• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

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

Renewed

Member
So the combat really infuriates me.

I want to do the knockdown move on command. Shulk pink, followed by reyn green, but it doesn't activate 100% of the time. What the fuck is this?

Am I missing something really crucial? It seems that the combat is flawed because you can't control it at will.

When you inflict Break, it lasts for a period so Topple has to be inflicted before then. There are also enemies that don't get inflicted with the Break->Topple outside of Chain Attacks.

I usually use a Topple before a Chain Attack, then inflict Topple again. Not sure if there's a better way as this is my first time with the game.
 

Etria

Member
So the combat really infuriates me.

I want to do the knockdown move on command. Shulk pink, followed by reyn green, but it doesn't activate 100% of the time. What the fuck is this?

Am I missing something really crucial? It seems that the combat is flawed because you can't control it at will.

Do you mean Topple (the green circular arrow)? Depending on who you're controlling, say Shulk, you first inflict Break (pink), then Reyn hopefully inflicts Topple on the monster before Break wears off. However, Reyn may not always do this, as I've noticed, because either he's already used that specific Art, or he doesn't use it when Break is inflicted.
If you're controlling Reyn, it may be easier to inflict Topple because you can just wait until Shulk uses Break before activating Reyn's specific Art for Topple.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong because I'm new to Xenoblade.

EDIT: Like Renewed mentioned above, I believe that some monsters can resist Break and/or Topple.
 

Renewed

Member
Do you mean Topple (the green circular arrow)? Depending on who you're controlling, say Shulk, you first inflict Break (pink), then Reyn hopefully inflicts Topple on the monster before Break wears off. However, Reyn may not always do this, as I've noticed, because either he's already used that specific Art, or he doesn't use it when Break is inflicted.
If you're controlling Reyn, it may be easier to inflict Topple because you can just wait until Shulk uses Break before activating Reyn's specific Art for Topple.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong because I'm new to Xenoblade.

That's what I'd recommend. Can't rely on Reyn to inflict Topple so just do it yourself!
 
The other advantage of controlling Reyn is that it gives you more precise control over whether or not it's Reyn time!

It's actually very easy to track down the NPCs in
Alcamoth
:
They always spawn at their teleporters at 6am/6pm (could also be 7 or 8 am/pm, I not 100% suret). So you just have to got to the teleporters and set the time and they come to you.
I'd forgotten about that...
 
Actually, speaking as someone who has both models, Xenoblade looks significantly worse on the smaller N3DS. Especially the text.

So no, I fully disagree. I've been meaning to post some comparison pics actually.

And also, I wouldn't ever tell anyone to wait for an American release of the N3DS smaller model. If it was going to happen, it would have done already. Its not happening.

That makes no sense. N3DS has a much higher DPI than XL so of course it will look better on the regular one.
 
How in the world am I supposed to beat
lorithia? If I have to hear " you will pay for your insolence" one more time or "defying lord zanza". She keeps pushing my party into the acid as well.

use ether arts/characters

use the "come to me" command when your party members get pushed into the acid

and also take out the nebula, or leave one alive so they doesn't respawn
 

Overside

Banned
So the combat really infuriates me.

I want to do the knockdown move on command. Shulk pink, followed by reyn green, but it doesn't activate 100% of the time. What the fuck is this?

Am I missing something really crucial? It seems that the combat is flawed because you can't control it at will.

Some enemies can resist being broken (Its a chance based on rng), so they wont get toppled.

When this happens, you will see the words 'Resist'.

Enemies that can resist, can not, however, resist during a chain attack.

Enemies that you hit with a break move that then shows 'Immune' can not be toppled at all.
 

Rich!

Member
That makes no sense. N3DS has a much higher DPI than XL so of course it will look better on the regular one.

So you own both and have tried it out yourself? No?

Xenoblade is an exception. What you say is true for most games, but with Xenoblade where the tutorial and etc text is literally the Wii graphics downscaled, its harder to read the smaller it gets.
 

wilflare

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

the beauty of portable gaming <3 I wish more people know how to appreciate that in this world fascinated with 1080p60
 

TheMoon

Member
Just got back from my custom framing guy and figured I'd share some pictures of my updated Xenoblade collection.



