[chaosblade]

It really is true that it's more fun to mess around with lots of different characters. I've been doing that and found myself enjoying combat a lot more now. Never realized how awesome Dunban's dodging ablility was until I started using him as my controlled character.

Indeed, it really makes me wish Heat Haze had a different secondary/"negative" effect. Dunban is too good of a tank to drop all aggro, but 100% critical hit rate would be amazing.

I guess it doesn't matter much though, he has so many good auras you can't really make use of them all.

Serene Heart - This art is practically broken since it boosts Dunban's already awesome agility even further. Even though it has no real secondary effect, it doesn't even need one.
Spirit Breath - Almost broken, 95% haste at max level, and the debuff removal is great until you get to the post-game stuff where it becomes useless due to debuff resist VI gems. 95% haste is always awesome though. This is pretty much the key art to use in any fight where extra agility isn't necessary (offense vs defense, more or less).
Jaws of Death - Makes Reyn's Last Stand look kind of silly in comparison, since this also fills the party gauge on revival AND increases physical art damage.
Peerless - Great strength boost, useful in a number of situations but it's normally outclassed by Spirit Breath/haste. Cure confuse is pointless for 99% of the game though.

Heat Haze is unfortunately no good since it drains all aggro, and Dunban is a tank at heart. Maybe if you're using him alongside Reyn it would work, but I'd still probably use Spirit Breath over this for the haste and use other methods for increasing crit rate.

Battle Eye is a mixed bag. Lock-on is kind of meh, since Dunban can hold aggro most of the time anyway. Increased double attack is nice, but it's limited and ultimately Spirit Breath will do more in the end with haste. The third effect of raising the talent gauge is nice though, since Dunban's talent art is arguably the second best in the game (after Shulk, obviously).

So I'm up to Sword Valley now. I kinda hated the Valak Mountain area; the extremely tilted slopes made it difficult to control the camera. Is it worth it to equip the anti-mechon weapons Dickson just sold me? On the one hand, their stats kinda suck, but on the other hand, if I'm going to be fighting a bunch of Mechon, I'd like to be wielding stuff that can damage them... Does their anti-Mechon-ness actually make a difference, or are they just anti-Mechon in name only?

They do damage Mechon, but they will be weaker than your normal weapons. So it's kind of a trade off. Deal with using enchant and getting a damage boost, or don't use Shulk/enchant but deal less overall damage.

Remember ether damage works on Mechon regardless, so Melia doesn't need those.

Personally, I think unless you just don't want to use Shulk, Enchant with normal weapons is the way to go. You get 50xEnchant level bonus damage on each hit, and Shulk is good regardless. It's a minor annoyance, but the reduced damage output of anti-Mechon weapons is more annoying.

Though later on, you'll start collecting weapons like that from drops. Some of the later ones are actually better than any normal weapons you have up to that point. Don't think you'll find anything like that where you're at though.

[Esura]

Yes, I think I'm almost done with this game. Lv. 72 with Shulk/Dunban/Seven at the heart of the Bionis in the core and I'm trying to fight Lorinthia but that boss is like three levels higher than me and I'm doing no meaningful amounts of damage. I don't want to do anymore quests so I was going to grind out some levels here but even with like 5000+ EXP per battle it is taking forever. I have the Monado Armor skill btw.

Any tips on how to cheese the remainder of this game so I can finally move on to another game?

[chaosblade]

Yes, I think I'm almost done with this game. Lv. 72 with Shulk/Dunban/Seven at the heart of the Bionis in the core and I'm trying to fight Lorinthia but that boss is like three levels higher than me and I'm doing no meaningful amounts of damage. I don't want to do anymore quests so I was going to grind out some levels here but even with like 5000+ EXP per battle it is taking forever. I have the Monado Armor skill btw. Any tips on how to cheese the remainder of this game so I can finally move on to another game?

Use ether damage, especially for that fight. If you really want to cheese the rest of the game use Riki (DoT attacks, especially ether ones, and try to tank with him due to the high HP), Shulk (Monado arts + Light heal), Sharla (healing) and you can win pretty much any battle through attrition. You could also main Melia instead but she's more fragile and isn't going to tank as well.

You can win with that party though if you topple lock the enemy, that will increase your damage a ton since the physical protect shield goes away when it's toppled and dazed. That's how I beat it with that party, at a lower level than you are right now.

[Jarlaxle]

Yes, I think I'm almost done with this game. Lv. 72 with Shulk/Dunban/Seven at the heart of the Bionis in the core and I'm trying to fight Lorinthia but that boss is like three levels higher than me and I'm doing no meaningful amounts of damage. I don't want to do anymore quests so I was going to grind out some levels here but even with like 5000+ EXP per battle it is taking forever. I have the Monado Armor skill btw. Any tips on how to cheese the remainder of this game so I can finally move on to another game?

