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[K444WSR]

I've been playing this on and off since i got it, but finally managed to put in a marathon session today. Just getting ready to make way to

Spoiler

prison island

at level 40.

Am I about half way through? Absolutely loving it so far and don't want it ending anytime soon. All the recent plot developments have me interested and the game is just gorgeous with all the beautiful vistas. Skyward Sword will have to be insanely good to top this as goty.

 

[SecretMoblin]

I've been playing this on and off since i got it, but finally managed to put in a marathon session today. Just getting ready to make way to

Spoiler

prison island

at level 40.

Am I about half way through? Absolutely loving it so far and don't want it ending anytime soon. All the recent plot developments have me interested and the game is just gorgeous with all the beautiful vistas. Skyward Sword will have to be insanely good to top this as goty.

Opinions vary as to when the halfway mark is exactly, but you're definitely before it.

The great thing about Xenoblade is that unlike most JRPGs, there are always enemies to fight at your current level that will pose something of a challenge. Even at your maximum level there are a few that will give you a hard time. So there are always new enemies to seek out, places to explore, quests to complete, etc. I'm still not even finished because I decided to see everything there is to see before I finish up.

 

[Bowflex]

Okay, so I want to play this game, but I've never imported before and know nothing about it. If I import the EU version, would it play on my US Wii?

 

[Gvaz]

Okay, so I want to play this game, but I've never imported before and know nothing about it. If I import the EU version, would it play on my US Wii?

you have to either do a quick homebrew modification or do a trick (I can't recall how right now) to get your wii to load the disk. Also your tv has to support 50hz (pal)

 

[Feep]

I don't understand the "Keep Dunban naked" sentiment.

1) Even with the final skill at the end of his line, a 30% agility improvement does not offset all the agility+ gems I could put in slots on armor. I know gem AGL bonus maxes out at 50, but it isn't a huge deal.

2) Using Dunban + Shulk + Sharla, Dunban is usually the one I want taking damage; Shulk has no abilities to effectively control aggro. Dude falls in five hits without armor.

3) His vests are too classy. Must keep vests.

 

[Nocturnowl]

I don't understand the "Keep Dunban naked" sentiment.

1) Even with the final skill at the end of his line, a 30% agility improvement does not offset all the agility+ gems I could put in slots on armor. I know gem AGL bonus maxes out at 50, but it isn't a huge deal.

2) Using Dunban + Shulk + Sharla, Dunban is usually the one I want taking damage. Dude falls in five hits without armor.

3) His vests are too classy. Must keep vests.

This is the only reason you need, pretty sure I went the whole game with him in various vest colours

 

[Gvaz]

It's a neat gimmick but he works just as well with nearly the same amount of agility if he's got heavy armor on and the gem slots are simply too valuable to try naked.

Not that the game suddenly becomes hard with naked chars, but that min/maxing doesn't really work with it.

 

[K444WSR]

Oh wow...so I'm still before the halfway point. This game just keeps on delivering. Thanks secretmoblin.

So glad NOE decided to bring this over as it really is one of the best games this generation. The gameworld truly feels alive and along with the varied locations and tight gameplay, monolthsoft have truly outdone themselves. I'm not the biggest fan of jrpgs, but this game has none of the issues I have with the genre in general, and everything seems streamlined to deliver the optimal gaming experience.

 

[Dizzy-4U]

...

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...

...

 

[Bel Marduk]

Right, your disc drive might be fucked. Mine is - each game comes up with read errors (apart from gamecube games, oddly), but I can rip them to USB with the CFG USB Loader fine with no issues whatsoever. It's the only way I can play my retail games.

You got issues with Smash Bros Brawl? If that has errors too, it's gotta be the disc drive struggling with Dual Layer discs.

How long do you have to have the game in your drive before it can rip? Also, how long would a game the size of Xenoblade take (6.5~ GB right?)?

Just wondering just in case although I've been playing for nearly 50 hours and no problems.

 

[Hiltz]

This game could use more barrier battles like in Okami. It doesn't happen often, but it sucks when a monster knocks you over the edge of a platform. Either you die instantly from the fall, left for dead to drown in some toxic pool of acid or poison, or you survive but you end up staring at a wall, unable to see what is going on with your party. Sure, you can cancel the battle, but it sucks when you're close to killing some of the stronger monsters.

 

[SecretMoblin]

This game could use more barrier battles like in Okami. It doesn't happen often, but it sucks when a monster knocks you over the edge of a platform. Either you die instantly from the fall, left for dead to drown in some toxic pool of acid or poison, or you survive but you end up staring at a wall, unable to see what is going on with your party. Sure, you can cancel the battle, but it sucks when you're close to killing some of the stronger monsters.

