Support NeoGAF

[SecretMoblin]

I ignored the adds and fought as melia. I just nuked her.

That was my plan, and I didn't have any trouble.

 

[daakusedo]

Something I don't understand, being at level 87 I miss a lot of hits on 90 and more monsters, but at 92 now, I was able to defeat even 99 boss.
???

 

[RPGCrazied]

Ugh. I could try, but I haven't even messed with her skills, or anything. She has been dead weight since now.

 

[TDLink]

Something I don't understand, being at level 87 I miss a lot of hits on 90 and more monsters, but at 92 now, I was able to defeat even 99 boss.
???

I could be wrong about this but I think the game must do away with the whole "miss higher leveled enemies" thing after you are in the 90s. How else would you be able to beat the stuff over level 100?

 

[Man God]

I could be wrong about this but I think the game must do away with the whole "miss higher leveled enemies" thing after you are in the 90s. How else would you be able to beat the stuff over level 100?

Its all based on Agility and how it goes up as you level. Gemming for agility can cure a lot of problems, same with night vision and fighting at night.

 

[BocoDragon]

Anyone playing on a HDTV?

My Sony Bravia LCD is giving me vertical black bars on each side of the screen and not reading the 16:9 signal. When I hit display, it reads 480p 4:3. Settings are correct in Wii. If I boot my 360, TV has no problems reading the 16:9.

Only option on my remote is to change settings from "normal" to "full" which only stretches my 4:3

You have set the system menu on the Wii to 16:9, right?

 

[Gvaz]

Ugh. I could try, but I haven't even messed with her skills, or anything. She has been dead weight since now.

That's sad because she literally does the best dps in the game.

Something I don't understand, being at level 87 I miss a lot of hits on 90 and more monsters, but at 92 now, I was able to defeat even 99 boss.
???

I have no idea but Agility, weight of your armor, and such all have a big part to play.

 

[chaosblade]

Ugh. I could try, but I haven't even messed with her skills, or anything. She has been dead weight since now.

I don't bother with Mind Blast like a lot of people seem to. I'd rather just stick with summons I can spam repeatedly and not rely on my gauge being full. It does have useful effects, but meh.

I switch between her and Shulk as my main, use Spear Break + Starlight Kick, and the rest are summons (Flare, Thunder, Wind, Ice, Earth, Copy). Flare, wind, and ice are aoe, in descending order by range. Flare, ice, and earth also blaze/chill/poison for extra damage.

Art Stealth + Ether Up + Lightning Damage Up (for Thunder since it's really fast) gems seem like the best combo.

And hopefully by skills you mean artes, and you have been swapping between her skill trees so you haven't been wasting SP!

That's sad because she literally does the best dps in the game.

I think the last character would like a word with you! Maxed haste + agility + double attack from gems and all double attacks critical skill. Then you can further haste yourself with the arte for even more speed, assuming it doesn't activate automatically at the beginning of battle. You'll have an avoidance tank with more HP and possibly defense than Dunban that deals damage right up there with Melia.

Of course, letting the AI handle that since it does fine on it's own and using Melia yourself, that's a winning combination.

 

[Man God]

Eventually Melia is rolled by final character, shulk, and dunban when it comes to overall damage.

Double hits half the time (or more), every double hit being a crit, hasted. They can auto attack for more than what Melia will do considering how much time it actually takes for her to get going.

This doesn't mean she is useless however, as those buffs are amazing, her controlled topple is one of the best in the game with a nice quick cooldown and a very forgiving pre attack activation requirement, and the fact that monsters ether resist is a lot lower and ether attacks are much less likely to miss.

 

[Gvaz]

Final character is great.....if you like having to deal with having to pull threat off every five seconds

 

[RPGCrazied]

omg. I did it. It was like a 30min fight, and yeah getting rid of the adds made it a little easier. Pretty much over now eh?

Spoiler

Just entered Prison Island for the 2nd time, after Zanza

82hours.

