[Exeunt]

By your avatar you are clearly someone with good taste. *thumbs up*

Thanks; I do try!

(Remember: Topple and Daze stack! So two topple attacks and two daze attacks will leave an enemy down longer than just one topple and one daze. After you do that, start up a chain attack and repeat the process, and you've more or less won the battle since the enemy will be down so long you will either beat them before they get up, or you can just keep them "topple locked")

I can't believe I didn't know that before. I just maxed out Spear Break and Starlight Kick and thought that I was able to keep enemies down for a long time, but "topple locking" is something else altogether. I watched your Deinos Saurus video and saw how it was down for the entire battle... I might give it a try on something, but it doesn't seem like it would be much fun to play every battle like that.

It's funny you chose Deinos Saurus for the demonstration actually, as just last night I was thinking how surreal it felt to finally see a grey icon above that enemy's name. The sense of progression is pretty solid even in little moments like these.

Found a code to reduce my level to 1 for NG+, and apparently let me keep my skills and everything. Awesome, but I need to see if it works. So how far will minimum level characters be able to get with post-game equipment, arts, and skills/skill links? Shall we find out?

That sounds like it could be pretty interesting. I'm assuming you will make videos of some of the major fights if you're able to make noteworthy progress? I do enjoy watching a good self-imposed challenge from time to time (like knife-only kills in Resident Evil 4) but sometimes they can get a little repetitive since you do so little damage. I wonder how much the "post-game" stuff will help out. I'd definitely be interested to hear about your progress.

[chaosblade]

I might do some videos. And once I get truly stuck I'll probably level up just a bit. Maybe at whatever level I unlock Abaasy at after Mechonis Core I'll try and tackle him at that level.

And Starlight kick is unfortunately not helpful with topple locking, because it is the one topple art that does not stack on the others normally. It requires Spear Break to be used first no matter what, even if the enemy is already toppled, or has "break" status. Or at least I'm 99% sure that's how it worked when I attempted to use it on a pre-toppled enemy.

Anyway, I just rebeat the final boss to get my NG+ ready to try out. Even though I'm the same level people normally beat it at, what an absolute joke that and the fights leading up to it were. I beat the boss before him (Dickson, both parts) in like a minute total. 7th was able to 1HKO the enemies leading up to the final boss with the talent art. :lol

Edit: So it worked. Level 1 Shulk and Reyn, with awesome post-game gear. According to the author of the code, affinity coins for everyone but Shulk and Reyn will reset, but provided a code to fix that.

Quick glimpse at how it's going: the level 1 bunnits right where you start? Backslash did 16000 damage.

Level 38 Clinger Antol, it couldn't kill me (did 2 damage) but I couldn't hit it unless I managed to topple with Cyclone. So that is starting to give me a general idea of where the limitations are here.

[Exeunt]

Starlight Kick not fitting in a topple lock cycle wouldn't really surprise me, since Spear Break seems to have its own effect instead of setting up the standard "Break before Topple" effect on its target. The cooldown time is pretty short now so it still seems really powerful, and it's probably good enough for most of the enemies I'll be fighting until I get to the level 100+ stuff. I've been putting off gem crafting for a while and just going off the ones that are given from quests, so I'll probably aim to make some max-level gems in the next little bit to aid in my fight.

I'd imagine the first part of the game will pretty much be a breeze with all your new toys but does (late-game spoilers) Fiora have any of her stuff from the last game when you get her? I'd imagine the game treats Fiora and "revived" Fiora as separate characters but I haven't done a New Game+ run let alone a forced level 1 version so I wouldn't know what to expect.

I forgot that there were high-level enemies in Colony 9 that could give you an idea of what the level 1 limits are. You could approach it as a minimum-level run to see what the lowest level you can defeat the final and any optional bosses at. Though I suppose it sounds like that might be what you're going for anyway.

[Wichu]

I'd imagine the first part of the game will pretty much be a breeze with all your new toys but does (late-game spoilers) Fiora have any of her stuff from the last game when you get her? I'd imagine the game treats Fiora and "revived" Fiora as separate characters but I haven't done a New Game+ run let alone a forced level 1 version so I wouldn't know what to expect.

Partially correct. They're two separate characters in all but skill trees; Fiora will be at whatever level she was before you left Colony 9 and with the equips you had at the time, but her skill tree is shared between the two.

[chaosblade]

Starlight Kick not fitting in a topple lock cycle wouldn't really surprise me, since Spear Break seems to have its own effect instead of setting up the standard "Break before Topple" effect on its target. The cooldown time is pretty short now so it still seems really powerful, and it's probably good enough for most of the enemies I'll be fighting until I get to the level 100+ stuff. I've been putting off gem crafting for a while and just going off the ones that are given from quests, so I'll probably aim to make some max-level gems in the next little bit to aid in my fight. I'd imagine the first part of the game will pretty much be a breeze with all your new toys but does (late-game spoilers) Fiora have any of her stuff from the last game when you get her? I'd imagine the game treats Fiora and "revived" Fiora as separate characters but I haven't done a New Game+ run let alone a forced level 1 version so I wouldn't know what to expect.

Regarding that spoiler, you're right.

Partially correct. They're two separate characters in all but skill trees; Fiora will be at whatever level she was before you left Colony 9 and with the equips you had at the time, but her skill tree is shared between the two.

But with Medium equip instead of Mechonis. :(


Edit: Well, some unique enemies around level 10 are already difficult to hit. Shulk's agility at level 1 is about what Dunban's is at level 27 with no modifiers. But that penalty :( Will probably only make it to Bionis Leg before I can't kill anything at all without simply hoping a certain topple attack hits.


Edit2: Ridiculously easy battle with the first boss (just the second part where you actually kind of have to win):
http://youtu.be/GXYsMbrTi6U

Also easy, second boss, the spider:
http://youtu.be/iVAuVgsYMaM

Obviously I couldn't kill him, but I sure trolled Territorial Rotbart. Managed to stay alive against him for about 5 minutes (thanks primarily to last stand + unbeatable gems + reviving) before I just left because I couldn't win anyway. Did manage to get break on him once, if only I could have pulled off a topple...

I think I've more or less hit the point where I need to level some though. Took forever to kill the two enemies attacking Juju. I could probably beat any boss at least up to halfway through the game or more through pure attrition with spike damage, but that would be too time consuming.

Yep. Enemy at spiral valley just isn't going to go down unless I level up or leave the game on overnight. Will have to do this one level at a time until it gets reasonable!

