Game:Master Xehanort

Master Xehanort appears as a boss in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. In Terra's story, he is fought twice in a row. The first fight is against both Master Xehanort and Vanitas, but the fight is ended prematurely, and the second fight is the penultimate fight of Terra's story: a one-on-one duel between Terra and Master Xehanort.

Master Xehanort also serves as the final boss of Kingdom Hearts III, where he is fought by Sora and the party in Scala ad Caelum. He is fought twice in a row. The first fight is against him in his armored form and the second fight is against him while he wields the legendary χ-blade.

First Battle
Terra will fight both Master Xehanort and Vanitas two-on-one. Vanitas should be the primary target as Xehanort will mostly dodge and keep a distance from Terra. Xehanort isn't very difficult and after sustaining minor damage, the battle will end.

Second Battle
The second battle is the true battle against Master Xehanort. Like the previous battle, Xehanort will keep a distance, but now has access to wide-ranged magic spells. All of his attacks, including magic-based ones, can be dodged with the right timing. Cure commands and Shotlocks ease this battle significantly.

Armored Xehanort
After defeating the Replica Xehanorts, Master Xehanort will absorb them to create a suit of Keyblade Armor for himself and warp part of the town into a cubic shape. It is recommended to have plenty of Elixirs and have Curaga as a shortcut option. Sora should also have a Kupo Coin on hand in case he dies in this battle. Having the Ultima Weapon will make the fight much easier.

Xehanort has a wide array of damaging attacks. His most often used attack is a darkness-enhanced spinning slash. He may also dash at Sora with his Keyblade or perform a rising spiral. He may also combine the three attacks into a powerful combo. Xehanort will also use an overhead slash, telegraphed by his Keyblade glowing orange. Xehanort also has various magical attacks at his disposal. His main attack is to fire a spread of fireballs at Sora. He may occasionally raise a pillar of fire beneath Sora. Xehanort also attacks by creating localized explosions targeting Sora's position. If, at any point in the battle, Sora is too far away from Xehanort, the Keyblade Master will conjure eight green orbs that will converge on Sora after a few seconds delay. If the orbs connect, Sora will be teleported to Xehanort's position and left wide open to attack. Many of Xehanort's attacks can be guarded or dodged.

Keeping track on Xehanort can be difficult due to both the spacious size of the arena and Xehanort's quick movements. While airstepping is good way to stay close to Xehanort, there's a risk of accidentally locking on to one of the flagpoles on the walls of the cube. The Flare Force Team Attack is a good attack to use for its homing capabilities as are formchanges such as the Double Arrowguns and the Hunny Blasters. Likewise, speed-based Formchanges such as the Blizzard Blades and the High Wind spear are also good choices. The Counter Shield is also useful for its Wrathful Fist reprisal.

After receiving enough damage, Xehanort will use his desperation attack. He will conjure a large pillar of fire in the middle of the arena which will spawn smaller fire pillars around the arena. Sora will be launched into the air at this time, so use Glide to avoid the pillars. During this, Xehanort will hide in the central pillar and assail Sora with spreads of fireballs, occasionally emerging to attack Sora personally. After repeated attacks, Xehanort will encase himself in a sphere of energy that will draw the party in and explode after a few seconds delay. Dodge Rolls can be used to avoid getting drawn in, however, Xehanort will use the green orbs to teleport Sora to him. After using this attack, Xehanort will be left vulnerable to attack.

After getting his health down to a certain point, Xehanort will initiate the next phase of the fight, sending the party underwater. Caution is recommended as in underwater combat, formchanges cannot be used, meaning that Sora cannot use Rage Form if his health gets low. Xehanort will largely use the same attacks as before with the exception of the green orbs. After enough damage, Xehanort will use a variation of his fire pillar attack, conjuring four fire pillars that will converge around Sora. After which, Xehanort will fire spreads of fireballs from various angles. The easiest way to avoid this attack is to simply guard against it with the right timing.

After reducing his health even lower, the fight transitions to its third and final phase, this time taking place in the darkened skies above the now ruined Scala ad Caelum. In this phase, Sora faces Xehanort alone, meaning Donald and Goofy cannot heal him. The Keyblade master will utilize all the attacks from previous phases, as well as a few new ones. Xehanort's dash attack now becomes a Dark Aura-like attack, and he gains a new attack where he rushes at Sora with his left hand glowing blue. If the attack connects, Xehanort will grab Sora and throw him to the ground for moderate damage. This attack can be hard to avoid as it is quite fast and Xehanort will often use it as a follow-up to his other attacks, but it can nonetheless be anticipated. Xehanort's explosion attack now draws in and expels surrounding debris. As Sora is in the air, dodging the green orbs is more difficult, but they can be avoided with a well-timed dash. So long as Sora heals when necessary and is able to avoid Xehanort's more damaging attacks, the Keyblade Master will fall and initiate the true final battle.

Final Battle
Like the previous battle, Sora should equip Elixirs and a Kupo Coin for healing, and the Ultima Weapon for offense.

Armed with the legendary χ-blade, Xehanort has an arsenal of powerful attacks at his disposal. Sora should focus on defense, as "Tataki Otoshi" will prevent him from landing attacks easily. Reprisals such Counter Blast and Wrathful Flurry are useful for injecting damage, as well as speedy Formchanges like High Wind, Blizzard Blades, Twin Yo-Yos, and Nano Arms, or homing techniques like Flare Force.

After enough damage, Xehanort will initiate the second phase of the battle by summoning Kingdom Hearts via "Ascension", then immediately launch into "Dark Shooting". He will continue employing his earlier techniques, albeit enhanced via "Ascension".

After taking even more damage, Xehanort will initiate the third phase of the battle by stealing Sora's light, forcing him into a version of Rage Form that cannot terminate or use Riskcharge. In order to return to normal, Sora must attack Xehanort to force him to drop orbs of light which both fill the Situation Gauge and restore HP. During this portion, Xehanort cannot be directly damaged, but will continue to use his enhanced attacks. After filling the Situation Gauge, Sora can use "Return to the Light" Xehanort will respond with "XIII Combo", then continue attacking as normal. If enough time passes without advancing to the final phase, Xehanort will steal Sora's light again, forcing Sora to retrieve it once more.

Once Xehanort is down to 1 HP, Sora can use "Last Ray". However, Xehanort quickly counters and retaliates with a beam of darkness that seemingly kills Sora. Sora can then use "Trinity", ending the fight.