[vic2020]

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.

does just any SD card or USBdrive work for this?

[McNum]

Here's hoping t gets even better.

It does. Very soon, actually. The opening of the game is just to tell you that, yeah, it's going to be like that. Feel free to speculate on what happens next, it makes it all the more fun when the game throws curveballs at you.

[Zornica]

does just any SD card or USBdrive work for this?

as far as I know, yes.
there is a homebrew guide.
usb drive is optional, but you need an sd card. (If you want to rip the game onto it, it should be at least 8gb)

[Luap]

Yeah it gets a lot better! There is no way that you'll be able to guess what's to come. ;) Enjoy the ride!

Look who I finally took down!



I knew spending all that time to collect Topple Plus gems would be worth it. :) And I killed enough Deinos Sauros' last night to mega heat myself a pair of Unbeatable VI gems! I also separated a lot of good level V crystals — Debuff Resist, Double Attack, Back Attack Plus, Topple Up — so I have a lot of great gems on the horizon. Man, those Topple Plus gems make a HUGE difference...

Also, what is the best way to separate crystals? I had to save and reload several times (especially for the crystal Magnificent Digalus dropped: 54% Double Attack & 88% Unbeatable) because I kept accidentally making gems. I use 7th and Riki, and even though I have purposefully kept from building any affinity between them (so they only have 3-5 turns), the burst affinity from my other teammates keeps blasting my crystals into gems. There has to be a better way... right?

*Edit - Shit! I hope nobody beside Exeunt saw the spoiler. My bad. It's gone now.

[Exeunt]

Keep in mind that you are only forced to craft a gem once a certain quality is over 100%. If you want to make an Unbeatable gem but you're stuck with a gem that gives you 88% from the get-go, you can always try loading on a bunch of different crystals to get more qualities (and thus dilute bonuses among them). The highlighted crystals and cylinders are recommended because they will boost some of your existing qualities to 100 or more, but you can stack as many crystals as you want until the slots at the top of the screen are filled; you can also try crafting even if no qualities reach 100. I hope that helps; I was able to get all the cylinders I wanted with my party at max affinity, so it's definitely not impossible. I found that when you only have two qualities, about 30% is the sweet spot if you want to make a cylinder as close to 99% as possible but obviously that's not always an option.

Also, there is a part at the end of your post you may wish to put in spoiler tags.

[Starwolf_UK]

Gem crafting. Towards the end of the game you can get away with about 130% provided you are crafting one quantity and have good affinity. I used Shulk and Dunban (maxed affinity) with the others at I think Purple (except Ryen he was Pink) and 9/10 times I was getting into Mega Heat at from 130%.

Ironically that makes gems where you have multiple quantities all at over 80% your worst enemy (you have to sacrifice a few qualities to maintain sanity).

[Luap]

Yeah for separating I use as many crystals as I can. And 30% is also my sweet spot, because those bursts from other teammates often add at least 20% on to my crystals. Gives me a heart attack when I have high percentage ones. Thanks for the tips.

I'm thinking about what gem setup is best for topple locking. Right now I'm using a mixture of Topple Plus (duh), Topple Up, Daze Up, Back Attack Plus, and Haste (the latter two for Shulk; the haste is for building up his talent gauge). I'm also focusing on Strength and Agility gems for power and accuracy. It's a purely offensive setup, but then again there's no need for defense when your opponent is on lockdown.

[Spehornoob]

Hey, guys. I was looking at picking this game up because I need an RPG fix. I'm kind of stuck between this and Tales of the Abyss 3DS. Big fan of FFXII and this looks great. There are a few things I'm curious about though. Is there any sort of customization to your characters? I don't expect anything as free as a job system or FFXII's license board, but I would hope I have some input on what my party can do. Also, I've heard that this is sort of a mix of MMO combat and FFXII. Would that be accurate?

[Exeunt]

Hey, guys. I was looking at picking this game up because I need an RPG fix. I'm kind of stuck between this and Tales of the Abyss 3DS. Big fan of FFXII and this looks great. There are a few things I'm curious about though. Is there any sort of customization to your characters? I don't expect anything as free as a job system or FFXII's license board, but I would hope I have some input on what my party can do. Also, I've heard that this is sort of a mix of MMO combat and FFXII. Would that be accurate?

There is a healthy amount of customization available, but I'm afraid I can't compare it to FFXII since I've never played that game. From an aesthetic perspective, the different weapons and armour you equip will show up on your characters (including the cutscenes). Said weapons and armour will often come with slots into which different gems can be inserted; you can acquire gems from completing different objectives (typically quests) or by making them yourself out of crystals looted from enemies. Gems have different effects like boosting your character's speed or giving him or her immunity to different debuffs; you get higher ranked gems as you progress.

The "magic" system in this game involves "Arts" which are the manual attacks your characters have (more on this in a bit). As you defeat enemies—the stronger the better—you'll get Art points that can be used to upgrade whatever Arts you choose. So there is definitely customization in that regard, since you choose what Arts you want to both equip and upgrade. You will also get Skill Points which unlock a predetermined set of buffs that will always stay with your character (say, a 5% increase in max HP) but the customization there is you will be able to link select skills between characters—you can distribute more skills between characters as you use them together in battle and defeat powerful "unique" monsters. And of course each party combination will lend itself to a different playstyle, as will your choice of which character you want to directly control.

