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[Laughing Banana]

I think if it's about NPCs, general quests, and general location names we don't have to use any black bars.... is that really spoiler anyway? Also when asking for drops/material location or monsters... I don't think they really require black bars.

 

[Extra Sauce]

Aaaand finished.

- Got all arts manuals.
- Maxed all affinities.
- Seen all heart-to-hearts.
- Beat all the high level uniques.
- Done all 423 possible quests in one playthrough.

Final playtime estimate: 184 hours 24 minutes. Sheesh.

It's been a whole lot of fun, but it's finally time to put the game down ;_;

184 hours in the 18 days since release? Dude, that's an average of over 10 hours a day. Your muscles must be atrophied right now, heh.

 

[Toth]

Okay here's is question I am asking after hitting the 20 hour mark and entering that HUGE forest for the first time:

Spoiler

Will the game explain in the future why a human-like race called the Homs is living inside a giant creature that, even though it appears metallic in the opening scenes, has its 'skin' covered with plains, forest, marshes, and whatever delights await ahead? I do not think the game has explained this yet and it seems odd that Homs aren't questioning why they are living on a gigantic fossil

 

[Diablos]

Aaaand finished.

- Got all arts manuals.
- Maxed all affinities.
- Seen all heart-to-hearts.
- Beat all the high level uniques.
- Done all 423 possible quests in one playthrough.

Final playtime estimate: 184 hours 24 minutes. Sheesh.

It's been a whole lot of fun, but it's finally time to put the game down ;_;

Dude, whoa.

7.6 days.

Honestly, I can see how that would be worthwhile to some. I'd definitely sink at least 70 hours into it. Maybe 100 if I really loved it. Sadly, my CPU sucks and I live in North America, so my clock is stuck at zero.

 

[Feep]

Sadly, my CPU sucks and I live in North America, so my clock is stuck at zero.

So?

 

[Gvaz]

36 hours and level 45 and I just started doing quests in

Spoiler

Alcamoth

. About how much more of the game do I have left?

 

[Varion]

184 hours in the 18 days since release? Dude, that's an average of over 10 hours a day. Your muscles must be atrophied right now, heh.

Sleep and social obligations are overrated.

No job or anything so I can pretty much just sink that many hours into a game a day (some days were more, some less), do enough physical activity to not become one with the chair, get 7-8 hours sleep a night then skip everything else if a game comes along that deserves it.

Yes, this game is just that addictive. And now looking at this thread makes me wish I was back at the start again. No point starting a New Game+ though, there'd be nothing really to do other than repeat the last 184 hours.

36 hours and level 45 and I just started doing quests in

Spoiler

Alcamoth

. About how much more of the game do I have left?

55-60% left.

 

[Gvaz]

 

[Xelinis]

Just got past the Ether Mines.

Spoiler

Shulk and Rein: I have never seen such bros in a game before. The amount of yaoi that's going to come out of this makes my brain bleed just thinking about it.

 

[Diablos]

So?

I know there's a way to get it to work on Wii but it requires some work which is silly for just playing a game. And I know it can be emulated but you have to have a really nice machine.

It's just really lame that Nintendo can't deliver this game to their North American audience. They have more than enough money and resources to make it happen.

 

[Gvaz]

Man dolphin fucks with the image quality or something on their pngs. it looks so goddamn blurry

 

[Xelinis]

I know there's a way to get it to work on Wii but it requires some work which is silly for just playing a game.

All you need is an SD Card. It's a software hack, no need to open up your console or anything.

 

[Dmax3901]

So I bought it, fucking amazing. I'm around 4-5 hours in, about to leave Colony 9.

Is it somehow possible to play it on Dolphin using the hard disc? I have no idea how it works so don't destroy me.

 

[Ydahs]

Arrived earlier today. Spent two hours and it is amazing so far. Feels like an evolved FFXII so far.

Does this game have AA? It looks great on my 40" Bravia, with very few jaggies. Aside from some average textures and low-poly models, it really does feel like playing a PS3/360 game in 480p.

So does everyone just use Shulk as their primary or do you switch in players throughout?

So I bought it, fucking amazing. I'm around 4-5 hours in, about to leave Colony 9.

Is it somehow possible to play it on Dolphin using the hard disc? I have no idea how it works so don't destroy me.

Nope. Very few CD drives can read the Wii disc, so you're only options are to either rip it with a homebrew app to an external HDD, buy a capable CD drive to read the disc or download a copy. If you really want to play it on Dolphin, I'd say go with the first option. From what I've read it's very easy to do.