[cooljeanius]

Finally got a chance to start playing this game! I'm not even out of Colony 9 yet, and I already think this game should be called "Jumping Off of Cliffs: The Game." Anyway, I'm having fun so far...

[Luap]

What is a good level to face the final boss at? I'm level 71. I want to do a lot of sidequests but I also want the final boss fight to be satisfying.

The game literally tells you when you get to it (and gives you the option to retreat). So no.

Ok thanks. Everyone said it was obvious but there's been a few points where I thought I was at the end of the game.

And since I put up a better Abaasy video, I'm also uploading a better Sauros/topple lock video. Now with less spoilers, and more missed QTEs. :lol Topple locking a Deinos Sauros. Works against essentially any enemy. No major spoilers in this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dle8HX7lM-A

That was amazing. I gotta try that. I went up against a level 87 mob today and barely got 1/3rd of its HP down before getting wiped. I'll try this topple locking business out and see how it goes.

[Exeunt]

I watched your videos this afternoon, chaosblade; I forgot how often the early boss fights ended when they still had a lot of HP. It's quite a weird feeling to watch someone ace them at level 1, as I remember they were quite intense some eight or nine levels above that back when I was at that point over a hundred hours of playtime ago. Crazy stuff all around.

Finally got a chance to start playing this game! I'm not even out of Colony 9 yet, and I already think this game should be called "Jumping Off of Cliffs: The Game." Anyway, I'm having fun so far...

I had fun jumping off things at first, but the static falling animation kind of felt weird after a while. The environment is a joy to explore though! I hope you end up enjoying the rest of the experience; depending on how you play, there's a lot to see.

What is a good level to face the final boss at? I'm level 71. I want to do a lot of sidequests but I also want the final boss fight to be satisfying.

I was at level 80 or 81 (I finished at 81 so I'm pretty sure that was my level going into the fight) when I beat the final boss, and I lost to him/her/it/them once. Depending on your team set-up and strategy, I'm guessing that the optimal level is somewhere between 75 and 80. Possibly lower, but I wouldn't really recommend higher; others might be able to give a more accurate picture depending on when they beat the game.

Everyone said it was obvious but there's been a few points where I thought I was at the end of the game.Ok thanks. Everyone said it was obvious but there's been a few points where I thought I was at the end of the game.

I wondered during my playthrough as well. If you want a pretty much spoiler-free idea of why it's so obvious (just the format), you will get a voiced exchange between two of your characters that explicitly tells you that if you proceed, there is no turning back. You can choose to turn around, which leaves you free to do whatever you want until you come back and trigger the scene again. It's a really generous way to do the point of no return, so you don't have anything to worry about.

[chaosblade]

What is a good level to face the final boss at? I'm level 71. I want to do a lot of sidequests but I also want the final boss fight to be satisfying. That was amazing. I gotta try that. I went up against a level 87 mob today and barely got 1/3rd of its HP down before getting wiped. I'll try this topple locking business out and see how it goes.

The final boss is level 82, but like the Fiora vs Zanza fight it just displays ???. A lot of people seem to find it very difficult and need to level up at 78, but of course I did beat it a level lower than that extremely easily when I first tackled it on my second playthrough, but that probably doesn't mean much. Starwolf_UK beat it 2-3 levels lower than that IIRC with the "cheap" party (Riki, Shulk, Sharla).

79-80 is probably the best balance of challenge and a legit chance to win for the average player. That's what level I was on my first playthrough.

And getting a third of the HP off a level 87 enemy is really good for that level with what's likely an unoptimal setup. Like I said in the description of the video, when topple locking high level enemies you want to focus on party gauge building as much as possible while still throwing your topple/daze arts in to keep them down. Because if they get up, it's likely over. That's why I did that example during the day - I likely still could have won if it got up, but it would be pretty difficult, especially if I was unable to re-topple him. At night with NV gems it would have been easy no matter what.

I watched your videos this afternoon, chaosblade; I forgot how often the early boss fights ended when they still had a lot of HP. It's quite a weird feeling to watch someone ace them at level 1, as I remember they were quite intense some eight or nine levels above that back when I was at that point over a hundred hours of playtime ago. Crazy stuff all around.

Only the first one ended early (I think it ends around half HP, I was hoping to do more damage or even finish him off!). The second boss does require you to completely kill it. Sword Drive just took off over half it's HP in the chain attack!

I guess I'll just see how low level I can go and continue playing though. I do need to level up now. Due to my "low" agility stat I'm not really able to compensate for the big penalty for fighting enemies 10+ levels higher than me. My agility is probably near 0 against this particular mini-boss. As I level up I should be able to compensate for it more, just like I was able to easily at 79 for the post-game content.

The game really moves quickly when you're skipping cutscenes, side quests and normal battles and just running from point A to point B, so I can probably finish most of it over the course of next week before giving Ys Origin another go. Just killing some UMs (affinity coins!) and doing the story bosses.

[Luap]

I wondered during my playthrough as well. If you want a pretty much spoiler-free idea of why it's so obvious (just the format), you will get a voiced exchange between two of your characters that explicitly tells you that if you proceed, there is no turning back. You can choose to turn around, which leaves you free to do whatever you want until you come back and trigger the scene again. It's a really generous way to do the point of no return, so you don't have anything to worry about.

Ha, well I suppose there hasn't been anything that obvious yet! Reminds me of Okami, where you are basically told the same thing.

I was at level 80 or 81 (I finished at 81 so I'm pretty sure that was my level going into the fight) when I beat the final boss, and I lost to him/her/it/them once. Depending on your team set-up and strategy, I'm guessing that the optimal level is somewhere between 75 and 80. Possibly lower, but I wouldn't really recommend higher; others might be able to give a more accurate picture depending on when they beat the game.

The final boss is level 82, but like the Fiora vs Zanza fight it just displays ???. A lot of people seem to find it very difficult and need to level up at 78, but of course I did beat it a level lower than that extremely easily when I first tackled it on my second playthrough, but that probably doesn't mean much. Starwolf_UK beat it 2-3 levels lower than that IIRC with the "cheap" party (Riki, Shulk, Sharla). 79-80 is probably the best balance of challenge and a legit chance to win for the average player. That's what level I was on my first playthrough.

Thanks for the info. I think 79 sounds good. The last few bosses have been exactly my level and I pretty much breezed through them. Especially those Telethia bosses — were they supposed to be that easy? I kicked their asses. The hardest boss fights of the game so far were Xord and Jade Face. I refuse to use the "cheap" party, mostly because I prefer using the beastly physical offense party (Shulk, Dunban, 7th).

