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[Psymon_Stark]

That's probably a tough party to work with in that battle.

Maining Melia, and having Riki+Sharla as AI is probably the best setup for that fight, unless you want to drop a character for Shulk and Monado Arts (Riki if Shulk is AI, Melia if you main Shulk). Melia will probably hold aggro so you'll be relying on Sharla a lot for healing. HP gems will probably be useful.

I was using Shulk+7th+Sharla in that battle and it wasn't exactly a smooth battle, but I didn't have much trouble with it either. But I also wasn't underleveled, I think I was 73 or 74.

As for the books, they are in the google docs document linked at the bottom of the OP. But be warned that it has unmarked spoilers all over it (although there shouldn't be many, if any, spoilers left for you at this point).

Good, then I'll level up until level 74, get some of the scrolls I think I need and then retry the battle with Mellia as a leader...hope this works!
I've got to finish this game before Zelda comes out XD Please tell me that this battle is the last hard battle XD I only had problem with

Spoiler

second Gadolt battle

before this point!

 

[SecretMoblin]

Good, then I'll level up until level 74, get some of the scrolls I think I need and then retry the battle with Mellia as a leader...hope this works!
I've got to finish this game before Zelda comes out XD Please tell me that this battle is the last hard battle XD I only had problem with

Spoiler

second Gadolt battle

before this point!

You will definitely finish it before Zelda comes out.

If most of the boss battles up to now didn't give you any trouble, you shouldn't have much trouble at the end -- assuming you're leveled properly, of course.

Edit: Damn my sleepy grammar!

 

[chaosblade]

You will definitely finish it before Zelda comes out.

If most of the boss battles up to now didn't give you any trouble, you shouldn't have much trouble at the end -- assuming your leveled properly, of course.

Yeah, the hardest boss left (IMO) is that annoying one at the end of the final dungeon, but as long as you have some spike resist gems it's not bad.

Toyed around with the game in Dolphin since I got my new PC set up. My settings probably aren't optimal since I was getting some framerate drops even at 4.5GHz and a few sound issues (even with LLE), but it looked fantastic. And some of the parts at the beginning foreshadow things through the whole game. Like (very late/end game spoilers)

Spoiler

Dickson talking about "him" being the only one who can control the Monado. He almost certainly wasn't referring to Dunban, but Zanza. And Shulk mentioning that there are "two versions of me, one is saying kill them, get revenge" is also obviously Zanza, just like when Shulk battles Egil.

 

[Mistle]

Zelda is my absolute favourite gaming franchise. I was hyped for Skyward Sword ever since the first trailer. Hell, even the first concept art lol. I've been counting down the days to release.

Xenoblade, I looked into a few days before it was out. Started playing it with no expectations. Now that I am finished... I honestly don't know how Zelda will top it for GOTY 2011. I thought I would already have Zelda easily locked in place, but Xenoblade is just one of those genre-defining games that comes out once a generation, if we're lucky.

Still incredibly pumped for Skyward Sword, no doubt, but it's got a damn hard act to follow.

 

[Codeblue]

I was vastly under leveled (4-5 levels) at the

Spoiler

Lorithea

fight. I managed to win eventually controlling Riki, and using Freezinate for damage and status attacks like Poison and Bleed. Most people prefer to control Melia, but I don't mind her AI. You can pretty easily force her to attack by using 'Focus Attacks'. Sharla as the third for keeping Riki up.

And yes, at the beginning of the fight use the 'Come to Me' command to make sure your teammates actually stick with you until you're in the middle of the room. That way, they're much less likely to fall into the Ether unless they're trapped and pushed in.

I finally got by it without having to grind using this set up but I was controlling Melia since the AI does a much better job with Riki than do. Things have gotten easier in the next area because everything gives out a ton of experience.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Speaking of Zelda, I think I'm going to finish up Xenoblade then take a break from gaming until Skyward Sword is out, because whatever I play in between the two will probably be forgotten.

 

[Philia]

When I got Xenoblade late September from a british friend (god bless him), I was intent to play this fully and nonstop til Skyrim. Skyrim would then immediately take up my entire focus on gaming. 275 hours later and 3 achievements left, I'm just about done with a week to spare.

