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[BriareosGAF]

I just finally got around to getting Skells at level 30 and... well. I dunno, I'm sort of bummed at Yet More Mechanics to a generally already laborious loop in terms of running shitty fetch quests and now also having to worry about fuel or a team member losing their Skell. Can I just pretend Skells' don't exist and keep playing on foot? I suspect not.

The core experience of being in the world (outside of NLA) and exploring it is still beautiful and interesting in its scope, and coming to grasp with the combat loop, hitting the exhortations, timing your attacks, etc., was starting to feel natural. But man so much baggage, and I haven't even really started crafting augments or researching gear or worrying about the next round of affinity setups. I've lost all patience for the cut-scenes and am just skipping them, too.

Climbing to the top of one of the "roof rock" formations in a Skell and looking out Primordia sure was breathtaking though. It's a pity more of that isn't tied into the game per se.

 

[Pokemaniac]

I just finally got around to getting Skells at level 30 and... well. I dunno, I'm sort of bummed at Yet More Mechanics to a generally already laborious loop in terms of running shitty fetch quests and now also having to worry about fuel or a team member losing their Skell. Can I just pretend Skells' don't exist and keep playing on foot? I suspect not.

The core experience of being in the world (outside of NLA) and exploring it is still beautiful and interesting in its scope, and coming to grasp with the combat loop, hitting the exhortations, timing your attacks, etc., was starting to feel natural. But man so much baggage, and I haven't even really started crafting augments or researching gear or worrying about the next round of affinity setups. I've lost all patience for the cut-scenes and am just skipping them, too.

Climbing to the top of one of the "roof rock" formations in a Skell and looking out Primordia sure was breathtaking though. It's a pity more of that isn't tied into the game per se.

Skells aren't really required, per se, for too much of the main story.

Using them is definitely advisable, though.

 

[Mockingbird]

well this game got sub-6 rather quickly

The hell? Although it's a testament as to how good the exploration is if it's possible to beat it in under 6 yet majority spends over 100 hours on their first playthrough.

 

[Hasemo]

team member losing their Skell.

IIRC when NPCs lose their Skell they always get a perfect result from the QTE so you only have to worry about your own robot.

 

[BriareosGAF]

IIRC when NPCs lose their Skell they always get a perfect result from the QTE so you only have to worry about your own robot.

Right, although you still have to head back to NLA to get it reappear it seems? I'm not even sure how to find the insurance data for them, I suppose in the barracks listing somewhere. Is there no insurance loss on a member Skell loss? Will go check.

 

[HawthorneKitty]

Right, although you still have to head back to NLA to get it reappear it seems? I'm not even sure how to find the insurance data for them, I suppose in the barracks listing somewhere. Is there no insurance loss on a member Skell loss? Will go check.

Yes
It's mixed in with skell stats numbers, look for it
Correct, they need to have at least 1 insurance left to face no charges though

 

[matmanx1]

I maxed out Galactic Knight last night during my exploration of Noctilum, at level 26. I think I will work on Psycorrupter and Mastermind next since they are the split branch of that same class tree.

I really like the Photon Saber; I like the Psycho Launchers less so. I'm just not a fan of the look or the animation of the floating shoulder guns. Switching over to Psycorrupter gets me Knife + Raygun although I think I will stick to the Photon Saber with the Raygun for now since I have mastered it.

Is it feasible, later on, to mix and match weapons from different classes to form your own sort of specialist loadout? Or is it always better to stick with the gear and arts from that one original class?

 

[Golnei]

Is it feasible, later on, to mix and match weapons from different classes to form your own sort of specialist loadout? Or is it always better to stick with the gear and arts from that one original class?

I didn't go that far into endgame stuff personally, but I think the really game-breaking builds were usually made from hybrid classes. Dual Guns/Longsword was very common, for example.

 

[B-Dubs]

I maxed out Galactic Knight last night during my exploration of Noctilum, at level 26. I think I will work on Psycorrupter and Mastermind next since they are the split branch of that same class tree.

I really like the Photon Saber; I like the Psycho Launchers less so. I'm just not a fan of the look or the animation of the floating shoulder guns. Switching over to Psycorrupter gets me Knife + Raygun although I think I will stick to the Photon Saber with the Raygun for now since I have mastered it.

