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[Cerebral Assassin]

Alright, I think I'll work on some NA OT templates over the next few weeks and post them here. I need to make sure it's legible, coherent, and - most importantly - credit is given where it's due.



Glowing... star? Materials that have either a white or a red exclamation point (in the upper-left, I believe) are necessary for quests. Most everything else can be sold, unless you want to keep an old weapon or piece of armor for some reason. Often, materials/items that don't have an exclamation point will be used for future quests; the white exclamation point merely points out that

Spoiler

you've seen a Monado vision telling you the item is necessary.

The vast majority of items in the game can be gotten as drops, and the drop rate even for rare items isn't nearly as brutal as it can be in some RPGs.

Yeah, the larger bags have a star/cross in the top left corner (I'm not talking about the exclamation marks), also it may be better than most RPG's but considering the time I've spent in a forest without finding enough

Spoiler

bitter Kiwi's & Kale(?) mushrooms

for a particular quest it can't be that good.

 

[SecretMoblin]

Yeah, the larger bags have a star/cross in the top left corner (I'm not talking about the exclamation marks), also it may be better than most RPG's but considering the time I've spent in a forest without finding enough

Spoiler

bitter Kiwi's & Kale(?) mushrooms

for a particular quest it can't be that good.

Oh, those stars. Heh, sorry. Those are just stylized flourishes to the icon that demonstrates the "rarity" of the item. Bigger bags mean the item is more "rare", but that doesn't always mean the item is difficult to obtain. If you're starting to get enough of any item, regardless of the rarity, you can sell it if you want. Unless you're running very low on inventory space, don't worry about selling things just yet. Money is almost useless in the game, aside from art books and a very major sidequest.

 

[Cerebral Assassin]

Oh, those stars. Heh, sorry. Those are just stylized flourishes to the icon that demonstrates the "rarity" of the item. Bigger bags mean the item is more "rare", but that doesn't always mean the item is difficult to obtain. If you're starting to get enough of any item, regardless of the rarity, you can sell it if you want. Unless you're running very low on inventory space, don't worry about selling things just yet. Money is almost useless in the game, aside from art books and a very major sidequest.

Thanks, I have filled all 5 pages of materials & I was just about to start a new section

Spoiler

High Entia Tomb, so I guessed I would need some space. I really enjoyed the whole section, especially all the ribbing Reyn was taking from everyone (even Riki was funny) & the plot suddenly became a lot more intriguing

I agree about money though, I have about 600K & I only buy the Art books (talking of which, can books be bought to level up the Monado skills? I assume you can, but I must have missed the shop with them).

 

[Wichu]

I agree about money though, I have about 600K & I only buy the Art books (talking of which, can books be bought to level up the Monado skills? I assume you can, but I must have missed the shop with them).

No, you unlock that during the story.

 

[Cerebral Assassin]

No, you unlock that during the story.

Ah cool, means I haven't missed a shop.

 

[Extra Sauce]

If you use quicktravel you rarely have to travel more than a minute in any direction to get anywhere.

Did you know that there is a button that immediately brings up the map for the current area?

Did you know you can go on the main menu and quick travel between zones?

Yeah. Still would have liked to move faster because I was a bit burnt out on running when I got to the later zones like Valak Mountains, which is kind of boring and barren for the most part.

The whole map is revealed once you visit all the landmarks in an area. So you don't really have to search out every nook and cranny.

And between maxed quickstep and some movement speed skill links, you can get almost 50% faster. Considering the characters don't run that slowly to begin with that's not a bad boost.

By the end of the game I only had one quickstem gem, which game me 5 or 10%. I guess I should have crafted more, but didn't care to really get into the crafting system. That's on me though, not blaming the game for that.

 

[wsippel]

Ah cool, means I haven't missed a shop.

Probably not. There are, however, two Monado arts you can only get by doing certain sidequests, both of which are nice to have.

 

[Cerebral Assassin]

Probably not. There are, however, two Monado arts you can only get by doing certain sidequests, both of which are nice to have.

I'll have to keep an eye out for them,

Spoiler

I've just seen Melia annonced as heir & the Mechons are on their way, I assume the sidequests are after I've been to Prison Island

?

 

[chaosblade]

Yes, both are after that point. But you shouldn't be far off from being able to get the first one. I never used that one anyway, the second hidden one is possibly the most useful Monado art though.

 

[SecretMoblin]

I'll have to keep an eye out for them,

Spoiler

I've just seen Melia annonced as heir & the Mechons are on their way, I assume the sidequests are after I've been to Prison Island

?

Yes, you don't have to worry about either of them for a while.