Eh, I think it's mitigated by the fact that you are given essentially total freedom of movement during a battle, which allows you to position yourself in a way that's safe. I very, very rarely was pushed over the edge, and 9/10 of the times I went over the edge it was because (25%-30% game spoilers)

Spoiler

Melia's Spear/Knee combo sent her flying over a cliff

.

 

[flyover]

The jiggle physics and "male gaze" got really annoying later in the game, since the camera seemed obligated to have tits in the frame every time there was a female in a cutscene. I mean, when you're showing Shulk, do you REALLY have to show a pair on each side of his head in the background?

A little fanservice like that is okay. But for a game as serious as this one it just felt totally out of place, and was pretty far out of hand toward the end of the game.

I have to say I agree with this -- and I loved the game. I actually removed my preferred armor (which added a good deal of Haste) from one of my characters for the final dozen or so hours of the game, just because it was hard to take that character seriously in super-dramatic cutscenes -- and didn't fit the character, to me.

I can understand how, to some people, it wouldn't matter so much. But it was a little distracting to me. (Probably didn't help that my wife was watching/helping me play the whole game!)

 

[Zafir]

Eh, I think it's mitigated by the fact that you are given essentially total freedom of movement during a battle, which allows you to position yourself in a way that's safe. I very, very rarely was pushed over the edge, and 9/10 of the times I went over the edge it was because (25%-30% game spoilers)

Spoiler

Melia's Spear/Knee combo sent her flying over a cliff

.

It depends though. I got knocked off, just by the bigger enemy moving and knocking me off in CF. Like for example the mob moved around the side/back of a character to try and side/back attack or something, and Shulk would get knocked because he got caught in the movement path just because of how the game handles collisions.

 

[mclem]

You're in MF and you say you got the seventh character? You mean the 6th.

I would suggest that continuing to use this abbreviation would be unwise.

 

[Gvaz]

I would suggest that continuing to use this abbreviation would be unwise.

I meant the forest, not the other MF. I guess you could do MCF for the other one.

 

[Laughing Banana]

that's what i'm doing, but not as my main, i suck at using debuff characters


really hate this battle and the hunt for the bloody Black Liver Bean

She's not a debuff character you know. Its actually the other way around and with her you can tackle higher level monsters/uniques much easier than you would otherwise with physical-attack oriented characters.

Seriously, I tackled all the level 95-97 monsters/uniques in Tephra Cave when she's only 91 and the rest of the party hovering around 89-90... I wouldn't be able to clear that one if not for her. Her poison/chill/blaze attacks are GREAT for downing enemy's HP, and the high damage/fast cooling down nature of her lightning attack is just sweet.

Not to mention the forced topple of spear break + starlight kick that works even for bosses/uniques (that do not fly)--these two arts recharge very fast and does not require specific prerequisites like Dunban's Demon Slayer or the last character's Final Cross.

As for the Black Liver Bean, there's a fairly dependable method to get it. On a very small pathway in front of the entrance towards the Heart where you fight the boss, there's a spot where a collectible item will spawn. It seems like Black Liver Bean has a greater chance to spawn here than any other spot in the dungeon.

Just turn the clock to 15.00, save, load your file, and wait until around 17.00. Grab the collectible item... hopefully its Black Liver Bean. I've managed to get three using this method in about 40 minutes or so.

 

[Septimius]

Man, this game really, REALLY hits my RPG itch. It's so well balanced. Excellent paced, lots of various, but still intuitive aspects of the game. Heaps of stuff to do, and a fantastic combat system.

I really wasn't hoping it was this good, but I am oh so pleasantly surprised!

Everything down to the music is just right. I just got to the knee, so I'm not that deep in it, yet. But I've already played 10 hours. Absolutely fantastic game. Goes to show how beautiful you can make the graphics without a lot of horse power. But it is a tad too visible that storage/RAM constrains have become a bit too much. Imagine this game with twice the texture quality, even only for such crucial things as characters.

 

[Zomba13]

I have to say I agree with this -- and I loved the game. I actually removed my preferred armor (which added a good deal of Haste) from one of my characters for the final dozen or so hours of the game, just because it was hard to take that character seriously in super-dramatic cutscenes -- and didn't fit the character, to me.

I can understand how, to some people, it wouldn't matter so much. But it was a little distracting to me. (Probably didn't help that my wife was watching/helping me play the whole game!)

I try to dress the characters I don't use in a way that makes them look good but not stupid. Like, there is this one Heavy helmet that on Reyn looks utterly stupid (makes him look like he has some sort of beetle hat on). Can't take him seriously in that at all.
For the characters I use though I just put what is best for them.

 

[Hiltz]

I just had to search for a 2nd black liver bean earlier today. I found one in the area of what I think is called the

Spoiler

third lung in the Bionis Interior.

