I am going back to this but I found the source where I read the following (taken from Zerokid's arts guide in Gamefaqs):
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Xenoblade |OT| Sorry I Kept You Waiting!
- Thread starter SecretMoblin
- Start date
I am going back to this but I found the source where I read the following (taken from Zerokid's arts guide in Gamefaqs):
Metroid Killer
Member
Thanks, been doing some of the stuff you mentioned. Though it's suprising to me how fast you forget, well, everything, besides the main story, characters and locations. I had to re-remember the controls again, get used to the system, remember the menu navigation etc. It all came back rather quickly, so what's left are the loose ends from where I was when my Wii bricked.
I just finished a mission which got me the High Entia Emblem, I slightly recalls it being an important item. I then did a mission in Valak Mountain which I think was possible due to the emblem, I also traveled to the Tomb as I recalled being able to access new rooms, but I couldn't find anything.
Head of Vengarl
Banned
there are at least 2 doors in the tomb
somewhere around the part where you had to climb around and at the end where you fought the telethia and the assasin.
there are also 2 rather important quests if you haven't done them yet. the last part of the nopon mafia quest chain in frontier village and the quest about melias mother (coloy 6, outside the colony when you are running towards bionises leg)
there are also 2 rather important quests if you haven't done them yet. the last part of the nopon mafia quest chain in frontier village and the quest about melias mother (coloy 6, outside the colony when you are running towards bionises leg)
Head of Vengarl
Banned
It probably wont help that you not only quoted it, but highlighted it as well.
I was going to remove the quote once he spoiler tagged it.
I finally beat the game today, keeping two old saves around prior to the points of no return (
), but I guess I'll go play other stuff for a while.
The game has been one of the best I've played, and I've really enjoyed the cutscenes. My one complaint, however, would be the lack of new towns and increased linearity in the final stretch, which made the game a lot more combat-oriented and less about exploration. I found the final
section a bit unsettling since I appear to have some kind of unjustified fear related to that kind of thing, but I guess that's just me.
I really liked playing my first non-turn-based RPG, but near the end I think I got too complacent, barely updating my party's equipment and reusing some tactics over and over. The only enemies I ever had problems with were
.
Except for those bosses, I could beat the rest on a single try, with no grinding (just fighting most enemies I cam accross) and having crafted very few gems and completing just some quests. Not finding any ridiculous difficulty spikes along the line was quite a relief for me, and I think the auto-heal outside of battle, time-setting feature and fast travel made the game a lot more enjoyable than the (very few) JRPGs I've played before.
Hearing a nostalgic tune during the NG+ item select screen made me feel a bit down that it was all over, which was magnified due to me taking quite a while to pick everything I wanted... now I wish I could wipe my memories of playing it to enjoy it once again as much as I did on this playthrough. (NG+ spoilers)
Overall, I'm really glad I learned about this game from GAF, because I probably wouldn't have picked it up otherwise.
one before fighting Egil, and another one right before using the final transporter
The game has been one of the best I've played, and I've really enjoyed the cutscenes. My one complaint, however, would be the lack of new towns and increased linearity in the final stretch, which made the game a lot more combat-oriented and less about exploration. I found the final
outer space
I really liked playing my first non-turn-based RPG, but near the end I think I got too complacent, barely updating my party's equipment and reusing some tactics over and over. The only enemies I ever had problems with were
the first battle against Xord', where I got killed twice by his minions; the telethia + high entia boss at the end of the ancient tomb, which took me about five tries; a lv 70 unique mechon (the extra large walker thing) on mechonis field, which I never beat before the mechonis was destroyed; and the dragon mini-boss right before the final battle, which beat me twice before I managed to kill it with with Melia, Riki and Reyn
Except for those bosses, I could beat the rest on a single try, with no grinding (just fighting most enemies I cam accross) and having crafted very few gems and completing just some quests. Not finding any ridiculous difficulty spikes along the line was quite a relief for me, and I think the auto-heal outside of battle, time-setting feature and fast travel made the game a lot more enjoyable than the (very few) JRPGs I've played before.
