Support NeoGAF

[EvilMario]

So I picked up Xenoblade again after selling BF3 and finishing Skyward Sword and well:

Spoiler

How on earth am I supposed to kill this piece of shit Gadolt? I am at LV 67, almost 68 and he kills everyone on my team in less than 3 hits. Let alone that his two guardians seem to endure so much punishment that I really don't know how to beat him.

Sure, I could just brute force it like with the rest of the game, but I really don't want to level grind again. It's ridiculous how long it takes to grind to a new level now, even when most enemies are around my level now or slightly below (65-68) The game has so much filler. Up until now it was kind of acceptable, but the novelty of the huge worlds has worn off for me, and the game feels more like work, like a chore rather than genuine entertainment.

I'm definetly not going to grind again, so I might just sell the game and watch the rest on youtube, as I simply don't feel compelled to put up with this shit.

Don't grind. Never grind. The game provides enough subquest that you should be able to complete a few of those, and level up much, much quicker than fighting. You're probably a couple levels below what most people are at during the fight, which can make a big difference, especially if you're not crafting good gems and have low agility.

As for the fight, I don't remember specifically, but

Spoiler

like any other metal face, toppling / dazing him works pretty well. And he won't attack Sharla, if you want to go that route. Shulk's Mondo Shield will help as well if you're using him.

 

[heringer]

Spoiler

Gadolt

is probably the hardest boss in the game, so take confort in the fact that if you defeat him you're probably good to go for the rest of the game.

Just do some quests. Fighting monsters isn't the best way to level up, like EvilMario said.

May I ask what team are you using? A simple character swap can do wonders in this game.

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

Just got back into this game over the holiday gaming spike. This game is soooooooo good. It makes me want to play more JRPGs...which I try...and then become disappointed because they're not more like Xenoblade. : /

 

[fabricated backlash]

Don't grind. Never grind. The game provides enough subquest that you should be able to complete a few of those, and level up much, much quicker than fighting. You're probably a couple levels below what most people are at during the fight, which can make a big difference, especially if you're not crafting good gems and have low agility.

As for the fight, I don't remember specifically, but

Spoiler

like any other metal face, toppling / dazing him works pretty well. And he won't attack Sharla, if you want to go that route. Shulk's Mondo Shield will help as well if you're using him.

Oh he is attacking

Spoiler

Sharla. Usually the first one he kills. Last time I tried he killed the entire team with laser bullet right from the get go. Also I love how he just randomly spawns new Guardians. Sometimes even directly after I finished off the first pair.

And with grinding I meant doing redundant sidequests that are about as exciting as watching grass grow. The side quests are plentyfull, but boring as shit.

I don't know, I've seen videos now of people beating that fight with LV66 and lower attacks and HP than my crew, but in those videos

Spoiler

Gadolt never respawned his guardians, and the AI actually did what they were supposed to do.

I'll be trying tomorrow with Shulk, Sharla and Reyn, using enchant and hopefully I get lucky.
Just a quick question still. How long does the game go on after this fight. Hopefully it isn't too long. Don't know how much I am still willing to sit through.

 

[McNum]

Oh he is attacking

Spoiler

Sharla. Usually the first one he kills. Last time I tried he killed the entire team with laser bullet right from the get go. Also I love how he just randomly spawns new Guardians. Sometimes even directly after I finished off the first pair.

And with grinding I meant doing redundant sidequests that are about as exciting as watching grass grow. The side quests are plentyfull, but boring as shit.

I don't know, I've seen videos now of people beating that fight with LV66 and lower attacks and HP than my crew, but in those videos

Spoiler

Gadolt never respawned his guardians, and the AI actually did what they were supposed to do.

I'll be trying tomorrow with Shulk, Sharla and Reyn, using enchant and hopefully I get lucky.
Just a quick question still. How long does the game go on after this fight. Hopefully it isn't too long. Don't know how much I am still willing to sit through.

There's the area you're in, and a couple more dungeons to go. Also, the story is about to get crazy-go-nuts. Look forward to that.

 

[Hiltz]

So I picked up Xenoblade again after selling BF3 and finishing Skyward Sword and well:

Spoiler

How on earth am I supposed to kill this piece of shit Gadolt? I am at LV 67, almost 68 and he kills everyone on my team in less than 3 hits. Let alone that his two guardians seem to endure so much punishment that I really don't know how to beat him.

Sure, I could just brute force it like with the rest of the game, but I really don't want to level grind again. It's ridiculous how long it takes to grind to a new level now, even when most enemies are around my level now or slightly below (65-68) The game has so much filler. Up until now it was kind of acceptable, but the novelty of the huge worlds has worn off for me, and the game feels more like work, like a chore rather than genuine entertainment.

I'm definetly not going to grind again, so I might just sell the game and watch the rest on youtube, as I simply don't feel compelled to put up with this shit.

