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[DashReindeer]

It's somewhere in the options. I didn't really care for the Japanese VA though.

Yeah, it's not necessarily just that I like the Japanese VA better (although I love the actors on the Villains), but moreso that the game was originally written Japanese so the dialogue in that language feels so much more natural. I'm never gonna want to listen to Western actors trying to make poorly translated lines from Japanese sound natural. I dunno, I'll always choose the original language over a dub in absolutely every case.

 

[ErasureAcer]

LVL 56. Destroying everything in the fortress. Zone before that was quite tough. Hopefully I didn't miss out on instant quests. Did 3 there besides all the ones around the bridge. Game definitely spikes in difficulty. Goodbye 8-10 levels above. Game is so amazing.

 

[Antagon]

Haven't played the game (yet), but all this talk about how massive the game world is makes me curious about how it compares in size to other large game worlds, like those in Skyrim and Fallout.

It's easier to compare to ffxii I think. The game is basically built up around a number of huge, themed zones, somewhere between 10 and 15 I think. Each zone is several the size of a ffxii region. The largest of the are probably a mile+ across.

This vid shows the first zone: http://uk.ign.com/videos/2011/06/27/xenoblade-chronicles-colony-9

The majority of them are still several times larger.

 

[Antagon]

Also, thirty hours in and just past

Spoiler

Prison island

. Game really kicks it up a notch here.

 

[wsippel]

Haven't played the game (yet), but all this talk about how massive the game world is makes me curious about how it compares in size to other large game worlds, like those in Skyrim and Fallout.

I think Skyrim or Fallout are technically bigger, but the structure is completely different. The structure is closer to World of Warcraft, and Xenoblade holds up surprisingly well in comparison even though it's a single player game.

 

[RedRedSuit]

Are you using Shadow Eye to get aggro off of Shulk?

Start with eliminating the minions, which shouldn't be too much of a problem. You might want to use your party commands to have Reyn focus on Shulk's target just to kill them even faster.

If you're getting up Shield to shatter Talent Art visions, refreshing Shadow Eye every time it becomes available, and using your arts to try to Break->Topple the queen if possible, you should be alright. The queen's most powerful attack is its Talent Art, and Shield can completely negate that.

Your Monado Buster can also help to wipe out the minions faster if they're grouped close together. Remember that the Monado recharges with successful auto-attacks, so if you feel like you're going to need a Monado Shield soon, stop using Arts to let the Monado recharge.

Good tips. Shadow Eye seemed like it would help, but I was unsure. I also did not realize Monado arts recharge with autoattacks. I think I am being overwhelmed by the minions and need to kill them faster. I did once or twice, but she got more, and I was too confused.

Should be fun tonight with a higher level, better equipment, and a better understanding of how things work.

 

[MetatronM]

Shadow Eye should be part of your regular rotation with Shulk anyway. Shulk is a pretty good damage dealer, which inherently generates aggro, and his strongest physical arts require him to get into proper position, which he can't do if the enemy is focusing on him. Using Shadow Eye gives Shulk better control of the battle field and makes it easier for him to get into position to effectively use his offensive techniques.

That and he has one of the lower natural HP totals in the party, so you don't want him taking a pounding anyway.

 

[ErasureAcer]

Also, thirty hours in and just past

Spoiler

Prison island

. Game really kicks it up a notch here.

ha. It took me double that to get there. Of course I've done just about every quest I've gotten.

 

[Owzers]

Question: Do I have defective copy of Xenoblade?

I'm playing it on 480p with component cables on my LCD tv and i'm getting a lot of annoying artifacting in the background, like green and red dots tearing through the picture. This only happens during xenoblade so i don't think it's my system.

Notice in the middle of the screen here during a cutscene

 

[burgerdog]

Alright, just to be completely sure: Is it possible to use a USB loader homebrew app with a USB stick instead of a drive? Thanks D:

 

[Starwolf_UK]

Alright, just to be completely sure: Is it possible to use a USB loader homebrew app with a USB stick instead of a drive? Thanks D:

Yes that can work, though compatibility tends to be worse (my non-decent brand 4GB card wouldn't work but my 1GB stick worked fine; neither are enough for Xenoblade...). SD card works too (you'll need an 8GB SDHC card at least for Xenoblade though).