Hearing a nostalgic tune during the NG+ item select screen made me feel a bit down that it was all over, which was magnified due to me taking quite a while to pick everything I wanted... now I wish I could wipe my memories of playing it to enjoy it once again as much as I did on this playthrough. (NG+ spoilers)
starting the game with lots of powerful equipment and on level 78 seems a bit pointless, though, as opposed to simply playing it again from a new save file.
Overall, I'm really glad I learned about this game from GAF, because I probably wouldn't have picked it up otherwise.
Lumpy Onion
Member
I thought that bit was one of the most breathtaking parts of the game on a visual level. It was truly awe-inspiring.
Kinda bugged me that the battles there were so easy, because I wanted to hear that new badass boss theme play out to completion. The song made it sound like the whole world was gonna end from how exciting it felt, yet I can't imagine many people having difficulty for the fights it's used in. I am guessing that song isn't used anywhere else either. I loved "the one who gets in our way" for bosses, but by the end I thought it was waaay overused. This one would have made a nice change imo.
spoilers in song title http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYtNIGkxCww
It really was, but
I really hate floating on top of nothingness, and such a massive scale (I actively tried to maneuver the camera away from looking at the planets, mostly Jupiter)
I've tried playing NG+ for an hour or so, and it's a bit baffling how my party's still level 78, so I probably won't get inconvenienced by any combats at all. Because I could, I've been leveling up
Fiora against the level 70+ enemies in some areas of Colony 9, although I guess that won't help at all.
It would be incredible if by bringing an overleveled party I could actually beat Mumkhar and prevent Fiora's death, but I guess Xenoblade won't let me do so by making the fights end prematurely, giving Mumkhar plot-based invincibility or something like that. I guess killing him on his first appearance would probably leave the party with no motivation to go on with the plot, so it wouldn't make sense despite fitting with the whole "screw fate" theme of the game.
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
That didn't bother me in Xenoblade, but there's a specific, vaguely similar part of Last Story that was extremely painful for me. And it was made worse because you couldn't really do anything except wait a while for the game to kick in with the next scene.
Snacks the sober sea lion
Member
Really? I thought there was
something clearly suspicious about him at Prison Island, and there was no doubt he would be the final boss after that cutscene in Agniratha Tower.
I thought so, too.
For example, when Zanza offered to unlock the monado's power without getting anything in return, Melia doubted his reasons for doing so.
Then the party experiences a series of "but wait, there's more!" moments that end up turning Zanza from a cryptic giant into a truly heartless magnificent bastard of a god...
which was actually a human scientist who destroyed the previous universe while trying to play god!
In the new game plus, I noticed there was a level 40 borg unique I never fought before around Colony 9, as well as an island filled with lv 65-70 Flamii, and some of them even dropped some awesome advanced arts manuals I didn't have before.
By the way, I experienced my first two enemies with topple and sleep-inducing spikes (at around level 75 in two special rooms within
Prison Island v2.0
It wasn't nearly as bad as damage spikes, though, since my team often recovered from the status effects at nearly the same time as the enemies's topple state ended; being forced to find, craft and equip spike protection gems is a bit too annoying for my taste, and the alternative of being forced to rely on ranged attackers isn't that enticing, either (
Fiora gets especially bad against those enemies due to her multiple low-damage moves)
Metroid Killer
Member
Shit! So I'm at the last stage of rebuilding Colony 6 when I get a new 'defend the colony' quest after inviting the last? character to the colony.
'Oh another one of those really easy quests... Nope!
... My team is lvl 84, and I don't think I even made a dent on its health... will have to return later.
I also stumbled into a really cool post-game quest which was fully voiced and the whole shebang. Cool stuff.
Also while running around and doing post-game errands, I try to tackle all the Unique Monsters I run into to. Occasionally I run into something out of my league, 10 or so lvls above, which I would have saved for a later time had it been in my regular playthrough. The problem is that I can't even hit the strongest ones in anyway (see the spoiler above, and Immovable Gonzalez for example). I have all characters equipped with max agility gems, so I assume that there's nothing you can do other than abuse a certain art's exploit.
