Support NeoGAF

[magicalsoundshower]

Another neat spot for leveling up if you're in the early 80s is most of the coasts other than the starting one in Eryth Sea. Many of them are full of Level 84/85 Kromars which are really easy to take on one by one. Once they're all murdered just save and reload to make them respawn.

 

[chaosblade]

Another neat spot for leveling up if you're in the early 80s is most of the coasts other than the starting one in Eryth Sea. Many of them are full of Level 84/85 Kromars which are really easy to take on one by one. Once they're all murdered just save and reload to make them respawn.

They also drop some useful crystals if I remember correctly.

 

[Ledsen]

There is some crazy shit in some people's fifth skill tree.

FIFTH???

 

[SecretMoblin]

FIFTH???

You're learning quite a bit today!

 

[Oxx]

Seems like my Wiimote batteries are finally on the way out after 72 hours of Xenoblade (and an unspecified amount of use before starting the game). They had a good run.

 

[Bel Marduk]

Seems like my Wiimote batteries are finally on the way out after 72 hours of Xenoblade (and an unspecified amount of use before starting the game). They had a good run.

My second pair is on my last bar after nearly 130 hours. My last pair lasted a long time on only one bar though.

 

[ivysaur12]

Finally got to the

Spoiler

Fallen Arm

.

Shulk has a million questions to ask 7th and he doesn't ask any. Damn, Shulk.

What's the best team to use now?

 

[Crispy]

Finally finished this after 129 hours, bought it on launchday.

Endgame spoilers:

Spoiler

When carrying over stuff to the new game + it says the final Monado is transferred, but the next time you finish it, it won't be carried over unless you have it equipped or you specifically select it. If not, it will be LOST FOREVER. Since you beat the final boss with the final Monado, how will the third time you finish the game play out? How will the final boss be defeated? I wonder....

Now I can finally do something else in my free time than playing Xenoblade. But man, was it worth it.

 

[Bel Marduk]

Finally got to the

Spoiler

Fallen Arm

.

Shulk has a million questions to ask 7th and he doesn't ask any. Damn, Shulk.

What's the best team to use now?

I don't think there's really a "best team" (the game is really good with variety) but the most most talked about/used general purpose endgame teams are probably Melia(controlled)/Shulk/Dunban and Shulk/7th/Dunban.

I don't think you should stick to any one team though, at least outside of tough enemies (edit: sometimes you need to use Sharla for tougher enemies) where you need to bring your big guns in every now and then. Building up affinity between party members is a good idea because of useful skill links and you can see more Heart to Hearts that way, which do expand on the characters.

Btw, maxing out affinity with Shulk and Reyn as well as keeping affinity low with 7th and Riki is good for achieving Megaheat to get you two lvl 6 gems.

 

[chaosblade]

Finally got to the

Spoiler

Fallen Arm

.

Shulk has a million questions to ask 7th and he doesn't ask any. Damn, Shulk.

What's the best team to use now?

Pretty much what Bel Marduk said.

Shulk/Dunban/7th is the best overall damage output party if you're set up right. Swapping in Melia is good for the ether damage and buffs when necessary. Not to mention her quick topple.

There are also instances where Reyn is useful, since he's the best tank when it comes to fighting many enemies at once, but he falls behind Dunban and 7th against single enemies since he'll eat a lot more damage and require healing. He also deals less damage.

Sharla also sees uses in some of those bigger fights as well, I'd say when you use Reyn she should probably tag along too since he'll take a good amount of damage. I took her along for story fights too.

I never really used Riki, so I can't speak for him.

 

[MetatronM]

Finally got to the

Spoiler

Fallen Arm

.

Shulk has a million questions to ask 7th and he doesn't ask any. Damn, Shulk.

What's the best team to use now?

My main team from basically that point on has been Shulk/Riki/7th, with occasional situational changes and some different teams for sidequesting (mainly for the sake of affinity). Shulk for controlling Monado arts and his ever useful physical arts, Riki for ether, toppling, debuffs, and just generally having a shitload of HP, 7th for massive damage output with the ability to break, topple, and daze. Shulk and Riki can also cover healing duties pretty well, and the whole team has high agility, which goes great when combined with Monado Armor and/or Shield and/or Speed. Shulk and 7th also come naturally equipped with anti-Mechon weapons by default as a nice bonus, and Shulk's Monado Purge neutralizes the threat of spike damage. Riki and 7th also draw a ton of aggro, so that helps keep the heat off of Shulk.

Team has been pretty darn unstoppable through the last several zones.

 

[EvilMario]

Pretty much what Bel Marduk said.

Shulk/Dunban/7th is the best overall damage output party if you're set up right. Swapping in Melia is good for the ether damage and buffs when necessary. Not to mention her quick topple.

