Healing characters in RPGs can have a stigma around them. This stigma may date back to games as far back as the first Final Fantasy. The healers in that game, White Mages, were garbage for anything other than healing in battle. RPGs have approached healers in different ways over the years and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is an example wherein they are more than glorified potions with legs.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has a small number of healing classes bu they are mighty from main characters like Eunie to recruitable guest heroes like Teach. They are good at healing but they have some fantastic attacks as well. Let’s rank them all based on skill and personality and there will be some spoilers.
8 Nia
Nia is a strong character offensively as well as being a great healer in Xenoblade Chronicles 3. She is the queen of Agnus, thus signifying her as a powerful ally to have. The thing that keeps her away from being near the top of the rankings is when she gets unlocked. Nia can only be played after beating the game. She’s almost useless at that point as cool as she is to have around at the party or to use her class with another character.
7 Miyabi
Miyabi is talked about throughout the game via Mio before she gets unlocked. Miyabi was great friends with Mio but was presumed to be dead. She gets resurrected, which happens in RPGs like this, during a forced side story in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 wherein it is revealed she is being controlled by a Consul member. Miyabi uses two fans as weapons which aren’t that strong and don’t have a great reach. However, her healing abilities are great to get the party back to full power.
6 Isurd
Isurd is the former master of Taion. Taion left his company after he blamed himself for getting a member killed. That’s one of his reasons at least besides having to retreat because of a Keves invasion.
They are reunited in the game albeit as enemies. Thankfully, it turns out that this was a clone made out of mud. Isurd has a similar weapon to Taion’s which uses little robot-like things to both attack enemies and heal allies. He is technically stronger than Taion and the ninja-like healer class but Taion has one leg above him for a specific reason.
5 Fiona
Fiona is a unique healer in that she calls back to her Japanese gaming development roots. She is like a flag twirler that boosts the spirits of her team, which is a common practice in school clubs. Fiona even wears a red armband as if she were going to an academy. Her healing abilities create fields to regenerate health or boost stats like defense. Her character arc for her side quest is also worth mentioning as it is one of the most heartbreaking in Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
4 Valdi
Valdi is the first permanent side character players will unlock. He may look young, and he is, but Valdi is the head of his colony. He got promoted because of how well-versed he was with the mechs and robots of this world. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get to ride in a mech or summon an army of robots to assist the party during battle. Valdi’s skill with his rivet-like gun can still pack a punch it’s also the tool he uses to heal. It’s a decent class that is mid-range between power and healing skills.
3 Teach
Teach was the leader of the company Mio, Sena, and Taion binged to before they joined Ouroboros. Like his name, Teach comes across as a wise leader when players first bump into him. It seems like he has the best intentions of showing Noah and the others a good hiking spot but it turns out he was leading them into a trap.
He soon sees the error of his ways though and the rest is history. Teach uses a rod with two energy blades coming out each end as if he were Darth Maul from the Star Wars series. This is a decent healer class but the weapon associated with it gives characters like Teach an edge power-wise over the other healers.
2 Eunie
Eunie is a sniper for Noah’s elite force but she is also a healer. That doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense but somehow her sniper rifle/scythe can also heal. She can send healing circles and boosters out like several other healing classes in Xenoblade Chronicles 3. What makes her special, besides Eunie being one of the main six and is thus around all the time, is that she can fuse with her partner Taion. Together they can fuse and take on a mech-like form which gives them power far beyond anyone else in the healing roster.
1 Taion
Taion is in the same boat as Eunie in Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Players begin with Eunie taking over as the head of the mech, but Taion can unlock a different form later. This mech form uses his ninja-like skills in his normal class well, as this new entity can create shadow illusions sort of like the various jutsu techniques in Naruto. Taion, either by himself or in this mech, is not that skilled of a healer. He is stronger than Eunie though, making him a slightly better character for players to focus upgrades on overall.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was released on July 29, 2022 and is available on Switch.