So with that I'll just quickly go over the battle system. Basically you are in control of one character and have two allies in battle. You can't really control them beyond telling them both to attack a given target or fall back, but they will use whatever Arts you equip them with—the aptitude of the AI varies slightly between characters but I found it fine for at least 60% of the game and a bit more than that just counting the main story. All characters (including yours) will automatically use melee attacks when they are within a certain range of the enemy, with your character's Arts being the main source of control you have in the battle. All battles are conducted on the field; you trigger battles either by attacking or based on enemy cues (sight, sound, etc.), and you run from them by running in realtime out of their aggro range. You can encounter level 80 enemies really early on in the game even if you don't do too much exploring, so you can't always attack everything on sight. That's about the core of the battle system, with more of it opening up as you progress through the early parts of the story.

I can't make direct comparisons to FFXII but from what I've heard I think Xenoblade Chronicles gives you far less control over your AI companions. I also can't give it a recommendation specifically over Tales of the Abyss 3DS beyond the virtue that it's an original game rather than a port; I haven't played that particular title yet either. But I can say that it's quite a fun game and well worth the price of entry. I hope this post is helpful!

[DragonGirl]

Hey, guys. I was looking at picking this game up because I need an RPG fix. I'm kind of stuck between this and Tales of the Abyss 3DS. Big fan of FFXII and this looks great. There are a few things I'm curious about though. Is there any sort of customization to your characters? I don't expect anything as free as a job system or FFXII's license board, but I would hope I have some input on what my party can do. Also, I've heard that this is sort of a mix of MMO combat and FFXII. Would that be accurate?

I'll just add to the above post by saying I have played Tales of the Abyss and it doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Xenoblade...and I liked Tales of the Abyss. It's just not close to the same level. Go with Xenoblade.

Edit: For that matter, I've also played FFXII. The battle system is comparable but I prefer Xenoblade's. There's less minutae to dig through and the defensive game + tactical approaches Xenoblade offers are really solid and I'd say, superior to FFXII.

[Luap]

Fantastic post Exeunt. Couldn't have described it any better myself.

I got my Back Attack Plus VI gems last night. Now I'm fighting those big ass turtles in Eryth Sea for their Topple Up crystals.

[ASIS]

dammit! I had to leave my Wii cause I had to go with my family away for a while, but damn this game is interesting.

the faced mechon can talk :o

One nitpick that is pissing me off though, is the constant use of the word "monado". it just bugs the hell out of me. The combat is getting good though, I don't know why its satisfying, but it is. Chain attacks are awesome!

[AniHawk]

One nitpick that is pissing me off though, is the constant use of the word "monado". it just bugs the hell out of me.

it gets a lot worse.

[Seanspeed]

One nitpick that is pissing me off though, is the constant use of the word "monado".

Ha! Yea.

The names of a lot of things in the game are just staggeringly awful.

[Metroid Killer]

I walk around all day just saying 'the monado!, zanza!, telethia!, what a bunch of jokers'. It pisses off my girlfriend to no end :D

Just did the (around lvl 70) Mechonis Core event. Pretty crazy how much the story just advanced in a few hours, when pretty much all I did for the last 40 hours was looting and gemcrafting XD. Also after the dust settled and there were no more story related snippets, it kinda dawned on me that for the first time in the game the whole (game)world just got updated at once. What I mean is that previously you progressed from one area to another and more or less tackled quests and what in a slight order, but it's like every area opened up new quests(and other stuff) at once after this event. Suddenly it feels very daunting to me, eventhough I've been to all those areas so many times already. It's the most non-linear feeling that I've been given so far.

[McNum]

One nitpick that is pissing me off though, is the constant use of the word "monado".

Oh there's a reason for that name, it's not grabbed out of thin air.

No, I'm not going to tell you what the reason is, it's a fairly major spoiler. Not that the game will tell you either, the meaning is only ever implied.

[ASIS]

Oh there's a reason for that name, it's not grabbed out of thin air. No, I'm not going to tell you what the reason is, it's a fairly major spoiler. Not that the game will tell you either, the meaning is only ever implied.

It's not the name that's bugging me per se, it's how they say it's name more than 10 times in each dialogue (obvious hyperbole but you see what I mean).

It's a very minor nitpick.

[McNum]

It's not the name that's bugging me per se, it's how they say it's name more than 10 times in each dialogue (obvious hyperbole but you see what I mean). It's a very minor nitpick.

Eh, it's a fair point. Some of the cutscenes do have a very high "Monado"s per minute rate. It gets both better and worse as you go through the game...

And here's an endgame spoiler, so don't highlight it. It concerns a cool little detail on the Monado.

