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Spoiler alert

The future doesn't belong to you!

For those who have not completed games in the Xenoblade Chronicles series, this page contains spoilers regarding the plot. Discretion is advised.

"Um, hello? Yes, could you not... You there, the one about to take that mission? I'm speaking to you."
— H.B.

Hector Birtwhistle, known as H.B., is a recruitable character in Xenoblade Chronicles X. He is a young Pathfinder elite of the private military organization BLADE.

Appearance[]

H.B. is a human with green eyes and short dark brown hair with bangs that sweep to the left of his face. He wears glasses, and has a mole under his left eye.

Personality[]

H.B. is an egotistical, narcissistic man, and keeps a rather strict order of importance among people, and missions. He can often desert certain people to help those he deems more important, though he does mature from this behavior. He very often considers his image and how his interactions with Cross will benefit him. Despite this he is still concerned with the future of human life, and performs his job as a BLADE for the greater good. He is also very ambitious; he hopes that someday he will take over the role of Commander in place of Vandham.

He rarely displays emotion in battle or on missions. However he is not completely devoid of feelings. In the affinity mission, The King of Fear, he displays anger at an excessive slaughter of Nopon. He admits to Cross that he believes becoming emotional is a hindrance, and avoids letting his feelings get the better of him.

Gameplay[]

Location[]

When not in the party, H.B. can be found north of the Cathedral in the Residential District of New Los Angeles.

Recruitment[]

H.B. can be recruited after completing A New Rival?.

In battle[]

The Class of H.B. is an Alternative Shield Trooper. When he is first recruited, he is level 12 and rank 3. He wields an Assault Rifle and a Shield. His two Signature Arts are Atomic Hit and Flamehand (Both Shield). He pilots a Police Skell. He has four Skill slots. His class progression is as follows:

Class Rank Arts Skills
1 Atomic Hit
Decoy Round
2 Burst Grenade
3 Power Dive
4 Iron Prison
5 Wild Smash
6 Furious Blast
7 Wild Down Steel Flesh
8 Flash Grenade
9 Shield Wall Mighty Muscle
10 Flamehand
11 Takedown Shot Combat Presence
12 Trash Talk
13 Bombardier Topple Topper
14 Gunforce Shield Screen
15 Last Stand Long Topple
16 Trauma Tension
17 Double Spike
18

Heart-to-Hearts[]

The following heart-to-hearts between H.B. and Cross are:

Affinity Name Location When Reqs
A Prideful Man Water Purification Plant Morning
♥♥ A Thoughtful Man Integrated Production Plant Early morning
♥♥♥ A Troubled Man Ishmael Hills Anytime
♥♥♥♥ A Diligent Man Ledge outside Outfitters Test Hangar Early morning
♥♥♥♥♥ A Kindly Man Ishmael Hills Early morning Dog

Missions[]

Client
Climbing the Ladder A New Rival?
Required
Climbing the Ladder The King of Fear

Affinity links[]

Trivia[]

  • In the Japanese version, H.B. is one of the characters obtainable through DLC.
  • H.B. has a habit of adding "Superior" to his move names when he shouts them, either prepending it or replacing the first word, e.g., for Wild Down he yells "Superior Wild Down" and for Power Dive he yells "Superior Dive".

Quotes[]

Battle dialogue[]

Status effects
Stagger "Blast! I'm reeling here."
Topple "How dare you knock me down?"
Flinch "What?!"
Knockback "Ugh, you bore!"
Launch [Yell]
Stun "Why can't I move?"
Sleep "Even the elite need their sleep..."
Control "What?! My body is being controlled!"
Trigger
An enemy notices the party "They're not really planning to fight me?"

"They look tough but I'm tougher."

A large Enemy notices the party "Hmm, that probably counts as large."
Very low HP "I never take beatings like this."
Becoming incapacitated "The mightiest has... fallen."
Reviving an ally "Sleeping on the job?"
Thanking "Thank you."