I'm playing it on 480p with component cables on my LCD tv and i'm getting a lot of annoying artifacting in the background, like green and red dots tearing through the picture. This only happens during xenoblade so i don't think it's my system.

The pictures look like the early signs of the Wii GPU dying. I've not experienced it first hand but I recall it only being seen in a few places then gradually getting worse. Though it seems odd you only see it Xenoblade.

All I can think is, are you sure you did both tests in the same condition (what I'm saying is, if they showed up after a few hours of playing Xenoblade, yet you didn't see them next day when you powered up Mario strikers its not the same test as the second one the GPU will be cooler).

I guess all you can really do is try to keep the Wii cool. Some people say vertical is better for that (the bottom of the Wii gets hot though, I think the stand lets the other fans breathe), I think avoiding the disc drive is the easier way (as that seems to produce most of the heat, and the noise ).

 

[Owzers]

Yes that can work, though compatibility tends to be worse (my non-decent brand 4GB card wouldn't work but my 1GB stick worked fine; neither are enough for Xenoblade...). SD card works too (you'll need an 8GB SDHC card at least for Xenoblade though).


The pictures look like the early signs of the Wii GPU dying. I've not experienced it first hand but I recall it only being seen in a few places then gradually getting worse. Though it seems odd you only see it Xenoblade.

All I can think is, are you sure you did both tests in the same condition (what I'm saying is, if they showed up after a few hours of playing Xenoblade, yet you didn't see them next day when you powered up Mario strikers its not the same test as the second one the GPU will be cooler).

I guess all you can really do is try to keep the Wii cool. Some people say vertical is better for that (the bottom of the Wii gets hot though, I think the stand lets the other fans breathe), I think avoiding the disc drive is the easier way (as that seems to produce most of the heat, and the noise ).

I put in Mario Galaxy just now and it gets some of those green dots...........doomed. So far i'm on my 3rd 360, 2nd PS3 ( 60GB YLODed), and now my wii is dotting.

 

[Seik]

Question: Do I have defective copy of Xenoblade?

I'm playing it on 480p with component cables on my LCD tv and i'm getting a lot of annoying artifacting in the background, like green and red dots tearing through the picture. This only happens during xenoblade so i don't think it's my system.

Notice in the middle of the screen here during a cutscene

I had the same problem and sadly...it was my launch Wii, dying.

 

[RedRedSuit]

Question: Do I have defective copy of Xenoblade?

I'm playing it on 480p with component cables on my LCD tv and i'm getting a lot of annoying artifacting in the background, like green and red dots tearing through the picture. This only happens during xenoblade so i don't think it's my system.

I used to have something similar on my PS3. It was also only in one game. Eventually weird things started happening to other games. Eventually the GPU died, but I had it serviced and fixed.

 

[Owzers]

I hope i can finish Xenoblade before it dies I don't even have an SD card to back-up the saves. Is there any way to use a USB stick /tangettothread.

 

[DDayton]

Gamefaqs has a "Point of No Return" faq (http://www.gamefaqs.com/wii/960564-xenoblade-chronicles/faqs/62899) - it implies there are four points in the game at which quests get "locked" out. Can anyone confirm this?

1) When you "

Spoiler

move refugees to Colony 6, the refugee quest (timer ones) vanish

"

2) After the boss battle in the

Spoiler

Ether

Mines.

3) After the boss battle in

Spoiler

Mechonis

Fields.

4) The "near the end of the game" lockout point.

Is this right? Did I miss anything? I just got to the

Spoiler

Ether Mines

, the large central shaft / going 600-800 "paces" down the spinning thing. I don't think I've missed anything yet, but I get the impression I need to complete some sort of quests before I finish.

 

[ErasureAcer]

LVL 56 and I've yet to come across any points of no return with quests.