(Full game spoilers) So, you know that symbol that appears on the Monado when Shulk switches it on in the prologue? That's a real symbol, I think it's one of the Japanese typesets. Anyway, it says "Machine". When you get the Monado II upgrade, the symbol changes. It now says "Person". At the end of the game, during the final boss fight, you get the Monado III. It has a third symbol: "God". Now what's the name of the final boss music again? "The god-killing Sword". So, the Monado's symbol shows what it can kill. Cool little detail.

[Luap]

(Full game spoilers) So, you know that symbol that appears on the Monado when Shulk switches it on in the prologue? That's a real symbol, I think it's one of the Japanese typesets. Anyway, it says "Machine". When you get the Monado II upgrade, the symbol changes. It now says "Person". At the end of the game, during the final boss fight, you get the Monado III. It has a third symbol: "God". Now what's the name of the final boss music again? "The god-killing Sword". So, the Monado's symbol shows what it can kill. Cool little detail.

Heh, that is really interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[The Awesomest]

Regarding the Monado... (post-game stuff)

The ending left me totally puzzled as to what a Monado even is. So, there's more than one? Only the gods get one? Shulk becomes a god? Is a monado like the key for the experiment, and when Shulk gets one it means he's now in charge of the experiment? I'm so confused! What the heck is a monado?

[McNum]

Regarding the Monado... (post-game stuff) The ending left me totally puzzled as to what a Monado even is. So, there's more than one? Only the gods get one? Shulk becomes a god? Is a monado like the key for the experiment, and when Shulk gets one it means he's now in charge of the experiment? I'm so confused! What the heck is a monado?

Whoo boy. I think we did this earlier in the thread, but I can't quite find it.

(Endgame spoilers) Look up the word "monad" (wiki link). It represents both the primal aspect of God in Gnosticism. That is, it refers to the wholeness of God himself AND it's a programming concept defining how several different functions are chained together.

Now, something that is both the prime aspect of God and a programming tool? Yeah. That's the Monado. So named because it's a monad in more ways than once. The ending does not come from nowhere at all. It's right there in the name of the sword from the very beginning of the game. A Monado is a divine tool that can both read the programming of the world and rewrite it. Resulting in visions and the ability to change otherwise predestined outcomes.

So, is it the key to the experiment? Nah, but close. It's root access to the code. The ability to change variables on the fly. When you master the Monados, you become a god within the world.

Which brings us to Alvis. He, on the other hand, IS the key to experiment. Or rather, he's both the overseer and input terminal for a Monado wielder. That's why Shulk had to go through Alvis to make the new world. Shulk had the access, but Alvis did the coding at Shulk's request.

It sort of makes sense, but it's a Monolith Soft game. The Xeno- prefix should have been ample warning.

[Siaynoqq]

I really don't understand how you guys get by without using Sharla. I can see how battles with enemies on a lower or same level can be won without a healer, but for tougher enemies and bosses, I find Sharla indispensable.

I tend to see a lot of people use (along with Shulk) either Dunban/Melia or Dunban/Seven, but I just cant quite seem to defeat tougher enemies without Sharla. Am I missing something?

[The Awesomest]

Whoo boy. I think we did this earlier in the thread, but I can't quite find it. (Endgame spoilers) Look up the word "monad" (wiki link). It represents both the primal aspect of God in Gnosticism. That is, it refers to the wholeness of God himself AND it's a programming concept defining how several different functions are chained together. Now, something that is both the prime aspect of God and a programming tool? Yeah. That's the Monado. So named because it's a monad in more ways than once. The ending does not come from nowhere at all. It's right there in the name of the sword from the very beginning of the game. A Monado is a divine tool that can both read the programming of the world and rewrite it. Resulting in visions and the ability to change otherwise predestined outcomes. So, is it the key to the experiment? Nah, but close. It's root access to the code. The ability to change variables on the fly. When you master the Monados, you become a god within the world. Which brings us to Alvis. He, on the other hand, IS the key to experiment. Or rather, he's both the overseer and input terminal for a Monado wielder. That's why Shulk had to go through Alvis to make the new world. Shulk had the access, but Alvis did the coding at Shulk's request. It sort of makes sense, but it's a Monolith Soft game. The Xeno- prefix should have been ample warning.

Ah, okay. What I meant by "key" is like the key to a car, providing access to the thing that actually does stuff. So I guess we agree?

I really don't understand how you guys get by without using Sharla. I can see how battles with enemies on a lower or same level can be won without a healer, but for tougher enemies and bosses, I find Sharla indispensable. I tend to see a lot of people use (along with Shulk) either Dunban/Melia or Dunban/Seven, but I just cant quite seem to defeat tougher enemies without Sharla. Am I missing something?

Shulk + Riki can handle healing duty sufficiently. Melia shouldn't be drawing aggro, and Dunban and 7th should have enough Agility to avoid getting hit most of the time. Plus, Sharla doesn't really do much damage. A fight would theoretically end faster without her because there are more people to do damage with, and Dunban and 7th should dodge enough to survive.

But you're right; whenever I got into a fight where I felt completely outclassed, I had Sharla there as an insurance policy.

