The secret really is to play as anyone other than Shulk. Dunban, Riki, Melia are a blast to play as, although I've recently been just rocking Dunabn/Shulk/Riki. Too bad Shulk's AI is awful for any enemies with spike damage and I had to take control of him to keep throwing purge on the UMs with spike damage.
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Xenoblade 3D |OT| Is that a Monado in your pocket or are you just really feeling it?
- Thread starter TheMoon
- Start date
Snacks the sober sea lion
Member
Shulk's AI also loves using Buster for no apparent reason.
Or when he still uses enchant when the party is equipped with anti-mechon weapons.
It's still rather annoying when you'd rather Shulk AI do useful things with the Monado talents at the start of a battle (see: my previous spike complaints) while he auto-attacks himself to death on a UM with spike damage after casting enchant.
It just sucks when almost any other character is more fun to play as than Shulk but you have to take control of him for specific fights because the AI is terrible at very specific things.
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
Well enchant does add damage to the weaponOr when he still uses enchant when the party is equipped with anti-mechon weapons.
Gamer @ Heart
Member
Is it worth it to build up colony 6 or just push forward through the game?
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
If you go after collectables you can get most of the stuff you need for Colony 6 without much extra effort. There are a handful of hard to get items that might take some work though.
Just snagged this port as I want to get back into the Wii version but left off 40 hours in a couple years back. Was focused on completion and sidequests which burned me out, so this is a good opportunity to start anew and try out some other team combos along the way.
Visual downgrade is overblown, port looks near identical to the Wii version unless directly compared, most impressive is that it runs like a dream as I sort of anticipated some framerate hitching. Biggest issue is that I need a grip for my n3DS, system is a pain to hold and play, especially dealing with the multiple triggers and constant analog/dpad switching.
I am also reminded how obtrusive the UI can be. In battles I have a constant feeling that shit on screen is always covering up the action, especially enemy names and HP gauges which practically fill the middle of the screen during a fight. Just way too large.
Otherwise I am reminded how damn fantastic this game is all over again. Really forcing myself to just focus on the story, but its so easy to be pulled away to do sidequests and explore.
Visual downgrade is overblown, port looks near identical to the Wii version unless directly compared, most impressive is that it runs like a dream as I sort of anticipated some framerate hitching. Biggest issue is that I need a grip for my n3DS, system is a pain to hold and play, especially dealing with the multiple triggers and constant analog/dpad switching.
I am also reminded how obtrusive the UI can be. In battles I have a constant feeling that shit on screen is always covering up the action, especially enemy names and HP gauges which practically fill the middle of the screen during a fight. Just way too large.
Otherwise I am reminded how damn fantastic this game is all over again. Really forcing myself to just focus on the story, but its so easy to be pulled away to do sidequests and explore.
Elfforkusu
Member
The sky in Makna Forest is Eryth Sea.
e: spoilers in recommended videos, be careful!
You can see it in the awesome intro zoom out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FQW2ojet4k&t=2m45s
You might want to put a spoiler warning on that video because the related videos showing up on that page have some major spoilers in their titles.
Elfforkusu
Member
Oops, thanks.
HeisenbergLannister
Member
This game is basically digital crack.
This, Monster Hunter, and Majora's Mask all coming out in the span of two months put me in digital rehab.
Velcro Fly
Member
This game is just awesome.
I could have just gone for a game where I explore the world, find quests, collect items, get stronger, etc. The story is for me pretty good but the gameplay experience is just top notch. I'm so glad this got a n3DS port. I feel like I can hop in this game any time and walk around. And I know I'm not that far into the game and I have so much more to go. Even picking up item orbs and filling out the collectapedia is fun.
I could have just gone for a game where I explore the world, find quests, collect items, get stronger, etc. The story is for me pretty good but the gameplay experience is just top notch. I'm so glad this got a n3DS port. I feel like I can hop in this game any time and walk around. And I know I'm not that far into the game and I have so much more to go. Even picking up item orbs and filling out the collectapedia is fun.
Are you in Alcamoth?
Velcro Fly
Member
Not even that far yet. Just left Gaur Plains lol
Elfforkusu
Member
Presumably on wherever those teleporters go to...
