Xenomorph – Champion Spotlight

Xenomorph–in a surprise shadow drop from Plarium of their official crossover with Alien vs Predator–is the newest free legendary login champion, and in this guide we break down everything you need to know about this sneaking, poisoning, infesting damage machine–from how their abilities work to their best gear sets, blessings, and more!

Check out our dedicated Champion page for Xenomorph for even more info and ratings!

Xenomorph is a fantastic free damage dealer who brings tons of Poisons, a teamwide damage boost through his passive, and powerful control and splash damage with his unique A2.

A1 – TAIL STAB

Make sure to build 100% C.RATE to ensure you land 3 Poisons with this attack. This combos very well with any Ally Attack champions to stack tons of Poisons–though watch out for overfilling the debuff bar (you can only place 10 debuffs total at a time) and missing out on space for more important ones (like Block Buffs or Decrease ATK against certain bosses).

You should use this attack instead of his A3 if he has not placed any Poisons on his target yet.

A2 – INFESTATION

Infest is a brand new and incredibly powerful debuff. This will splash a 50% Enemy Max HP hit to all enemies if the target dies: this is particularly strong against waves of enemies which have very high Max HP, such as Doom Tower, Cursed City, and Faction Wars. Note that it is much weaker against bosses and minions, where it has a 10% Max HP cap.

The CC effects here are very powerful as well. A 2-turn Stun is massively impactful for removing the most dangerous enemy from most of a fight, and the AoE True Fear is very helpful in arena or wave-based content. The passive revive is nifty for such content as well.

For bosses where there are no minions, you are better off leaving this attack turned off, since bosses are immune to CC and the Infest debuff will do nothing.

A3 – RIP AND CLAW

This is Xenomorph's hardest hitting attack by a small margin by default, then it gets 15% stronger with each Poison on the enemy.

It's worth using their A2 if you will be able to trigger the Infest explosion or need the CC, or their A1 if you don't have any Posions on the target, but this A3 is your go-to attack otherwise.

P1 – CAUSTIC BLOOD

This passive is incredible, giving 20% DEF reduction for any enemy that Xenomorph has Poisoned: this is effectively like having a 6-star Cruelty Blessing on your team against bosses (i.e. it's a massive boost in damage!). This makes Xenomorph a powerful ally to any other champion who is dealing decent damage (including things like Warmaster masteries).

The 50% chance to land Poisons when attacked is also great, ensuring consistent activation of their passive and fuelling their A3 attacks. The "irresistable when crit" part is not very helpful though, since PvE enemies don't crit very often, you should be building enough ACC to ensure your Poisons land anyway, and in PvP it is highly unusual to fight an enemy with high RES who has built crit.

Xenomorph excells in many areas in the game, though different build priorities and AI presets are needed to maximise their potential.

CLAN BOSSES

Xenomorph is extremely strong for Demon Lord, good for Chimera, and only decent for Hydra:

• Stacking Poisons against Demon Lord has high value, and he will regularly trigger your passive too. Xeno's single-target damage will shine here too.
• Chimera is similar to Demon Lord, but it will remove all your Poisons every 5 turns. Still, Xeno should be a massive asset to many players here, pumping out high damage.
• Half of the Hydra heads are immune to Poison, lowering Xeno's power there slightly. Decapitated Heads are all vulnerable though, and he will pump out huge damage there. Pair them with a Hex champion for 10% splash damage.

For all Clan Boss fights, you should balance survivability alongside damage and speed. You should also avoid using the A2 attack, since no Clan Boss "dies", therefore Infest does nothing, and they are all immune to the CC effects too.

DUNGEONS

Xenomorph is particularly well suited to the Dragon dungeon, and will make short work of any of the Potion Keeps or Minotaur as well. They're squishy though, so make sure to bring a healer and/or reviver along too to keep your run going.

Due to their A2, Xenomorph will be very useful for the waves as well. Although they only have single-target attacks, the splash damage from Infest can outperform many AoE damage dealers, and the CC they bring is extremely helpful as well.

Use their A2 to clear the waves, but turn it off against bosses who are unaffected.

FACTION WARS

Xenomorph will be a massive asset to Faction Wars, particularly the still extremely challenging Hard difficulty, bring amazing CC effects alongside massive damage output. They're a great boss killer too, and help with several of the Stage conditions on Hard. Dark Elves is a weak Faction overall, so it's highly likely the Xenomorph should be put into your team ASAP.

Focus on building very high SPD to ensure frequent A2 attacks for waves, and consider saving your A2 near the end of each wave so it's ready to Stun the worst enemy in the next one.

