This is a list of the best skill links for each character in Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (XC1) on the Nintendo Switch. Read on to learn the best skill links for each character, as well as the overall best skills.

Explanation of Best Skill Links

Chosen Skill Links are based on combat optimization. Skill links like increased EXP and increased fever rate are not included in the list, although they are very useful outside of combat (such as for level grinding or gem crafting).

The skills we have also listed are simply the best options to choose from. You may not be able to equip all these skills but all of the skills listed below will surely boost your character's performance.

There will be some spoilers. If you haven't reached atleast chapter 9 of the game.

Extra Skill Trees

There will be several skills suggested in this page that will not be available to the player at the start of the game. These skills belong to that character's extra skill tree and must be unlocked and learned first before it becomes available to others via skill links. For more info about extra skill links, see the link below.

Extra Skill Trees

Best Skill Links for Shulk

Shulk

These are the best skill links for Shulk. There will also be an explanation further below for why these are the best skill links for him.

Battle Character (17 Coins) Skill Owner: Reyn	Ultimate Strike (13 Coins) Skill Owner: Fiora
Opening Blow (6 Coins) Skill Owner: Fiora	Deadly Determination (48 Coins) Skill Owner: Dunban
Natural Born Warrior (5 Coins) Skill Owner: Dunban	Lightweight Expert (28 Coins) Skill Owner: Dunban
Always Ready (14 Coins) Skill Owner: Sharla	Love Sun! (18 Coins) Skill Owner: Riki
Make it all Better! (12 Coins) Skill Owner: Riki	Nutritious! (29 Coins) Skill Owner: Riki
High Speed (20 Coins) Skill Owner: Melia	-

Explanation for Shulk's Skill Links

Battle Character

Battle Character	Increases attack power of equipped weapon (10%).	Owner Reyn

A general buff to Shuk's already strong weapon. Shulk is a damage dealer, so having more damage is, of course, a welcome choice.

Ultimate Strike

Ultimate Strike	Increases damage of critical hits (20%).	Owner Fiora

Equipping Critical Up Gems to Shulk and partnering it with Ultimate Strike will surely break the enemy's backs with a properly used Back Slash.

Deadly Determination

Deadly Determination	Increases tension gained when using Arts (10).	Owner Dunban

More Tension means a stronger character, and an art heavy character like Shulk can abuse this skill link. Make sure to get Deadly Determination at all costs.

Opening Blow

Opening Blow	Increases damage of the first strike of a battle (50%).	Owner Fiora

Not the best Skill Link for Shulk against tough fights, but it will help when doing monster elimination quests. A single backslash can kill or severely damage an enemy, making your progress faster.

Light Armor Skills

Lightweight Expert	Improves physical and ether def. of light equipment (15%).	Owner Dunban
Natural Born Warrior	Reduces weight of equipment (5).	Owner Dunban

Shulk has a rather low agility stat. Reducing it further with heavy equipment is a bad choice. Light Armor is the best equipment for Shulk, and skills like Natural Born Warrior and Lightweight Expert will further synergize with this build making Shulk a monster.

Love Sun / Amazing Stars

Love Sun!	Reduces cooldown during the day (10%).	Owner Riki

Free Cooldown reduction just by adjusting the time of the game. This skill is a universal skill that every character should have. Just make sure to adjust the time to utilize it.

Make It All Better!

Make it all Better!	Improves Healing Arts used on an ally with half HP (20%).	Owner Riki

A situational skill link, Make it all Better is best equipped if you don't plan to have a medic in your party. This skill link will make all of your light heals count and can save an ally from dying.

Agility and Strength Skill Links

High Speed	Increases agility (15).	Owner Melia
Nutritious!	Greatly increases strength (50).	Owner Riki
Always Ready	Increases agility (10).	Owner Sharla

Mooooaaaaarr strength and agility. Seriously, everyone will benefit from these stats, especially agility.

Best Skill Links for Reyn

These are the best skill links for Reyn. There will also be an explanation further below for why these are the best skill links for him.