I figure there is a hidden part of Alcamoth you can't access!
Maybe
But like, what do the Homs eat? Fried chilkin and armu steak? And like, where are the toilets? Not a single public loo in the entirety of Bionis, and not a single sandwich bar or McDonalds anywhere either
So many unanswered questions, monolithsoft need to step their game up
Velcro Fly
Member
Damn equipping and comparing equips is a little clunky I feel. Hadn't upgraded equips in a little bit so I checked my stuff and holy moly I had a ton of stuff.
I feel like bag management is a thing I need to do after I clear an area with these shitty extra equips.
I feel like bag management is a thing I need to do after I clear an area with these shitty extra equips.
Lv57 Mischievous Naberius is the best unique monster in sword valley. It is a great challenge to defeat it at a relatively lower level. I defeated it at lv52 and this battle shows dunban is the most powerful character in the game. Even without shulk, I can still defeat strong mechon unique monsters.
This happened to me - it's because my right stick was dirty/sweaty. Give it a thorough clean and it should stop.
MillionStabs
Banned
I'm level 60 and just made it to
Have I pass the area where I get Reyns Level 3 Art books or should I just be patient?
the secret trader at the Mechonis' thigh.
Aaronrules380
Member
The best art books are rare drops from Gold chests, they can't be bought in stores. I feel like they made them more common than in the original though, given how many I've gotten this run
StarStabbedMoon
Member
At least we know X will have swimming pools and a pizza shop.
"Army Pizza" sounds a bit authoritarian. That can't be good for business.
Astral/H3X
Member
So I started playing the Wii release again, as I'd never finished it, and I just got to the 60 hour point, just after the
. Shit just got real as all hell. I thought something was missing from the intensity.
events in the mechonis core
Wai errbody gotta die? ;(
Oh man this game is a crap-ton more enjoyable and balanced when sticking to the critical path. Fizzled out at 40 hours on the Wii a couple years back, most of that time dedicated to maxing out sidequests and exploring each zone fully. This led to the game being an absolute cakewalk unless attempting some of the optional 'tough' monsters, almost completely disregarding the need for battlefield awareness.
Currently 10 hours in on 3DS in the mines under Colony 6(I was more than double the playtime at this point on Wii with a huge level bump), and utterly adore how rough some of the major encounters have been. "Future visions' were mostly readily ignored outside of the need for shield with my time on Wii, but now I am instantly forced to break off my attack and run to speak to my party members to change the future and break the upcoming slaughter, using Ether/phys guard or aggro abilities as necessary. Just awesome!
It is a shame missing out on so much good content trying to keep myself balanced to the progression curve though. You do sort of just 'pass through' zones rather and only do a small handful of sidequests en route to keep that stability sadly. It's almost as if I go out of my way to just stay on target to avoid that fear of becoming OP again. Game got to be a real bore otherwise. On the flipside, the narrative progression is actually more cohesive now without spending half a dozen hours clearing each zone between cutscenes.
Currently 10 hours in on 3DS in the mines under Colony 6(I was more than double the playtime at this point on Wii with a huge level bump), and utterly adore how rough some of the major encounters have been. "Future visions' were mostly readily ignored outside of the need for shield with my time on Wii, but now I am instantly forced to break off my attack and run to speak to my party members to change the future and break the upcoming slaughter, using Ether/phys guard or aggro abilities as necessary. Just awesome!
It is a shame missing out on so much good content trying to keep myself balanced to the progression curve though. You do sort of just 'pass through' zones rather and only do a small handful of sidequests en route to keep that stability sadly. It's almost as if I go out of my way to just stay on target to avoid that fear of becoming OP again. Game got to be a real bore otherwise. On the flipside, the narrative progression is actually more cohesive now without spending half a dozen hours clearing each zone between cutscenes.
Agreed. I try not to go too op. If anything I try to stay under level, as it is more rewarding beating tougher enemies
Beren the Empty-Handed
Member
Dat feeling when the drama is at the hilt and everyone is on the cusp of an epic battle, but you're just sitting there trying to craft a Level IV Lock-On Resist gem. It's the only one I can't get to work dammit!