Edit: Yeah, and both aren't missable, so no need to worry if you can't get them as soon as possible.

 

[DeSo]

HOLY SHIT WHERE HAS THIS GAME BEEN ALL MY LIFE

I'm a few hours in. I bought a Wii for this.

THE MUSIC. Fuck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xweRl4LZlmo

GET OUT OF MY HEAD

The battles are fun as hell yet challenging when they need to be.

As soon as I work out this gem shit I'll be set. lol

 

[SecretMoblin]

As soon as I work out this gem shit I'll be set. lol

You shouldn't need to worry about gems too much for the first half of the game; you can get the best ones from sidequests, anyway.

If you ever want some great reading material, though, Man God's excellent guide should be useful.

 

[DeSo]

Ah, cheers for that!

 

[wakajawaka]

GET OUT OF MY HEAD

tam tam tam.

(...)

teee roo reee rooo...

 

[nan0]

The battle against

Spoiler

Face Nemesis/#7

and the following hour of cutscenes and gameplay was probably the most awesome stuff I played in the past few years.

Btw, is there some indicator if a weapon has "Anti-Mechon" capabilities? The ones that you can buy have it in their name, but they don't seem to have a special ability for that.

 

[SecretMoblin]

Btw, is there some indicator if a weapon has "Anti-Mechon" capabilities? The ones that you can buy have it in their name, but they don't seem to have a special ability for that.

I'd have to boot the game up to double-check, but I'm pretty sure most (if not all) anti-mechon weapons note that fact in their item description on the inventory screen. A bit annoying and clunky, but I never really had a problem with it.

Also, I'm pretty sure all of the weapon drops you get in

Spoiler

Mechonis Field

are anti-mechon, so don't worry about having to check each one. And remember: magic damages mechon normally, so Melia works wonders against those things.

 

[nan0]

I'd have to boot the game up to double-check, but I'm pretty sure most (if not all) anti-mechon weapons note that fact in their item description on the inventory screen. A bit annoying and clunky, but I never really had a problem with it.

Also, I'm pretty sure all of the weapon drops you get in

Spoiler

Mechonis Field

are anti-mechon, so don't worry about having to check each one. And remember: magic damages mechon normally, so Melia works wonders against those things.

Ah, thanks. I will check it when I get there.

 

[Zornica]

Also, I'm pretty sure all of the weapon drops you get in

Spoiler

Mechonis Field

are anti-mechon, so don't worry about having to check each one. And remember: magic damages mechon normally, so Melia works wonders against those things.

I'm pretty sure that all weapons you can find on the

Spoiler

sword, arm, and fortress

are anti mechon as well. Imo you can only see if they are anti mechon when picking them up, it's written small underneath its name.

 

[sammyCYBORG]

Wish me luck. After ignoring this game for a good month of so, I am going to beat

Spoiler

Lorithia

. I need to finish this game.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

Let us know how you got on. Also,

Spoiler

"You'll pay for your insolence"

 

[Luigiv]

I'd have to boot the game up to double-check, but I'm pretty sure most (if not all) anti-mechon weapons note that fact in their item description on the inventory screen. A bit annoying and clunky, but I never really had a problem with it.

Also, I'm pretty sure all of the weapon drops you get in

Spoiler

Mechonis Field

are anti-mechon, so don't worry about having to check each one. And remember: magic damages mechon normally, so Melia works wonders against those things.

Yeah, pretty much all weapons attained from

Spoiler

Sword Valley

onwards are anti-mechon.

 

[Kaizer]

So my crew is currently in the middle of

Spoiler

Mechonis Field, working their way up to Egil

. How far am I into the game?

 

[Luigiv]

So my crew is currently in the middle of

Spoiler

Mechonis Field, working their way up to Egil

. How far am I into the game?

Not as far as you'd think.

Spoiler

Last minute twists galore.

Ok real answer:

Spoiler

somewhere between 2/3rd to 3/4th, I guess

 

[Kaizer]

Not as far as you'd think.

Spoiler

Last minute twists galore.

Ok real answer:

Spoiler

somewhere between 2/3rd to 3/4th, I guess

Oooh, sounds good. I've gotta say, the story in Xenoblade is certainly one of the more unique and entertaining ones I've seen in a JRPG in recent times.

 

[clemenx]

You're close to the end but you have 2 more batches of sidequests before you go to the point of no return, so you can stretch the game duration as much as you want

 

[MoogleWizard]

Considering the ending (MASSIVE spoilers obviously):

Spoiler

What did you think of the final twist at the end? It's a big WTF-moment for sure, but I can't help but feel that it is too "out there" and out of the blue considering how carefully all the previous twists were laid out and explained to make sense in the end.

