They also have high attack to help keep the attention of the enemy, so it is good to pick just for the melee damage boost. I’m going to explain all the details of the Shield Trooper and Bastion Warrior so you can be prepared.
This guide will go over the Shield Trooper and Bastion Warrior classes in Xenoblade Chronicles X including:
Shield Trooper and Bastion Warrior Info - Arts, weapons, and skills for these classes. Bastion Warrior Class Tips - Tips for what kind of play style to expect when playing Bastion Warrior.
Shield Trooper
This branch focuses on keeping enemy attention, high HP and melee attack, and raising your own defense.
Weapons - Gatling Gun and Shield
Arts
Wild Down (Shield) - Deals weapon damage and inflicts Topple on a single enemy. Acquired at Rank 1 Melee attack, costs 1,000 TP
Missile Volley (Gatling Gun) - Deals Thermal damage and inflicts Thermal Res Down to all enemies ahead. Acquired at Rank 1 Ranged attack
Flame Cloak (Shield) - Grants Thermal Res Up to nearby allies. Acquired at Rank 2 Buff
Iron Prison (Shield) - Grants Physical Res Up and enables proximity spike damage to user. Acquired at Rank 3 Aura, costs 1,000 TP
Wild Smash (Shield) - Deals weapon damage to a single enemy. Increased damaged against an enemy inflicted with Topple. Acquired at Rank 4 Melee attack
Trash Talk (Shield) - Inflicts Taunt on nearby enemies. Increases TP with Morale. Acquired at Rank 5 Debuff
Bullet Storm (Gatling Gun) - Deals weapon damage to all enemies ahead. Inflicts Flinch on Humanoids. Acquired at Rank 7 Ranged attack
Skills - 3 slots available
Thermal Shield - Increases Thermal resistance when wielding a melee weapon. Acquired at Rank 2 Topple Topper - Reduces enemy Topple resistance. Acquired at Rank 3
Shield Screen - Reduces damage when wielding a shield Acquired at Rank 4
Rising Renewal - Increases HP recovery when revived. Acquired at Rank 5
Long Topple - Extends duration of Topple effects. Acquired at Rank 6 Trauma Tension - Grants a chance of receiving TP when taking damage. Acquired at Rank 8
Dirty Fighter - Increases melee Art damage to enemies inflicted with Topple. Acquired at Rank 9
Stand Strong - Increases resistance to Stagger, Topple, Knockback, and Launch when wielding a shield. Acquired at Rank 10
Bastion Warrior
This is the enhanced version of the Shield Trooper. They get huge buffs to HP and melee attack.
Weapons - Gatling Gun and Shield
Arts
Hellfire (Gatling Gun) - Deals weapon damage to all enemies ahead. Increased damage when an Aura is active. Acquired at Rank 1 Ranged attack, costs 1,000 TP
Shield Wall (Shield) - Grants Barrier to nearby allies. Acquired at Rank 2 Buff
Enhanced Stand (Gatling Gun) - Increases auto-attack damage and continually restores HP for user. Acquired at Rank 2 Aura, costs 1,000 TP
Reality Rift (Shield) - Deals weapon damage and inflicts Slow Arts to all enemies ahead. Acquired at Rank 3 Debuff
Thermal Payload (Shield) - Deals Thermal damage to a single enemy. Increased damage against Toppled enemies. Acquired at Rank 4 Ranged attack, costs 1,000 TP
Bombardier (Shield) - Deals Thermal damage and inflicts Blaze on nearby enemies. Acquired at Rank 6 Melee attack
Cool Off (Gatling Gun) - Removes debuffs of user. Consumes Aura if one is active to give TP. Acquired at Rank 7 Buff
Supershield (Shield) - Reflects physical attacks, reduces damage taken, and nullifies Stun for user. Acquired at Rank 8 Aura, costs 1,000 TP
Skills - 4 slots available
Machine Gunner - Increases ranged damage when fighting 2 or more enemies. Acquired at Rank 2 Heatseeker - Increases critical chance when fighting enemies inflicted with Blaze. Acquired at Rank 5
Double Spike - Increases Spike damage. Acquired at Rank 9
Double Reflect - Increases Reflect damage. Acquired at Rank 10
Bastion Warrior Tips
If you want to make the most out of the defensive capabilities, or do a lot of Thermal damage, then the default weapons are a good choice.
You can also just use this class for the huge HP and melee stat boost and use other weapons like Photon Saber, or Longsword. You can survive longer with the extra HP and do more damage with melee.
For tanking, I suggest keeping the shield at least. Focus on increases max HP, melee attack, and other abilities that help you keep attention and stay alive.
That’s it for my Shield Trooper and Bastion Warrior guide for Xenoblade Chronicles X. Check out the Base Class guide for more class tips. Let me know if you have any questions!