And getting a third of the HP off a level 87 enemy is really good for that level with what's likely an unoptimal setup. Like I said in the description of the video, when topple locking high level enemies you want to focus on party gauge building as much as possible while still throwing your topple/daze arts in to keep them down. Because if they get up, it's likely over. That's why I did that example during the day - I likely still could have won if it got up, but it would be pretty difficult, especially if I was unable to re-topple him. At night with NV gems it would have been easy no matter what.

Yeah my party was Riki, Dunban and Reyn. It was against one of the Telethias in Alcamoth. That was a bummer to see. Poor High Entias. :( I also had my sidequest gems equipped (Lightning Attack, Quick Step, Strength Up), which didn't help. It basically came down to Riki whittling down its HP with his DoTs while Reyn and Dunban traded aggro. I couldn't believe they lasted as long as they did. Riki's heal is really good.

[chaosblade]

Yeah my party was Riki, Dunban and Reyn. It was against one of the Telethias in Alcamoth. That was a bummer to see. Poor High Entias. :( I also had my sidequest gems equipped (Lightning Attack, Quick Step, Strength Up), which didn't help. It basically came down to Riki whittling down its HP with his DoTs while Reyn and Dunban traded aggro. I couldn't believe they lasted as long as they did. Riki's heal is really good.

Those are actually great enemies to kill if you can pull it off since they drop Haste V crystals, but I think it's their "rare" gem and not the common one. Not hard to get either way since you can farm chests for them, and Haste VI is essential for post-game stuff IMO, at least until you get glory gauntlets which puts haste in an armor slot for any character.

You can't topple lock them like the Sauros because there aren't any weak enemies around, but with NV gems (you can trade Scarlen for rank V ones) you can probably beat the individual enemies around the time you beat the final boss. The mobs of 3 will probably be a bit too tough though.


And those bosses you mentioned were actually really annoying for me! Primarily because they were total assholes and would Talent Drain Shulk, then use Soul Read. That's just not a fair combo. :(


Update: Boss 3 down at level 3, except Sharla. Explaination from the description:

Sharla is not level 3, her base experience and stats are hard-coded into the game. So even at level 1 she would have the same stats. When I leveled up Shulk and Reyn she automatically jumped to 13, so I didn't bother changing it back. So naturally that's going to apply to all future characters as well.

http://youtu.be/P1_dlOtCZI4

[Luap]

So chaos, I did find a Telethia with weak enemies around. Took several tries to successfully open with a killing Demon Slayer blow, but I finally got it. I topple locked to the best of my ability, but I ran out of chains and it broke free before the next one. I managed to snap this with my phone about a second before I was finished off:



It had about a millimeter's worth of HP left. You can't even see it in the pic. And I just needed a little more of the party gauge to revive someone. I was praying that one of my arts would connect but I whiffed about 6 consecutive attacks and finally got killed. Goddamn. I would have raged if I wasn't so surprised that I even made it that far. I really wanted one of those Haste gems. >:[

[The Awesomest]

So, I'm at Agniratha now. Just got there. I figured I'd do a bunch of sidequests before continuing. When would be a good time to do Colony 6 level 4 and 5? Would it be a little easier if I progressed a little?

[Exeunt]

Interesting tidbit about Sharla, chaosblade. I wonder why her level was coded like that... unless it's a side effect of the code? I also noticed that you have Battle Soul disabled for Shulk; I did the same thing because the AI would always abuse it and cause trouble. Does Shulk have an Unbeatable gem, or did you just get lucky with that hit that left you with 1 HP?

So chaos, I did find a Telethia with weak enemies around. Took several tries to successfully open with a killing Demon Slayer blow, but I finally got it. I topple locked to the best of my ability, but I ran out of chains and it broke free before the next one. I managed to snap this with my phone about a second before I was finished off: It had about a millimeter's worth of HP left. You can't even see it in the pic. And I just needed a little more of the party gauge to revive someone. I was praying that one of my arts would connect but I whiffed about 6 consecutive attacks and finally got killed. Goddamn. I would have raged if I wasn't so surprised that I even made it that far. I really wanted one of those Haste gems. >:[

Ouch. I had a strong enemy down to a sliver before just like you did, but in my case I had been fighting for so long that some enemies I cleared out previously respawned and I got wiped out before I could land the final blow.

So, I'm at Agniratha now. Just got there. I figured I'd do a bunch of sidequests before continuing. When would be a good time to do Colony 6 level 4 and 5? Would it be a little easier if I progressed a little?

You won't be able to complete Colony 6 just yet, but now is an excellent time to go back and get materials from Mechonis Field/Central Factory as well as Agniratha as they pop up. I think you should be able to get most of level 4 completed with this approach, so now is probably as good a time as ever. I'd go so far as to say doing level 4 now is a solid idea. A bit more spoilerish, so highlight at your discretion: something might happen that makes those materials harder to get.

[Effect]

After messing around in the marsh for some time I finally made it to Makna Forest. Saved at the bridge overlooking the waterfall for the night. I think I made some progress today. Was off so I was able to get a few hours in. Level 32 now. Think I'm going to try and get at least an hour a day in with the game. It's going to slow for my liking. At least as far as completing the game. Would like to be done with this before The Last Story comes out. Out the three Operation Rainfall games that was the one I was looking forward to the most and I still am. However I don't want to toss this aside when it comes. I think I'll stop seeking out side quest for a while and see how far that gets me.

[nintendoman58]

So I finally beat the game.

Holy shit. Holy Shit

I could not believe how perfect this ending was. Mega-Spoilers below so watch out.

The fact that the entire world that your on was created by two humans who turned out to be the titans for this game was a nice twist. It raises questions, but in a good way. It lets the player's imagination fill in what happened when the world of Xenoblade was created. After doing some grinding to level 79, the final boss didn't become a struggle (thanks to Melia, whom I underestimated greatly). It was great to finally see a happy video game ending done right after the failed endings in Mass Effect 3 and Tales of Graces F.

What a masterpiece. I really hope that this game will get a sequel.

[Luap]

Ouch. I had a strong enemy down to a sliver before just like you did, but in my case I had been fighting for so long that some enemies I cleared out previously respawned and I got wiped out before I could land the final blow.

Heh, that sounds awful. But the good news is that I finally beat one! It dropped an ordinary chest though, so I didn't get any gems. :[ Still, I couldn't believe I took one down.

