theprodigy
Member
don't fall for keeping the Shulk/Reyn/Sharla party the whole game, thinking you need the healing (you don't)
also don't burn yourself out on quests
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Xenoblade |OT| Sorry I Kept You Waiting!
- Thread starter SecretMoblin
- Start date
don't fall for keeping the Shulk/Reyn/Sharla party the whole game, thinking you need the healing (you don't)
also don't burn yourself out on quests
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
Basically what everyone else said, what you think of the last story by the way? and did you buy pandora's tower?
Extra Sauce
Member
I didn't mind the character's idiosyncrasy but the voice actor was... not great.
Lumpy Onion
Member
During combat one of Riki's battle cries was a dead ringer for that infamous Howard Dean scream. Every time I heard him do it I couldn't help but laugh.
I can't remember getting angry at a videogame before but this was the dumbest design choice. Got to the makna forest boss
I waited for about 10 minutes just healing and trying to get shulk to hit on the 5% chance a few times and fill up the monado gauge but ended up letting it kill me and send me back to the last checkpoint.
Edit - figures, after the battle Shulk gets an art that lets him sacrifice half his hp to fill up the talent gauge.
stage 2 of the fight where it puts up a 95% dodge aura. Problem was I was using Shulk, Dunban, and Sharla with the only attack between them that could break the aura being Shulk's monado purge. My monado gauge was empty though so literally no one could hurt it because Shulk couldn't fill up the gauge due to the aura.
Edit - figures, after the battle Shulk gets an art that lets him sacrifice half his hp to fill up the talent gauge.
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
That aura eventually wears off, but it gets used again.
That battle is a good tutorial on Monado arts, because there's really no reason for Shulk to use his talent gauge unless you actually need it at that moment. All of the Monado offensive arts are pretty blah aside from one, and even that one is situational.
That battle is a good tutorial on Monado arts, because there's really no reason for Shulk to use his talent gauge unless you actually need it at that moment. All of the Monado offensive arts are pretty blah aside from one, and even that one is situational.
Well the reason it was empty was because I used monado speed to save Sharla from a death attack right before it put up the aura. I just don't like that those kinds of situations are even possible in the first place. Could've been easily avoided if the monado operated on a timer cooldown instead of depending on auto attacks.
Oh god, almost to prison island and someone just told me I could craft gems this whole time. I thought the game was stupidly hard so far and was wondering when gem creation would open up lol.
Oh god, almost to prison island and someone just told me I could craft gems this whole time. I thought the game was stupidly hard so far and was wondering when gem creation would open up lol.
theprodigy
Member
oh that fight
1. Battle Soul is obtained by level up, not story progression, I think you should have it by then if you aren't underleveled (even if you don't, shouldn't really matter)
2. Always keep Shulk's talent gauge at max, should've just let Sharla die (actually shouldn't have used her at all, but w/e)
3. and lastly, use Monado Purge again to remove Super Aura so it doesn't heal itself (I've seen so many people not do this and then wonder why phase 2 takes forever)
actually, you could always use Melia and use Mind Blast to clear the aura, since she doesn't give a damn about that agility boost from Soul Read
(Melia is awesome btw)
Yeah I was level 31 at that fight so I didn't have it yet. To be honest I don't like the battle system at all so I've been avoiding as many fights as possible and not going out of my way to do any side quests. Definitely feel underleveled sometimes but not sure if I'm doing something else wrong too.
Everyone and their grandma tells me Sharla isn't worth using because her DPS isn't comparable to anyone else by end-game, but I'm not at end-game nor have access to aura healing gems or whatever it is that keeps you alive later. Fact is I haven't been able to beat a boss without her and even mobs of 3 or more usually results in death if she's not in the party. I thought it might be because I completely missed that you could craft gems, but after prison island I made a bunch of the more useful ones and am still barely surviving encounters. Currently at the snowy mountain and the lowest leveled enemy is like 4 levels higher, not sure if I was expected to grind a little or something. Shulk's light heal recovers about 1000 hp right now and it's definitely not enough on its own compared to how much damage output enemies have at the moment.