- Have a good healer in the party like Sharla
- Take out his minions one at a time (try to at least topple them)
- Have Shulk cast Monado Shield and be ready to use his healing move when necessary
- If you get a vision, try to notify Sharla and use her shield move that absorbs ether
- Use the chain attack to either get Sharla to use her heal all party members or continue to do the topple/daze pattern
- Try to constantly topple or daze the boss as often as you can
- Cast Monado Shield first then

Spoiler

Armor

- Try to let Reyne or Dunban become the target of aggro against any of the enemies during the fight
- If you can, also make use of Shulk's Monado Buster, but only use it if your party doesn't need to be protected at the moment.

 

[Zornica]

Doesn't help that according to the spreadsheet, it's the only monster which drops rank 5 Night Vision material... Does anyone know what drops rank 4 Night Vision crystals? I'd love to be able to even hit it consistently - Agility Up gems don't seem to be enough. Kinda dreading going against the even harder ones.

I am not sure what party you are using, but if your main is melia, you can skip/ignore those nightvision gems entirely. Just keep here wind spell/buff active and link all agility skills in your skilltrees to your party members. use dunban as tank and get spike defense gems for everyone.
As a bonus, melia can reflect most magic, even the onehit lasershot from the lvl 105 unique.

Btw I think there are no lvl 4 night vision gems, I've never seen any below lvl 5. (but I think I saw some lvl 2 ones?)

 

[Eusis]

Anyway, could someone link me to that best JRPG's thread? I want some suggestions for a new JRPG. Is Baten Kaitos Origins worth it? I played the first one and thought it was OK, but Xenoblade is so fantastic I'm willing to give a chance to anything made by Monolith.

I hated the first BK but I enjoyed what I played of Origins. If you thought the first was OK then that probably increases your chances of liking Origins.

 

[spirity]

Just started playing this, about 4/5 hours in. Fantastic game. Likable characters, awesome soundtrack, open world, tons of content. Feels good hom.

 

[SecretMoblin]

Anyone who enjoyed this should play Baten Katos: Origins. It's not difficult to find, it's beautiful, and it's a blast to play.

And it plays on your Wii!

 

[Levyne]

Anyone who enjoyed this should play Baten Katos: Origins. It's not difficult to find, it's beautiful, and it's a blast to play.

And it plays on your Wii!

Not my Wii (the new lay down flat ones)

Spoiler

But I still have a GCN hooked up! Really liked BKO

 

[flyover]

Just started playing this, about 4/5 hours in. Fantastic game. Likable characters, awesome soundtrack, open world, tons of content. Feels good hom.

Ha! Glad you like it, so far. Welcome to Reyn Time.

 

[Killer Yakuza B]

I'll be trying tomorrow with Shulk, Sharla and Reyn, using enchant and hopefully I get lucky.

Wait, you mean you're not using enchant every time? Are you at least equipping Machina weapons on your party then? Seriously, I didn't have any problems at all against that boss using Shulk, Dunban (with a Machina sword) & 7th (who doesn't need Enchant or Machina weapons), and I never did any excessive grinding or anything. Clench your butt cheeks and get to it, man!

 

[fabricated backlash]

Wait, you mean you're not using enchant every time? Are you at least equipping Machina weapons on your party then? Seriously, I didn't have any problems at all against that boss using Shulk, Dunban (with a Machina sword) & 7th (who doesn't need Enchant or Machina weapons), and I never did any excessive grinding or anything. Clench your butt cheeks and get to it, man!

I'm not a complete moron. Of course all my party members use machina weapons right now, my gear is almost full with HP UP, Agility UP, and Strength UP all with lv. IV Gems. But all the tips in this thread are more or less useless, given that this boss can kill my entire party with one single attack or that he is able to respawn his minions the second I killed them off.

The idiotic thing with this game is, that normal combat is too easy, and doesn't require a single bit of tactics or consideration. Then you come across a boss and suddenly you should use tactics and maneuvers that are absolutely useless during the rest of the gameplay sections.

And yes grinding is necessary in this game. Hell it basically accounts to 90% of my playtime. Those boring side quests are just a nice distraction from the basic action of grinding your party up to a level where you can brute force yourself through the enemies.

- Have a good healer in the party like Sharla
- Take out his minions one at a time (try to at least topple them)
- Have Shulk cast Monado Shield and be ready to use his healing move when necessary
- If you get a vision, try to notify Sharla and use her shield move that absorbs ether
- Use the chain attack to either get Sharla to use her heal all party members or continue to do the topple/daze pattern
- Try to constantly topple or daze the boss as often as you can
- Cast Monado Shield first then

Spoiler

Armor

- Try to let Reyne or Dunban become the target of aggro against any of the enemies during the fight
- If you can, also make use of Shulk's Monado Buster, but only use it if your party doesn't need to be protected at the moment.

