— Knight of Torna, Paragon of Torna, Goddess of Indol —
Overview
Lora and Jin are the protagonists of Xenoblade Chronicles 2's story DLC, Torna - The Golden Country. Together with Haze, they form the so-called Team Lora, one of three playable teams within the story DLC, with Lora as the Driver, and both Jin and Haze as Blades. Outside of the DLC, all three of them also have major roles in the main game of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, with Jin in particular being one of its antagonists.
In regards to its scope, Torna - The Golden Country is essentially a full game in its own right, receiving a physical release and being kept seperate from the main game's story mode within the main menu of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, complete with its own New Game Plus+, cutscene viewever and versions.
With the inclusion of Rex and Pyra for the base game of Smash Ultimate unlikely, Lora and Jin are the most recent Xenoblade protagonists, making them possible choices for DLC.
Who and what are Lora, Jin and Haze?
Team Lora is a team consisting of a driver, Lora, and two Blades, Jin and Haze. To quote from the explanation from the Rex support thread:
Lora is a Driver recruited by prince Addam of Torna to aid her in the battle against Malos, a Blade of great power, capable of easily wiping entire kingdoms out of existance by himself.Existing alongside humans are powerful creatures called Blades. Blades take on many forms, and wield many different weapons. Blades have much longer lifespans than humans, but as a price, they are trapped inside Core Crystals until a Driver awakens them. Drivers are rare people whom are strong enough to harness a Blade's power. Those whom are not strong enough to bond with Blades often get sick when they touch a Core Crystal--or worse. If a Blade's Driver dies, he/she/it will return to its Core Crystal, and all of its memories will be erased. Rinse and repeat.
Jin is an ice-elemental Blade known in Torna as one of the strongest Blades there is. Lora accidentally resonated with him as a ten year old child, with him protecting her ever since then, as they had to fend for themselves.
Haze is a wind-elemental Blade who Lora resonated with at an unknown point in time somewhere between her resonating with Jin, and the main story seventeen years later. Haze's unique powers allow her to supress the abilities of other Blades.
What could Team Lora offer to Smash?
In contrast to the base game of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Torna - The Golden Country features a revamped battle system, in which there's always two members of a team active, a Driver and a Blade, with one acting as the supporting member in the rear, and the active fighter in the front. The two fighters can switch places at any given time, with each switch being accompanied by a so called Switch Art, which also come with valuable bonus effects. Additionally, switching also allows the Team to recover some HP that hasn't been fully "lost" yet, resembling the team-based gameplay in fighting games such as Dragon Ball FighterZ or Marvel vs Capcom.
For Smash, this could be translated into a character dynamic similar in function to the Pokémon Trainer, with a team of three that can switch between characters at any given time. For such a concept, there could also be a balance between the team members be applied:
Jin is the primary damage dealer, with swift and strong attacks.
Haze is more defensive, with her role as a healer in Torna being translated into a defensive character with a good recovery.
Lora is the middle ground between the two, with her own traits being slightly changed in accordance to which Blade she has active.
In terms of the fighting style of the individual members of this team:
Jin is a swordsman, which admittedly isn't that convincing by itself. However, what would set Jin apart from other swordsmen in Smash is that he uses a dual-handed fighting style, reminiscent of samurai, in addition to various ice related powers, such shooting icicles. His own personal talent art damages himself for temporary buffs.
Haze wields a staff, which already is a more unique weapon in Smash. That aside, she of course has various wind abilities, including small storms, and wind shots.
Lora fights mostly with hand-to-hand combat, using various punches and kicks, while also occasionally using a charm on a rope, which acts as something of a whip.
Moveset Idea(s)
- Under construction -
Basic idea: Team Lora cannot switch as freely at any given time as the Pokémon Trainer can, but in exchange for that, they deliver a strong switch art with effects that replicate the Topple, Launch and Smash effects from Xenoblade 2
Community Members - Supporters
https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=72732633
Guys i made Loras stock icon, could use some improvements, but overall here it isView attachment 187358
View attachment 187918
I made the jin icon now, here's the link https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=72785752
I might work on the haze icon later this week
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