[wsippel]

Regarding the Monado... (post-game stuff) The ending left me totally puzzled as to what a Monado even is. So, there's more than one? Only the gods get one? Shulk becomes a god? Is a monado like the key for the experiment, and when Shulk gets one it means he's now in charge of the experiment? I'm so confused! What the heck is a monado?

I'm slightly drunk, but I'll try to explain: The Monados are basically just symbols. A monad is the transitional stage from something undetermined to something determined, from zero to one - look it up, it's an actual philosophical and metaphysical concept. The omnipotent god is Alvis, neither you nor Klaus nor Mayneth are really gods. But Alvis is a computer designed to analyze an experiment the whole universe is part of, he can't really decide anything by himself. He builds and observes, but he's not an architect. After Shulk kills Klaus and becomes a "monad" (he never really existed as a character in the first place - doesn't get much more "undetermined"), Alvis aknowledges him as new master and asks him for input on how to continue the experiment, and Shulk requests a universe without gods.

At least that's how I understand it. :)

[chaosblade]

I really don't understand how you guys get by without using Sharla. I can see how battles with enemies on a lower or same level can be won without a healer, but for tougher enemies and bosses, I find Sharla indispensable. I tend to see a lot of people use (along with Shulk) either Dunban/Melia or Dunban/Seven, but I just cant quite seem to defeat tougher enemies without Sharla. Am I missing something?

Sharla essentially allows you to turn any battle into a battle of attrition. If you can't win without Sharla, you need to rethink your strategy - both what you're doing in battle (arts, topples, chains), and how you're setup going into the battle (gems, skills, skill links).

Any party is viable for most of the game, but you will have a lot of points where one party might be more effective than others.

[Zornica]

I really don't understand how you guys get by without using Sharla. I can see how battles with enemies on a lower or same level can be won without a healer, but for tougher enemies and bosses, I find Sharla indispensable. I tend to see a lot of people use (along with Shulk) either Dunban/Melia or Dunban/Seven, but I just cant quite seem to defeat tougher enemies without Sharla. Am I missing something?

you are probably missing some agility gems. They make everything a lot easier.

[Luap]

My postgame crystal collecting and gem crafting adventure is going quite well. I just mega heated my second pairs of VI Topple Up, Topple Plus, and Aura Heal gems. And with that, I'm pretty much finished in Eryth Sea. Now I'm headed back to Makna Forest for the HP Steal crystals from Korlba Pterix, and the Debuff Resist and Double Attack crystals from Deinos Sauros/Magnificent Digalus.

you are probably missing some agility gems. They make everything a lot easier.

Listen to this man. Load up on Agility gems and you'll be much better off. HP Up gems are great too if you're using squishy characters.

Other than that, make sure you're being smart with your skill links and it should be smooth sailing with any enemies around your level. Once you get to the endgame and you acquire level V and VI gems and the best gear/skills, you'll be able to take out enemies well above your level with relative ease.

Case in point: I just killed that level 97(?) Korlaba Pterix with a level 89 team, and it barely scratched us.

[chaosblade]

I'm not sure if topple gems are worth it, then again I've been essentially going with no-topple tactics. Topple up is probably okay in situations where you know you'll topple lock the enemy, but topple plus doesn't seem worth it unless you're not confident in your ability to topple lock. (Edit: Or you're dealing with enemies that have topple time resist, like Abaasy or Despotic Arsene)

Too many other good gems for weapon slots. Double Attack and Haste (at least until you get Glory Gauntlets) are must-haves. Night Vision in some situations. If you're level 99 you should really only need it for Blizzard Belgazas and Avalanche Abaasy. Naturally for lower level combat against higher level enemies those are invaluable.

Plus there are other good situational gems. Bleed Plus has led to some pretty amazing bleed damage, even at level 79 I saw Dunban dealing over 8000 bleed damage on occasion. HP Steal can be good when combined with a boatload of haste. Back attack is awesome since it doubles any damage from behind.

[Luap]

I'm not sure if topple gems are worth it, then again I've been essentially going with no-topple tactics. Topple up is probably okay in situations where you know you'll topple lock the enemy, but topple plus doesn't seem worth it unless you're not confident in your ability to topple lock. (Edit: Or you're dealing with enemies that have topple time resist, like Abaasy or Despotic Arsene)

Yeah, I'm still a bit new to topple locking so Topple Plus just makes me feel more comfortable. The Topple Up gems are mostly for farming Deinos Sauros/Magnificent Digalus, as they are still too strong to me to fight head on. And in general it's just nice to have a topple lock gem set.

Too many other good gems for weapon slots. Double Attack and Haste (at least until you get Glory Gauntlets) are must-haves. Night Vision in some situations. If you're level 99 you should really only need it for Blizzard Belgazas and Avalanche Abaasy. Naturally for lower level combat against higher level enemies those are invaluable.

Yeah I have my Haste VI gems and I'm working on Double Attack VI. I saw that Night Vision VI comes from a really high level unique so I haven't even bothered yet. Though I did get a Night Vision V gem from a quest, so that was nice.