Everyone and their grandma tells me Sharla isn't worth using because her DPS isn't comparable to anyone else by end-game, but I'm not at end-game nor have access to aura healing gems or whatever it is that keeps you alive later. Fact is I haven't been able to beat a boss without her and even mobs of 3 or more usually results in death if she's not in the party. I thought it might be because I completely missed that you could craft gems, but after prison island I made a bunch of the more useful ones and am still barely surviving encounters. Currently at the snowy mountain and the lowest leveled enemy is like 4 levels higher, not sure if I was expected to grind a little or something. Shulk's light heal recovers about 1000 hp right now and it's definitely not enough on its own compared to how much damage output enemies have at the moment.
theprodigy
Member
wtf
how did you even beat
Metal Face
Prison Island
anyway, the idea is that dropping Sharla sends your DPS way up, so you kill stuff way faster while taking less damage, which you can do the moment you get Dunban and have room to drop Sharla
typically Dunban is the better tank for this, because he also has high agility to dodge shit, requiring even less healing, though you can run both
lastly, Riki's healing can be used as a crutch, as Riki can actually deal damage on his own at least and can eat up a few hits with that HP stat in an emergency
Like I said I've been beelining to wherever the arrow points and avoiding fights. I don't have a lot of free time to play games so it's really hard making time for an 80 hour console rpg. I'm sticking to it because the Xeno series is one of my favorites and I've been waiting to play for this for a long time.
As much as I'd like to explore and do sidequests it seems mostly pointless outside of exp and while I have never said this before about graphics, I think I got too used to HD over the last generation and the low resolution of the game being played on a Wii U is killing any awe or immersion the environments might've provided otherwise.
Was 37 for
, currently 38-ish. It's not that I'm struggling with combat because I'm not efficiently using the right moves (at least I don't believe so), but everything just has huge damage output too high for a party without Sharla in my experience. Is it too early to go with naked Dunban? I have his naked dodging skill and about 50 points worth of additional agility from gems.
As much as I'd like to explore and do sidequests it seems mostly pointless outside of exp and while I have never said this before about graphics, I think I got too used to HD over the last generation and the low resolution of the game being played on a Wii U is killing any awe or immersion the environments might've provided otherwise.
Screencap from my Wii U said:
Was 37 for
metal face
theprodigy
Member
Dunban w/ light armor as the tank, use Serene Heart over Peerless if you're getting hit too much
I personally rolled through most of the game with Dunban/Melia/Riki, I don't even think my equipment was much better than store-bought stuff until endgame
....you are leveling up your arts at least right
(oh yeah, if a character doesn't need agility *cough* Melia *cough* use heavy armor instead, unless you're facing ether-based enemies)
I personally rolled through most of the game with Dunban/Melia/Riki, I don't even think my equipment was much better than store-bought stuff until endgame
....you are leveling up your arts at least right
(oh yeah, if a character doesn't need agility *cough* Melia *cough* use heavy armor instead, unless you're facing ether-based enemies)
SteveWinwood
Member
After waiting what seems like years I finally got my hands on a new copy of this (new as gamestop just gutted it to charge me more, so fuck them) now I just need the time to play it.
I've never played a wii game on my wii u before can I play with the game pad screen or use the game pad as a classic controller pro or whatever?
I've never played a wii game on my wii u before can I play with the game pad screen or use the game pad as a classic controller pro or whatever?
Head of Vengarl
Banned
Holy shit it's about time Winwood.
Don't overdo it with the side quests or you'll burn yourself out.
Learn how to craft gems. Craft agility gems. Agility is the best stat in the game.
Actually read the combat tutorials and learn the system. Too many people complain about Xenoblade's "confusing" combat system even though it's actually pretty simple (in a good way).
Ditch Sharla as soon as you can. She is the worst character in the game and her heals are a crutch.
And most importantly, don't let the hype fool you into believing that this is a flawless game. It has plenty of flaws but it's still great and one of the very best RPGs on the Wii.