You won't be able to complete Colony 6 just yet, but now is an excellent time to go back and get materials from Mechonis Field/Central Factory as well as Agniratha as they pop up. I think you should be able to get most of level 4 completed with this approach, so now is probably as good a time as ever. I'd go so far as to say doing level 4 now is a solid idea. A bit more spoilerish, so highlight at your discretion: something might happen that makes those materials harder to get.

I really wish I had read this before I proceeded. -_- Eryth Sea is a huge pain in the ass to traverse now. Stupid level 86+ Telethias. They aggro like crazy.

[Exeunt]

After messing around in the marsh for some time I finally made it to Makna Forest. Saved at the bridge overlooking the waterfall for the night. I think I made some progress today. Was off so I was able to get a few hours in. Level 32 now. Think I'm going to try and get at least an hour a day in with the game. It's going to slow for my liking. At least as far as completing the game. Would like to be done with this before The Last Story comes out. Out the three Operation Rainfall games that was the one I was looking forward to the most and I still am. However I don't want to toss this aside when it comes. I think I'll stop seeking out side quest for a while and see how far that gets me.

For what it's worth, I thought that was one of the slower areas in the game; that said, there will be a couple events coming up that will hopefully make things a little more interesting. In about two more areas, the story will start to ramp up as well if that's what keeps you hooked. If you do a lot of sidequests right when they're given to you, I can imagine that it is pretty easy to get burnt out and lots of exploring or questing (or both) has the potential to slow you down a lot. If you're not obsessed with completing every singe sidequest the game throws at you, the pace should pick up accordingly and the balance shouldn't be thrown off as long as you keep battling monsters as you push forward. However, it isn't a game I recommend rushing through.

So I finally beat the game. Holy shit. Holy Shit I could not believe how perfect this ending was. Mega-Spoilers below so watch out. The fact that the entire world that your on was created by two humans who turned out to be the titans for this game was a nice twist. It raises questions, but in a good way. It lets the player's imagination fill in what happened when the world of Xenoblade was created. After doing some grinding to level 79, the final boss didn't become a struggle (thanks to Melia, whom I underestimated greatly). It was great to finally see a happy video game ending done right after the failed endings in Mass Effect 3 and Tales of Graces F. What a masterpiece. I really hope that this game will get a sequel.

I'm with AniHawk in that I really preferred the beginning of the story to what we got as the final act. (Ending spoilers.) The last bit with the exposition was rather drawn out when it was pretty clear that Shulk was fighting for a world with no gods, and I thought Zanza talked way too much in every cutscene after his dramatic reveal. I don't find much fault with the final cutscene in Colony 9 except that it drags out the "Fiora's body" reveal for far too long, but it really highlights what I preferred about the story—the smaller focus on the characters, their goals, and their relationships. The "scientist" reveal was at least foreshadowed when you're fighting spirits on planets from the solar system, but Alvis as the computer was a little much for me... I just wasn't as invested in the "gods" plot as I was in the revenge plot at the beginning, or even Dickson's betrayal near the end.

To each his or her own; we both enjoyed the game so that's what really matters in the end.

Heh, that sounds awful. But the good news is that I finally beat one! It dropped an ordinary chest though, so I didn't get any gems. :[ Still, I couldn't believe I took one down. I really wish I had read this before I proceeded. -_- Eryth Sea is a huge pain in the ass to traverse now. Stupid level 86+ Telethias. They aggro like crazy.

It wasn't that bad since Riki's Talent Art grabbed some experience from the monster, meaning it wasn't a complete waste of time. It is really satisfying when you take out an enemy that is notably stronger than your party; I spent most of the game at around the same level as the monsters I was fighting, so the latter bits of the game were pretty refreshing. In fact, I think the encounter that gave me the first hihg-level monster achievement was when I was attacked on sight by a Telethia in Eryth Sea, so I can definitely relate to your current position.

As for my own playthrough post-final boss, I've completely rebuilt Colony 6 and played through all the Heart-to-Hearts now between fighting unique monsters and completing the last (?) few quests. I found the former feat to be rather anti-climactic in the end, with little fanfare aside from the achievements. I expected a cutscene or at least another dialogue, but I suppose seeing the end result is good enough.

On the subject of dialogue, I found the Heart-to-Hearts to be rather hit-and-miss all around. The ones that actually centre around the characters and develop their relationships outside the story are great, and there were a few that I thought were rather humorous or well-written. Others dwell too much on plot threads that are pretty well tied up in the main storyline and lose their effect if you first complete them after you've already advanced, and I found that a couple just felt like filler and didn't really contribute to anything other than the checklist. It's a tad disappointing to have a generic "we like you for who you are" session when others actually go into characters' backstories. Maybe it's a result of the dialogue options I chose in some of them and it's not a huge issue for me given that 99% of Heart-to-Hearts are optional—it just seems that they could've limited the Heart-to-Hearts to ones that are less generic rather than creating filler optional content.

[chaosblade]

So chaos, I did find a Telethia with weak enemies around. Took several tries to successfully open with a killing Demon Slayer blow, but I finally got it. I topple locked to the best of my ability, but I ran out of chains and it broke free before the next one. I managed to snap this with my phone about a second before I was finished off

Yeah, as soon as I saw the picture I remembered that those were the same type of Telethia. Not a lot of room to work with, probably easy to accidentally gain aggro while getting ready to use Demon Slayer.

The kind of sad part is that if you had the gems that those enemies and the Deinos Sauros dropped, it would be a lot easier to keep high level enemies topple locked. I ran into that problem and posted it IIRC, needing to kill the high level enemies so I would have the stuff to kill the high level enemies. (Edit: Yep!) Double attack V would help if you have those and can link 7th double attacks critical skill.

And regarding dying to a practically dead enemy, I think we've all been there. Happened a couple times to me against Abaasy when initially trying to beat him at a low level. Then after I did win, it was like an epiphany and I was slaying everything left and right.

For what it's worth, I thought that was one of the slower areas in the game; that said, there will be a couple events coming up that will hopefully make things a little more interesting. In about two more areas, the story will start to ramp up as well if that's what keeps you hooked. If you do a lot of sidequests right when they're given to you, I can imagine that it is pretty easy to get burnt out and lots of exploring or questing (or both) has the potential to slow you down a lot. If you're not obsessed with completing every singe sidequest the game throws at you, the pace should pick up accordingly and the balance shouldn't be thrown off as long as you keep battling monsters as you push forward. However, it isn't a game I recommend rushing through.

The events in that area aren't really interesting, and it comes after the marsh where nothing happens at all. Good time to do some side quests, but for the most part you're best off just pushing through it and getting to the next major area since it's where the story really starts to intensify and confuse you, since you'll probably feel like you have a good grasp of the story at that point.