Plus there are other good situational arts. Bleed Plus has led to some pretty amazing bleed damage, even at level 79 I saw Dunban dealing over 8000 bleed damage on occasion. HP Steal can be good when combined with a boatload of haste. Back attack is awesome since it doubles any damage from behind.

Yeah I got my Back Attack VIs, and they kick ass. :) I'm going to be giving HP Steal to 7th to use along with Aura Heal and Dunban's crit heal skill; I'm really looking forward to seeing the end result. I hadn't thought about Bleed Plus but I'll definitely check it out. I'm also going to get VI Blaze, Chill, and Poison Plus for Melia and Riki. I already mega heated Electric Plus VI.

[aceface]

I really don't understand how you guys get by without using Sharla. I can see how battles with enemies on a lower or same level can be won without a healer, but for tougher enemies and bosses, I find Sharla indispensable. I tend to see a lot of people use (along with Shulk) either Dunban/Melia or Dunban/Seven, but I just cant quite seem to defeat tougher enemies without Sharla. Am I missing something?

Level ~60 I just started using Shulk, Reyn, Dunban on tough battles and it's working great! Topple lock is surprisingly effective. That is, go into a chain attack and Topple Topple Topple Daze Daze Daze, keeping the enemy down for most of the battle. By the time they get up usually I'm just about filled up for another chain attack.

For huge battles with lots of enemies (like, 5 or more) I still use Shulk, Dunban, Sharla since I still need her healing in battles that have a long duration.

For just exploring and wiping out enemies quick I use Shulk, Dunban, seventh.

[MBison]

Ok I'm finally starting this. Any advice to a total newb? Especially one who stressed out about missed side quests and "I really don't like to grind"?

Thanks!

[chaosblade]

Ok I'm finally starting this. Any advice to a total newb? Especially one who stressed out about missed side quests and "I really don't like to grind"? Thanks!

There's a FAQ in the OP with tips, and my slightly more detailed one is linked along with it.

I don't think it's really mentioned there, but don't feel obligated to main Shulk or use the initial party throughout the game. The game encourages and rewards you for mixing things up and using a variety of parties and party members throughout the game, and they all play at least a little differently, so it can keep things from getting too monotonous.

Skills and skill links are your best friends, just as much as gems. Don't forget about them as you're playing.



Speaking of the FAQ, I might split it up and have a basic/newby FAQ, and then do an advanced FAQ. Just not sure if it's worth the time or effort since I'm not sure how many people would even bother reading it.

[ozfunghi]

I just finished The Last Story this week... Never played a game that good that felt immensely disappointing due to not being able to live up to the standard of a game like Xenoblade. Xenoblade is just that good. Best Wii game for me.

[2San]

Bought the game on release and have finally completed the game. It was pretty good all round, but I definitely liked the earlier portions more. While out there, the ending was satisfying. :D

[Zornica]

I just finished The Last Story this week... Never played a game that good that felt immensely disappointing due to not being able to live up to the standard of a game like Xenoblade. Xenoblade is just that good. Best Wii game for me.

yeah... I had the same problem 2 years ago when I played ToG and TLS right after XB. Couldn't finish either of them... only resumed tls with the european version a few month ago and it felt way better this time.
It's surely better not to play another rpg immediate after playing xb.

[MBison]

Ok I'm finally starting this. Any advice to a total newb? Especially one who stressed out about missed side quests and "I really don't like to grind"?

Thanks!

[Seanspeed]

Ok I'm finally starting this. Any advice to a total newb? Especially one who stressed out about missed side quests and "I really don't like to grind"? Thanks!

You're going to get a LOT of sidequests thrown at you. There's nothing wrong with doing the majority of them, but it can get tedious and its also easy to become overpowered/overleveled if you really just stick around and do all that you can before moving on. Realize that the very large majority of sidequests can be completed later on, so if you're getting burnt out or things are becoming too easy, dont hesitate to just move on with the story and come back later. The fast travel system makes it super-quick and easy to go back to locations later on without any tedious back-tracking.

As for grinding, you generally wont need to do much depending on how you play. Many of the areas are designed to give the option of either fighting your way through or to sneak around. Even if you're avoiding sidequests, you'll generally remain at an adequate level if you're fighting most of the enemies along the way so there's usually not a need to grind. You have to be actively avoiding sidequests and combat to become underleveled. There's a few places in the game where you'll experience a noticeable difficulty spike, but they're generally later in the game.

So really, its very much like Skyrim in that you can play at your own pace. There's no right or wrong way to do things.

[Spehornoob]

Thanks a lot for the input, guys. I'm gonna pick this up sometime this week!

EDIT: I'm reading the GOTY thread on the regular gaming forum and this is on a few peoples' lists. Damn. I didn't realize it was that good. How has it sold? Is there a possibility of a WiiU sequel?

[chaosblade]

Thanks a lot for the input, guys. I'm gonna pick this up sometime this week! EDIT: I'm reading the GOTY thread on the regular gaming forum and this is on a few peoples' lists. Damn. I didn't realize it was that good. How has it sold? Is there a possibility of a WiiU sequel?

