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LTTP: Xenoblade Chronicles is EXCELLENT (Playthrough ongoing; please mark spoilers!)

Neiteio

Member
Oh I remember that boss. I spent many underlevelled hours trying to force my way. Neiteio - I suggest you grind a bit.
Hey, fine by me. I'm guessing there'll be some high-level enemies in High Entia Tomb. I'm also always looking for a excuse to explore more of Eryth Sea. I never tire of the color scheme with the golden grass, the pink coral and the sparkling blue waters. The game really conveys the refreshing feel of sunlight and seabreeze. :)

EDIT: I'm listening to the Mechonis Field theme posted on the other page. I'm not at that point in the game yet, obviously, but WOW that theme is SLICK.
 

Neiteio

Member
Eryth Sea is possibly my favorite area in the game in terms of visual design. And the music is really great, too - very soothing.
My only complaint about Eryth Sea is it takes FOREVER to swim across it, even if you jump down from one of the hovering platforms. I literally browse GAF on my laptop while pushing forward on the nunchuk, lol. Granted, you don't have to swim to the opposite shore or distant islands, but I can't leave them unexplored. And I hear a terrifying monster appears on one of them during a storm? I can't figure out which island they mean, but I'm eager to see this beastie.
 

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
Hey, fine by me. I'm guessing there'll be some high-level enemies in High Entia Tomb. I'm also always looking for a excuse to explore more of Eryth Sea. I never tire of the color scheme with the golden grass, the pink coral and the sparkling blue waters. The game really conveys the refreshing feel of sunlight and seabreeze. :)

EDIT: I'm listening to the Mechonis Field theme posted on the other page. I'm not at that point in the game yet, obviously, but WOW that theme is SLICK.
You'll notice many people saying that the mechonis field theme gives off a metroid prime vibe
 

Man God

Non-Canon Member
I wonder if the OP has noticed that
the game remembers what your characters were wearing in flashbacks.
 

Neiteio

Member
I wonder if the OP has noticed that
the game remembers what your characters were wearing in flashbacks.
I noticed that your gear carries over into the real-time cutscenes, but I didn't know they went that far. Amazing!

Speaking of the cutscenes, they're so good. The scene in the Ether Mines where
the old man nearly falls into the drink with Xord
literally had me holding my breath. TENSION! It's a tribute to how convincing the characterization is that I fear for each character's safety during cutscenes.
 

TWILT

Banned
Great to hear you're enjoying, Neit! Xenoblade's one of my favorite games ever and it made Shulk's reveal trailer in Smash all the more awesome to me.
 
Sometimes I think of games that I would zap my brain to forget they ever happened so I could experience them anew. Xenoblade is at the top of that list. Wish I was you OP!

But it's funny because it took 3 restarts (~10 hours in each) before it clicked.
 
As much as I loved the game, I had a lot of difficulty getting over the size of the maps. I'm all for big maps, but every time I got to a new place, I kind of let out a groan because I was getting kind of tired of exploring them.

Then I got halfway through and reached a massive difficulty spike and kind of gave up on it. I should really get back to it. Or maybe I'll just watch a Let's Play of the cutscenes before X comes out. Wouldn't want to get burned out on the battle system.
 

Man God

Non-Canon Member
Hahaha! I always love my
Fiora
flashbacks because
she was wearing a 2-piece bikini on those scenes
.

image.php


Me too, it's not my fault that it is statistically the best armor for that stretch of the game.
 
My only complaint about Eryth Sea is it takes FOREVER to swim across it, even if you jump down from one of the hovering platforms. I literally browse GAF on my laptop while pushing forward on the nunchuk, lol. Granted, you don't have to swim to the opposite shore or distant islands, but I can't leave them unexplored. And I hear a terrifying monster appears on one of them during a storm? I can't figure out which island they mean, but I'm eager to see this beastie.

Don't make the same mistake as many of us... When you find all the landmarks of an area, the map auto-fills out completely. I spent so much time trying to swim in Eryth Sea to fill out the map because I didn't know that. lol
 

random25

Member
Me too, it's not my fault that it is statistically the best armor for that stretch of the game.