I got Phoenix (been wiped out 50x), Complete 180 (Achieve Burst Affinity 2000x) and Happy New Year! achievement to unlock. I hear Burst Affinity will take forever lmao. I got those mobs to work with at least.

And after all that, the story is ok, I noticed some uh holes but I'm not picky. Its decent, but this game should had revolved around Melia some more because she's the best character EVER. Going back to Shulk was painful enough, but its a shame her AI sucks.

 

[Ultratech]

Just finished Makna Forest. Holy crap, Riki is...just crazy.
Feels good to just DoT everything to death. lol

"You're getting in the way of the Heropon!"

 

[SecretMoblin]

Zelda is my absolute favourite gaming franchise. I was hyped for Skyward Sword ever since the first trailer. Hell, even the first concept art lol. I've been counting down the days to release.

Xenoblade, I looked into a few days before it was out. Started playing it with no expectations. Now that I am finished... I honestly don't know how Zelda will top it for GOTY 2011. I thought I would already have Zelda easily locked in place, but Xenoblade is just one of those genre-defining games that comes out once a generation, if we're lucky.

Still incredibly pumped for Skyward Sword, no doubt, but it's got a damn hard act to follow.

There can be two brilliant, wonderful games in a single year, you know. ;-)

I enjoyed Xenoblade much more than I've enjoyed other RPGs in the last few

Spoiler

generations/

years, but I must admit that the last 30% or so of the game was kind of a letdown. It was still wonderful, of course, but the first parts of the game were designed to smack you over the had with gorgeousness over and over and over, and the last parts of the game are very same-y and heavy on the story, which isn't my cup of tea.

Such an amazing game for so many reasons, though.

 

[SovanJedi]

Finally finished this game last night - or more precisely this morning at about 5:30am. The final boss fight went on during a thunderstorm and lightning outside my window. Talk about a dramatic climax!

This was one of the best RPGs I have ever played. The world is amazing, the story phenomenal, the characters endearing and loveable, the cutscenes were epic, and the game very rarely felt like a chore except for some of the harsher sidequests (and at 113 hours completion time that's not a bad amount of well-paced gaming) Exploring this wonderful world that - even for a Wii game - constantly found ways to take my breath away was not only a ton of fun but also rewarded you with experience, meaning there was very, very little need to grind. That to me is genius, and I wish more RPGs had that kind of mentality (I can never play a Kingdom Hearts game with its pretty but woefully boxed-off environments the same way again.) Sitting around the top of Makna Falls and then jumping in was one of the biggest highlights for me. Even the berated M

Spoiler

echonis Field

offered a stark contrast to the rest of the game which I got a kick out of, plus it has some jaw dropping moments of its own anyway. And the music was fantastic throughout. I can't find enough words of praise equal enough to sum up my feeling for this game. This actually rivals Skies of Arcadia in my opinion, it's that good.

Oh, and fuck L

Spoiler

orithia

's boss battle. Easily the worst fight in the game.

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

Just finished Makna Forest. Holy crap, Riki is...just crazy.
Feels good to just DoT everything to death. lol

"You're getting in the way of the Heropon!"

Really? Gotta give him a better try, I found him underwhelming. Other characters do better damage, and I found his arts subpar. But to be fair, those were the ones he came with. Haven't tried him again.

 

[Ra1den]

Anybody know what the current status of this game's supplies are? I'd like to import it, but I am thinking of waiting for a price drop since I've got a bunch of other stuff to play. But I don't want to wait if it's starting to get rare.

 

[Nert]

Really? Gotta give him a better try, I found him underwhelming. Other characters do better damage, and I found his arts subpar. But to be fair, those were the ones he came with. Haven't tried him again.