We don't really have any sales data, even if it did make the top 10 in April (sliiiight possibility, given how abysmal that month was as a whole) NPD didn't count it since it was retailer exclusive.

The game's ending is kind of open for a sequel, even a direct one (I made a some points about this a few pages back) but it's pretty damn unlikely. I wouldn't be surprised if it got a sort of spiritual sequel that builds on what they did here though.

[MBison]

I'm about 3.5 hours in and enjoying it a lot. Especially at 1080p on Dolphin. Some stuff is really impressive visually. Getting used to all the various elements. Combat feels a little chaos still but I'm starting to get the hang of it.

One thing im not that sure about is the skill tree. What should I be thinking about here, focusing on, etc. any quickie tutorials?

[chaosblade]

I'm about 3.5 hours in and enjoying it a lot. Especially at 1080p on Dolphin. Some stuff is really impressive visually. Getting used to all the various elements. Combat feels a little chaos still but I'm starting to get the hang of it. One thing im not that sure about is the skill tree. What should I be thinking about here, focusing on, etc. any quickie tutorials?

Just focus on unlocking as many skills as possible at first. Start with the cheapest ones (the ones toward the top) and work your way down. Once you start getting to the more expensive ones you should have a better idea of how the game works, and you can focus on the ones that fit your playstyle best.

You can probably unlock every skill from the three starting trees by the end of the game for most characters. You'll want to do quests for the additional skill trees if you plan to tackle the post-game content.

[Luap]

I've almost completed my VI gem wishlist.

Today I mega heated 2 pairs of Debuff Resist VI and Double Attack VI gems. I also mega heated my 2nd Unbeatable VI pair, and with that I'm done farming Deinos Sauros.

Now all that's left are the Bleed, Chill, Blaze, and Poison Plus gems. After that, it's all gems from the boss uniques. That 25% Crit gem from Despotic Arsene + Shulk's 75% crit rate Monado III... Oh god that'll be beautiful.

Question: Does Debuff Resist guard against instant death attacks, making Divine Protect gems useless?

Also, if I have Topple Up VI and Daze Up VI, do they stack when I topple + daze an enemy, meaning I'm doing 200% damage?

[chaosblade]

I've almost completed my VI gem wishlist. Today I mega heated 2 pairs of Debuff Resist VI and Double Attack VI gems. I also mega heated my 2nd Unbeatable VI pair, and with that I'm done farming Deinos Sauros. Now all that's left are the Bleed, Chill, Blaze, and Poison Plus gems. After that, it's all gems from the boss uniques. That 25% Crit gem from Despotic Arsene + Shulk's 75% crit rate Monado III... Oh god that'll be beautiful. Question: Does Debuff Resist guard against instant death attacks, making Divine Protect gems useless? Also, if I have Topple Up VI and Daze Up VI, do they stack when I topple + daze an enemy, meaning I'm doing 200% damage?

Debuff Resist does guard against instant death. The only thing it doesn't protect against is topple/daze. Makes pretty much every other defensive gem useless.

And I've never bothered with the "Up" gems. If Topple Up continues to work while the enemy is dazed, I assume they stack.

[Metroid Killer]

I can't for the life of me find all the Defense Force Soldiers of colony 9, required for an achievement.

Or worse yet, I double checked that I had a relationship with all colony 9 npcs via the xenoblade wiki, glitch or what?

Anyone with a list of the soldiers?

[Luap]

Debuff Resist does guard against instant death. The only thing it doesn't protect against is topple/daze. Makes pretty much every other defensive gem useless. And I've never bothered with the "Up" gems. If Topple Up continues to work while the enemy is dazed, I assume they stack.

Excellent. What an awesome gem!

Hmm, I might have to test that. I'd love to see a 300% power Backslash by giving Shulk Topple Up, Daze Up, and Back Attack VI gems.

[Karsticles]

Gah. I just started this game, and I'm loving it. I tried looking through a FAQ to understand some game mechanics and read huge spoilers, which has me really angry. How hard is it to write a FAQ that respects the player? God damn it.

Sigh. Anyway, I'm absolutely adoring the game. I just finished the Colony 6 mine, which as a dungeon was a bit too long for my taste, and I felt like the difficulty wasn't really there for most of it. The vast majority of enemies were black or blue to me. Is that normal? I don't feel as though I've been overzealous in my leveling, I've just been grabbing all the quests I can and then playing the game normally, getting rewards as they happen to come in.

I was hoping GAF could help me with the bits of information I was looking for in a FAQ without spoiling anything for me:
1) What does Agility do? I even checked the manual, and there's nothing in there. I assume it affects evasion rate, but anything else?

2) I'm not entirely understanding how I use the Monado to shield me from enemy attacks; sometimes I put up Shield and the boss just plows through anyway - what gives? Am I supposed to use Speed for physical, and Shield for ether?

3) I know this game has several points of no return with regard to quests. I also know that if you do too many quests, you outlevel the game heartily and everything becomes less interesting. I want my epic boss fights where I barely scape by, but I HATE MISSING THINGS. Especially if it's something important like 4th and 5th skill trees - can I miss those? Right now I just finished the Colony 6 mine, and I'm worried about losing the opportunity to do all these quests and experience the full game. I would really appreciate some healthy feedback on this situation.

