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Xenoblade 3D |OT| Is that a Monado in your pocket or are you just really feeling it?

OMG Aero

Member
I don't suppose anyone knows where I can find a list of all the refugee camp exclusive quests?
I want to start
rebuilding colony 6 so I can get the portable gem crafter
but I want to make sure I don't get locked out of any quests.
 

Xbro

Member
Next up will be
Alcamoth
for mid to high 80s and then you should head to
Tephra Cave
for lows to mid 90s.

Eryth Sea has a nest of...can't remember what the reptiles are called. They are about 83-87, and it's a pretty good grinding place if you can take them on.
 

Parshias7

Member
Should I be worrying about Gems at this point in the game? I've pretty much just been equipping better gear as I find it, but I'm a bit reluctant to go using any Gems for fear of losing them if I want to upgrade my weapons (I'm no detective, but I'm pretty sure I might be replacing my 'Junk Sword' with the a certain red sword with a hole in it before long :p). Are they one-use things, or can I just pop them in and out?

Gems aren't locked in to a single piece of equipment, you can move them wherever you like. The game even unequips them automatically from anything you sell.
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Here you go. The one you really want to watch out for is Spirits Raised, which is only available while Imaginations Tempered is going on, I believe.

Exclusive should mean that you can only do one or the other. Even if you take both quests (which is possible in some instances), finishing one will lock out the other.

I'd also advice against clicking anything else in that spreadsheet, it's loaded with spoilers.

Eryth Sea has a nest of...can't remember what the reptiles are called. They are about 83-87, and it's a pretty good grinding place if you can take them on.

The thing is, by the time you are in the upper 80s you should be able to beat anything. Just need the right party and equipment. Can grind on some Sauros or something and that will net you tons of experience due to the level difference.
 

EvilMario

Will QA for food.
Exclusive should mean that you can only do one or the other. Even if you take both quests (which is possible in some instances), finishing one will lock out the other.

I'd also advice against clicking anything else in that spreadsheet, it's loaded with spoilers.

Ah, I'll put a spoiler warning on the link.
 

Rich!

Member
Right.

I just got to the final area
the return to Prison Island.
I'm level 77, 43 hours playtime, and I feel that having completed the Wii version three times, twice via Dolphin, I can offer a decent and well thought out review of this port:

ITS FUCKING AMAZING

Fuck the lowered resolution. The game is exactly the same as it is on the Wii, and that is a fucking insane thing to pull off. The performance is rock solid and even THAT particular infamous boss battle
disciple lorathia in the Bionis heart
near the end is a fluid 30fps throughout with no dips, improved significantly from the jerky mess it was on the Wii version, likely due to the larger RAM amount that the N3DS has.

I am amazed. This is a superb port. And holy shit is this game suited for a handheld. I would even say I prefer it on the 3DS than on the Wii or even in 1080p via Dolphin just for that reason.

Time for some levelling up and endgame quests before the final battle with LOLOLOLOL SPOILER. I'm gonna aim for level 99 this time...gonna break the 99 hour Wii maximum recorded time easily lol
 

ivysaur12

Banned
It's honestly very hard for me to tell the difference between the Wii version and the 3DS version. I'm sort of in awe of what they pulled off.

Also, the nub works a lot better as a C-stick than I would've imagined. Not perfect, but completely serviceable.
 

Rich!

Member
It's honestly very hard for me to tell the difference between the Wii version and the 3DS version. I'm sort of in awe of what they pulled off.

Also, the nub works a lot better as a C-stick than I would've imagined. Not perfect, but completely serviceable.

I think the C stick is fantastic. I don't even have to move my thumb - it only requires the smallest amount of pressure. Its great to use, and Xenoblade is perfect for it. I do have to say though....the C Stick on my regular New 3DS seems far better than on my XL. ah well.

Anyhow, I just warped back to three summit sage...forgot that a LV 120 unique was there now. Died. Haha
 

Dice//

Banned
Hey I was wondering something about Gem Crafting:
Do you want to hit an attribute at 100% or is there a benefit to going well over?
Also: Is Shulkd x Reyn always the best team for it? I'm gonna try to be way better about affinity this time around...but
 
Is there any way to get a more detailed look at how new equipment affects your stats? Like when I'm buying stuff from a store it shows what my stats will change to, but it's hard to judge whether the equipment is worth buying without seeing what my stats currently are, especially since a lot of new equipment will raise some stats but lower others.
 

oakenhild

Member
I think the C stick is fantastic. I don't even have to move my thumb - it only requires the smallest amount of pressure. Its great to use, and Xenoblade is perfect for it. I do have to say though....the C Stick on my regular New 3DS seems far better than on my XL. ah well.