So Zanza basically pushed a button on the CERN LHC and destroyed the world, and then became a god and directed a supercomputer to create a world according to his imagination? Why did Meyneth become god and didn't die like everyone else? I know the game is heavy on metaphysics but this was a bit too much.

 

[Zornica]

Considering the ending (MASSIVE spoilers obviously):

Spoiler

What did you think of the final twist at the end? It's a big WTF-moment for sure, but I can't help but feel that it is too "out there" and out of the blue considering how carefully all the previous twists were laid out and explained to make sense in the end.

So Zanza basically pushed a button on the CERN LHC and destroyed the world, and then became a god and directed a supercomputer to create a world according to his imagination? Why did Meyneth become god and didn't die like everyone else? I know the game is heavy on metaphysics but this was a bit too much.

there were some pretty good theories here on gaf, you may wanna give them a qucik read.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=31999871&postcount=14947
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=32000515&postcount=14948
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=32004583&postcount=14953

for me personally, that answerd all my remaining questions, so maybe it will clear things up for you too?

 

[Combine]

Ok, the one big thing I really didn't like (and I'm glad I didn't rush ahead) was the fact that...


MAJOR SPOILERS

Spoiler

The entire Mechonis aside from the Fallen Arm becomes unreachable after beating Egil. I don't think they telegraphed that part well so if you didn't do certain sidequests before then you were of course, out of luck (especially up at Agniratha). Also disappointed they didn't design a scenario to return to the ruins of the Mechonis (you can see the huge remains in the distance) somehow.

But yeah, other than that still enjoying myself and about to hit the 100 hour mark.

 

[Wichu]

Ok, the one big thing I really didn't like (and I'm glad I didn't rush ahead) was the fact that...


MAJOR SPOILERS

Spoiler

The entire Mechonis aside from the Fallen Arm becomes unreachable after beating Egil. I don't think they telegraphed that part well so if you didn't do certain sidequests before then you were of course, out of luck (especially up at Agniratha). Also disappointed they didn't design a scenario to return to the ruins of the Mechonis (you can see the huge remains in the distance) somehow.

But yeah, other than that still enjoying myself and about to hit the 100 hour mark.

I'm personally disappointed that you don't get

Spoiler

Meyneth and Zanza

's weapons at any point. They would have made a nice reward for beating the game

Spoiler

though the Monado III is cool I guess

 

[Starwolf_UK]

Off topic but kind of worth knowing. Results from search within this thread don't obey the spoiler tag (or any other BB code really).

I'm personally disappointed that you don't get

Spoiler

Meyneth and Zanza

's weapons at any point. They would have made a nice reward for beating the game

Spoiler

though the Monado III is cool I guess

Interestingly enough (this was mentioned a few pages back) there

Spoiler

is Meyneth's Monado (or Meyneth Modado as its translated) in-game. The Japanese data page (this site) says "Battle for the event" in the comments field (for unused weapons it has more straightforward comments) which I guess means it was equipped for the 7th vs. Zanza fight or planned to be (weapon I had on 7th at the time seemed to have its gems removed after the battle...but I was not paying enough attention to the weapon model to check if I was using a different weapon) or used as a cutscene model. Looks like this Its attack is 340-400 (average 375), fixed gems (I think its unbeatable VI, Damage heal VI and Arts Heal VI; might only be unbeatable VI only in EU version). Given I was not getting Arts heal in that fight it might not have been equipped at all but the gem configuration and Zanza being a rather low level (masked behind the ??) point towards a battle you can't lose (given its at the start of that chapter, it would be bad if players could stuck there, then again maybe nobody ever lost).

 

[Wichu]

Off topic but kind of worth knowing. Results from search within this thread don't obey the spoiler tag (or any other BB code really).


Interestingly enough (this was mentioned a few pages back) there

Spoiler

is Meyneth's Monado (or Meyneth Modado as its translated) in-game. The Japanese data page (this site) says "Battle for the event" in the comments field (for unused weapons it has more straightforward comments) which I guess means it was equipped for the 7th vs. Zanza fight or planned to be (weapon I had on 7th at the time seemed to have its gems removed after the battle...but I was not paying enough attention to the weapon model to check if I was using a different weapon) or used as a cutscene model. Looks like this Its attack is 340-400 (average 375), fixed gems (I think its unbeatable VI, Damage heal VI and Arts Heal VI; might only be unbeatable VI only in EU version). Given I was not getting Arts heal in that fight it might not have been equipped at all but the gem configuration and Zanza being a rather low level (masked behind the ??) point towards a battle you can't lose (given its at the start of that chapter, it would be bad if players could stuck there, then again maybe nobody ever lost).