[Zornica]

1) What does Agility do? I even checked the manual, and there's nothing in there. I assume it affects evasion rate, but anything else? 2) I'm not entirely understanding how I use the Monado to shield me from enemy attacks; sometimes I put up Shield and the boss just plows through anyway - what gives? Am I supposed to use Speed for physical, and Shield for ether? 3) I know this game has several points of no return with regard to quests. I also know that if you do too many quests, you outlevel the game heartily and everything becomes less interesting. I want my epic boss fights where I barely scape by, but I HATE MISSING THINGS. Especially if it's something important like 4th and 5th skill trees - can I miss those? Right now I just finished the Colony 6 mine, and I'm worried about losing the opportunity to do all these quests and experience the full game. I would really appreciate some healthy feedback on this situation.

1) Agility is the most important stat in the game. it regulates evasion and accuracy. You should push it as high as possible.

2) If you see a vision, the name of the attack is colored either red, white or blue. Monado shield ONLY blocks white attacks. (they can't be blocked otherwise). Speed is for "red" colored attacks, and blue... well sometimes speed works, most of the time it doesn't seem to. I mostly just broke those visions with stun or sleep

3) you can't miss anything of importance. Missable things are marked with a small clock (quests). skilltrees aren't missable. I wouldn't worry to much as 90% of all players tend to get really underleveled near the end. there are a few major level spikes there, so don't worry. (the game also balances things by adjusting the xp if your level is high and you are doing lowlvl quests etc)

btw: reading a xb faqs is NEVER a good idea, they are all spoilery as hell, its better to ask here. what exactly got spoiled?

[Karsticles]

1) Agility is the most important stat in the game. it regulates evasion and accuracy. You should push it as high as possible.

Ah okay, so when I see that Dunban has a tree that gives him +30% agility for not wearing armor, that's viable? Does it affect the rate at which I inflict status effects at all? I've noticed Break and Topple get resisted sometimes.

2) If you see a vision, the name of the attack is colored either red, white or blue. Monado shield ONLY blocks white attacks. (they can't be blocked otherwise). Speed is for "red" colored attacks, and blue... well sometimes speed works, most of the time it doesn't seem to. I mostly just broke those visions with stun or sleep

Huh, that's weird. Surely there must be some way to interfere. Thanks for clearing that up for me, though.

3) you can't miss anything of importance. Missable things are marked with a small clock (quests). skilltrees aren't missable. I wouldn't worry to much as 90% of all players tend to get really underleveled near the end. there are a few major level spikes there, so don't worry. (the game also balances things by adjusting the xp if your level is high and you are doing lowlvl quests etc)

That makes me feel a bit better, but perhaps you could clarify what you mean by "anything of importance". Do you mean I can't miss out on top tier items/abilities? What about great stories about side characters? I know that the more affinity stars you get for a village, the more quests open up. Is it possibly to max those stars out even late game if you skipped a whole bunch of stuff? If it's just fetch quests I'm missing out on, with absolutely no consequences later, then I don't care. If it's anything more than that, it concerns me.

btw: reading a xb faqs is NEVER a good idea, they are all spoilery as hell, its better to ask here. what exactly got spoiled?

If you respond to this, please do so in such a way that doesn't cause any further harm, haha:
Fiora apparently comes back somehow? I saw that she has a 4th and 5th skill tree in a skill tree FAQ I was looking at, and I can't see how she could get those right away, which tells me that she either isn't dead or returns. I'm trying not to think about it because it keeps leading me to making connections between events that I shouldn't be.

[chaosblade]

Gah. I just started this game, and I'm loving it. I tried looking through a FAQ to understand some game mechanics and read huge spoilers, which has me really angry. How hard is it to write a FAQ that respects the player? God damn it. Sigh. Anyway, I'm absolutely adoring the game. I just finished the Colony 6 mine, which as a dungeon was a bit too long for my taste, and I felt like the difficulty wasn't really there for most of it. The vast majority of enemies were black or blue to me. Is that normal? I don't feel as though I've been overzealous in my leveling, I've just been grabbing all the quests I can and then playing the game normally, getting rewards as they happen to come in. I was hoping GAF could help me with the bits of information I was looking for in a FAQ without spoiling anything for me: 1) What does Agility do? I even checked the manual, and there's nothing in there. I assume it affects evasion rate, but anything else? 2) I'm not entirely understanding how I use the Monado to shield me from enemy attacks; sometimes I put up Shield and the boss just plows through anyway - what gives? Am I supposed to use Speed for physical, and Shield for ether? 3) I know this game has several points of no return with regard to quests. I also know that if you do too many quests, you outlevel the game heartily and everything becomes less interesting. I want my epic boss fights where I barely scape by, but I HATE MISSING THINGS. Especially if it's something important like 4th and 5th skill trees - can I miss those? Right now I just finished the Colony 6 mine, and I'm worried about losing the opportunity to do all these quests and experience the full game. I would really appreciate some healthy feedback on this situation.