I'm trying to complete as many quests as possible this playthough.
I just realised I missed a timed quest.
I made a backup save before the cutoff just in case, but I've played four hours since then...
On the other hand, the only things of note I did were a ton of boss battles and cutscenes. I guess I could just skip through everything in an hour or two.
I just realised I missed a timed quest.
I made a backup save before the cutoff just in case, but I've played four hours since then...
On the other hand, the only things of note I did were a ton of boss battles and cutscenes. I guess I could just skip through everything in an hour or two.
Just got access to Dunban...I have no idea what I am doing with him even after spending time looking at all of his skills. I'm winning fights, but it feels messy. Might go back to the staple three given I have a good dozen hours under my belt and can actually coordinate.
E_Darkness
Member
Just got to spoilersssss
I feel like it is safe to assume I'm over halfway/two thirds through the game now. I've loved this game a lot so far.
Looking forward to seeing where this goes really.
I enjoy using most of the characters but I've barely touched Reyn after I got Dunban. I've just been using Dunban, Melia and Riki for the last few hours.
having the seventh party member. I mean if I was spoiled on this early on it would've sucked. But ever since they appeared it was super obvious they were gonna be the 7th party member.
Looking forward to seeing where this goes really.
I enjoy using most of the characters but I've barely touched Reyn after I got Dunban. I've just been using Dunban, Melia and Riki for the last few hours.
Aaronrules380
Member
Just got done with the one voice acted sidequest in the game that I never saw in my first playthrough. It was pretty good, and I recommend anyone playing the game to go to the area where the nopon merchant and quest giver were in colongy 6 (north of the colony) after reaching the last point of no return (well, besides the final boss I guess). I feel like anyone whose reached that point should be aware of what it is, so I'll keep it at that
Elfforkusu
Member
StarStabbedMoon
Member
Just got access to Dunban...I have no idea what I am doing with him even after spending time looking at all of his skills. I'm winning fights, but it feels messy. Might go back to the staple three given I have a good dozen hours under my belt and can actually coordinate.
The trick to Dunban is lots of agility and then more agility and then watch him dodge everything. By the time you get him you might have some Agility III and Agility II gems. I would put as many on him as possible. His specialty is speed tanking, though some people use him for DPS as well.
Early on his best moves are the Gale Slash combos, which can produce topples on his own. His early auras such as peerless and spirit breath are good for aggro and damage, but later on you'll get Serene Heart, which enhances his agility further.
You don't necessarily need to control Dunban for him to be effective, similar to Reyn, but it doesn't hurt either. The AI knows to emphasize Auras, draw aggro, and will topple an enemy if you setup a break move.
I do not have topple plus gems. Topple is important but the most important arts for this battle are last stand(reyn)(lv7), happy happy(riki)(lv7), serene heart(dunban)(lv6 is ok but lv7 will be better) and heat haze(dunban)(lv5 will be enough). If the dinosaur uses its talent art (instant death), I choose to use chain attack to avoid it. I also let reyn equip with a unbeatable IV gem. Link all the skill to increase the agility. When the battle starts, let reyn hit the monster first and the dinosaur will attack and reyn's hp will below half. It is necessary to half reyn's hp because he has the lowest agility and we can link to dunban and riki's skill which increase agility when hp is half. Reyn also have a skill to increase the physical defense when hp is half. I control dunban because AI dunban is stupid. I defeated the dinosaur twice and the biggest problem is the battle will last until daytime. In daytime, the accuracy is bad. In second battle, I use my last chain attack to use lurgy to poison the dinosaur and finally win.
ShinNoNoir
Member
Yesterday I found out that it's not a good idea to (accidentally) kill a unique monster before accepting the corresponding challenge quest. I had to reload my save several times to speed up the respawning process.
TheMoon
Member
Just started this game yesterday with Dolphin (game looks good in 1080p!). I've played 1 hour and did a few things in the Colony and accepted quests like crazy. I saw that I should just accept them and do them if I can.
