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[SantaC]

I love XC1, but this game is alot harder to get into. I am in chapter 3 and so far the game just feels confusing. There are a billion different systems to learn and it is very easy to forget what to do. And the world map is fucking terrible, i mean it was easy to follow in XC1, why is it worse here.

The blade system is just confusing at first. The variety is good I guess, but everything feels so overcomplicated. Also going from Shulk to Rex is a big downgrade. I havent cared at all about the story so far. Something something titans are dying, something big boob aegis.

Also, whats with the crappy UI and slow menu system. Not a lot of redeeming qualities yet.

I guess i will keep playing and magically hopes it get better.


Also why are there a million shops for basically buying the same thing.

Edit: i am liking the game better now.

 

[Moochi]

You don't need to learn the systems until it starts getting difficult, which is not for a good long while. Just keep going on the main quest and whatever interests you. It does have a lot of systems, but by 40-50 hours you'll have them figured out.

The main storyline unlocks a lot of things that make sidequests and elemental burst combos easier.

 

[SantaC]

You don't need to learn the systems until it starts getting difficult, which is not for a good long while. Just keep going on the main qund whatever interests you. It does have a lot of systems, but by 40-50 hours you'll have them figured out.

The main storyline unlocks a lot of things that make sidequests and elemental burst combos easier.

So basically it gets better

 

[MagnesG]

So basically it gets better

Let's just say that the barrier entry is high. So far one of the most complicated JRPG that somehow still works.

 

[MR ARCADE FOREVER]

The blade system is complicated and it won't get any easier till the end. But the game is great stick to it and Pyra will grant you a wish

 

[wvnative]

Is the main story hard? I am a fan of monolith soft but hate the MMO style direction of the xenoblade games, I got through xenoblade 1 alright though i just had to grind the final boss a few levels. Can I skate by in XB2 if I just follow the main path?

 

[MagnesG]

Is the main story hard? I am a fan of monolith soft but hate the MMO style direction of the xenoblade games, I got through xenoblade 1 alright though i just had to grind the final boss a few levels. Can I skate by in XB2 if I just follow the main path?

You could always lower the difficulty and just soar through - there's no difference whatsoever, if anything the game actually gates your progress until you went to the inn to prevent overleveling.

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

This game is extremely easy, not complicated at all that it almost plays itself. That being said it doesn't get good for at least 7 hours.

 

[Mister Wolf]

What aspects of the BLADE system are you struggling with?

 

[Ulysses 31]

 

[SantaC]

What aspects of the BLADE system are you struggling with?

How do you know whats a good blade to use

 

[Mister Wolf]

The first thing you want to do if you already haven't is buy the ability to link driver arts into each other. The combat doesn't open up until you get that for each of your character.

 

[DjMystix]

I love XC1, but this game is alot harder to get into. I am in chapter 3 and so far the game just feels confusing. There are a billion different systems to learn and it is very easy to forget what to do. And the world map is fucking terrible, i mean it was easy to follow in XC1, why is it worse here.

The blade system is just confusing at first. The variety is good I guess, but everything feels so overcomplicated. Also going from Shulk to Rex is a big downgrade. I havent cared at all about the story so far. Something something titans are dying, something big boob aegis.

Also, whats with the crappy UI and slow menu system. Not a lot of redeeming qualities yet.

I guess i will keep playing and magically hopes it get better.


Also why are there a million shops for basically buying the same thing.

Man I was in the same boat as you back when the game launched and tried multiple times to get into the game but something was not kicking in. The systems were confusing as well. But I really want to tell you the story was worth all the trouble man. It takes a little bit of time to really kick off but I was so incredibly blown away by the story and especially the ending.

Maybe adjust the difficulty OR turn that auto battle on for a while until you are leveled up enough to play the rest of the game easily. This game has one of the best stories in JRPGs I've experienced this generation, especially if you have also played Xenoblade Chronicles.

 

[Mister Wolf]

How do you know whats a good blade to use

Rarity of the blade which they show in stars. All of the special blades are good. Are some better than others? Sure but not enough to stop you from progressing. Also the weapons the Blades use determine your Driver arts for that character so pick based on that. Since each character can hold three Blades its like you can change their "Job" on the fly. They still haven't shown you everything to the combat. Remember that everything links like you're playing a fighting game.

 

[MagnesG]

How do you know whats a good blade to use

Blades that enables you to execute long combos for the most part.

The first thing you want to do if you already haven't is buy the ability to link driver arts into each other. The combat doesn't open up until you get that for each of your character.

Yeah get this as soon as possible, the gameplay is basically a rhythm game and having driver links are key to sustain these combos.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Regular attacks link into Driver Arts, Blade Specials or Blade Switching. Driver Arts link into other Driver Arts, Blade Specials and Blade Switching. Right after the Blade Special ends link into switching your Blade. All of it links and you will see the blue circle flash when your timing is right. Once you purchase the ability in your skill tree you can link Driver Arts into each other. The one people overlook though is you can link switching into another Blade right after a Blade Special and keep the combo going since switching blades gives you a new set of fully charged Driver Arts.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Blades that enables you to execute long combos for the most part.


