whose self-appointed job is to protect his friends no matter what. He views himself as the one who should be taking hits so others don't have to, both on and off the battlefield, and tries to inject a positive attitude into almost any situation. He is not very clever and loses his temper a lot, but he is fully aware of this, and openly welcomes that others do the thinking for him. He might be constantly trying to get Shulk to see his side of a situation, but once Shulk makes a decision, he never questions it. Overall, he is proud of who he is including his shortcomings.

Story arc
Reyn is a member of 's Defence Force, training to become a soldier. Outside of his duties, he keeps watch over his nerdy friend Shulk, and watches out for his other friend Fiora who thinks he is too hot-headed and not fully trustworthy. Through Fiora he also knows the hero Dunban, whom he views as an idol and mentor.

As a result of Reyn's tomfoolery, he, Shulk, and Fiora are away at the Mag Mell Ruins when a swarm of Mechon attack. Reyn helps the group fend off the machines as Shulk takes control of the Monado, but cannot do anything to stop their apparent leader Metal Face, and Fiora is killed. Reyn is crushed and can't work up the courage to talk to Dunban about it, but he agrees with Shulk's plan (which he was surprised came from Shulk and not himself) to find and take down the Faced Mechon for revenge.

Reyn suggests the pair go to Colony 6 to gather more information. Along the way in Tephra Cave, he becomes separated from Shulk and attacked by Arachno, only saved by new powers discovered from the Monado. Now that the two realize that Shulk is getting visions of a changeable future rather than a set one, Reyn starts his own quest to badger Shulk into being more open about them, rather than reluctantly keeping things to himself.

The duo travel across the Bionis' Leg to find a kid called Juju in trouble, and help him return to the Refugee Camp formed of survivors from the destroyed Colony 6. They meet Juju's adult sister Sharla, which quickly turns into an awkward relationship; Reyn appreciates Sharla and her healing abilities in battle, but is miffed at her constantly comparing him to her missing fiancé Gadolt and more generally being short with him. With Juju foolishly running off again and getting captured by the Mechon, the trio are forced to chase, and come upon a second Faced Mechon that takes him to the Ether Mine. Arriving at the mine, the party comes upon Otharon, who is about ready to make a play against the Mechon that he's been planning in the month since they attacked. Reyn keeps on needling Shulk to be more open about the visions he's getting, and it eventually pays off: as they fight Xord at the bottom of the mine, Shulk and Reyn save Otharon from his foreseen death and (eventually) destroy the Faced Mechon.

Exiting the mine with Juju rescued, there is only a moment of victory before Metal Face appears and taunts the group over the killings he did. Dunban and Dickson arrive, but they cannot defeat him, and he only leaves because a strange creature drove him off. With Shulk getting a new vision about where to go next, the party begins to travel up the Bionis and reach Makna Forest, where they take in two more members: Melia the mysterious ether user, and Riki the Heropon of Frontier Village. Riki in particular gets on Reyn's nerves for his childish attitude and big talk, though he is still an asset as the group destroys the rampaging Telethia.

The party continues towards the top of the Bionis. Reyn becomes progressively weirded out by the suspended waters of Eryth Sea, the floating city of Alcamoth, and the region's High Entia inhabitants, but he maintains his position of "the guy who gets Shulk to stop being cagey about his visions", which helps save Melia from imperial drama. Along the way, he butts heads somewhat with the locals, his carefree morals going against the stuffy society's, and single-handedly almost foils the group's efforts in the High Entia Tomb. But in the end, they reach Prison Island. There, the party fights Metal Face with a newly-powered up Monado from Zanza, who was imprisoned for ages. The fight is cut short when antoher Mechon, Face Nemesis, is revealed to be controlled by the apparently-not-dead Fiora, who does not appear to remember anyone. Reyn is somewhat confused by the reveal but decides it's overall a good thing, and does not hesitate to agree that their next job is to get her back.