Is it feasible, later on, to mix and match weapons from different classes to form your own sort of specialist loadout? Or is it always better to stick with the gear and arts from that one original class?

Yes it is. One of the strongest builds is an ether longsword build that requires leveling like 3 different classes. Though you can also go thermal if you're lazy.

 

[EdwardTivrusky]

Is it feasible, later on, to mix and match weapons from different classes to form your own sort of specialist loadout? Or is it always better to stick with the gear and arts from that one original class?

As far as i know, once you get a gold dot on the Class you can use it's weapons without penalty. I can use Assault Rifles, Longswords, Psycholaunchers and Photon Blades. I think i should have gone with the Dual Guns & Swords so i can wield Dual Guns and a Longsword though as that seems to suit me style of play. Still, Galactic Knight sounds neat so it's not all bad.

Longswords are ridiculous. I love 'em!

 

[rhandino]

I started a new game in my brothers account and this time Im going to go female with a Fiora build (Psyco Launcher and Double Swords)

Im trying the Photon Saber for the first time (my last playtrough was strictly Longsword + Dual Guns/Assault Rifle) and the animations and feel are really great when you do a long melee combo.

I managed to beat Siren, The Lost at Lvl 10 on foot and some Placid Douguill Lvl 20 at Lvl 15.

 

[matmanx1]

As far as i know, once you get a gold dot on the Class you can use it's weapons without penalty. I can use Assault Rifles, Longswords, Psycholaunchers and Photon Blades. I think i should have gone with the Dual Guns & Swords so i can wield Dual Guns and a Longsword though as that seems to suit me style of play. Still, Galactic Knight sounds neat so it's not all bad.

Longswords are ridiculous. I love 'em!

Haven't tried Longswords yet but the Photon blades/sabers are great. My only problem right now is with TP gain, which of course can be adjusted somewhat.

So what you are saying is since I have a gold star on Photon blades and Psycho Launchers I can actually use those on any other class'es skills and it will still activate them and decrease their activation timers? Seems like that would be easy enough to test, and I will do so tonight, but my assumption was that it would not work and that I would always need the weapon equipped that was associated with the skill.

 

[Niahak]

Haven't tried Longswords yet but the Photon blades/sabers are great. My only problem right now is with TP gain, which of course can be adjusted somewhat.

So what you are saying is since I have a gold star on Photon blades and Psycho Launchers I can actually use those on any other class'es skills and it will still activate them and decrease their activation timers? Seems like that would be easy enough to test, and I will do so tonight, but my assumption was that it would not work and that I would always need the weapon equipped that was associated with the skill.

You need to use the weapon corresponding to the skill, but you can use any skills you've learned for that weapon.

For example you can use Photon Blades while in the Mastermind class. I found that to be effective for a while since you can buff up your beam damage which helps both Photon and Raygun damage.

That said by the end of the game I was just maximizing the amount of melee combos I could do by equipping Assault Rifle and Photon Blade and using all the melee skills to get tons of bursty damage. It's clunky (and probably the dumbest combo), but it was enough to get me through the finale.

 

[matmanx1]

You need to use the weapon corresponding to the skill, but you can use any skills you've learned for that weapon.

For example you can use Photon Blades while in the Mastermind class. I found that to be effective for a while since you can buff up your beam damage which helps both Photon and Raygun damage.

That said by the end of the game I was just maximizing the amount of melee combos I could do by equipping Assault Rifle and Photon Blade and using all the melee skills to get tons of bursty damage. It's clunky (and probably the dumbest combo), but it was enough to get me through the finale.

Ok, that makes sense and is what I thought. Thank you.

 

[flyover]

Dumb question time, but I couldn't find the answer, since web search results on affinity usually just tell you how to raise it, and not what it does.

Are there any gameplay benefits to having high affinity between party members? I know there were in the original Xenoblade (gem crafting and skill links), but didn't know if that's the case in X.

 

[javadoze]

Dumb question time, but I couldn't find the answer, since web search results on affinity usually just tell you how to raise it, and not what it does.

Are there any gameplay benefits to having high affinity between party members? I know there were in the original Xenoblade (gem crafting and skill links), but didn't know if that's the case in X.

