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[Cloudy]

I'm on the 3rd level of the Ether Mines right now. Really loving playing as Sharla. So strategic to just hang back while curing and buffing/de-buffing with the occasional attack thrown in.

I don't think I'll be using Shulk again anytime soon unless something in the story forces me too

 

[Adam Prime]

2nd

Spoiler

prison

island visit spoilers

Spoiler

ok so I just stood in front of a mirror switch and now the quest marker is somewhere in the middle of the central hall but I have no idea how to get up there

HELP!

 

[Jhoan]

no, you aren't supposed to fight it, you are supposed to follow the red arrow.
you can fight the lizard, but you don't have to.



If I remember correctly, there is a secret path from the valley beneath. a big rock is blocking it and you need to tell the quest giver about it. he will give you some tnt to destroy the rock. I don't remember how it went exactly... just jump down and see for yourself.



there is no penalty for dying

Oh, I didn't know that at all. I went through the area that you're talking about (Wind Cave) and went up to the rock that you're talking about but I didn't have the materials. So I'm supposed to go back to the guy at the camp then? I'll definitely do that, thanks.

 

[Zornica]

Spoiler

2nd prison island

visit spoilers

Spoiler

ok so I just stood in front of a mirror switch and now the quest marker is somewhere in the middle of the central hall but I have no idea how to get up there

HELP!

follow the path
from the arena down to the kitchen, climbing down a ladder beneath the stairs... hard to explain... there is a grate which you can open..

look at the map, 2F, on the right side

 

[Adam Prime]

Pft I'm a moran, got it thanks

 

[AniHawk]

so halfway-through spoilers

Spoiler

maaaan those surprise quests in sword valley were kicking my ass a bit. it was pretty awesome when i accidentally pulled about six mechon towards one of them and somehow survived the encounter

 

[cooljeanius]

My parents said my copy came in the mail back home... can't wait till the semester's over!

 

[Roto13]

Sidequests have me googling a lot.

 

[Bisnic]

When exactly should i do the Alcamoth quests? I heard that they should be done before i reach a certain point, but what is it? I'm at

Spoiler

Central Factory

right now.

 

[MetatronM]

When exactly should i do the Alcamoth quests? I heard that they should be done before i reach a certain point, but what is it? I'm at

Spoiler

Central Factory

right now.

You're getting closer to it.

Spoiler

You still have to clear the next couple of sections before they get cut off. If you were just going to go straight through the plot from where you are right, the cutoff would maybe be in a couple hours, I think.

Clearing Agniratha is a cutoff point for a couple places in Mechonis. Clearing the zone and major boss that comes after Agniratha is the cutoff for the Alcamoth quests, among other things.

 

[Bisnic]

You're getting closer to it.

Spoiler

You still have to clear the next couple of sections before they get cut off. If you were just going to go straight through the plot from where you are right, the cutoff would maybe be in a couple hours, I think.

Clearing Agniratha is a cutoff point for a couple places in Mechonis. Clearing the zone and major boss that comes after Agniratha is the cutoff for the Alcamoth quests, among other things.

Spoiler

So i guess that once i reach Agniratha, i should go back to Alcamoth and clear everything i can.

 

[picklecannon]

So I just got

Spoiler

Dunban

and I was just wondering when you're intended to fight

Spoiler

the giant spider protecting one of those red collectables (giants mirror i think)

. I ended up getting the thing but I ran out of there and don't know when to head back, and I'm afraid that if I ever do end up getting that particular quest I'll complete it right away without

Spoiler

killing the giant spider like i was intended.

 

[Ridley327]

So I just got

Spoiler

Dunban

and I was just wondering when you're intended to fight

Spoiler

the giant spider protecting one of those red collectables (giants mirror i think)

. I ended up getting the thing but I ran out of there and don't know when to head back, and I'm afraid that if I ever do end up getting that particular quest I'll complete it right away without

Spoiler

killing the giant spider like i was intended.

You have the option of running away, and you're not required to kill it, but where's the fun in that?

Protip: stay away from the ledge.

 

[Adam Prime]

Finished the game this afternoon, clocked in at 76 hours (finished the game in 51 days, started on March 2nd). Fought the final battle at Lv 79 with Melia, Riki, and You-Know-Who. Last boss was no freaking problem, I think maybe I had one character get KO'ed, we just destroyed it.