Resilient Warrior (11 Coins) Skill Owner: Shulk	Ultimate Defence (65 Coins) Skill Owner: Shulk
Immunization (45 Coins) Skill Owner: Shulk	Physical Resilience (30 Coins) Skill Owner: Fiora
Strength of Will (30 Coins) Skill Owner: Fiora	Body of Steel (49 Coins) Skill Owner: Dunban
Firm Defence (18 Coins) Skill Owner: Sharla	Nutritious! (29 Coins) Skill Owner: Riki
Cuddly Hero! (43 Coins) Skill Owner: Riki	Amplified Healing (3 Coins) Skill Owner: Melia
Palace Guard (7 Coins) Skill Owner: Melia	Heavyweight Expert (45 Coins) Skill Owner: Melia

Explanation for Reyn's Skill Links

Defensive Skill Links

Firm Defence	Boosts physical defence (5%).	Owner Sharla
Body of Steel	Reduces physical damage taken (15%).	Owner Dunban
Strength of Will	Reduces Ether damage taken (10%).	Owner Fiora
Physical Resilience	Reduces physical damage taken (10%).	Owner Fiora
Ultimate Defence	Boosts physical and ether defence for the party (10%).	Owner Shulk
Resilient Warrior	Boosts physical defence and ether defence (5%).	Owner Shulk

Reyn is the ideal damage taker for all your party members. Boosting his high defenses further will improve his tanking capabilities.

Immunization

Immunization	Grants immunity to debuffs that reduce stats.	Owner Shulk

One of Reyn's weaknesses is stat reduction debuffs. Defense Down and Ether Down in particular may prove fatal to Reyn. Preventing Reyn from getting afflicted by these debuffs allows him to tank even the toughest enemies.

Nutritious

Nutritious!	Greatly increases strength (50).	Owner Riki

Making Reyn stand there and take aggro is enough to make him fulfill his role. Adding Strength to Reyn's arsenal will allow him to tank and deal damage at the same time, improving his performance.

Cuddly Hero!

Cuddly Hero!	Increases resistance to all debuffs (30%).	Owner Riki

Same with Immunization, Cuddly Hero gives resistance to all status ailments. Disabling Reyn with status ailments will prevent him from taking aggro, which can make your team's formation collapse.

Amplified Healing!

Amplified Healing	Increases HP received from Healing Arts (15%).	Owner Melia

Reyn's HP tank is huge! Squeezing out more HP from healings will allow him to stay in the heat of battle for longer durations.

Palace Guard

Palace Guard	Improves block rate (15%).	Owner Melia

Unlike Dunban's evasion tank style, Reyn relies on taking damage. Finding ways to reduce these damage is the key to using Reyn, and improving his block rate is one of the best ways to do this.

Heavyweight Expert

Heavyweight Expert	Improves ether defence the more heavy equipment is worn (30 each).	Owner Melia

Reyn's ether defense is lower than his physical defense. Getting Heavyweight Expert for Reyn allows him to equip high defense armor while improving his Ether defense.

Best Skill Links for Sharla

These are the best skill links for Sharla. There will also be an explanation further below for why these are the best skill links for her.

Healing Wisdom (8 Coins) Skill Owner: Shulk	Ultimate Defence (65 Coins) Skill Owner: Shulk
Resilient Warrior (11 Coins) Skill Owner: Shulk	Bodybuilder (6 Coins) Skill Owner: Reyn
Wall of Muscle (14 Coins) Skill Owner: Reyn	Physical Resilience (30 Coins) Skill Owner: Fiora
Strength of Will (30 Coins) Skill Owner: Fiora	Heavy Equipment (15 Coins) Skill Owner: Dunban
Body of Steel (49 Coins) Skill Owner: Dunban	Make it all Better! (12 Coins) Skill Owner: Riki

Explanation for Sharla's Skill Links

Healing Wisdom

Make it all Better!	Improves Healing Arts used on an ally with half HP (20%).	Owner Riki
Healing Wisdom	Healing Arts restore more HP (15%).	Owner Shulk

As the healer, boosting Sharla's Heal Arts makes her more effective in her role.