Kinda annoying way to lock the player out of ttying on higher lvl enemies, only to return to them a few lvls higher and then defeat without any challenge...
'Oh another one of those really easy quests... Nope!
Demon King Dragonia
I also stumbled into a really cool post-game quest which was fully voiced and the whole shebang. Cool stuff.
Also while running around and doing post-game errands, I try to tackle all the Unique Monsters I run into to. Occasionally I run into something out of my league, 10 or so lvls above, which I would have saved for a later time had it been in my regular playthrough. The problem is that I can't even hit the strongest ones in anyway (see the spoiler above, and Immovable Gonzalez for example). I have all characters equipped with max agility gems, so I assume that there's nothing you can do other than abuse a certain art's exploit.
Kinda annoying way to lock the player out of ttying on higher lvl enemies, only to return to them a few lvls higher and then defeat without any challenge...
thats strange... is everyone at full agility? shouldn't be a problem to hit those enemies. did you use skill links for additional agility? melias wind buff can help too.
really strange, you should have enough agility by this point.
Not nesicarily that he was the antagonist, just the fact of how
basically Shulk's life was a planned "shell" for Zanza. Really threw me off.
ActStriker
Member
sorry, just saw this
Ahh this is why I'm so scared to come into this thread, if I accidentally see something I don't want to know yet.
I'm about level 53 right now and just
got to Galahad Fortress
Head of Vengarl
Banned
You'd better hold your controller tight, then.
If you're into doing all quests and getting all collectables, (possible non-specific quest-based spoilers ahead)
be careful with that area, because it will get locked out a while after you clear it
Oh, I remember that trinket which was in the middle of a poisonous swamp... that was slightly infuriating with the AI being notoriously bad at staying away from hazards.
Also, remember to do some exploring around the area for ether crystal deposits, since they could prove very useful for customizing your party. Low-level crystals aren't that useful, but they can be somewhat fun, even without going for megaheated gems.
Head of Vengarl
Banned
I made a thread today in the Gaming Discussion section titled "What are your favorite video game armor sets?". DO NOT enter that thread if you don't know who Xenoblade's 7th character is. Someone posted a massive spoiler in there, so I'm warning you here. I sent him a private message asking him to remove the picture, so hopefully it'll be safe to enter in a bit.
started to play games few days ago and heck.. I am addicted!
Can't stop playing it! I just finished Bionis Leg and moved to swamp area. Damn the music at the Leg was awesome btw.
But Gaf help me with battles! It is way too messy! I feel overwhelmed with all those combat mechanics and i feel like i am not utilizing it very well. I didn't have much trouble with bosses so far but i feel like i dont have much control on combat too much. As if even if i dont do anything i will still succeed in battles. I got Dunban back in the party now in Swamp and my party is Shulk, Ryen and Dunban. and controlling dunban for a chance now i liked his sword skills. But in every combat all i do is Break Topple and Daze. Nothing else. Even if i switch characters it seems like there isnt much variety in combat and most of the arts look useless.
Am i doing something wrong? Is Shulk way too overpowered btw? I can do 4k damage with his backstabs etc. Other characters feel like lame supports now.
I wish combat was a little more slower like FF XII. I want to have more control on it.
Can't stop playing it! I just finished Bionis Leg and moved to swamp area. Damn the music at the Leg was awesome btw.
But Gaf help me with battles! It is way too messy! I feel overwhelmed with all those combat mechanics and i feel like i am not utilizing it very well. I didn't have much trouble with bosses so far but i feel like i dont have much control on combat too much. As if even if i dont do anything i will still succeed in battles. I got Dunban back in the party now in Swamp and my party is Shulk, Ryen and Dunban. and controlling dunban for a chance now i liked his sword skills. But in every combat all i do is Break Topple and Daze. Nothing else. Even if i switch characters it seems like there isnt much variety in combat and most of the arts look useless.