Yeah get this as soon as possible, the gameplay is basically a rhythm game and having driver links are key to sustain these combos.

Once I understood its a rhythm based combat of linking attacks and switching Blades I fell in love with it. That's not even getting into the Elemental Orb Combos, Driver Combos, and Fusion Combos.

 

[drganon]

I enjoyed xbc2 for the most part, except for the crappy map system. One of the great things about xenoblade chronicles de is how it guides you exactly where you need to go. In 2 it just told you the distance. which half the time wasn't that helpful with how basic the map was and how big some of the open world esque areas were.

 

[Jaxcellent]

I liked 1 story and combat much more, also i like it you can change the clothes in 1. X2 gets better but i dunno, Rex is kinda meh, the combat is confusing, the map is really hard to figure out where to go next, but if you pull through, I'm sure you will eventually like 2 too The music in 2 is great tho, imo

 

[gtrwll]

Chapter 3 is where it starts to get interesting. The game is easy to play but difficult to master, but when the battle system clicks it’s soooo satisfying to take down opponents. IMHO the battle system is much deeper and diverse than XC1 which lacked the depth.

E: And yeah the map sucks.

 

[Nico_D]

Imo XBC2 combat >>>>> XBC1 combat.

Actually, I think it may be one of the best systems I have seen.

 

[reinking]

I'm with you OP except I have not made it that far. I have started this game 4 different times and bail early each time. XBC 1 kept me engaged from the very beginning. I am glad to see people reply and say it gets better but I dislike having to spend hours on a game before it gets good.

 

[Ogbert]

Never got past the first five hours or so.

Combat is fucking awful. Not wasting fifty hours on the off chance gameplay might go from awful to average.

Loved the first title though.

 

[Fbh]

It can be a bit overwhelming at first and the game definitely has a ton of systems (don't be surprised if you see some tutorial for a new mechanic pop up like 30 hours into the game).

But just stick with it and it will slowly start to come together into a really fun combat system. Way more fun than the boring and monotonous combat in 1.

Also personally I wouldn't stress about min maxing everything and figuring out which blade is the best. The game is forgiving enough that you can mostly stick to the ones you think look cool/fun and it's still viable (maybe changing to specific elements for some of the tougher battles)

Is the main story hard? I am a fan of monolith soft but hate the MMO style direction of the xenoblade games, I got through xenoblade 1 alright though i just had to grind the final boss a few levels. Can I skate by in XB2 if I just follow the main path?

Nah.
I did some sidequests from time to time but mostly focused on the main story and had no issues beating the game. Some bosses might have killed me a couple of times but I don't remember ever getting "stuck" in a place.

Imo XBC2 combat >>>>> XBC1 combat.

Absolutely. I prefer the story, world and music of XBC1, but overall still had more fun with 2 simply because the combat is A LOT better IMO.

 

[Danjin44]

How do you know whats a good blade to use

Each character is good at something like Nia being healer and Tora being tanker.

For example

Nia will be good with Bitball type blade like Boreas

With that being said you can still give healer blade like Kora to Rex so he can both attack and heal.

 

[Moochi]

I ended up liking the game, but as a follow up to Xenoblade 1 and especially Xenoblade X, the world exploration isnt as rewarding and the character movement doesn't feel as good. It's just not as fun to perform basic actions like running, jumping, and climbing.

 

[Spukc]

that's because XBC2 is fucking garbage OP and you should stay the hell away from it,
go play XBC1 and forget 2 ever existed

 

[Northeastmonk]

I haven’t gotten to it yet. I have XC1 DE. I recently played Xenogears again. I owned XC1 back when it came out. I’m on Ch 10 atm. Honestly, after Xenogears , there’s not a ton of stuff that it does better. XC1 is still good, but it doesn’t feel like it hits that peak. I realize it’s unrelated, but when a much older game crushes a more recent game. It’s a bit of a let down. I’m still enjoying XC1. The scale of the world, the bosses, and parts of the story. The way the world looks is cool, even if it’s mainly eye candy with a few cool places to visit. When I finished Xenogears, it left me with something that hasn’t really been replaced. In some ways XC1 is a very well done watered down JRPG. If you’re not feeling it, try a retro RPG. Something that’ll make you look at a guide to figure out. Star Ocean First Departure R is a good one.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

It took a while for it to make sense, and I had the same complaints about the mechanics being waaaaay too complicated, and them being thrown at you all at once. It will get better, and it does settle into a really good rhythm.

 

[Danjin44]

It took a while for it to make sense, and I had the same complaints about the mechanics being waaaaay too complicated, and them being thrown at you all at once. It will get better, and it does settle into a really good rhythm.