Yeah. It's the best equipment at that point. Guess that's a reward for always putting up updated armor. :p

My only complaint about Eryth Sea is it takes FOREVER to swim across it, even if you jump down from one of the hovering platforms. I literally browse GAF on my laptop while pushing forward on the nunchuk, lol. Granted, you don't have to swim to the opposite shore or distant islands, but I can't leave them unexplored. And I hear a terrifying monster appears on one of them during a storm? I can't figure out which island they mean, but I'm eager to see this beastie.

Protip: Explore the floating islands first, then just jump out of it for faster travel. My first time exploring the Eryth sea was also tedious, but after exploring all the floating islands I learned that jumping out of it is the best way to travel. And the feeling of jumping is very nice :p
 

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
I wonder if the OP has noticed that
the game remembers what your characters were wearing in flashbacks.
Its all about the little things, OP should also kill a random creature, leave that area, dont come back to that spot hours later and notice the chest drop from when you killed it is STILL THERE
 

chadboban

Member
I noticed that your gear carries over into the real-time cutscenes, but I didn't know they went that far. Amazing!

Speaking of the cutscenes, they're so good. The scene in the Ether Mines where
the old man nearly falls into the drink with Xord
literally had me holding my breath. TENSION! It's a tribute to how convincing the characterization is that I fear for each character's safety during cutscenes.

Yep I love how monolith directs their cutscenes. Here's a gif of one of my favorites.

http://a.pomf.se/gatuwx.gif

Don't worry Neiteio, no spoilers for you in there.

And I already love what I'm seeing from the cutscenes in Xenoblade chronicles x. The camerawork is fantastic.

mxlsfk.gif
 

Neiteio

Member
Don't make the same mistake as many of us... When you find all the landmarks of an area, the map auto-fills out completely. I spent so much time trying to swim in Eryth Sea to fill out the map because I didn't know that. lol
Oh, that's good to know. Yeah, my map of Eryth Sea is like Swiss cheese at the moment, full of black uncharted holes. :)

As much as I loved the game, I had a lot of difficulty getting over the size of the maps. I'm all for big maps, but every time I got to a new place, I kind of let out a groan because I was getting kind of tired of exploring them.

Then I got halfway through and reached a massive difficulty spike and kind of gave up on it. I should really get back to it. Or maybe I'll just watch a Let's Play of the cutscenes before X comes out. Wouldn't want to get burned out on the battle system.
Gamers are prone to OCD-like tendencies. It's best to abandon them and just let yourself get lost in each new area. What I do is I make a couple laps around a new area, picking up every item on the ground, and fighting every enemy to level up and maybe complete some quests while I'm at it. I enjoy the sights and the sounds; I'm constantly panning the camera as I run around, trying to take it all in. Then I get back to the story, knowing that future story beats and quests will lead me to the areas I missed earlier. For example, I'm still discovering new areas in Gaur Plain, and I've been there dozens of times! :)
 

random25

Member
Its all about the little things, OP should also kill a random creature, leave that area, dont come back to that spot hours later and notice the chest drop from when you killed it is STILL THERE

It is even still there after reset and load as far as I can remember. Just remember that there is a limit on how much treasure chests you can leave unopened. 20 I believe (the 21st treasure spawned will delete the 1st unopened treasure).
 

Neiteio

Member
Its all about the little things, OP should also kill a random creature, leave that area, dont come back to that spot hours later and notice the chest drop from when you killed it is STILL THERE
Ha, I noticed this. It's a tad irritating, actually, because I killed an Aqua Nebula on Gaur Plain when I was searching for the Light Rain Element to
rebuild Colony 6 to lv. 1
, and the chest dropped on a rock I can't reach in the middle of the water, lol. This feature is very useful, though, when you want to get back to a chest dropped near a Unique Monster and can't reach it until you come back stronger to defeat the monster. :)

Also, I found a nice way to level up. If you find a high-level monster that gives lots of EXP, you can defeat it, save at that spot, and then load up that file and it'll have respawned (assuming it wasn't a Unique Monster). Takes work to defeat each time, of course, but it's a reliable source of EXP. :)

foxuzamaki said:
Elma is going to be the KOS-MOS of xenocross, everybodys going to love her
I already want Elma as DLC for Smash Bros. She'd be a great tie-in promo with the release of XCX next year. :)
 

Neiteio

Member
Yep I love how monolith directs their cutscenes. Here's a gif of one of my favorites.

http://a.pomf.se/gatuwx.gif

Don't worry Neiteio, no spoilers for you in there.