As the group advances, Reyn starts to consider that Shulk has outgrown the need to be protected by him, as he continues to get stronger from the Monado. This comes to a head when the party reaches Egil in Galahad Fortress, and the fortress is destroyed dumping the party down to the Fallen Arm below. With the group split up, Reyn mopes about failing to protect Shulk when he most needed it. Sharla manages to set him straight, after which they find Shulk and Fiora both alive and back to normal. After continuing to search for the others, they come upon the Hidden Village and meet the Machina people, who would like the group to help stop Egil. Reyn isn't a fan of how Shulk is second-guessing himself over it, but he shows no hesitation in continuing on.

The climb up Mechonis is interrupted by meeting a new Faced Mechon: Jade Face, piloted by a brainwashed Gadolt. Reyn finds himself stuck with prying Sharla away from the foe every time they meet, until he is finally defeated and his memory is restored. But Reyn shows no hard feelings to the man once he is freed, and helps him out just before they leave to encounter Egil once more. While Shulk wants to find a peaceful resolution, Reyn believes Egil is too far gone, and such appears to be the case as they fight. Egil defeats the party and leaves so he can take control of the Mechonis, while the party is stuck trying to escape Agniratha before it explodes, and only do so successfully because of Gadolt's sacrifice (which Reyn must literally slap Sharla into respecting).

Using the Machina ship Junks to reach him, the party finds and defeats Egil. Shulk decides not to kill him, and Egil finally agrees to peace. However, Dickson initiates a series of events that releases the god Zanza from Shulk's body, destroys Egil and the Mechonis, and wipes out Alcamoth by turning the High Entia into Telethia. Zanza only cares about continuing his existance as a god, and is preparing to eliminate all life in order to do so. Reyn's only opinion of all this is that it stinks, but they will still fight it all the way, regardless of what the nay-sayers think.

Reyn continues to stand beside Shulk to the end, and support his friends every step of the way.

Reyn is briefly seen at the end of Future Connected.

Lore

 * Reyn often presents as an unintelligent, brash, and reckless individual. However, he expresses great care for his friends, particularly Shulk, whom Reyn saw as frail for most of his life.
 * Later on, Reyn has a mild crisis of conscience upon realizing Shulk no longer requires his protection, but with Sharla's help, resolves to do what he can to help the people he cares about.
 * His general demeanor and attitude somewhat reminds Sharla of Gadolt, her missing fiancé, when the two first meet.
 * However, Reyn's personal philosophy differs considerably from Gadolt's. In a flashback, Gadolt shows a very grim view of life, and of the continuing war with the Mechon. He is more than willing to lay down his life to keep the fight going, and is distraught when men die for nothing. Reyn, in contrast, while dedicated to ensuring the safety of his friends, is not willing to get himself killed for it. In his eyes, getting killed would only hurt the people that depend on him.
 * As children, Reyn and Shulk had a fight, presumably over discontent borne of their contrasting personalities. However, this would only end up strengthening their bond.
 * Another incident as children would see Shulk prank Reyn with a spider, and Reyn prank Shulk by hiding a caterpillar in a sock drawer. These both would form their respective phobias of the insect types; Reyn's fear of spiders and Shulk's fear of caterpillars.
 * Reyn joined the Colony 9 Defence Force as a soldier shortly before the events of Xenoblade Chronicles, making use of his notable physical strength and comparative lack of intelligence.

As a party member
Reyn is the first tank that the player obtains, with a simple playstyle that makes him useful in almost any situation. His tanking style is based on generating artificial aggro and taking minimal damage from attacks, so he excels in fights against large numbers of enemies with ether attacks.

Trivia

 * Reyn's starting outfit can be unlocked for Lanz in the 's Archsage's Gauntlet battles.
 * In Japanese, Reyn is voiced by Eiji Miyashita, who also voices the Hot-blooded male voice for Cross in Xenoblade Chronicles X.

Screenshots
Reyn