Am i doing something wrong? Is Shulk way too overpowered btw? I can do 4k damage with his backstabs etc. Other characters feel like lame supports now.
I wish combat was a little more slower like FF XII. I want to have more control on it.
If it makes you feel better, your results could have been a lot worse if you didn't play as well, I can promise you that!
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
It's not like Xenoblade is a hard game anyway. I can't think of any bosses that actually gave me significant trouble on my first playthrough. That one boss everyone struggles with was a long fight, but I still beat it on my first try with an unoptimal party. And despite the game bugging out on the boss after that by not letting me negate it's spike damage with purge I beat it in one try as well.
And if you abuse topple/daze, there are very few situations where you'll struggle. The handful of enemies immune to daze and the handful with topple spikes, it's basically an instant win strategy. That said you can get through the game almost entirely without using topple.
And Shulk is overpowered, but you're not really to the point that applies yet. In the post-game in particular, Shulk can completely break the game.
And if you abuse topple/daze, there are very few situations where you'll struggle. The handful of enemies immune to daze and the handful with topple spikes, it's basically an instant win strategy. That said you can get through the game almost entirely without using topple.
And Shulk is overpowered, but you're not really to the point that applies yet. In the post-game in particular, Shulk can completely break the game.
As soon as I got Dunban I switched Shulk out, and things were a bit more fun, even if most of the time I was using Gale Slash -> Break -> Topple. Other than Shulk, everyone gets more than eight arts later on, so you'll be able to switch out the ones you don't like for more interesing ones (and to prevent the AI from using some useless moves).
Also, here're a few tips to get you started:
- Pay attention to your party's tension (represented with the character's portrait, ranging from sad with a purple-ish background to "angry" with a fire-y background. If your party members get to a low tension state, get near them and press B to encourage them, gaining some affinity and raising their tension level to normal levels.
- Don't be afraid to experiment with other party members, because changing your party around is the only way to raise affinity between them and see what works. Most of the time, you won't realize a character's true potential by watching the AI play, since it makes several crazy mistakes (like never cooling off Sharla's rifle manually or wasting Wild Down on an enemy which isn't suffering break).
- Topple/Daze status is ridiculously overpowered, and you could try to avoid it if you want more of a challenge. By abusing chain attacks you can get 8-second locks while you charge your party gauge for another 8-second lock (two topples + Shulk's daze), making quick work of most enemies... unless they have a topple spike, that is, but you won't see that kind of thing until way later on.
- As others have said, it seems the game has a bug in its damage calculation that lowers its maximum damage range to minimum damage + 99 (ie: a weapon with 100-300 deals 100-199, but one that deals 120-170 suffers no changes). Take that into account when selecting equipment and gems.
- If you want to, you should get to crafting gems early on. You might not get megaheated stuff or huge stat-ups early on, but if you wait until you get high-level crystals you'll be dropping off and/or selling too many crystals. Gems add some interesting customization that you shouldn't miss early on if you're already getting bored with combat.
I beat the game yesterday, it really was the most addictive RPG that I have played in recent years.
Looking at Eccocid's post, it reminds me of how I felt a few weeks ago (by the way I finished the game in 67 hours during the past 2 weeks, this was A LOT for my standards considering that I couldn't just play all day long).
During the first 10-20 hours I was also feeling overwhelmed by the combat system, the game kept on introducing new mechanisms all the time. After a while you get used to it, and the only thing you have to learn is how to use any new party members. You should also give everyone a chance, everyone is useful in his own way and also fun to play.
Regarding my impressions I was mindblown when I first saw how huge the Bionis Field was (and yes the awesome theme helps a lot to make it feel even better). The second half of the game was definitely way more linear for better or for worse. The combats were fun although not challenging (I had some trouble only on one fight, probably the fight chaosblade also mentioned above). It was the only time I had to grind a bit, so I went from lv 70 to lv 75 and I beat that boss really easily. My party for typical fights was usually Shulk-Dunban-Reyn and they felt quite overpowered, so I tried to mix things a bit by changing parties all the time in order to avoid losing interest and also to increase affinity between characters. Melia was also quite overpowered, she could crush anyone, especially ether based enemies. Later on I tried 7 and Riki, based on my gear at least 7 was far from a beast. I tried all sorts of combinations eventually, Melia-Riki-Sharla would just destroy anyone strong vs physical attacks, Melia dealt most of the damage and the others were great for support and also not bad on the attacking side.