This is the same thing I went through last week until last night. I just couldn't beat this boss for whatever reason. I had no problem with any other part of the game but I spent 2.5 hours last night just fighting the boss over and over and over again using different people and different tactics.

There is a place you can pretty easily level up if you'd like to (I leveled up to 75 from 71 in about an hour and a half) over in the Bionis' Leg. Use the South bridge point and then just go down the hill and across the pads in the middle of the lake. Most of the enemies there are all 75 and 76 in level but they really aren't hard and give really good experience. Then just skill link everything that ups experience and put any eperience gems on and go through the circuit like 5 times or so. That should do the trick.

Even with the increased levels though I couldn't beat it with that party. I'm obviously not good enough to topple lock and I had barely used anyone else. Save yourself some time and start using Melia (this was the only time in the whole game so far that I'd used her). She just does damage where it seems like no one else could. I controlled Melia, had 7th drawing aggro, and Sharla to try and keep us healed. I still had some difficulties (I had the boss down to 1 or 2 more hits last night using Melia, 7ty, and Shulk and died on my first attempt of the night). You'll eventually do it. Take out the other enemies before attacking the main boss. It lowers her defense. If you don't know how to use Melia, which I really didn't, there's a great guide in the OP to her and I just followed the suggested pattern. It doesn't take too long to go get all her art books if you hadn't been buying them like me.

Now that I'm done with that part, I haven't had anymore trouble going back to my main party of Shulk, Dunban, and 7th yet and hopefully I won't the rest of the way. I hope to finish this game this weekend.

[Metroid Killer]

Which arts are good to equip for 7th?

I haven't used 7th as the controlled character, but will probably do so near the end game, and it's always nice with some second opinions.

[chaosblade]

Which arts are good to equip for 7th? I haven't used 7th as the controlled character, but will probably do so near the end game, and it's always nice with some second opinions.

I use:

Speed Shift is the best aura in the game, effect wise. Cooldown hurts it a lot though, but 95% haste + 25% double attack is pretty darn awesome, even with the 25% defense penalty.

Healing Energy is decent and worth having around too. Especially before you start getting megaheat Debuff Resist since it clears debuffs.

Power Drain is really good since at max level it can essentially be permanent (effect lasts longer than the cooldown), and the 20-25% strength is great since the character is almost exclusively a physical attacker. Plus it lowers the enemy's strength.

Two or more red arts are nice for chains. I go with Double Wind since it's a nice AoE attack, either Double Blade or Spear Blade is fine. Or both. I use Spear Blade since she's pretty much never behind the enemy to take advantage of Double Blade.

Final Cross is kind of an obvious choice. You probably aren't going to use it more than once per battle outside chains, and you'll probably never use it in a lot of normal battles, but in longer/tougher fights it's great.

Cross Impact is a good daze art, worth having around.

Can use about anything for the last art.

[Cedric]

So I'm nearing the end of Xenoblade, I just finished Bionis Interior and decided to go back to complete skills, quests, the collectopedia and so forth. Man, I gotta say this has probably been the best gaming experience in my whole life. I didn't have a clue what Xenoblade was about, all I knew was that it was supposed to be a good rpg. When it came to N.A., my father decided to buy it and since I had no expectations whatsoever I was completely blown away.

Gaur Plains is probably the most awesome "welcome to this game" moment, it remains my favourite area (although after checking it out on youtube, Bionis Left Shoulder would've been my favourite had it not been cut out) in the whole game. I find that as you get older, RPGs get less interesting (it might also be because of Square-Enix's inability to put out decent games), but Xenoblade was the only game to ever make me feel like I was a kid again. It is most definitely in my top 3 games of all time. Also, Riki is a beast.

edit: speaking of Riki, what is his best physical art? I use Burninate, Freezinate, Lurgy, You Can Do It, Riki Tantrum, Happy Happy and Herotime. I want to give him a second physical attack to go with tantrum.

[Gravijah]

xenoblade made me really nostalgic for ffxi.


one day we'll get a single player port of ffxi. ;(

[chaosblade]

edit: speaking of Riki, what is his best physical art? I use Burninate, Freezinate, Lurgy, You Can Do It, Riki Tantrum, Happy Happy and Herotime. I want to give him a second physical attack to go with tantrum.

Bitey Bitey for bleed damage, unless you're using Dunban. Gale Slash is better due to Dunban's strength, so in that case you might want to go with Sneaky instead.

[Esura]

Thanks for all the help guys, it paid off. I was right there, just right there at the end...then hit a brick wall at the second form of the final boss. I wish I could of at least saved as now I have to do that annoying fight before the final...ugh...