And I already love what I'm seeing from the cutscenes in Xenoblade chronicles x. The camerawork is fantastic.

mxlsfk.gif
Jeez, I love that gif from X. Feels like you're right there walking with them.

And the other gif you linked, from Xenoblade Chronicles, was so amazing in-game. The choreography was top-notch.
 

Yarbskoo

Member
I'm glad you're enjoying it. I know I did, all 180 hours I put in on my first playthrough.

If you get all the way through the game and aren't tired of it already, you might consider revisiting some areas in Dolphin. The low res textures will still be there, but the increased image quality and anisotropic filtering really bring out the details on distant objects that get lost on the original hardware.
 
Same thing happened to me with TW101. Think I have three more operations to go, but I've pretty much had my fill with the game. I greatly enjoyed what I played and I'm satisfied with stopping there. Can't really think of another game I liked that also made me say "alright, that's enough". Hopefully Bayonetta 1/2 aren't too exhausting ;)

As exhausting as W101 is. You should really finish it.
Kamiya is the only developer I know that truly knows how to end a game.

Whether its a action horror title or over the top adventure, he knows exactly what you want out of your endings for each type of game, and gives it to you with a few big surprises on the side.

...and as exhausting as it may get, by the end of it your completely satisfied, yet at the same time, you want just a little bit more [leaves you wondering what a sequel would look like]


Back OT .. Xenoblade is awesome!
 

Neiteio

Member
The schwing sound of the killing blow in battle and the way the enemy pops up and falls over has to be one of the most satisfying "we did it" moments in all of gaming. It's the cherry on top of the enormous strategy-laden sundae that is Xenoblade's combat system.
 

Kenai

Member
Favorite game of last gen, one of my favs of all time. Absolutely fantastic game all around. Not perfect, mind you, but that's ok.

My favorite character to control ended up being Melia. Her A.I. is kinda garbage but when i found out how her elemental worked she ended up being amazing. Jesus Beam...err Mind Blast helped too.

Own the EU and US version, will buy the portable one as well.
 

Zalman

Member
The game is amazing. Easily the best console JRPG of last generation. I wish it got the recognition it deserved.
 

Neiteio

Member
I'll probably post my next set of impressions once I play more on Wednesday. In the meantime, I look forward to reading more of everyone's spoiler-marked impressions. Keep 'em coming! :)
 

random25

Member
Another thing that I like about Xenoblade is that every character is very useful in combat, even the supposedly "joke" character
Riki :p
. Everybody has its own strengths and weaknesses, but at this game any style and any combination of party members work while maintaining their main roles. There's no real limitation on which characters you should go for in battle.
 

RagnarokX

Member
Yes, seriously. Melia is great. Once I figured out how to use Melia it was Melia, Riki, Sharla all the time. She's especially great because her attacks pretty much ignore level difference; so you can take on enemies that are many levels higher than you. Riki and Sharla there to heal, buff/debuff, and draw agro.
 

Neiteio

Member
So everyone keeps saying Melia is great when you figure out how to use her correctly. But what's the correct way to use her?
 
The schwing sound of the killing blow in battle and the way the enemy pops up and falls over has to be one of the most satisfying "we did it" moments in all of gaming. It's the cherry on top of the enormous strategy-laden sundae that is Xenoblade's combat system.

You gotta love the after combat dialogue too!

"We got through that pretty good!"
"Let's not lose out heads though!"
"Don't get cocky! Stay sharp! Stay focused!"
"Sharla did you see me? Did you see what I did?"

And let's definetly not forget:
"Man, what a bunch of jokers!"
 

Neiteio

Member
You gotta love the after combat dialogue too!

"We got through that pretty good!"
"Let's not lose out heads though!"
"Don't get cocky! Stay sharp! Stay focused!"
"Sharla did you see me? Did you see what I did?"

And let's definetly not forget:
"Man, what a bunch of jokers!"
Ha, I love the one between Reyn and Sharla. I'd like those two to become a couple. :)
 

random25

Member
So everyone keeps saying Melia is great when you figure out how to use her correctly. But what's the correct way to use her?

Her summon elements when not released early will give stat buffs to party members in battle. Summon Wind 1st and shuffling between other summons and releasing them while keeping Summon Wind is especially helpful for boosting agility for a brief moment, helping you and your party members in terms of evasion and attack hit probability. Plus, her summons when released are very powerful and almost always connects (because they're ether attacks), even against enemies 10 levels or higher.

