Elma/Gameplay (XC2)

Elma
Driver	any
Gender	Female
Type	Humanoid
Weapon	Dual Swords
Joins	Land of Challenge

This article is about Elma's gameplay in this specific game. For information on the character in general, see Elma.

Elma is a DLC-exclusive Rare Blade in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. She joins the party after completing the Challenge Battle Otherworldly Fighter, but cannot be used outside of the Land of Challenge until the player obtains the Alrest Link Relay by completing Elma: Redux.

Overview

Elma is one of the best damage dealers in the game on any difficulty, and her kit in general is focused towards that goal. At the same time, she provides the support ability Overdrive, which can enable Driver Combo locking strategies and art spam strategies via the buffs it grants to the team.

Elma's skill Crisis Catalyst provides a 90-150% additive increase to damage and a 20-40% additive increase to critical rate at Max Affinity. This skill alone makes Elma into an offensive powerhouse, providing her with an 89% critical rate with the Tachyon Chip (which also provides a Critical Damage effect) and automatically high damage. In fact, her critical rate can reach 100% with the Tachyon Chip by equipping the Massive Melee Mythra Aux Core. Her Background Noise skill increases damage when behind enemies by 30-150%. Although in general positional effects are not very useful within Xenoblade 2, especially since a player-controlled Elma driver will always be dealing enough damage to obtain aggro, it remains true that enemies who are toppled, enemies who are launched, and enemies in Chain Attacks do not turn around, so this skill can be more useful than it may appear.

Elma's skill Overdrive functions effectively as a party-wide buff to damage, art cooldowns, and enemy reaction resistance, with these buffs getting stronger the more arts and specials that are used. The reduction of reaction resistance is invaluable to the existence of teams focusing on driver comboing enemies, which is a common feature on the Bringer of Chaos difficulty. A further explanation of the Overdrive mechanic can be found below.

Elma's weapon type, Dual Swords, is a clone of the Twin Rings weapon type. On all drivers, Dual Swords provides a Back Attack up art, a Cancel attack Up art, and an Evasion art. It also provides a Side Attack Up art on male Drivers and a Healing art on female Drivers. In general, Elma's arts have low cooldowns, and these cooldowns can be reduced even further by Overdrive and Elma's Recharge Boost blade art when it activates. This allows for drivers to be able to spam arts continuously once Overdrive count is high enough, which can supply a great source of damage especially in the context of Elma's damage boosting skills.

Elma's specials are, in general, strong, fast, and have high hit counts. Elma's Lv.1 special, Sliding Slinger, is a strong, very fast source of damage which is boosted against higher level enemies. Elma's Lv.2 special, Hundred Shells, is a 14-hit special which can be used to either build overdrive count or to do massive damage, particularly from behind, in chain attacks. Elma's Lv.3 special, Violent Streak, is a 16 hit special which is both unblockable and pierces defense, with a wide area of effect. It can be used for high damage blade combos as well as to clear mobs. The high hit counts and power of Elma's specials make her the best Chain Attack blade, allowing her to do up to 34 million damage in three chain attack rounds.

Strategy

This section contains ideas for using Elma in postgame combat.

If planning to use Elma for damage, it is a good idea to get her to Max Affinity as soon as possible. This allows her to use her Crisis Catalyst skill to increase damage and critical rate. There are some cases (such as in chain attacks) where Max Affinity is not necessary, but it is always preferable. Because of her high critical rate, accessories that increase critical damage like the Crimson Headband are natural fits for her driver. The Tachyon weapon chip, which provides a critical damage increasing effect, is the best choice for cases where Elma is providing damage. Due to her fast, multi-hit arts and specials, critical healing items such as the Avant-Garde Medal should provide near constant, full HP heals. If planning to use her art spam capabilities, the Noise Dampener accessory, which increases art damage ratio on a cancel, is very useful. If you are planning to use her for chain attack damage, stacking Burst Symbols on her team will allow you to get the most out of her specials. Otherwise, additive damage increasing items such as the Abyss Masque, Divine Vambraces, and Enlightened Loincloth are useful, although not necessary due to Elma's internal additive damage.