I tried all sorts of teams against it, even the cheese team I was recommended but...everything goes to crap when it summons guardians. Not only do they not die fast enough before they double team Sharla, but Riki really do not gather aggro at all. After fighting the shadow bosses before the final boss I ended up at lv. 77 with all.

Also, they need to fix those wikis and stuff. Says the second fight stops at 25% health...which is a lie. The battle didn't even stop at half health.

[chaosblade]

I think it's when the boss is at 25% health, not after you take off 25%. And you're a tad low, most people manage it a couple levels higher. It's doable at that level though, I did it on my second playthrough pretty easily.

Fortunately, the second form is the hardest, the third form is actually the easiest.

[aceface]

I've been experimenting with topple locks...what's the best party to use for this strategy? It seems that Dunban and Reyn have the most topple moves. Also, does Daze stack like Topple does?

Also I recently switched from Shulk/Reyn/Sharla who I had been using for the whole game to Shulk/Dunban/seventh. Holy shit it's mass destruction now! Battles go so fast. So far the lack of healing has not been too much of a problem. I mean, my characters HP is in the red a lot more but I seem to be able to beat whatever I am fighting before people start dying.

[chaosblade]

I've been experimenting with topple locks...what's the best party to use for this strategy? It seems that Dunban and Reyn have the most topple moves. Also, does Daze stack like Topple does? Also I recently switched from Shulk/Reyn/Sharla who I had been using for the whole game to Shulk/Dunban/seventh. Holy shit it's mass destruction now! Battles go so fast. So far the lack of healing has not been too much of a problem. I mean, my characters HP is in the red a lot more but I seem to be able to beat whatever I am fighting before people start dying.

Shulk/Dunban/Reyn, depending on how far you are, and yes, daze stacks too.

All three characters have a topple attack (Shulk gets his very late in the game though), and Reyn and Shulk both have daze attacks.

You could arguably sub in 7th since that's another character with topple and daze, but the topple attack requires max tension (but no break) and has a ridiculous cooldown, so you're probably not going to use it more than once outside a chain attack. But on the other hand, this character is better at raising the party gauge than Reyn (and probably Shulk too), and quick party gauge filling is a pretty key element to good topple locks.

[upandaway]

Finally got to Melia and used her a little (M/Dunban/Sharla). Whew! Dunno about any shady business, but she's definitely more fun than Shulk. To be honest the battle system was the only thing I was iffy about, even after it 'clicked', and I actually like it now. No being infuriated by aggro or repositioning (and just spamming the side/back slashes from pure lack of interest), not anymore!

It took me so long to give up playing as the main character. It feels so wrong. Will I get arrested for not using the Modano? Will they throw me in jail?

[chaosblade]

Beat the next "boss" with a level 15 Shulk. Alvis kicked some ass too during a chain attack. Thought about doing it at level 12, but I figure the extra few levels worth of agility (and a slightly smaller level penalty) would probably make a pretty decent difference since you don't have your party during that fight, and I wasn't sure how helpful my temporary assistant would be.

Boss 6 - Puera Telethia (x3)

Finally got to Melia and used her a little (M/Dunban/Sharla). Whew! Dunno about any shady business, but she's definitely more fun than Shulk. To be honest the battle system was the only thing I was iffy about, even after it 'clicked', and I actually like it now. No being infuriated by aggro or repositioning (and just spamming the side/back slashes from pure lack of interest), not anymore! It took me so long to give up playing as the main character. It feels so wrong. Will I get arrested for not using the Modano? Will they throw me in jail?

You get rewarded by getting affinity up between different characters, meaning more skill links for them (among other things)! And each character plays at least a little differently, so it's worth giving them all a spin at some point.

If you don't play as Shulk, do you still get the battle visions?

Yes, you just have to use something other than Monado arts to counter them, unless he's in battle and you can just warn him (which is kind of funny, really).

[aceface]

Finally got to Melia and used her a little (M/Dunban/Sharla). Whew! Dunno about any shady business, but she's definitely more fun than Shulk. To be honest the battle system was the only thing I was iffy about, even after it 'clicked', and I actually like it now. No being infuriated by aggro or repositioning (and just spamming the side/back slashes from pure lack of interest), not anymore! It took me so long to give up playing as the main character. It feels so wrong. Will I get arrested for not using the Modano? Will they throw me in jail?

If you don't play as Shulk, do you still get the battle visions?

[Seanspeed]

If you don't play as Shulk, do you still get the battle visions?

Yea.

[upandaway]

I only started to consider switching from Shulk was because I thought I could get rid of those visions! Alas, no such luck.