... Yeah, who couldn't enjoy this game? The final 10 hours or so the plot got a little WTF PLOT DUMP but the surprises were nice and it the game managed not to get its head up its ass with philosophical exposition (XENOGEARS ANYONE?!). I must admit up until the final couple of areas I was starting to get bored with the story and think, "Yeah, I know where this is going!". But the game took a 180 direction without getting silly on itself. One of the few video games in general where it seems like the plot was completely thought out from start to finish. Yeah there's definitely NO WAY anyone would've guessed the direction this game was heading, even when you think you KNOW about halfway through the game. The story from start to finish was very impressive and the ending was satisfying for a game with this kind of scale and magnitude.


In the pantheon of all-time great JRPGs, I don't think anyone who has finished this game could deny its position among the all-time greats.

This game had two weak links for me:
1) the characters - unless you go out of your way and do all the heart-to-hearts there's very little character development along the course of the main story line. Again, maybe if I had done more heart-to-hearts I would feel definitely about the characters. But really none of them stand out to me at all... except maybe... Melia? Yeah, I dunno.
2) the combat - fighting enemies at or below your level was really not engaging. Unfortunately this describes about 75% of your combat in Xenoblade. The only time combat was really fun, and it really IS fun, is when you're fighting uniques above your level. This game does truly shine when you're in a good battle, and it's fun too. This game however is paced extremely well so just when you feel like "Man I've been kicking everyone's ass, I'm so badass" you'll run up against a monster that requires your full concentration in battle.

Even with that said, the combat and characters are more sophisticated than most of my favorite JRPGs. This game is 5/5 , 10/10 , 30/30 if you are a JRPG fan. It's tough to find things to nit pick about this game.

... oh and one more thing: for a game that is so open and "go at your own pace" there was literally only ONE time in the entire game that I got freaking stuck and didn't know what to do(see my post about 10 replies above). Again, super impressive for a game like this!

 

[Jarsonot]

Stayed away from this thread to avoid spoilers, but I've played enough now to have finally googled where something was (a collectible piece I needed for a side quest), spoilered myself minorly anyway, and then said fuck it. This game is too damn good, I want in on the conversation! =)

Reading some posts further up makes me think you'd all rate me at about 50-60% done. I'm at

Spoiler

sword valley, fiora's alive!

and I've done quite a bit of side quests. Every time I get a quest now I add it to my notepad, each area gets a page: 1 column for monsters to kill, 1 column for other quests. Now when I go back to an area I have an easy way of what I keep an eye out for, and I love it.

Love this whole game. Exploration is awesome, battle has really grown on me, I am just starting to give a shit and be concerned about making good crystals, and I'm anal about exploring every nook and cranny.

Story is great, the world you're in is great, voice acting is great, and for me all of it adds up to make the graphics more than acceptable. I'd love to see an HD version but what I've got now is awesome. The vastness and scale of everything is incredibly awesome.

So that's where I'm at. =)

 

[Adam Prime]

A few more thoughts on the game:

1. MONEY IS POINTLESS. Seriously, the ONLY thing you EVER need money for is buying Art Books. Even then, I guess you could completely skip Itermediate Book skills if you just played a certain way with certain characters, until you get to the end of the game and just pick up the Advanced Skill books. I don't know if this is truly possible, the game would be way harder.... but I'm getting off my point.

2. Gem crafting can be skipped altogether at low levels. I don't think I ever crafted a Lv1-3 gem the entire game. The gems that you actually use are ones you find or ones that are in Unique gear. Gem crafting at Lv4+ is... obviously very useful.

3. Grinding EXP through combat is inefficient, slows the game down, and sucks the fun out of the combat. I think it's no design flaw that you gain so much EXP through exploring new Areas, Landmarks, and Secret Areas. That's the best part of this game, and is way more enjoyable than just running through areas over and over again fighting the same monsters for EXP. I never did that once in this game, but had a great time trying to uncover every pixel of the map.


.... last thing:

4. This game is almost TWO years old! It was released in Japan June 2010. I think this game is going to have great staying power along the likes of SNES/PSX era classics. In this era of modern gaming we are asking things like, "Will this game still be relevant in a couple of years?". Hell games like Metal Gear Solid 4, Borderlands, Assassin's Creed, Modern Warfare, Skyrim,etc. we wonder if those games will still be on our minds in just a few short years, and Xenoblade has already answered those questions.