Plus, all her arts when managed properly are pretty devastating. Very effective as a main.
 

Neiteio

Member
Her summon elements when not released early will give stat buffs to party members in battle. Summon Wind 1st and shuffling between other summons and releasing them while keeping Summon Wind is especially helpful for boosting agility for a brief moment, helping you and your party members in terms of evasion and attack hit probability. Plus, her summons when released are very powerful and almost always connects (because they're ether attacks), even against enemies 10 levels or higher.

Plus, all her arts when managed properly are pretty devastating. Very effective as a main.
What do you mean by this line: "Her summon elements when not released early..." I've only briefly played as Melia since I'm currently at the High Entia Tomb. I battled a few enemies as her but didn't really know what I was doing.
 

Kenai

Member
So everyone keeps saying Melia is great when you figure out how to use her correctly. But what's the correct way to use her?

Depends on your party makeup and what you are fighting since her elemental attacks do different things and have different buffs while they are out. I liked to choose the buff I wanted to "keep' (say Aqua for the HP regen) then Summon whatever Element I want that i am going to fire off (say lightning since high single target damage) then Summon Copy. Firing both of those did a ton of single target damage, was able to kill quite a few bosses that way.

Once she gets up there she gets high aoe damage with fire element or can nullify a lot of magic damage with Ice or do a decent DoT with Earth or w/e. Extremely customizable moveset.

What do you mean by this line: "Her summon elements when not released early..." I've only briefly played as Melia since I'm currently at the High Entia Tomb. I battled a few enemies as her but didn't really know what I was doing.

Basically once she summons an orb, that orb provides some sort of buff as long as it's floating around her (like Aqua = HP regen and Fire = Attack damage). You can "fire" those elementals kinda like bullets to deal different types of damage/effects, but once fired you lose said buff til it's resummoned (and yes the buffs get stronger if you summon 2-3 of the same kind).
 

Neiteio

Member
Depends on your party makeup and what you are fighting since her elemental attacks do different things and have different buffs while they are out. I liked to choose the buff I wanted to "keep' (say Aqua for the HP regen) then Summon whatever Element I want that i am going to fire off (say lightning since high single target damage) then Summon Copy. Firing both of those did a ton of single target damage, was able to kill quite a few bosses that way.

Once she gets up there she gets high aoe damage with fire element or can nullify a lot of magic damage with Ice or do a decent DoT with Earth or w/e. Extremely customizable moveset.



Basically once she summons an orb, that orb provides some sort of buff as long as it's floating around her (like Aqua = HP regen and Fire = Attack damage). You can "fire" those elementals kinda like bullets do deal different types of damage/effects, but once fired you lose said buff til it's resummoned (and yes they stack if you summon 2-3 of the same kind).
Oh, I do recall seeing something floating around her that hurtled toward the enemy when she attacked. I didn't realize they were giving her buffs while they were still floating around her.
 

Kenai

Member
Oh, I do recall seeing something floating around her that hurtled toward the enemy when she attacked. I didn't realize they were giving her buffs while they were still floating around her.

Yep. Her A.I. is kinda dumb because it will have her summon a random buff or two then do her kick move or something weird instead of stacking/firing. Playing her is basically like constantly loading/firing a cannon, with a lot of different shots to pick from. Very, very fun.
 

Neiteio

Member
Yep. Her A.I. is kinda dumb because it will have her summon a random buff or two then do her kick move or something weird instead of stacking/firing. Playing her is basically like constantly loading/firing a cannon, with a lot of different shots to pick from. Very, very fun.
That was actually me being dumb since I was controlling her when it happened, lol. I didn't really understand what I was doing. Next time I try her, though, I'll definitely pay closer attention and explore how she works. :)
 

random25

Member
What do you mean by this line: "Her summon elements when not released early..." I've only briefly played as Melia since I'm currently at the High Entia Tomb. I battled a few enemies as her but didn't really know what I was doing.