Maybe I'm missing something but I never had any trouble countering those. Or rather, they usually shatter 1 second after activating. That's just obnoxious, man.

You get rewarded by getting affinity up between different characters, meaning more skill links for them (among other things)! And each character plays at least a little differently, so it's worth giving them all a spin at some point.

Eh, I don't like switching them around. I don't think I'm comfortable enough to juggle it all on the spot. How bad is it if all my characters end up loving Melia alone?

[chaosblade]

I only started to consider switching from Shulk was because I thought I could get rid of those visions! Alas, no such luck. Maybe I'm missing something but I never had any trouble countering those. Or rather, they usually shatter 1 second after activating. That's just obnoxious, man. Eh, I don't like switching them around. I don't think I'm comfortable enough to juggle it all on the spot. How bad is it if all my characters end up loving Melia alone?

Fully shatter or just change? They change as soon as something regarding the enemy's attack changes. You can lower the enemy's strength, causing them to do less damage (but still kill you) and the vision tag will "shatter" and adjust.


Not changing characters = low affinity between characters = less skill link possibilities = the game is harder.

Doesn't matter a ton for most of the game. Can help out during some tough parts later in the game, and you'll definitely want some good skill links and high affinity for "post-game" content.

[upandaway]

I, uh, there are different kinds of shatter? Whoops. But oh well, what matters is that no one ever dies from them, even as I never try to counter them when they happen.
They're just sort of, pausing the game. They don't even penetrate my memory anymore.

[chaosblade]

Dead Mammut. Didn't record anything because it wasn't really an interesting fight. Only won by toppling locking, initiated it with Demon Slayer on one of those small monsters nearby.

Still, level 96 enemy down!

Also beat the next boss. And discovered what happens when you're fighting an enemy you're not supposed to "win" against and kicking their ass too hard :lol

And when I did beat the boss, I won in a single chain attack.

[PhoenixSFT]

And discovered what happens when you're fighting an enemy you're not supposed to "win" against and kicking their ass too hard :lol

What happens? Different dialogue?

[chaosblade]

What happens? Different dialogue?

That's the thing, nothing really happens at all.

The enemy just stops taking damage until they're able to end the battle. I sat there and beat on the boss for probably 2-3 minutes not really doing anything, just kind of went along with it once I realized I wasn't doing damage anymore. After a while I was ready to end it (since I'm going to upload this and don't want it to take forever).

Ended up having to manually call my teammates over to me to have them stop attacking just so it could get up from being toppled to use it's battle-ending attack.

Edit: for reference, I originally wanted to do this with the very first boss (Metal Face), but he ended the fight before I was ready.



Boss 7, both parts (level 15/14/27)

[Jarlaxle]

Just beat the game (level 79). Great, great, game. I finished with 61 hours. Quite a long game considering I really didn't do many sidequests at all. I really enjoyed it.

[Luap]

Yesterday I finally got to play for the first time since June 1st, and I hopped right back to Tephra Cave to farm Haste gems off the lizards. I then went to Eryth Sea and fought some of the Telethia there for fun, and felt like an idiot when I got a Haste gem drop. I totally forgot they dropped them too; I thought they dropped Double Attack gems. Bummer because I wasted all that time fighting those lizards when I could have just farmed the much easier Telethia. And then I got even more bummed when I looked at the spreadsheet and found that only Deinos Sauros and their unique counterpart drop Double Attack V gems. I tried fighting one without the use of topple-lock and it wrecked me. Stupid instant death move.

The good news is that I megaheated the Haste gems, so I have two maxed Haste VIs! I got so close (seriously had to be less than 10 points off) to getting another megaheat, but ended up with a 48% Haste VI. Bleh, oh well.

I've realized that I really need Night Vision, but in order to get a rank VI gem you need to beat a fucking level 105 unique. I can't exactly do that unless I have Night Vision...

[Exeunt]

I've realized that I really need Night Vision, but in order to get a rank VI gem you need to beat a fucking level 105 unique. I can't exactly do that unless I have Night Vision...

How is your affinity with Central Bionis? I believe once you get it to four or five stars you can trade with Scarlen to obtain some rank V Night Vision gems. They aren't perfect but they will help you hit Daedala and get the cylinders you need. You are also going to want Spike Defence or the appropriate skill links to take it down. Deinos Sauros will be good for you to defeat eventually since they will also drop Debuff Resist crystals that can protect you against Instant Death; you will need either that or Divine Protect if you want to defeat the hardest unique monsters.

[chaosblade]

You can also trade for rank IV ones in Colony 6 as a last resort. I think they offer 25% or so.


Beat the next "boss." This would have been a fun one if I could actually take damage. Defense should have been more balanced between armor and the character's natural stat.