Thanks for the tips. I allready tried this tactic (more or less) but was allways cock blocked by the bosses instant kill moves (laser bullet) or his instant respawning minions (add to that that the AI was too retarded to focus on one of the minions, making them completely useless in the process. And yes I know how to get the party to aim for the same target as I do)

 

[chaosblade]

I'm not a complete moron. Of course all my party members use machina weapons right now, my gear is almost full with HP UP, Agility UP, and Strength UP all with lv. IV Gems. But all the tips in this thread are more or less useless, given that this boss can kill my entire party with one single attack or that he is able to respawn his minions the second I killed them off.

The idiotic thing with this game is, that normal combat is too easy, and doesn't require a single bit of tactics or consideration. Then you come across a boss and suddenly you should use tactics and maneuvers that are absolutely useless during the rest of the gameplay sections.

And yes grinding is necessary in this game. Hell it basically accounts to 90% of my playtime. Those boring side quests are just a nice distraction from the basic action of grinding your party up to a level where you can brute force yourself through the enemies.

A number of unique monsters hidden here and there are a lot harder than the story bosses you run into IMO. In fact I don't recall having any issues with the vast majority of the story bosses (only one that I remember and it's not even one most people seemed to have trouble with!).

Your best normal weapons plus enchant are probably better choices than Machina weapons if you are having this much trouble. Machina weapons may damage the enemies without enchant, but they are also naturally weaker. Plus Enchant adds a damage bonus against Mechon enemies too, along with allowing you to damage them, so it's useful regardless.

And what armor are you using? If you're sticking with heavy armor or something you might try changing to lighter armor. Heavy armor = physical defense, lighter armor = ether defense + agility. I went through the majority of the game using just light and some medium armor.

And to confirm, you have been changing skill trees right? Unlocking more skills and setting up good skill links can make a big difference.

If you've just used the default ones from the beginning instead if leveling all of them and setting up good links it's no wonder you would be having trouble. Several people seem to have overlooked that completely until late in the game, so while I doubt it's the problem I figured I'd ask.

Something is probably wrong somewhere though, I breezed through that boss pretty easily with my party, was Shulk/Sharla/7th I think. And I'm pretty sure I was a similar level. 69 maybe? One level can make a difference so it might be worth killing a unique monster nearby and getting to 68 if you haven't yet.


Edit: And for the laser that is 1HKOing you, it gives a vision right? Use Monado Armor. Most useful Monado art without question. If you haven't unlocked that you should do it ASAP.

 

[fabricated backlash]

A number of unique monsters hidden here and there are a lot harder than the story bosses you run into IMO. In fact I don't recall having any issues with the vast majority of the story bosses (only one that I remember and it's not even one most people seemed to have trouble with!).

Your best normal weapons plus enchant are probably better choices than Machina weapons if you are having this much trouble. Machina weapons may damage the enemies without enchant, but they are also naturally weaker. Plus Enchant adds a damage bonus against Mechon enemies too, along with allowing you to damage them, so it's useful regardless.

And what armor are you using? If you're sticking with heavy armor or something you might try changing to lighter armor. Heavy armor = physical defense, lighter armor = ether defense + agility. I went through the majority of the game using just light and some medium armor.

And to confirm, you have been changing skill trees right? Unlocking more skills and setting up good skill links can make a big difference.

If you've just used the default ones from the beginning instead if leveling all of them and setting up good links it's no wonder you would be having trouble. Several people seem to have overlooked that completely until late in the game, so while I doubt it's the problem I figured I'd ask.

Something is probably wrong somewhere though, I breezed through that boss pretty easily with my party, was Shulk/Sharla/7th I think. And I'm pretty sure I was a similar level. 69 maybe? One level can make a difference so it might be worth killing a unique monster nearby and getting to 68 if you haven't yet.

I am alomst finished with all skill trees. The only ones left is 7th (obviously) and some of Rikkis. as well as Dunbans (which I forgot to switch)
I am using light and medium armor with my entire crew, only Reyn is using heavy armor.
My agility is about 140-170 per character. With the lv. 4 gems and the current armor it's about the max I can get without sacrificing too much HP slots or offensive power.

I think I might have gotten very very unlucky too, since in the youtube playthroughs I watched, the boss never respawned his minions, while I had him respawn them immediately after killing them off, as well as the AI spazzing out running around like total retards and wasting time running between one and the other enemy.

I usually allways do the Break, Topple, Daze combo. My party is usually set up so Reyn is second in the chain command (7th, Shulk or Sharla as first to inflict break) to inflict Topple. But when you're being killed off almost instantly after the boss battle starts, then all that planning is useless from the get go.

To me it seems that this fight in particular might be glitched as I have seen quite a few playthroughs of that boss with lv 66 and below (I'm almost lv 68) and similar gear to mine, and not once did he deal that much damage, nor respawn his minions instantly in those videos. Maybe I get lucky today, but seriously, this shit is starting to piss me off.

 

[Zornica]

If you can't do it with your party, you should simply change the party.