As for the story... (end-game spoilers):
Looking at Eccocid's post, it reminds me of how I felt a few weeks ago (by the way I finished the game in 67 hours during the past 2 weeks, this was A LOT for my standards considering that I couldn't just play all day long).
During the first 10-20 hours I was also feeling overwhelmed by the combat system, the game kept on introducing new mechanisms all the time. After a while you get used to it, and the only thing you have to learn is how to use any new party members. You should also give everyone a chance, everyone is useful in his own way and also fun to play.
Regarding my impressions I was mindblown when I first saw how huge the Bionis Field was (and yes the awesome theme helps a lot to make it feel even better). The second half of the game was definitely way more linear for better or for worse. The combats were fun although not challenging (I had some trouble only on one fight, probably the fight chaosblade also mentioned above). It was the only time I had to grind a bit, so I went from lv 70 to lv 75 and I beat that boss really easily. My party for typical fights was usually Shulk-Dunban-Reyn and they felt quite overpowered, so I tried to mix things a bit by changing parties all the time in order to avoid losing interest and also to increase affinity between characters. Melia was also quite overpowered, she could crush anyone, especially ether based enemies. Later on I tried 7 and Riki, based on my gear at least 7 was far from a beast. I tried all sorts of combinations eventually, Melia-Riki-Sharla would just destroy anyone strong vs physical attacks, Melia dealt most of the damage and the others were great for support and also not bad on the attacking side.
As for the story... (end-game spoilers):
I went into the game knowing that this won't be a typical Xeno game story-wise, and most of the story seemed to be above average. After a while and when it became obvious that this is not about Bionis VS Mechonis I started losing interest. I thought that Takahashi would avoid all the cliches seen time and again in most jRPGs, but in the end it was just an average scenario (lol btw at Zanza's final form, couldn't they come up with a more stupid look?). It still feels weird that someone obsessed with complex storylines delivered something like this. Still it was a very ambitious game, more ambitious actually than anything else that I have seen in years (regarding jRPGs), if only the story was more than solid then this would be a damn perfect game.
I am playing through Xenoblade for the first time on my Wii U. Currently about 13 hours into it.
I would like to do the side quests, but I am not excited about wandering around looking for people with exclamation points over their heads to talk to for hours on end.
Is there any better easier way to know where to find the people in game who would like to give you side quests?
I would like to do the side quests, but I am not excited about wandering around looking for people with exclamation points over their heads to talk to for hours on end.
Is there any better easier way to know where to find the people in game who would like to give you side quests?
They're shown on the mini-map as well, but only when you're relatively near to them. Most of the time you can get the quests simply by walking around the town once, or at the very least by warping to landmarks within a town and seeing if any "!"s pop up on the mini-map.
Most NPCs have timed schedules, though, so you'll probably have to change the in-game time a few times to get all available quests within any given area.
As you complete quests, you'll gain access to even more of them. For example, most NPCs that tell you to go out and kill X enemies will give you three quests one after the other, so you should talk to them several times until they no longer have the "!" icon on top of them.
Thanks!
I got sick for the first time in over a year, and spent my entire feverish and delusional weekend doing sidequests in Xenoblade. It was strangely comforting and very relaxing. Up until this point (I'm level 60) I just took all the quests and didn't go too far out of my way to do them, and I think I'd actually prefer it this way - just using a guide and mopping up old quests, and hitting up the places I missed the first time. The bonus skill trees are pretty much the only reason I decided to do them, which are fantastic. I can definitely see myself 100%'ing this game, or close enough to it.