Don't overdo it with the side quests or you'll burn yourself out.
Learn how to craft gems. Craft agility gems. Agility is the best stat in the game.
Actually read the combat tutorials and learn the system. Too many people complain about Xenoblade's "confusing" combat system even though it's actually pretty simple (in a good way).
Ditch Sharla as soon as you can. She is the worst character in the game and her heals are a crutch.
And most importantly, don't let the hype fool you into believing that this is a flawless game. It has plenty of flaws but it's still great and one of the very best RPGs on the Wii.
I don't have a Wii U so I can't answer your questions.
SecretMoblin
Member
As far as I know, you still can't use the game pad to control Wii games, sadly.
Read the FAQ in the OP; it's short.
Read the FAQ in the OP; it's short.
This game is everything I wanted out of a JRPG. I got really hyped for FFXIII, was incredibly disappointed, and largely stayed away from console JRPG's since, but man, this game delivers.
I do have one question. When is a good time to start doing some serious gem crafting? I'm about 13 hours in, just past the
. Should I just wait until I start dying regularly or is there a difficulty spike at all, or a spot in the game when you really start finding good stuff to craft gems with?
I do have one question. When is a good time to start doing some serious gem crafting? I'm about 13 hours in, just past the
Xord fight
Head of Vengarl
Banned
Is the shark in the water under Colony 9 involved in anything? It can be seen at night. It glows.
It's involved in a quest.
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
gem crafting overall is completely optional tho recommended, since you reached xord you now pretty much officially reached bosses that can kick your ass easily if your not prepared so you can start now
Thanks!
theprodigy
Member
gems start getting useful when they're around level 3.....so by now you can probably start crafting agility gems and the like
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Equip Agility Gems on Dunban. And if it's a Telethia boss then either use Melia's Mind Blast or just use Shulk. For me my party was essentially Dunban/Shulk/Reyn for most of the game so I never really had trouble since Dunban > Everything
theprodigy
Member
no no no, it's that boss fight remember
especially since he's already using Dunban/Melia/Riki (hell yeah my team), and the latter two can bypass Soul Read (....does that one even use it though)
but yes, agility on Dunban, also use Serene Heart as his aura
(control Melia though, her AI is garbage)
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Never really needed healing. Since Dunban would be hard to hit and if I was in danger I could implement Jaws of Death. Shulk also has his one healing art. And doing Chain Attacks gives a small heal to every party member. My party was generally a brute force attack.
theprodigy
Member
I like this guy
and Shulk/Reyn/Dunban is basically a burst damage team that kills stuff before taking too much damage
MagiusNecros I will try that combination.
theprodigy I almost beat
without Shulk and Dunban was just doing 1 damage! With Shulk/Riki/Melia I beat him easily.
Riki is doing some nice damage from behind, monsters go in front of Dunban (he is high on Agility) and Melia do bunch of magic stuff that helps
This is best jrpg game since Skies of Arcadia (I am not huge jrpg fan but like to play some from time to time). X hype is even bigger now
theprodigy I almost beat
metal face on prison island
Riki is doing some nice damage from behind, monsters go in front of Dunban (he is high on Agility) and Melia do bunch of magic stuff that helps
This is best jrpg game since Skies of Arcadia (I am not huge jrpg fan but like to play some from time to time). X hype is even bigger now
theprodigy
Member
xD
I remember doing that for fun on my run
should've used that anti-Mechon weapon Dunban got when he joined your party for real
Thanks guys. I started crafting yesterday and am slowly getting the hang of it. The menu looked very intimidating at first, but it's actually a pretty interesting system.
(<--- huge Xenogears and Xenosaga fan)
Started Xenoblade a few days ago, so far its pretty nice. The setting/world is such an interesting idea and the story seems to have potential.
The character animation can be hilariously ugly though, the lead character's jumping has to be some legendary shit.
The music is great but I made the mistake of listening to the soundtrack about a year ago and in my head the visuals and music keep getting separated since I've listened to the various tracks before.
