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Xenoblade |OT| Sorry I Kept You Waiting!

A

Amneisac

Member
I'm enjoying the game, but I feel like it's a little TOO much. I've put about 20 hours in, I'm around level 33 or so and I'm just past the swamp. So far I've done every side quest I've been able to find, and it just feels like I'm getting overwhelmed with some of the complexities of the mechanics and monotony of the side quests.

There are skills, skill links, arts, books to train new levels of the arts (you have to find the right vendors), day/night cycles with NPCs who are only around at certain times, the quest system isn't always reliable as far as giving good directions or the minimap showing you when you're near an objective, you can change your party members so you also have to think about the best combinations, AFFNITY, gem crafting, now I'm getting to the point where status ailments / auras / and all that are becoming important.. on and on.

I really enjoy the basic game, and I love the combat, but it's just becoming very complicated. I'm not saying I'm going to give up on it just yet, but it all got to be too much at some point. I really kind of miss the first few hours of the game.
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Effect said:
In general how good is the AI if one doesn't want to control the other characters (unless you have to for story reasons)? Will they always react to your actions as Shulk the way Reyn seems to in the beginning? For example if you inflict "break" he'll always follow up with an attack that will cause or try to cause "topple". He'll use the spin attack if surrounded I'm finding. If health is low Sharla seems to be good about healing while doing other attack when it isn't needed. Does this keep up?
Click to expand...

Varies depending on the character. Only one character is really abysmal under the AI to the point where you shouldn't bother
Melia
but everyone else is acceptable to good. At least to the point you shouldn't be losing battles because of them, even though they'll rarely be as effective as they would under player control.

Amneisac said:
I'm enjoying the game, but I feel like it's a little TOO much. I've put about 20 hours in, I'm around level 33 or so and I'm just past the swamp. So far I've done every side quest I've been able to find, and it just feels like I'm getting overwhelmed with some of the complexities of the mechanics and monotony of the side quests.

There are skills, skill links, arts, books to train new levels of the arts (you have to find the right vendors), day/night cycles with NPCs who are only around at certain times, the quest system isn't always reliable as far as giving good directions or the minimap showing you when you're near an objective, you can change your party members so you also have to think about the best combinations, AFFNITY, gem crafting, now I'm getting to the point where status ailments / auras / and all that are becoming important.. on and on.

I really enjoy the basic game, and I love the combat, but it's just becoming very complicated. I'm not saying I'm going to give up on it just yet, but it all got to be too much at some point. I really kind of miss the first few hours of the game.
Click to expand...
I'd recommend giving the sidequests a rest if you're finding them monotonous. Accept them and just complete them as you naturally play through the game (this will often happen with fetch quests and hunts) rather than going out of your way to do them all.

Can't really help you with the other problem though. I didn't really find it too complex, it seemed to do a good job easing you into everything for the most part. Usually things you learn or discover aren't very important at the time. Like the art books, you can buy them in Colony 9 for some skills, but at that point in the game you really don't even need them. Skill links are explained pretty early on, but they don't really get extremely important until late in the game when you have lots of affinity coins to use and high affinity between characters.
 
C

cametall

Member
I find when I have Sharla in my group no one's health seems to drop below half ... ever. She's a miracle worker but her damage output is pretty weak.

Riki + Shulk + Dunban, I don't know how this combo does it, but some how they manage to stay alive. Sure 2/3 members get down to less than 1000 hp at times, but they just don't go down.

I've gotten this group composition into some baaaad situations and they always pull out ahead. It's not pretty but they do it.
 
Mikey Jr.

Mikey Jr.

Member
Fuck, I think I'm too high a level.

I just hit
Earyth Sea............................
and I'm level 41.

I haven't explored much of the place, but I am seeing a lot of black level enemies which kind of blows.
 
C

cametall

Member
Mikey Jr. said:
Fuck, I think I'm too high a level.

I just hit
Earyth Sea............................
and I'm level 41.

I haven't explored much of the place, but I am seeing a lot of black level enemies which kind of blows.
Click to expand...

I was about level 40 when I reached there, left at about level 44. There are a few areas that will test you, especially some of the lizard men groups. At that point in the game it was the first enemy I ran into that used debuffs heavily.

Overall it wasn't too difficult an area at level 40 though.
 
B

Bisnic

Really Really Exciting Member!
Mikey Jr. said:
Fuck, I think I'm too high a level.

I just hit
Earyth Sea............................
and I'm level 41.

