Matthew Vandham

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.

Matthew Vandham (Japanese: マシュー・ヴァンダム, Mashū Vandamu), or simply Matthew, is a playable character and a protagonist of Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed. He was designed by Masatsugu Saito, the lead character designer of the game.

Overview[]

Matthew is from the City, and opposes Moebius. He is the grandson of Ghondor and the great-grandson of the Noah and Mio that became N and M. He possesses a straightforward and caring personality, and is looking for his missing sister Na'el. Matthew is a master of the classical art of fist fighting, fighting as a Martial Artist in battle. He fights with fists imbued with special powers.^[1]

Guernica, Monica, and Ghondor are descended from Matthew.

Appearance[]

Matthew shares similarities with Noah (or more precisely, his great-grandfather N) in his appearance, sporting long black hair styled into a ponytail and blue eyes. As Eunie points out, Vandham has "Noah's chin." The sides of his head are cut notably shorter compared to the top of his head and sports a sweeping, curved bang towards the center of his head. In addition, compared to Noah he has a slightly more tanned skintone, and he sports a scar above his left eye. Matthew's outfit consists of a dark, short-sleeved outer jacket with tribal-like markings, worn over an orange inner jacket. He also wears dark pants with white markings on the side. Vandham also has two earrings on his left ear.

He uses Ouroboros Gauntlets in battle, gauntlets infused with Ouroboros Power, similar to Noah's gauntlet that forms when he draws out his sword, Lucky Seven. According to Dillon, the Gauntlets are the culmination of the research the City did on the Ouroboros Stone they received from Nia.

Story[]

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed[]

The City's Destruction[]

Matthew is the grandson of Ghondor and the older brother of Na'el. When he was young, his parents died during an attack from Moebius. For the next 15 years, Matthew and Na'el were raised in the City by Ghondor, who trained them on using the power of Ouroboros. He and Na'el would also help out with gathering supplies for the City.

One day, Matthew returned to the City to find the City under attack. He ran into the City and desperately tried to find his family. To his horror, Matthew found his grandfather having been stabbed by N. As Matthew desperately ran toward him, Ghondor used the last of his energy to use his Ouroboros power on a possessed Na'el, causing an explosion of energy. Afterwards, Matthew, having gotten some injuries, lost consciousness.

Searching for Survivors[]

Matthew was eventually discovered by A, who treated his injuries. Matthew immediately assumed A to be a Citizen who had been returning from a trip. The two of them then set out in search for any City Survivors, including the missing Na'el.

The duo eventually were attacked by a Moebius-like creature in the Vermilion Woods, which Matthew defeats using his Ouroboros power, which A chastises Matthew for using so recklessly. They move through Vermilion Woods until their radar picks up a signal of a City Iris. They arrive too late, but hear sounds of fighting, and pursue the source. Upon arriving, they find Nikol, a Kevesi soldier, and Glimmer, an Agnian soldier, fighting. Matthew breaks up the fight, and two Consuls, Q and R, appear and fight Matthew and A. A kills them both, and destroys both Flame Clocks on the Ferronises on the battlefield. Because Matthew used his Ouroboros power in range of Nikol and Glimmer, the two have now become Ouroboros. Nikol and Glimmer, now free from the Flame Clocks, are taken in by Matthew. However, Glimmer, unable to accept the fact that she is no longer an Agnian soldier, runs away in search of a colony. Matthew, A, and Nikol discover her to be gone the next morning, and proceed to go after her onto the Aurora Shelf.

Meeting Shulk and Rex[]

Matthew, Rex, and Shulk, destroy Consul W

The party eventually finds Glimmer and Shulk being attacked by Consul W and the Colony Eta Ferronis at the Diablada Cliffs, and the five join forces to fight the Ferronis. Later in the fight, W summons a Kevesi Ferronis and fuses it with himself and the Agnian Ferronis, and proceeds to fire a beam at Glimmer and Nikol. Fortunately, Rex arrives and blocks the attack. Rex, Shulk, and Matthew are able to simultaneously destroy the Ferronis Flame Clocks and defeat W. Rex and Shulk take the party to their nearby camp.

