Spike (XC1)

Spikes are an enemy defensive mechanic in Xenoblade Chronicles. An enemy that possesses a spike is able to automatically deal damage or inflict status on anyone that approaches or attacks it.

There are two types of spike triggers:
 * Counter spikes trigger every time the enemy is attacked, if the opponent is within range.
 * Range spikes trigger every five seconds that an opponent is within range.

Spikes can have two effects: damage or status. (There is nothing stopping a spike from having both, but none do.) Damage spikes deal a fixed amount of damage unaffected by normal forms of defence, while status spikes apply a status or debuff that lasts for 10 seconds. The effects of damage spikes can be countered with gems or Melia's Rejection of Evil skill. The effects of status spikes can be countered with debuff-resisting gems.

Usually, spikes are disabled when the enemy is d, so toppling them is an effective way of dealing with the spike. However, some enemies have inverted spikes, which are instead only active when the enemy is toppled, and so it is inadvisable to topple such enemies. Party members will tend to avoid toppling such enemies unless the player has chosen to do so. All spikes are disabled if the enemy is d or debuffed by Aura Seal, making Monado Purge a simple (if taxing) countermeasure.

The in-game tutorial on spikes lists the categories of spike as "counter spike" (triggers when attacked), "down spike" (triggers when attacked if toppled), and "close spike" (triggers if within range), which is not strictly incorrect as there are no enemies with an inverted range spike.

In the original version, there is no way to know whether an enemy has a spike or what it is until it takes effect. In the Definitive Edition, a purple spiky border is displayed around an enemy's targetted nametag when a spike of any sort is active; it does not distinguish between the types of spikes, or reveal that an enemy has a topple spike before it is toppled.