Might start using a naked Dunban since I'm maining him, primarily to raise affinity. That might make things a little more interesting.

Boss 8 - level 27/14/18



Naked Dunban didn't work out very well, just got slaughtered by enemies 10+ levels over me. Especially the next boss.

And now I finally run into an enemy that can screw me over. Subterranean Zomar can actually deal decent damage, even though I got my party leveled to 20+. Tried a few times and the best I did was get him to around half health since the fight just goes on so long, and he deals pretty good damage. Might end up having to resort to spike resist so I can throw some topples in.

[PhoenixSFT]

Just wrapped up the game today, I think it's my game of the generation. I've enjoyed a ton of other games across all the platforms, but I haven't been so entranced by one like I have with Xenoblade. THIS game should be a template for future RPGs of the same type.

[StAidan]

Finally got back into it this weekend after my hard drive death (it took a week and a half to get it back from data recovery). Went through Mechonis Field and am in the middle of Central Factory right now.

At this point I'm kind of just cruising along because my earlier sidequest breaks have pushed me to about 5 levels ahead of whatever enemies I encounter. I could turn off XP gain I guess, but it doesn't really bother me that much.

Before I get too much further I'm going to try and pick up the fourth skill trees that I haven't already gotten, since my earliest party members are imminently close to maxing out their original three.

Still enjoying the game as much as ever.

[PhoenixSFT]

Finally got back into it this weekend after my hard drive death (it took a week and a half to get it back from data recovery). Went through Mechonis Field and am in the middle of Central Factory right now. At this point I'm kind of just cruising along because my earlier sidequest breaks have pushed me to about 5 levels ahead of whatever enemies I encounter. I could turn off XP gain I guess, but it doesn't really bother me that much. Before I get too much further I'm going to try and pick up the fourth skill trees that I haven't already gotten, since my earliest party members are imminently close to maxing out their original three. Still enjoying the game as much as ever.

It may be good to try and level a bit, I was the same as you, but the part you're coming up on has a lot of cutscenes and not a lot of gameplay from there on out. (but bosses are still encountered)

[ultron87]

Is rebuilding the colony worth it? I really don't want it to be worth it so I make myself stop doing it.

[Zornica]

depends on what you consider "worth it" I guess...
to me it was worth it because I love quests like that and wanted to complete the game 100%.
There are some minore payoffs if you rebuild the entire colony:

- endgame quests
- level 5/6 gems
- all artbooks in one place
- random collectable spawn
- at least 1 extra unique enemy
- 4th skill trees...


I am sure that I forgot something

[Exeunt]

depends on what you consider "worth it" I guess... to me it was worth it because I love quests like that and wanted to complete the game 100%. There are some minore payoffs if you rebuild the entire colony: - endgame quests - level 5/6 gems - all artbooks in one place - random collectable spawn - at least 1 extra unique enemy - 4th skill trees... I am sure that I forgot something

Judging by his post, I don't think he would consider it "worth it." Like chaosblade said before, the actual end result isn't rewarded that well in-game; you don't get much special dialogue or even a new cutscene outside of the standard flyover for your efforts. I'd say the largest external payoff is that you can get the best crystals from the Ether Mine, which is the only way to get things like Agility Up VI from gem crafting. But that is only useful if you actually want to stick with the game and fight all the high-level enemies after the final boss. I don't know how much ultron87 is enjoying the game but if he's getting tired of rebuilding Colony 6 I doubt the extra quests and collectables will be that much of a draw for him.

ultron87, if you're basically doing a run to the final boss and intend to stop there, you can probably give up on this particular endeavour without feeling like you're missing any substantial content. If you are interested in doing the "post-game" quests and fighting the really touch monsters, then it should be worth chipping away at things so you can access the additional assets that make things easier. But it's not worth doing if you're not having fun with it.

[Luap]

How is your affinity with Central Bionis? I believe once you get it to four or five stars you can trade with Scarlen to obtain some rank V Night Vision gems. They aren't perfect but they will help you hit Daedala and get the cylinders you need. You are also going to want Spike Defence or the appropriate skill links to take it down. Deinos Sauros will be good for you to defeat eventually since they will also drop Debuff Resist crystals that can protect you against Instant Death; you will need either that or Divine Protect if you want to defeat the hardest unique monsters.

You can also trade for rank IV ones in Colony 6 as a last resort. I think they offer 25% or so.

Thanks guys. I'll definitely be grabbing those.

I haven't gotten to play since my last update. Urgh. I'm just glad I beat the game when I did, or else I'd be going crazy right now.