"Right, where were we?"
"Thanks."
"I owe you one."

Accumulating 3000 TP "Ready! Oh I'm so gifted I scare myself."
Activating Overdrive (Ground gear) "Check this out. Pure genius."
Activating Overdrive (Skell) "Superior Overdrive!"
Overdrive counter hits 50 "I'm not finished yet!"
Overdrive counter hits 100 "I'll always stand above the rest!"
Entering skell "I belong in my Skell."
Exiting skell "The skell's not cutting it."
Skell's fuel runs low "Low fuel? This calls for efficiency."
Skell runs out of fuel "No skell, no problem.
An enemy joins the battle "Reinforcements? Not for long."
Responding to battle commands "I'm willing to give that a try."

"Good strategy, I approve. "

Leveling up "Hah! Will I ever stop excelling?"
Winning a battle "Well then, that was passable."

"That one was guaranteed."
"Perfection! Though I expected nothing less."
"I don't even know the meaning of defeat."
"Way to empathize. Full marks. Very eloquent."

Winning a battle against a higher level enemy "All according to plan."

"They'll have to try harder than that!"

Soul Voices[]

  • "A melee attack should stagger it!"
  • "Now's a good time for some gunplay!"
  • "I'm up against a wall here... Give me a buff!"
  • "I'm on a roll! Open fire!"
  • "Hit 'em with Overdrive! Go!"
  • "Much better! Now for a buff!"
  • "No one can touch me. Use an aura!"
  • "I'm taking a shot from above!"
  • "Powering up would be the smart approach here."
  • "Let's buff up and regroup!"
  • "Show me an aura before it all goes dark..."
  • "Appendage destroyed! Attack at range!"
  • "Shoot now while they're impaired!"
  • "There's more where that came from! Overdrive!"
  • "See how I stack up the hits? Move in for the kill!"
  • "Yes! Now eat lead and stay down!"

Post-battle dialogue[]

Party member
Male Cross (Heroic) Cross - "Fate dealt us these cards, so we have to play them!"

H.B. - "That's right, for the sake of our future!"

Male Cross (Joker) Cross- "Everybody okay? Don't make me haul my butt home solo."

H.B. - "That's right, no croaking or bucket-kicking allowed."

Male Cross (Rebel) Cross - "GOD! What is WITH this planet?"

H.B. - "Whatever it is we'll get through it."

Male Cross (Rookie) Cross - "Keep moving! We can reflect on our battles later"

H.B. - "The real glory is waiting down the road anyway."

Male Cross (Studious) Cross - "Well... I apologize for losing my cool just then."

H.B. - "Happens to the best of us. You did what you needed to."

Male Cross (Classic) Cross - "I know we're fighting for humanity, but this all feels so futile."

H.B. - "Stick with me and I promise it won't be futile."

Male Cross (Warrior) Cross - "Men are like stones, smoothed by the tides of battle."

H.B. - "What happens if your already the smoothest guy around?"

Female Cross (Heroic) Cross - "Another dawn to dusk work day? Sounds like fun to me!"

H.B. - "I work hard because I know who I need to surpass."

Female Cross (Joker) Cross - "Meh, I'm BUSHED! Did I do all the work or what?"

H.B. - "Show some humility! That was all me."

Female Cross (Independent) Cross - "C'mon, there's no time to lose. We've got a mountain of things to do!"

H.B. - "Yeah, like taking charge of BLADE."

Female Cross (Mature) Cross - "[sigh] These Miran winds are not very compatible with my hair."

H.B. - "Wow, that's relevant. Can we go?"

Female Cross (Peppy) Cross - "One small step for BLADE, one giant leap for humankind."

H.B. - "Well said. Humanity's future depends upon us."

Female Cross (Classic) Cross - "Is it over? I haven't even finished rolling up my sleeves."

H.B. - "Seriously, who do they think they're dealing with."

Female Cross (Soldier) Cross - "I'm torn; do I master hand-to-hand combat, or focus on ranged attacks?"

