Heavy Guard Class Guide: Best Arts and Skills

Heavy Guard is a type of Defender class in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and is the default class of Lanz. Read on to learn more about the class, including its best arts, skills, characters, accessories, and gems, as well as find out how to unlock the class.

Heavy Guard Class Overview

Heavy Guard Basic Information

Class		Role	Default Character
Heavy Guard		Defender	Lanz
Attack	Defense	Health	Support
C	S	D	B
Description
Heavy Guards use their massive weapons to defend allies. Alternatively, because of their high Defense, they are often used to draw out enemy aggro.

Character Class Rating

Noah	Mio	Eunie
B	C	B
Taion	Lanz	Sena
D	S	A

Class Rating is the speed at which each character ranks up an individual class, so the lower their Class Rating, the slower it takes for them to rank up the class.

How to Unlock Heavy Guard

Unlock Class Changing in Chapter 2

Heavy Guard is the starting class of Lanz, one of the main characters in Xenoblade Chronicles 3, so their class will be available for other party members to equip once you are able to change classes.

Changing classes is unlocked after completing The Hillside Hulk Standard Quest during Chapter 2 of the game.

Lanz Character Profile

Complete Side Story: Lanz to Unlock Rank 20

After you unlock this class, it will have a rank cap of 10, so you are unable to upgrade its Arts and skills further than that rank. To break the rank cap and extend the limit up to Rank 20, you must first complete the quest Side Story: Lanz.

Side Story: Lanz Walkthrough

Best Heavy Guard Characters

Recommended Characters
Lanz	Sena

Lanz and Sena make excellent Heavy Guards due to their high amounts of HP and excellent defensive stats, allowing them to outlast many other characters.

Best Heavy Guard Arts

Recommended Combat Arts

Art	Attack Type	AoE	Base Effect
Bull Rush	Physical Attack	One Target	None
Crash Out	Physical Attack	Frontward AOE	Boosts aggro generated when using Art by 50%.
Solid Stance	Stance	Self	Reduces damage taken by 25% and damage dealt by 25%.

As a Heavy Guard, you'll need to draw in enemy aggro to keep attacks away from your allies, while also making sure you can withstand attacks. Bull Rush is also kept in so you can still execute combos.

Unlike Zephyrs who have high evasion, Heavy Guards actually need to take all the damage the enemy inflicts on them, so Solid Stance is vital in this case.

Recommended Master Arts

Rank 1 and 10 Master Arts

Art	Base Effect	Class Rank
Glow Ring	Target Lock	Zephyr Rank 10
Mighty Beat	AOE / High aggro / Smash	Lost Vanguard Rank 10
Flamelord	Front attack ↑	Seraph Rank 1

Other Defender Master Arts that can draw in aggro and force enemies to lock their target onto you are best for this class. Since this class will likely stay on the front lines, Flamelord also works well for them.

Rank 20 Master Arts

Art	Base Effect	Class Rank
Blossom Dance	High aggro / Pierce	Lone Exile Rank 20

Though Mad Taunt is an excellent Art that draws in plenty of Aggro over a wide area, it does not inflict any damage to enemies. Blossom Dance is an equally great Talent Art for Heavy Guards, so it is also recommended.

Best Master Skills for Heavy Guard Builds

Rank 5 Master Skills

Skill	Effect	Class Rank
Fighting Prowess	Boosts damage dealt by physical Arts by 30%.	Ogre Rank 5
Protector's Pride	Boost recharge speed by 30% when non-Defenders are targeted.	Guardian Commander Rank 5
Natural Selection	Reduced damage taken by 20% when HP is at 30% or lower.	Lone Exile Rank 5

Defender Master Skills are recommended for Heavy Guards since they are constantly being attacked by the enemy. Fighting Prowess is also a decent skill to equip since many of the Arts in the class are Physical Attacks.

Rank 15 Master Skills

Skill	Effect	Class Rank
Mind for Guarding	Increase damage reduction rate when blocking by 10 percentage points.	Guardian Commander Rank 15
Com an' Get Me!	When blocking, deals 100% of Attack damage to enemy drawing aggro.	Lost Vanguard Rank 15
Fortified Ether Guard	Boosts Ether Defense by 10%.	Royal Summoner Rank 15

There are plenty of excellent Skills for Defenders that are available after Rank 10, so make sure to break the class limits of these classes to gain access to their Master Skills.