Any other tips for the beginning other than not selling things, using many characters and so on? How should I skill? D:
Any other tips for the beginning other than not selling things, using many characters and so on? How should I skill? D:
However you want, there's no limitations on what you can max.
ShinNoNoir
Member
So how was Shimmering Forte, that old bastard?
I'm not even there yet (I'm a slow, slow player
). I accidentally murdered a whole Tirkin family before I accepted the challenge quest. So when I returned to the location, I was like... "Where's this unique monster?". I didn't feel like cycling through all the targets so I just killed them all again, only to find out the unique monster wasn't there.Cool! I love games where I don't have to care how I skill. I will do another run this evening. Game seems big.
TheMoon
Member
I'm not even there yet (I'm a slow, slow player
Oh.
Then remember this: If you randomly stumble upon Shimmering Forte and don't have a quest to kill him: don't! lol (requires special weather conditions, resulting in lots of reloading)
ShinNoNoir
Member
Oh.
Then remember this: If you randomly stumble upon Shimmering Forte and don't have a quest to kill him: don't! lol (requires special weather conditions, resulting in lots of reloading)
Yeah, I'm glad I learnt this lesson of not killing unique monsters before accepting quests early in the game.
Beren the Empty-Handed
Member
After about 2 hours of trying I finally beat that Mischievous Asshole in
. Titan Stamp screwed me over more than anything else he had; that and I couldn't Topple him. I ended up using SharlaxReynxDunban with tons of Blaze Resist and other Ether Defense stuff. I took all offensive Arts off of Sharla too. I just sat there healing Reyn and Dunban over and over, granting debuff immunity, shielding whoever needed it, and so on. What was most important was keeping the cursor over Tranquilizer. Anytime he was about to do Titan Stamp or the flamethrower attack I shot him in the face before he could get started. Did the same thing just as the battle started so that he'd be forced to cancel that flamethrower that he always leads with. Worked very smoothly.
Once you make some progress you can absolutely sell weapons and armor that you aren't using. Maybe keep a few extra just in case you want to experiment, but it can give you some extra cash.
If the shop is selling Arts Manuals, buy them if you haven't already. Always.
All characters gain EXP, AP and Affinity Coins regardless of whether they're in the party or not. That means you can switch out characters whenever you like, or every 10 hours and it will be okay. The only thing characters not in the active party won't gain is burst affinity (pressing the B button at the right time as the larger circle crosses into the smaller circle.)
Don't forget Skill Links. You won't be able to do much at first, but later on they'll allow for greater customization.
Slap gems onto those weapons. They're unbelievably helpful.
You can rearrange your arts in the Arts menu (not the in battle menu) with Y. So you can group things together if you tend to use certain ones in conjunction.
Accept quests as you see them, but don't tax yourself doing them. You don't need to do any to make it through the game. Similarly, as long as you're fighting most of the things you find, you won't need to do any grinding.
Sword Valley
Once you make some progress you can absolutely sell weapons and armor that you aren't using. Maybe keep a few extra just in case you want to experiment, but it can give you some extra cash.
If the shop is selling Arts Manuals, buy them if you haven't already. Always.
All characters gain EXP, AP and Affinity Coins regardless of whether they're in the party or not. That means you can switch out characters whenever you like, or every 10 hours and it will be okay. The only thing characters not in the active party won't gain is burst affinity (pressing the B button at the right time as the larger circle crosses into the smaller circle.)
Don't forget Skill Links. You won't be able to do much at first, but later on they'll allow for greater customization.
Slap gems onto those weapons. They're unbelievably helpful.
You can rearrange your arts in the Arts menu (not the in battle menu) with Y. So you can group things together if you tend to use certain ones in conjunction.
Accept quests as you see them, but don't tax yourself doing them. You don't need to do any to make it through the game. Similarly, as long as you're fighting most of the things you find, you won't need to do any grinding.
This is definitely an aspect I find annoying as well but I'm trying not to let it bother me too much since almost everything else in the game is stellar. I also feel like I have to unequip the gems from any equipment I'm using in order to properly compare it to new gear in shops or my inventory.
I hope it's streamlined in X. I do like games with lots of equipment there is something to be said for streamlining equips in a less is more kinda way.
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