My summary of most people's thoughts for PI:

"Oh, well, obviously spoilerspoilerspoiler. I know exactly what's going to happen."
[stuff happens]
"Now I'm lost again."

It is really satisfying when you take out an enemy that is notably stronger than your party; I spent most of the game at around the same level as the monsters I was fighting, so the latter bits of the game were pretty refreshing.

The bolded is probably the entire reason I'm still playing this game. I probably would have quit before finishing my goal of beating every unique monster if I hadn't stopped leveling up. But limiting myself to level 79/80 made a huge difference and as a result I ended up doing even more post-game content than I did on my first run through the game where I went to level 99. Sure, I beat Abaasy and the other 100+ enemies, did a lot of the quests and stuff, but this time it was much more interesting due to that level restriction (plus the fact I still refused to let myself use Sharla).

I found the former feat to be rather anti-climactic in the end, with little fanfare aside from the achievements.

Most of the late and end game stuff does a poor job of rewarding the player, and I do think that's one of the things where they did an especially poor job. I felt most insulted when Juju didn't even have much to say about it, and still showed the reconstruction menu when you talked to him.

[Effect]

I don't actually want to rush through the game but would like to put more time into the game in general so I do finish sooner rather then later. That and sometimes the completionist in me comes out. So if things will pick up sooner I'll just keep pushing forward.

[chaosblade]

Saw that apparently S.S.H. did a remix of Those Who Bear Their Names/You Will Know Our Names. Anyone know if this is true, or is some asshat on youtube making me search around for something that doesn't exist?

[Exeunt]

Most of the late and end game stuff does a poor job of rewarding the player, and I do think that's one of the things where they did an especially poor job. I felt most insulted when Juju didn't even have much to say about it, and still showed the reconstruction menu when you talked to him.

Yeah, I agree so far. There was that one surprise quest which was pretty good, but most of the satisfaction I have derived from the final bits of contact has been more self-driven rather than any rewards given by the game. I mean, the fifth skill trees aren't really that different from the fourth except the enemies are higher; they could have really given each character a significant sidequest to complete that ties into their character arc like Melia and the surprise quest. Instead it's the same sort of thing that's been done already. You're really only given one expanded area to explore and unless you're really driven to defeat the "bonus" unique monsters I can see how a lot of people could put down the game at this point and not feel like they're missing much. I would've been happy if they skipped some of the later quests—many of which felt rather elementary after you've come so far—and poured those resources into spicing up the "post-game" content a little.

Speaking of final content, does anyone know if Art manuals are harder to come by if you have lots of open space for equipment? I recently sold a bunch of outdated weapons and armour but now I'm seeing less Art books pop up—even the common ones. It's probably just chance, but I definitely saw a marked decline after I had more room for the equipment drops and wanted to see if such a relationship actually exists.

[chaosblade]

Several of the post-game quests that actually had some real potential were really mishandled as well.

For example, Shura's quests in Tephra Cave, they could have done some really interesting stuff with those, but it ended up being a bunch of fetch quests, one high level monster kill, and then it gives you a brief explanation of the giants and spiders. They could have done something interesting with that like finding information about some surviving giants in another hidden area, maybe they would be hostile enemies, or maybe it could be like a small town to visit and get some high level quests from.

Another similar example was Melia's 5th skill tree quest. The quest itself was pretty silly, just checking out a statue, but the revelations at the end cut off right as they were starting to get interesting. They could have done interesting things with that as well. In the end it just left unanswered questions. Why did the high entia have a war god when Zanza/Bionis was clearly "god" and what was it's significance? Why did the high entia leave the lower levels of the Bionis? What's the real reason for Valak Mountain being frozen? Etc.

But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on why the post-game content feels rushed - it probably was. It's important to remember this game was internally delayed (had no release date yet) so that the dev team could achieve their original vision. Nintendo actually gave them more development time rather than telling them to scrap content and piece a game together as their deadline was approaching. I'd guess this is also why the latter half of the game is more linear than the first half, they didn't have time to flesh those areas out as much as the early areas that were probably being planned and worked on earlier.

[Luap]

It wasn't that bad since Riki's Talent Art grabbed some experience from the monster, meaning it wasn't a complete waste of time. It is really satisfying when you take out an enemy that is notably stronger than your party; I spent most of the game at around the same level as the monsters I was fighting, so the latter bits of the game were pretty refreshing. In fact, I think the encounter that gave me the first hihg-level monster achievement was when I was attacked on sight by a Telethia in Eryth Sea, so I can definitely relate to your current position.

It is very true that fighting high level monsters (and finally beating them!) makes the game a lot more fun. Like you, I have been the same level or a little above most of the monsters so far in the game. And now because I've taken the time to get decent gems and have unlocked the 4th skill trees for my characters, I'm rolling over same-level bosses like nothing. So I'm gonna stop leveling up for a little to make sure the rest of the main game stays interesting.

Yeah, as soon as I saw the picture I remembered that those were the same type of Telethia. Not a lot of room to work with, probably easy to accidentally gain aggro while getting ready to use Demon Slayer. The kind of sad part is that if you had the gems that those enemies and the Deinos Sauros dropped, it would be a lot easier to keep high level enemies topple locked. I ran into that problem and posted it IIRC, needing to kill the high level enemies so I would have the stuff to kill the high level enemies. (Edit: Yep!) Double attack V would help if you have those and can link 7th double attacks critical skill.

You got that right. But pulling aggro actually saved my ass halfway through the fight because the Telethia escaped my topple, so I chain attacked a side mob and finished it with Demon Slayer, which led to another topple lock and my eventual victory.

Heh, yeah that is very true. Just the thought of having Haste VI gems... drool. I did manage to make one Double Attack V gem, and I have several IV ones. I also got an awesome Mega Heat yesterday to make 2 Haste IV gems (pretty sure I got the level III Haste gems from Apis in Valak Mountain), so I am really stoked about that. It's a good start. I definitely need to get some Night Vision gems though. I only have one, and it's level II. :S

And regarding dying to a practically dead enemy, I think we've all been there. Happened a couple times to me against Abaasy when initially trying to beat him at a low level. Then after I did win, it was like an epiphany and I was slaying everything left and right.

There's really nothing worse. Yeah I remember that post lol. Heartbreaking.

I felt the same way after taking out that Telethia, but I got humbled a little while later when I tried to take on the Telethia from that surprise quest with Tyrea. Got my ass thoroughly kicked. Twice. Even with a pretty decent topple lock I only managed to make a small dent in its HP. So I suppose that quest will have to wait until later.