My only complaint with the C Stick is that it feels a little floaty when moving the camera with it. Like there is an acceleration to it. Starts out slow, but then moves really fast. I set it to 'fastest' speed, but anything slower is way too slow. Minor complaint all in all.
 

Dice//

Banned
Right.

I just got to the final area
the return to Prison Island.
I'm level 77, 43 hours playtime, and I feel that having completed the Wii version three times, twice via Dolphin, I can offer a decent and well thought out review of this port:

ITS FUCKING AMAZING

Fuck the lowered resolution. The game is exactly the same as it is on the Wii, and that is a fucking insane thing to pull off. The performance is rock solid and even THAT particular infamous boss battle
disciple lorathia in the Bionis heart
near the end is a fluid 30fps throughout with no dips, improved significantly from the jerky mess it was on the Wii version, likely due to the larger RAM amount that the N3DS has.

I am amazed. This is a superb port. And holy shit is this game suited for a handheld. I would even say I prefer it on the 3DS than on the Wii or even in 1080p via Dolphin just for that reason.

Time for some levelling up and endgame quests before the final battle with LOLOLOLOL SPOILER. I'm gonna aim for level 99 this time...gonna break the 99 hour Wii maximum recorded time easily lol

Yeah, it's definitely an excellent port. Very minimal loading and no disc scratching is a huge perk too
 

Brakke

Banned
Maaaaan this Ether Mine area is weird. Fucking ENORMOUS and kind of cool design but I haven't had a quest or vendor or NPC contact at all for like two hours of play time. Bonkers! Kind of a weird pacing decision. I feel overdue to go fuse these gazillion crystals but I also wanna see this thing through before going off on a maintaince break.
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Is there any way to get a more detailed look at how new equipment affects your stats? Like when I'm buying stuff from a store it shows what my stats will change to, but it's hard to judge whether the equipment is worth buying without seeing what my stats currently are, especially since a lot of new equipment will raise some stats but lower others.

Start? It's + on the Wii version.
 

Rich!

Member
Maaaaan this Ether Mine area is weird. Fucking ENORMOUS and kind of cool design but I haven't had a quest or vendor or NPC contact at all for like two hours of play time. Bonkers! Kind of a weird pacing decision. I feel overdue to go fuse these gazillion crystals but I also wanna see this thing through before going off on a maintaince break.

There aren't any NPCs or quests in the ether mine.

Until you beat the boss there, anyway.
 

ilium

Member
Maaaaan this Ether Mine area is weird. Fucking ENORMOUS and kind of cool design but I haven't had a quest or vendor or NPC contact at all for like two hours of play time. Bonkers! Kind of a weird pacing decision. I feel overdue to go fuse these gazillion crystals but I also wanna see this thing through before going off on a maintaince break.

There is a shop at the beginning of the mine.
 
Hey, so here's some stuff I wish I had known earlier in my playthrough:

- There are gems that are exclusive to either weapons or armors. That's why some are greyed out when you try to equip them.
- Orange and Yellow affinity coins require the character to be in the current party. Blue affinity coins don't require you to have the character in your party. (I know, I suck at reading tutorials in JRPGs)
- Anti-Spike or Spike Protection gems (don't remember what it's called) will become incredibly useful late-game.

If you're like me and want to think as little about gems and customization as possible:
- Agility Up, Strength Up, HP Up, Ether Def gems are generally good.
- Ether Up is good for
Melia and Sharla
- Double Attack
7 and Dunban
, Poison Plus
Riki
, Electric Plus
Melia
- Categorize armor by Ether Def, prioritize by slots unless there's a unique that includes a useful gem.
- Categorize weapons by Attack value, prioritize weapons with slots or weapons with built-in Double Attack/Haste/Attack Up.
 

Brakke

Banned
Now that I have > 3 team members: do people on the bench gain EXP / talent points? At what rate?