Only thing I don't find so hot right now is the battle system, which looks kind of clunky and not much fun. Like a more basic version of FFXII's.
Started Xenoblade a few days ago, so far its pretty nice. The setting/world is such an interesting idea and the story seems to have potential.
The character animation can be hilariously ugly though, the lead character's jumping has to be some legendary shit.
The music is great but I made the mistake of listening to the soundtrack about a year ago and in my head the visuals and music keep getting separated since I've listened to the various tracks before.
Only thing I don't find so hot right now is the battle system, which looks kind of clunky and not much fun. Like a more basic version of FFXII's.
Head of Vengarl
Banned
Some of them are playing it on their high-end PCs using Dolphin. You can make the games look really nice when you emulate it on PC.
theprodigy
Member
speaking of Dolphin, for some reason the game randomly crashes at times while running Xenoblade
what's up with that?
TheGreatLugia
Banned
The combat definitely starts off pretty simple. It gets more fun as you learn more arts and get new party members, though.
Don't feel like you're limited to playing as Shulk, either. Since the other characters have different play styles, you might enjoy controlling one or two of them a bit more.
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
It occasionally gets to feel the effects of the Electric Gutbuster.
This game being on Wii continues to stun me. The world is just the size of a mammoth! Frontier Village is so beautiful. The story hasn't really gone anywhere that exciting yet, but I'm loving this game because exploring is so much fun. Some of the best art design I've seen in quite sometime.
TheGreatLugia
Banned
A few more hours in and its really not clicking, really hate it tbh
How far in are you, exactly? Depending on where I'd either say to wait and try out the next character or to stop if you're still not feeling it.
I just finished the save Juju from the underground place story mission.
Is the story worth playing for? I could deal with the lackluster battle system if it is.
So far I'm sort of ignoring the sidequest stuff, had enough of that in Dragon's Dogma.
TheGreatLugia
Banned
If you just got Dunban you should try him out for a bit.
I haven't played Xenogears or Xenosaga so I can't make a direct comparison about the story, but I really enjoyed it. From what I've heard it's a decent amount simpler than in those games, but I liked the characters and the game still has some neat plot twists, especially in the final act.
I'd say the first half of the game is more character driven and focused on world building, and then in the second half the plot goes into overdrive.
EDIT: Don't worry, you won't have to deal with Juju anymore, either.
theprodigy
Member
does it feel like battles drag on for too long?
if so, drop Sharla ASAP since you got Dunban
if so, drop Sharla ASAP since you got Dunban
I would like you guys to know this game clocks in at 9.5 hours as measured by Speedrun Time™
tryagainlater
Member
The save Juju mission was my least favourite part of the game and I didn't think much of the combat then either. After that when you push on to new areas (enter Satorl Marsh during the day by the way, nighttime hitting when you're already in there is an experience that's hard to explain), along with new characters to use, I became engrossed in the game and it's my favourite of the gen.
Not saying you'll definitely like it later on but I'd recommend pushing forward for now
Not saying you'll definitely like it later on but I'd recommend pushing forward for now
Isn't she the main healer though?
The save Juju mission was my least favourite part of the game and I didn't think much of the combat then either. After that when you push on to new areas (enter Satorl Marsh during the day by the way, nighttime hitting when you're already in there is an experience that's hard to explain), along with new characters to use, I became engrossed in the game and it's my favourite of the gen.
Not saying you'll definitely like it later on but I'd recommend pushing forward for now
Thanks for the tips, will do
theprodigy
Member
yes, but you generally don't need the healing
also, later you get a party member who has a decent enough AoE heal to cover you while still dealing a fair amount of damage
iRAWRasaurus
Banned
Hey I got a question, are the materials and collectables worth keeping?
theprodigy
Member
some of them are used in Colony 6 reconstruction, and you'll want to fill out the Collectopedia
oh and a bunch of them are needed for quests
other than that, it's pretty much just cash
iRAWRasaurus
Banned
cool thanks!