That boss is pretty easy, if you play as melia (like pretty much everything else in the game).
First of all: Melia can reflect laser bullet back to him, she can cancel the attack entirely (so does sharla) with her hypnosis/sleep art, and she can seal arts (like shulk) and she also can prolong the Vision Time thanks to her 100% topple move.
I'd use Dunban as Tank, he does way more dmg - and thats what we are aiming for, and 7th or shulk. I'd go with shulk, his heal is sufficient, for the party and you have another option to block

Spoiler

gadolts

attacks

So if you know how to play melia, all boss fights are pretty easy.


btw: cya @ lorithia (you will understand when/if you get there)

 

[McNum]

Wait, hold on a moment... Melia can reflect attacks? How?

I was thinking of starting the game over and trying something different, and playing as Melia would cover that nicely. Plus using some other characters in the party. Poor Riki got all neglected...

 

[fabricated backlash]

If you can't do it with your party, you should simply change the party.

That boss is pretty easy, if you play as melia (like pretty much everything else in the game).
First of all: Melia can reflect laser bullet back to him, she can cancel the attack entirely (so does sharla) with her hypnosis/sleep art, and she can seal arts (like shulk) and she also can prolong the Vision Time thanks to her 100% topple move.
I'd use Dunban as Tank, he does way more dmg - and thats what we are aiming for, and 7th or shulk. I'd go with shulk, his heal is sufficient, for the party and you have another option to block

Spoiler

gadolts

attacks

So if you know how to play melia, all boss fights are pretty easy.


btw: cya @ lorithia (you will understand when/if you get there)

I think I'm just going to quit now, seen as this is viewed as one of the easier bosses. I'm definetly not looking forward to what is coming.

 

[Zornica]

yes, she can do some pretty awsome stuff.
here "reflect" spell reflect any art based attacks (physical-> red; and ehter->blue) - she can't reflect white ones, but she can cancel them with sleep and here mindblast thing (don't know the english name of that art).

I wrote a tutorial a while ago, you can read it here. you probably want to use google translate though

I think I'm just going to quit now, seen as this is viewed as one of the easier bosses. I'm definetly not looking forward to what is coming.

It's probably for the best, too bad you couldn't get into it and enjoy the awsome ride like everyone else in this thread.

 

[Wichu]

I think I'm just going to quit now, seen as this is viewed as one of the easier bosses. I'm definetly not looking forward to what is coming.

No way, I found him to be one of the hardest bosses too (if not the hardest). I think I eventually won with Shulk/Reyn/Sharla - I used

Spoiler

Eater

to remove his Haste buff (he gets it when he summons minions), then spammed Shield so his talent art couldn't do any damage (it's what was killing my party members most of the time).

 

[fabricated backlash]

It's probably for the best, too bad you couldn't get into it and enjoy the awsome ride like everyone else in this thread.

Yeah I mean, too bad the game turns to shit after having spent 60 hours on it ...

 

[Killer Yakuza B]

I'm not a complete moron.

Didn't mean to imply that you were one, but you made it sound like Enchant was gonna save your life or something when it's pretty useless once you get Machina weapons (or Melia and 7th, for that matter). I was trying to help, anyway, but some of the things you say are kinda confusing since I can't really remember having any trouble there, and from what others are saying neither did they.

Yeah I mean, too bad the game turns to shit after having spent 60 hours on it ...

So you can't beat a boss that a bunch of us beat without any frustration whatsoever and suddenly the game is shit? Man...

 

[fabricated backlash]

So you can't beat a boss that a bunch of us beat without any frustration whatsoever and suddenly the game is shit? Man...

Yeah, let's completely ignore the fact that the game took a nosedive into filler content just right before this and the general motivation of going forward has fallen rapidly since the only real hook to the main characters motivation was removed just a short while ago.
At this point the story merely runs on fumes, and the last two hours were spent grinding through a nice looking environment with no real purpose other than to get from point a to point b. Even with the recent (expected) story turns, there is no motivation for me left to put up with this crap anymore.

Let alone that at this point I have no intention to grind for hours again (sidequests are grinding) just to advance past this bullshit boss and then have to do the same chore again once I see the next boss.


I gotta admit though, that I'm not really into the story, nor the gameplay of this game. It's ok but nothing to get me excited. I bought the game mainly to explore the vast environments, and for what it's worth, I got my enjoyment out of that. Some of the vistas are incredible and some of the Night-Day changes to the look of some areas has to be seen to be believed.
As far as gameplay goes, the game is pretty much a mess. Normal gameplay is way too easy, with no challenge, and nothing that would promote the player learning ways to deal with status effects or battle tactics. you can brute force your way through every single normal encounter (not counting uniques) and then you are expected to have learned how to use advanced tactics once the occasional road block boss comes around.

There is depth in the gameplay mechanics and a great battle tactic paying off is rewarding, but it is undeniable that this aspect has been neglected for most of the games encounters.