Defense Skill Links

Body of Steel	Reduces physical damage taken (15%).	Owner Dunban
Strength of Will	Reduces Ether damage taken (10%).	Owner Fiora
Physical Resilience	Reduces physical damage taken (10%).	Owner Fiora
Ultimate Defence	Boosts physical and ether defence for the party (10%).	Owner Shulk
Resilient Warrior	Boosts physical defence and ether defence (5%).	Owner Shulk

Sharla is the party's medic. Her abilities, however, are enough to heal the party without any boosts to Ether. The best way to build Sharla is to improve her defense and not make her die while she attempts to not make your party die. Equipping her defensive skill links will greatly increase her survivability, and in turn, increase her healing capabilities as well.

Body Builder & Wall of Muscle

Wall of Muscle	Further increases Max HP (10%).	Owner Reyn
Bodybuilder	Increases Max HP (5%).	Owner Reyn

Same as increasing her Defense and Ether Defense, increasing her HP will make her not die, and in turn, allows her party to live longer as well.

Heavy Equipment

Heavy Equipment	Allows heavy weight armour to be equipped	Owner Dunban

Sharla has her own heavy equipment skill, but linking a Heavy Equipment to Sharla can allow her to equip heavy armors early in the game.

Best Skill Links for Dunban

These are the best skill links for Dunban. There will also be an explanation further below for why these are the best skill links for him.

Ultimate Teamwork (18 Coins) Skill Owner: Shulk	Glorious Future (28 Coins) Skill Owner: Shulk
Battle Character (17 Coins) Skill Owner: Reyn	Rampage (20 Coins) Skill Owner: Reyn
Ultimate Strike (13 Coins) Skill Owner: Fiora	Always Ready (14 Coins) Skill Owner: Sharla
Like Sun! (7 Coins) Skill Owner: Riki	Nutritious! (29 Coins) Skill Owner: Riki
Pretty Stars! (7 Coins) Skill Owner: Riki	High Speed (20 Coins) Skill Owner: Melia
Unadorned Beauty (12 Coins) Skill Owner: Melia	-

Explanation for Dunban's Skill Links

Ultimate Teamwork

Ultimate Teamwork	Increases chain attack damage (25%).	Owner Shulk

Dunban has the nastiest talent art in the game. It further shows its effect during Chain Attacks where his 4 strikes can deal astronomical damage on each hit. Increase that damage by 25% and no one will stand in your way.

Glorious Future

Glorious Future	Talent Gauge will be at max after a vision.	Owner Shulk

A free blossom dance is always nice. It can also be used as a signal on when to use a Chain Attack (Dunban gets a full talent gauge due to Visions, so use a Chain Attack and hit the enemy for a gazillion damage).

Battle Character

Battle Character	Increases attack power of equipped weapon (10%).	Owner Reyn

Self explanatory. More damage for Dunban is always good.

Rampage

Rampage	Increases chance of a double attack (10%).	Owner Reyn

Equip Dunban with Double Attack Gems, then equip Rampage and Dunban turns to a killing machine.

Ultimate Strike

Ultimate Strike	Increases damage of critical hits (20%).	Owner Fiora

Only equip when your weapon has a good critical rate. This Skill Link becomes better if partnered with a Critical Up Gem.

Agility and Strength Boosters

High Speed	Increases agility (15).	Owner Melia
Always Ready	Increases agility (10).	Owner Sharla

More Agility and Strength is always welcome for Dunban.

Like Sun!/Pretty Stars!

Pretty Stars!	Increases strength during the night (15%).	Owner Riki
Like Sun!	Increases strength during the day (10%).	Owner Riki

Make sure to not equip both at the same time. Both Skill Links are great for Dunban, but you'll have to choose which time to fight.

Unadorned Beauty

Unadorned Beauty	Strength, ether, agility and HP up if no gems are equipped (20%).	Owner Melia

Unadorned Beauty is a great skill link for Dunban if you plan to make a naked Dunban build. 0 equipment, just a strong weapon, and Unadorned Beauty is definitely a viable build for Dunban.