There are also instances where Reyn is useful, since he's the best tank when it comes to fighting many enemies at once, but he falls behind Dunban and 7th against single enemies since he'll eat a lot more damage and require healing. He also deals less damage.

Sharla also sees uses in some of those bigger fights as well, I'd say when you use Reyn she should probably tag along too since he'll take a good amount of damage. I took her along for story fights too.

I never really used Riki, so I can't speak for him.

I used Riki a bunch mid-game as mostly player controlled, but because the Monado is so helpful in the last third of the game he kept being left out. He's still a great Tank though, because of his incredibly high HP (I keep it at 9,999, even if it's over kill, lulz), area healing and all those status attacks. I'm not sure he's the smartest CPU though. He'll heal when required, but sometimes it seems like he doesn't Poison / Bleed the enemy enough, while he loves to use his Topple attack. Tons of fun to use as Player controlled character though.

Shulk / Sharla / Dunban is what I've been using for most of the story fights now, with 7th coming in to build up affinity while I'm just running around. I appreciate CPU Sharla's diverse healing. The fights might be slower because of less damage over, but I feel much safer with Sharla in the party.

I do try to use everyone though when I'm in a comfortable area, like going back to do side quest. Really need to get that affinity up to see those Heart to Hearts.

 

[ivysaur12]

I don't, I feel fairly let down by the revelations on the

Spoiler

Fallen Arm

after you get the 7th.

Spoiler

Besides the fact that I still don't understand Zanza or Lady whatever or how they actually fought the Bionis or Mechonis, it seems kind of lame that Egil's only motive is for revenge on a plot point that kind of just makes sense in the grand scheme of things. I expected something more wowwy, especially when Egil mentioned the tyranny of the Bionis.

 

[Rich!]

I don't, I feel fairly let down by the revelations on the

Spoiler

Fallen Arm

after you get the 7th.

Spoiler

Besides the fact that I still don't understand Zanza or Lady whatever or how they actually fought the Bionis or Mechonis, it seems kind of lame that Egil's only motive is for revenge on a plot point that kind of just makes sense in the grand scheme of things. I expected something mom wow-esque, especially when Egil mentioned the tyranny of the Bionis.

You'll understand why and how they fought, when you watch the cutscene when you beat

Spoiler

zanza

.

I'll explain here for you anyway.OH GOD SORRY - DON'T READ UNTIL AFTER THE MECHONIS AREAS. My memory is so shit:

Spoiler

Zanza IS the Bionis. He is in essence, a god. The Bionis is the physical form he created when he entered the new world. The beings on his body keep him alive with their ether/life force - however he is TERRIFIED of being forgotten/his life force leaving him to explore new lands. So, when the beings on Bionis become evolved enough to leave, he wipes them out - using the High Entia, which turn into Telethia - who then commit genocide, so he can start life anew. For the past thousand years, he was imprisoned in the body of Arglas the giant - however, using the Monado he inhabited shulk's body. Meyneth's physical form was the Mechonis. Her inhabitants - the peaceful Machina - were attacked by the Bionis/Zanza when he first attempted to destroy all life and re-start the world. With the help of the High Entia imprisoning him, Zanza was stopped and the remaining Machnia fled to the fallen arm. Egil knew though that Zanza would soon awaken - so he started an army (the Mechon) to destoy all life on Bionis - and therefore, Zanza himself.

Does that help? Explains their motives fully.

 

[Feep]

People keep comparing damage output of team vs. team, when I can't see how that matters.

Because there are absolutely no non-renewable resources in battle, shouldn't the focus be on sustainability? That is, you maximize healing and defense so that you can stay alive indefinitely against the most difficult opponent you can. How quickly, then, you can kill that enemy is irrelevant. Shulk + Reyn + Sharla might be the most sustainable combo...it might be slow, but the big uniques have so much HP that you need to be able to survive for long periods of time no matter how quickly you can deal damage.

Edit: Spoiler above has no context and should be immediately edited.

 

[PigSpeakers]

People keep comparing damage output of team vs. team, when I can't see how that matters.

Because there are absolutely no non-renewable resources in battle, shouldn't the focus be on sustainability? That is, you maximize healing and defense so that you can stay alive indefinitely against the most difficult opponent you can. How quickly, then, you can kill that enemy is irrelevant. Shulk + Reyn + Sharla might be the most sustainable combo...it might be slow, but the big uniques have so much HP that you need to be able to survive for long periods of time no matter how quickly you can deal damage.

Edit: Spoiler above has no context and should be immediately edited.

I've just started to notice this. I'm not that far right now (just got to the jungle) and I've been noticing more and more that I can't just power through fights like I was earlier, and having a healer in my party is seeming more and more important.