Man, I'll have to play this game every year.

 

[FreeMufasa]

Is there anything that tells you where to go for side missions? For example, If i'm asked to collect X, is there a pointer telling me where to find it?

 

[RPGCrazied]

Is there anything that tells you where to go for side missions? For example, If i'm asked to collect X, is there a pointer telling me where to find it?

No. Usually it tells you the area its in though.

 

[RurouniZel]

So I finished Xenoblade over the weekend. I’m going to avoid story spoilers and gush about the game itself.

Xenoblade takes everything I’ve ever loved about Japanese RPGs, and improves all of them in every meaningful way imaginable. Most (not all) of what comprises Xenoblade’s gameplay, structure etc. isn’t “new” per say; it’s been done before. But it makes it so much better. So for example, save anywhere outside of cutscenes and battle? Awesome, and all RPGs should do this, but it’s not new. Lunar did that ages ago. But we’re ALSO going to put in a checkpoint system where if you die you don’t lose the experience you gained, items you collected, quest accomplishments etc. Warp to any major landmark you’ve previous visited? Awesome, but that’s not new either. Grandia did this as well. However in Grandia you had to exit whatever town/dungeon you were in to the World Map to do this, and it was limited to towns/dungeons. Xenoblade doesn’t care where you are (so long as you’re not mid-story/battle), you can pull up the map and go whatever landmark you want so long as you’ve been there before at least once. Day/Night cycles where things are different and you can only do certain things in one or the other? Dragon Quest lays claim to the “I did that first” prize. But Xenoblade makes this better by letting you change it at any time, anywhere, and expands on this by even letting you decide what time of day it is. Fetch Quests? Well, I don’t always love these, but if done well they can be lots of fun. But make it so that 70-80% of them don’t require me to go back to the quest giver to “complete” the quest, and I’m much happier to oblige. This is how you take already awesome GAMEPLAY features and make them even better, ladies and gentlemen.

Xenoblade not only features one of the most original game worlds I’ve ever experienced in an RPG (Living on a giant creature, journeying up its body on your quest? Wow!), but it’s also beautifully designed and expansive. Any RPG where I can have barrels of fun just running around in it has already won half the battle. The world of Xenoblade accomplishes in all its SD glory something I haven’t felt in any HD JRPG to date; it feels ALIVE. I feel like I’m running through a living, breathing world as I trek through the Gaur Plains or quest through the Makna Forest. This game is stunningly designed and constructed.

The battle system actually feels strategic, and I often found myself changing out party members and putting them in different arrangements depending on the situation. Sometimes I needed to be able to cast lots of magic, and Melia was put in. Other times I found I was dying a lot and needed that party gauge to fill up quicker, enter Riki. In most RPGs (even my favorites, sadly), I usually don’t think about this and just stick to my favorite group. In Xenoblade it’s actually a lot harder to do this all the way through, and it’s much better to adjust to the situation with different people. The affinity system only further incentivizes this idea by giving you yet another reason to mix and match your groups and gain more affinity between members.

Any more and I’d be going into story spoilers, so I won’t do that, but I’ll end with this: Xenoblade has usurped Final Fantasy VI in my mind as the best Japanese RPG I’ve ever played. It’s that good. Thank you, Nintendo of Europe for letting me experience this great game in English. Also:

 

[The Hermit]

Awesome post! I agree, this is the best RPG I've played since the SNES era.

Also, I never use Riki, didn't realized his usefulness before you mentioned, thanks!

 

[Diffense]

Dunban: "Shulk, you need to believe in yourself!

Shulk: "Believe in myself?" (true exchange. just heard it)

Dunban: "No, I said you need to run your fingers through my hair."

Yet, in retrospect, it sort of makes sense.

 

[Diprosalic]

wtf, you are blazing through it

I was there around the 27 hour mark.
You are going quite fast through the game.

what are you guys doing then? i made every side quest there is to this point and wasted a lot of time dying repeatedly .