Best Skill Links for Melia

These are the best skill links for Melia. There will also be an explanation further below for why these are the best skill links for him.

Stealth Warrior (30 Coins) Skill Owner: Shulk	Chain of Friendship (45 Coins) Skill Owner: Shulk
Forced Mercy (30 Coins) Skill Owner: Shulk	Ties of Friendship (14 Coins) Skill Owner: Reyn
Shoulder to Shoulder (25 Coins) Skill Owner: Reyn	Friendship Heals (20 Coins) Skill Owner: Shulk
Explosion of Energy (80 Coins) Skill Owner: Fiora	Decisive Follow-Up (10 Coins) Skill Owner: Sharla
Ether Expansion (8 Coins) Skill Owner: Sharla	Ether Assault (20 Coins) Skill Owner: Sharla
Love Sun! (18 Coins) Skill Owner: Riki	Ether Explosion (25 Coins) Skill Owner: Sharla
Amazing Stars! (13 Coins) Skill Owner: Riki	-

Explanation for Melia's Skill Links

Aggro Reduction

Forced Mercy	Reduces aggro when damage is taken (25%).	Owner Shulk
Stealth Warrior	Reduces aggro drawn from using Arts (10%)	Owner Shulk

Melia relies on the time she buffs her allies to let aggro steer away from her. Unfortunately, sometimes, it's just not enough. Equipping Stealth Warrior and Forced Mercy to Melia will allow her to disengage much easier.

Chain Link Bonuses

Ties of Friendship	Increases chance of a Chain Link (5%).	Owner Reyn
Chain of Friendship	Increases the chance of a Chain Link (15%).	Owner Shulk

Melia has the best talent art for increasing the Chain Link multiplier. Increasing the chances of Chain Link occurring is one of the best skills you can give Melia.

Chain Link Healing

Shoulder to Shoulder	Heals the party after a chain attack (10%).	Owner Reyn
Friendship Heals	Heals the party slightly after a chain attack (5%).	Owner Shulk

Melia's heals revolves around her using her own life to heal allies. The only way to regain her lost health is to use Aqua and regenerate her lost health, or discharge it to drain some HP from her enemies. Equipping Skills that give health after a chain-link reduces her reliance on Aqua and allows her to focus on damaging enemies instead.

Explosion of Energy

Explosion of Energy	Increases tension by one level when using Talent Arts.	Owner Fiora

One of the best Skills you can equip to Melia. Since Melia relies heavily on her Talent Art, this on is a no brainer. Equipping Explosion of Energy to Melia allows her to keep her tension at maximum during the whole fight.

Ether Expansion

Ether Explosion	Greatly increases ether (75).	Owner Sharla
Ether Expansion	Increases ether (25).	Owner Sharla

Ether stat increases are always good for Melia.

Ether Assault

Ether Assault	Increases damage dealt by ether Arts attacks (20%).	Owner Sharla

Melia's Talent Art is considered as an Ether Attack. Increasing her talent art's damage by a flat 20% value is incredibly good.

Decisive Follow-Up

Decisive Follow-Up	Grants Ether Up buff when an ally defeats an enemy (20%, 30 sec).	Owner Sharla

Great against multiple enemies. This skill can grant Melia a flat 20% ether buff during fights with lots of enemies.

Amazing Stars!/ Love Sun!

Amazing Stars!	Reduces cooldown during the night (15%).	Owner Riki
Love Sun!	Reduces cooldown during the day (10%).	Owner Riki

Cooldown skills are great for Melia, who loves spamming elements. Make sure to only equip one of them, and only fight when they're active to maximize your stats.

Best Skill Links for Riki

These are the best skill links for Riki. There will also be an explanation further below for why these are the best skill links for him.