One option I really wish this game had is a NG+ where you keep all of your items, gems, arts and skills, but your level resets. Or something like Dragon Quest IX where you can max level and then reset with a +1,+2,+3, etc. Oh well. I guess you can only put so much content into one game.

[Exeunt]

One option I really wish this game had is a NG+ where you keep all of your items, gems, arts and skills, but your level resets. Or something like Dragon Quest IX where you can max level and then reset with a +1,+2,+3, etc. Oh well. I guess you can only put so much content into one game.

As chaosblade has shown us, maxed Arts (possibly) and the best equipment (definitely) seem to play a pretty large role in "breaking" the battle system. They probably would've had to balance the game differently (i.e. make weapon/armour boosts scale with level) for that to be most effective. I sort of wonder what a worst-equipment high-level playthrough would be like but somehow I doubt that would be much more engaging. I do wish that New Game+ had some more attractive options. Apparently the quest log doesn't even carry over; I can understand if story quests, quests with multiple paths, or those that were completed "sub-optimally" were reset but it's a bit of a shame that all your work is gone in that area when the experience would be a negligible anyway. In New Game+ high affinity in each area from the offset doesn't sound too broken. It's a shame you can't "downgrade" your party in any way and that there's nothing really special that you can do as a result of higher level or greater skill. I might just end up doing a new run when I do return to the game someday.

[Esura]

Ok, I think by tommorow night I'll be ready for the last match redux after the point of no return.

My planned team against the big baddy once I hit level 79 or 80 will be either Shulk/7/Sharla or Shulk/7/Riki. The armor I got for Shulk leaves him a bit on the weak side in terms of defense but his speed is like 202 so I'm ready. I got 7 in all Speed II armor but with a Power II head armor to boost aggro and I got Sharla with medium armor so she can get more defense. I think more than Shulk but less than 7. Riki...dunno. He is my backup just in case Sharla doesn't work out which I doubt. The fight seem almost impossible to do without a dedicated healer.

Not worried about the fights before the final fight if I get myself at a decent level. Does this sound cool?

EDIT: As of 8:20 AM, I completely finished this game...before work too! I must say I mostly enjoyed my time with this game, ridiculous amounts of worthless quests be damned. Really liked the characters and the world of this game and can't wait to see what's in store for the future of this potential series. Granted the ending was great and felt conclusive but I can't help but want this game to be milked. :P

[McNum]

Hmm, I'm getting the idea that I kind of want to replay Xenoblade now, even if it took a couple of months, more or less, to complete it the first time. But if I do, I want to play it in a somewhat different way, which means not as much Shulk as last time. I played him a lot.

But do I do a clean restart or not? The game is nicely balanced as is, so just rushing through it seems kind of anti-climatic. Also, if I don't play Shulk, then who should I give a go? Melia? I seem to remember that there's a guide to playing her in this thread somewhere... Is it safe to leave the Monado to the computer?

Also, when I copy my save file to an SD card, what is its folder called? For the PAL version. I want to back up my saves to my PC before I overwrite any of them. Three save slots max is a little rough in a game this huge.

[Luap]

As chaosblade has shown us, maxed Arts (possibly) and the best equipment (definitely) seem to play a pretty large role in "breaking" the battle system. They probably would've had to balance the game differently (i.e. make weapon/armour boosts scale with level) for that to be most effective. I sort of wonder what a worst-equipment high-level playthrough would be like but somehow I doubt that would be much more engaging. I do wish that New Game+ had some more attractive options. Apparently the quest log doesn't even carry over; I can understand if story quests, quests with multiple paths, or those that were completed "sub-optimally" were reset but it's a bit of a shame that all your work is gone in that area when the experience would be a negligible anyway. In New Game+ high affinity in each area from the offset doesn't sound too broken. It's a shame you can't "downgrade" your party in any way and that there's nothing really special that you can do as a result of higher level or greater skill. I might just end up doing a new run when I do return to the game someday.

Yeah I suppose you're right. It just seems so dull starting a new game at level 99. Chrono Trigger's NG+ was like that and I never got very far before losing interest. I wonder if your characters would still be broken if all skills and arts were reset, your level was reset, but you got to keep your gems? And as for your gripe: Yeah, that's why I'm going to get all of the 4th and 5th skill trees before I (maybe) decide to start a NG+.

[SecretMoblin]

Hmm, I'm getting the idea that I kind of want to replay Xenoblade now, even if it took a couple of months, more or less, to complete it the first time. But if I do, I want to play it in a somewhat different way, which means not as much Shulk as last time. I played him a lot. But do I do a clean restart or not? The game is nicely balanced as is, so just rushing through it seems kind of anti-climatic. Also, if I don't play Shulk, then who should I give a go? Melia? I seem to remember that there's a guide to playing her in this thread somewhere... Is it safe to leave the Monado to the computer? Also, when I copy my save file to an SD card, what is its folder called? For the PAL version. I want to back up my saves to my PC before I overwrite any of them. Three save slots max is a little rough in a game this huge.