 

[ag-my001]

Gamefaqs has a "Point of No Return" faq (http://www.gamefaqs.com/wii/960564-xenoblade-chronicles/faqs/62899) - it implies there are four points in the game at which quests get "locked" out. Can anyone confirm this?

1) When you "

Spoiler

move refugees to Colony 6, the refugee quest (timer ones) vanish

"

2) After the boss battle in the

Spoiler

Ether

Mines.

3) After the boss battle in

Spoiler

Mechonis

Fields.

4) The "near the end of the game" lockout point.

Is this right? Did I miss anything? I just got to the

Spoiler

Ether Mines

, the large central shaft / going 600-800 "paces" down the spinning thing. I don't think I've missed anything yet, but I get the impression I need to complete some sort of quests before I finish.

For the one you're at now, it's more that you cannot return to that area after you complete it. You can still access the early part of that area, so don't worry about quests or item collections being locked out.

 

[EvilMario]

Gamefaqs has a "Point of No Return" faq (http://www.gamefaqs.com/wii/960564-xenoblade-chronicles/faqs/62899) - it implies there are four points in the game at which quests get "locked" out. Can anyone confirm this?

1) When you "

Spoiler

move refugees to Colony 6, the refugee quest (timer ones) vanish

"

2) After the boss battle in the

Spoiler

Ether

Mines.

3) After the boss battle in

Spoiler

Mechonis

Fields.

4) The "near the end of the game" lockout point.

Is this right? Did I miss anything? I just got to the

Spoiler

Ether Mines

, the large central shaft / going 600-800 "paces" down the spinning thing. I don't think I've missed anything yet, but I get the impression I need to complete some sort of quests before I finish.

Agreeing with the poster above. No quest are cut off at number 2, just the last section, which houses nothing special. Number 1 is the first real cut off point, as it ends any of the quest from the

Spoiler

refugee camp, except the Ernest quest.

 

[wrowa]

I hope i can finish Xenoblade before it dies I don't even have an SD card to back-up the saves. Is there any way to use a USB stick /tangettothread.

Don't worry too much. An overheated Wii will mostly just generate some annoying graphic glicthes (like your red dots), but normally it should still play your games just fine for a long time.

 

[DDayton]

Gamefaqs has a "Point of No Return" faq (http://www.gamefaqs.com/wii/960564-xenoblade-chronicles/faqs/62899) - it implies there are four points in the game at which quests get "locked" out. Can anyone confirm this?

1) When you "

Spoiler

move refugees to Colony 6, the refugee quest (timer ones) vanish

"

2) After the boss battle in the

Spoiler

Ether

Mines.

3) After the boss battle in

Spoiler

Mechonis

Fields.

For the one you're at now, it's more that you cannot return to that area after you complete it. You can still access the early part of that area, so don't worry about quests or item collections being locked out.

Agreeing with the poster above. No quest are cut off at number 2, just the last section, which houses nothing special. Number 1 is the first real cut off point, as it ends any of the quest from the

Spoiler

refugee camp, except the Ernest quest.

Am I right in thinking that the "chronological"/play order for these lockouts is 2, 1, 3, 4? That is what was confusing me about the FAQ. It seemed like #2 would HAVE to get locked out before #1...

The only "quests" that I might get locked out in the near future would be the ones labeled as "timed" ones, right? For that matter, those are only locked out when I actively "choose" to hit the story point when I move characters from R.C. to C.6.?

 

[Socreges]

Is there any other purpose for the Materials (eg, broken antenna) outside of selling them for gold? Should I hang onto them for trading or to complete quests?

 

[DDayton]

Stupid question #2...

Is there an "easier" way to compare base stats for armor/equipment/etc.? I ask as I've been entering the Equip Party screen and scanning through new items to see if any character stats were red or blue with the new items, and generally ignoring most new material as I always saw piles of red numbers... I just realized, however, that the numbers shown INCLUDE stat bonuses of attached gems, which means I could very well have better equipment I've ignored as the bonus gems inflate the value of my standard equipment.

I hate to remove all the gems on my current equipment before comparing it to all my new stuff, but...

(Just reached the max levels for all sorts of items -- I need to sell/discard some junk!)