I assume it makes morale rise faster along with the frequency of soul voices/challenges, but I'm not too sure.

 

[rhandino]

Dumb question time, but I couldn't find the answer, since web search results on affinity usually just tell you how to raise it, and not what it does.

Are there any gameplay benefits to having high affinity between party members? I know there were in the original Xenoblade (gem crafting and skill links), but didn't know if that's the case in X.

Unlocking more sidequests with most of them ending with the unlocking of other characters Signature Arts.

4 of the Characters Affinity Quests also unlock 3 different Skell models (Excavator, Dozer and Police) and a new type of weapon (Multigun).

 

[flyover]

Cool. Thanks for your answers!

 

[matmanx1]

Unlocking more sidequests with most of them ending with the unlocking of other characters Signature Arts.

4 of the Characters Affinity Quests also unlock 3 different Skell models (Excavator, Dozer and Police) and a new type of weapon (Multigun).

I really need to dig into the strategy guide I bought for some of this stuff. I flipped to the Affinity Mission section the other night and discovered there were some lower level ones I had not done yet (Yelv and The Ties that Bind) so I will be going back and picking those up before I proceed with Chapter 6.

This game is ridiculously dense with content and all the more awesome for it.

 

[rhandino]

This game is ridiculously dense with content and all the more awesome for it.

TBH

I found that the way you max and match classes and characters weapons breathe so much life to the game, my last character was Longsword(Thermal)/Sniper Rifle(Physical) beast and now with my new girl I am having such an incredible blast using the Photon Saber(Beam)/Dual Gun(Physical) and chaining combos to see the enemies parts explode all over the place.

Hell, I am taking my sweet time speaking with the people at NLA after every main mission and I am shocked at how much dialog and foreshadowing I missed the last time.

Speaking of, the city feels weird and empty without

Spoiler

all the Xenoforms that you get during the story T_T

 

[flyover]

I really need to dig into the strategy guide I bought for some of this stuff. I flipped to the Affinity Mission section the other night and discovered there were some lower level ones I had not done yet (Yelv and The Ties that Bind) so I will be going back and picking those up before I proceed with Chapter 6.

This game is ridiculously dense with content and all the more awesome for it.

Yeah, I'm at the same point in the story and feel the same way. I've sunk a few dozen hours into the game and feel like I'm just scratching the surface. Sometimes, I'm not even getting into battles; I just run and swim to see what I can find. It's amazing to see what areas are available to you pretty much right from the beginning -- so long as you can avoid getting creamed along the way. I just took on Alexa's recruitment mission last night and, when I saw the destination, was like, "Wait, I can get there?"

Speaking of her recruitment mission, the weapon you get from that, the Ramjet Rifle, is the best. I mean, it's terrible, but so useful. I gave it to HB (who has Last Stand), and now I'm at 3000 TP all the time. He does less damage, but once you start overdriving, you do more than enough to make up for it!

I guess I really need to figure out how to take best advantage of this: seeing if I can be in pretty much permanent overdrive and how to do the most damage once in that state. I'm so bad at picking arts/skills.

 

[matmanx1]

Yeah, I'm at the same point in the story and feel the same way. I've sunk a few dozen hours into the game and feel like I'm just scratching the surface. Sometimes, I'm not even getting into battles; I just run and swim to see what I can find. It's amazing to see what areas are available to you pretty much right from the beginning -- so long as you can avoid getting creamed along the way. I just took on Alexa's recruitment mission last night and, when I saw the destination, was like, "Wait, I can get there?"

Speaking of her recruitment mission, the weapon you get from that, the Ramjet Rifle, is the best. I mean, it's terrible, but so useful. I gave it to HB (who has Last Stand), and now I'm at 3000 TP all the time. He does less damage, but once you start overdriving, you do more than enough to make up for it!

I guess I really need to figure out how to take best advantage of this: seeing if I can be in pretty much permanent overdrive and how to do the most damage once in that state. I'm so bad at picking arts/skills.

Yeah I wondered if the Ramjet would be good to use on one of my characters just to have the crazy good TP gain. I like to have high TP on my main party so they could easily be in the 4500 - 5000 TP all the time with that rifle. Could be fun and interesting.