 

[Feep]

I know there's a way to get it to work on Wii but it requires some work which is silly for just playing a game. And I know it can be emulated but you have to have a really nice machine.

It's just really lame that Nintendo can't deliver this game to their North American audience. They have more than enough money and resources to make it happen.

SD Card - $3
Seven minutes of your life - You were just dicking around on GAF anyway
Xenoblade - ~$55

Best jRPG in a decade - priceless.

Seriously, I don't mean to be rude, but I don't have much sympathy for you. The process for hacking your Wii is like

1) Download file into SD card
2) Insert SD Card into Wii
3) Press button
4) Download other file onto SD Card
5) Insert SD Card into Wii
6) Press button

And you're done. It's that easy, and here's a link to make it even easier for you. It's literally impossible to brick your Wii doing this, and it's completely risk-free.

 

[ivysaur12]

As soon as I have my next break in a project, I'm going to order this.

 

[ramyeon]

This game is amazing. I put in a good 7 hours today and I still want more! I'm at Gaur Plains now...

Spoiler

I love playing with Sharla as the main. It feels totally different. I just spent over an hour exploring Gaur Plains when a thunderstorm started and I was just awestruck at the Mechonis in the distance being lit up by lightning. Then I remembered a quest where the monster appears near Raguel Lake during a storm sooo I ran over there and found it in the middle on an island. It was level 17 so the same as me but I took it on anyway. Spent a lot of the time buffing and healing with Sharla then took him out with a chain attack. One the best battles I've had yet.

Gaur Plains is ridiculously overwhelming. I love that I was fighting ponies and then suddenly this gigantic territorial troll at over level 80 saw us and started chasing us.

 

[pelicansurf]

Where the hell is Talonyth(high entia cook)in Alcamoth? I have searched every fucking section of the map and I can't find her. Are there prereqs? I'm level 62 and very deep into the game. I would like the exact location/time frame. Everywhere Ive searched says she's North/NorthEast of the Main Entrance, but everyone uses a different direction for 'north'. Even gamefaqs says she only appears at night, but the NPC timeframe is 6:00-18:00. Someone save me from madness.

 

[Instro]

Finally started playing this game today, only had a chance to put about an hour in but it seems pretty cool so far. Judging from the amount of stuff being dropped by just the first few enemies, this is going to be a total lootwhoring game, which is perfect for me.

SD Card - $3
Seven minutes of your life - You were just dicking around on GAF anyway
Xenoblade - ~$55

Best jRPG in a decade - priceless.

Seriously, I don't mean to be rude, but I don't have much sympathy for you. The process for hacking your Wii is like

1) Download file into SD card
2) Insert SD Card into Wii
3) Press button
4) Download other file onto SD Card
5) Insert SD Card into Wii
6) Press button

And you're done. It's that easy, and here's a link to make it even easier for you. It's literally impossible to brick your Wii doing this, and it's completely risk-free.

To be fair, I set it up just recently and it does take a fair bit of time. Lots of switching back and forth with the SDcard, especially if you want to install it to a usb drive. The process itself is pretty simple though.

 

[Bennettt2]

I'm now about 65 hours in and at lv.78.

Spoiler

Gotta beat a dragon at prison island but it is killing me before I even get off 25% of its health. Seems like I will be fighting Dickson right after it. I'm using Shulk - Reyn - Sharla as my party. Should I swap a character? Grind some more? How do I beat this boss?

 

[Feep]

Finally started playing this game today, only had a chance to put about an hour in but it seems pretty cool so far. Judging from the amount of stuff being dropped by just the first few enemies, this is going to be a total lootwhoring game, which is perfect for me.


To be fair, I set it up just recently and it does take a fair bit of time. Lots of switching back and forth with the SDcard, especially if you want to install it to a usb drive. The process itself is pretty simple though.

Installing it to a USB drive/external hard drive is a bit harder, yes, but certainly not necessary. But for region-free, it's like, letterbomb -> Gecko. All point-and-click. Technically you can just load both files onto the SD card and do it in one go.

 

[Ledsen]

Where the hell is Talonyth(high entia cook)in Alcamoth? I have searched every fucking section of the map and I can't find her. Are there prereqs? I'm level 62 and very deep into the game. I would like the exact location/time frame. Everywhere Ive searched says she's North/NorthEast of the Main Entrance, but everyone uses a different direction for 'north'. Even gamefaqs says she only appears at night, but the NPC timeframe is 6:00-18:00. Someone save me from madness.

Just found him so I thought I'd help you. Put the clock at 10:00 AM. Warp to the Fountain of Hope. Just above it on the map and a bit to the left, there are two blue circles (fountains). He's nest to the upmost of the two.

