Aegis Sword

Aegis Sword
The Aegis Sword icon in Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
Animation type	Aegis Sword
Role	ATK
Just Range	3m — 7m
Auto-attack type	Physical
Auto-attack distance	5m
Auto-attack aggro	2

The Aegis Sword icon in Torna ~ The Golden Country.

The Aegis Sword is a weapon type in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Torna ~ The Golden Country. In the former, it is unique to the Aegis; as such, only Rex has Driver Arts using it. These Driver Arts are identical in animation and name, although not necessarily in stats, to those of the Broadsword. In Torna ~ The Golden Country, it is Mythra's weapon.

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Overview

The Aegis Sword is a balanced weapon focused on attack power, boasting Auto-Attack values on the higher end of weapons (especially among those not exclusive to DLC). It has a slightly-below-average Critical hit rate, block rate, and stability.

The Driver Arts of the Aegis Sword are mostly physical, with the exception of Rolling Smash which is Ether-based. They have medium damage ratios, aggro draw and cooldown, and relatively fast animations. The Arts' special effects provide a mixture of positional damage, aggro reduction, and HP Potion healing, with Anchor Shot inflicting Topple.

Strategy

In Xenoblade Chronicles 2, the four Driver Arts available to Rex with this weapon are relatively well-balanced in their capabilities. The standout is Anchor Shot, an excellent Topple which is inflicted in under a second (although the Art's animation lasts somewhat longer, making it more difficult for Rex to capitalise immediately). Anchor Shot also causes the enemy to drop HP potions, which can be useful as an emergency source of healing; for these reasons, it is wise to always have it as one of Rex's available Arts with the weapon.
The other three Arts are all damage-oriented (although Rolling Smash provides additional utility with reducing aggro and AOE). Sword Bash and Double Spinning Edge are directly comparable: the former has a much faster animation (especially when cancelled out of using Arts Chain), less cooldown, and a stronger conditional effect, while the latter does more damage and its conditional damage is easier to fulfil. It also deals two hits, either of which may activate Lightspeed Flurry. On the whole, however, Sword Bash is more effective, in particular with regards to building the Special gauge quickly. (This is true at all levels of play but in particular in postgame, where various effects make up for the Lightspeed Flurry deficit.) Therefore, the optimal loadout for most strategies is to use Anchor Shot, Rolling Smash, and Sword Bash.

When using the above Driver Arts with Pyra or Pneuma (at maximum Art level and Affinity) and with 1.0 Arts recharge per second from Pouch Items, it is possible to cancel Sword Bash -> Anchor Shot -> Rolling Smash -> Sword Bash -> Anchor Shot -> Sword Bash using Arts Chain without the need to auto-attack in between. This is enough to charge the Special Gauge to level III from empty.
The process is faster with Mythra, however, as Sword Bash's animation is substantially shorter than the others; 6 Sword Bashes in a row therefore takes significantly less time than the above sequence. (Pressing the buttons for both Sword Bash and another Driver Art almost-simultaneously will ensure that the current Sword Bash is still cancelled out of lest it does not crit.)

The base critical hit rate of the Aegis Sword is not incredible, especially among attack-focused weapons, but both Pyra and Mythra perform particularly well with higher crit rates (due to Flaming Edge and Lightspeed Flurry respectively). Therefore, focusing on Core Chips that provide a higher crit rate may be more effective than focusing on auto-attack or block rate. The best such chip for postgame is the Moon Matter Chip. (Pneuma is unaffected by equipped Core Chips.)

Driver Arts

Art	Driver	Effect
Anchor Shot	Rex	HP Potion
Double Spinning Edge	Rex	Side attack↑
Sword Bash	Rex	Back attack↑
Rolling Smash	Rex	AOE / Aggro down