Only a couple of things missing! Super proud of it so far. Gonna have to buy a nice display case once the X console bundle comes in and I get a good feel for the size of it.

holy crap! :O
 

Ala Alba

Member
So, I have this game on the Wii, and got up to the snow area before I stopped playing it.

How far into the game is that?

If it's not too far, I might just restart on this version instead, since it has been over a year since I last played the Wii version.
 

TheMoon

Member
So, I have this game on the Wii, and got up to the snow area before I stopped playing it.

How far into the game is that?

If it's not too far, I might just restart on this version instead, since it has been over a year since I last played the Wii version.

You're just past the halfway point.
 
I did 99% of the quests, ended at Level 96 at 150 hours.

Loved every second
The funny thing is, I don't feel like I am even pursuing side quests, yet I seem to be taking my sweet ass time still. I guess because I like to explore the open areas and run around in the fields just taking it all in.
 
Just got the quest Romantic Notion of a Girl
and Romantic Notions of a Boy. Do either of these quests have happy endings? Both suck. Should I just not complete it?
 

Mat-triX

Member
Low level for such a high playtime. I usually max out levels before hitting 100 hours. 80 if I push it.

Well, my first playthrough. I would play the main story till I encounter enemies that were too strong for me (RED), than take a break from the story path to do all the Side quests a could till I get bored. Most of the time, when I go back to the story path, i'm OVER leveled and most enemies ignore me. I only fight enemies I have to (uniques) and one that are of slightly higher level. So thats probably why I was only Level 96 by the end.
Level 96 is over leveled for the final boss
 

Man God

Non-Canon Member
Well, my first playthrough. I would play the main story till I encounter enemies that were too strong for me (RED), than take a break from the story path to do all the Side quests a could till I get bored. Most of the time, when I go back to the story path, i'm OVER leveled and most enemies ignore me. I only fight enemies I have to (uniques) and one that are of slightly higher level. So thats probably why I was only Level 96 by the end.
Level 96 is over leveled for the final boss

Tell me about it, that's how I played as well. I really wish this game had Bravely Defaults switches for shutting off exp growth and the like. This is the fourth time I've been through this game yet I can't leave the quests alone.

Have you tried fighting ye olde super bosses yet?
 

Mat-triX

Member
Have you tried fighting ye olde super bosses yet?

GOD no. The highest (and hardest) I fought were in the Quest "Battling Brutes"
(the quest that is needed for Fiora's final skill tree)
that had 2 enemies level 98. One Forced topple everytime a character attacked it, the other forced Dazed. I was able to beat them, one at a time, using Shulks Monado Purge attack, auto attacking, than Monado Purge agian for the whole fight while team mates did all the real damage.

The super bosses that are Level 100+ are WAY to much for me...for now.
 
So you own both and have tried it out yourself? No?

Xenoblade is an exception. What you say is true for most games, but with Xenoblade where the tutorial and etc text is literally the Wii graphics downscaled, its harder to read the smaller it gets.

I don't think it's just Xenoblade. The small screen is fine for 2D and fixed perspectives, but the larger screen really benefits 3D roaming games with third person perspective such as MH4U, SMT4, MGS3D, MH3U, the Zelda remakes, etc. Size really matters when you're trying to make sense of a virtual space like that, regardless of resolution (though that always helps too). I really don't think I can go back to my regular 3DS for any of those games.
 

Fireblend

Banned
Damn at the amount of quests. Just spent like 3.5 hours doing quests around Alcamoth, Eryth Sea and the colonies and I'm not done with at least the "named characters" quests. At first the "do only the quests from the named characters" recommendation sounds reasonable, but even that is madness
KuGsj.gif
and I'm freaking out because the Alcamoth quests are timed and I don't know how long I have til those expire.

Also, pretty sure I'm at least somewhat overleveled. Level 44 and about to enter the tomb.
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Damn at the amount of quests. Just spent like 3.5 hours doing quests around Alcamoth, Eryth Sea and the colonies and I'm not done with at least the "named characters" quests. At first the "do only the quests from the named characters" recommendation sounds reasonable, but even that is madness
KuGsj.gif
and I'm freaking out because the Alcamoth quests are timed and I don't know how long I have til those expire.

Also, pretty sure I'm at least somewhat overleveled. Level 44 and about to enter the tomb.