Among these, Fortified Ether Guard is the best skill to equip since the class already has a Physical Defense boosting skill, so it lacks defenses in Ether Attacks. However, this skill is only available in the post game.

Best Accessories for Heavy Guard Builds

Increased Maximum HP	Increased Block Rate	Increased Damage when Targeted
Titanium Temple Guard	Solid Weak Guard	Dragonfang Necklace

As a Defender, Heavy Guards will need to withstand plenty of enemy attacks, so it is best to equip them with gear that increases HP and Block Rate. Since they will constantly be targeted by enemies, a Dragonfang Necklace, or an accessory with similar effects, is also recommended.

List of Accessories

Best Gems for Heavy Guard Builds

Increased Block Rate	Increased Maximum HP	Boosted Aggro from Arts
Steel Protection	Ironclad	Brimming Spirit

Increasing the Block Rate and HP of Heavy Guards is ideal since they are constantly being attacked by enemies. Brimming Spirit is also great to have to draw in more enemy aggro.

All Gems and Their Effects

List of Heavy Guard Arts

Talent Arts

Base Art Information
Mad Taunt	Area of Effect	AOE around User	Power Multiplier	0%
	Buff/ Debuff	-	Reaction	None
	Recharge Type	Role Action Recharge	Recharge Gauge	4
	Effect	None

Combat Arts

Base Art Information
Bull Rush	Area of Effect	One Target	Power Multiplier	200%
	Buff/ Debuff	-	Reaction	Topple
	Recharge Type	Time Recharge	Recharge Gauge	30s
	Effect	None
Crash Out	Area of Effect	Frontward AOE	Power Multiplier	200%
	Buff/ Debuff	-	Reaction	None
	Recharge Type	Time Recharge	Recharge Gauge	20s
	Effect	Boosts aggro generated when using Art by 50%.
Uppercut Slash	Area of Effect	One Target	Power Multiplier	300%
	Buff/ Debuff	-	Reaction	None
	Recharge Type	Time Recharge	Recharge Gauge	24s
	Effect	Boosts aggro generated when using Art by 50%.
Variable Turret	Area of Effect	One Target	Power Multiplier	200%
	Buff/ Debuff	-	Reaction	None
	Recharge Type	Time Recharge	Recharge Gauge	30s
	Effect	Blocks enemy attacks while Art is active.
Solid Stance	Area of Effect	Self	Power Multiplier	0%
	Buff/ Debuff	-	Reaction	None
	Recharge Type	Time Recharge	Recharge Gauge	50s
	Effect	Reduces damage taken by 25% and damage dealt by 25%.

Master Arts

Art	Rank Mastered
Crash Out	1
Solid Stance	10
Mad Taunt	20

Arts Guide: List of All Arts and Effects

List of Heavy Guard Skills

Class Skills

Skill	Base Effect
Defensive Soul	Boosts Physical Defense by 10%.
I'll Protect You	Reduces damage taken by allies in a fixed radius by 20%.
Aggravator	Accrues Aggro every second.
Tenacious Blocker	Boosts Block Rate by 30% when HP is at 30% or lower.

Master Skills

Skill	Rank Mastered
Defensive Soul	5
Tenacious Blocker	15

List of All Skills

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Related Guides

All Classes and Roles

All Attacker Classes

List of Attacker Classes
Swordfighter	Ogre	Flash Fencer
Yumsmith	Full Metal Jaguar	Stalker
Incursor	Soulhacker	Martial Artist
Seraph	Machine Assassin	Royal Summoner

All Defender Classes

List of Defender Classes
Zephyr	Heavy Guard	Guardian Commander
Lone Exile	Lost Vanguard	Noponic Champion

All Healer Classes

List of Healer Classes
Medic Gunner	Tactician	War Medic
Thaumaturge	Strategos	Signifer
Troubadour	Lifesage	-