 

[flyover]

Yeah I wondered if the Ramjet would be good to use on one of my characters just to have the crazy good TP gain. I like to have high TP on my main party so they could easily be in the 4500 - 5000 TP all the time with that rifle. Could be fun and interesting.

Yeah, it has been fun using it. Felt like a whole new world opened up when I could take on some higher-level enemies thanks to overdrive. Don't know if it's the way to go later in the game, when I may get (or better understand) skills and augments and upgrades to keep TP up. But for now, it's been a revelation. And HB is good enough at staying alive that it seems he's the best person to hold it -- for now, anyway.

 

[alvis.exe]

Yeah I wondered if the Ramjet would be good to use on one of my characters just to have the crazy good TP gain. I like to have high TP on my main party so they could easily be in the 4500 - 5000 TP all the time with that rifle. Could be fun and interesting.

Yeah, it has been fun using it. Felt like a whole new world opened up when I could take on some higher-level enemies thanks to overdrive. Don't know if it's the way to go later in the game, when I may get (or better understand) skills and augments and upgrades to keep TP up. But for now, it's been a revelation. And HB is good enough at staying alive that it seems he's the best person to hold it -- for now, anyway.

If you need something to aspire to, here's a video of someone solo-ing a Lv92 Tyrant with an (Infinite) Overdrive build.

 

[flyover]

...And here I was all proud of myself for taking out some companion potamuses nine or ten levels higher than my party.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I move my Wii U from one side of my room to the other and just because my body is turned in a different direction I felt disoriented while playing X today

it was like the world map moved and changed weird

 

[TheMoon]

I move my Wii U from one side of my room to the other and just because my body is turned in a different direction I felt disoriented while playing X today

it was like the world map moved and changed weird

4/20 was last week, yo.

 

[alvis.exe]

...And here I was all proud of myself for taking out some companion potamuses nine or ten levels higher than my party.

Haha at least you learned the benefits of Overdrive earlier than I did. Went through the entire story without bothering with it, decided to look up some post-game tips about good ground builds, saw how ridiculously easy it is to set up an Infinite Overdrive build and never looked back.

 

[Zalusithix]

...And here I was all proud of myself for taking out some companion potamuses nine or ten levels higher than my party.

Eh, the video of taking out Luciel isn't really as impressive as it might look when you're still new to the game. That tyrant isn't that difficult despite the size and level, and is a complete pushover to ghostwalker builds. Add to that the fact that the ghostwalker / blossom dance combo is about as cookie-cutter as you can get, and isn't a build to aspire to - at least if you value originality at all.

Honestly taking out a group of non-tyrants 10 levels higher than your party before you've gotten all the equipment and skills is more of an achievement. Killing a tyrant using a skill rotation where you have zero chance of death doesn't give the same feeling of accomplishment. At that point it becomes less "can I kill this" to "how fast can I kill this". It can be fun in a "I'm a badass" way, but you never really feel proud of it.

 

[matmanx1]

If you need something to aspire to, here's a video of someone solo-ing a Lv92 Tyrant with an (Infinite) Overdrive build.

And he did it quickly too, didn't he? Wow, I need to get on the ball with building a long lasting Overdrive setup.

 

[flyover]

Eh, the video of taking out Luciel isn't really as impressive as it might look when you're still new to the game.

It's still impressive to me, dammit!

Honestly taking out a group of non-tyrants 10 levels higher than your party before you've gotten all the equipment and skills is more of an achievement. Killing a tyrant using a skill rotation where you have zero chance of death doesn't give the same feeling of accomplishment.

Yeah, it did feel really good to beat something that had slaughtered me not long before!

 

[rhandino]

Is there a reason why there are so many Mediators in the game now? I was kind of surprised to find that Prospectors don't seem to reach to get in first place as much as before for the BLADE rewards thingies (Not that it matered tho because the 1st place reward was kind of useless if you had good trigger finger)

Weird.

 

[matmanx1]

Is there a reason why there are so many Mediators in the game now? I was kind of surprised to find that Prospectors don't seem to reach to get in first place as much as before for the BLADE rewards thingies (Not that it matered tho because the 1st place reward was kind of useless if you had good trigger finger)

Weird.