Healing Wisdom (8 Coins) Skill Owner: Shulk	Chain of Friendship (45 Coins) Skill Owner: Shulk
Ultimate Defence (65 Coins) Skill Owner: Shulk	Glorious Future (28 Coins) Skill Owner: Shulk
Ties of Friendship (14 Coins) Skill Owner: Reyn	Shoulder to Shoulder (25 Coins) Skill Owner: Reyn
Medical Knowledge (12 Coins) Skill Owner: Sharla	Always Ready (14 Coins) Skill Owner: Sharla
Bedside Manner (5 Coins) Skill Owner: Sharla	Hearty Cry (44 Coins) Skill Owner: Sharla
Amplified Healing (3 Coins) Skill Owner: Melia	High Speed (20 Coins) Skill Owner: Melia

Explanation for Riki's Skill Links

Overall, Riki is a character that can do his job just with levels alone.

Glorious Future

Glorious Future	Talent Gauge will be at max after a vision.	Owner Shulk

Visions usually occur during tough fights, and its against tough enemies where the most precious items are located. More Yoinks during these kind of battles means more chances at landing rare items.

Ultimate Defence

Ultimate Defence	Boosts physical and ether defence for the party (10%).	Owner Shulk

Riki is a support character, and giving him a skill that buffs the whole party can never go wrong.

Agility Up

High Speed	Increases agility (15).	Owner Melia
Always Ready	Increases agility (10).	Owner Sharla
Ties of Friendship	Increases chance of a Chain Link (5%).	Owner Reyn

More Agility to accompany his high agility stat makes Riki nearly unkillable.

Healing Increase

Amplified Healing	Increases HP received from Healing Arts (15%).	Owner Melia
Bedside Manner	Healing Arts restore more HP (10%).	Owner Sharla
Medical Knowledge	Greatly boosts power of Healing Arts in chain attacks (25%).	Owner Sharla
Healing Wisdom	Healing Arts restore more HP (15%).	Owner Shulk

Riki only has a single healing art, but it can heal a ton! Amplifying its heal value can make Riki restore everyone's HP to full health.

Chain Bonuses

Hearty Cry	Heals the party slightly after a successful Burst Affinity (10%).	Owner Sharla
Shoulder to Shoulder	Heals the party after a chain attack (10%).	Owner Reyn
Chain of Friendship	Increases the chance of a Chain Link (15%).	Owner Shulk

At the later stages of the game, healing won't even be necessary anymore. Using Chain Attacks after Chain Attacks while equipping Hearty Cry and Shoulder to Shoulder can keep everyone's HP up.

Best Skill Links for Seven

These are the best skill links for Seven. There will also be an explanation further below for why these are the best skill links for her.

Epic Evasion (45 Coins) Skill Owner: Shulk	Ties of Friendship (14 Coins) Skill Owner: Reyn
Critical Drain (50 Coins) Skill Owner: Dunban	Ardent Strike (7 Coins) Skill Owner: Dunban
Equipment Expert (10 Coins) Skill Owner: Dunban	Always Ready (14 Coins) Skill Owner: Sharla
Like Sun! (7 Coins) Skill Owner: Riki	Love Sun! (18 Coins) Skill Owner: Riki
Nutritious! (29 Coins) Skill Owner: Riki	Amazing Stars! (13 Coins) Skill Owner: Riki
Pretty Stars! (7 Coins) Skill Owner: Riki	High Speed (20 Coins) Skill Owner: Melia

Explanation for Seven's Skill Links

Epic Evasion

Epic Evasion	Increases chance of Burst Affinity after evasion (5%).	Owner Shulk

Seven's agility isn't the highest among all characters but it's still pretty high. This allows her to dodge more often and getting more Burst Affinity from those dodges will always help.

Ties of Friendship

Ties of Friendship	Increases chance of a Chain Link (5%).	Owner Reyn

More Chain Link is always great. It also goes even better with a topple lock party to ensure all those topple skills land during a chain attack.

Critical Modifiers

Critical Drain	Restores HP when dealing a critical hit (2%).	Owner Dunban

Ardent Strike	Increases tension gained after a critical hit (10).	Owner Dunban

Critical Drain can sustain Seven's HP greatly, and Ardent Strike can cause Seven's tension to increase and will further increase the number of critical strikes she can do. With her high attack speed and multi-hit arts, these bonuses will go a long way.