I suppose they *don't* get affinity? I don't get Heart-to-Hearts at all... Almost every single one I've found hasn't been usable yet.
 

ramyeon

Member
Hey I was wondering something about Gem Crafting:
Do you want to hit an attribute at 100% or is there a benefit to going well over?
Also: Is Shulkd x Reyn always the best team for it? I'm gonna try to be way better about affinity this time around...but
If you can get it to 200% during crafting then it'll go into "Heat" and the gem will be the next rank up (If you used level III materials it'll be level IV). Best pairing will depend on their affinity and skills.
Now that I have > 3 team members: do people on the bench gain EXP / talent points? At what rate?

I suppose they *don't* get affinity? I don't get Heart-to-Hearts at all... Almost every single one I've found hasn't been usable yet.
Yeah they do. It's a slower rate but I never have any more than a half level or so gap between my active and benched party. They don't get affinity though, no.

They're not usable because you don't have one or both of the party members involved yet.
 
If you can get it to 200% during crafting then it'll go into "Heat" and the gem will be the next rank up (If you used level III materials it'll be level IV). Best pairing will depend on their affinity and skills.
Also worth noting that gems have a stat range and the % you hit basically dictates where in the stat range you lie so you really want the % as high as you can get it for better gems.
 

Dice//

Banned
If you can get it to 200% during crafting then it'll go into "Heat" and the gem will be the next rank up (If you used level III materials it'll be level IV). Best pairing will depend on their affinity and skills.

Awesome, thanks a million!
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
I should include some gem crafting when I (successfully) record some gameplay. I was going to cut that out since it's not very interesting, especially since I'll likely be doing a fair bit of saving and reloading.

Getting 200% is really easy, you want to break down the crystals into cylinders, and get each cylinder as close to 100% as possible without going over. Gentle flames are key to that so you can have a few different crystals/cylinders going without fear of losing them, so a combo like Sharla+Shulk in the early game works well for breaking them down and building them up slowly.

Then once you have two of the same one close to 100%, you can start out really close to 200% by combining those, and since it's easier to go well over 200% that way, you get an even better gem of the next level. A ways into the game Mega Heat becomes more feasible (you can do it at the very beginning... but you have to get super lucky), which gets you not one, but two gems from the next level, with max stats.
 

Rich!

Member
At the final boss now

But fuck that, its sidequest time. Time to tackle some LV 85-99 monsters...then maybe some LV120 ones!
 

Xbro

Member
Now that I have > 3 team members: do people on the bench gain EXP / talent points? At what rate?

I suppose they *don't* get affinity? I don't get Heart-to-Hearts at all... Almost every single one I've found hasn't been usable yet.

I haven't seen the exact numbers, but it's gotta be something around 95% that the people on the side gain, because I've never had that large of a difference until very late game.
 

ivysaur12

Banned
My only complaint with the C Stick is that it feels a little floaty when moving the camera with it. Like there is an acceleration to it. Starts out slow, but then moves really fast. I set it to 'fastest' speed, but anything slower is way too slow. Minor complaint all in all.

That's my only complaint as well. Otherwise, fantastic port.
 

Kadin

Member
There is something to be said about being able to flip open my 3DS and continue playing versus: Turn TV on. Turn on Wii U. Boot into Wii Mode. Wait for XC to load up. Select save file. Wait for save file to load.

Only a couple hours in but I have absolutely no issues to complain of so far.
 
Uh, technically you can pause it on your wii, leave your tv on until you want to continue. You don't ever have to turn your wii or tv off to have either recharge every 3 hrs :( you havr to do a lot of what you just said here as well (save file, load, boot system etc)

I don't know how good for the console it is to leave it on overnight.

You'd have a point if the Wii/Wii U was designed with a sleep function that preserved game state.

Otherwise, the portability of the 3DS just trounces the Wii copy.
 
Neither is better over the other. Both have their limitations. It is great having a choice however, i'll say that much. I do wish there was a cross save feature.

You aren't the only one wishing for that.

The company that nails cross save and cross play between handheld and console will be my GOAT.
 

jorgejjvr

Member
On this playtrough, i am having far more fun experimenting with combat/teams/loadouts than I am exploring. It keeps the gameplay fresh and exciting. I keep challenging myself to find a far more efficient way of staying in control of rhe combat. Right now, i start with a debuff/buff before executing break>daze. I havent quite got the timing down to extend topple or daze as i have no direct control iver what my AI peeps do next but they seem to get the jist of my jive. I think i need to wait to execute a move as soon as the AI finishes theirs in hioes that their next move compliments my own.



Neither is better over the other. Both have their limitations. It is great having a choice however, i'll say that much. I do wish there was a cross save feature.