You have plenty of time before the Alcamoth quests aren't available anymore, so don't worry too much about that.

Timed quests in future areas are much more limited though, so you will want to be on top of them if you care to clear them.
 

Velcro Fly

Member
Are there approximate numbers on models/tracks for the collection? I just got my first bump up in available numbers. I have a Shulk amiibo and I've gotten a few Xenoblade streetpass tags this weekend. Just curious is all :)

Just found out there are
102
models and
91
tracks in the jukebox.
 
Ah two weeks later at 83 hours I finally finished my first play through of the game. Everything people said about this game was absolutely true. It is easily one of the greatest games I've ever played. Definitely the Chrono Trigger of our time in the sense that they were both far ahead of their times. And holy shit at that ending, really didn't expect some of those revelations.
 
Beat the boss in the woods at level 39 for my party. Was quite hard! Took me a few tries to realize what exactly I had to do, but I'm moving forward now. Before beating it I did a lot of exploring and found many secret areas. Again, I love how the game rewards you with EXP just for exploring, and I just love the areas in the game. It's beautiful, especially for a handheld. I'm ready for Twilight Princess 3DS next...
 

Yushi

Member
Sidequests. Accept them all, don't obsess over them.
Basically this:
Originally Posted by ZeroX03

Advice:
Accept every sidequest you come across. Don't go out of your way to complete any of them. Just complete whatever comes naturally through exploration and the main story. That's enough EXP and rewards to keep you ahead of the curve.

1 hour in...thank god i went for you guys to tips. Cuz i was going crazy at the amount of quest coming in.

Anyway i am diving in this thing right now! With all those X stream, I felt obligated to play this one. Cheers guys.
 

Squishy3

Member
Last time I tried to play the Wii version I stopped at the area right after Prison Island. Determined to finish it this time. Already back at Alcamoth in probably a fraction of the time I spent last time. :lol
 
Any tips/best practices on managing equipment? I don't want to open up the menu every time a monster drops a suit/weapon, but I don't want to have to update everyone's customs in bulk and have that take forever either.
 
I got further in Xenoblade now. I wasn't expecting actually cool cutscenes.

I just got Sharla, got called Monado Boy. And that cutscene with the tentacles was rad as fuck.
 

Fireblend

Banned
I got further in Xenoblade now. I wasn't expecting actually cool cutscenes.

I just got Sharla, got called Monado Boy. And that cutscene with the tentacles was rad as fuck.

There are so many cool cutscenes in this game. Really impressive considering they're all in-engine.
 
Any tips/best practices on managing equipment? I don't want to open up the menu every time a monster drops a suit/weapon, but I don't want to have to update everyone's customs in bulk and have that take forever either.

I do it periodically, say at the end of a major story quest (or after sidequesting around an area). And updating in bulk doesn't take very long. You can sort armor by defense, so every now and then I check and generally just pick the strongest armor with gem slots for my main party (with emphasis on the tank). Unless they're unique, armor generally doesn't have any real special properties outside of defense, ether defense, weight, and gem slots.

Now gems, that is a major time sink, unlike armor selection. Fortunately, for the main story, you can pretty easily get by with the gems you get from quests and the collectopedia.
 
I have to know. Am i playing the game wrong? I've only played as shulk and despite having other party members, i've only been using reyn and sharla, since reyn takes in all the hits and sharla seems to be the only one that can do any major healing for the group. I've already got dunban and just got that other girl who seems to be a mage or something. Also i just reached
Frontier Village
, and clocked in about 15 hours. Am i rushing? Any ideas about how many hours i have left with the story?
 

MoxManiac

Member
I have to know. Am i playing the game wrong? I've only played as shulk and despite having other party members, i've only been using reyn and sharla, since reyn takes in all the hits and sharla seems to be the only one that can do any major healing for the group. I've already got dunban and just got that other girl who seems to be a mage or something. Also i just reached
Frontier Village
, and clocked in about 15 hours. Am i rushing? Any ideas about how many hours i have left with the story?

I did the same thing. Sharla's healing is too good to give up.
 

ramyeon

Member
I did the same thing. Sharla's healing is too good to give up.
You really don't need Sharla for healing and she doesn't have any use outside of that, not to mention her limited offensive skilset means she always breaks chains. Shulk can handle healing suitably enough.

