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 Sonic Blade-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. 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
With his armor destroyed, Xehanort flees to the top of the tower with Sora and the party in pursuit. Cornered, Xehanort summons the χ-blade and engages the party in one grand final battle. Like the previous fight, it is recommended to have plenty of Elixirs on hand as well as a Kupo Coin should Sora fall in battle. Having the Ultima Weapon will make the fight much easier.

Armed with the legendary χ-blade, Xehanort has an arsenal of powerful attacks at his disposal. His main attack is a quick four-hit combo with the χ-blade. Xehanort will constantly teleport through Keyhole-shaped portals as he attacks Sora, sometimes launching him into the air before slamming him back onto the ground. One of his most dangerous attacks has him toss the χ-blade at the party, having it emit a wave of cold air that will freeze the party in place, leaving them vulnerable to a Firaza attack immediately followed by four Thundaza attacks. This attack can either be avoided with repeated Dodge Rolls or can be stopped altogether by deflecting the χ-blade with Guard. Both strategies are risky, however, as the attack comes out quite fast and can be hard to predict.

Landing attacks on Xehanort himself can be difficult due to his constant teleportation. Thus, Sora will find himself on the defensive quite a bit. Reprisals such Counter Blast or the Counter Shield's Wrathful Flurry are useful assets. Also, formchanges that focus on speed such as the High Wind, Blizzard Blades, Twin Yo-Yos, and Nano Arms are also useful. Like in the previous fight, Donald's Flare Force Team Attack is a great move to have for its homing capabilities.

After enough damage, Xehanort will initiate the second phase of the battle by raising a platform of light and using the χ-blade to summon Kingdom Hearts. He will then open the second phase with a new attack: calling down meteors from above. The meteors can be guarded against and can be used to store up charge for the Counter Shield's Wrathful Flurry reprisal. Apart from this new attack, the fight remains largely unchanged from the first phase. However, after enough damage, Xehanort will use the power of Kingdom Hearts to steal Sora's light, forcing him into a permanent Rage Form. Unlike other uses of Rage Form, Sora cannot use Rage Form's Riskcharge ability in this fight.

In order to return to normal, Sora must attack Xehanort and cause him to drop orbs of light to fill the situation meter and grabbing them is the only way along with Donald and Goofy's help to restore Sora's HP (note: Sora's attacks cannot harm Xehanort directly during this phase). During this phase, Xehanort will utilize four light-based attacks. He will energize the χ-blade with light, allowing Xehanort to fire discs of light while performing a rapid combo. Xehanort will also fire a shockwave of light at Sora as well as summon thirteen pillars of light and have them circle the arena, similar to Roxas' Magic Hour. If Sora wanders too close to the center of the arena, it will release a small, but damaging shockwave, that can be used to trigger Rage Form's counter attack.

After filling the situation meter, Sora will be prompted to use the Situation Command, Return to the Light, where Sora will transform into a beam of darkness and attack Xehanort from all sides before leaping into the air and attacking from above, dealing a great deal of damage. Immediately after this, the sky turns grey as thirteen thrones rise around the arena. During this phase, Xehanort will bombard Sora with shadowy clones of himself as well as lasers fired from the thrones. The clones can be guarded against, but the lasers must be avoided. After four rounds of this, Xehanort will fire five lasers, the last one being larger and resembling the Ultima Cannon.

After this attack, the fight resumes as normal, but if enough time passes, Xehanort will steal Sora's light again. Once Xehanort is down to 1 HP, Sora will be prompted to use the Situation Command, Last Ray, where Sora will fire a beam of light from his Keyblade. However, the move fails and Xehanort quickly retaliates with a beam of darkness that seemingly kills Sora. The player will then be prompted to use the Situation Command, Trinity, where Sora calls on Donald and Goofy and the trio combine their powers to fire a beam of light that overpowers Xehanort's beam, piercing the Keyblade Master and ending the fight.