How to Prepare for the Secret Xehanort Boss Fight
To get ready for the boss fight against Xehanort’s data in Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMind, you’ll want to make sure you have a few key abilities, items and Keyblades unlocked.
For abilities, you’ll want to make sure you have Payback Strike, Counter Kick and Flash Step equipped. All of them track your target from decent distances, and can allow you to keep the pressure on the boss when you manage to find an opening in his defense.
You’ll likewise want to have Leaf Bracer, Second Chance and Withstand Combo equipped. The first gives you an invincibility window which can allow you to resist damage whenever you successfully cast Curaga to heal, and can allow you to be right next to Xehanort during a vulnerability window if timed correctly.
The latter two, meanwhile, will allow you to tank any combos he lands on you and give you an invincibility window that you can use to heal. However, they’ll only keep you from losing your last hit point, so they’re less an ability you should rely on and more of a fail-safe in case of emergencies.
Which Keyblades and Equipment to Use During Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMind’s Secret Xehanort Boss Fight
Next, you’ll want to deck yourself out with fully-upgraded Keyblades that have good guarding potential, quick combos and Shotlocks that can hit Xehanort in quick succession, as well as Form Changes that offer combos which hit fast and hard with minimal wind-ups.
Kingdom Hearts 3 has plenty of Keyblades that fit this description, so you can take your pick and go with whichever you’re most comfortable with.
Otherwise, the Hero’s Origin, Oathkeeper and Oblivion Keyblades in particular are all great choices. The first is unlocked automatically by playing through the game, and if you haven’t unlocked the other two since they were added in a recent update, we’ve got guides on how to unlock them here (for Oathkeeper) and here (for Oblivion).
However, you’ll want to avoid using the Wheel of Fate and Nano Gear Keyblades. While they both offer high Strength boosts, and boast sub-abilities which increase Form Change duration or prevent stunning, their Form Change combos have heavy wind-ups that can keep you from getting as many hits as possible off on Xehanort before his vulnerability window ends.
Then, there’s the Equipment you should use. This is another area that’s up to your discretion: If you prefer to deal as much damage as quickly as possible, then you can equip either the Power Weights or Magic Weights earned by defeating the other Data Darkness bosses, as well as rings that boost your Strength to its maximum.
However, if you’d rather ensure you take less damage and weather Xehanort’s many different attacks, you can equip Ribbons, Belts and other Armor which increases your Defense and elemental resistances, while equipping accessories that boost your Strength and/or magic to give you some extra hitting power.
Most any Armor you’ve earned by playing through the base game should be suitable, but we do recommend using the best gear possible; namely, end-game gear unlocked by opening end-game treasure chests or collecting all of the Lucky Emblems.
If you still need to find every Emblem, we’ve got a guide that can help you do it here.
We’ve included some images of our equipment layout below for a frame of reference.
Which Items and Shortcuts You Should Have
Finally, you’ll want to bring as many Elixirs as you can into Kinfdom Hearts 3 Remind’s secret Xehanort boss fight.
While pricey and rare, they’re your best bet for restoring your HP to its maximum amount, and will top off your MP for a Curaga or offensive magic directly after their use.
Otherwise, fill your item slots with Hi-Potions or Mega-Potions. Doing so will give you a way to restore HP in a pinch, and so long as you have Second Chance and Withstand Combo equipped, you should be able to give yourself some time until you can heal with a Curaga in a worst-case situation.
And, of course, make sure you have a Kupo Coin. It’ll revive you with full HP and MP one time in battle, and keep you in the fight past a potential failure.
After you’ve got all the necessary preparations in place, the last thing you’ll need to do is assign some shortcuts. Have one slot dedicated to an item, either Elixirs or Hi-Potions; one slot dedicated to Curaga; one slot dedicated to a Summon, preferable Ariel’s Sea Spectacle (more on that later); and one slot dedicated to an offensive magic of your choosing.
The button layout can be whatever your most comfortable with, but we’ve included ours above for reference in case you’d like to copy it.
