-
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
go to bed.
I think it's pretty good advice to everyone to switch your party up every now and then. Pretty much every character has a unique play style, or at least feel different enough to keep things fresh. In addition it spreads affinity around a lot more. I spent a lot of the early game sticking strictly to Shulk/Sharla/Reyn but all 3 of them are max affinity with one another so I am constantly switching my party up now.
Honestly I find every character pretty fun to play except Melia who I can't really stand due to some weird problem where her elements still have a X across them for a few seconds after expending an orb even if other elements are not on cooldown. I am not really sure why that happens but it makes me hate playing as her. But as for mixing things up, I've even learned some hilarious combos, for example in an AOE situation Dunban/Riki/Shulk can keep the chain gauge permanently maxed allowing you to spend entire fights spamming it. It's kills any difficulty but is pretty funny nonetheless and nets some sweet affinity gain.
In other news, oh god I finished swo
Honestly I find every character pretty fun to play except Melia who I can't really stand due to some weird problem where her elements still have a X across them for a few seconds after expending an orb even if other elements are not on cooldown. I am not really sure why that happens but it makes me hate playing as her. But as for mixing things up, I've even learned some hilarious combos, for example in an AOE situation Dunban/Riki/Shulk can keep the chain gauge permanently maxed allowing you to spend entire fights spamming it. It's kills any difficulty but is pretty funny nonetheless and nets some sweet affinity gain.
In other news, oh god I finished swo
rd valley and it was amazing. I am not gonna lie, the "my first kiss" scene teared me up a bit, I am such a softy for the romance stuff, makes me feel less like a man >_>. I really like Fiora as a character so I am glad to have her back even if she is a weird robot lady. Which I am going to be honest, that freaks me out a lot. After listening to the mech-lady doctor explain how it works it kinda bums me out. Poor Fiora 
In other news, oh god I finished sword valley and it was amazing. I am not gonna lie, the "my first kiss" scene teared me up a bit, I am such a softy for the romance stuff, makes me feel less like a man >_>. I really like Fiora as a character so I am glad to have her back even if she is a weird robot lady. Which I am going to be honest, that freaks me out a lot. After listening to the mech-lady doctor explain how it works it kinda bums me out. Poor Fiora
One thing I love about this game is the in-game cutscenes and the fact the time of day is reflected in them; it was night time when I got this scene and I felt that it added to the atmosphere a lot. Also I feel the same way about
Fiora being a robot. Shit's weak.
SecretMoblin
Member
Could you expand on this problem, if you can? She's not able to summon two of the same element without Summon Copy (which is incredibly useful), so I'm not sure if that's what you're referring to.
RedRedSuit
Member
Having been hugely hyped for this game and having made it to the first story element on Bionis's Leg (inching towards Colony 6), I find that I'm very impressed with all the different mechanics of the game. They took out a lot of standard JRPG bullshit and replaced it with convenience and a fair bit of depth that doesn't look like it's going to let up at any point. Free saving, HUGE streaming areas, free travel, no-penalty death, non-bullshit quest system, intuitive battle system (mostly), a nice story setup. It's all there and is sometimes astounding given the kind of baggage the JRPG genre usually brings with it.
What I'm not really feeling is it being more than the sum of its parts. Yes, everything is pretty damn great, but I'm not really giving a crap yet about the overall experience. I am not getting that magical feeling I should get at this point. FF XII was, in every sense, a weaker game to this point (it was great for the time, but this far outstrips it), but the sense of wonder at just being in Rabanastre was stronger than anything I've felt here.
It's fun though.
What I'm not really feeling is it being more than the sum of its parts. Yes, everything is pretty damn great, but I'm not really giving a crap yet about the overall experience. I am not getting that magical feeling I should get at this point. FF XII was, in every sense, a weaker game to this point (it was great for the time, but this far outstrips it), but the sense of wonder at just being in Rabanastre was stronger than anything I've felt here.
It's fun though.