That's pretty cool. Too bad it wasn't available in the final game

 

[Ultratech]

Off topic but kind of worth knowing. Results from search within this thread don't obey the spoiler tag (or any other BB code really).


Interestingly enough (this was mentioned a few pages back) there

Spoiler

is Meyneth's Monado (or Meyneth Modado as its translated) in-game. The Japanese data page (this site) says "Battle for the event" in the comments field (for unused weapons it has more straightforward comments) which I guess means it was equipped for the 7th vs. Zanza fight or planned to be (weapon I had on 7th at the time seemed to have its gems removed after the battle...but I was not paying enough attention to the weapon model to check if I was using a different weapon) or used as a cutscene model. Looks like this Its attack is 340-400 (average 375), fixed gems (I think its unbeatable VI, Damage heal VI and Arts Heal VI; might only be unbeatable VI only in EU version). Given I was not getting Arts heal in that fight it might not have been equipped at all but the gem configuration and Zanza being a rather low level (masked behind the ??) point towards a battle you can't lose (given its at the start of that chapter, it would be bad if players could stuck there, then again maybe nobody ever lost).

Spoiler

Pretty sure you can check on it since I think you get a Party Change notification prior to that particular fight, so you can go into the Menu and look at it, but you can't change it out. The weapon's gem abilities sound about right from what I remember. Too bad you don't get it outside of that particular fight.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

Going on with the late-game spoilers discussed above I just found a video. Pretty clear

Spoiler

in the fight and cutscene that indeed is the Meyneth Modado. I wonder if others are like me in completely failing to notice that...(I assumed the Meyneth Monado was kind of all that was left of her body after taking the attack; not that they were being used in the prior battle)

 

[Utako]

This game has so many connections to Xenogears that all the horrible, poisonous MMO elements are forgiven (I hate myself a little for doing nearly all the sidequests).

One thing: I just wish that we were eventually enabled to

Spoiler

(safely) pilot Faced Mechons

, either in battle or otherwise. It's a terrific plot element, but I wanted to indulge in that aspect more deeply.

 

[B.K.]

This game has so many connections to Xenogears that all the horrible, poisonous MMO elements are forgiven (I hate myself a little for doing nearly all the sidequests).

The game has NO connection to Xenogears.

 

[The Technomancer]

So I finally find myself with time to continue this game. So I go off on the quest to save the worker in the Aerith Sea or however its spelled.

"Hm, four lv36 enemies" I think to myself, "that should be manageable". Half an hour and a half dozen attempts later, FUCK YOU GAME. Four enemies, each of which can both bind me in place AND bind me out of my arts, leaving me with absolutely nothing to do while they wail on me and my party, cutting us to shreds while I stand there unable to do anything. THIS IS NOT FUN!

 

[SecretMoblin]

So I finally find myself with time to continue this game. So I go off on the quest to save the worker in the Aerith Sea or however its spelled.

"Hm, four lv36 enemies" I think to myself, "that should be manageable". Half an hour and a half dozen attempts later, FUCK YOU GAME. Four enemies, each of which can both bind me in place AND bind me out of my arts, leaving me with absolutely nothing to do while they wail on me and my party, cutting us to shreds while I stand there unable to do anything. THIS IS NOT FUN!

What level are you? One of the negatives about the game (in my opinion, at least) is the massive importance leveling has on your ability to fight. A single level can make the difference between a fight being nigh impossible and relatively easy, all because of numbers you can't affect otherwise.

 

[nan0]

So I finally find myself with time to continue this game. So I go off on the quest to save the worker in the Aerith Sea or however its spelled.

"Hm, four lv36 enemies" I think to myself, "that should be manageable". Half an hour and a half dozen attempts later, FUCK YOU GAME. Four enemies, each of which can both bind me in place AND bind me out of my arts, leaving me with absolutely nothing to do while they wail on me and my party, cutting us to shreds while I stand there unable to do anything. THIS IS NOT FUN!

Are these Kromars? Equip Anti Art Seal gems if you have any OR try to lure them one by one. I remember these, they were annoying, but manageable. Remember that your healer has an Anti-Debuff shot.

 

[flyover]

The game has NO connection to Xenogears.

How can chu be so chure?

 

[Adam Prime]

How can chu be so chure?

Literally LOL, that's awesome!

Spoiler

That IS a fucking photoshop... right?

 

[SecretMoblin]

Spoiler

That IS a fucking photoshop... right?

Spoiler

Yes.