Core Chip effects

Weapon	Image	Core Chip	Auto-attack	Stability	Critical Attack	Block Rate	Effect
Cavalry Sword		Amethyst Chip	150	11%	14%	9%	Increases Agility by 50.
Saintslayer Brand		Angrite Chip	825	20%	24%	3%	Increases damage dealt to Titans by 50%.
Holy Sword		Aquamarine Chip	445	7%	8%	14%	none
Godspeed Sword		Aubrite Chip	570	10%	14%	7%	Adds a 25% chance of attacking again after a successful auto-attack.
Sword of Chaos		Axion Chip	612	13%	17%	4%	none
Turbine Sword		Battery Chip	424	8%	11%	13%	none
Machine Slayer		Booster Chip	795	8%	8%	18%	Increases damage dealt to machines by 50%.
Wootz Sword		Brachinite Chip	411	8%	11%	11%	none
Flatform Sword		Bronze Chip	71	8%	11%	10%	none
Clockwork Sword		Chain Chip	266	6%	11%	10%	none
Duelist's Sword		Cobalt Chip	204	11%	12%	10%	none
Custom Sword		Coil Chip	231	8%	8%	19%	none
Sword of El Dorado		Cube Chip	479	9%	6%	18%	none
Sword of Despair		Dark Matter Chip	560	10%	14%	8%	none
Satellite Sword		Dilaton Chip	865	3%	15%	23%	none
Ceramic Sword		Engine Chip	416	10%	17%	13%	none
Sword of the Fox		Fang Chip	38	13%	19%	8%	none
Sword of the Lynx		Flower Chip	284	9%	12%	12%	none
Valkyrie's Sword		Fluorite Chip	794	12%	17%	8%	none
Insect Slayer		Forest Chip	724	10%	14%	11%	Increases damage dealt to insects by 50%.
Paladin's Sword		Garnet Chip	482	9%	12%	7%	none
Sword of the Puma		Glass Chip	305	15%	23%	3%	none
Snare Sword		Gold Chip	680	5%	8%	22%	Increases the enemy item drop rate by 50%.
Final Sword		Hadron Chip	608	3%	9%	16%	none
Legendary Sword		Hexagon Chip	833	15%	11%	9%	none
Sword of the Jackal		Horn Chip	753	15%	19%	5%	none
Delta Sword		Howardite Chip	522	8%	11%	12%	none
Breaker Sword		Iron Chip	188	8%	16%	8%	none
Primitive Sword		Lead Chip	20	8%	11%	10%	none
Adamant Sword		Lodranite Chip	424	13%	24%	3%	none
Technical Sword		Magnet Chip	240	12%	18%	8%	Increases Dexterity by 50.
Mutinous Sword		Mirror Matter Chip	577	18%	29%	2%	Counters attacks with 150% physical damage.
Sword of Banishing		Moon Matter Chip	874	18%	30%	2%	none
Mechanized Sword		Motor Chip	399	5%	6%	16%	none
Sigma Sword		Nakhlite Chip	538	14%	25%	3%	none
Sword of Valor		Opal Chip	454	13%	19%	5%	none
Blessed Sword		Pentagon Chip	394	16%	9%	8%	Increases Luck by 50.
Sword of Origin		Photon Chip	627	9%	21%	8%	none
Sword of Eden		Polygon Chip	489	15%	14%	8%	none
Eternal Sword		Positron Chip	665	5%	14%	10%	none
Meteorite Sword		Preon Chip	908	10%	19%	8%	none
Elder Sword		Rhombus Chip	352	8%	6%	18%	none
Sword of the Lycaon		Scale Chip	96	13%	19%	8%	none
Accelerator Sword		Shaft Chip	811	10%	15%	9%	none
Sword of Thanatos		Shining Star Chip	856	10%	15%	22%	none
Ornate Sword		Silver Chip	714	10%	15%	8%	Increases the enemy gold drop rate by 50%.
Agarthan Sword		Sphere Chip	524	11%	11%	10%	none
Guardian's Sword		Spinel Chip	136	12%	12%	8%	none
King of Sharks		Spiral Chip	800	10%	4%	21%	Increases damage dealt to aquatic organisms by 50%.
Battle Sword		Steel Chip	179	6%	6%	15%	none
Eater of Souls		Sunlight Chip	891	15%	23%	5%	Restores 8% HP of damage dealt after a successful auto-attack.
Shooting Star		Tachyon Chip	900	2%	20%	15%	Counters attacks with 50% ether damage.
Plain Sword		Tin Chip	26	8%	11%	10%	none
Ancient Sword		Tri-Chip	370	11%	11%	10%	none
Knight's Sword		Turquoise Chip	124	10%	15%	10%	none
Energy Edge		Ureilite Chip	445	10%	15%	7%	Increases Strength by 50.
Sword of the Dingo		Wing Chip	49	13%	19%	8%	none
Orichalcum Sword		Winonaite Chip	850	12%	14%	8%	none
Sword of the Jaguar		Wood Chip	335	11%	16%	6%	none
Zephyr Sword		Zircon Chip	763	9%	12%	20%	Increases damage dealt to aerial creatures by 50%.

In other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
English	Aegis Sword	—
Japanese	聖杯の剣
French	Épée de l'Aegis	Sword of the Aegis
German	Aegisschwert
Spanish	Espada de la Égida
Italian	Spada Aegis
Chinese (simplified)	圣杯之剑
Chinese (traditional)	聖杯之劍
Korean	성배의 검

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