Snap Pivot

Can someone give me an in-depth explanation of how Snap Pivot works?

I know the equippable skill does something different than the inherent ability Jude has, but I have it and Snap Pivot 2 equipped regardless.

I can't seem to trigger it at all (although I do sometimes randomly teleport behind the enemy, but never when I want to).

I think snap pivot (ability) is triggered when you backstep at the right time to dodge an attack? (what timing?)
Apparently snap pivot (skill) allows you to teleport behind the enemy if you guard 5 seconds after a succesful backstep (seriously, how does this work? Spamming the guard button does nothing. Do you need to do nothing for 5 whole seconds? Battles rarely last longer than 22 seconds to begin with, not to mention it leaves you wide open to attacks).
Apparently snap pivot 2 extends this timeframe by 3 seconds (in what direction? is it 4-6 seconds now? is it 5-8 seconds? 2-5 seconds?)

So yeah, I can't pull it off consistently at all. Help?

Snap Pivot activates when you successfully dodge an attack via backstepping. Usually by doing a backstep right as an attack is about to hit you, though the timing is a little different for each enemy. The first skill allows Jude to auto-Snap Pivot by guarding attacks for a short amount of time after a successful SP has been pulled off(in order to dodge multiple hits/attacks coming at him). You'll know when it's active because Jude's' feet will glow for a given amount of time. The second skill simply extends the timeframe in which Jude gains this secondary bonus.

Just use backstep when the enemy goes "blue exclamation mark of death" and you'll trigger snap pivot (ability) 90% of the time. Better yet, if you have Snap Pivot 3, it also works with frontstepping, so you can just dance back and forth if you're really desperate to get those Snap Pivot titles.


One word of advice though, think of Snap Pivot as a perk rather than the core of Jude's playstyle. You don't deliberately try to trigger it (as in, a waiting game with the boss) but you incorporate Snap Pivot into your attacks. As mentioned above, backstep when the boss breaks out of your combo; you are supposed to dodge it anyway so if you timed it well and triggered SP, more power for you. If you didn't, then just restart your assault.

Just don't waste time turtling around when you can use that time to deal a lot of damage instead.

I tried following your advice, but I still can't seem to pull them off.

I would like to thank the both of you anyways!

I do have one more question. Does snap pivot only trigger when you're being attacked by the monster you are targeting at that moment? Because I am guessing it does, which I would personally see as a major design flaw. As in, you're surrounded by three monsters, and can't escape by snap pivot because you target the wrong enemy while you're being mauled by all of them.

Well if that's happening then you should be switching to a different character and getting Jude out that situation. But regardless...

I actually don't know the answer to that question. I would assume it only works on a monster you target though, since, let's say two monsters are attacking you at once. If you get the timing for the one you're not targetting instead, you'd just end up teleporting to the back of the monster you weren't focused on, which I imagine would be really annoying.

Yeah I think Snap Pivot is only for targeted enemy, but I don't see it as a design flaw; just a limitation or nerf for an otherwise very broken skill on a very broken character.

It's hard to imagine Jude being surrounded by monsters with him being the speed demon he is. Even in the off chance he does, there is plenty of his artes that can get him out of the situation.

Mirage Blitz and Soaring Vortex can phase through enemy.
Cyclonic Surge is a safe way to launch yourself upwards, use it multiple times and you'll be out of reach of the monsters. Then you can just Rising Falcon and you'll be far and away.
Shattering Demon Fist destroys everything, but I guess you haven't finished the game yet so Aqua Sweep will have to do for wide area attack to knock all of them down.

Like I said before, Snap Pivot is not the core of his gameplay, Jude also has a lot of utilities in his artes; they are not just tools to damage enemies, they are also his escape mechanism, his crowd control.

You just need to get Graces' 'autopilot, plenty and flashy but shallow and without synergy' arte system out of your system and start taking control of everything you have.


ya i juz diss ur graces wat u gon do lol

Allow me to explain.

With all of your help, I've actually become fairly decent at using Xillia's combat system.
I've even become better at guarding, backstepping and dodging my enemies, however, my mastery of Xillia's LMBS is nowhere near the level I used to play on in Symphonia, Abyss, DotNW and even Vesperia, where I can easily dodge most attacks.

Then again, in Xillia I apparently don't need to dodge most attacks anymore because my stats are so ridiculously high.

In the 100+ hours I have invested in Xillia (I'm at Helioborg still) I've only managed to use snap pivot 96 times. I want to be able to use it properly. It seems like a really useful ability and I just want the dang titles already. I just can't seem to figure out the proper timing.

The only enemies I'm still having trouble with in the game are those in the Coliseum, because I keep getting ringed out >_<

Also, I'm not sure why you're bringing Graces up, because I pretty much just feel indifference towards the game. In Graces, I never had any idea what I was doing, so I pretty much relied on button mashing. It's not Xillia's LMBS that I have a problem with, it's the exact timing for Snap Pivot (and what I'm guessing, Elongated Staff for that matter).

Do you have me confused with someone else maybe?

Elongated staff is probably a bit easier, since with Flash Guard and Bonus Extension 2 you can just spam guard while being attacked and it'll pop up. At least that's what I did when I was platting the Japanese version awhile back.

Snap pivot might be a bit easier to trigger if you have Glory equipped since you don't get stunned.

If you just want the title, then just equip Snap Pivot 3, go on a boss fight (the pre-final boss Gaius fight or Wingul), then dance back and forth; it'll do wonder. The Alvin and Ivar 1v1 battle is also good for training your Snap Pivot, but I guess you passed that a while ago.

If you want mastery over Snap Pivot, then that's a whole different matter altogether because you have to know every single monster's behavior and the timing. However, I don't think Snap Pivot has a very strict timing; I know for sure that I usually trigger Snap Pivot after backstepping twice because my first backstep is too early. Case in point, the boar monster's charging attack has a long startup animation, which threw me off guard more than tens of times, but by using backstep successively, Snap Pivot is triggered.

In Coliseum, it's much better if you have Snap Pivot 3 instead of normal because as you said, you risk the ring out when back stepping, but forward stepping make you reap all the benefit and none of the back draws. I really love baiting monsters to the edge of the arena then Snap Pivot and blast them away for a ring out.


I may have mistaken your post as someone trying to play as Jude thinking Snap Pivot is his whole schtick, and I apologize for that. I just think that there is more to Jude than Snap Pivot. He's a tank that can heal himself; has absurd speed, in both moving speed and his forward/back stepping speed; has a lot of maneuverability with his artes; and is beastly with his attacks. He shines the most in a 1v1 battles because of Snap Pivot, but it doesn't mean he's unable of crowd controlling.


I only intended to poke fun at Graces for a bit, but it doesn't mean I don't mean anything when saying Graces arte system is shallow. You can substitute every artes with another in Graces and it's not a problem while in Xillia, every artes has their own perks and has a lot of utilities. For example, Jude's Whirlwind Snap is a wide area attack that can pull enemies in, which you can then follow up with a powerful attack (*coughBeastcough*) to take care of all of them at once.

I'm not saying that Graces has shitty battle system, it's the opposite of that. Graces actually has a very polished battle system; it's so solid that it made its arte system fleshless. But that's just my opinion.


And yeah, Glory is also very good at ensuring Snap Pivot. If you haven't gotten it though, try equipping equipment set that can absorb a boss elemental attacks (Fire/Wind against Wingull, Fire/Light against Gaius) and you'll get a pseudo-glory effect so that you can train your Snap Pivot.