The next morning, Rex and Shulk lead the group to Colony 9, the Liberators' base of operations. Upon arriving, the party is taken to their prepared quarters. Before resting, however, they go to meet Riku at his workshop. Afterwards, they return to their camp to rest up for the night.

The next day, the party receives word of a Liberator squad that found the remains of a squad of City survivors. Matthew, eager to find out more, in search of clues as to where his sister is, searches the belongings of the passed survivors. He finds a bracelet which belongs to Na'el, and hurriedly sets off to Raguel Lake, where the survivors were found, but finds nothing except for signs of battle. The party then decides to set up camp there for the night, where Matthew tells everyone about Na'el. Later that night, Na'el, possessed by Alpha, arrives for Matthew.

A Family Matter[]

Alpha, as Na'el, attempts to persuade Matthew to join her. Matthew is initially happy to see his sister, but Rex, A, and Shulk all state that it's not truly her. Matthew becomes confused, unable to understand how Na'el is evil. He ignores them telling him she is Alpha, until finally Alpha grows impatient and lashes out at the party. They all fight against Alpha, until N shows up and fights Alpha himself. As N tries to finish Alpha off, Matthew's Ouroboros power activates and prevents N from killing Na'el. He attempts to attack N, but is stopped by A, who reveals that N is Matthew's great-grandfather. The party explains to Matthew that as long as Alpha exists, Moebius is not the primary target, and that N is not their enemy. Alpha, suffering severe damage, leaves and tells the party she will be waiting. N leaves, with Matthew frustrated with him for killing his grandfather. Suddenly, Prison Island begins to glow, and causes Origin to appear in the sky.

After returning to Colony 9, Shulk and Rex tell Matthew, Glimmer, and Nikol everything about the origins of Aionios, telling them about how, originally, their worlds were one and the same. This world boasted almost unthinkable prosperity and was home to countless people. However, one man messed it all up and caused the world to be split into two separate places. One was the world of the Bionis, and the other was Alrest. The two divided worlds began to evolve independently of each other, giving birth to new life. However, it wasn't all peaceful, with there being tyrannic empires and conflicts over limited resources. But despite all that, thanks to numerous generations of people fighting for the future, the worlds were eventually able to attain harmony. Unfortunately, this harmony didn't last. The two worlds torn asunder longed to return to be as they once were, but due to being composed of opposing types of matter, they would dissolve into light when recombined.

To escape destruction, the two worlds worked together to build Origin, a repository of data about everything, of memories and souls. Even if the worlds were annihilated, the Origin system would allow them to be revived. At the heart of Origin's workings is the Trinity Processor core Ontos, or in other words, Alpha. However, Alpha deemed the existence of all people from the two worlds obsolete and wanted to erase them. They then explain that Alpha is now gathering power and preparing to depart in the heart of Origin, called The Ark, alongside the new lives, those of City people, gathered there for the purpose of taking them to a new world. A then explains that Na'el's emotions factor into being chosen as Alpha's vessel, likely being the most crucial element of all, with her feelings of anguish toward the world being the perfect fodder to Alpha. Matthew, now determined to rescue Na'el no matter what, helps with the preparations for heading to Prison Island.

After preparations are finished, the party leaves for the Black Mountains, where Prison Island is located. Along the way, Matthew points out that even though this is the first time he's seen Origin, it feels oddly familiar. A explains that his Gauntlets contain a shard of Origin metal, to which he expresses surprise. Soon after, the party finally arrives at the Prison Terrace, where they are confronted by N, who intends to prevent them from reaching Alpha. A fierce battle ensues between the N and the party. As Matthew clashes with N during the fight, a memory from within Origin is shown to the party, allowing the party to witness the true events that led to the City's destruction. Afterward, N claims that through his sacrifice, Ghondor consented to N's actions, while Matthew quickly refutes that his grandfather would never support slaughtering the City. N subconsciously knows this, as he stops arguing with Matthew and does not retaliate when Matthew punches him across the face. N then falls to the ground and admits defeat, and Matthew promises to strike him down again if he attempts to fight. Alpha shows up and sends a ray of lighting at N, shocking him. Alpha's power emanates a fog which consumes the party.