When you summon elements, Melia keeps them around (see the floating orb beside her after the execution). You can keep up to three summon orbs, each have boosts when kept (Wind: Agility; Flare: Strength; Earth: Phys. Def.; Ice: Ether Def; Bolt: Ether Att.; Water: HP Regen). Party members near Melia will be affected by these stat boosts while the orbs are around. At a certain amount of time, or once the you discharge the summon orbs (which will be cast as an ether attack against target foes), those stat boosts will be removed. So as a main, summon-discharge tactic is one o Melia's best strategies. Discharging orbs are also done in LIFO (last in, first out) order, so summon first the element with the best stat boosts while keeping the others for attacks.

Also, her Talent Art is only increased when you discharge a summon element. When filled, you have access to some of her strong arts (Burst End and Mind Blast), as well as doubling the effect of summon discharge power/damage.
 

Kenai

Member
That was actually me being dumb since I was controlling her when it happened, lol. I didn't really understand what I was doing. Next time I try her, though, I'll definitely pay closer attention and explore how she works. :)

yea it's cool, almost no one figures it out right away since the A.I. isn't excatly gonna show you. She's probably the most complicated character to learn if you aren't going for an unconventional build, but it's still not rocket science once you've tried it.

For some real fun, after you learn Shadow Stitch, have her and Riki load up mobs with debuffs (poison/burn/ect), Shadow Stitch, and then just run away. They can't do anything and you'll just watch them die while you wait for CDs to come back.

It kinda feels like cheating though so maybe not too much.
 

Neiteio

Member
When you summon elements, Melia keeps them around (see the floating orb beside her after the execution). You can keep up to three summon orbs, each have boosts when kept (Wind: Agility; Flare: Strength; Earth: Phys. Def.; Ice: Ether Def; Bolt: Ether Att.; Water: HP Regen). Party members near Melia will be affected by these stat boosts while the orbs are around. At a certain amount of time, or once the you discharge the summon orbs (which will be cast as an ether attack against target foes), those stat boosts will be removed. So as a main, summon-discharge tactic is one o Melia's best strategies. Discharging orbs are also done in LIFO (last in, first out) order, so summon first the element with the best stat boosts while keeping the others for attacks.

Also, her Talent Art is only increased when you discharge a summon element. When filled, you have access to some of her strong arts (Burst End and Mind Blast), as well as doubling the effect of summon discharge power/damage.
Thanks for the clarification. Melia sounds like so much fun! :-D

Is their a way to grind a few levels? I always seem to be 2 to 3 levels below all the enemy's.
I'm always two to three levels above all the enemies. I do a lot of quests and pick fights with every monster I meet while exploring, which builds EXP.

Remember, you want to fight monsters around the same level as you or higher to get good EXP.
 

Crayolan

Member
I'll probably post my next set of impressions once I play more on Wednesday. In the meantime, I look forward to reading more of everyone's spoiler-marked impressions. Keep 'em coming! :)

Update us after you finish up at
Prison Island.

So everyone keeps saying Melia is great when you figure out how to use her correctly. But what's the correct way to use her?

When you summon an elemental it automatically gives your party a buff depending on the element. Once summoned, you can also fire off as an attack whenever you want, but once you do you lose the buff until re-summoned. This gives Melia a boatload of both offensive and support options that she can switch between on the fly. Low on health? Summon Aqua, then sit back and buff your team until you're back in the green. Need to dish out as much damage as possible? Summon Bolt, Summon Copy, then fire away!

I usually always have a Summon Flare up to buff my teammates, then Summon Bolt and Copy and immediately fire them off for quick damage. Rinse and repeat until I'm low on health, at which point I can Summon Aqua and Copy that. If I'm at a mid-health range but worried about dying, I can summon a single aqua and then switch back and forth between firing off bolt and flare on my 3rd elemental slot. Melia is the most fun character to play as IMO.
 

random25

Member
Discovering landmarks also gives you EXP. I think I went up a full level just exploring the entirety of Frontier Village.

That too. I think the secret areas net you larger EXP, AP and SP than normal, so searching for every nook and cranny of the map is rewarding.
 
Thanks for the clarification. Melia sounds like so much fun! :-D


I'm always two to three levels above all the enemies. I do a lot of quests and pick fights with every monster I meet while exploring, which builds EXP.

Remember, you want to fight monsters around the same level as you or higher to get good EXP.

Yeah I tend to skip the quest and only fight haha. I also explore since it gives experience, but I stop doing that when this 80 plus giant attacked me randomly.
 
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