For arts spam purposes, Elma's best driver is Rex, who's arts are the fastest among drivers on Dual Swords. However, true art spam on him requires the use of Overdrive as well as Art Recharge pouch items. When possible, activate Overdrive, and use Elma's Lv.2 or Lv.3 Special to build up Overdrive count. Then begin to cycle between arts, making use of the low-cooldown Dark Edge art interspersed with other arts, and use more Specials to build more Overdrive count and do more damage until the art spam feels comfortable. This approach naturally synergizes with a driver combo lock focused team, as this will allow you to focus on dealing art damage while the Overdrive count you build up will provide greater security to your allies as they combo lock the enemy. In this approach, Elma's Lv.1 Special provides a fast burst of damage and Overdrive count, while Elma's Lv.3 Special can provide a large amount of Overdrive count while also dealing with multiple enemies. While Elma's Lv.2 Special, Hundred Shells, provides a large amount of Overdrive count, it's lopsided damage distribution makes it an unreliable damage source. Rex's art Trickshot has its damage increased when canceled into, and this damage increase is multiplicative, so this art should always be canceled into and should be used as one of Rex's main damage sources. Arts spam on drivers besides Rex is possible but not recommended for damage purposes due to the relative slowness of Twin Ring arts on other drivers, but if doing so the strategy is roughly similar. Zeke's art spam with Dual Swords is serviceable, especially when making use of his slow Evasion art Profundity Grace. Morag can repeatedly use her Evasion art Gloomwheel with Dual Swords to gain unconditional full evasion uptime, something not even Corvin can boast of, since this approach doesn't require you to evade anything to recharge evasion arts.

For chain attack purposes, Elma can be used on any driver. For best damage results Elma should be at Max Affinity and should be behind the enemy, although neither is strictly required for large amounts of damage. Chain attacks that take place while a damage-boosting Fusion Combo is active provide the best results for increasing damage. If the driver is behind an enemy at the time a chain attack is triggered, Elma should remain behind the enemy throughout the chain attack. This will provide a large damage boost to all Specials, but especially Hundred Shells, which gains an additional additive 100-150% damage increase separate from Background Noise when behind an enemy. However, being behind an enemy during chain attacks or in general is, while preferable, not required, and can be difficult to accomplish due to slow movement in combat and Elma's driver easily being able to take aggro.

Finally, Elma can be used to simply activate Overdrive and nothing else. This is common in the Bringer of Chaos difficulty, where Overdrive provides buffs which are very helpful to combo locking, art spam, and damage in general. Activating Overdrive and increasing Overdrive count with other characters should make breaking enemies much easier, and can be used to assist drivers spam arts with Blades other than Elma such as Crossette.

Overdrive

Main article: Overdrive (XC2)

Elma introduces a new mechanic to Xenoblade 2, Overdrive, which is based on the Overdrive mechanic in Xenoblade Chronicles X but heavily simplified. Overdrive can be activated when the Party Gauge is full via the button command R and -, which expends the full party gauge and begins Overdrive. To activate Overdrive, Elma must be on the field, but if Elma is on a non-player controlled Driver, the Overdrive command will force that driver to switch to Elma as soon as possible and begin Overdrive. Overdrive provides three different, party-wide buffs: additive buffs to damage, reduction of art cooldowns, and reduction of enemy reaction resistances. When overdrive starts, these are at 25% increased damage (125%), 50% decreased art cooldowns, and 20% reduced enemy reaction resistance. These can all be increased by increasing the Overdrive count, which appears as a large number on screen. Any successful hit of an art increases Overdrive count by 1, and any successful hit of a special increases Overdrive count by 5. Overdrive lasts between 60-90 seconds depending on the level of Elma's Overdrive skill, but can be extended at the cost of a full party gauge by pressing R and - again. Note that party gauge gains are slowed during Overdrive. Additionally, Elma does not need to be on the field to extend Overdrive, only to begin it. Furthermore, note that the percentage of damage increase listed on screen is an additive damage increase: e.g. a listed Damage increase of 125% is a 25% increase which stacks additively with other percent damage increases from accessories, Aux Cores, and Blade skills. The Overdrive counter maxes out at 1000, where it will read "MAX".