Riki is outstanding for keeping you in almost permanent chain attack mode when you control him. Hitting Happy Happy, chain attack, and then Happy Happy to start it off is immensely satisfying. He's also a great AoE tank (although he has trouble keeping a single mob glued to him). His AoE heal was surprisingly strong as well for me, and could sometimes heal the entire party up to full during chain attacks (with the right skills selected). The only problem I ever had with him was that controlling Melia was more useful for me, leaving him at the mercy of the mediocre AI. I would have kept him in my party permanently if Xenoblade had some sort of variant of FFXII's gambits.

 

[Man God]

Riki is in fact a terrible tank because he is literally the worst aggro generator besides Sharla.

He can do incredible damage over time, almost never dies, keeps your chain up, is the best tool for leveling, can resurrect people with half a gauge bar and has an interesting topple effect that can actually work on much higher level monsters.

He just isn't a good tank.

 

[Zwei]

Anybody know what the current status of this game's supplies are? I'd like to import it, but I am thinking of waiting for a price drop since I've got a bunch of other stuff to play. But I don't want to wait if it's starting to get rare.

http://www.gamestracker.com/buy-xenoblade-chronicles-compare-prices-wii.htm

Most places seem to be in stock at the moment.

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

Well, I like using Melia. Maybe that's why I don't use him much, since both of them have terrible AIs. Shulk/Ryen/Dunban have serviceable AIs, the others no so much.

 

[Ra1den]

http://www.gamestracker.com/buy-xenoblade-chronicles-compare-prices-wii.htm

Most places seem to be in stock at the moment.

Nice site, thanks.

 

[Ultratech]

Riki is in fact a terrible tank because he is literally the worst aggro generator besides Sharla.

He can do incredible damage over time, almost never dies, keeps your chain up, is the best tool for leveling, can resurrect people with half a gauge bar and has an interesting topple effect that can actually work on much higher level monsters.

He just isn't a good tank.

I can agree with this. So much amazing stuff that he comes with, it's ridiculous. But definitely not a tank. Maybe a decent off-tank, but that's all I can think of.

 

[Man God]

Well, I like using Melia. Maybe that's why I don't use him much, since both of them have terrible AIs. Shulk/Ryen/Dunban have serviceable AIs, the others no so much.

The only major problem with Riki's AI is that he won't use AOE attacks on single targets and doesn't spam Hero Time or whatever it is like he should.

It's middle of the road.

Shulk, 7th, Dunban, Reyn are the best in some order. Melia is the worst. I'd probably put Riki ahead of Sharla.

 

[Jintor]

Dunban is tank of the year but you gots to agi that stuff like crazy.

Haven't gotten 7th yet so Idunno

Having to manually unequip gems every time is a pain. Any tips on raising affection, or should I just keep doing sidequests with party members that I want to raise basically?

I really hate arbitrary party limits. I know they're there for gameplay reasons, but I'd just love it if someone were to redesign an RPG so I can use my entire goddamn group...

 

[chaosblade]

7th was the best tank and probably the best AI controlled character from my experience. Great agility (although not quite as high as Dunban) plus the ridiculous damage the character could deal. Doesn't really have any tank arts to draw aggro, but the damage is put up so fast I never had to worry about aggro switching to another character.

And when I threw Dunban in the mix, they were a lethal team regardless of the character I manually controlled. Probably didn't even need a third character with those two.

 

[GC|Simon]

Okay guys. The clock says 45:40. My level is 62. And I just reached the

Spoiler

central factory

. The game was amazing until a few hours ago. Now it's simply incredible. Standing on the

Spoiler

Fallen Arm

seeing Bionis and Mechnois... this made me thinking "holy shit".

I really appreciate that many people in this thread play the game. But everyone who is into gaming should play this game. There may have been some better RPGs 20 years ago... but today, Xenoblade is the one and only benchmark. That world. That story. That fighting system. Whoa.

Wii has no games? Alone Xenoblade is worth buying this console.

 

[Mistle]

Okay guys. The clock says 45:40. My level is 62. And I just reached the

Spoiler

central factory

. The game was amazing until a few hours ago. Now it's simply incredible. Standing on the

Spoiler

Fallen Arm

seeing Bionis and Mechnois... this made me thinking "holy shit".