Fighting for the Future[]

The party arrives inside a memory from Origin. They are on Earth shortly before the time of Klaus' experiment. The party looks around at the scenery of a house with a garden, with a view of a large city with tall buildings, including the Rhadamanthus Beanstalk, from the backyard. Matthew hears a familiar song playing on piano, and remembers that Na'el used to play it way back when. He follows the sound, and finds Na'el, who explains that the world could be like this if they went through with Alpha's plan, oblivious to the widespread strife in the world brought up by the reports from a nearby Radio. A then shows Na'el the Land of Morytha, the aftermath of Klaus' experiment and what Alpha's proposed new world would ultimately become if his plan succeeded. Matthew persuades her that she would be no different from Moebius if she continued to view the Kevesi and Agnians as "things" unworthy of life, and that they could live like the people of the City if they were only allowed to choose it. Na'el agrees to join the party and stop Alpha, but not before Alpha regains control of her and disappears.

The party is then transported back to the Ark, where Alpha insists that the future has no need for the things of the past and that conscience is useless to the Trinity Processor. The party refuses to accept his goals, engaging in combat with Alpha. After a while, Alpha tries to pull Matthew's soul in, having found Matthew's inner turmoil, but he resists and stays inside his body before N intervenes in the battle. Matthew expresses that for now, he's glad to have N at his side. Alpha unleashes his true form, that of a large humanoid figure with an empty, mask-like face. N and Matthew then agree on a temporary truce to take on Alpha's true form. In a final effort to defeat Alpha, he grants Matthew the powers of his Sword of The End and instructs him to combine it with his Ouroboros Knuckles. This grants the party the true power of Ouroboros, which results in Alpha's demise.

Setting Out On His Own[]

Shulk, Rex, and A begin to fade, and they reveal that without Alpha, Origin requires a new avatar to keep Aionios stable, which will be themselves. After the three leave to become Origin's new avatars, everyone else leaves Origin as it crashes into the Cent-Omnia Region and sinks into the ocean. Looking out toward Origin from the Dannagh Desert, N states that he, as Moebius, will continue to uphold the endless now, to which Matthew responds that the City will continue to fight against them. When N questions whether Matthew could actually take down Moebius in his lifetime, Matthew reassures him that their descendants will continue where they left off. Having seen some of N's buried guilt in their battle on Prison Island, Matthew suspects that one day, N himself might even be the one to defeat Moebius someday.

Later, as the City's reconstruction is underway, Matthew prepares to depart on a journey around the world by himself, with the goal of rebuilding the world and finding more survivors of the City. Matthew leaves the City in the care of Na'el, Glimmer, Nikol, Linka, Panacea, and Riku, before setting off to begin his journey.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3[]

Legacy as the City's Liberator[]

Statue of Matthew in the City's Memorial Hall

Matthew is remembered as a legendary hero, the founder of House Vandham who restored and liberated the City from ruin. Matthew unlocked the true power of Ouroboros, a power that had been wielded by others before him but never to its full potential. With this newfound understanding, he was able to defeat Consul N and reestablished the City, appointing Founder Doyle as its leader before departing on a mysterious expedition. His fate afterward remains a mystery, with his descendants returning to the City centuries later.

Despite the lack of records regarding his fate, his legacy lives on as a symbol of strength and courage through a statue in the City's Memorial Hall, honoring him and the other five Founders.

Gameplay[]

Matthew's class is Martial Artist, a fist-fighting Attacker class which specialises in assailing the enemy with repeated attacks. He wields the Ouroboros Knuckles as his Blade.

In a Chain Attack, Matthew starts with 15 TP by default, but can gain 5 more through a "TP Plus" skill in his Affinity Growth. His Chain Art is Avalanche Onslaught, which has a default completion bonus of "Attacks during Chain Attack gain 60% chance to be unblockable."