 

[gogojira]

Woohoo, Xenoblade arrived today! Quick question, is there a preference on control style? I'm thinking I'll just use my Classic Controller Pro unless there's a real benefit to using Wiimote and Nunchuk.

 

[Gvaz]

what are you guys doing then? i made every side quest there is to this point and wasted a lot of time dying repeatedly .

If you're there after 15 hours you're missing a LOT of sidequests. There's about 430 you can do in one gameplay, and where you're at is way over 100.

 

[Diprosalic]

If you're there after 15 hours you're missing a LOT of sidequests. There's about 430 you can do in one gameplay, and where you're at is way over 100.

i just started the game up and i did around 70 sidequests so i don't think i missed that much.

 

[ZoddGutts]

I fucking hate it when Shulk repeats every second word he gets told in the cutscenes.
what a clueless piece of shit

person X:" It's the Monado!"
Shulk:"the Monado!?"

person X:"it feels so strange to me"
Shulk:"strange!?...to you?!"

sometimes I wish Reyn would woop his ass for every stupid derp answer

Heh same reaction I had about he's character. I like the other characters more than him.

 

[RPGCrazied]

Woohoo, Xenoblade arrived today! Quick question, is there a preference on control style? I'm thinking I'll just use my Classic Controller Pro unless there's a real benefit to using Wiimote and Nunchuk.

I don't care what anyone thinks, CCPRO is way better than the wiimote. You don't have to hold a button down to move the camera. Plus if you remember the jRPG days on the PS2, you'll feel right at home.

 

[manueldelalas]

Woohoo, Xenoblade arrived today! Quick question, is there a preference on control style? I'm thinking I'll just use my Classic Controller Pro unless there's a real benefit to using Wiimote and Nunchuk.

I would recommend Wiimote + Nunchuck.

The reason is that the main character's arts (read: attacks magic and skills) are heavily dependent on the position and it's very difficult to move and change arts using the CCPro. Also, your position in battle is important, and if you are using melee characters, chances are you'll want to move while changing or circling through arts.

You'll also be able to use the menus while running in the game, so you loose less time, and separated hands >> joined hands IMO.

The only benefit using the CC Pro is that it is more comfortable on the hands and you have a camera stick; but there is nothing you can do with the CCPro that you can't do with the Wiimote+Nunchuck, and the reverse is not true.

 

[Wiseblade]

Seventh character spoilers:

Spoiler

I kind of hate Fiora. She's got a serious Purity Sue vibe going and the way her relationship with Shulk is being forced down my throat is setting off my gag reflex. She's amazing in battle though, so I'm kind of conflicted.

I'm still only in the

Spoiler

Central Factory

so things might change, but they've kind of killed my plot hype.

 

[timetokill]

I fucking hate it when Shulk repeats every second word he gets told in the cutscenes.
what a clueless piece of shit

person X:" It's the Monado!"
Shulk:"the Monado!?"

person X:"it feels so strange to me"
Shulk:"strange!?...to you?!"

sometimes I wish Reyn would woop his ass for every stupid derp answer

Dat Japanese writing.

Seriously, this is a problem with a lot of JRPGs. Also, the constantly saying other people's names.

Just once, I want somebody to flip out on that person:

Dunban: "I need to do this, not for Colony 9, but for me."
Shulk: "Dunban..."
Dunban: "WHAT?"
Shulk: "Oh, I was just saying your name."

 

[Zomba13]

Dat Japanese writing.

Seriously, this is a problem with a lot of JRPGs. Also, the constantly saying other people's names.

Just once, I want somebody to flip out on that person:

Dunban: "I need to do this, not for Colony 9, but for me."
Shulk: "Dunban..."
Dunban: "WHAT?"
Shulk: "Oh, I was just saying your name."

Yup.
No real need to single out Shulk for it when pretty much every main character in every JRPG does it.