Stats

General stats

Element	Dark
Weapon class	Dual Swords
Default weapon	Archetype Ralzes
Cooldown time	12.50s
Aux Core Slots	3
Merc Group name	Team Elma
Base strength	15

Stat modifiers

Physical defense	+30%
Ether defense	+25%
Maximum HP	+0%
Strength	+0%
Ether	+20%
Dexterity	+0%
Agility	+0%

Affinity modifiers

Base affinity	550
Affinity gain	+5%
Affinity loss	-10%

Favorite items

Categories	Seafood
	Art
Items	Codweave Safety Blanky
	Pipestraw Smoothie

Skills

Specials

Level	Name	Description
	Sliding Slinger	Slide forward while concentrating fire on the enemy.
	Hundred Shells	Swing your swords downward to send shockwaves flying at your foes.
	Violent Streak	Blast all enemies in the vicinity with an unstoppable barrage of fire.
	Full Metal Jaguar	Lead with a burst of gunfire, then jump in the air and slam your swords down.

Blade Arts

Name	Probability	Recharge	Description
Critical Up	75%	15s	Increases critical hit rate.
Recharge Boost	50%	22.5s	Boosts Arts recharge from auto-attack.
Arts Plus	50%	25s	Boosts power of next Driver Art.

Battle Skills

Name	Effect
Background Noise	Increases damage dealt from the back by 30-150%.
Crisis Catalyst	Increases damage dealt by 90-150% and critical rate by 20-40% at max Affinity.
Overdrive	With Elma in battle, press R and - to engage. Uses P.Gauge, lasts 50-90 secs.

Field Skills

Name	Description
Keen Eye	The power to see things clearly. Used to notice small changes, etc.
Focus	The power to focus on one thing. Also used to control one's power.
Lockpicking	The power to open various things. Works on doors, treasure troves, etc.