But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on why the post-game content feels rushed - it probably was. It's important to remember this game was internally delayed (had no release date yet) so that the dev team could achieve their original vision. Nintendo actually gave them more development time rather than telling them to scrap content and piece a game together as their deadline was approaching. I'd guess this is also why the latter half of the game is more linear than the first half, they didn't have time to flesh those areas out as much as the early areas that were probably being planned and worked on earlier.

Oh god, I'm actually kinda glad that the latter half is more linear. I haven't even beat the game yet and I'm at 120 hours...

[chaosblade]

I definitely need to get some Night Vision gems though. I only have one, and it's level II. :S

If you have 5 star affinity with upper Bionis, you can trade Scarlen for rank V ones. I couldn't find any information at all about enemies dropping crystals, so that's probably your best bet until you can kill Ancient Daedala (drops V crystals). Barring that, someone in Colony 6 trades rank IV gems IIRC.

Most of my run through the post-game content was with those rank V gems I traded for (36-37%), only used the megaheated VI (50%) ones for my second Abaasy kill with no chains/topples.

[Seanspeed]

I'm completely unable to find 'Forget-You-Nots' in Satorl Marsh. I've read where they should be, but after about 10 romps through the alleged areas where they pop up, I've not once got one. Well...I apparently got one a long time ago when doing the collectables stuff for the area, but I cant find another one. I'm trying to up my affinity with Colony 9 for Shulk's 4th skill tree(trying to get Desiree's quest), but its just sucking up so much time and its not fun. Much of the farming required for the good stuff in the game isn't as bad as some other JRPG's, but its still starting to test my patience.

I gave up on that for a while and am currently slogging through Mechonis Field, but its also proving a grind. I think the Mechon-infested areas have to be the worst parts of the game for me. I really just hate fighting them. It wouldn't be so bad if there were other enemies to fight with them, but its usually just straight Mechon after Mechon after Mechon after Mechon. I suppose its not going to get much better considering that I'm on Mechonis, but I hope it does.

Still having a great time with the game overall. I think I miss how original and fresh everything felt during the first 30-50 hours or so, though.

[Exeunt]

Several of the post-game quests that actually had some real potential were really mishandled as well. ... But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on why the post-game content feels rushed - it probably was. It's important to remember this game was internally delayed (had no release date yet) so that the dev team could achieve their original vision. Nintendo actually gave them more development time rather than telling them to scrap content and piece a game together as their deadline was approaching. I'd guess this is also why the latter half of the game is more linear than the first half, they didn't have time to flesh those areas out as much as the early areas that were probably being planned and worked on earlier.

The biggest example I can think of is the conclusion to the Three Giants' Treasures quest. All that build-up with the separate quest lines and in the end all you get is a fight against what amounts to a regular enemy and a treasure chest that isn't that much different from the ones you find using the High Entia Crest. Compared to how the first two treasures were handled, it feels like they simply ran out of time to give that quest a satisfying conclusion.

And that's an interesting development tidbit I'd never heard before. I haven't followed the development process but this post prompted me to start reading those Iwata Asks interviews that I put off until I finished the game. That said, I think the decision to make the second half of the game more linear—whether by original design or necessity—was a wise one in terms of pacing. I'd imagine it would be too easy to lose that sense of urgency they were going for if they gave you too many sidequests in the latter half; I suppose they could have made them available to be completed along the way, but at that point I think that more surprise quests would've filled that void. Though I do find it rather odd that Hidden Machina Village can be cleared rather quickly in comparison to all the other areas in the game, and the Agniritha Terminal sidequests with the rather mundane "secret area" also feel rather out-of-place.

I'm completely unable to find 'Forget-You-Nots' in Satorl Marsh. I've read where they should be, but after about 10 romps through the alleged areas where they pop up, I've not once got one. Well...I apparently got one a long time ago when doing the collectables stuff for the area, but I cant find another one. I'm trying to up my affinity with Colony 9 for Shulk's 4th skill tree(trying to get Desiree's quest), but its just sucking up so much time and its not fun. Much of the farming required for the good stuff in the game isn't as bad as some other JRPG's, but its still starting to test my patience. I gave up on that for a while and am currently slogging through Mechonis Field, but its also proving a grind. I think the Mechon-infested areas have to be the worst parts of the game for me. I really just hate fighting them. It wouldn't be so bad if there were other enemies to fight with them, but its usually just straight Mechon after Mechon after Mechon after Mechon. I suppose its not going to get much better considering that I'm on Mechonis, but I hope it does. Still having a great time with the game overall. I think I miss how original and fresh everything felt during the first 30-50 hours or so, though.

I don't remember ever having to collect Forget-You-Nots, but I know I was able to find the collectables I was missing by going to the places I was told they would appear. You might have to make a couple trips there I suppose, but I didn't find the "rare" collectibles to be too challenging. Keep trying (time of day counts too) and I'd imagine it shouldn't take you that long before you get them.

As for your issue with the area you are in, I thought that the atmosphere of Mechonis was quite different from that of Bionis, which made it interesting but I do agree that more types of Mechon (rather than just new nonsensical names for old models) would have been nice. I liked that area overall though, and recycled enemies (albeit with different names and colour schemes) was a trope that this game unfortunately didn't avoid all the time. You do still have a couple areas to go through that are filled with Mechon, but hopefully you can still enjoy them.

[kayos90]

Finally started on the game. Six hours in and I'm freaking loving it. I already know the music is good. Everything about the game I like so far. The only thing I'm not enjoying is the way I have to scroll through skills to use in combat and the faces. They look ugly.

[StAidan]

Well, a bit over 60 hours in, on Dolphin, and my danged hard drive crapped out on me today. Like, the kind of crap where the computer can't even tell there's a hard drive connected.

/die

[nintendoman58]

Well, a bit over 60 hours in, on Dolphin, and my danged hard drive crapped out on me today. Like, the kind of crap where the computer can't even tell there's a hard drive connected. /die

Ouch, that stings.

Anyways, I started NG+. I gotta say, I liked Tales of Graces F's NG+ system a lot better. I liked that you could purchase perks for your next playthrough like 5x Exp, inherit money and other stuff based on the things you did on your first playthrough. This just feels like a mode where you just want to see the story again but faster. Or for people who want to finish some extra sidequests they couldn't finish before due to plot events . Whatever though. Might as well experience that awesome story again and get the bulk of the game's experience.