 

[EvilMario]

Am I right in thinking that the "chronological"/play order for these lockouts is 2, 1, 3, 4? That is what was confusing me about the FAQ. It seemed like #2 would HAVE to get locked out before #1...

The only "quests" that I might get locked out in the near future would be the ones labeled as "timed" ones, right? For that matter, those are only locked out when I actively "choose" to hit the story point when I move characters from R.C. to C.6.?

Yes. Only timed quest are at risk of being locked by actively choosing to progress in the story. You will always be prompted with the option basically asking DO YOU WANT TO CONTINUE. You can check the Wiki to see if you've completed all the R.C. side quest too. There might be some you have not activated yet, like some only are available at night. It's not terribly important to get them all, but some people might want the challenge.

Is there any other purpose for the Materials (eg, broken antenna) outside of selling them for gold? Should I hang onto them for trading or to complete quests?

They are mostly used for quest, but; materials can be traded to people for other materials you might need for quest. Some drops and resources can be very tough to find. They can be given as gifts between party members which will raise affinity (sometimes greatly depending on the item). You'll eventually fill up your inventory with items though, so you will HAVE to sell at some point. You'll know if any times are needed for future quest with the ! next to the item. If not, feel free to sell it.

 

[EvilMario]

Stupid question #2...

Is there an "easier" way to compare base stats for armor/equipment/etc.? I ask as I've been entering the Equip Party screen and scanning through new items to see if any character stats were red or blue with the new items, and generally ignoring most new material as I always saw piles of red numbers... I just realized, however, that the numbers shown INCLUDE stat bonuses of attached gems, which means I could very well have better equipment I've ignored as the bonus gems inflate the value of my standard equipment.

I hate to remove all the gems on my current equipment before comparing it to all my new stuff, but...

(Just reached the max levels for all sorts of items -- I need to sell/discard some junk!)

Yes. I just check the stats for the specific item. It's much quicker than removing gems. It's especially annoying when you have something like Muscle gem equipped and it gives you the false sense that your current armor is better than the new set you just picked up.

 

[DDayton]

Yes. I just check the stats for the specific item. It's much quicker than removing gems. It's especially annoying when you have something like Muscle gem equipped and it gives you the false sense that your current armor is better than the new set you just picked up.

Wait -- is there a way to DO that, or do you mean "hit the + button and get item stats"? Maybe I'm missing something, but I didn't see how that made things any easier to compare.

 

[EvilMario]

Wait -- is there a way to DO that, or do you mean "hit the + button and get item stats"? Maybe I'm missing something, but I didn't see how that made things any easier to compare.

There's no easy comparison. I just hit + like you said to read the stat and then surf around, comparing numbers.

I sell my old armor too, and duplicates to keep the equipment screen clean and to a minimum. Less items to shift through.

 

[Tunic]

Just wanted to check in on my progress with the game:

Spoiler

I am a little over 16 hours completed with just having beat Xord and the Ether Mine. I enjoyed the environment of Ether River immensely and the fight with Xord was challenging and fun. I am now working on the side quests for Colony 6 before they disappear and I am just enjoying traveling around Bionis.

Overall I am loving every minute of this game and time has certainly flew by today while playing. I thought I had just completed a couple of hours but noticed I had really played for 5 hours. Can't wait to continue on my adventure.

 

[SecretMoblin]

Just wanted to check in on my progress with the game:

Spoiler

I am a little over 16 hours completed with just having beat Xord and the Ether Mine. I enjoyed the environment of Ether River immensely and the fight with Xord was challenging and fun. I am now working on the side quests for Colony 6 before they disappear and I am just enjoying traveling around Bionis.

Overall I am loving every minute of this game and time has certainly flew by today while playing. I thought I had just completed a couple of hours but noticed I had really played for 5 hours. Can't wait to continue on my adventure.

Make sure you enter the next major area during the day.

MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE

 

[Poyunch]

I hate when sidequest monsters don't appear in the area.

 

[EvilMario]

I hate when sidequest monster don't appear in the area.