I think he means that when she has 3 elementals summoned and then fires one, there's a small delay before she can summon another. I'm not really sure that its a problem, I think the action of discharging the elemental just takes longer than it seems.
Really early on, but could use some help. I want to make sure I'm doing this right before investing more time.
(Can't remember the names of things yet, so I'll just get as close as possible. Might be good for a laugh)
So I just left District 9 and went up to Tehra Hill to get some things for the lab. Just met up with Fiona and entered the cave. First time I've had three people in my party. We're all Level 9. No idea if that's too low or unusually high or just right but I tried to take on a massive snail-like enemy (Level 10) inside the cave and got pounded. Is it too powerful for my level (ie, should I not disturb it yet?) or am I just probably really shit at the battle system? Still trying to figure out, so it could be that.
Related note - should I be running by low-level enemies or killing some of them for exp? I've been skipping pretty much all of them for the last while. And are there a lot of instances where I'll come up against enemies that I should just avoid for a while until I get stronger?
Appreciate any help
(Can't remember the names of things yet, so I'll just get as close as possible. Might be good for a laugh)
So I just left District 9 and went up to Tehra Hill to get some things for the lab. Just met up with Fiona and entered the cave. First time I've had three people in my party. We're all Level 9. No idea if that's too low or unusually high or just right but I tried to take on a massive snail-like enemy (Level 10) inside the cave and got pounded. Is it too powerful for my level (ie, should I not disturb it yet?) or am I just probably really shit at the battle system? Still trying to figure out, so it could be that.
Related note - should I be running by low-level enemies or killing some of them for exp? I've been skipping pretty much all of them for the last while. And are there a lot of instances where I'll come up against enemies that I should just avoid for a while until I get stronger?
Appreciate any help
hahaha, i'm sorta overleveling myself, but i got armor from that mount turtle thing on the bionis' leg while at level 28/29. some tense fights (they're level 32), but i've taken down three of them so far. feels pretty cool to kick their asses.
still haven't seen a
still haven't seen a
violent andante though.
SecretMoblin
Member
You're probably a bit underleveled for that fight, Socreges. Come back in a few levels and destroy it.
You can play however you want. If you don't want to fight low-level enemies, you don't have to. Keep in mind that a good portion of the quests involve killing and/or looting low-level mobs in a given area. And trust me, you'll know exactly which enemies to avoid until later.
Ether is the "magic" of the game; blue arts are affected by the Ether stat. I think there are some Ether arts that aren't blue; you can check in the arts screen. It will tell you right at the top of the art description.
And those turtles are great for getting some good gear earlier than you probably should get it... don't forget to go back to Colony 9 in a few levels and roam around the Agora Shore area!
You can play however you want. If you don't want to fight low-level enemies, you don't have to. Keep in mind that a good portion of the quests involve killing and/or looting low-level mobs in a given area. And trust me, you'll know exactly which enemies to avoid until later.
Ether is the "magic" of the game; blue arts are affected by the Ether stat. I think there are some Ether arts that aren't blue; you can check in the arts screen. It will tell you right at the top of the art description.
And those turtles are great for getting some good gear earlier than you probably should get it... don't forget to go back to Colony 9 in a few levels and roam around the Agora Shore area!
Don't worry, it's normal. Everyone got his ass kicked by that thing. some were allready calling it the inofficial "don't attack everything" tutorial.
I wouldn't worry to much about gaining levels, mostly it's sufficient to kill everything on your path.
Ether Arts have a faint line in the background. It's very subtle but it is there. There isn't any specific ether art color. I am pretty sure there was an advanced tutorial window about that.
(you can see it very clearly on this shot)
Just look at the levels of the enemies. Imo the game is the best if you're at about the same level as them.
That enemy you're talking about really is just a bitch. It took me 4 or 5 tries at level 11 and that's on my second try to the game. He's harder then anything else you should encounter around there.
SecretMoblin
Member
Heh, I very vaguely remember something about that months ago but have long since forgotten. Even after ~140 hours with this game, I'm learning new stuff! Thanks!