[Seanspeed]

I don't remember ever having to collect Forget-You-Nots, but I know I was able to find the collectables I was missing by going to the places I was told they would appear. You might have to make a couple trips there I suppose, but I didn't find the "rare" collectibles to be too challenging. Keep trying (time of day counts too) and I'd imagine it shouldn't take you that long before you get them. As for your issue with the area you are in, I thought that the atmosphere of Mechonis was quite different from that of Bionis, which made it interesting but I do agree that more types of Mechon (rather than just new nonsensical names for old models) would have been nice. I liked that area overall though, and recycled enemies (albeit with different names and colour schemes) was a trope that this game unfortunately didn't avoid all the time. You do still have a couple areas to go through that are filled with Mechon, but hopefully you can still enjoy them.

This is the first time I've had a hard time finding something this badly. I think I'm just getting very unlucky.

And like I said, I'm still enjoying this, definitely. Just relative to the other parts of the game, this feels like a slog, mainly cuz the area is just so big and it doesn't have quite the enemy variety of previous areas. I spent a good 3 hours playing today and while I spent time doing other stuff, I did make an effort to continue on with the story a bit and am still in the same area. Affinity between members is going up quick with all the fighting, though!

[Effect]

Hmm. The game has an annoying way of telling you which way to go at certain times. Makna Forest

Let's go this way. Hmm a level 90....is that a t-rex!?. Let's go the other way. Damn it another one. I guess I have to back and then around what looked like the long way from the beginning. *shakes head*.

I guess I shouldn't be to annoyed. The whole bridge walkway did show what was on the ground in that area. There is one creature I did see that I did want to fight but I guess that'll have to wait till the end of the game and I'm at max level (if I get there). I wonder if that's the thinking I should have. If it looks like a short cut to the flag the map it's most likely a direction I should not go in.

Do these level 80+ creatures have a common aggro range? Or do I have to be within their line of sight?

This is actually the first area I don't really care for outside of the waterfall section. Then again I don't really care for areas like this general in other games. I could go back as far as Everquest 1 and being annoyed with the Greater and Lesser Faydark zones.

[Seanspeed]

Hmm. The game has an annoying way of telling you which way to go at certain times. Makna Forest Let's go this way. Hmm a level 90....is that a t-rex!?. Let's go the other way. Damn it another one. I guess I have to back and then around what looked like the long way from the beginning. *shakes head*.

Dont be afraid to venture off the path. You can often sneak around many of those high level monsters. And if it doesn't work out, there's no penalty for dying! There's a few places the game specifically closes off to you so if they want you to stay out of somewhere, they can do it better than sticking a high level monster or two in your way, ya know?

[Metroid Killer]

I'm at the same place as you Seanspeed, and I feel somwhat the same. Mechon are some of the most boring enemy groups to fight, and while the previous area(FA) was also filled with mechon, it was at least very unique. The redeeming part of the area is the music.

The story difintely also topped at the events of PI, and ever since then things haven't been that interesting, story-wise. I feel that I'm in for some great stuff soon.

[chaosblade]

Dont be afraid to venture off the path. You can often sneak around many of those high level monsters. And if it doesn't work out, there's no penalty for dying! There's a few places the game specifically closes off to you so if they want you to stay out of somewhere, they can do it better than sticking a high level monster or two in your way, ya know?

Actually there is one point where the game basically uses two monsters to prevent you from doing something, but it's post-game content.

Deinos Sauros shouldn't be too hard to get by, I don't think their aggro range is very big. There are only 2 or 3 of them, and if you stay in the trees on either side of them you should be able to run right by them.

I also didn't really mind fighting Mechon, they go down pretty easy and you can use a party of Melia/Shulk/7th and completely negate the need for enchant, without any anti-Mechon equipment. And by the time you reach Agniratha you'll probably have good enough anti-Mechon gear that you can switch back to using anyone you want and be fine. Some of the best 3 slot weapons tend to be kind of hard to get though.


Anyway, I've kind of lost interest in my low level NG+ playthrough already. There's not really any challenge in it - 90% or more of your defense seems to come from your armor so even level 80 enemies are survivable with 1500HP or so - and I really don't feel like grinding for bad equipment to make it a challenge. So I'm probably going to level up some more and continue rushing through the game, and just try to open up the post-game content at the lowest level possible, then tackle Abaasy. Again. My goal is 50. My expectation is closer to 60 though.

[PhoenixSFT]

Do these level 80+ creatures have a common aggro range? Or do I have to be within their line of sight?

Yeah, if you highlight them as if you're going to battle them, it'll show what they need to aggro. Some are because of ether attacks, some are because of noise, and some are line of sight. I think the Deinosaurus is through line of sight, so just avoid being in his range of vision, or run like hell if it sees you. I tend to explore the whole map as much as I can before I get to another hub area or (what seems like) a major plot point. It's fun dodging level 98 enemies and finding a secret area, and it makes it easier when the game says "Go here and collect this to advance."

[Effect]

Oh I know about the state the creatures will be in (sound, openly hostile, etc). What I mean by range is how close you'd have to be to trigger the hostile creatures. Along the lines of having to be right near or will it trigger on me from a distance and come racing towards me because they are so much larger and more powerful then your standard enemy. I guess I just expected them to act differently because they were unique.

Even though there is no penalty for dying (sometimes I forget this) I still dislike dying out in the field so I try to avoid it. I guess I should break myself of this habit with this game.

[Nub]

For some reason at the ether plant in eryth sea, there is a red exclamation point with nobody around. Is this a glitch or what?

I'll take a pic of it soon, to show whats going on.

[Splat]

For some reason at the ether plant in eryth sea, there is a red exclamation point with nobody around. Is this a glitch or what? I'll take a pic of it soon, to show whats going on.

I assume you checked under the platform?

[Broken Arrow]

Finally my copy has arrived!

Can't wait to play the hell out of it this weekend!

[Exeunt]

I have six Art manuals outstanding at this point, five-star affinity with all the areas in the game, completed all the tasks for Colony 6 and can't find a single quest in the spreadsheet that I haven't done yet. My characters are all either level 98 or 99, though I don't have enough AP to max out every Art yet and the seventh is lagging behind in terms of completed skill trees. Overall I've put just over 160 hours into the game at this point and not long from now I'm going to be pretty much done.