I loved XC2 but the game does terrible, terrible job explaining the combat system to the players.

 

[RavageX]

I don't really like Rex, that's really been my only issue with the game I think.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

I love XC1 and I love the much weirder XCX even more, to my shock, even though it initially disappointed me because it lacked some of the crucial strengths of XC1 and instead focused on other things.

When my time to play XC2 comes I'm determined to go into it with an open mind. Looking at it I do have concerns... like how the battle HUD can look absolutely ridiculous with info appearing all around the frame of the screen, numbers everywhere to the point of insanity. But I have confidence in Monolith soft. If the battle system is awesome but confusing and obtuse, I'm just gonna put in the time to master it. I'll watch youtube tutorials if I have to. Given how talented monolift soft is, I expect I can get over it not having characters as awesome as Dunban and Riki, or not having an amazing planet I can fly around in a cool mech, and get into whatever area they do excel in this time. Which I guess is anime bewbs? Scottish voice talent? I don't know, some crazy shit lol.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

I love XC1 and I love the much weirder XCX even more, to my shock, even though it initially disappointed me because it lacked some of the crucial strengths of XC1 and instead focused on other things.

When my time to play XC2 comes I'm determined to go into it with an open mind. Looking at it I do have concerns... like how the battle HUD can look absolutely ridiculous with info appearing all around the frame of the screen, numbers everywhere to the point of insanity. But I have confidence in Monolith soft. If the battle system is awesome but confusing and obtuse, I'm just gonna put in the time to master it. I'll watch youtube tutorials if I have to. Given how talented monolift soft is, I expect I can get over it not having characters as awesome as Dunban and Riki, or not having an amazing planet I can fly around in a cool mech, and get into whatever area they do excel in this time. Which I guess is anime bewbs? Scottish voice talent? I don't know, some crazy shit lol.

You do get anime bewbs for weeks, but the biggest thing that XC2 does well is put you in a state of flow as you explore areas. The worst thing about the game is that it takes a while for the combat to make sense, but once it clicks, you just want to sit there and fucking play.

 

[-Arcadia-]

Other criticisms aside, even for veterans, that’s every Nintendo console Xeno game.

It’s your first time swimming, they throw you in the deep end, and at first, it’s kind of scary. But then it turns out that swimming is really fun. And you always had a pair of floaties (softer difficulty level for a while) to keep you okay.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

You do get anime bewbs for weeks, but the biggest thing that XC2 does well is put you in a state of flow as you explore areas. The worst thing about the game is that it takes a while for the combat to make sense, but once it clicks, you just want to sit there and fucking play.

"State of flow" sounds like me trying to explain why Xenoblade Chronicles X was the game I enjoyed most in 2019 out of every game I played, moreso than RE2R or Sekiro.

"It's the vibe bro."

"That G-pop overdrive song kicks in and you can just feel it man."

"I Painted my mech like Ultra-Magnus, what don't you guys understand?

 

[SantaC]

I am on chapter 6 now and the game is a lot moee enjoyable.

The combat really is great and the areas and music sublime.

The only thing that bothers me is the constant menu juggling when you are using field skills.

 

[Moochi]

The constant menu usage actually gets worse in the end game. I hope they learn from this game and make things like field skills automatic in XB3 or whatever.

 

[SantaC]

The constant menu usage actually gets worse in the end game. I hope they learn from this game and make things like field skills automatic in XB3 or whatever.

Yeah it is annoying

 

[Mister Wolf]

I am on chapter 6 now and the game is a lot moee enjoyable.

The combat really is great and the areas and music sublime.

The only thing that bothers me is the constant menu juggling when you are using field skills.

I'm glad the combat finally clicked for you.

 

[Herr Edgy]

Yeah it's one of the cases where it just feels bloated.
Tons of small system that don't matter much each, making you feel like you are playing menus moreso than the game.

Compare that to the affinity mechanics in XC1 that had effects on storytelling (heart to heart events), combat, gem crafting, talent options.
One governing system that provided nutrients for many other mechanics to grow as time went on.

It's still a good game, great even, but doesn't quite reach XC1 levels. It lacks a certain amount of elegance, a heartfelt effortlessness in its game systems.

 

[Danjin44]

XC1 that had effects on storytelling (heart to heart events),

I actually prefer heart to heart in XC2 much more, especially because its voiced.

 

[BlitzLord2369]

I love XC1, should I buy this game? Seems a bit too overwhelming for me

 

[Allnamestakenlol]

It's because of the Nopon's English dub, isn't it? I don't blame you.

 

[Herr Edgy]

I actually prefer heart to heart in XC2 much more, especially because its voiced.

Eh, I think they are just a completely different thing. Well produced sidequests on their own, similarly to the Nopon drug cartel quest in XC1. Just tons more of them. Also kinda besides the point.