 

[SecretMoblin]

I would recommend Wiimote + Nunchuck.

The reason is that the main character's arts (read: attacks magic and skills) are heavily dependent on the position and it's very difficult to move and change arts using the CCPro. Also, your position in battle is important, and if you are using melee characters, chances are you'll want to move while changing or circling through arts.

You'll also be able to use the menus while running in the game, so you loose less time, and separated hands >> joined hands IMO.

The only benefit using the CC Pro is that it is more comfortable on the hands and you have a camera stick; but there is nothing you can do with the CCPro that you can't do with the Wiimote+Nunchuck, and the reverse is not true.

You certainly can move while selecting arts and menu items with the CCPro, but it is a bit awkward. For folks like me who are anal about camera controls and making constant changes, the right stick is an absolute must. And I fare quite well in battle.

It all comes down to personal taste.

 

[Man God]

Don't listen to anyone who says that one control type is garbage and the other amazing. They are both perfectly adequate and have their own advantages and disadvantages. I used both of them at different points (I let someone borrow my two CC's for a fighting game and completely forgot the CC Pro I bought on sale, so I played the first half of the game with the Nintendo Wii Remote and Nunchuck.

Combat is slightly easier with the Chuck+Remote, and exploration is slightly easier with the CC.

 

[Gvaz]

Yup.
No real need to single out Shulk for it when pretty much every main character in every JRPG does it.

They do it in anime too

 

[mclem]

Final character is great.....if you like having to deal with having to pull threat off every five seconds

Spoiler

I solved that problem by just making her a tank. She's very capable.

 

[Man God]

Spoiler

I solved that problem by just making her a tank. She's very capable.

Dunban still has better tanking artes and Reyn is even better as long as his agility isn't rock bottom.

Riki with the right skill investment becomes interesting, though he'd be a much better threat generator if DOT abilities had higher aggro. He can self heal for quite a bit, though he can't usually generate enough threat except with Riki is Angry and a certain spike build.

 

[jgwhiteus]

Started a second playthrough with a regular new game (with New Game+ I feel a lot of fun was being sucked out and I was just running from cutscene to skippable cutscene, since there was no need to fight anyone). I have to say, I really do appreciate how they set up the plot elements and motifs in the early parts of the game - the presentation and foreshadowing were well thought-out. Seemingly throwaway bits of dialogue in the early parts are now taking on a double meaning, e.g. - spoiler for the ending plot points of the game; don't read unless you've beaten it

Spoiler

when Reyn and Shulk first decide to head out of Colony 9 to avenge Fiora and find the Mechon, Shulk talks about having "two voices" in his head; one telling him to think of what Fiora would say and to focus on living, the other saying "kill every single one of them!" Seemed like kind of a cliche description of his emotions in the first playthrough; second playthrough it seems like a funny in-joke and bit of foreshadowing, since it turns out he actually did have a second voice / personality wanting to kill all the Mechon...

Enjoying it the second time around as much as the first; even though the plot isn't new anymore I truly understand the combat system and can minimize learning curve frustrations.

 

[RPGCrazied]

I wish you could play the game with certain things kept. Like affinity chart, heart to hearts, achievements, items and the like.

Keeping levels would make the game ridiculously easy.

 

[ivysaur12]

I just switched to red-yellow-white cables (my RGB cables broke) and man, this game takes a hit. I need to buy a new RGB set ASAP.

 

[Leeness]

Yup.
No real need to single out Shulk for it when pretty much every main character in every JRPG does it.

I actually don't mind it as much in Xenoblade as I do in other things. And I don't seem to notice it much except when it's exceptionally silly (like the "believe in myself??" exchange). I guess it's because Shulk is kind of naive and he's never left Colony 9, so when people are all "Yeah, we're going to Earyth Sea!" and he's all "Earyth Sea?", I don't care cause...he probably doesn't know what it is.

