Unique monster (XC3)

Unique monsters are enemies in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 that are typically larger and stronger than most other enemies, acting as optional non-story minibosses. They also have individual names and potentially arts that no other enemy does.

Unique monsters have golden wings around their nametag. When one joins the fight, You Will Know Our Names - Finale will replace the current battle music until the fight is over.

Mechanics
Unique Monsters spawn in fixed locations on the map. Most will always appear, but some require specific conditions before they spawn. Unique Monsters are typically the strongest monster encountered in the area, sometimes being dozens of levels higher than the monsters surrounding them.

While battling a Unique Monster, a timer is displayed beneath its health bar, counting the duration of the battle.

Upon defeat, the monster will spawn a gravestone near its spawn point. This gravestone can be used as a skip travel point that does not count as a landmark for auto-saving or respawning after defeat. In addition, it can be interacted with; interacting with a grave will display both the fastest time and highest difficulty the monster has been defeated at. This menu also allows the player to respawn the Unique Monster, allowing them to challenge it again for better times or to gather more drops. The gravestone will respawn the entire squad if applicable, in which case its name will be that of the squad instead of any of its members. Some gravestones are a decent distance from the monster's actual spawn point, especially for aquatic enemies, as the gravestone must be placed on land.

When a Unique Monster is defeated and at least one party member has the Soul Hack, a new art or skill will be unlocked for the Soulhacker. Some Soulhacker arts and skills require defeating the same Unique multiple times to be upgraded.