Are people not having fun with the battles? Why is this a problem? I'd much prefer longer battles than the standard "world of warcraft battles are over in 6 seconds" thing.
SecretMoblin
Member
Yeah, if the battles drag on longer than they need to it certainly affects the fun. For some of the major fights - boss battles and uniques - it can be necessary and fun to fight a war of attrition. But when you're running around the world, why would you want to spend three times longer fighting a mob? I don't think the battle system is awful, but any game this long is going to have trouble keeping things fresh.
It's not about rushing the game, it's about making it more smooth.
Liferebooted
Banned
25 hours in boss fight
I just got to RAHKMUM, wtf he's level 48 when all the trash mobs and my characters are 45, he just destroys us in seconds ;( I hate grinding in this area is so slow.
Adam Prime
hates soccer, is Mexican
I'm pretty sure you're supposed to
just defeat the minions that he's with and not focus any attacks on him.
It is that boss fight or another one, where you do that. And you should never have to grind in this game, do more quests and find more locations and landmarks. You get hella EXP from those.
ErasureAcer
Banned
LVL 66. 110 hours in although 3 or so hours is idle as I smoke outside from time to time and leave the game on. Game has exceeded my expectations. Favorite songs so far are
. Is it possible to get all achievements on 1 playthrough? What is NG+ for?
Mountain at night and Mechonis Field.
So this game is wonderful, but I have a few tweaks that would make it much better imo:
1. Looting should be like FFXII. Item drops and is represented on the map. Just run over it to pick it up. No need to stop the flow of combat (and force the Wii to load a tiny bit) to pick up an item.
2. No need to put away your weapons after every encounter. They should always be out.
3. Battle music was a mistake. Some of the field tunes are absolutely lovely and should continue uninterrupted. Supermonsters can continue to have an awesome theme, as should bosses. Most regular combat does not need a battle theme.
4. I'd like a prompt to autoequip something I just bought, and then following that, a prompt to sell what I just replaced. An optimize equipment button would also be nice, but is not necessary.
Great game. I just hit Gaur Plains.
I have some UI tweaks/complaints, but it's not as bad as something like Skyrim or something.
1. Looting should be like FFXII. Item drops and is represented on the map. Just run over it to pick it up. No need to stop the flow of combat (and force the Wii to load a tiny bit) to pick up an item.
2. No need to put away your weapons after every encounter. They should always be out.
3. Battle music was a mistake. Some of the field tunes are absolutely lovely and should continue uninterrupted. Supermonsters can continue to have an awesome theme, as should bosses. Most regular combat does not need a battle theme.
4. I'd like a prompt to autoequip something I just bought, and then following that, a prompt to sell what I just replaced. An optimize equipment button would also be nice, but is not necessary.
Great game. I just hit Gaur Plains.
I have some UI tweaks/complaints, but it's not as bad as something like Skyrim or something.
It's sorta random, I think changing the time can trigger it sometimes... Oh and that monster appears on an island in the middle of the Lake.
Btw, in the EU OT I remember a link to a japanese wiki with all the maps with unique monsters locations and things like that, does anyone still have that link? It was really useful for certain quests...
BlazingDarkness
Member
He's sitting right in the island in the middle of the lake
It's random, just change the time several times and the weather will change before long
He's on the island in the middle, only during thunderstorms I think.
Note that thunderstorms are a different weather condition than just rain!
ErasureAcer
Banned
There's 2 types of rain. He's on
The big island in the middle of the lake.
Is it still Reyn time?
SafeinSound
Member
Yeah, speaking of flow of combat
the whole vision thing during combat really annoys me. I love how the combat is so engaging, and then out of no where everything just stops just to show you a vision. I feel like it really just disconnects you from whats going on. There are other ways they could of gone about presenting it.
edit: went back and spoilered it because i realized that part of combat isn't introduced initially
Yea I feel the same. The game is fantastic, but there are minor complaints, especially in UI areas.