I haven't explored much of the place, but I am seeing a lot of black level enemies which kind of blows.
Click to expand...

I dont think the color means much... i mean im lvl 53 right now and i see monsters at lvl 54-55 which are grey/black. I also thought before that this color meant low lvl enemies, not so sure anymore.
 
Mikey Jr.

Mikey Jr.

Member
cametall said:
I was about level 40 when I reached there, left at about level 44. There are a few areas that will test you, especially some of the lizard men groups. At that point in the game it was the first enemy I ran into that used debuffs heavily.

Overall it wasn't too difficult an area at level 40 though.
Click to expand...

Alright, cool, thanks.

Btw, the hell are Auras?

In one of the arts for Dunban or Reyn, cant remember, it says that he has to be in an aura or the aura has to be active? Something like that. What is that?

Btw, Dunbans main skill where he does like 4 hit combos, does the AI pull that off, or is it something the player has to control?

Bisnic said:
I dont think the color means much... i mean im lvl 53 right now and i see monsters at lvl 54-55 which are grey/black. I also thought before that this color meant low lvl enemies, not so sure anymore.
Click to expand...

Colour is supposed to.

Weakest to strongest-

Black
Blue
Gray
Red
Yellow?

Not sure what yellow means. I have encountered 1 yellow in my 30 hours of play so far, and I believe that was in the ether mines. Cant remember.
 
N

nan0

Member
Mikey Jr. said:
In one of the arts for Dunban or Reyn, cant remember, it says that he has to be in an aura or the aura has to be active? Something like that. What is that?
Click to expand...

Arts with orange icons. Like Spirit Breath, Rage or Anchor Chain.

Btw, Dunbans main skill where he does like 4 hit combos, does the AI pull that off, or is it something the player has to control?
Click to expand...

The AI uses all main (center) arts as well.
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Mikey Jr. said:
Alright, cool, thanks.

Btw, the hell are Auras?

In one of the arts for Dunban or Reyn, cant remember, it says that he has to be in an aura or the aura has to be active? Something like that. What is that?

Btw, Dunbans main skill where he does like 4 hit combos, does the AI pull that off, or is it something the player has to control?



Colour is supposed to.

Weakest to strongest-

Black
Blue
Gray
Red
Yellow?

Not sure what yellow means. I have encountered 1 yellow in my 30 hours of play so far, and I believe that was in the ether mines. Cant remember.
Click to expand...

Yellow is between gray and red. It goes by level, I don't remember exactly how it works, but red is basically intended to be something unbeatable at your level because of an agility penalty (5 level difference). It goes both ways though, because enemies get that same penalty if you are higher level than them.

And auras are like buffs basically, some skills will activate them, it will be in the skill info.
 
U

Ultratech

Member
chaosblade said:
Yellow is between gray and red. It goes by level, I don't remember exactly how it works, but red is basically intended to be something unbeatable at your level because of an agility penalty (5 level difference). It goes both ways though, because enemies get that same penalty if you are higher level than them.

And auras are like buffs basically, some skills will activate them, it will be in the skill info.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's some interval of numbers I think that usually determines what color the enemy is to you. I know Agility helps a lot in determining it.
Pretty sure fighting a Red enemy puts you at a disadvantage anyways, since you tend to miss more, do less damage, and enemies deal more damage (relatively from what I've seen anyhow).

So it's something like:
Black - Enemy is 5-6+levels below you. Hardly a threat. Party has the advantage.
Blue - Enemy is 3-5 levels below you. Shouldn't give you much trouble.
Gray - Enemy is 2 levels above or below you (+/-2). Enemy is actually something of a threat.
Yellow - Enemy is 3-5 levels above you. Enemy is likely tougher to hit/damage and more of a threat.
Red - Enemy is 5-6+ levels above you. Enemy is very powerful. Unlikely to land hits or deal much damage. Party is put at a major disadvantage.

*Levels are relative assuming normal setups*

Of course, it's worth noting that the color of the nameplates is different for each character. (i.e. an enemy that could be Red to Shulk, might be Yellow for Dunban)
And some enemies like to be dicks and increase their level via special skills.
 
B

Bisnic

Really Really Exciting Member!
Mikey Jr. said:
Fuck, I have officially hit the number of materials I can have. So what do I do now? Sell the cheapest items first?
Click to expand...

By materials, do you mean stuff like animals, bugs, parts, vegetables? If you dont really need money, you could give them as gifts to other characters to improve affinity between them.
 