Do a clean restart. It's much more interesting to play through the game with a clean slate knowing what you know from your previous playthrough.

I think the best advice for character/team selection is still to switch it up frequently throughout the course of the game. The AI is far from perfect when it comes to Monado control, but it's not abhorrent and you don't even really need Shulk in your team for most of the game. The guide for Melia is linked in the OP; here's the link if you don't want to try and find it. I really enjoy playing as Melia, but you should definitely give the others a shot, too. They all have some fun moves.

I believe the folder for the PAL save is SX4P, but I could be wrong.

[Exeunt]

Yeah I suppose you're right. It just seems so dull starting a new game at level 99. Chrono Trigger's NG+ was like that and I never got very far before losing interest. I wonder if your characters would still be broken if all skills and arts were reset, your level was reset, but you got to keep your gems? And as for your gripe: Yeah, that's why I'm going to get all of the 4th and 5th skill trees before I (maybe) decide to start a NG+.

It would still be rather lame if all the AP, SP, and Art books that you amassed were for nothing though... But I suppose it's a non-issue at the end of the day since we're stuck with the system that's in place. Regarding your comparison to Chrono Trigger, at least that game offered different endings based on when you decided to confront the final boss. As far as I can tell, there isn't much to Xenoblade's New Game+ unless you really want to see endgame armour in all the cutscenes. Oh well.

Do a clean restart. It's much more interesting to play through the game with a clean slate knowing what you know from your previous playthrough. I think the best advice for character/team selection is still to switch it up frequently throughout the course of the game. The AI is far from perfect when it comes to Monado control, but it's not abhorrent and you don't even really need Shulk in your team for most of the game. The guide for Melia is linked in the OP; here's the link if you don't want to try and find it. I really enjoy playing as Melia, but you should definitely give the others a shot, too. They all have some fun moves.

I'd agree with the clean restart idea, since it would really let you play differently while still maintaining a sense of progression. Did all the quests last time? Pick and choose which ones are worth it this time around, or do none of them at all. I did a quasi-completionist run last time so I'll likely be doing very few quests when I return to the game.

Melia is probably my favourite character to control and she's quite potent when you figure out how to use her (the linked guide definitely helps with that). I relegated Shulk to the AI for roughly the entire second half of the game and since you can still warn him after a vision if you really need to use a Monado Art, you should be fine in a pinch. I did switch to him in a couple battles when I wanted more reliable Monado support, but depending on your party you might not even need to do that.

[McNum]

I made it through the endgame spamming Monado Armor VIII with Shulk. Such a broken Art. There were some quests where I'd like to see the other ends of, but I missed out on a lot of them. I never got a lot of the fourth skill trees, and I think only one fifth, which was pretty much by accident.

And yes, Xenoblade's PAL save folder is "SX4P". Made a backup of the old save. Not going to throw away a 90 hour save file like that...

By the way, in case you haven't done this, I suggest you turn on your Wii, go to Data Management, the Save Data for Wii. Now find the Xenoblade save and look at the icon. Definitely not the icon I expected. Go on, check. I wonder if the PAL and US icons are the same...

I do know how I'll start the game, though. I'm going to try playing as Fiora, you know, while I can... It might be interesting to try and play Shulk as little as possible, really. Or at least only break hm out for tough bosses, and of course for Mechon.

EDIT: The one thing I loved with Chrono Trigger was the ability to face Lavos whenever you felt like it. In NG+ I jumped him with Crono solo. When you can beat Lavos with any three party members, try solo Crono. It's not easy. But you do get to pile all the good equipment on Crono.

[ASIS]

Guys I need your help! I finally got the game NTSC but its not playing on my Wii, everytime I put it the disc channel read "cannot read disc", does anyone have a solution to this?

P.S. I have a launch Wii.

[Exeunt]

Guys I need your help! I finally got the game NTSC but its not playing on my Wii, everytime I put it the disc channel read "cannot read disc", does anyone have a solution to this? P.S. I have a launch Wii.

Well, that isn't good! Xenoblade Chronicles is a dual-layer disc like Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Metroid Prime: Trilogy, and Metroid Other M. I'm assuming it's a Wii issue so if you have any of those titles, try seeing if your Wii will still read them. Allegedly a lot of launch Wiis have run into issues with dual-layer titles like the above. If you get a Wii lens cleaning kit that might solve the problem, but otherwise you would have to send your Wii in to Nintendo to get it fixed (assuming they still do that). I've heard that sometimes if you read another disc first and then put in the dual-layer, it may work. But that's not exactly a technical solution and I've never tried it myself. Likely it is a problem with the laser being unable to read the dual-layer disc. If you're lucky, it's just dirty and will be fine after a quick cleaning.