Some can be really annoying. There's a monster hunt quest on the leg for wisp fluid, but they only appear in small numbers, during the night and never if its raining. And they have a terrible chance at dropping what you need.

Thankfully, you can trade for a lot of monster drop items if you know where to look.

 

[zlatko]

This game. THIS FUCKING GAME.

 

[ZenaxPure]

Thankfully, you can trade for a lot of monster drop items if you know where to look.

This is my biggest gripe about the game to be honest. I really hate resorting to guides when playing games, especially when I am not even done with the story but it's really making some of the side stuff in Xenoblade hard. For a while I was working on

Spoiler

restoring colony 6 but for one of the upgrades (housing I believe) I was told to get a fossil monkey. My only hint was that it could be found in Makna Forest.

The problem is you don't really get more info than that. Is the item a drop on the ground? Or is it from a monster? Even worse than that is a lot of the items are clearly from monsters but the game doesn't really tell you where to find those monsters in each zone. Xenoblade desperately needed an ingame bestiary.

 

[Ultratech]

This is my biggest gripe about the game to be honest. I really hate resorting to guides when playing games, especially when I am not even done with the story but it's really making some of the side stuff in Xenoblade hard. For a while I was working on

Spoiler

restoring colony 6 but for one of the upgrades (housing I believe) I was told to get a fossil monkey. My only hint was that it could be found in Makna Forest.

The problem is you don't really get more info than that. Is the item a drop on the ground? Or is it from a monster? Even worse than that is a lot of the items are clearly from monsters but the game doesn't really tell you where to find those monsters in each zone. Xenoblade desperately needed an ingame bestiary.

Actually, for the

Spoiler

Colony 6 stuff

, there are people that tell you where you can find the stuff you need. Either you ask

Spoiler

Juju

or

Spoiler

the people around Colony 6.

The game even tells you this.

That's another reason for doing the Collectables though. Most of the stuff you need are either Collectables or rare monster drops. Most of the time,

Spoiler

Colony 6 people

will mention if said item drops from a monster. If not, it's likely a collectable in the zone.

 

[ezekial45]

I'm about 5 hours in, and while I'm loving the game, I've been getting the green pixel artifacts on my screen.

That means my system is going to die soon, right? I've had this appear on other games as well, but I didn't know it could lead to this issue.

 

[ZenaxPure]

Actually, for the

Spoiler

Colony 6 stuff

, there are people that tell you where you can find the stuff you need. Either you ask

Spoiler

Juju

or

Spoiler

the people around Colony 6.

The game even tells you this.

That's another reason for doing the Collectables though. Most of the stuff you need are either Collectables or rare monster drops. Most of the time,

Spoiler

Colony 6 people

will mention if said item drops from a monster. If not, it's likely a collectable in the zone.

Oh, I know that, hence why I said I need a fossil monkey. The item and the location are the only thing the

Spoiler

colony 6 people

have told me so far. They do not mention if it's a mob drop or just one of the blue orbs lying on the ground. In any other game it may only be a minor thing but it can take an hour+ to canvas a zone from one side to the other in Xenoblade. It's not really practical from my experience. In my specific example I ended up going around the entire area killing every type of mob at least twice and picked up every blue orb I found but I still have not found the item.

And yes, the collectepedia makes this slightly less painful since you browse it to see if the item will be one of the blue orbs or not, but I've had no luck so far with this item. I had a similar problem where I needed to gather some scented wood from Bunnias in the

Spoiler

Satorl Marsh

but they literally only spawn on one tiny hill in the entire zone. It took me about half an hour of running around to find them, it would of been nice if the game at least pointed you in the general direction.

 

[Zornica]

Oh, I know that, hence why I said I need a fossil monkey. The item and the location are the only thing the

Spoiler

colony 6 people

have told me so far. They do not mention if it's a mob drop or just one of the blue orbs lying on the ground. In any other game it may only be a minor thing but it can take an hour+ to canvas a zone from one side to the other in Xenoblade. It's not really practical from my experience. In my specific example I ended up going around the entire area killing every type of mob at least twice and picked up every blue orb I found but I still have not found the item.