Whereas it bugged me in Xenosaga, because Shion was apparently ~the best scientist ever~ and she's all "...UMN??", "...Black...box???", "....CURRY??" and it's like...guuuuurl. C'mon now. I know it's for exposition, but please. If Shion is the best/youngest scientist in her division, at least give the exposition lead-ins to someone else.

 

[ivysaur12]

I actually don't mind it as much in Xenoblade as I do in other things. And I don't seem to notice it much except when it's exceptionally silly (like the "believe in myself??" exchange). I guess it's because Shulk is kind of naive and he's never left Colony 9, so when people are all "Yeah, we're going to Earyth Sea!" and he's all "Earyth Sea?", I don't care cause...he probably doesn't know what it is.

Whereas it bugged me in Xenosaga, because Shion was apparently ~the best scientist ever~ and she's all "...UMN??", "...Black...box???", "....CURRY??" and it's like...guuuuurl. C'mon now. I know it's for exposition, but please. If Shion is the best/youngest scientist in her division, at least give the exposition lead-ins to someone else.

Maybe it's a cultural thing and just a method of exposition? No idea. It's common in JRPGs, though

EDIT: People from the apartment next to me just called and asked if I could tell my "british friends to keep it down a little"

 

[Leeness]

Maybe it's a cultural thing and just a method of exposition? No idea. It's common in JRPGs, though

EDIT: People from the apartment next to me just called and asked if I could tell my "british friends to keep it down a little"

It could be, but it's definitely used as exposition lead-ins in most JRPGs and animes.

Lmao at your edit. That's awesome.

 

[anaron]

Dat Japanese writing.

Seriously, this is a problem with a lot of JRPGs. Also, the constantly saying other people's names.

Just once, I want somebody to flip out on that person:

Dunban: "I need to do this, not for Colony 9, but for me."
Shulk: "Dunban..."
Dunban: "WHAT?"
Shulk: "Oh, I was just saying your name."

Though it's certainly not relegated to this game exclusively, it truly is the most annoying thing ever.

Just unlocked the achievement "truly outrageous" for gem slotting. I fucking adore this localization.

 

[jgwhiteus]

Two things I just discovered on my second playthrough that I really wish I'd known my first time through:

- I didn't realize there was a "lure" option for far away enemies, e.g. fliers - it's a purple icon you can select after you've targeted a monster by pressing up/down from the "fight" icon. You throw a stone at them and do 1 damage, and they come to you, letting you choose where to fight instead of chasing after them - this would have saved me from fighting in lots of awkward spots, and having treasures drop into abysses.

- I never accessed the "collectopedia" before and assumed it filled automatically with collectibles, and that it was just for reference (I think I skimmed through the brief tutorial window that popped up). I didn't realize you had to manually access it and fill it, like a stamp book, and that you got fairly decent rewards (gems and armor) for filling up rows.

I feel kind of silly, but then again, people missed out on the landmark fast travel and time change options while playing. Even though the pop-up tutorials seemed a bit intrusive in the beginning of the game, there are a few instances where I wouldn't have minded if they'd been more intrusive with this stuff (e.g. forcing you to use "lure" on an enemy early on, or asking you to change the clock so you could find someone at night, etc.)

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

Dat Japanese writing.

Seriously, this is a problem with a lot of JRPGs. Also, the constantly saying other people's names.

Just once, I want somebody to flip out on that person:

Dunban: "I need to do this, not for Colony 9, but for me."
Shulk: "Dunban..."
Dunban: "WHAT?"
Shulk: "Oh, I was just saying your name."

I've pretty much gotten used to this style of writing by now. You can't expect Japanese writers to write as if they're not Japanese.

 

[Dead]

Just put in 4 and a half straight hours into this game

Holy shit

Cant remember the last time I ever did such a thing. I love everything about this.