[ASIS]

Well, that isn't good! Xenoblade Chronicles is a dual-layer disc like Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Metroid Prime: Trilogy, and Metroid Other M. I'm assuming it's a Wii issue so if you have any of those titles, try seeing if your Wii will still read them. If you get a Wii lens cleaning kit that might solve the problem, but otherwise you would have to send your Wii in to Nintendo to get it fixed (assuming they still do that). I've heard that sometimes if you read another disc first and then put in the dual-layer, it may work. But that's not exactly a technical solution and I've never tried it myself. Likely it is a problem with the laser being unable to read the dual-layer disc. If you're lucky, it's just dirty and will be fine after a quick cleaning.

I've tried that, I put SSBB to see if its working and it is. Put DKCR next, no problems, then I tried with Xenoblade again and the problem still didn't go away.

Do you think homebrew will do the trick?

[Exeunt]

I've tried that, I put SSBB to see if its working and it is. Put DKCR next, no problems, then I tried with Xenoblade again and the problem still didn't go away. Do you think homebrew will do the trick?

I'm not a homebrew expert, but I don't think you can circumvent this hardware error via software. I also think the game would at least give you a firmware prompt if you needed to update to run it. It's really odd that Brawl works but not Xenoblade... I'm assuming you've checked the disc for scratches already and there's nothing visibly wrong with the disc. I did a quick Google search and the cleaning kit or Nintendo repair seem like the two best options. I read one post on Nintendo's tech support forums that someone got Xenoblade to work by flipping the Wii so it was horizontally upside-down, but that sounds like a bit of a long-shot. Other than that, I'm afraid I don't have the expertise to help you out.

[ASIS]

I'm not a homebrew expert, but I don't think you can circumvent this hardware error via software. I also think the game would at least give you a firmware prompt if you needed to update to run it. It's really odd that Brawl works but not Xenoblade... I'm assuming you've checked the disc for scratches already and there's nothing visibly wrong with the disc. I did a quick Google search and the cleaning kit or Nintendo repair seem like the two best options. I read one post on Nintendo's tech support forums that someone got Xenoblade to work by flipping the Wii so it was horizontally upside-down, but that sounds like a bit of a long-shot. Other than that, I'm afraid I don't have the expertise to help you out.

Hmm, I guess I'll try to play the game on different Wiis to see what the problem is.

But really, thank you very much for putting an effort into this, I really appreciate it :).

[Zornica]

there is one thing you could try:

power on your wii with the game inside. listen if the disc starts spining. if it doesn't, hit reset. It works for most people after the 3rd try. somethimes it takes 10. just be patient

ofc thats only a temporary solution. if you've got a usb drive or a big enough sd card, you could try to homebrew your wii and rip the game on your drive/sdcard. It may work.

[Luap]

I spent half an hour yesterday writing down the gems I wanted, which monsters dropped them, and the locations of those monsters on a pad of paper using this spreadsheet. (Warning: Major spoilers in there.)

I feel like such a nerd.

[McNum]

You know what's fun? Seeing Shulk's visions again when replaying the game... Wow, this game just throws spoilers at you rapid-fire. I mean in the first vision, before the Mechon attack you get Sharla, Alacamoth, the Emperor, Metal Face with a bloody claw, Zanza as the giant, Egil(!), Melia, and several other images I just barely caught. Something interesting, though, is that there are no visions of the endgame. But when you beat the game already, you kind of know why Shulk gets no vision of that time...

Also trying to no play Shulk as much, been playing Fiora. That's... interesting, she plays much like Shulk, but she's really fragile. You can over-aggro and get away with it with Shulk, but Fiora takes two or three hits before going down against uniques and bosses.

Anyway, I think it's going to be fun to replay. I just wonder who to play as later, I think Sharla will be an absolute bore to play, she's better left to the CPU.

[ASIS]

there is one thing you could try: power on your wii with the game inside. listen if the disc starts spining. if it doesn't, hit reset. It works for most people after the 3rd try. somethimes it takes 10. just be patient ofc thats only a temporary solution. if you've got a usb drive or a big enough sd card, you could try to homebrew your wii and rip the game on your drive/sdcard. It may work.

Thank you very much, but I've already fixed the problem and everything is good to go! :)

Anyway, I've played about 2 hours so far, and honestly I'm very impressed. I like the setting, the music, the story (so far, I've stopped at the fiora incident), and the combat is growing on me. Here's hoping t gets even better.