Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - How to Perform Cancel Attack

How to Perform Cancel Attack in Xenoblade Chronicles 3

What is Cancel Attack?

Cancel Attack is a battle mechanic in Xenoblade Chronicle 3 (XC 3) that allows you to chain auto-attacks, regular Arts, Talent Arts, and Fusion Arts. Upon mastering Cancel Attack, you will be able to keep up the pressure on enemies by unleashing a series of up to three different types of moves. Doing so greatly increases your chances of breaking your foe’s guard, making them more vulnerable to subsequent strikes.

Arts List

Performing Cancel Attack

To perform a Cancel Attack, throw out an auto-attack, regular Art, Talent Art, or Fusion Art on an enemy. Then, as your attack lands on your target, press another button that can be chained to the type of attack you opened with. If done correctly, light purple energy should briefly flash from your character. This indicates that you have successfully cancelled the attack into another one.

Note that timing your follow-up is extremely important for Cancel Attacks as inputting your next move too early or too late will result in failure.

Three-Stage Cancel Attacks

Upon mastering Cancel Attack, you will be able to string up to three types of moves together with little delay between in each strike. An example of a three-stage Cancel Attack would be auto-attack > regular Art > Talent Art which you should practice as often as possible.

Being able to reliably connect three moves using Cancel Attack is invaluable in any encounter, letting you break your opponent’s guard to briefly render them incapable of action. This is extremely useful during boss fights as it allows you to shut down your opponent as they are charging a powerful technique. Once your foe is helpless, you can safely burst down their HP by unloading on them with your strongest attacks before they recover.

Practicing Cancel Attack

Go to Training from the main menu.

You can practice performing Cancel Attack by going into Training. This feature can be accessed from the main menu under “System.” From here, spend as much time as you want until you are able to comfortably perform Cancel Attack without mistakes in battle.