This is precisely why I was planning to adjust the one I wrote to cover more stuff. I'm like 99% sure mine didn't have any spoilers so I assume you're not referring to it.

1. Agility is related to both accuracy and evasion. There's not really much else to day without getting into some really gritty details about how the game works. Simply put, it's the most important stat in the game for most characters, so you'll usually want to beef up their agility as much as possible.

2. Not bothering spoiler-tagging this because it's pretty basic gameplay mechanics, and others have sort of asked about it as well in the past. Could help someone else.

Shield only works for Talent Arts. They appear in white text and always have a roman numeral beside them indicating the level of the talent art (thus, the required shield level). It doesn't work on anything else.

Speed only works for enemy arts with red text (physical arts). It's not 100% guaranteed to make them dodge the enemy attack, but it's very effective regardless. The chance of it not working is very, very slim.

Blue enemy arts are ether-based, and there's no way to really block those. Sleep works, but all it does is change the vision tag and you could just end up with another blue one, or even the same art. Later on you can get an art that helps with these, but it's optional and requires you to do a couple quests to unlock it.

3. There's only one point of no return that's not preceeded by a "Do you want to continue" sort of question (but not all of them indicate a point of no return).

You have ample time to do all of the timed quests. The ones you have now expire at your choosing, unless you wait until a point near the end of the game.

The next big set you'll come across expires quite a bit later in the game than when you get them, so don't be afraid to not complete them all while you're initially in that area. Just go back to them whenever you feel like it.

Timed quests beyond those (they'll be after the halfway point or so), it's probably best to do them ASAP, but there aren't a whole lot more of them anyway.


Edit: Beaten while GAF was acting up for me.

Ah okay, so when I see that Dunban has a tree that gives him +30% agility for not wearing armor, that's viable? Does it affect the rate at which I inflict status effects at all? I've noticed Break and Topple get resisted sometimes. Huh, that's weird. Surely there must be some way to interfere. Thanks for clearing that up for me, though. That makes me feel a bit better, but perhaps you could clarify what you mean by "anything of importance". Do you mean I can't miss out on top tier items/abilities? What about great stories about side characters? I know that the more affinity stars you get for a village, the more quests open up. Is it possibly to max those stars out even late game if you skipped a whole bunch of stuff? If it's just fetch quests I'm missing out on, with absolutely no consequences later, then I don't care. If it's anything more than that, it concerns me.

1. That's more of a gimmick than anything. I wouldn't bother with it until late in the game (if at all) when you can stack a few more things with it. Practically all of your defense comes from your armor, not your base stats from leveling up. So no-armor can be quite risky since getting hit is a huge deal.

2. There's another art that's reasonably effective against enemy ether arts. Doesn't completely block them, but it helps. Sleep is probably the best bet if you have someone in your party that can use it, but all that does is change the vision tag.

3. Only timed quests are missable, and I don't think any of the rewards for them are all that great or important. I don't know if you'll actually be able to max out affinity with each area if you miss the quests, but those also aren't required for any major rewards. The area with the most missable quests only requires 3 star affinity for the "big" reward for that area, IIRC, and you can get that even if you skip every single timed quest, I believe, though it would probably require you to do every other possible quest.

[Zornica]

Ah okay, so when I see that Dunban has a tree that gives him +30% agility for not wearing armor, that's viable? Does it affect the rate at which I inflict status effects at all? I've noticed Break and Topple get resisted sometimes. Huh, that's weird. Surely there must be some way to interfere. Thanks for clearing that up for me, though. That makes me feel a bit better, but perhaps you could clarify what you mean by "anything of importance". Do you mean I can't miss out on top tier items/abilities? What about great stories about side characters? I know that the more affinity stars you get for a village, the more quests open up. Is it possibly to max those stars out even late game if you skipped a whole bunch of stuff? If it's just fetch quests I'm missing out on, with absolutely no consequences later, then I don't care. If it's anything more than that, it concerns me. If you respond to this, please do so in such a way that doesn't cause any further harm, haha: Fiora apparently comes back somehow? I saw that she has a 4th and 5th skill tree in a skill tree FAQ I was looking at, and I can't see how she could get those right away, which tells me that she either isn't dead or returns. I'm trying not to think about it because it keeps leading me to making connections between events that I shouldn't be.

not wearing any armor with dunban is often recommended until you hit ~level 50. the gems you can get at that point are usually better this skill. As far as I know, inflicting status is not related to agility. It's probably strengh/ether OR a specific gem.

@missing stuff: you aren't far enough yet, so I keep this brief: there is an area which houses a lot of quests, and they are all timed. they are mostly fetch quests and except for sidestories and mediocre items you won't gain anything from them. But the "timelimits" are mostly more than generous, and the points of no return are mostly unmistakably marked. You should probably ask again when you reach that zone.

@spoiler: don't worry, it's just a NG+ easteregg.
there are far worse things that could've been spoiled, so you better stay away from faqs now ;)