I really appreciate that many people in this thread play the game. But everyone who is into gaming should play this game. There may have been some better RPGs 20 years ago... but today, Xenoblade is the one and only benchmark. That world. That story. That fighting system. Whoa.

Wii has no games? Alone Xenoblade is worth buying this console.

this message should be broadcast to the entire gaming community

 

[Codeblue]

Conclusion spoilers:

Spoiler

I thought the ending was satisfying. A computer generated reality definitely wasn't what I was expecting.

My one question is, at the end, was that the top of the Bionis floating in the sea in the background, or was I imagining things?

 

[anaron]

I adore this game but people *really* need to stop with the hyperbole when they regard it. It's just setting up an experience it could never possibly live up to.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Conclusion spoilers:

Spoiler

I thought the ending was satisfying. A computer generated reality definitely wasn't what I was expecting.

My one question is, at the end, was that the top of the Bionis floating in the sea in the background, or was I imagining things?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO I accidentally Ctrl + A and saw the first sentence

 

[Sadist]

Conclusion spoilers:

Spoiler

I thought the ending was satisfying. A computer generated reality definitely wasn't what I was expecting.

My one question is, at the end, was that the top of the Bionis floating in the sea in the background, or was I imagining things?

Yes it was

 

[Octagon]

I adore this game but people *really* need to stop with the hyperbole when they regard it. It's just setting up an experience it could never possibly live up to.

But the game is really enjoyable and it is not like there are many other Wii RPG's.

 

[Mistle]

I adore this game but people *really* need to stop with the hyperbole when they regard it. It's just setting up an experience it could never possibly live up to.

Eh. I've been wanting a JRPG like this for an absurd amount of time. It lived up to and fulfilled my expectations, I *really* do think it's that good lol.

But I see where you're coming from. It's easy to get carried away when talking about the game...

 

[Man God]

Its the best console RPG I've played this century.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO I accidentally Ctrl + A and saw the first sentence

Why would you keep reading after "I thought the ending was satisfying" ? Blame control-a all you want, we all know you were weak and gave in to temptation.

 

[mclem]

Conclusion spoilers:

Spoiler

I thought the ending was satisfying. A computer generated reality definitely wasn't what I was expecting.

My one question is, at the end, was that the top of the Bionis floating in the sea in the background, or was I imagining things?

Spoiler

Calling it a 'computer generated reality' sounds like you mean it wasn't *real*, which isn't the impression I got from the ending.

I interpreted it as the events on the space station destroyed the universe and replaced it with the one created by Alvis. So I guess from that point it *is* a 'computer generated reality'... just also a *reality*, not a virtual one

 

[BlazingDarkness]

I adore this game but people *really* need to stop with the hyperbole when they regard it. It's just setting up an experience it could never possibly live up to.

Nah, Xenoblade is genuinely amazing
Peerless, even

 

[The Hermit]

as much as I think that Skyward Sword will be an awesome game, I really doubt it will top Xenoblade as my GOTY.
And, with very few exceptions, I despise JRPG. I really can't thank Gaf enough or else I would totally overlook this game.

 

[Codeblue]

Spoiler

Calling it a 'computer generated reality' sounds like you mean it wasn't *real*, which isn't the impression I got from the ending.

I interpreted it as the events on the space station destroyed the universe and replaced it with the one created by Alvis. So I guess from that point it *is* a 'computer generated reality'... just also a *reality*, not a virtual one

Yeah, that's what I meant.

Also, apologies to JonStark, if it makes you feel any better, that was probably the least exciting part of the conclusion.

 

[SecretMoblin]

Nah, Xenoblade is genuinely amazing
Peerless, even

I see what you did there

 

[Man God]

It Summoned the Flame of JRPG stardom?

It Summoned the Bolt of pure inspiration?

It Summoned the Copy of some of the great RPGs?

...I got nothing. Xenoblade is great.

In fact its so good I want NoA to stop localizing RPGs all together. The last two big ones they skipped (Xenoblade and Mother 3) were world class. They almost have to bring over Last Story because that one is merely average.

 

[Codeblue]

Is Last Story really average, or is it just average compared to Xenoblade?