H

Hiltz

Member
Mikey Jr. said:
Fuck, I have officially hit the number of materials I can have. So what do I do now? Sell the cheapest items first?
Click to expand...

Sell/discard old armor and weapon equipment.
Sell/discard old crystals you don't intend on using.
Sell/discard treasure chest items and blue orb collectibles by getting rid of the oldest stuff and items that are the most commonly found (sort by rarity). Like Bisnic said, you can also try giving away some of the collectibles as gifts to raise character affinity. Of course, each character likes specific items so look online for a guide so you don't accidently give a character something they dislike which will cause their affinity to decrease.
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Mikey Jr. said:
Fuck, I have officially hit the number of materials I can have. So what do I do now? Sell the cheapest items first?
Click to expand...

Sort by price and sell the cheapest ones in small bags until you're content with the space you have. Newer ones are more likely to cost more and be used in current quests.

You might still need the ones you sell at some point, but small bags denote common items, so it shouldn't really be a big deal if you need to collect 3 of them again.
 
Mikey Jr.

Mikey Jr.

Member
Bisnic said:
By materials, do you mean stuff like animals, bugs, parts, vegetables? If you dont really need money, you could give them as gifts to other characters to improve affinity between them.
Click to expand...

Not the stuff you put in the collectopedia. The other stuff. In the inventory they are small bags and big bags.

Hiltz said:
Sell/discard old armor and weapon equipment.
Sell/discard old crystals you don't intend on using.
Sell/discard treasure chest items and blue orb collectibles by getting rid of the oldest stuff and items that are the most commonly found (sort by rarity). Like Bisnic said, you can also try giving away some of the collectibles as gifts to raise character affinity. Of course, each character likes specific items so look online for a guide so you don't accidently give a character something they dislike which will cause their affinity to decrease.
Click to expand...

Yeah, going to give the stuff to my partners.

chaosblade said:
Sort by price and sell the cheapest ones in small bags until you're content with the space you have. Newer ones are more likely to cost more and be used in current quests.

You might still need the ones you sell at some point, but small bags denote common items, so it shouldn't really be a big deal if you need to collect 3 of them again.
Click to expand...

Ok, not sure whether to sell or give to partners. But yeah, I guess I'll trash some of the small bag items.
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
You can only give collectables to your party, not materials. And there is enough space for you to have one of every collectable in the game, so you should never have to sell those.

The only reason to sell collectables is if you happen to need money for an intermediate artbook. There's really very little else you should need to spend money on since you'll find better weapon/armor drops on the field than you can buy in shops.
 
Mikey Jr.

Mikey Jr.

Member
chaosblade said:
You can only give collectables to your party, not materials. And there is enough space for you to have one of every collectable in the game, so you should never have to sell those.

The only reason to sell collectables is if you happen to need money for an intermediate artbook. There's really very little else you should need to spend money on since you'll find better weapon/armor drops on the field than you can buy in shops.
Click to expand...

I think I have around 200k, lol. Yeah, so money probably isn't an issue.
 
H

Hobbun

Member
The content is insane in this game. I played for almost 4 hours yesterday and figured I would take an hour and a half, maybe 2 hours, and finish up my Colony 9 quests. And then go back to
Bionis Leg
. But no, they just kept being added. I ended up spending the whole time in Colony 9 and still have open quests. And I am guessing there are still more in this area that I haven't done yet.
 
T

Trancetronic

Member
I'm at the Eryth Sea dungeon but my questions really is where do I find the parts to make everything Level 1 in Colony 6 so I can get that portable gem maker thing?
 
Z

Zornica

Banned
burgerdog said:
Do stats bonuses cap at 50 from gems?
Click to expand...

depends on the stat itself, some cap at 100, others at 150. a few at 50. it turns green when you hit the cap.

cametall said:
I find when I have Sharla in my group no one's health seems to drop below half ... ever. She's a miracle worker but her damage output is pretty weak.

Riki + Shulk + Dunban, I don't know how this combo does it, but some how they manage to stay alive. Sure 2/3 members get down to less than 1000 hp at times, but they just don't go down.

I've gotten this group composition into some baaaad situations and they always pull out ahead. It's not pretty but they do it.
Click to expand...

you may want to craft some agility gems, if it get's too bad
 
H

Hiltz

Member
Trancetronic said:
I'm at the Eryth Sea dungeon but my questions really is where do I find the parts to make everything Level 1 in Colony 6 so I can get that portable gem maker thing?
Click to expand...