Affinity Chart

		Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Level 5
Key affinity condition		(unlocked)	Increase Trust. (x100)	Increase Trust. (x700)	Increase Trust. (x2,000)	Increase Trust. (x4,000)
Reward text			You use some fascinating techniques, I'll give you that.	I think I understand the role that Blades play in this world...	What do you think? From BLADE to Blade, eh?	Meeting you all has taught me a lot. I'll never forget this. Thank you.
Reward			Bravery x200	Bravery x300	Bravery x500	Bravery x800
Sliding Slinger	Effect	Increases damage dealt to higher-level enemies by 60%.	Increases damage dealt to higher-level enemies by 70%.	Increases damage dealt to higher-level enemies by 80%.	Increases damage dealt to higher-level enemies by 90%.	Increases damage dealt to higher-level enemies by 100%.
	Condition	(unlocked)	Use Sliding Slinger. (x5)	Use Sliding Slinger. (x10)	Use Sliding Slinger. (x20)	Use Sliding Slinger. (x30)
	Reward text		I'll have to work harder than this.	Repetition is at the heart of learning.	I can still squeeze more out of it...	My Sliding Slinger move is now a thing of beauty. Don't you think?
	Reward		Compassion x200	Compassion x300	Compassion x500	Compassion x800
Hundred Shells	Effect	Increases damage dealt from the back by 100%.	Increases damage dealt from the back by 110%.	Increases damage dealt from the back by 120%.	Increases damage dealt from the back by 130%.	Increases damage dealt from the back by 150%.
	Condition	(unlocked)	Use Hundred Shells. (x3)	Use Hundred Shells. (x5)	Use Hundred Shells. (x10)	Use Hundred Shells. (x15)
	Reward text		I'll need some more practice with this.	I think it can get even better.	I've got a good baseline, now it's time to iterate.	Hundred Shells is now a force to be reckoned with.
	Reward		Compassion x200	Compassion x300	Compassion x500	Compassion x800
Violent Streak	Effect	Adds a 60% chance of dealing a guard-annulling attack.	Adds a 70% chance of dealing a guard-annulling attack.	Adds a 80% chance of dealing a guard-annulling attack.	Adds a 90% chance of dealing a guard-annulling attack.	Adds a 100% chance of dealing a guard-annulling attack.
	Condition	(unlocked)	Use Violent Streak. (x2)	Use Violent Streak. (x3)	Use Violent Streak. (x6)	Use Violent Streak. (x10)
	Reward text		I'll polish up the finer points, then it'll really sing.	Needs more firepower.	It'll be ready soon.	There's no enemy who can withstand my Violent Streak, not in my world, and not in this one, either.
	Reward		Compassion x200	Compassion x300	Compassion x500	Compassion x800
		Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Level 5
Overdrive	Effect	With Elma in battle, press R and - to engage. Uses P.Gauge, lasts 50 secs.	With Elma in battle, press R and - to engage. Uses P.Gauge, lasts 60 secs.	With Elma in battle, press R and - to engage. Uses P.Gauge, lasts 70 secs.	With Elma in battle, press R and - to engage. Uses P.Gauge, lasts 80 secs.	With Elma in battle, press R and - to engage. Uses P.Gauge, lasts 90 secs.
	Condition	(unlocked)	Complete the Challenge Battle "Grazing Flock". (x1)	Complete the Challenge Battle "Darkening Skies". (x1)	Complete the Challenge Battle "Dread Contagion". (x1)	Complete the Challenge Battle "Humanoid Alliance". (x1)
	Reward text		I don't care if you call it natural selection, I still feel bad about killing gentle herbivore indigens...	When you're fighting flying indigens, that's when guns really shine... But you really like your melee weapons, huh.	Phew, if those things attacked NLA... I'll have to revamp our defenses the next time I'm back.	If I had my Skell, that would've been no contest... But as things stand, at least it made for a nice workout.
	Reward		Justice x200	Justice x300	Justice x500	Justice x800
Crisis Catalyst	Effect	Increases damage dealt by 90% and critical rate by 20% at max Affinity.	Increases damage dealt by 105% and critical rate by 25% at max Affinity.	Increases damage dealt by 120% and critical rate by 30% at max Affinity.	Increases damage dealt by 135% and critical rate by 35% at max Affinity.	Increases damage dealt by 150% and critical rate by 40% at max Affinity.
	Condition	(unlocked)	Complete the Challenge Battle "Think of the Soldiers". (x1)	Complete the Challenge Battle "Sacred Wood". (x1)	Complete the Challenge Battle "Chickenheart Challenge". (x1)	Complete the Challenge Battle "9th Imp. Armored Div.". (x1)
	Reward text		The technology looked profoundly mysterious at a glance... I bet if Lin was here, she'd be all over it.	Tirkins, huh? I wonder if we could befriend them like we did the Ma-non...	Our teamwork skills have been tried, and we passed with flying colors.	The soldiers from Mòrag's homeland are a competent bunch. Great small- unit tactics, impressive leadership.
	Reward		Justice x200	Justice x300	Justice x500	Justice x800
Background Noise	Effect	Increases damage dealt from the back by 30%.	Increases damage dealt from the back by 60%.	Increases damage dealt from the back by 90%.	Increases damage dealt from the back by 120%.	Increases damage dealt from the back by 150%.