Hopefully in 2020 we are demanding a HDHDHDD Remake on our Super WiiPii U consoles!

 

[SafeinSound]

Spoiler

Eryth Sea is beautiful. I kind of rushed out of Makna Forest because I wasn't feeling that area at all.

Reminded me of Ungoro Crater from WoW, kind of.

 

[burgerdog]

How do I get to the area where the monsters roam in Antol Cave - Valak?

edit
nm, I had to pull off some super mario stunt.

 

[Hiltz]

How do I get to the area where the monsters roam in Antol Cave - Valak?

edit
nm, I had to pull off some super mario stunt.

Warp to

Spoiler

the Hollow Bone landmark on upper level of Valak Mountain. Go into the cave directly in front of you . Go down the ice slide and jump twice at the end of each one. You'll end up in Antol Den if you do it right.

By the way, the unique monster monster there is lvl. 47.

 

[Jive Turkey]

1. MONEY IS POINTLESS. Seriously, the ONLY thing you EVER need money for is buying Art Books. Even then, I guess you could completely skip Itermediate Book skills if you just played a certain way with certain characters, until you get to the end of the game and just pick up the Advanced Skill books. I don't know if this is truly possible, the game would be way harder.... but I'm getting off my point.

There is one other use for money in the game and it's far more important than arts books.

3. Grinding EXP through combat is inefficient, slows the game down, and sucks the fun out of the combat. I think it's no design flaw that you gain so much EXP through exploring new Areas, Landmarks, and Secret Areas. That's the best part of this game, and is way more enjoyable than just running through areas over and over again fighting the same monsters for EXP. I never did that once in this game, but had a great time trying to uncover every pixel of the map.

Is this a complaint? The fact that the game emphisizes exploring and questing over grinding is a great thing and one of the game's biggest strengths.

 

[ACE 1991]

About 2 or 3 hours in, does the story get better? It's just standard jrpg drivel right now.

 

[Hiltz]

Xenoblade's the only rpg where I reached the max level for all characters. Of course, it helps that characters even outside of your party level up around the same time.
Combat did get repetitive but it still remained addictive. Although, I did do some cheating by repeatedly knocking off that Gogol off of the cliff on Gaur Plains to gain a lot of xp. Still, it was very time consuming since it was easy to screw up.

 

[Bisnic]

Does Tephra Cave open up later or something? There's a "heart to heart" out of the way, and checking the full map on the wiki, there is paths not even accessible on my game, like blocked by rocks?

Same with the Bionis Interior. How can i reach that whole area to the north? I cant even climb the wall just below the hole leading to it.

 

[Seanspeed]

30 hours in, the story, characters and dialogue are getting a little bit of that cliche'd JRPG cheesiness, but the actual gameplay is still top-notch. I need to start learning how to use other characters, cuz I'm still very comfortable using Shulk as my no.1 party member. I just dont feel the other guys are as useful and effective when I'm controlling them. A lot of these 'arts' feel useless, too, but I have a feeling that I'm still missing a lot of strategy with the battle system.

 

[SecretMoblin]

Does Tephra Cave open up later or something? There's a "heart to heart" out of the way, and checking the full map on the wiki, there is paths not even accessible on my game, like blocked by rocks?

Same with the Bionis Interior. How can i reach that whole area to the north? I cant even climb the wall just below the hole leading to it.

Don't highlight unless you want minor location spoilers:

Spoiler

Yes, you come back to those areas later.

 

[Ultratech]

A few more thoughts on the game:

1. MONEY IS POINTLESS. Seriously, the ONLY thing you EVER need money for is buying Art Books. Even then, I guess you could completely skip Itermediate Book skills if you just played a certain way with certain characters, until you get to the end of the game and just pick up the Advanced Skill books. I don't know if this is truly possible, the game would be way harder.... but I'm getting off my point.


3. Grinding EXP through combat is inefficient, slows the game down, and sucks the fun out of the combat. I think it's no design flaw that you gain so much EXP through exploring new Areas, Landmarks, and Secret Areas. That's the best part of this game, and is way more enjoyable than just running through areas over and over again fighting the same monsters for EXP. I never did that once in this game, but had a great time trying to uncover every pixel of the map.

Money's not entirely pointless...but you do end up with a crapload of it. Though you would be correct in that most good equips you get are mostly dropped.
You can get some decent stuff with it though, like a really good chest for

Spoiler

---7th----

with a Haste Gem inside; significant since you can't put Haste in armor.
Though you can get a better version, however, it's a rare drop.

