Christi Junior on Nostr: Pyra’s round 2 match in the #BestVidyaGirlContest is tomorrow, so I might as well ...
Pyra’s round 2 match in the #BestVidyaGirlContest is tomorrow, so I might as well start posting my Pyra Propaganda early to encourage Fedi to vote for hers:
* Pyra the Video Game Heroine
Pyra is the most important female character in Xenoblade 2, and while her true origins are too complicated to fully go over in such a short overview, what you need to know is that she’s a Blade, a living weapon born from a core crystal that bonds to one particular human with the necessary aptitude (called a Driver) for as long as that human lives. Moreover, this Sword Girl is not just a Blade, but the Master Blade (known as the Aegis), meaning that she’s in possession of greater power than regular Blades, true immortality (she won’t return to her core crystal even if her Driver dies) and detailed knowledge about all other Blades in existence. She’s at least 500 years old, but spent almost all her life in slumber, as she was sealed away due to being her powers, and because she was sought after by various dangerous people.
However, Pyra also possesses an important weakness compared to regular Blades – at the start of Xenoblade 2, she sacrifices half her own life-force to save the life of the young salvager Rex, who after that becomes her Driver, which not only results in Pyra losing the rapid healing ability of regular Blades, but means that all damage Rex sustains is also inflicted onto Pyra. This sacrifice is the reason why most art of Pyra will show her cross-shaped core crystal looking incomplete, since part of it went to Rex when she saved his life.
Pyra as a character is incredibly sweet and kind, as well as extremely devoted to her Driver. She’s also submissive, somewhat naïve, very eager to please and prone to apologizing. On a darker note, Pyra suffers from terrible guilt about events that happened during her backstory (which actually weren’t her fault at all, long story), and is prone to thinking that her loved ones would be better off if she just disappeared. Pyra overcoming her guilt and self-loathing, forming a truly healthy relationship with Rex, and realizing that memories can be more than a burden, but also a source of joy and comfort, is at the core of her Xenoblade 2 character arc.
In terms of gameplay, Pyra is very interestingly balanced – being the first Blade you ever get, Pyra can’t be *too* strong, but being the legendary Aegis, she also has a lot of hype to live up to. As a result, Pyra starts off as a strong, but not overpowered attacking Blade, and is later on supplemented by her “sister” Mythra (the original Aegis of legends), as well as by unlocking an ultimate form even later. You can freely swap between Pyra and Mythra without any cooldown, and since the two girls represent different elements (Pyra is Fire, Mythra is Light), Pyra will always remain situationally useful, even if Mythra is the stronger Blade. Furthermore, one of Pyra’s combat perks is the ability to greatly increase her damage from Critical Hits, and while her critical hit rate is normally too low for this to be a reliable source of damage, with intelligent teambuilding and the use of late-game Blades to support her, Pyra can in certain situations do monstrous amounts of damage, briefly surpassing even Mythra! It’s a clever way to ensure that Pyra remains relevant in combat throughout the adventure, despite being a starter Blade.
Overall, Pyra is a wonderful character at the heart of Xenoblade 2's story, as well as a fun, well-designed and cleverly balanced attacking Blade during combat.
PyraGoodMorning.png
PyraProtec.jpg
PyraBlushing.png
Pyrabooty1.png
* Pyra the Video Game Heroine
Pyra is the most important female character in Xenoblade 2, and while her true origins are too complicated to fully go over in such a short overview, what you need to know is that she’s a Blade, a living weapon born from a core crystal that bonds to one particular human with the necessary aptitude (called a Driver) for as long as that human lives. Moreover, this Sword Girl is not just a Blade, but the Master Blade (known as the Aegis), meaning that she’s in possession of greater power than regular Blades, true immortality (she won’t return to her core crystal even if her Driver dies) and detailed knowledge about all other Blades in existence. She’s at least 500 years old, but spent almost all her life in slumber, as she was sealed away due to being her powers, and because she was sought after by various dangerous people.
However, Pyra also possesses an important weakness compared to regular Blades – at the start of Xenoblade 2, she sacrifices half her own life-force to save the life of the young salvager Rex, who after that becomes her Driver, which not only results in Pyra losing the rapid healing ability of regular Blades, but means that all damage Rex sustains is also inflicted onto Pyra. This sacrifice is the reason why most art of Pyra will show her cross-shaped core crystal looking incomplete, since part of it went to Rex when she saved his life.
Pyra as a character is incredibly sweet and kind, as well as extremely devoted to her Driver. She’s also submissive, somewhat naïve, very eager to please and prone to apologizing. On a darker note, Pyra suffers from terrible guilt about events that happened during her backstory (which actually weren’t her fault at all, long story), and is prone to thinking that her loved ones would be better off if she just disappeared. Pyra overcoming her guilt and self-loathing, forming a truly healthy relationship with Rex, and realizing that memories can be more than a burden, but also a source of joy and comfort, is at the core of her Xenoblade 2 character arc.
In terms of gameplay, Pyra is very interestingly balanced – being the first Blade you ever get, Pyra can’t be *too* strong, but being the legendary Aegis, she also has a lot of hype to live up to. As a result, Pyra starts off as a strong, but not overpowered attacking Blade, and is later on supplemented by her “sister” Mythra (the original Aegis of legends), as well as by unlocking an ultimate form even later. You can freely swap between Pyra and Mythra without any cooldown, and since the two girls represent different elements (Pyra is Fire, Mythra is Light), Pyra will always remain situationally useful, even if Mythra is the stronger Blade. Furthermore, one of Pyra’s combat perks is the ability to greatly increase her damage from Critical Hits, and while her critical hit rate is normally too low for this to be a reliable source of damage, with intelligent teambuilding and the use of late-game Blades to support her, Pyra can in certain situations do monstrous amounts of damage, briefly surpassing even Mythra! It’s a clever way to ensure that Pyra remains relevant in combat throughout the adventure, despite being a starter Blade.
Overall, Pyra is a wonderful character at the heart of Xenoblade 2's story, as well as a fun, well-designed and cleverly balanced attacking Blade during combat.
PyraGoodMorning.png
PyraProtec.jpg
PyraBlushing.png
Pyrabooty1.png