	Condition	(unlocked)	Complete the Challenge Battle "Bewitching Dance". (x1)	Complete the Challenge Battle "Panic at the Seaside". (x1)	Complete the Challenge Battle "Serious Showdown". (x1)	Complete the Challenge Battle "Cloud King's Revenge". (x1)
	Reward text		Alrest's indigens tend towards the smaller end of the spectrum... Perfect for target practice.	Annoying pests... I'm so glad the beaches near NLA are free from this kind of menace.	That duo was no summer picnic. They complemented each other... I have to respect that.	I'm still in awe of that simulator. I need to question the Archsage, and get him to spill its secrets...
	Reward		Justice x200	Justice x300	Justice x500	Justice x800
		Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Level 5
Keen Eye	Effect	The power to see things clearly. Used to notice small changes, etc.
	Condition	Reconnoiter Alrest with Elma. Head to Masrah Spring in Gormott. (Req. Tora & Nia & Mòrag & Zeke) Revealed after chapter 2 begins	Reconnoiter Alrest with Elma. Head to the Ruins of Fountain Park in Uraya. (Req. Pyra & Zeke & Pandoria) Revealed After increasing Elma's Keen Eye to level 1. After the party winds up in Uraya	Reconnoiter Alrest with Elma. Head to the Ancient Wall in Temperantia. (Req. Mòrag & Brighid) Revealed After increasing Elma's Keen Eye to level 2. After the party sets foot on Temperantia	Reconnoiter Alrest with Elma. Head to the Vault of Heroes in Spirit Crucible Elpys. (Req. Nia & Mythra) Revealed After increasing Elma's Keen Eye to level 3. After the party discusses the strength-sapping properties of Spirit Crucible Elpys shortly after entering it	Reconnoiter Alrest with Elma. Head to 7th Perim. Skyport in the World Tree. (Req. Mythra & Shulk & KOS-MOS) Revealed After increasing Elma's Keen Eye to level 4. After the party enters the World Tree
	Reward text	Gormott looks so much like Noctilum... I wish I could explore it methodically.	I've developed a soft spot for this land. Let's not leave yet, OK?	Even though the technology in Alrest isn't very advanced, Blades' power can wreak such destruction... It's sobering.	A solemn and mystical place... I especially liked that single shaft of light. I wonder where it came from...	I've never seen a place like it in my life. Alrest hides many unplumbed mysteries still - I hope we can explore together!
	Reward	Truth x100	Truth x200	Truth x300	Truth x500	Truth x800
Focus	Effect	The power to focus on one thing. Also used to control one's power.
	Condition	Defeat a Sandl Rapchor at Coolley Lake in Gormott, etc. (x2) Revealed after increasing Elma's Keen Eye to level 1.	Defeat a Sprack Parisax in the Dragon's Stomach in Uraya, etc. (x2) Revealed after increasing Elma's Keen Eye to level 2.	Defeat a Zaguin Hox at the Titan Weapon Dig Site in Temperantia, etc. (x2) Revealed after increasing Elma's Keen Eye to level 3.	Defeat a Lun Scorpox in the Middle Worm-Ridden Cave in Spirit Crucible Elpys, etc. (x2) Revealed after increasing Elma's Keen Eye to level 4.	Defeat a Riveral Ansel at the 7th Perimeter Skyport in the World Tree, etc. (x2) Revealed after increasing Elma's Keen Eye to level 5.
	Reward text	That's not an indigen you'd even meet on Mira. So small, yet so ferocious...	I'm a fan of all these small-sized indigens you've got. It's nice when a fight ends this quickly.	That indigen was unexpectedly cute, and I bet it'd yield some excellent materials...	I wonder what the lifespan of one of those indigens could be... We should set up a study.	This would be so much easier if we had Skells.
	Reward	Truth x100	Truth x200	Truth x300	Truth x500	Truth x800
Lockpicking	Effect	The power to open various things. Works on doors, treasure troves, etc.
	Condition	Collect Clarity Moss in Gormott. (Currently held items count toward required total.) (x5) Revealed after increasing Elma's Keen Eye to level 1.	Collect Dragon Incense in Uraya. (Currently held items count toward required total.) (x4) Revealed after increasing Elma's Keen Eye to level 2.	Collect a Glory Angler in Temperantia. (Currently held items count toward required total.) (x4) Revealed after increasing Elma's Keen Eye to level 3.	Collect an Addam's Tear in Spirit Crucible Elpys. (Currently held items count toward required total.) (x4) Revealed after increasing Elma's Keen Eye to level 4.	Collect Robotic Placoderm in the World Tree. (Currently held items count toward required total.) (x4) Revealed after increasing Elma's Keen Eye to level 5.
	Reward text	It's said that using Clarity Moss gives you clarity... But I think in Noctilum, it'd just make things worse!	The Dragon Incense is used to make medicine, right? I'm lucky enough not to need it, but it's still fascinating.	That's one disgusting-looking fish... I don't think there's any sea life this grotesque on Mira...	Such a beautiful stone... It feels very...pure, somehow.	To think that an organism would find a way to flourish in this environment... I guess life really does find a way.
	Reward	Truth x100	Truth x200	Truth x300	Truth x500	Truth x800

Dialogue

Main article: Elma/Gameplay (XC2)/Dialogue

Gallery

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  Elma's Affinity Chart