I have finally hit a bump in the road with my KH2FM playthrough and I'm having trouble with Xaldin like I did last time I played. I wanted to know if there are any abilities that are useful during this battle besides the Learn reaction command which does help but he constantly makes it hard for you to charge up Learn so you can hit him. I find myself caught in his attacks and I take a crap ton of damage. 

You should be using limit breaks as much as possible since they're invincibility frames and do a lot of damage. Make sure you press both ▲ and ■ when doing your limit breaks. Also, while your moving/trying to attack just have one finger spamming triangle I know this sounds noobish but it's very hard for me to tell the prompts and I haven't played in 4 years. Doing this will mean you never missed the opportunity to jump. Use items. What I did was limit break first, master form next immediately afterwards, damage Xaldin obviously then I think that restores MP, and repeatedly spammed limit breaks. Just make sure you don't use trinity with all 3.

Have you jumped while he uses the lance attack combo and spamned Learn while doing so? You can max out your Jump command while dodging with this method. His invincible wind attack can be avoided with a Quick run in one corner or by using Reflect. Dont let someone tell you that youre not playing the game when you use reflect, because that's bullshit. Reflect is there for a reason.

Don't even bother with Learn and Jump, they're useless. Aerial Dodge is a godsend for some of the nastier downward slashes, everything else can be avoided by timing a Cure right.

 

(and of course, Mickey will likely save your ass at least once; I've beaten Xaldin before without any assist, but I had to be rescued twice this time =P. One was legit, the other was cheap)

Don't even bother with Learn and Jump, they're useless. Aerial Dodge is a godsend for some of the nastier downward slashes, everything else can be avoided by timing a Cure right.(and of course, Mickey will likely save your ass at least once; I've beaten Xaldin before without any assist, but I had to be rescued twice this time =P. One was legit, the other was cheap)

Learn and Jump are extremely useful. Not only do they deal a lot of damage, but you can also crush Xaldin with a combo finisher or two immediately after that.

Learn and Jump are extremely useful. Not only do they deal a lot of damage, but you can also crush Xaldin with a combo finisher or two immediately after that.

If they hit, which is about 10% of the time =P.If you happen to snag a jump command, cool, but don't go seeking them out, because that's just inviting pain.

If they hit, which is about 10% of the time =P.If you happen to snag a jump command, cool, but don't go seeking them out, because that's just inviting pain.

I maxed out at 9 and hit him all 9 times every time. It's not hard to do and should only be done when Xaldin isn't on the screen. You jump when you hear the lances coming down and tap triangle while pushing forward to avoid damage. Then you just lock-on and spam your Jump. Otherwise, don't really try to go for a Learn reaction.

I remember barely getting by in that fight by somehow getting 9 Learn Commands in one frantic button mash and that was enough to finish him off. Sometimes you'll just have to risk taking a hit if it means getting a few Learn commands because they help a lot in the fight. Also I think I had most of my Drive abilities leveled up to at least their second level by that point in the game so maybe just try a bit of form grinding?

Edited December 17, 201410 yr by Headphone Jack

I'm not sure if you have this or not, but try equipping the Reaction Boost ability ( I think that's what it is ). It will boost the "Jump" attacks you Learn from Xaldin. Also take note: for the beginning of his battle, I do believe he'll voice-prompt his attacks. That is to say, he says something before an attack. He also brings up his winds before an attack. Come to think of it, was it "Winds, guard me"? I can't recall right now, half awake. But anyways, among everyone else's advice, definitely take the Reaction Boost ability to heart if you have learned it already. It can come in handy when it comes to the damage.