 

[Mistle]

Spoiler

Calling it a 'computer generated reality' sounds like you mean it wasn't *real*, which isn't the impression I got from the ending.

I interpreted it as the events on the space station destroyed the universe and replaced it with the one created by Alvis. So I guess from that point it *is* a 'computer generated reality'... just also a *reality*, not a virtual one

Spoiler

I honeslty was happier just thinking the gods came in existence- no explanation needed. Much like the gods in our world. Though I wasn't too bothered by the whole scientist creating the world plot. I just felt it took away a tad of the "magic" and mystery of the game. Thankfully, the story still holds up incredibly well and it doesnt bother me too much.
And yeah, the universe is definitely real. Not virtual or anything.

To JonStark again, it's a shame you read that, but trust me there's still so much you don't know and have left to look forward too. Dont worry too much

 

[SovanJedi]

I am really annoyed, though, that every time I try to recommend this game to my RPG-loving friends their near universal response has been "lol, Wii".

I mean for fuck's sake... Most of them actually have Wiis so it's not like they can't play it.

 

[Gvaz]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO I accidentally Ctrl + A and saw the first sentence

That's your own damn fault.

Its the best console RPG I've played this century.

That's what I tell everyone but the response I get has always been:

"lol, Wii".
]

At least until I go into hard details of why it owns.

 

[A Human Becoming]

As much Xenoblade streamlines things, I still think more could have been done. Monolith did a fantastic job of taking away some of the headaches found in JRPGs, but somehow missed an obvious ways of simplification: being able to unequip gems in a store in order to compare base stats on equipment. Also, as far as I can tell, there isn't a quick button to check quests like there is for the map. These two take up a considerable unnecessary amount of time in an otherwise well designed experience.

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

As much Xenoblade streamlines things, I still think more could have been done. Monolith did a fantastic job of taking away some of the headaches found in JRPGs, but somehow missed an obvious ways of simplification: being able to unequip gems in a store in order to compare base stats on equipment. Also, as far as I can tell, there isn't a quick button to check quests like there is for the map. These two take up a considerable unnecessary amount of time in an otherwise well designed experience.

Yes, it takes an unnecessary amount of time to change equipment when a new batch is available.

 

[chaosblade]

As much Xenoblade streamlines things, I still think more could have been done. Monolith did a fantastic job of taking away some of the headaches found in JRPGs, but somehow missed an obvious ways of simplification: being able to unequip gems in a store in order to compare base stats on equipment. Also, as far as I can tell, there isn't a quick button to check quests like there is for the map. These two take up a considerable unnecessary amount of time in an otherwise well designed experience.

You can hit minus (on the CC) and it will bring up the base stats of equipment, so you can compare that way.

But I'd have liked to see the game transfer any gems that were already equipped. And for weapons if the new one has fewer slots it just drops the one on the bottom. And the quest management stuff is probably everybody's biggest complaint.

 

[Jintor]

The mainscreen UI design also takes up far too much of the screen

 

[Gvaz]

There is definately room for improvement but when a game gives you so much some complaints lose their strength.

 

[RurouniZel]

Really? Gotta give him a better try, I found him underwhelming. Other characters do better damage, and I found his arts subpar. But to be fair, those were the ones he came with. Haven't tried him again.

When I first got him, I felt the same way.

By the end of the game, he was bloody indispensable. He never left the party once I got to Level 60-ish. His ability to build up the party gauge faster was a must.

 

[NZNova]

I just bought this game based on all the people going nuts about it in here. It better be good or I'm coming for you /shakes fist

 

[SecretMoblin]

I just bought this game based on all the people going nuts about it in here. It better be good or I'm coming for you /shakes fist

So when to we tell him that this entire thread was all just an elaborate ruse, guys?

 

[A Human Becoming]

There is definately room for improvement but when a game gives you so much some complaints lose their strength.

Most assuredly. So far it's the best game I've played so far this year and the best JRPG of the generation.

 

[Luigiv]

So when to we tell him that this entire thread was all just an elaborate ruse, guys?

I say keep it up another few days.