But please belittle me pinpointing my frustration with the game on this particular boss by telling me how everyone and their dog had no problems with this boss, because obviously my frustration is just due to my own incompetence. (sorry if I'm insulting but I'm seriously pissed off about this)

Didn't mean to imply that you were one, but you made it sound like Enchant was gonna save your life or something when it's pretty useless once you get Machina weapons (or Melia and 7th, for that matter). I was trying to help, anyway, but some of the things you say are kinda confusing since I can't really remember having any trouble there, and from what others are saying neither did they.

The biggest problem I've seen with this boss is, that on the first try (7th, Dunban, Reyn) I almost got him. Had him down to a quarter health and then he just wiped the floor with me in an instant.

After that I switched up my party, brought in Sharla instead of Dunban and from there on out it got progressively worse. No scratch that. It became a farce.

Out of the seven tries, he killed my party twice on startup. He respawned his minions instantly after I killed them, the AI spazzed out and ran around like headless chickens, making them completely useless.

Either it is me doing everything wrong or I just hit the perfect storm of bad luck and general frustration.

 

[Killer Yakuza B]

Yeah, let's completely ignore the fact that the game took a nosedive into filler content just right before this and the general motivation of going forward has fallen rapidly since the only real hook to the main characters motivation was removed just a short while ago.

I read all that you wrote, had my answer typed down and then thought "why the hell should I bother?" This game is obviously not for you, you've made that pretty clear. Just know that you are pretty much alone in this, not that that should matter to you, anyway, but you are stating pretty far out opinions as facts when you yourself admit that you are being unlucky. You complain about the game being too easy then you don't wanna go on when it's hard. Also, I've no idea what you mean by filler and by the way, you are right in front of what's possibly the most important point story-wise. You lost your motivation to go on when you-know-what happened? All I can do in answer to that is sigh. Motivation is all I got from that. We are pretty different you and me.

But please belittle me pinpointing my frustration with the game on this particular boss by telling me how everyone and their dog had no problems with this boss, because obviously my frustration is just due to my own incompetence. (sorry if I'm insulting but I'm seriously pissed off about this)

Even ignoring my posts (which, I admit, didn't really help you much), looking at everyone else's posts makes it obvious that you are doing something seriously wrong and you yourself sort of admit to that. Don't blame it on the game and don't take out your frustration on me.

You are obviously not having a good time playing this game, and I think you should have quit a while ago, but don't try to shrub the game off as shit after putting 60 hours in it. I hate to be the one to say this but: Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

 

[chaosblade]

I read all that you wrote, had my answer typed down and then thought "why the hell should I bother?" This game is obviously not for you, you've made that pretty clear. Just know that you are pretty much alone in this, not that that should matter to you, anyway, but you are stating pretty far out opinions as facts when you yourself admit that you are being unlucky. You complain about the game being too easy then you don't wanna go on when it's hard. Also, I've no idea what you mean by filler and by the way, you are right in front of what's possibly the most important point story-wise. You lost your motivation to go on when you-know-what happened? All I can do in answer to that is sigh. Motivation is all I got from that. We are pretty different you and me.

I hate to be the one to say this but: that's, uh, like, your opinion, man.

To be fair, the story does pretty much come to a halt between

Spoiler

Fallen Arm and Agniratha

.

Spoiler

Mechonis Field and Central Factory

could have been cut down without losing anything, that was a very long period of not really doing anything but making your way through long, linear environments. And it doesn't help that

Spoiler

Sword Valley and Galahad Fortress

were also linear and generally uninteresting, with only one area inbetween the four "meh"-grade ones that was nice.

But yeah, from

Spoiler

Mechonis Core

the story does pick back up, but the environments for the last couple areas are still FFXIII-style linear and completely unlike the areas from the beginning of the game which is definitely a downer (even if it didn't bother me too much).

 

[heringer]

Guy is just frustrated. Even the best game ever can be called shit if you're at a high point of frustration. I've been there, not with Xenoblade though.

Hard to tell what the problem is. That boss fight is hard (it was the hardest in my experience) but it shouldn't be killing you that fast. Maybe the fights you're watching have teams with the right gems. Maybe you should try messing around with some gems? Don't know what else I could tell that wouldn't be considered useless at this point.

 

[Killer Yakuza B]

Spoiler

Mechonis Field and Central Factory

could have been cut down without losing anything, that was a very long period of not really doing anything but making your way through long, linear environments.

The music of

Spoiler

Mechonis Field

alone is enough to justify its existence XD

 

[fabricated backlash]

Listen, I am thankfull for your input. I'm just at a point where the game frustrates me to no end. The environments leading up to this point where dull, boring and merely tacked on to make the game longer. It almost seemed as if they wanted to have some

Spoiler

Mechonis areas to match the vast Bionis areas, but forgot to include all the nifty stuff that made the Bionis areas so interesting to visit.

Spoiler

Also, the part where they save Fiora is beyond idiotic. Not that I don't like her character, but every single bit of motivation just evaporated right there. Sure I figure that the game will bring in another hook pretty soon, especially now that it is clear that the bionis will probably awake at some point and an alliance is needed. But from the fallen Arm up to now, the game consisted of 100% filler content. And that has built up some nice frustration culminating in the Gadolt Fight.