 

[Instro]

Installing it to a USB drive/external hard drive is a bit harder, yes, but certainly not necessary. But for region-free, it's like, letterbomb -> Gecko. All point-and-click. Technically you can just load both files onto the SD card and do it in one go.

True. Anyway that was just my experience, I'm sure many people got through it much quicker than I did. It a pretty painless process either way.

 

[CoolS]

Ok guys, I tried to figure this out by myself but looks like I'll have to ask since it's driving me crazy. I am about 37 hours in, my party is around level 43 and I stopped doing the story after arriving in

Spoiler

Alcomoth

.
SO now the thing is, everytime I look through this thread and you guys post pictures, your characters all seem to have such awesome gear. I've been killing monsters and doing quests for hours now and was ready to do a long gear comparison session, but somehow I changed maybe 3 or 4 pieces. I always take into account the gems I put in there and yet my shulk still looks like he did in the beginning only with a palette swap. Same for some other characters. Am I doing something wrong or is it that I have to look for equipment in

Spoiler

Eryth Sea

?

Also I am looking for a unique in Makna Forest on a hot day. Can't find him no matter where I look at that water hole thing.

 

[SpaceBridge]

SD Card - $3
Seven minutes of your life - You were just dicking around on GAF anyway
Xenoblade - ~$55

Best jRPG in a decade - priceless.

Seriously, I don't mean to be rude, but I don't have much sympathy for you. The process for hacking your Wii is like

1) Download file into SD card
2) Insert SD Card into Wii
3) Press button
4) Download other file onto SD Card
5) Insert SD Card into Wii
6) Press button

And you're done. It's that easy, and here's a link to make it even easier for you. It's literally impossible to brick your Wii doing this, and it's completely risk-free.

Yup, Im doing this tommorow. Got my card reader and SD card ready. Wish me luck.

 

[SecretMoblin]

Also I am looking for a unique in Makna Forest on a hot day. Can't find him no matter where I look at that water hole thing.

First things first: are you at the right watering hole? At first I thought the location was at the river where there are three Eks that spawn, but the actual watering hole is closer to the north-central part of the map.

The hot day is not that hard to get. Just keep switching between day and night, and when you get a hot day it should be pretty noticeable. Everything will seem wavy and things on the horizon will look distorted, and the birds won't be chirping in the background anymore.

 

[Lord Ghirahim]

I'm now about 65 hours in and at lv.78.

Spoiler

Gotta beat a dragon at prison island but it is killing me before I even get off 25% of its health. Seems like I will be fighting Dickson right after it. I'm using Shulk - Reyn - Sharla as my party. Should I swap a character? Grind some more? How do I beat this boss?

I have to fight that boss and he's red for me. I can't even scratch him.

 

[Feep]

Yup, Im doing this tommorow. Got my card reader and SD card ready. Wish me luck.

You got this, buddy. No luck needed.

We look forward to welcoming you to the party = D

 

[Oxx]

Contemplating whether to play some more Xenoblade or go to the gym. This game is gonna make me fatlus.jpg

 

[Starwolf_UK]

None, you can lose affection if you choose the wrong answer but it's easily recoverable. In fact to get all the play awards you have to deliberately screw one up.

The game uses hidden numbers for affinity. 5000 points is what you need to max with a character (one small heart is +10, I think). For Heart to Heart you get 300 points upon completion, +50 for good choice, -50 for bad choice. So in the worst case you'll be up +200 instead of +400.

In fact due to alternative lines of conversation you should save before doing them just to see what is said. Sometimes the topics are very similar while other times they are extremely different.

I've been killing monsters and doing quests for hours now and was ready to do a long gear comparison session, but somehow I changed maybe 3 or 4 pieces. I always take into account the gems I put in there and yet my shulk still looks like he did in the beginning only with a palette swap. Same for some other characters. Am I doing something wrong or is it that I have to look for equipment in

Spoiler

Eryth Sea

?

You can remove gems from S equipment (but not U equipment) and put them onto other equipment. Of course I favor slots over stats on my equipment which can be annoying when armour doesn't drop with any (on weapons I'm fine with 2 slots). Sometimes the U equipment happens to have good abilities on them while other times they don't. Also yes,

Spoiler

Eryth sea

is a quite good place with

Spoiler

Shell Armour

dropping from some stuff.

 

[Mockingbird]

Still hoping for Nintendo of america to announce this.

 

[Oxx]

Still hoping for Nintendo of america to announce this.

Nah, they're a bunch of jokers.