Stupid Question:
I thought I was able to warp say from Colony 9 to Colony 6 in a previous part of my game. But now that I am almost 20 hours into it, I can only figure out how to warp from the start of an area to the end of an area. Then I have to walk into the next area, then I can start warping again. So for example I can't seem to figure out how to warp directly from Colony 9 to Colony 6... I have tried pressing every button on the CCP to no benefit.
Is there any way to warp directly for example directly from Colony 9 to Colony 6? If so how?
I thought I was able to warp say from Colony 9 to Colony 6 in a previous part of my game. But now that I am almost 20 hours into it, I can only figure out how to warp from the start of an area to the end of an area. Then I have to walk into the next area, then I can start warping again. So for example I can't seem to figure out how to warp directly from Colony 9 to Colony 6... I have tried pressing every button on the CCP to no benefit.
Is there any way to warp directly for example directly from Colony 9 to Colony 6? If so how?
SecretMoblin
Member
Access the map from the menu (rather than pressing 'Select'). You'll have a list of every area in the game, and you can choose which area and landmark to warp to.
OMG Thank you!
JaseMath
Member
Shulk is always in. I usually keep Sharla in regardless of anyone when I'm starting off in a new area since she's the best healer. I swap out the others regularly, but I hate Riki. He's not a bad fighter, but his story arc is pretty weak (so far) and they totally botched the voice acting on him and he's intolerable because of it.
Metroid Killer
Member
I mix my party all the time, which is important in ordet to get to know each member's strenghts and weaknesses. Info you need to know later in the game.
ActStriker
Member
I usually keep Shulk for versatility, but all spots are pretty much a revolving door. I liked using Shulk, Reyn, Riki for some of the later things in the game. Riki's great.
You should be glad I'm not a mod around here, this would be a bannable offense. Thou shalt not badtalk Riki! I normally hate comic-relief characters, but the voice actor is so perfect it just made me fall in love with him. To each their own I guess... I can't use Melia because of her voice actor, her speech pattern sounds just like Xelha's in Baten Kaitos which annoyed me to no end.
And I 100% encourage you to try other characters out. Honestly for the vast majority of the game you don't even need a healer, let alone Shulk and Sharla at all times. Not only that, but nobody else will get their party affinity up and it'll get boring. Try everyone! And in areas where you're not fighting Mechon, I'd give Shulk a rest too. Sure he's good, but he'll get plenty of use when you actually need him.
JaseMath
Member
lol I'd prefer Riki to sound...I don't know, smaller I guess. He sounds like big British guy who's trying to sound primitive and small. I just think it sounds terrible.
Also, I don't always keep Sharla in my party, just when first entering an area. I switch her out usually when I get the lay of the land, but Shulk has to stay until I beat the game. It'd feel wrong without him!EDIT: If I'm worried about HP, who's good aside from Sharla?
lol I'd prefer Riki to sound...I don't know, smaller I guess. He sounds like big British guy who's trying to sound primitive and small. I just think it sounds terrible.
Did you try switching the language to japanese? Riki does sound a lot "smaller" and more kiddie with japanese audio, but I think he sounds awful like that. He is like 40 after all!
anyone with a bunch of agility gems (and skill links). not getting hit = no need to heal
That's why I like seventh so much... common unique armors that come equipped with high-level haste and agility gems? Sign me up!
Riki has the best heal outside of Sharla. And unlike Sharla Riki actually does damage and is tanky.
Well, Riki can make some veryd ecent heals with his fan-shaped AoE heal that also heals him. You can also set up Melia with Aqua and her hp-percentage transfer art, and keep discharging aquas to heal her and then transfer that HP to someone else, but it's a bit tedious.
If you're aiming for a Blitzkrieg team though, just link to everyone that (Shulk's?) skill that heals the party after a chain attack, and change your fighting style accordingly.
7th also can survive by itself with "Critical Drain", and then throwing some other skills to help, like auto-critical on all double attacks (and a Double Attack gem subsequently). An HP-Steal gem can help it a very moderate amount too should you still struggle.