And yes, the collectepedia makes this slightly less painful since you browse it to see if the item will be one of the blue orbs or not, but I've had no luck so far with this item. I had a similar problem where I needed to gather some scented wood from Bunnias in the

Spoiler

Satorl Marsh

but they literally only spawn on one tiny hill in the entire zone. It took me about half an hour of running around to find them, it would of been nice if the game at least pointed you in the general direction.

the fossile monkey is a

Spoiler

blue orb, and I never found a single one, but they can be traded in frontier village. you need at least 2 stars there. ask Puko (he spawns on the 2nd floor near the stairs at 9 o clock)

 

[Whogie]

I'm about 5 hours in, and while I'm loving the game, I've been getting the green pixel artifacts on my screen.

That means my system is going to die soon, right? I've had this appear on other games as well, but I didn't know it could lead to this issue.

Haven't heard of this issue becoming anything more than a nuisance, though it is possible. Super common on the Wii -- two of my friends' systems do it.
(Though personally it'd drive me mad and I'd do what I could to fix it.)

 

[dancrane212]

I'm about 5 hours in, and while I'm loving the game, I've been getting the green pixel artifacts on my screen.

That means my system is going to die soon, right? I've had this appear on other games as well, but I didn't know it could lead to this issue.

Do you have Wii Connect 24 (yellow standby light on Wii) turned on? I remember someone mentioning that as a potential cause back in 07.

 

[burgerdog]

Woo, the game is so much smoother running off the USB drive. No more crazy lens sounds when looting and accessing menus.

 

[Emitan]

WHY DOES EVERYONE HAVE DERPY EYES

 

[thekonamicode]

I have the same green particle effects. I need to look into this.

 

[Effect]

Really looking forward to this weekend. Should be able to get several hours into the game. Hopefully all day Saturday and Sunday. Wasn't able to touch it at all today and wont be able to get to it tomorrow as well.

 

[Zekes!]

Man, the Bionis' arm/

Spoiler

Sword Valley

has taken me longer than I would've liked, due to me trying to 100% it now because I heard

Spoiler

it becomes inaccesible

 

[Junie12]

This game is taking way too long for me to pass, I just can't stop fighting unique monsters! And I broke my promise and ended up doing a whole lot of quests for a bunch of

Spoiler

High Entias

Man, if I would've have stuck with the main quest only I would have passed it by now..

 

[ipitydatfu]

i noticed i could buy some of the intermediate skill arts but not all, (30hrs in) how do i acquire the rest?

 

[EvilMario]

Man, the Bionis' arm/

Spoiler

Sword Valley

has taken me longer than I would've liked, due to me trying to 100% it now because I heard

Spoiler

it becomes inaccesible

Yep. It basically closes off to you after your one trip through it. Plenty of annoying unique monsters too.

Spoiler

And they all seem to have Titan Stamp, Black Matter, or both, or other terrible attacks

i noticed i could buy some of the intermediate skill arts but not all, (30hrs in) how do i acquire the rest?

Most of the intermediate ones can be bought, I believe (ie; see poster below, some may be available later on in Colony 6). Later on unique monsters will drop the advanced skill arts.

 

[Emitan]

Actually, for the

Spoiler

Colony 6 stuff

, there are people that tell you where you can find the stuff you need. Either you ask

Spoiler

Juju

or

Spoiler

the people around Colony 6.

The game even tells you this.

That's another reason for doing the Collectables though. Most of the stuff you need are either Collectables or rare monster drops. Most of the time,

Spoiler

Colony 6 people

will mention if said item drops from a monster. If not, it's likely a collectable in the zone.

They haven't been doing that for me at all.

 

[TDLink]

i noticed i could buy some of the intermediate skill arts but not all, (30hrs in) how do i acquire the rest?

A lot of them are in various shops in Colony 6. You need to build it up to unlock them. There are also shops in all of the normal towns like Colony 9 and Frontier Village.

 

[EvilMario]

They haven't been doing that for me at all.

You talk to

Spoiler

Juju

and he will tell you the 'location' of one of the items and will usually give you insight into who else to talk to about the other items required for a specific step to upgrade.