In Xenoblade Chronicles 3, you initially start off with six party members as your team gets out of the prologue. As you progress through the game, you can, later on, add one more Hero to your party. You can also unlock more heroes later on, each belonging to a specific class.
Ethel belongs to the Flash Fencer class and is a member of the Keves faction. She’s a good choice to add to your party. Although unlocked a little deeper into the game, she can prove to be a valuable asset.
She’s a sword wielder that performs pretty well on the offensive but may lack in defense. Ethel is also pretty efficient in buffing up her allies, which can be great if you want to take on harder bosses.
In this guide, we’ll be uncovering everything there is to know about Ethel in Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
How To Unlock Ethel
Before we move on to how we can really unlock Ethel, we first need to understand what Hero Quests are.
Hero Quests are some of the optional quests that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has to offer, with the exception of a few, which are compulsory. They are unlocked after the start of Chapter 2.
During the story mission at the start of Chapter 2, you’ll meet Valdi at the base of a cliff. This is where Hero Quests are first introduced in the game, the one that Valdi offers is compulsory, where he teaches your team an important exploration skill.
The rest of the Hero Quests will eventually uncover as you progress through the game. Some of them are unlocked after completing a certain part of the story while others are unlocked by defeating a certain boss, or by freeing a colony, etc. Ethel’s Hero Quest is one of the early ones that you’ll unlock, specifically in Chapter 3.
So, in short, to unlock Ethel and add her to your party, you’ll have to complete a specific Hero Quest called the “No Want of Courage”. To do that, you first have to reach Chapter 3.
At the start of Chapter 3, you have to head over to Bolearis in Colony 4. Borealis will offer you a Main Story Quest called “Helping Out” which requires you to gather information in Colony 4.
After that’s done, head back over to Bolearis and talk to him. At that point, the “No Want of Courage” Hero Quest should be unlocked.
This is a simple quest in which you have to locate, track down and loot a supply drop. This should be right outside of Colony 4, as shown on the map.
Once at the location, you’ll have to battle a few enemies, loot the supply drop, then return to Colony 4. There should also be a Soldier Husk near the supply drop which you can send off.
Upon returning to Colony 4, Ethel will be unlocked as a character to add to your team, along with the Flash Fencer class.
To equip Ethel, head over to the ‘Heroes’ tab. It’s in the menu, which can be opened by pressing X. If unlocked, you should be able to see Ethel in the Heroes tab; you can Equip her from there.
How To Use Ethel
To efficiently use Ethel as a member of your party and ease your battle against enemies, we need to understand her strengths and weaknesses.
Ethel uses a sword and is actually pretty good with it. She specializes in Attacking which allows her to outperform many enemies on the battlefield, specifically with abilities like Acceleration, Swallowtail, and Million Flash. Along with that, she can also buff up her allies, making them stronger.
As for her weaknesses, it’s defense. Ethel can be pretty vulnerable against stronger enemies or bosses if not backed up properly by her allies.
Best Arts
| Arts | Attack Type | Targets | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saber Strike | Physical | Single | None |
| Acceleration | Stance | Self | Increases Ethel’s Art and auto-attack speed, but in turn, increases damage taken by 25% |
| Swallowtail | Physical | Single | Increases the damage output by 120% when attacking enemies from the back |
| Million Flash | Physical | Single | None |
Ethel also has a buff to her chain attacks, here are all the stats for that:
| Initial TP | 25 |
|---|---|
| Heroic Chain | Increases the critical damage rate of allies by 100% |
| Completion Bonus | Increases TP by 150 at the start of the chain |