ARENA AND SIEGE

Xenomorph is decent in PvP, bringing strong control and huge kill pressure if you can pop the Infest debuff. They're very squishy though, which holds them back from top performance.

The Lethal Dose Blessing combined with the Arachnelixir Relic can add crazy damage to your Poisons, opening up some fun strategies–though for most players you're better off focusing your Xenomorph build on PvE content instead.

Best Stats

The key stats to look for on Xenomorph are:

1. 100% C.RATE
2. ACC
3. SPD
4. C.DMG%
5. ATK%

C.RATE should be built to 100% to ensure 3 Poisons from the A1.

ACC is arguably even more important, since you need enough ACC to place the Poisons in the first place. Use our Raid Stages Tool to work out how much you need for each area (rough rule of thumb = 200 for early/mid game; 400 for late/end game).

SPD is essential to rotate through Xenomorphs turns. In wave-based content, aim higher to pump out more A2s; against bosses you can go slower, to mix in more survivability or damage as needed.

ATK% and C.DMG% both capitalise on Xenomorph's high potential damage output. Use our Optimiser Tool to set your target SPD, ACC, and C.RATE then let the Tool find your best damage gear after that!

Best Gear Sets

The best sets for Xenomorph are:

1. Merciless
2. Lethal
3. Savage
4. Feral
5. Perception

In general, we are looking for sets that will give maximum Ignore Defence, while also providing key stats in ACC and SPD.

Merciless gives the highest damage output by far, though it is best when combined with an Ally Attack champion or manual play in case the cooldown reduction makes you skip your A1.

Lethal, Savage, and Instinct are all strong 4-piece damage sets if you don't have Merciless gear.

Feral, Perception, and other similar sets are valuable since they give SPD and ACC. Feral is a unique option at 9-piece, since Xenomorph can pump out lots of debuffs, turning him into a huge damage booster for your other champions (especially combined with their passive).

Best Masteries

Check out our dedicated Xenomorph champion page to see their best masteries!

As a damage dealer with powerful debuffs, there are several particularly strong Blessings and Relics to choose for Xenomorph–plus their 5-star Soul is up for grabs for free in the Xenomorph Chase!

Best Blessings

Check out our Blessings Tier List for full details on all Blessings!

There are a few viable Blessings:

1. Brimstone (Legendary): This is by far the best option for new players for PvE. Bringing a high level Brimstone blessing to any boss fight will give you a substantial boost in damage which does not rely on having good gear or stats!
2. Nature's Wrath (Epic): The best PvE option below 6-stars if you already have someone with Brimstone on the team. Xenomorph can quickly stack this Blessing for a substantial damage boost to his already impressive damage.
3. Crushing Rend (Epic): The best PvE option but only at 6-stars. It's a massive damage boost against any high level enemy (i.e. PvE content). Below 6-stars it only applies to the first hit or two, so you shouldn't pick it for Xenomorph since he thrives in longer encounters.
4. Lethal Dose (Epic): The best PvP option. This will massively up the damage of Xenomorph's Poisons, likely to the point where he can kill almost any enemy with 3 Poisons from his A1. We think he's better for PvE, so this is a niche pick.

Best Relics

Check out our Relics Tier List for full details on all Relics!

There are several great options for Relics:

1. Irethi Coronet (Epic Chimera Relic): The best option for bosses. With all their debuffs, the Xenomorph will quickly stack this to the maximum 30% damage boost, giving a huge increase in performance from a very budget relic. Slot in a Boss Slayer gem for maximum value.
2. Arachnelixir (Rare Faction Relic): This will dramatically increase the damage of Xenomorph's Poisons–but only against waves or enemies in Arena: most bosses have a cap on Poison damage, so this relic won't do anything there.
3. The Cat's Gaze (Legendary Event Relic): A massive damage boost in all content, with strong offensive gem sockets. This is incredibly powerful, but you might be better off using it on a champion who can't use Irethi Coronet as well as Xenomorph can.
4. Perched Shadow (Epic Faction Relic): This relic is the best option for cycling through your A2 against waves for maximum CC and Infest damage.
5. Preserved Aberration (Epic Standard Relic): An interesting relic that is perfectly suited to Xenomorph. Irethi Coronet and The Cat's Gaze, however, are simply easier to maximise and are stronger as well. It's worth considering this option though if you have a spare one lying around and are short on others.
6. Golden Elixir (Epic Standard Relic): This is a more unusual pick, for players looking to solo content or who are struggling to keep Xenomorph alive. You should generally give him a tanky build and rely on Poisons and Infest over raw damage if using this relic.
7. Malefic Talon (Rare Chimera Relic): The budget damage dealer relic. Basically a C.DMG% stat stick.