Found that Shulk, Dunban, Melia was the best party (With Melia being controlled by me). But I think people that stick to Sharla because they're worried about not having a dedicated healer are really missing out on a lot more interesting and fun party combinations.
 

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
I got further in Xenoblade now. I wasn't expecting actually cool cutscenes.

I just got Sharla, got called Monado Boy. And that cutscene with the tentacles was rad as fuck.

Those are the level 3 "holy shit" cutscenes, they're a treat.
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
You should change up your party members to improve affinity between them. That gets you better skill links. Plus lots of different combinations are effective. Shulk/Reyn/Sharla is okay, but for many situations you can do better.
 

ChrisD

Member
I have to know. Am i playing the game wrong? I've only played as shulk and despite having other party members, i've only been using reyn and sharla, since reyn takes in all the hits and sharla seems to be the only one that can do any major healing for the group. I've already got dunban and just got that other girl who seems to be a mage or something. Also i just reached
Frontier Village
, and clocked in about 15 hours. Am i rushing? Any ideas about how many hours i have left with the story?

I think I was at... 25 hours at that point? I wouldn't say you're rushing anything if you're having fun.

I've also stuck with Shulk for 90% of the game, and I'm up to 43 hours now. I just get too used to things in games and have difficulties switching up. But I still enjoy his gameplay, so no harm, right?
 

Squishy3

Member
Welp, get to redo the Tomb boss fight because the music bugged out after someone dying then being revived and it froze on the cutscene after defeating the boss.

Didn't even play the panic music.
 
Welp, get to redo the Tomb boss fight because the music bugged out after someone dying then being revived and it froze on the cutscene after defeating the boss.

Didn't even play the panic music.

I had the music cut out somewhere else in the Tomb. Gave it a reboot.
 

MoxManiac

Member
You really don't need Sharla for healing and she doesn't have any use outside of that, not to mention her limited offensive skilset means she always breaks chains. Shulk can handle healing suitably enough.

Found that Shulk, Dunban, Melia was the best party (With Melia being controlled by me). But I think people that stick to Sharla because they're worried about not having a dedicated healer are really missing out on a lot more interesting and fun party combinations.

Does Shulk get another healing art besides Light Heal?
 

Kinsei

Banned
I have to know. Am i playing the game wrong? I've only played as shulk and despite having other party members, i've only been using reyn and sharla, since reyn takes in all the hits and sharla seems to be the only one that can do any major healing for the group. I've already got dunban and just got that other girl who seems to be a mage or something. Also i just reached
Frontier Village
, and clocked in about 15 hours. Am i rushing? Any ideas about how many hours i have left with the story?

Shulk/Reyn/Sharla is a beginners trap. You think you need Sharla because she heals Reyn and you think you need Reyn because he draws aggro.

Dunban is a much better tank than Reyn because he draws aggro and then uses his extremly high evasion stat to dodge the majority of attacks.

Go with a team of Shulk/Dunban/Melia for now and switch Melia out for the next party member (unlesss you want to control her).

You're less than halfway through the story.
 

jorgejjvr

Member
You really don't need Sharla for healing and she doesn't have any use outside of that, not to mention her limited offensive skilset means she always breaks chains. Shulk can handle healing suitably enough.

Found that Shulk, Dunban, Melia was the best party (With Melia being controlled by me). But I think people that stick to Sharla because they're worried about not having a dedicated healer are really missing out on a lot more interesting and fun party combinations.
I've been using shulk, reyn and dunban to change things up for my second playthrough also tried riki. But how does melia work, I did not get her

By the way I don't see how Dunban is a better tank than reyn, he has the arts that were mentioned above yet he dies too fast, and does not have much HP. I'm even thinking of having riki in his place
 
After 20 or more tries, I've beaten L
orithia
.

Fuck, I can't remember any othe boss fight on any RPG I've played that made me feel so frustrated after every time I got killed. It was like if I wasn't learning anything from the battle.

Based Heropon Riki.
 

jorgejjvr

Member
After 20 or more tries, I've beaten L
orithia
.

Fuck, I can't remember any othe boss fight on any RPG I've played that made me feel so frustrated after every time I got killed. It was like if I wasn't learning anything from the battle.

Based Heropon Riki.
Did you use melia? What was your full team?
 
Top Bottom