Apparently there are 157 unique monsters in the game and I have exactly 246 Affinity Coins on my highest-levelled characters, so I either have 9 or 10 beasties that I haven't fought yet (depending on whether you start the game with a single coin or none). This game could really use a bestiary to—at the very least—show you which unique monsters have given you Affinity Coins already; as it stands I don't really see the point in trying to track down the last of the sub-level 100 monsters. I might've missed them in areas that are locked out now anyway, and I don't think the missing Affinity Coins or low-level fights will detract from my experience at all. So once I get the last of the Art books, I'll probably try my hand at the toughest monsters.

There is technically some more unfinished content that I have; there are achievements remaining that sound like I'm supposed to do something a hundred or so more times, so I probably won't end up getting those. I feel like achievements were more balanced and interesting when they were rather unexpected and gave experience helpful to your level; as it stands, the experience I get wouldn't matter and I don't necessarily feel like I have to get every single one anymore.

As it stands, I'm probably going to "finish" everything this weekend, and I'll probably post my "last" impressions of the game a little while after the E3 dust settles. The "post/end-game" content is a little weaker than I hoped it would be—especially near the end—but I still haven't tackled the toughest enemies in the game. I don't feel burnt out but at I think I'm nearing the part when it'll feel good to put the game down and come back to it for a new playthrough when it's fresh again. I certainly feel like I've experienced a huge amount of content and it's been a great game to play for the last month or so.

[Effect]

Finally made it to Alcamoth and things are starting to pick up it seems. This area so far like the Bionis Leg looks amazing. Glad to have the last area behind me. I like the Nopon but wish they were in a different area. The final fight though was pretty good and I'm really starting to like the characters Riki and Melia. I can see how the first could annoy people though.

On a different note I'm glad in the end I didn't cave on Dragon'a Dogma. If I had I'd be playing that instead of focusing on this. Game is simply extremely enjoyable, even the areas I don't really care for and that's partly because I like the other areas so much more and have a dislike of areas like that in general. It's the excellent use of color that really does it for me. I'm all for more games that try to model real world locations. That's fine but things alway send up looking so drab and depressing when in reality things actually are brighter then that. This goes in the opposite direction and I actually prefer that and will take that approach every time.

[carlo6529]

I've been playing this the past week. It is definately a solid game and man is it ever big. NOA took way too long to localize this.

[Effect]

I've been playing this the past week. It is definately a solid game and man is it ever big. NOA took way too long to localize this.

Bringing it over. NoA didn't have to localize anything. That was part of the issue people had with NoA regarding the game. They took a pass all together. NoE did all the localization work.

[Jarlaxle]

So I just finished Prisoner's Island last night. I'm currently level 42 and a little over 29hours in. I've been using a party of Shulk, Dunban, and Riki. They've been working pretty well for me and I will probably use them through the rest of the game barring whether or not I like the 7th character or not.

Does that party make sense or should I be using a different character. How far am I to completion? Do I seem to be an appropriate level or am I underleveled?

I don't really actively seek out sidequests. I agree to each one I find though and usually try and kill everything in my path so I wind up completing a bunch of them but I'm not going out of my way. I'm liking the game but I have the hardest time with the gems. I've read the gem guide and looked at a gem faq but still have trouble with it but so far using crappy gems hasn't really held me back.

There's so much to like about the game but then there are some annoying things as well. I hate that if I go to a merchant to buy an art book, it doesn't get rid of the books I already have so I can just rebuy art books I don't need and then I have to resell the books. I don't like that when I'm changing equipment, it keeps the gems I had on the prior equipment unless I actively take them off. It's sometimes hard to tell the difference in equipment because of the gems I normally have equipped so I find myself taking off the gems on the current equipment, then looking at new equipment to compare and then reputting the gems back on. It's just kind of annoying and I find myself only looking at equipment every 7 or 8 hours or so, so I don't have to go through the trouble. Just fixing some little things like this would really help me. Loving the experience still so far. I just find myself smiling alot while playing it.

[chaosblade]

I wouldn't recommend trying to stick with a specific party. There is no "best" party for every situation (that's kind of a lie, but work with me here). You're better off switching up to improve affinity between characters, and some characters do better in some situations.

As long as you're similar in level to the enemies in whatever the most recent area is, you're fine. Might be a tad low for that point, don't remember exactly. The game tends to do a good job adjusting experience based on your level though. And that's roughly the halfway point of the game. Not exactly, it's probably slightly before it, but close enough.

Not sure what you're having issues with on gem crafting, the guide should cover everything. Basically it's just a matter of wanting to get as high of a percentage as possible. Means the best thing to do is to get the crystals/cylinders to as close to 99 as possible without going over, then craft them together. With higher affinity you can get more crafting turns and party member assists, and it gets easier to megaheat.

And an option to automatically transfer gems would have been really nice. I'm sure people would complain about it if it popped up and asked every time you changed armor, but it's still better than having to dig through your gems and re-equip.

[Tunic]

I am looking forward to getting back into my adventure in Xenoblade Chronicles today. As with other folks I was distracted with the release Diablo 3. It's Reyn time!

[Luap]

So I finally arrived at the point of no return. Whew what a journey it's been! I was only level 76 when I got there so I've been doing some gem collecting and gold chest grinding in the Bionis' Interior and Prison Island. I also remembered that there were mobs around my level in earlier areas, like the level ~77 Armus and Hoxes on Gaur Plain, so I've been hunting those down as well. That's one of the many things I have really enjoyed in this game — going back and killing those damn high level monsters that I had to run away from before. It's really satisfying.

I maxed the affinity between all 3 of my main party members (Shulk, 7th & Dunban) so now I'm using my "gold farmer" party of Melia, Riki & Dunban, who all have the +3% gold chest droprate skill. I've gotten some great arts manuals so far; yesterday's highlights were Healing Energy, Wild Down, Freezinate, Stream Edge and Heal Round. I also got Monado Eater from that Frontier Village quest, but it's pretty underwhelming after getting Armor.

I'll keep messing around until I hit level 80, and then I'll head for the final battle. I can't wait to see how it all goes down!

[raven777]

I think I got a new Battle theme music. I don't know if its temporary or this is the theme from now on, but I absolutely love it! A lot more than the first one. Does this mean I am past to 2nd half of the game?


I just fell with Firoa, and she got her memory back. Is she the 7th that everyone has been referring to?

[Wichu]

I think I got a new Battle theme music. I don't know if its temporary or this is the theme from now on, but I absolutely love it! A lot more than the first one. Does this mean I am past to 2nd half of the game? I just fell with Firoa, and she got her memory back. Is she the 7th that everyone has been referring to?

It's the battle theme for the Mechonis areas. And yes, you're correct. Enjoy :)