When fighting big hordes of not boss-like monsters, Damage Heal can aliviate things a little bit on Reyn, but that's it.
Oh, and Jason: Every party combination has a unique low-chance post-battle dialogue that involves all three members interacting with one another. If you always keep Shulk in, you'll only hear a maximum of 15 out of 35 (17 out of 37 if you count early game Shulk-Reyn and Shulk-Fiora duos). They're all hylarious, specially the ones involving Reyn. (Shoot him in the head!) Why not try all the SHulk-less parties at least until you get to hear the special dialogue? Seems like a decent chance-time to get a feel of them. Just make sure you don't interrupt the dialogue by having the drop-menu open while a new line loads up.
If you're aiming for a Blitzkrieg team though, just link to everyone that (Shulk's?) skill that heals the party after a chain attack, and change your fighting style accordingly.
7th also can survive by itself with "Critical Drain", and then throwing some other skills to help, like auto-critical on all double attacks (and a Double Attack gem subsequently). An HP-Steal gem can help it a very moderate amount too should you still struggle.
When fighting big hordes of not boss-like monsters, Damage Heal can aliviate things a little bit on Reyn, but that's it.
Oh, and Jason: Every party combination has a unique low-chance post-battle dialogue that involves all three members interacting with one another. If you always keep Shulk in, you'll only hear a maximum of 15 out of 35 (17 out of 37 if you count early game Shulk-Reyn and Shulk-Fiora duos). They're all hylarious, specially the ones involving Reyn. (Shoot him in the head!) Why not try all the SHulk-less parties at least until you get to hear the special dialogue? Seems like a decent chance-time to get a feel of them. Just make sure you don't interrupt the dialogue by having the drop-menu open while a new line loads up.
Easy: it's skill sharing. If, say, you link a skill from Reyn to Shulk, then it'll be as if Shulk has that skill too, regardless of how the party is organised.
Each character starts with one skill slot avaliable for each other character, and they earn another slot each time their affinity level with each character goes up, up to 5 skill slots per character. Additionally, skill slots have different shapes, and only skills with the same shape can be linked with that slot. You'll see that nobody has a diamond-shaped slot: Diamond skills can't be linked, as their effect is usually related to an unique trait of the character: to what effect would you link a skill from Reyn that boosts the effect of his Taunt otherwise?
The major trick is that linking skills costs Affinity Coins. The cost depends only on the skill, not the character you're linking it to, and is usually correlated to the skill's effectivity (Riki's silver chest chance+ costs 30, but the gold chest chance+ costs 45). You get them back when you un-link a skill, so don't worry: they're more like tokens instead of money.
Each character earns one affinity coin per level-up, and all your party earns another one after defeating a Named Monster for the first time (the ones with the fancy nametag and the badass battle theme). When a new character joins the party, they'll have the same amount of coins as your party at their level. There're around 173 named monsters out there, and I'm not sure if the story bosses count.
A special mention goes to equipment skills. Light armor can be equipped by everyone except the 7th character, but to equip medium and heavy armor you need skills that let you do so. Most characters' (including Shulk and Reyn) first central skill, or initial skill since it comes already filled, is Medium Equipment, and lets them equip medium armor. So, if you want one of the Medium Equipment-less characters to wear medium armor, you gotta spend 10 affinity coins and link Medium Equipment from Shulk, Reyn, or whoever the character has a star-shaped link slot avaliable with. Same goes for heavy armor with the Heavy Equipment skill, except that since its avaliability varies heavily (lol) among the characters, its coin cost does too: if you link it from Reyn, who has it as his first skill on a secondary branch, it costs 45 aff coins, but if you link it from Sharla, who has it as the last skill of a secondary branch, then it costs only 30 aff coins. One character can link it from only 15 coins.
Oh, and whenever you get a complete set, share Heavy Equipment and take a look at how hilarious the different heavy armor models look on all the characters. There's cat costumes, mazinger cosplay, exhaust pipes...
Excellent... Thank You !!!
ActStriker
Member
Completely naked, IIRC. I never did it so I can't tell you the benefits