Glad you're enjoying it. I still remember uou getting me out of HR4 hell ;)
haha thats right :D how far are you now??

And oh, this is not my first time playing Xeno, I beat it on Wii and love it to death, I just had to play it again!!! One of my favorite games ever!

You can check out what xeno means to me here:

http://www.ign.com/blogs/jorgejjvr/2015/04/11/lets-talk-nintendo-that-feeling
 

Kadin

Member
Uh, technically you can pause it on your wii, leave your tv on until you want to continue. You don't ever have to turn your wii or tv off to have either recharge every 3 hrs :( you havr to do a lot of what you just said here as well (save file, load, boot system etc)
Whereas the 3DS was designed to be put into standby at all times, my TV and Wii U are not designed the same way. If you choose to keep both of those on 24/7, I wish ya luck with that. I'm simply saying the game on the handheld is easily the better option for getting back to it quickly.
 

MrPanic

Member
Hey I was wondering something about Gem Crafting:
Do you want to hit an attribute at 100% or is there a benefit to going well over?
Also: Is Shulkd x Reyn always the best team for it? I'm gonna try to be way better about affinity this time around...but

I'm a amateur at this since I started trying the gem thing for the first time today without reading any guide about it, but after some experimentation I think I got a pretty good grasp on it.

Hitting 200% causes you to get the gem a rank higher. Staying under 100% causes you to get cylinders of a specific stat. The machine seems to randomly up one of the stats that you threw in every turn. This makes me conclude that the best way of creating gems is to first try to create cylinders as near to 99% as possible so you can use the cylinders to throw only one type of stat which is already nearing 200% in the machine so that's the only stat that gets upgraded and guarantee it hits that 200%.

That's what I learned from a half hour of that nonsense, though I might be completely wrong. :p
 

Alex

Member
This is a wonderful port, runs great, controls very well, I'm actually really starting to really enjoy that analog nub, really suits the platform. I do suggest changing camera y/x speed to fast though, that makes it a lot more comfortable. Overall, I'm impressed given the platform thus far.

As always with the 3DS the main thing holding it back is that abhorrent screen resolution, it's the lone thorn in this game but it's a big one. So long as the next handheld (or whatever they make) is somewhere between 480p and 720p, I'll be happy. I'm not needy with handheld hardware just want something serviceable.
 

Brakke

Banned
I just got a thing about improving Colony Six but ugh I've never been to Colony Six?? Guess I'll go back to that area around the Ether Mines? There must be some exit I missed or a newly-opened one?

EDIT lol that was easy.
 

MrPanic

Member
Just got Melia. Am I right by thinking she's just a mage and all you should really do with her is spam the arts? I'm running Melia, Sharla, Dunban atm because it felt like Melia's heal skills are lacking. I basically always summon 2 thunder first because the water and fire buffs seem mediocre and then just summon/cast spam whatever is available. Is that the right way to use her or are there better ways? Does she get more interesting skills later? Probably gonna drop her if not because even though the damage seems great, she just feels so boring to play with, feels spammy and somewhat detached from the battles similar to Sharla. She would've been great as an ai character, except the ai doesn't seem to do anything with her.
 

Kiro

Member
Just got Melia. Am I right by thinking she's just a mage and all you should really do with her is spam the arts? I'm running Melia, Sharla, Dunban atm because it felt like Melia's heal skills are lacking. I basically always summon 2 thunder first because the water and fire buffs seem mediocre and then just summon/cast spam whatever is available. Is that the right way to use her or are there better ways? Does she get more interesting skills later? Probably gonna drop her if not because even though the damage seems great, she just feels so boring to play with, feels spammy and somewhat detached from the battles similar to Sharla. She would've been great as an ai character, except the ai doesn't seem to do anything with her.

I personally like her as an Ai. Her moves are all pretty similar (bout 30 hours in). I use dunban/reyn and for my third shulk or Melia. I don't really worry about healing. Shulk does some and chain attacks and I rotate aggro with reyn and dunban and you can get daze and topple going for a while.
 

ramyeon

Member
I personally like her as an Ai. Her moves are all pretty similar (bout 30 hours in). I use dunban/reyn and for my third shulk or Melia. I don't really worry about healing. Shulk does some and chain attacks and I rotate aggro with reyn and dunban and you can get daze and topple going for a while.
Melia's AI is pretty terrible. Focuses on buffing instead of taking advantage of the crazy damage she can deal.
 
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