General Stats[]

"Base" assumes minimum weapon level and no Affinity Growth. "Fully upgraded" assumes maximum weapon level and complete Affinity Growth.

Level	HP	Attack	Healing Power	Dexterity	Agility	Critical Rate	Block Rate	Physical Defense	Ether Defense
1, base	284	61	1	37	26	25%	9%	15%	15%
99, base	5,693	479	32	369	265	25%	9%	15%	15%
99, fully upgraded	5,693	1,123	32	369	265	49%	16%	15%	15%

Weapon Stats[]

Matthew's weapon can be upgraded in Riku's Workshop after the quest Riku's Workshop has been completed. During said quest, Matthew's weapon is upgraded to level II.

Weapon Level	Attack	Critical Rate	Block Rate	Ingredients Required	Item Rarity	Gold Cost
I	39	25%	9%	-	-	-
II	57	26%	9%	Trial Bladestone		0
III	79	27%	10%	Bladestone Fragment x2		3,700
IV	110	28%	10%	Bladestone Fragment x3 Testudo Shoulder Gun		5,300
V	144	29%	11%	Bladestone Kevesi Soldier's Armor x3		6,500
VI	184	30%	12%	Bladestone x2 Luminescent Laia Fin		9,300
VII	227	30%	12%	Bladestone x3 Testudo Shoulder Gun		10,300
VIII	297	32%	13%	Exquisite Bladestone Mineral Darbus Bone		16,800
IX	410	34%	15%	Exquisite Bladestone x3 Egel Horn		31,000
X	554	36%	16%	Mysterious Fragment Silver Ravoon Bone		44,800

Arts[]

Gigantic Beat (Talent Art), AOE/Charge all Arts on hit
Backspin Punch, Break
Mighty Strike, Front atk ↑ /Knockback
Revolt Uppercut, Evade/Cancel attack ↑
Energy Boost, Power Charge
Raging Force, Chance to Pierce
Detonating Hit, AOE

Fusion Arts[]

The below table shows the results of each possible fusion Art and their additional effects. They replace the Ouroboros Powers' effect, while the regular Arts' effects are unchanged.

Regular Arts are listed in the top row, whereas Ouroboros Powers are listed in the first column. Their intersection in the table contains the resulting Fusion Art.

Fusion	Backspin Punch	Mighty Strike	Revolt Uppercut
Detonating Hit	Detonating Punch AOE/Terrestrial ↑	Mighty Hit AOE/Machines ↑	Detonating Revolt AOE/Launched ↑
Raging Force	Raging Punch Pierce/Flying ↑	Mighty Force Pierce/Aquatic ↑	Raging Revolt Pierce (%)/Launch
Energy Boost	Energy Punch Power Charge/Crit. Rate up	Mighty Boost Power Charge/Fast charge	Energy Revolt Power Charge/AOE

Skills[]

Breaking Waves: Each time you perform a cancel, boosts damage dealt by 10-20% (to a maximum of 150%).
Flashing Fists: Chained auto-attacks increase attack speed. Auto-attack interval is also shortened. (Minor/Major effect.)
Giant-Killer: Boosts damage dealt by 60-100% when fighting a unique or boss monster.
Victor's Combo: 10-12% chance to keep recharge when using Art.

Affinity Growth[]

The below table contains a detailed breakdown of Matthew's Affinity Growth tree.

Note: Nodes are listed from top to bottom, from left to right.

