Wild Arms XF is a 2D turn-based tactical role-playing game, creating a gameplay experience somewhere between Dungeons & Dragons and chess. Players are given control of a small squad of characters (six or less) and placed on a grid-based map resembling a geographical location (a swamp, a town, a river), upon which they fight battles to progress through the game. As with most T/RPGs, positional advantage can be critical to victory, and players are encouraged to outmaneuver their enemies as well as outgun them. The game emphasizes positioning and maneuvering by the inclusion of "Formation Arts," which increase attack damage when an enemy is surrounded by your characters in a line, a triangle or a circle. Wild Arms XF is a member of the small subsection of T/RPGs whose battlefields are based around hexagonal tiles instead of squares. "Combination Arts" return from previous Wild ARMs titles, allowing characters to target an enemy in a waiting state and then deliver their attacks simultaneously with the next ally to attack their target. If the player succeeds in executing an uninterrupted series of commands, the damage inflicted upon enemies will increase significantly. On the other hand, the enemy gets the same advantage.

The game's story centers around a group of knights called Chevalet Blanc and how the protagonist and her knights take back the kingdom of Elesius, which is being controlled by the Council of Elder Statesmen. The Princess Royal of the kingdom died in an accident, and the king is too ill to rule, which brought about the rise of the council. Like other Wild Arms titles, this takes place on the dying planet Filgaia, this time where the remaining natural resources, food, land and financial assets are at the center of continued armed confrontations. Despite this, Elesius is one of the few peaceful places on Filgaia.

Chevalet Blanc's beginnings are anything but noble: two Drifters, Clarissa Arwin and her adoptive brother Felius come to the kingdom of Elesius in pursuit of a Drifter named Rupert Dandridge, who five years ago slew Clarissa's mother, itinerant archaeologist Melissa Arwin, and took from her the powerful sword "Iskender Bey". Clarissa's mission is solely to retrieve that sword, but before much time has passed, she has been confused for Alexia Lynn Elesius, the heir-presumptive to the throne of Elesius who died a year ago under mysterious circumstances. While the council's rule is generally self-centered, their most constant presence in Elesius takes the form of the "Martial Guard", a mercenary "peacekeeping" force who steal and oppress with impunity. To rally the citizens of Elesius, Clarissa publicly declares herself to be Alexia, and founds a rebel movement called "Chevalet Blanc", after the Founding Knights of Elesius. Its established goal is to defend the citizens of the nation, which will involve defeating the council. The fact that Rupert is the leader of the Martial Guard only strengthens Clarissa's resolve.