Talk to
Juju
in Colony 6 and choose from one of the reconstruction levels in order to see what items you'll need to get in order to upgrade the area. Here's the first level info:

Level 1 Housing:

2 x Spotted Volff Hide
Dropped by Volffs on the Bionis' Leg

2 x Steel Silk
A collectible in Tephra Cave

Level 1 Commerce:

2 x Igna Hide Jacket
Dropped by Ignas in Satorl Marsh

2 x Amblygon Turtle
Collectable in Colony 6

Level 1 Nature:

2 x Sharp Hox Spur
Dropped by Easy Hox on the Bionis' Leg.

2 x Dark Grape
A collectible in Tephra Cave.

Special:

1 x Light Rain Element
Dropped by Aqua Nebula in Bionis' Leg.

1 x Kneecap Rock
Collectable in Tephra Cave.
 
B

Bisnic

Really Really Exciting Member!
I have a feeling i am getting close to the end... warning huge spoilers

The Machina doctor just "healed" Fiora and the very fat one told me there is a path leading to the Mechonis feet or something. I've been thinking of clearing a bunch of quests from previous zones before going there, but is that the right thing to do? Or can i continue the story, kill whatever last boss there is and do my quests/affinity grinding after that without problems?
 
W

Wichu

Member
Bisnic said:
I have a feeling i am getting close to the end... warning huge spoilers

The Machina doctor just "healed" Fiora and the fat one just told me there is a path leading to the Mechonis feet or something. I've been thinking of clearing a bunch of quests from previous zones before going there, but is that the right thing to do? Or can i continue the story, kill whatever last boss there is and do my quests/affinity grinding after that without problems?
Click to expand...

You should do the timed quests in the
Fallen Arm/Galahad Fortress
region now, since they'll be inaccessible soon (also, if you want an easier time with the
Colony 6 reconstruction
, get spares of all the collectibles there). And you'll want to clear out the quests in
Alcamoth
at some point too (before the fight with
Egil
at
Mechonis Core
).

There's still a way to go, and the story will start gearing up again soon. Enjoy :)
 
S

Sadist

Member
Bisnic said:
I have a feeling i am getting close to the end... warning huge spoilers

The Machina doctor just "healed" Fiora and the very fat one told me there is a path leading to the Mechonis feet or something. I've been thinking of clearing a bunch of quests from previous zones before going there, but is that the right thing to do? Or can i continue the story, kill whatever last boss there is and do my quests/affinity grinding after that without problems?
Click to expand...

You're still not at the end :D

But, if you complete that part of the game it will lock out several quests yes.

If you like to, you need to clear all the timed ones in Alcamoth ;)
 
B

burgerdog

Member
Zornica said:
depends on the stat itself, some cap at 100, others at 150. a few at 50. it turns green when you hit the cap.
Click to expand...

Got it, was kind of hoping agi would go higher but that's fine. Here's a piece of advice for other gaffers in case they aren't doing this already; always check to see if quest items could be traded for, it will save you a lot of time. Lastly, shit, I still can't get used to A being where O/B is on the hd twins and I'm 45 hours in.
 
B

Bisnic

Really Really Exciting Member!
Wichu said:
You should do the timed quests in the
Fallen Arm/Galahad Fortress
region now, since they'll be inaccessible soon (also, if you want an easier time with the
Colony 6 reconstruction
, get spares of all the collectibles there). And you'll want to clear out the quests in
Alcamoth
at some point too (before the fight with
Egil
at
Mechonis Core
).

There's still a way to go, and the story will start gearing up again soon. Enjoy :)
Click to expand...


Sadist said:
You're still not at the end :D

But, if you complete that part of the game it will lock out several quests yes.

If you like to, you need to clear all the timed ones in Alcamoth ;)
Click to expand...

Ok thanks, but other than these timed quests, can i kill the last boss of the game and continue questing after that, or does it finish with credits, a black screen and THE END + go back to the title screen?
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Bisnic said:
Ok thanks, but other than these timed quests, can i kill the last boss of the game and continue questing after that, or does it finish with credits, a black screen and THE END + go back to the title screen?
Click to expand...

There's a point of no return before the final boss (you're warned about it). You want to keep a save there if you plan to keep playing because afterward it will go straight into NG+, so you'll miss out on anything "end-game" optional content.
 