Icon	Name	Description	Cost	Prerequisites
Affinity Growth Tier 1
	Enhance Art Backspin Punch	Power Multiplier: 180% -> 235% Recharge Gauge: 8 -> 7	20 AP	None
	Enhance Art Mighty Strike	Power Multiplier: 110% -> 130% Boosts damage dealt when attacking from the front by ~~50%~~ 70%.	20 AP	None
	Enhance Art Revolt Uppercut	Power Multiplier: 145% -> 190% Recharge Gauge: 7 -> 6 Evades attacks, and boosts damage dealt when canceling by ~~25%~~ 35%.	20 AP	None
	Learn Art Raging Force	Type: Physical Attack Area of Effect: One Target Power Multiplier: 300% Recharge Gauge: 30.0s (Time Recharge) 30% chance to ignore defense.	15 AP	None
	Learn Art Energy Boost	Type: Buff Area of Effect: Self Power Multiplier: 0% Recharge Gauge: 20.0s (Time Recharge) Buff/Debuff: Power Charge	15 AP	None
	Learn Skill Breaking Waves	Each time you perform a cancel, boosts damage dealt by 10% (to a maximum of 150%).	20 AP	None
	Learn Skill Flashing Fists	Chained auto-attacks increase attack speed. Auto-attack interval is also shortened. (Minor effect.)	20 AP	None
	Learn Skill Initiative Effect: Acceleration	Starting the battle with an attack from the back grants the whole party Fast Recharge.	5 AP	None
	Learn Skill Attack Plus	Increases Attack by 30.	5 AP	None
	Learn Skill Critical Plus	Increases Critical Rate by 10 percentage points.	5 AP	None
Affinity Growth Tier 2 (1 Affinity Growth Unlock Kit required)
	Enhance Art Backspin Punch	Power Multiplier: 235% -> 310% Recharge Gauge: 7 -> 5	30 AP	Backspin Punch powered up once
	Enhance Art Mighty Strike	Power Multiplier: 130% -> 165% Boosts damage dealt when attacking from the front by ~~70%~~ 100%.	30 AP	Mighty Strike powered up once
	Enhance Art Revolt Uppercut	Power Multiplier: 190% -> 250% Recharge Gauge: 6 -> 4 Evades attacks, and boosts damage dealt when canceling by ~~35%~~ 50%.	30 AP	Revolt Uppercut powered up once
	Enhance Art Detonating Hit	Power Multiplier: 200% -> 260% Recharge Gauge: 26.6s -> 23.3s	25 AP	None
	Enhance Art Raging Force	Power Multiplier: 300% -> 360% Recharge Gauge: 30.0s -> 26.6s ~~30%~~ 40% chance to ignore defense.	25 AP	Raging Force learned
	Enhance Art Energy Boost	Recharge Gauge: 20.0s -> 17.3s	25 AP	Energy Boost learned
	Enhance Talent Art Gigantic Beat	Power Multiplier: 750% -> 870% Recharges all Arts by ~~50%~~ 75% when Talent Art hits.	40 AP	None
	Learn Skill Giant-Killer	Boosts damage dealt by 60% when fighting a unique or boss monster.	20 AP	None
	Learn Skill Victor's Combo	10% chance to keep recharge when using Art.	20 AP	None
	Enhance Skill Breaking Waves	Each time you perform a cancel, boosts damage dealt by ~~10%~~ 15% (to a maximum of 150%).	30 AP	Breaking Waves learned
	Enhance Skill Flashing Fists	Chained auto-attacks increase attack speed. Auto-attack interval is also shortened. (~~Minor~~ Medium effect.)	30 AP	Flashing Fists learned
	Enhance Skill Giant-Killer	Boosts damage dealt by ~~60%~~ 80% when fighting a unique or boss monster.	30 AP	Giant-Killer learned
	Enhance Skill Victor's Combo	~~10%~~ 11% chance to keep recharge when using Art.	30 AP	Victor's Combo learned
	Learn Skill Unlock Arts Canceling	Allows you to cancel one Art into another Art, and raises Art damage by 25%.	45 AP	None
	Learn Skill TP Plus	At start of Chain Attack, increases TP by 5.	20 AP	None
Affinity Growth Tier 3 (2 Affinity Growth Unlock Kits required)
	Enhance Art Detonating Hit	Power Multiplier: 260% -> 340% Recharge Gauge: 23.3s -> 19.3s	35 AP	Detonating Hit powered up once
	Enhance Art Raging Force	Power Multiplier: 360% -> 440% Recharge Gauge: 26.6s -> 22.6s ~~40%~~ 50% chance to ignore defense.	35 AP	Raging Force powered up once
	Enhance Art Energy Boost	Recharge Gauge: 17.3s -> 14.6s	35 AP	Energy Boost powered up once
	Enhance Talent Art Gigantic Beat	Power Multiplier: 870% -> 1050% Recharges all Arts by ~~75%~~ 100% when Talent Art hits.	60 AP	Gigantic Beat powered up once
	Enhance Skill Breaking Waves	Each time you perform a cancel, boosts damage dealt by ~~15%~~ 20% (to a maximum of 150%).	40 AP	Breaking Waves powered up once
	Enhance Skill Flashing Fists	Chained auto-attacks increase attack speed. Auto-attack interval is also shortened. (~~Medium~~ Major effect.)	40 AP	Flashing Fists powered up once
	Enhance Skill Giant-Killer	Boosts damage dealt by ~~80%~~ 100% when fighting a unique or boss monster.	40 AP	Giant-Killer powered up once
	Enhance Skill Victor's Combo	~~11%~~ 12% chance to keep recharge when using Art.	40 AP	Victor's Combo powered up once
	Learn Skill Slower Arts Aggro	Reduces aggro generated when using Art by 30%.	15 AP	None
	Learn Skill Aerial Recovery	Ignore Blowdown and Launch by somersaulting. Also has 60% chance to grant Attack Up.	15 AP	None
	Learn Skill Attack Up	Boosts Attack by 10%.	15 AP	None
	Learn Skill Critical Up	Boosts Critical Rate by 10%.	15 AP	None
	Learn Skill Quick Move Damage Up	Boosts damage dealt by 50% when using an Art right after a Quick Move maneuver.	20 AP	None
	Learn Skill Quick Move AOE Damage	When activating Quick Move, deals 150% of Attack as damage to any enemies within 5m.	20 AP	None