 

[Laughing Banana]

Two things I just discovered on my second playthrough that I really wish I'd known my first time through:

-snip-

Mindblown. Not by the things you mentioned, but by the fact that you only just realized this on your second playthrough. Especially the Collectophedia.

How many hours you've spent for your 1st one? Upwards to 70-80 hours, I assume?

But then again, there's a person here before who did not know the meaning of "S" and "U" in weapons/armors when he already played up to 60 hours.

I am just... surprised, is all.

 

[ZoddGutts]

How far am I in the game percentage wise. I met

Spoiler

Fiora again and has regain her body at the beach area.

For people who have already finished the game.

 

[timetokill]

I've pretty much gotten used to this style of writing by now. You can't expect Japanese writers to write as if they're not Japanese.

Do Japanese people actually talk this way to each other, though? that's the weird thing to me. I know quite a few Japanese people and none of them have ever acted that way in my experience.

 

[ymmv]

How far am I in the game percentage wise. I met

Spoiler

Fiora again and has regain her body at the beach area.

I wish people knew how to use spoilers.

Hint: CONTEXT.

Without context (your current location, level, number of hours played, etc) you need to read the spoiler just to know what your question is. I just spoiled a significant plot point for myself. Good job!

 

[Rahxephon91]

But then again, there's a person here before who did not know the meaning of "S" and "U" in weapons/armors when he already played up to 60 hours.

What do they mean? I won't lie, there's probably a lot of elements of the game's system I've passed on. I still don't get jewel crafting and just aim for one result when making one.

 

[ZoddGutts]

I wish people knew how to use spoilers.

Hint: CONTEXT.

Without context (your current location, level, number of hours played, etc) you need to read the spoiler just to know what your question is. I just spoiled a significant plot point for myself. Good job!

Yet you still check under the spoiler. Derp. Was meant for people who have already finished the game. Will edit to make sure derps like you don't spoil themselves.

 

[iamaustrian]

quick fighting question:
What causes the sudden constant drop in KP during fights without even getting hit?
Sometimes it comes out of nowhere and I'm dead in seconds(sudden drop from 4000KP to 0KP in 500 steps).
I reckognized it more often during fights against Mechons in

Spoiler

Mechonis

.

(it's not "bleeding" because the bleeding-symbol doesn't show up above shulk. must be something else)

side note:

Spoiler

so, Mechon = B.O.R.G. (?)

 

[Seventh]

What do they mean? I won't lie, there's probably a lot of elements of the games system I've passed on. I still don't get jewel crafting and just aim for one result when making one.

Equipment with a blue "S" have 1-3 open slots available for gems. Equipment with a "U" on them have a beneficial effect on them that cannot be removed or replaced. Such as Ether up, strength up, aggro up, etc...

Another thing some people may not have noticed is that you can check what the effects of an equipped gem are. Let's say you wanted to know what "Good Footing II" does. Just go to your party menu and open up the equipment screen. Choose the item with the gem you're curious about, and press the + button on the Wii remote 3 times. A screen will pop up and tell you what the effect does, and how much it increases the effect by.

Before I discovered this, I assumed Quickstep improved your ability to dodge attacks so I had bunch equipped to my NPC tank. Turns out it increases your character's movement speed.

 

[Rahxephon91]

Equipment with a blue "S" have 1-3 open slots available for gems. Equipment with a "U" on them have a beneficial effect on them that cannot be removed or replaced. Such as Ether up, strength up, aggro up, etc...

Another thing some people may not have noticed is that you can check what the effects of an equipped gem are. Let's say you wanted to know what "Good Footing II" does. Just go to your party menu and open up the equipment screen. Choose the item with the gem you're curious about, and press the + button on the Wii remote 3 times. A screen will pop up and tell you what the effect does, and how much it increases the effect by.

Before I discovered this, I assumed Quickstep improved your ability to dodge attacks so I had bunch equipped to my NPC tank. Turns out it increases your character's movement speed.

OMG MY MIND HAS BEEN BLOWN!