Flash Fencer is a type of Attacker class in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and is the default class of Ethel. 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.

Flash Fencer Class Overview

Flash Fencer Basic Information

Class		Role	Default Character
Flash Fencer		Attacker	Ethel
Attack	Defense	Health	Support
S	D	D	A
Description
An Attacker, pressuring foes with a dual-sword style and felling them in short, vicious bouts.

Character Class Rating

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 Flash Fencer

Recruit Ethel by Completing Their Hero Quest

Flash Fencer is the default class of Ethel, a hero in Xenoblade Chronicles 3. To unlock this class and equip it to your main characters, you must first complete their Hero Quest: No Want of Courage.

No Want of Courage Walkthrough

Unlock Rank 20 By Making Ethel Rejoin the Party

Unlike other characters, Ethel does not have the typical Ascension Quest. Instead, you'll need make her rejoin the party by bringing her to the Lab in Colony Omega. Once completed, Rank 20 for Ethel and the Flash Fencer class are unlocked.

How to Make Ethel Rejoin the Party

Best Flash Fencer Characters

Recommended Characters
Noah	Sena

Both Noah and Sena are highly recommended as Flash Fencers due to their high Attack and Class Rating. Additionally, they can also make good use of the Master Skills of Flash Fencer when returning to their default classes.

Best Flash Fencer Arts

Recommended Combat Arts

Art	Attack Type	AoE	Base Effect
Cross Impact	Physical Attack	One Target	Buffs self with Power Charge when Art hits.
Null Slash	Physical Attack	Frontward AOE	Increases Critical Rate by 50% when attacking from side.
Revolution Edge	Physical Attack	One Target	Boosts damage dealt when attacking from behind by 100%.

The above arts are recommended for Flash Fencers due to their high damage and Critical Rate. Cross Impact is especially useful since it grants you the Power Charge buff.

Recommended Master Arts

Art	Base Effect	Class Rank
No Love Lost	Physical Def. down	Strategos Rank 1
Glitter Stream	Side Break	Incursor Rank 10
Aerial Slash	High Crit. Rate / Evade	Incursor Rank 1

No Love Lost is a great Art since most the Arts in the class are Physical Attacks, while Aerial Slash has a high Critical Rate. If you decide to use Glitter Stream to allow the class to start combos, then you'll need Positioning Pro as a skill if you already have 2 Positional Combat Arts equipped.

Best Master Skills for Flash Fencer Builds

Rank 5 Master Skills

Skill	Effect	Class Rank
Cypher Edge	Boosts Critical Rate by 10%.	Swordfighter Rank 5
Fighting Prowess	Boosts damage dealt by physical Arts by 30%.	Ogre Rank 5
Positioning Pro	Increases the no. of positional arts that can be set to the Arts Palette by 1.	Full Metal Jaguar Rank 5

It is best to increase both the Attack and Critical Rate of Flash Fencers since these are their most important stats. Positioning Pro is only necessary when you have more than 2 Positional Arts equipped. If not, this can be replaced by Vigilance.

Rank 15 Master Skills

Skill	Effect	Class Rank
Covert Attack	Reduces aggro generated from attacks by 20%.	Swordfighter Rank 15
Eye for Weak Points	Each successful attack boosts Critical Rate by 1% of inital value (up to a maximum of 100%).	Incursor Rank 15
Frenzied Combo	On critical hit, recharge Art used by 20%.	Martial Artist Rank 15

Once you are able to equip a few Rank 15 Master Skills, the above skills can be added to your palette as well. Eye for Weak Points is especially important and makes a good replacement for Cypher Edge since it can potentially boost your Critical Rate to up to 100%.

Best Accessories for Flash Fencer Builds

Increased Attack	Increased Critical Rate	Boosts Damage from the Side
Silver Belt	Optical Headband	Adamantine Gauntlet

Since Flash Fencers are a high Critical Rate Attacker class, accessories that increase their Attack damage and Critical Rate are ideal. Since the class will mostly be attacking enemies from the side or behind, position-based accessories also work well.

List of Accessories

Best Gems for Flash Fencer Builds

Increased Critical Damage	Increased Damage when Canceling	Reduced Aggro from Arts
Analyze Weakness	Empowered Combo	Disperse Bloodlust

Since we already have plenty of buffs to our Critical Rate, we can increase the damage of our Critical Hits further with gems. Flash Fencers also make good use of attack canceling, so gems that increase damage from these also work well.

All Gems and Their Effects

List of Flash Fencer Arts

Talent Arts

Base Art Information
Saber Strike	Area of Effect	One Target	Power Multiplier	375%
	Buff/ Debuff	-	Reaction	Smash
	Recharge Type	Role Action Recharge	Recharge Gauge	3
	Effect	None

Combat Arts

Base Art Information
Cross Impact	Area of Effect	One Target	Power Multiplier	120%
	Buff/ Debuff	Power Charge	Reaction	None
	Recharge Type	Time Recharge	Recharge Gauge	20s
	Effect	Buffs self with Power Charge when Art hits.
Acceleration	Area of Effect	Self	Power Multiplier	0%
	Buff/ Debuff	-	Reaction	None
	Recharge Type	Time Recharge	Recharge Gauge	50s
	Effect	Boosts auto-attack and Arts speed. Also raises damage taken by 25%.
Null Slash	Area of Effect	Frontward AOE	Power Multiplier	160%
	Buff/ Debuff	-	Reaction	None
	Recharge Type	Time Recharge	Recharge Gauge	11s
	Effect	Increases Critical Rate by 50% when attacking from side.
Hidden Thorn	Area of Effect	One Target	Power Multiplier	300%
	Buff/ Debuff	Bleed	Reaction	None
	Recharge Type	Time Recharge	Recharge Gauge	36s
	Effect	None
Revolution Edge	Area of Effect	One Target	Power Multiplier	150%
	Buff/ Debuff	-	Reaction	None
	Recharge Type	Time Recharge	Recharge Gauge	30s
	Effect	Boosts damage dealt when attacking from behind by 100%.

Master Arts

Art	Rank Mastered
Hidden Thorn	1
Cross Impact	10
Saber Strike	20

Combat Arts

Base Art Information
Swallowtail	Area of Effect	One Target	Power Multiplier	195%
	Buff/ Debuff	-	Reaction	None
	Recharge Type	Time Recharge	Recharge Gauge	26s
	Effect	Boosts damage dealt when attacking from behind by 120%.
Silver Cyclone	Area of Effect	One Target	Power Multiplier	210%
	Buff/ Debuff	-	Reaction	None
	Recharge Type	Time Recharge	Recharge Gauge	11s
	Effect	Increases Critical Rate by 75% when attacking from side.
Million Flash	Area of Effect	One Target	Power Multiplier	360%
	Buff/ Debuff	Bleed	Reaction	None
	Recharge Type	Time Recharge	Recharge Gauge	32s
	Effect	None

Arts Guide: List of All Arts and Effects

List of Flash Fencer Skills

Class Skills

Skill	Base Effect
First Move Wins	Boosts damage dealt by 30% for the first 30 seconds of battle.
Fighting Instinct	Boosts damage dealt by 25% when using a Talent Art (up to a maximum of 200%).
Critical Strike	Increases critical hit damage bonus by 30 percentage points.
Capable Hands	Fills Talent Art recharge gauge by 60% at start of battle.

Master Skills

Skill	Rank Mastered
Critical Strike	5
Capable Hands	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	-