Unity Pairings[]

When Matthew is paired with the following party members in Unity, they grant the skill shown and have the following Unity Combo finisher as shown in the below table. The Unity Order of which Matthew is a part of is also named differently, depending on who he pairs with.

Note that all Unity Orders have the same completion bonus of "Reduces enemy physical and ether defense by 30 percentage points during Chain Attack".

Character	Skill	Unity Combo	Unity Order Name
A	Mighty Link: Boosts effect of Arts with each different Art used within a set time.	Mega Crash: Deals huge damage to enemies in range and inflicts Blowdown.	Light Avalanche
Nikol	Mighty Amp: Extends area of effect of attack Arts which have one by 50%/100% and boosts their damage by 100%/200%.	Mega Blast: Deals damage to enemies in range and inflicts Burst.	Cyclone Onslaught
Glimmer	Attack Zone: Boosts allies' damage by 20%/30% and reduces enemy Block Rate by 10%/15% (does not stack).	Mega Explosion: Deals immense damage to target and inflicts Blowdown.	Red-Hot Furyfist
Shulk	First and Foremost: Fills the Unity pairing's Special gauge by 70%/100% at start of battle.	Monado Crash: Deals damage to enemies in range and inflicts Burst.	Liberation Onslaught
Rex	All But Fatal: Increases damage bonus when exploiting enemy weakness by 30/60 percentage points.※	Mega Smash: Deals damage to enemies in range and inflicts Smash.	Deliverance Boomfist

Notes[]

※ Rex and Matthew's Unity skill is bugged. Instead of applying the effect once to each member of the pair, it applies the effect twice to the whole party, and the effects stack.

Trivia[]

Matthew's fist-fighting aptitude and long ponytail are similar to Fei Fong Wong, the main protagonist of Xenogears.
His first encounter with Nikol and Glimmer mirrors Guernica's encounter with Noah and Mio.

Gallery[]

Official Art[]

Concept Art[]

In-Game Renders[]

Screenshots[]

References[]

↑ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/switch/az3ha/extra-story/

[1] ttps://www.nintendo.co.jp/switch/az3ha/extra-story/

[1]

Characters in Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed
Playable Characters	Matthew · A · Nikol · Glimmer · Shulk · Rex
City	Na'el · Ghondor · Chyra
Liberators	Panacea · Linka · Riku · Dillon
Consuls	N · Q · R · W · Z
Antagonists	Alpha