Spoiler

Also... how on earth did the commander of colony 9 come back to life? Didn't he get crushed in the beginning, or is it normal that people killed by the Mechons come back to life making their death completely irrelevant

After finishing this weeks comic, I'm going back to double check if there's something I'm missing.

Guy is just frustrated. Even the best game ever can be called shit if you're at a high point of frustration. I've been there, not with Xenoblade though.

Hard to tell what the problem is. That boss fight is hard (it was the hardest in my experience) but it shouldn't be killing you that fast. Maybe the fights you're watching have teams with the right gems. Maybe you should try messing around with some gems? Don't know what else I could tell that wouldn't be considered useless at this point.

That's exactly what I wanted to look at first. It's weird though as I have mostly lv 4 stuff equipped, with some lv 5 forged agility gems.

Still thanks for the tips, I am just frustrated that a game that started off so amazing just completely cockblocked me with no obvious explanation.

 

[drtomoe123]

Okay, am I the only one who

Spoiler

kind of wanted Fiora to die at the end of the story so Melia could be with Shulk? I mean, don't get me wrong, I really like Fiora, but by the end of the story, I was totally rooting for Melia. Especially once Fiora explained her body's failing condition at Colony 6, I totally thought that Fiora was going to die for real before the game was over

.

 

[fabricated backlash]

Okay, am I the only one who

Spoiler

kind of wanted Fiora to die at the end of the story so Melia could be with Shulk? I mean, don't get me wrong, I really like Fiora, but by the end of the story, I was totally rooting for Melia. Especially once Fiora explained her body's failing condition at Colony 6, I totally thought that Fiora was going to die for real before the game was over

.

Spoiler

Hell I was pissed she didn't remain dead, so at least Shulk could have some sort of believable character drive. His constant save everyone attitude is annoying as hell.

 

[chaosblade]

Okay, am I the only one who

Spoiler

kind of wanted Fiora to die at the end of the story so Melia could be with Shulk? I mean, don't get me wrong, I really like Fiora, but by the end of the story, I was totally rooting for Melia. Especially once Fiora explained her body's failing condition at Colony 6, I totally thought that Fiora was going to die for real before the game was over

.

I think most people feel that way since

Spoiler

Melia is a more developed character, the second most developed outside of Shulk in the main story. But you know, they kind of had to screw Melia, it seems like one of their goals was to ensure that absolutely nothing resolved positively for her!

 

[drtomoe123]

I think most people feel that way since

Spoiler

Melia is a more developed character, the second most developed outside of Shulk in the main story. But you know, they kind of had to screw Melia, it seems like one of their goals was to ensure that absolutely nothing resolved positively for her!

Okay, it's good to hear that other people felt the same way.

Spoiler

I thought that the game was going to handle it well due to what happened with Reyn/Sharla/Gadolt. During the scenes where Gadolt came into the picture, it was obvious that the relationship between Reyn and Sharla was the elephant in the room (and I thought that the game would either totally ignore it or drench it in melodrama), but I was pleasantly surprised that the game handled it the way it did, thus leading to, in my opinion, one of the best instances of Reyn's maturation and overall character. So, of course, after seeing that, I thought that they'd do the same with Shulk and Melia, especially after that "I'm rooting for you" scene between Melia and Sharla earlier.

But noooo, they just have to kill her father, brother, a majority of her community, AND bring Fiora back to life so she can steal the man she's grown to love. ugh

.

 

[chaosblade]

Okay, it's good to hear that other people felt the same way.

Spoiler

I thought that the game was going to handle it well due to what happened with Reyn/Sharla/Gadolt. During the scenes where Gadolt came into the picture, it was obvious that the relationship between Reyn and Sharla was the elephant in the room (and I thought that the game would either totally ignore it or drench it in melodrama), but I was pleasantly surprised that the game handled it the way it did, thus leading to, in my opinion, one of the best instances of Reyn's maturation and overall character. So, of course, after seeing that, I thought that they'd do the same with Shulk and Melia, especially after that "I'm rooting for you" scene between Melia and Sharla earlier.

But noooo, they just have to kill her father, brother, a majority of her community, AND bring Fiora back to life so she can steal the man she's grown to love. ugh

.

And if you did the heart-to-heart in the last area you can hear her thoughts on the matter.

 

[heringer]

Okay, it's good to hear that other people felt the same way.

Spoiler

I thought that the game was going to handle it well due to what happened with Reyn/Sharla/Gadolt. During the scenes where Gadolt came into the picture, it was obvious that the relationship between Reyn and Sharla was the elephant in the room (and I thought that the game would either totally ignore it or drench it in melodrama), but I was pleasantly surprised that the game handled it the way it did, thus leading to, in my opinion, one of the best instances of Reyn's maturation and overall character. So, of course, after seeing that, I thought that they'd do the same with Shulk and Melia, especially after that "I'm rooting for you" scene between Melia and Sharla earlier.