Just walk all the way to the end of the path and you'll see a blue orb. It's on the same high platform on the left side that overlooks and leads back into the location of

Spoiler

the big yellow pool that you have to swim into to have it lift you up to the upper portion of the map.

 

[flyover]

I try to dress the characters I don't use in a way that makes them look good but not stupid. Like, there is this one Heavy helmet that on Reyn looks utterly stupid (makes him look like he has some sort of beetle hat on). Can't take him seriously in that at all.
For the characters I use though I just put what is best for them.

Ha! I did the same thing. For the characters I didn't use much, I tended to put decent looking armor on them -- so long as it was still good enough that I could use the characters in a pinch, if necessary.

 

[BlazingDarkness]

The black liver bean trick seemed pretty unreliable to me, I actually found two in the very same spot on a platform in the northern part of the map, where a UM spawns (Can't remember the name, it's the long flying Telethia type)

 

[Gotchaye]

I think I know what he's talking about. The problem is that I was using that character and the haste armor is as bad as (or worse than) some of Sharla's. But it's too good not to use.

 

[TDLink]

I found my black liver beans on the stem of the Aorta. Just teleport to the Heart Entrance landmark and turn around and it is straight ahead at the end.

 

[Hiltz]

I found my black liver beans on the stem of the Aorta. Just teleport to the Heart Entrance landmark and turn around and it is straight ahead at the end.

Those ones were always either Happy Duck or Tap-Tap blue orbs for me.

 

[Gestahl]

I don't understand the "Keep Dunban naked" sentiment.

1) Even with the final skill at the end of his line, a 30% agility improvement does not offset all the agility+ gems I could put in slots on armor. I know gem AGL bonus maxes out at 50, but it isn't a huge deal.

2) Using Dunban + Shulk + Sharla, Dunban is usually the one I want taking damage; Shulk has no abilities to effectively control aggro. Dude falls in five hits without armor.

3) His vests are too classy. Must keep vests.

Melia has a skill that gives a 20% buff to strength, HP, and agility when no gems are equipped, that probably compliments Dunban's nakedness well.

 

[NeededSleep]

After finishing the game im going through withdraws. i need my RIKI fix. already found a paper craft version of him. the GF is gonna make it for my birthday. Damn that game was so damn epic i want more!!!!

 

[Luigiv]

There ARE benefits. Faster loading times, no wear on your drive laser whatsoever (if it is indeed dying), and no getting up to change discs (lol). Also, loads of cheat codes with some fairly useful ones like the one that ups the FPS from 25fps to 30fps.

It's worth doing, whether you're being legitimate with the game or not.

That one's just for Dolphin (it's technically a bug fix, not a cheat code). An actual Wii will run the game in PAL60 mode just fine, no codes required.

 

[Anasui Kishibe]

thanks Laughing Banana, that was ace. I got my first BLB

still have to down the Disciple...but that will do for another day

 

[Deleted member 57681]

I really adore the game as a whole, and find myself running around enjoying the landscapes and music, and doing monster and collection quests a lot, but where I am right now (about half way through I guess -

Spoiler

end of Erith Sea area with 50h on the counter

) the story sequences are kinda annoying. I'm generally used to that whole Japanese way of writing, but a lot of those happy-go-lucky friendship scenes and pseudo political stuff feels really awkward and failed in its intention to tell an epic story to me, not to mention Shulks repetitive visions-routine. The game really feels epic, regarding size and shear mass of content (even with the bad quest management), but the way it tries to tell its story makes it hard to keep attention...

 

[Gvaz]

I really adore the game as a whole, and find myself running around enjoying the landscapes and music, and doing monster and collection quests a lot, but where I am right now (about half way through I guess -

Spoiler

end of Erith Sea area with 50h on the counter

) the story sequences are kinda annoying. I'm generally used to that whole Japanese way of writing, but a lot of those happy-go-lucky friendship scenes and pseudo political stuff feels really awkward and failed in its intention to tell an epic story to me, not to mention Shulks repetitive visions-routine. The game really feels epic, regarding size and shear mass of content (even with the bad quest management), but the way it tries to tell its story makes it hard to keep attention...

The storyline is pretty typical for xeno fans, in terms of progression. regardless, almost everyone agrees that that area is the low point of the story, at least up until PI.

 

[Hiltz]

There's a quest in

Spoiler

Colony 6

to defend it from two Ancient Rhogulia near ether planter on Splintered Path. Problem is, I can't find em. I went down to the splintered path via elevator and didn't see anything there except for a bunch of

Spoiler

unimportant Telethia

. I also checked near the Freight Elevator area but again, only found the same species of monsters as the ones mentioned above. Where the heck is this place?