 

[ramyeon]

Still hoping for Nintendo of america to announce this.

Don't hold your breath.

 

[Laughing Banana]

Around 60 hours in...

Spoiler

just got the final party member

. Gosh it's been a very long while since I dedicated this amount of time for a game... The last one was Tales of Vesperia that I played twice... But I am positive the final mark will be higher with this baby.

So, I am going to search and do a bunch of sidequests now that the entire team has been assembled. I can foresee that I'm going to get angry, a LOT, when searching/doing the sidequests, hahaha.

I ask, GAF, what is your most optimum/strongest team configuration?

 

[Windom Earle]

As soon as I have my next break in a project, I'm going to order this.

Better order it now if you still want to get a copy...

 

[jump_button]

Around 60 hours in...

Spoiler

just got the final party member.

Gosh it's been a very long while since I dedicated this amount of time for a game... The last one was Tales of Vesperia that I played twice... But I am positive the final mark will be higher with this baby.

So, I am going to search and do a bunch of sidequests now that the entire team has been assembled. I can foresee that I'm going to get angry, a LOT, when searching/doing the sidequests, hahaha.

I ask, GAF, what is your most optimum/strongest team configuration?

spoilers that when its a bit of a give away when so deep into the game

Spoiler

geting a new party member so late i can only think of one who it could be

 

[Electivirus]

Just got

Spoiler

Sharla

. Also, just fought a SHITLOAD of Mechon near Raguel Bridge. Felt like such a badass when I managed to kill every single one. So cool.

I love this game's battle system.

 

[Laughing Banana]

spoilers that when its a bit of a give away when so deep into the game

Spoiler

geting a new party member so late i can only think of one who it could be

Huh... ok I guess you are right, I apologize.

Anyway, GAF, share me your thoughts about your strongest/most favorite party members! I really like controlling

Spoiler

Melia

, and I basically use all the elemental arts set on her arts palette... her ether is around 631 while the others are still sitting around 300-400 range! Is there any point on using her physical arts?

 

[donkey show]

Still hoping for Nintendo of america to announce this.

It's definitely not going to be Reyn time in the states.

I ask, GAF, what is your most optimum/strongest team configuration?

Depends on the situation really. For normal stuff battles, I'll go with

Spoiler

Melia at point, Dunban, and Shulk or Shulk at point, Dunban, and Reyn.

If I figure I'm going to go in a battle of attrition with a unique,

Spoiler

Shulk at point, Dunban, and Sharla. Still haven't figured where Fiora fits in yet.

 

[InternHertz]

Aaaaaaand finished! (borrowing this from Varion)

Playtime 175:36 (and counting because I'm experimenting with a new weapon in NG+)

- Maxed all affinities
- Got all advanced art books
- Killed all uniques
- Did all 423 quests you can do in a playthrough
- Everyone with maxed VI gems
- All collectopaedia completed
- Trial awards missing 2 only
- Records awards, only very few remaining (mostly Gift ones, got the love potion one though)
- Every art I actively use is maxed
- 6 characters are Skill-complete, the last one lacks 2 skills (grinding 7k is not fun in endgame)

 

[Starwolf_UK]

Huh... ok I guess you are right, I apologize.

Anyway, GAF, share me your thoughts about your strongest/most favorite party members! I really like controlling

Spoiler

Melia

, and I basically use all the elemental arts set on her arts palette... her ether is around 631 while the others are still sitting around 300-400 range! Is there any point on using her physical arts?

No and Yes.

Spoiler

Auto attack is pointless but Artes are good as Spear Break+Starlight Kick its great for forced topple. As far as her elementals go. In deciding to let the AI control her I limited my palette by a great deal to ensure the AI wouldn't be daft (summon Earth+summon copy is stupid, poison while they're poisoned ugh...). My end palette went something along the lines of Spear Break, Starlight Kick, Hypnosis, Mind Blast, Burst End, Summon Bolt, Summon Wind and Summon Copy (Bolt was my first advance level one and has fast cooldown and very good damage...moreso with electric attack plus the one that adds % damage to electric element artes, a few others are classed as electric)

I like controlling everyone except

Spoiler

Sharla

so keep it varied. All of them have different playstyles and tricks to use and it keeps it varied, I fail somewhere I usually fall back to including

Spoiler

Raine...I mean Sharla

. Skill trees also allow to hone a character to a certain style (though you'll usually need skills from other branches to work best). For example

Spoiler

a few of Melias trees have element +20% skills. Also there is a branch that gives an Ether stat boost, I think both the branch selected and end skill on it.