But noooo, they just have to kill her father, brother, a majority of her community, AND bring Fiora back to life so she can steal the man she's grown to love. ugh

.

Spoiler

Steal? How did Fiora stole anything if she was Shulk's sweetheart in the first place?

I did feel bad for Melia though. They totally screwed her, which just made her a stronger character, but without a satisfying finale. Actually, she was the only character without a satisfying finale, which is a shame.

However, I don't think it would make a lot of sense for Shulk to be with her, since he never really showed any strong feelings for Melia. It's different from Reyn and Sharla, because they were always showing affection towards each other, it was a two way street. For Shulk and Melia It would only feel forced, I think. It would feel like every protagonist needs a girl even if that doesn't make sense within the context.

On the other hand, the whole scene up to the point where Shulk kisses Fiora for the first time is really well done. In a way it's a bit weird, because he never showed any desperation about Fiora, but when he jumps the platform after her... damn, you could feel it. And the kiss scene itself was tastefull. I mean, almost every kissing cutscene in gaming feels awkward, but this time I think it worked because of smart camera work and context. That scene sealed the deal, he was going to stick with Fiora no matter what, and the whole "oh, it's a long shot, but I think I could give your homs body back" talk only confirmed that.

 

[Dr.Hadji]

I'm about 10 hours in, about to head into Colony 6. Was really diggin the pacing the battle system allowed but now each new area has a large number of older enemies with a new name, higher level. Its kind of a soft enemy leveling system, with me using the same strats and is turning most of my battles into repetitive enemy slogs. Heck, even the new enemies don't provide too much new to do.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

That's exactly what I wanted to look at first. It's weird though as I have mostly lv 4 stuff equipped, with some lv 5 forged agility gems.

Still thanks for the tips, I am just frustrated that a game that started off so amazing just completely cockblocked me with no obvious explanation.

Gem-wise at that point of the game I was mostly using Physical Protect, Ether Protect and agility up (quick step on my main as well...gotta go fast). I can't remember the %age damage reductions the first two offer but I think >level 4 was when it started to get significant.

For my physical attacking characters haste+double attack gems are at a high enough level (the materials for these tend to be linked to other less desirable ones; hopefully someone will link to that gem crafting post to cover how to get the most out of them) for the boost (haste) or activation rate (double attack) are good and due to the nature of them will help out more for general damage (well that and a certain skill that makes double attack better). Though characters with Haste aura artes might like to ignore the haste gems (as their aura will grant more; play those types of characters as let off artes; activate haste aura and then let auto attack do its stuff, when the aura has expired the artes should have finished cooldown, repeat until you fight something with physical attack spikes and watch yourself die in 5 seconds...).

 

[Hiltz]

I'm about 10 hours in, about to head into Colony 6. Was really diggin the pacing the battle system allowed but now each new area has a large number of older enemies with a new name, higher level. Its kind of a soft enemy leveling system, with me using the same strats and is turning most of my battles into repetitive enemy slogs. Heck, even the new enemies don't provide too much new to do.

Yeah, the battle system does get repetitive despite learning new moves and having to deal with visions and equipping specific gems for use against some of the more dangerous monsters and bosses. Toppling and dazing enemies will remain the most useful and effective strategy throughout the game. On the bright side, you will get to see a lot of different enemies despite encountering similar ones. Anyway, you're still very early in the game. Of course, you can help keep things a bit fresh by switching around your party members and taking control of someone else once in a while.

 

[chaosblade]

hopefully someone will link to that gem crafting post to cover how to get the most out of them

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=31772085&postcount=14576

I'm about 10 hours in, about to head into Colony 6. Was really diggin the pacing the battle system allowed but now each new area has a large number of older enemies with a new name, higher level. Its kind of a soft enemy leveling system, with me using the same strats and is turning most of my battles into repetitive enemy slogs. Heck, even the new enemies don't provide too much new to do.

Try different partys and main different characters. You don't have many options yet (just switching the one you main basically), but there are a ton of different ways to play the game, just about any combination of characters can be successful. It's not hard to keep it interesting.

Spoiler

On the other hand, the whole scene up to the point where Shulk kisses Fiora for the first time is really well done. In a way it's a bit weird, because he never showed any desperation about Fiora, but when he jumps the platform after her... damn, you could feel it. And the kiss scene itself was tastefull. I mean, almost every kissing cutscene in gaming feels awkward, but this time I think it worked because of smart camera work and context. That scene sealed the deal, he was going to stick with Fiora no matter what, and the whole "oh, it's a long shot, but I think I could give your homs body back" talk only confirmed that.

One thing that was hilarious was a bit after that when

Spoiler

Fiora said she was thirsty again, clearly hinting she wanted to kiss Shulk again, but Shulk obliviously got the water back out and gave it to her.

He could probably use some tips from the Girl-age folks.