No idea. I joined Interceptors just because I thought it sounded like the type of character I wanted to play and it seems like there are tons of them around in the wilds. It seems like division rewards come in at a good pace being an Interceptor. Is it different for other divisions?

I noticed that the Global Nemesis has been up for a few days now. I'm guessing that you need to be level 60 or thereabouts to participate in that?

 

[Inquisitive_Ghost]

I noticed that the Global Nemesis has been up for a few days now. I'm guessing that you need to be level 60 or thereabouts to participate in that?

The current Global Nemesis is Yggralith Zero, which you need to be like level 56 for or something, I don't remember exactly. Sometimes Telethia Plume shows up, and the level for that one is around 35.

 

[jonjonaug]

Is there a reason why there are so many Mediators in the game now? I was kind of surprised to find that Prospectors don't seem to reach to get in first place as much as before for the BLADE rewards thingies (Not that it matered tho because the 1st place reward was kind of useless if you had good trigger finger)

Weird.

More people going through the game slowly or in late/post game probably. At release every player found new locations or placed new probes every two minutes, but anyone still playing it now will probably just be doing sidequests or going after tyrants.

 

[matmanx1]

In regards to the Global Nemesis, I am assuming you need to be in a group that kills him in order to get RP that you can then spend on rewards?

In other news, I surprised myself last night by accidentally engaging and killing a level 41 Insidia with my team of level 28's (and one lvl 22 - Yelv). I was fighting a Grex and went into Overdrive and somehow an Insidia joined in just as the Grex was falling. The group was already out of Overdrive but it still went down pretty smoothly (only Yelv died).

Usually stuff that is level 40+ is just about instant death so either I got extremely lucky or we still had some bonus effects from the Overdrive going? Anyway, it was pretty cool.

 

[Inquisitive_Ghost]

In regards to the Global Nemesis, I am assuming you need to be in a group that kills him in order to get RP that you can then spend on rewards?

God no. You break parts on it and trade the drops in for tickets. While doing this you knock down its RPs and contribute to the community effort of killing it. The most annoying (and completely pointless) thing about the Global Nemesis is that you need Blade Medals to initiate the mission, which you can get from scouting players and then earning them a bit of experience and releasing them. You'll occasionally get them from just helping in the group squad tasks too, but it's not often.

Then after time runs out and the Nemesis has fled or been slain, you get some materials based on how many RP you took off it.

 

[Kiro]

Just popped this game in for the first time. What do storage probes do? Do the other probes resources and income automatically get sent to me? Where is the collectopedia in this game, can't find it in town for the life of me. And where do I change divisions?

 

[Renewed]

Just popped this game in for the first time. What do storage probes do? Do the other probes resources and income automatically get sent to me? Where is the collectopedia in this game, can't find it in town for the life of me. And where do I change divisions?

- Storage probes increase the maximum amount of miranium you can hold. As you set up probes, you receive money, miranium and resources for crafting and such. If you set up storage probes in certain ways, then you can increase the miranium storage capacity. It's a good idea to match it to your miranium income so you can get the most out of it.

- Resources and income and such that you receive from other probes will be automatically sent to you after a certain amount of time the game has been active (usually you can't just sit there idling and expect to receive income/resources).

- The collectopedia should be in the Intel section of the Start menu.

- You can change divisions in your BLADE Barracks at the "Online Terminal" in the backroom where you might see other avatars.

 

[rhandino]

Oh wow, during Chapter 5 I was moving the camera randomly near the giant chasm in Oblivia and noticed that you can faintly see the

Spoiler

Ma-non ship

hidden in there.

This game.

 

[ActStriker]

I need to get back to this game so I can finally play through Chapter 12.

 

[Effect]

Took another break and back into the game. I keep forgetting that I can use some moves outside of combat or at least use them in a way that gives me the effect of the move without triggering combat. Need to sneak into this one base for one of the missions and forgot that Elma can get me passed these high level enemies. Hoping I can get pass this part tonight when get home.

Spent over an hour looking around it hoping I can somehow sneak in before realizing what I need to do. Thinking back on the game I don't think that concept was ever fully explained. At least I don't remember it being. I remember learning about that mainly from the OT or another forum. A lot of exploring had been me sneaking around or out running some enemies. I would have had a LOT easier time had I remembered that she can let you slip pass some enemies.