Equipment Expert

Equipment Expert	Greatly reduces weight of equipment (10).	Owner Dunban

Reducing Seven's equipment weight allows her to fully utilize her above-average agility stat. Partner this with agility boosters, and you'll get yourself a fast damage dealer that can tank too.

Agility Bonuses

High Speed	Increases agility (15).	Owner Melia
Always Ready	Increases agility (10).	Owner Sharla

Simple, but good buffs to her agility stat.

Like Sun!/Pretty Star!

Pretty Stars!	Increases strength during the night (15%).	Owner Riki
Like Sun!	Increases strength during the day (10%).	Owner Riki

A flat strength bonus by changing the current time. Pair it up with the appropriate time from Love Sun and Amazing Stars to ensure the best effects for Seven.

Love Sun!/Amazing Stars!

Amazing Stars!	Reduces cooldown during the night (15%).	Owner Riki
Love Sun!	Reduces cooldown during the day (10%).	Owner Riki

Cooldown is great for Seven. Just make sure to only equip one of the two.

Nutritious!

Nutritious!	Greatly increases strength (50).	Owner Riki

More damage is always great.

Best Universal Skill Links

These are skill links that can pretty much be equipped by anyone. These Skill Links must be prioritized and equipped by any of your party members!

Love Sun/Amazing Stars

Amazing Stars!	Reduces cooldown during the night (15%).	Owner Riki
Love Sun!	Reduces cooldown during the day (10%).	Owner Riki

A time-based skill that gives buffs to your characters just by having the time set to night or day. Make sure to equip only one type of skill to your characters and fight at the time of your chosen skill.

Chain of Friendship / Ties of Friendship

Ties of Friendship	Increases chance of a Chain Link (5%).	Owner Reyn
Chain of Friendship	Increases the chance of a Chain Link (15%).	Owner Shulk

Chain Attacks are strong, and it gets even stronger the more links you chain. Chain of Friendship and Ties of Friendship can increase the chances of Chain Links occurring.

Friendship Heals/Shoulder to Shoulder

Shoulder to Shoulder	Heals the party after a chain attack (10%).	Owner Reyn
Friendship Heals	Heals the party slightly after a chain attack (5%).	Owner Shulk

The skills that make a no healer party feasible. If Friendship Heals and Shoulder to Shoulder are equipped to all participating combatants, you can heal everyone for 45% of their HP every Chain Attack, which is massive.

Xenoblade Chronicles Related Links

Beginner's Guide to Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition

Gameplay Mechanics
Battle System and Combat Guide	Can You Switch Characters in Battle?
Stats Explained	Status Effects Explained
How to Chain Attack	What Does Tension Do?
How to Topple | Topple Lock Guide	What is Spike Damage?
Trading and Overtrading Guide	Collectopaedia Guide and Rewards
Presents Guide	How to Change the Weather
What is Weight?	-
Guides for Leveling and Grinding
How to Level Up Fast	AP Farming Guide
SP Farming Guide	How to Farm Money
How to Raise Affinity	Tephra Cave Glitch
Leveling Areas Post 70	How to Get Affinity Coins
Optimization Guides
Best Party and Team Setup	Best Skill Trees For Each Character
Best Skill Links for Each Character	Best Gifts for Each Character
Art Manuals List	What to Sell | Best Items to Sell
Miscellaneous Guides
What Carries Over to New Game Plus?	What is Expert Mode?
Achievement Guide and List	What Happens if You Die?
Appearance Guide | How to Change Appearance	List of Missables
100% Playthrough Checklist	-
Colony 6 Items
How to Get Gogol Horns	How to Get Inferno Element
How to Get Black Liver Bean	How to Get Snow Element
How to Get Azure Hollyhocks	How to Get Dust Element
How to Get Red Frontier	How to Get Empress Beetles
How to Get Rainbow Slugs	How to Get Ice Cabbages
How to Get Sturdy Armor	How to Get Squall Element
How to Get Bunnia Scent Wood	How to Get Fossil Monkey
FAQs
How to Get High Entia Emblem	How to Enter Hode's Lair
Where is Banquet Vassago	How to Get Bitter Kiwis
How to Enter Power Pipe Ruins	-