 

[Elfforkusu]

Okay, am I the only one who

Spoiler

kind of wanted Fiora to die at the end of the story so Melia could be with Shulk? I mean, don't get me wrong, I really like Fiora, but by the end of the story, I was totally rooting for Melia. Especially once Fiora explained her body's failing condition at Colony 6, I totally thought that Fiora was going to die for real before the game was over

.

Spoiler

You're not the only one, but I wasn't surprised. If it weren't for bad luck, Melia would have no luck at all.

It's okay, she's the best character as a result. She's totally going to poach Shulk's son! ;p

re: grinding. No, you don't have to grind. I was ridiculously overlevelled ("kill the final boss in 10 hits" overlevelled) by the end of the game, and the only grinding I did was for an early boss, before I started doing any sidequests.

Spoiler

Xord

The sidequests are rather tedious on their own, but they give enough EXP as a reward that you really only need to do a handful.

 

[Oxx]

<3 Melia

 

[Penguin]

So wanted to know how close to the end I am

Spoiler

Egil just offered up his soul to re-awaken the Mechonis.

 

[StunandStab]

<3 Melia

Me too! My favourite character so far...

I've just started playing this game recently and I fucking love it! One of my favourite things about it is that changing gear actually changes what the characters are wearing... that's SO awesome and I wish more RPGs did this! But at the same time, that can also be one of the most irritating things about the game. For example, for a large portion of the game I had Shulk wearing Mist Oil, which makes him shirtless, which I thought really didn't fit for some cutscenes. Then there's the fact that my entire party was wearing

Spoiler

jungle gear

for the entire duration of their stay in

Spoiler

Alcamath

. It really made them all look like a big group of barbarians, lol. I love this game, though, it's so good. Oh, also, there are way too many side quests, WAY too many!

 

[Starwolf_UK]

So wanted to know how close to the end I am

Spoiler

Egil just offered up his soul to re-awaken the Mechonis.

If you mainline it you're at

Spoiler

about 85%, so about 8 hours but a lot of sidequests open up shortly. Due to the levels you need to beat most of these levels the final bosses lose any challenge so it might be better to think of them as postgame content (random observation: Magical Starsign also did this...though IIRC at least Xenoblade doesn't let you save after the cearly marked point of no return...well unless you overwirte the file with new game plus one)

Also you've probably guessed

Spoiler

the alcomoth sidequests are about to expire. This includes the Red Pollen series in Fronteir village (which is one the good sidequest lines in terms of what it the story and world)

 

[fabricated backlash]

Ok WHAT THE FUCK.

Same team as yesterday (Shulk, Sharla, Reyn) same tactic, and same gems and armory... I wiped the floor with

Spoiler

Gadolt

.
I mean seriously, what happened. That Son of a ... wiped me for the last 2 days straight. Everything I tried failed fabulously, but then all of a sudden I beat him like some random low level enemy...

does the game have adaptive difficulty that scales down an enemy if you die a set amount of times? Cause honestly, it felt like a completely different boss fight. Also, I beat the rest of the bosses

Spoiler

the apocrypha core, Egil, the Telethia

without problems. Hell the more I play now the less I understand what went wrong with that particular boss.

I might have encountered a bug or something, because I didn't change anything, yet the boss suddenly went down like a little bitch.

Spoiler

The story itself got pretty neat though, even if some of the betrayals like Dickson and Alvis were real non shockers. Also does no one wonder how anyone on Bionis leg could even hold on when he obliterated the Mechonis. Imagine Makna Forest when the bionis wants to scratch itself.

 

[Killer Yakuza B]

Congratulations, man! Glad you kept at it and didn't give up.
You can pretty much go ahead and beat the game now, I think, without having to do the whole bunch of quests that opened up since you don't like those, although there might be some less "filler" ones that you might want to check out.

 

[chaosblade]

Congratulations, man! Glad you kept at it and didn't give up.
You can pretty much go ahead and beat the game now, I think, without having to do the whole bunch of quests that opened up since you don't like those, although there might be some less "filler" ones that you might want to check out.

He'll probably have trouble with that one boss most people seem to struggle with, but other than that it's pretty much a straight shot to the end from that point. And yeah, there are some good meaningful quests that open up after that plot point.

 

[Oxx]

Some of my eventual victories against the tougher bosses did feel a bit random, but I generally abandoned all finesse at that point and just spammed Shulk's abilities.

 

[SovanJedi]

I decided after this game and some of the suggestion posts that I want to try out Baten Kaitos Origins. I got the first game and didn't get on with it (though I may be able to motivate myself to play it some more, some elements of it I enjoyed) but looking up videos of Origins just floors me with how much better the voice actors alone are. Seriously, it's like night and day.

...well I'll do it next year. I promised myself I wouldn't buy too much this year until the backlog is done. Including Baten Kaitos.

 

[RPGCrazied]

The hardest boss in the game for me was

Spoiler

Lorithia

Mainly because the way you fight it. Those acid pools don't help either, since it always moves you into them. I had to way over level to get past it.