 

[Oxx]

It might be a shock going from Xenoblade to The Last Story next year. Isn't the latter supposed to be really tightly-focussed and relatively brief?

 

[Corleth the Fey]

It might be a shock going from Xenoblade to The Last Story next year. Isn't the latter supposed to be really tightly-focussed and relatively brief?

I think the consensus is that Last Story - while decent - isn't as good as Xenoblade.

 

[Laughing Banana]

Depends on the situation really. For normal stuff battles, I'll go with

Spoiler

Melia at point, Dunban, and Shulk or Shulk at point, Dunban, and Reyn.

If I figure I'm going to go in a battle of attrition with a unique,

Spoiler

Shulk at point, Dunban, and Sharla. Still haven't figured where Fiora fits in yet.

I LOVE using

Spoiler

Melia

, but unfortunately

Spoiler

Sharla

must be subbed in somewhere in there when fighting against strong monsters/uniques. Her healing skills are very invaluable in long battle of attrition... and Shulk's Monado skills are very useful too It's too bad since if I can I'd love to always use

Spoiler

Melia

at all times.

Spoiler

Fiora

seems like a beast however. I assume it would be best to gear this person up towards physical prowess instead of ether-based? Gotta find a configuration that is suitable for this one.......

I am playing up to this point completely free from using any sorts of guides/FAQs--I am sure I have missed/will miss something but it's more fun and rewarding (although occasionally can be frustrating as well) to play it this way.

I am thinking to buy a CC Pro for this game... but I am not quite sure since I don't think shelving out more money for CC Pro only for this one game is a good decision.... How well does CC Pro complement/improve playing other games in the library of Wii gaming experience? FYI, I dislike fighting games.

I think the consensus is that Last Story - while decent - isn't as good as Xenoblade.

Wait, has it been confirmed that this will see an English release? Because since Dragon Quest X turned out to be an abomination, I sort of depending only Skyward Sword to lengthen my fix for Japanese-style games... it would be nice if the Last Story is confirmed regardless of its quality against Xenoblade.

snip

I once tried putting her under AI's care and once she summoned she just stood there.... and do nothing. I guess her AI is set to let her use her elemental to buff up the party members for a set period of time before letting go... but I dislike that. I always use fast motions of summon and discharge to quickly rack up damages; sure it would mean she gains a lot of aggro but that's why

Spoiler

Dunban

/Reyn are there for

It may sound silly that I ask this kind of question after 60 hours in, hahaha, but does her buffs stack? Or when you summon a new elemental the previous buff is erased?

 

[Oxx]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-08-17-nintendo-confirms-wii-jrpgs-for-europe

Nintendo has confirmed European releases for Japanese Wii RPGs Pandora's Tower and The Last Story.

Both games will be here next year.

 

[SecretMoblin]

Wait, has it been confirmed that this will see an English release? Because since Dragon Quest X turned out to be an abomination, I sort of depending only Skyward Sword to lengthen my fix for Japanese-style games... it would be nice if the Last Story is confirmed regardless of its quality against Xenoblade.

Yes, it's getting an EU release. It will be out sometime next year.

And nobody knows enough yet to declare DQX an "abomination".

 

[Laughing Banana]

Yes, it's getting an EU release. It will be out sometime next year.

And nobody knows enough yet to declare DQX an "abomination".

It's a multiplayer online focused game with subscription fee. That is enough for me personally to declare it as such.

And good to know about the Last Story. Seems like an interesting game with an interesting battle system.

 

[SecretMoblin]

It's a multiplayer online focused game with subscription fee. That is enough for me personally to declare it as such.

But we don't know if it will have a subscription fee in North America, and the entire game can be cleared 100% without wading into the multiplayer. The only thing we know for certain is that it will require an internet connection to play. I've been playing the franchise since the very first game; I'm willing to wait and see about DQX before declaring it terrible.

Regardless. That discussion doesn't belong in this thread, but I'd be happy to move it over to the official one.


Question for folks regarding the "Other" category in the collectipedia: is there a master list somewhere of who trades for what? I'm starting to feel I'm far enough in the game that I need to go back

Spoiler

and get more skill trees

and trade for those collectibles.

 

[wsippel]

No blockbuster budget and still some of the best, most well crafted and directed action cutscenes Ive ever seen.

That probably didn't come cheap, though. The cutscenes were outsourced and created by some well known studios like Production IG (Ghost in the Shell), Graphinica (Hellsing Ultimate) and Digitalscape (Metal Gear Solid 4).

 

[ramyeon]

So many surprises in Gaur Plains. It switched from daytime to nighttime and suddenly I was surrounded by giant level 70 pink birds.