 

[Feep]

What the FUCK?!

I AM ON THAT AREA AND ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING UP THERE IS MASSIVE SPOILER TERRITORY.

No one read that shit. What the fuck, man.

 

[MechaX]

Ugh. I'm at Sword Valley and I'm getting really frustrated at the difficulty spike of some of these mobs. It doesn't help that the AI is doing things that are immediately getting themselves killed. (IE, Shulk not starting off with Enchant, Sharla deciding run into the fray to aggro everyone, etc). I don't even get it, since I've been doing most of the quests and I'm at least matching levels or one level above the mobs here.

 

[Dynedom]

Ugh. I'm at Sword Valley and I'm getting really frustrated at the difficulty spike of some of these mobs. It doesn't help that the AI is doing things that are immediately getting themselves killed. (IE, Shulk not starting off with Enchant, Sharla deciding run into the fray to aggro everyone, etc). I don't even get it, since I've been doing most of the quests and I'm at least matching levels or one level above the mobs here.

Matching levels means next to nothing, unfortunately. Danger Levels should be the big tip off as to how hard an enemy is. Even then, there can be huge swings with the Unique Mobs.

I almost always control Shulk when we're going through Machina territory, unless my other characters have Machine weapons. I just found it not worthwhile to wait for him to cast Enchant on his own.

 

[Duderz]

Wall of mislabeled spoilers.

Dude, those revelations come a ways after where he is...

 

[SecretMoblin]

I really hope ivy and anyone else who isn't in the endgame didn't read that.

 

[EvilMario]

Ugh. I'm at Sword Valley and I'm getting really frustrated at the difficulty spike of some of these mobs. It doesn't help that the AI is doing things that are immediately getting themselves killed. (IE, Shulk not starting off with Enchant, Sharla deciding run into the fray to aggro everyone, etc). I don't even get it, since I've been doing most of the quests and I'm at least matching levels or one level above the mobs here.

I controlled Shulk throughout Sword Valley, whereas I was mostly using Riki in the previous areas. It's just so much easier to make sure things go according to plan, and even Heal in a pinch if the other AIs are screwing up.

That said, Sword Valley was pretty damn easy for me, even being a couple levels under most of the enemies for a while.

 

[CoolS]

I really hope ivy and anyone else who isn't in the endgame didn't read that.

I am so glad I didnt Highlight that spoiler because i am at the exact same spot. But somehow I had a bad feeling about it.

I just won't read any spoilers till I'm finished now, shit's too dangerous.

 

[Gvaz]

Those are endgame spoilers and should be labeled as such. Really, most of that isn't said till the very end so for someone who just got 7th that's massive

 

[ivysaur12]

Thank god I start reading from the bottom up.

Also, it's extremely lame how

Spoiler

there are tree, grass, and biological organism on the fallen arm. I wanted an entire metal ecosystem.

 

[Man God]

Riki will not die easily and can do insane damage over time if properly maxed. If only DoT damage added to aggro he could also do ridiculous spike damage with Riki is Angry but beggars can't be choosers. You can do it is the second best healing spell in the game for what its worth, and hero time is very handy in keeping up tension.

He can also revive party members for half a party gauge bar. In any late game party with sharla this makes you more or less invincible.

 

[SecretMoblin]

Thank god I start reading from the bottom up.

Also, it's extremely lame how

Spoiler

there are tree, grass, and biological organism on the fallen arm. I wanted an entire metal ecosystem.

Hm.

All I can say is, just keep playing.

 

[MechaX]

After doing some equipment revamping and deciding to control Melia, I can take on most of the mobs now.

.. Although, now I'm getting royally owned by Lightning Ronove.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

I've been playing several games since I finished Xenoblade...

I miss the game so much

 

[EvilMario]

I've been playing several games since I finished Xenoblade...

I miss the game so much

After this run through, I'll probably start a + game next year, when the Wii landscape is barren. Although given my gigantic backlog it's probably not a good idea..

 

[Man God]

You can run through NG+ insanely quickly.

Maxed out quickstep, skipping cutscenes, not having to fight non boss monsters ever.

 

[flyover]

I'll explain here for you anyway. No spoilers, really considering where you are:

That's a really nice analysis, but I can't believe you said you're not spoiling anything. You just revealed almost all of the biggest near-endgame revelations. Sheesh.

Wipe out that post, or at least label it properly before the spoilers. You clearly love the game, so don't go ruining it for others.

 

[Bel Marduk]

Spoiler

With the help of the High Entia imprisoning him, Zanza was stopped

More like

Spoiler

he was injured and let himself rest up in Prison Island/Valak Mountain and was just waiting for the inevitable future he saw in a vision where Shulk releases him eventually. He could've broke out if he wanted to.