H.B. - "NLA's finest managed to do both."

Alexa Alexa - "Hey, H.B. Why do I see you doing pushups in front of Commander Vandham?"

H.B. - "Ha ha ha... I'm just showing him I have the endurance for the long haul."

Doug Doug - "Man H.B. would it kill you to lay down somekind of plan of attack?

H.B. - "Please, all that matters is results."

Bozé H.B. - "Ready to admit I got what it takes Lowes?"

Bozé - "In your dreams son, you're not there yet."

Murderess H.B. - "So, Murderess, would you characterize that move of mine as...beautiful?"

Murderess - "It wasn't bad, but your attitude could use a serious makeover."

Mia H.B. - "Follow my example, Mia, and you'll go far."

Mia - "Yes, sir! (...Almost as far as that stick up your butt.)"

Adding-to-party dialogue[]

Instance Greeting Accept Refuse
Anytime (spoken) "Have you come for the best?" "Come now, let's go!" "Oh? Well then..."
Default "I can only assume that you're engaged in a mission that requires assistance from a BLADE of my caliber, and have turned to me in a desperate plea for aid. I should be outraged, but your brazenness intrigues me. You would have me accompany you, yes?" "Then let us be off! I am sure you are eager to witness my elite talents firsthand, and I would hate to keep you in suspense." "...I'm sorry? Did you just decline my assistance? Who exactly do you think you are?"
Chapter 5 "With my talents on your team, the likes of the Ganglion are hardly a threat at all. Mere puppies, in fact. Let us depart for Oblivia together, so that I may ensure your mission ends as a rousing success." "Let the Ganglion taste the might of the elite-est elites!" "...I'm sorry? Did you just decline my assistance? Who exactly do you think you are?"
Chapter 7 "An entire army of Ganglion? Is that supposed to frighten me? Well, it does not! For there is no life that Hector Birtwhistle cannot save. I trust you'll want me to accompany you to Oblivia?" "Let the Ganglion taste the might of the elite-est elites!" "...I'm sorry? Did you just decline my assistance? Who exactly do you think you are?"
Chapter 9 "Sylvalum is home to many of the Ganglion's most elite warriors. I certainly hope you aren't considering doing something foolish, such as going there without me to protect you. No, that will not do. You must take me along!" "Let the Ganglion taste the might of the elite-est elites!" "...I'm sorry? Did you just decline my assistance? Who exactly do you think you are?"
Chapter 10 "A data probe is in need of repair? That sounds like a job for an elite Pathfinder such as myself! Wisely accept my assistance, and your mission is all but guaranteed to end in a flawless triumph. Confetti! Parades! All of this can be yours!" "Then we shall journey together until the day the Lifehold Core is found. Excelsior!" "...I'm sorry? Did you just decline my assistance? Who exactly do you think you are?"
Chapter 11 "As a fellow pathfinder, I have a duty to put a stop to Lao's transgressions. You must take me to Lao!" "I will make clear to him which of us is the finest man in all the Pathfinders." "Then it seems I must entrust my duty to you. Promise me that you will find a way to stop him."
Chapter 12 "And now we come to our last and most important mission--securing the Lifehold Core. And who better to serve as your co-star in the war's final act, mmm?" "Then let us show the rest of BLADE what it means to be elite!" "...I'm sorry? Did you just decline my assistance? Who exactly do you think you are?"
After Chapter 12 "One day, they will build the Hector Birtwhistle Memorial Center on this vacant land. And in order to fill its many wings, there are still more missions I must complete, and more plaudits I must win. Please, you must take me with you! The more you help me achieve, the more likely you'll be honored with a plaque. Or perhaps a small statue near the restrooms." "Entrust me to whatever duties you wish. There is no problem that I cannot solve." "...I'm sorry? Did you just decline my assistance? Who exactly do you think you are?"

Gallery[]

Xenoblade Chronicles X[]

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition[]

Official art[]

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