 

[Adam Prime]

My copy is arriving on Friday. Anything to know on the first start up? Is it worth investing in a classic controller for this game, or is the wiimote +nunchuck more than suffcient?

 

[SecretMoblin]

My copy is arriving on Friday. Anything to know on the first start up? Is it worth investing in a classic controller for this game, or is the wiimote +nunchuck more than suffcient?

chaosblade compiled and wrote up a great FAQ earlier, which you can read here. The most important things for new players:

I'm tired of having to wait around for NPCs to appear so I can talk to them, can I break into their houses and force them to talk?

Well, no, but you can change the time of day and meet with them whenever you want. In the second menu from the right, you can select the clock and pick an hour.

I'm also tired of having to run alllll the way back through dungeons and huge areas to Colony 9. When do I get the airship?

No airship travel unfortunately, but you can warp to any previously visited landmark instantly. By pressing the minus button you can select a landmark from the current area, and by selecting the full map from the menu, you can go to any landmark you've found from any area you've visited.

What do you get for doing all the side quests? Because they never seem to end!

There's an achievement for that. But the reward you may not want is that you'll end up overleveled if you do them all as soon as possible. Unless you want to be able to breeze through all the enemies in the game, including most bosses, you're best off just taking on quests as you come across them rather than seeking them out.

On the other hand, if you're ever feeling underleveled doing quests in the most recent areas you've visted is a great way to level up, much faster and often easier than grinding by battling enemies.

No! I'm a completionist! I have to do every single quest!

Well, good luck then! There are nearly 500 side quests, and some of them are exclusive to one another and are only available depending on the outcome you choose during another quest.

Oh my god! Some quests have time limits? How do I know how long I have to complete them? Will I be able to start it again if time runs out? Now I'm all stressed out!

There are only a few points where timed side quests end or areas end up off limits (points of no return, basically). Each time one is coming up, you'll be greeted with a question asking if you're sure you want to continue, or if you want to travel to a new area. In most cases when these pop up, it's a good idea to take care of any unfinished business like timed side quests. If you miss out on a timed quest, there is no way to go back and do it until you start a new game.

The mote'n'chuck are perfectly sufficient to play the game and many prefer it, but camera controls are annoying (to me, anyways) and lots of people prefer to have the Classic Controller Pro.

 

[chaosblade]

Yeah, I need to go back and finish those last two questions. And probably add that controller question in too since it does come up a lot.

 

[The Technomancer]

Man, I have no idea what the fuck has been happening in the story for the last two hours. I mean, okay, the message that Melia received

Spoiler

in the tomb about the long term genetic experiment

that was cool, and hinting at something neat. But I have no clue whats going on

Spoiler

with the assassins and Melia's mother and all the High Entia politics

 

[flyover]

My copy is arriving on Friday. Anything to know on the first start up? Is it worth investing in a classic controller for this game, or is the wiimote +nunchuck more than suffcient?

I vastly preferred the classic controller, but this was my first Wii game, besides Wii Sports.

 

[vanty]

No airship travel unfortunately, but you can warp to any previously visited landmark instantly. By pressing the minus button you can select a landmark from the current area, and by selecting the full map from the menu, you can go to any landmark you've found from any area you've visited.

Blew my mind when I figured this out. For like the first 15 hours of the game I'd been warping to the entrance/exit of each area, running through it, then repeat until I get to my location. Hadn't even selected Maps from the menu until then.

It's an awesome quick travel system.

 

[nan0]

Man, I have no idea what the fuck has been happening in the story for the last two hours. I mean, okay, the message that Melia received

Spoiler

in the tomb about the long term genetic experiment

that was cool, and hinting at something neat. But I have no clue whats going on

Spoiler

with the assassins and Melia's mother and all the High Entia politics

I guess that will all unwire in the late game. I'm currently in the

Spoiler

machina captial

, and there were only some slight hints regarding to the things you mentioned.

 

[McNum]

Man, I have no idea what the fuck has been happening in the story for the last two hours. I mean, okay, the message that Melia received

Spoiler

in the tomb about the long term genetic experiment

that was cool, and hinting at something neat. But I have no clue whats going on

Spoiler

with the assassins and Melia's mother and all the High Entia politics

Ooh, I'm not going to tell you, but rest assured. It will be answered. It will be answered thoroughly. But it'd be a major spoiler to go into details on how.

 

[The Technomancer]

God, shut up Reyn! Almost all of the annoying "happy group dynamic/lackadaisical character" dialogue either comes out of his mouth or revolves around him.

Also, anyone else think that the High Entia guards look like Quarians from Mass Effect?