I actually like Xenoblade X battle system. I know that some people complained about it, but it felt epic once you grasped it. Maybe I don't have yet a full grasp on Xeno 2's, but it looks simplified but also less fun and fluid.
To add to what the other members told you I'd also like to say that you should come back here in a while when the website gives us more details on systems. I'll translate what needs to be. Right now there are far more details we don't know than stuff we understand.
And if 2's battle system feels slower, it also seems more strategic and also pretty far from the 2 others in some ways.
- You can't attack while moving so it's almost like a tactical game, you chose to move OR to attack. It gives a way to not attack while the ennemy is sleeping for example, because with Carna/Sharla in Xenoblade 1, you couldn't. It also has an important effect on position and other stuff.
- Auto attacks now have a specific combo and each hit deals more damage. There's also now some kind of "just attack" like in Phantasy Star Online. You can trigger a bonus if you time your Arts after auto attacks. It appears on the screen as a blue circle.
- Time now charges the Blades. Arts charge through auto attack and each auto attack hit charges more than the previous one during a combo. Finally, Arts charge Blades special attacks. There's far more strategy to focus on during battle between that, switching Blades, watching the party gaauge, Blade special arts, and other characters.......
- We don't know how skills work, how Blades work (only that the treehouse guy "dropped" one after his first battle. But it feels too random/lucky to help understand how the whole thing could work. We may end up getting new Blades from random battles, from quests. Maybe would there be more rare ones, for example dropped from Unique enemies.
There were 21 spots for Blades on Rex's screen and 1/99 crystals before the treehouse guy used it to create the third Blade for Rex.
Blades might become the only equipment for character and we'll manage tons of them. They might be born with a random set of Arts... could go any way.
- Last but not least, "Rich" is really bad at playing Xenoblade as he was already bad with XenobladeX back then, it doesn't help at all.
He's also wrong on many things. For X he said only voices could heal and that's as wrong as it can be.
For Xenoblade 2 he was at least wrong once when he said the "Launch" effect needed break or topple before (can't remember), but I saw it being triggered while no effect were active right before.
I'm gonna miss having complete control over break, topple, daze with the time freeze party attack. If there's one thing I would add to the combat system it would be that. Maybe I'm wrong and its in there. It does have a party gauge.
I think you are wrong indeed : ). Because the leftmost icon is most certainly related to the party attack. There are 3 arrows poiting the middle with a "!" at the top. It has to be. We'll see how different the whole thing works but there's plenty of hope, especially as there are new effects.
Not only topple, stun (yellow star) but also launch (wanted that since the first one) and something after that according to the treehouse.