W

Wichu

Member
Hobbun said:
Without any spoilers, what does NG+ give you? Do new things open up on the second playthrough?
Click to expand...

There aren't any changes; it means you can take alternate routes in branched quests, do timed ones you might not have done the first time etc.
 
S

Starwolf_UK

Member
I guess one overlooked New Game + difference is affinity coins carry over but not the fact you obtained them. Which means you can get them again. I'm not sure there are any super-expensive skill links that are worthwhile though.

I'd have preferred if we could choose what carried over Tales of style (I don't want level to carry over but would not have minded some other perks to speed up the start of the game)

ag-my001 said:
The fourth skill tree's have some of the best skills in the game (such as Melia's skill that makes Dunban a deity). The often over-looked benefit is that the fourth tree costs much fewer skill points to finish up. The last skill is only 2000 points, while on the main three the last skill is 3500. The earlier skills are similarly reduced in points.
Click to expand...
If that is the
+20% to stats if no gems
skill its as overated as naked. Reason:
So now he can't have gems at all, at least naked had the weapon free meaning double attack (which is godly late game when linked with another skill) and any others you might like. Like with naked the boost to stats can be achieved (or supassed) with the right gems for a lot of the game.
 
H

Hecatonchires Custom

Member
Is Riki worth using until the endgame? Love the guy and his skills, sure he doesn't do a ton of damage but he still manages to pull his weight.

I'm using Melia and Dunban right now and struggling to find a good 3rd character.
 
W

Wichu

Member
Hecatonchires Custom said:
Is Riki worth using until the endgame? Love the guy and his skills, sure he doesn't do a ton of damage but he still manages to pull his weight.

I'm using Melia and Dunban right now and struggling to find a good 3rd character.
Click to expand...

I had a lot of fun using Riki; I stacked him with debuff arts and watched the enemies' health drop like a stone. Plus you get the best after-battle banter.
 
E

EvilMario

Will QA for food.
Hecatonchires Custom said:
Is Riki worth using until the endgame? Love the guy and his skills, sure he doesn't do a ton of damage but he still manages to pull his weight.

I'm using Melia and Dunban right now and struggling to find a good 3rd character.
Click to expand...

I used Riki as my player controlled character for most of the game. He is a good balance of all characters. He has directional attacks like Shulk, he reaches max HP easily so he can take hits, he has Ether attacks like Melia and he has a wide range of status he can inflict. And the best player controlled healing move in the game.

And he is an awesome character. I liked him even more later on when he has a cutscene
with Dunban
 
W

wsippel

Banned
I love how one particular character has one particular skill tree that works unlike any other skill tree in the game. It makes sense once you see it.
 
W

Wichu

Member
wsippel said:
I love how one particular character has one particular skill tree that works unlike any other skill tree in the game. It makes sense once you see it.
Click to expand...

It's an awesome concept, and made me smile. Too bad I don't usually use the right party members to make it worthwhile; it's relegated to the end of the queue for SP :(
 
M

MetatronM

Unconfirmed Member
Hecatonchires Custom said:
Is Riki worth using until the endgame? Love the guy and his skills, sure he doesn't do a ton of damage but he still manages to pull his weight.

I'm using Melia and Dunban right now and struggling to find a good 3rd character.
Click to expand...

I had Riki in the party for basically the entire second half of the game. Heropon is awesome.
 
P

Papercuts

fired zero bullets in the orphanage.
I have now booted Shulk from my party and control Dundun, with riki covering my back. The third party member doesn't even matter.
 
W

Wyndstryker

Member
Hecatonchires Custom said:
Is Riki worth using until the endgame? Love the guy and his skills, sure he doesn't do a ton of damage but he still manages to pull his weight.

I'm using Melia and Dunban right now and struggling to find a good 3rd character.
Click to expand...

My team against the last guy was Shulk, Sharla, Riki if that helps you decide his worth.
 
F

flyover

Member
burgerdog said:
Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, I was looking for wallpapers and I spoiled
the 7th character
, god dammit that will teach me.
Click to expand...

You should probably put the part I spoiler tagged in tags. Just the fact that
you've implied that people might be able to guess who the 7th party member is
is a bit of a spoiler.
 
R

raven777

Member
I am still only 17 hours, so I have barely explored yet, but from the looks of it, the world that you can travel around seems biggest of any JRPG I have ever played.

So I was wondering is this probably the biggest JRPG world ever created?(that you can actually travel around) How bout against western games like Skyrim or World of Warcraft.
 
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