 

[flyover]

Oh wow, during Chapter 5 I was moving the camera randomly near the giant chasm in Oblivia and noticed that you can faintly see the

Spoiler

Ma-non ship

hidden in there.

This game.

No way! That's really cool. Makes me wish I had multiple save slots to go back and see it for myself. (Edit: regarding the spoiler, it's safe for anyone past that chapter to view.)

 

[rhandino]

No way! That's really cool. Makes me wish I had multiple save slots to go back and see it for myself. (Edit: regarding the spoiler, it's safe for anyone past that chapter to view.)

This game not having multiple save slots make me crazy, I had to use the account of my brother who doesn't play any kind of rpg for this 2nd playtrough.

Oh well, and now by the 2nd round I still found little bits of dialogue amusing:

and also this:

 

[OrochiJR]

So I finally beat the story yesterday. Although I always had the feeling that I only had a very superficial grasp of the combat system I managed to brute-force my way through the final boss.

Now I have some questions regarding the post-game (which I will set in spoiler tags, just in case):

Spoiler

1. How and where do I access Elma's "true form" outfit? I looked around in the equipment menu and couldn't find anything.

2. How and where do I find these post-game missions that are supposed to give you an ungodly amount of money and miranium? And what are they called?

I know that these questions might have been answered in the notifications that popped up after the credits, but at that point I was still exhausted from the boss battles and the story revelations at the end.

 

[Inquisitive_Ghost]

So I finally beat the story yesterday. Although I always had the feeling that I only had a very superficial grasp of the combat system I managed to brute-force my way through the final boss.

Now I have some questions regarding the post-game (which I will set in spoiler tags, just in case):

Spoiler

1. How and where do I access Elma's "true form" outfit? I looked around in the equipment menu and couldn't find anything.

2. How and where do I find these post-game missions that are supposed to give you an ungodly amount of money and miranium? And what are they called?

I know that these questions might have been answered in the notifications that popped up after the credits, but at that point I was still exhausted from the boss battles and the story revelations at the end.

1. System Settings.
2. Online console in the barracks; look in "Support Missions."

You really don't need much cash in the post-game, though. I've got 69 million just laying around with nothing to spend it on. Miranium is more important for post-game stuff.

 

[EdwardTivrusky]

Well, i'm now 180 hours into this game, level 32 and tonight i might have to start Chapter 7 because i think i have no more normal/affinity missions to do at the moment

... there again, i've just heard about Irina's Brainjack/Soul Sacrifice combo so i might level her up a bit so i can play with that. Decisions, decisions but damn, i'm loving this game!

I'll try to grab a screenshot and upload it somewhere so i can show off my mim, Brigitte. She hasn't been scouted for a while so i think i'll change up her weapon-set. Can i have separate load-outs for my in-game char and the scoutable online version?

 

[Floflo]

Wow 180 hours and only lvl 32!
You sure are taking your sweet time with this...

Enjoy!

 

[EdwardTivrusky]

Well, at least 60 of those hours have been when i've been away so it's not as bad as it looks. Oh.
I've done loads of exploring and the only normal missions i have left are in cauldron which I doubt I'm geared up for yet. I'm going to roam around with irina tonight before starting chapter 7, I think. Yeah, I'm enjoying the game as it suits my style of play where I rinse everything between chapters. I usually end up overpowered but meh, I'm usually not bothered about that

Edit: doh! my char is called birgitte not brigitte just in case any of you run into her

 

[matmanx1]

God no. You break parts on it and trade the drops in for tickets. While doing this you knock down its RPs and contribute to the community effort of killing it. The most annoying (and completely pointless) thing about the Global Nemesis is that you need Blade Medals to initiate the mission, which you can get from scouting players and then earning them a bit of experience and releasing them. You'll occasionally get them from just helping in the group squad tasks too, but it's not often.

Then after time runs out and the Nemesis has fled or been slain, you get some materials based on how many RP you took off it.

When you say "get some materials" you mean like crafting materials for augments or weapons? Like you don't even get actual loot?

I also finished Chapter 6 story this weekend and started on my Skell license stuff last night. In one hour I had 6 out of 8 of the skell missions completed. I was expecting them to be much tougher!