How to turn off enemy auto-targeting in Xenoblade Chronicles 3

A large part of your time in the world of Aionios in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will be spent in combat. That’s to be expected — it’s a Volff-eat-Volff world out there, after all. But sometimes you might want to wander the colorful wilds of Aetia or Fornis without the UI constantly reminding you that you’re surrounded by potential enemies, especially if you’re not in the mood for a scrap. Luckily, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 lets you turn off enemy auto-targeting so you can travel Aionios in peace. Here’s how to do it.

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Turning off enemy auto-targeting in Xenoblade Chronicles 3

To turn off enemy auto-targeting in Xenoblade Chronicles 3, you just need to find the right setting. It’s buried deep in some menus, but it’s not too difficult to find. First, hit the X button to open the pause menu, and navigate to the System menu.

From there, select Options.

Next, choose Game.

Once in the Game Menu, navigate down to Auto-Targeting, and set it to Off.

Now simply back out of the menus with B, and you’ll be prompted to apply the changes you’ve made. Select Yes, and you’re set.

And there you have it — no more will you be constantly pestered by the targeting reticule sticking to every peaceful and not-so-peaceful creature you pass by in your travels. Of course, should you want to engage in combat you’re going to want to target them manually. To do that, look at the enemy in question and press L or R, and you’ll be ready to go. To de-target an enemy, simply move away from them — unless you’ve already engaged them in combat, in which case you’ll need to sheathe your party’s weapons first by holding A. But don’t skimp on the fighting too much, you’ll need plenty of experience to take on Aionios’ toughest denizens.