 

[Gotchaye]

They're where the bunch of /spoiler/ are. If I recall, the ether planter you're looking for is up against the cliff face on one of the dead-end branches of the Splintered Path.

I don't remember any elevator. I went out from where I got the quest and jumped the cliff, I think, or fast-traveled to the drainage pipe or whatever it's called.

 

[Deleted member 57681]

The storyline is pretty typical for xeno fans, in terms of progression. regardless, almost everyone agrees that that area is the low point of the story, at least up until PI.

Oh, I would call myself a Xeno fan, but I can't remember let's say Saga I or III dragging on like this is from

Spoiler

the beginning of Makna Forest

to where I am now. But yeah, I keep reading it's getting better later on, so I'll keep pressing on -- it's gonna be hard to decide between this and Dark Souls...

 

[Gvaz]

Since I'm bad at that series and find it way too punishing I'm going to have to say this one, regardless of it being the easiest game I've played lately.

 

[Laughing Banana]

There's a quest in

Spoiler

Colony 6

to defend it from two Ancient Rhogulia near ether planter on Splintered Path. Problem is, I can't find em. I went down to the splintered path via elevator and didn't see anything there except for a bunch of

Spoiler

unimportant Telethia

. I also checked near the Freight Elevator area but again, only found the same species of monsters as the ones mentioned above. Where the heck is this place?

Not around Freight Elevator--you're looking for an ether planter located near the cliff walls near Splintered Path. Just look around that area, it's not that hard to find actually.

 

[Hiltz]

Thanks for the help, Laughing Banana. I was just about to finish that quest a few minutes ago when all of the sudden my Wii started to make a loud grinding noise. Damn, I already had a new laser drive replaced last December so there better not be any more problems. Well, at least the game disc wasn't scratched or anything.

What happens after you get

Spoiler

daring of the giants?

Exile Fortress spoiler.

It's one of the three items you need to collect in order to finish another quest that's offered near the end of the game.

 

[badkitten]

Heads up for euro gamers if you've registered the star points for xenoblade nintendo are doing a customer survey (50 free points) let them know what you think so we can hopefully get more games localised

 

[Hiltz]

Thanks!

That one refugee napon in the cave at the marshes was starting to piss me off, btw. I was beginning to wonder if all the quests were a running joke.

Oh yeah, that little guy. Yep, some of the npcs will pester you with multiple quests.

 

[Gvaz]

Thanks!

That one refugee napon in the cave at the marshes was starting to piss me off, btw. I was beginning to wonder if all the quests were a running joke.

His quests are required to complete a quest chain later in the game IIRC. It has the best quest chain ending ever.

Well, the best one in the game anyways.

 

[Bel Marduk]

Thanks!

That one refugee napon in the cave at the marshes was starting to piss me off, btw. I was beginning to wonder if all the quests were a running joke.

Oh man, I hated running up that hill a million times to get to him.

 

[Gvaz]

It was one minute from a landmark, just go north then up the little hill. It's much better than others that are in between landmarks so you have to take the closest one.

 

[iamaustrian]

I don't get it.
How do I gain the ability to wear heavy amor? The awesome looking heavy armor is always blurred out in equip-screen.
I have Shulk, Reyn and

Spoiler

Dunban

in my party and no one can wear it.

I know it has something to do with the skill-tree(sp?) and I also use it but it only gives me the ability to wear moderately heavy armor on all three characters.

thanx in advance

 

[Gvaz]

One of them, probably reyn, has the ability to wear heavy armor. You use skill links to get it on other chars.

 

[michaeltraps]

I cannot wait for this game! I ordered from GAME.co.uk and it shipped on Monday - how much longer do I have to wait??

 

[Man God]

Reyn, Sharla, Riki and I think Dunban all eventually get Heavy Armour naturally.

The best armour in the game though is medium, but you can do some amazing things with heavy if you get a good set of U or if you get unadorned beauty and the best possible ungemmed stuff, but that will eventually be outdated by better gems and slotted equipment.

 

[jgwhiteus]

One of them, probably reyn, has the ability to wear heavy armor. You use skill links to get it on other chars.

I think Sharla also has it as a later skill in one of her trees, though Reyn can get it much earlier.

EDIT: never mind, see above; I guess Dunban and Riki as well. I didn't use heavy with Dunban in order to keep his agility stat up, but was fine with it for Sharla.

 

[Man God]

All of the best quest chains don't end until the very end of the game anyways.

 

[chaosblade]

I assume you get information about the giants and spiders from very, very late quests? I know it's brought up in some fairly early ones, but it seems like there are some late ones that delve into it as well.

 

[aceface]

Is it even worth it buying weapons and armor from merchants? Seems like whenever I buy any I get a better drop from an enemy or from a quest about 5 minutes later. 20 hrs into the game btw.