Thank god I start reading from the bottom up.

Also, it's extremely lame how

Spoiler

there are tree, grass, and biological organism on the fallen arm. I wanted an entire metal ecosystem.

The next few areas you'll get your wish but they're all dungeons areas.

 

[Ledsen]

I controlled Shulk throughout Sword Valley, whereas I was mostly using Riki in the previous areas. It's just so much easier to make sure things go according to plan, and even Heal in a pinch if the other AIs are screwing up.

That said, Sword Valley was pretty damn easy for me, even being a couple levels under most of the enemies for a while.

Really? I'm getting my ass OWNED by the unique lvl 55 guarding a bridge I have to cross. I'm lvl 55 myself.

 

[Oxx]

Ha, I read all those spoilers. Good thing I'm not too bothered by having the story spoiled at this point.

 

[ivysaur12]

Damn. I'm still at the place you get the 7th and I wish this game had a first person look around mode just so I could take it all in.

 

[_Alkaline_]

Just got back into the game after a decent break - work has been taking up far too much of my time lately and I can't play Xenoblade in anything but 2+ hour sessions. Once I start, I can't stop.

So great to be back. 38 hours in and just

Spoiler

]tidying up some Colony 6 quests before I head back onto the story to face the Telethia

 

[ivysaur12]

Okay, yeah. This is the best location besides the Guar Plains. Unreal.

 

[SecretMoblin]

Okay, yeah. This is the best location besides the Guar Plains. Unreal.

There's a spot on that island (you'll know what I'm talking about if you've been there) that's almost obscene, it's so gorgeous.

Sadly, none of the future areas really stunned me in the same way.

 

[Rich!]

Holy fuck, sorry guys

My memory is terrible. Didn't mean to ruin anything - I honestly thought I was remembering the right location.

 

[KenOD]

Decided to load up my save for right before the final boss, just to go through the ending again.

Spoiler

They really made a mistake not letting us go through that colony being built. I would love to be able to talk to the various people and see what their lives are like now with no fate and the aftermath of all the battles

.

Music is still so good, end and start.

 

[ivysaur12]

There's a spot on that island (you'll know what I'm talking about if you've been there) that's almost obscene, it's so gorgeous.

Sadly, none of the future areas really stunned me in the same way.

Yup. Found it. It was unreal.

 

[Jintor]

I'm just starting out guys. This menu music is awesome. I kinda just want to leave it on this press any button screen and never play it.

 

[Rich!]

I'm just starting out guys. This menu music is awesome. I kinda just want to leave it on this press any button screen and never play it.

Make your choice wisely. If you press the button, you'll lose the next 100~ hours of your life.

Do you really want to do that?

Spoiler

of course you do

 

[Cwarrior]

how do i make weapons?(am near the end)

Got material for 7th's weapon, but where do go to make it? and I also have a few more future vision material items to build other character weapon something about going to a

Spoiler

mechon who’s name starts with z or had z in his name??

 

[Rich!]

how do i make weapons?(am near the end)

Got material for 7th's weapon, but where do go to make it? and I also have a few more future vision material items to build other character weapon something about going to a

Spoiler

mechon who’s name starts with z

I don't recall any mechon at all starting with that letter...

The only character in the whole game who starts with a Z is

Spoiler

Zanza, isn't it?

Not a mechon.

 

[SecretMoblin]

how do i make weapons?(am near the end)

Got material for 7th's weapon, but where do go to make it? and I also have a few more future vision material items to build other character weapon something about going to a

Spoiler

mechon who’s name starts with z or had z in his name??

If I'm remembering things right, you should be able to backtrack through the

Spoiler

Central Factory before you finish the Mechonis Core stuff, allowing you to get to the machine and make her weapon. It isn't really necessary, though; I think she gets that weapon automatically anyways. Obviously, that option becomes unavailable once you finish the Core part of the storyline.

 

[Laughing Banana]

The OST Gaur Plains should be called Bionis' Legs since it plays in all areas of Bionis' Legs and Gaur Plains is just a small part of it.

*nitpick*

 

[davonaytor]

Just got this game in the mail. It shipped over a month ago. I will never buy anything from Zavvi again.

 

[eshock]

After doing some equipment revamping and deciding to control Melia, I can take on most of the mobs now.

.. Although, now I'm getting royally owned by Lightning Ronove.

Apparently there's an achievement you can get for dying/retrying a unique battle a certain number of times.

I earned that achievement on Lightning Ronove.

The things I did that made a difference were crafting a few Spike Defense gems, giving everyone Dunban's Spike Defense + skill, and the big one, focusing on break+topple+daze through Chain Attack. My first billion attempts I attempted to go max damage with chaining red, but it's so much more worth it to guarantee topple/daze with this guy.