Sadly, that's not really my problem. Currently I have Earth/Fire/Lightning/Wind on her bar and say if I have one Lightning and one Fire up then bring up Wind to give 3 different ones. When I use discharge (or whatever the name is, forget off the top of my head) to use up my orb all 4 of the element spells (including Earth which is currently not active or on cooldown) has the big fat X across it for at least 3 or 4 seconds before it allows me to summon it. I am not sure if this is how it's supposed to work or my game is busted or something but it really messes with the flow of combat and I spend a lot of time as Melia just sitting on my hands doing nothing.
Yeah, pretty much this. I really can not stand it at all to be honest. Perhaps if the animation was a bit longer it wouldn't bother me but the fact you can fire an orb and then run around in a circle for a few seconds before it allows you to summon another one bothers me.
ErasureAcer
Banned
I've just been doing parties based on affinity mostly. Pink hearts, you're through together. So no rec from me.
5. Learn Arts Manuals as soon as you buy them. Who thought it was a good idea to have to select them out of the items bag? Why would you ever buy one just to keep it unlearned in the bag?
6. Fewer completely pointless story quests. They're okay when they feel like a real quest, but
I just left FV collecting a weapon and armor
Well if it makes any difference the high level books seem to be from drops (as I just randomly found one for Sharla's healing bullet from a random robot) so it might have something to do with wanting to keep the system consistent. Automatically learning one from the vendor and then getting books from the higher level ones might make the system feel weird.
But I agree, having to learn them is weird but I think it goes back to the fact that the entire shop system needed to be fixed up a bit. Poor item comparisons, not being able to equip something as soon as you buy it/sell what you were wearing, etc are other (minor) issues with the system.
Karsticles
Member
That's very helpful, thank you.
My follow-up question is: do I lose access to anything important when passing through points of no return without doing those quests? I.e. is it only unimportant grind-like quests with minimal rewards that I lose access to, or do I lose access to big chain quests with fun challenges and good rewards?
TDLink
Member
I can think of at least one "big" chain that you can't complete after a certain point but it is not until very late in the game. For the most part those quests don't become unavailable though. Mainly just make sure you do the stuff in
Alcamoth
Monado Arts
I generally just try to finish all the quests from named NPCs so I can keep developing the Affinity Chart. I don't feel compelled to go hunt down some random drops to finish "Collection Quest 4" etc. for a reward of 2500 gold.
Got tons of hours in. I just got everything complete up to before you head off for Colony 9.
All of the cut scenes where shit gets crazy was awesome, and all the ways battles got more interesting with breaks, tumbles, etc is making me have a great time.
So hard to put this game down once you start playing.
All of the cut scenes where shit gets crazy was awesome, and all the ways battles got more interesting with breaks, tumbles, etc is making me have a great time.
So hard to put this game down once you start playing.
7th and Dunban were my favorite characters to play as. Anyway, if you're sticking with that party, then replace
Dunban with 7th since both characters are agility tanks, so having two in the party would be unnecessary.
better at dodging while 7th deals the fastest auto-attack damage in the game and will become the target of aggro and get hit more often. By the way, 7th has some really cool moves.Give 7th double attack and agility gems. You'll also want to use haste gems but I think 7th gets armor that eventually includes it.
Starwolf_UK
Member
Probably this site.
Jusy to run through a quick usage example, for Bionis leg, the five sections are enemies (full stats and other info), enemy location, quests (also says what chapter* they are available in), collectibles locations (and the probability tables).
*-Yes, the game is split into chapters (they're referenced in the secret file too). Each time the game forces you to save indicates entering a new chapter. Why this information couldn't have put on the save menu I don't know as it would make spoilers easier if you could say, I'm on chapter q.
Yeah, that's what I assumed. I guess I'll give that party a shot and see how I like it.
ErasureAcer
Banned
Done wasting 3 hours watching the Minnesota Twins get embarrassed on national TV. Back to Xenoblade!!!!
Inferno313
Banned
I didn't know this until it was discussed earlier on the thread but you can have characters gift collectibles with each other and that raises affinity.
Similar threads
- Locked