It got kinda funny with just how much EXP and crap you could get for finding Secret Areas late in the game.

 

[Bisnic]

Don't highlight unless you want minor location spoilers:

Spoiler

Yes, you come back to those areas later.

Is it the same thing with the hearts to hearts that is out of the way in Valak Mountains, south of the Sealed Tower? I dont see any way to reach it, even the full map doesnt show anything. There is a church to the east of it with a sealed door, perhaps that's it? How do we even unsealed it?

 

[SecretMoblin]

Is it the same thing with the hearts to hearts that is out of the way in Valak Mountains, south of the Sealed Tower? I dont see any way to reach it, even the full map doesnt show anything. There is a church to the east of it with a sealed door, perhaps that's it? How do we even unsealed it?

Part of a quest line.

 

[Hiltz]

Is it the same thing with the hearts to hearts that is out of the way in Valak Mountains, south of the Sealed Tower? I dont see any way to reach it, even the full map doesnt show anything. There is a church to the east of it with a sealed door, perhaps that's it? How do we even unsealed it?

I could be wrong, but that location is accessible during a future red orb chained side quest.

 

[Alchemy]

About 2 or 3 hours in, does the story get better? It's just standard jrpg drivel right now.

I'm about half way through the game judging on the posts here, doesn't really feel like it deviates much from standard JRPG affair. The overall plot is interesting but none of the characters really jump out as being interesting.

I keep trying to mix up my party away from Reyn-Shulk-Sharla but I always run into a tough spot where this combo just sorta brutes their way though that other teams don't seem able to deal with. Best I've done so far is swap Shulk for a DPS~ish build of Dunban, but than the game was all lolMechon and Shulks spot heal and Monado powers are just too damn useful.

 

[Hiltz]

While most of the characters are rather dull, the story gets crazy later on and there's some particularly interesting plot twists relating to some of the characters that made the experience worthwhile. I don't even remember the last time I played a game where some of the villains were so mean you can't wait to fight em.

 

[Junie12]

YES!!

Finally beat the game! It took me around 70 hours to finish it. Huh, though it will be longer (lol). Loved the game btw, it's up there with Mario Galaxy as one of my favorite Wii games. Definitely in my top 10 favorite JRPG's, there is just so much content in this game I haven't discovered yet, I'll definitely play this game for years to come.

Anyways, the ending was very good I thought, no complaints here. Still

Spoiler

It caught me by surprise that Zanza and Meyneth were scientists, and did they really destroy the universe? I didn't pay attention to that part >_<

Also,

Spoiler

WTF at Alvis? He was a Computer this whole time? Or am I missing something here?

That's all the questions I have about the ending. Fooled around a bit in New Game + and it was fun. So when can I expect a sequel?

 

[burgerdog]

YES!!

Finally beat the game! It took me around 70 hours to finish it. Huh, though it will be longer (lol). Loved the game btw, it's up there with Mario Galaxy as one of my favorite Wii games. Definitely in my top 10 favorite JRPG's, there is just so much content in this game I haven't discovered yet, I'll definitely play this game for years to come.

Anyways, the ending was very good I thought, no complaints here. Still

Spoiler

It caught me by surprise that Zanza and Meyneth were scientists, and did they really destroy the universe? I didn't pay attention to that part >_<

Also,

Spoiler

WTF at Alvis? He was a Computer this whole time? Or am I missing something here?

That's all the questions I have about the ending. Fooled around a bit in New Game + and it was fun. So when can I expect a sequel?

Did you do a lot of side quests? I'm at 65 hours and I just got 7th. I have 4.5 affinity in c9 and frontier village, though, and have done a ton in other areas as well.

 

[Junie12]

Did you do a lot of side quests? I'm at 65 hours and I just got 7th. I have 4.5 affinity in c9 and frontier village, though, and have done a ton in other areas as well.

I did in the beginning, but I got bored with it and decided to just concentrate on the main quest. Besides, I need some incentives to play this game again

 

[Hiltz]

Also,

Spoiler

WTF at Alvis? He was a Computer this whole time? Or am I missing something here?

That's all the questions I have about the ending. Fooled around a bit in New Game + and it was fun. So when can I expect a sequel?

Yeah, that character is pretty much what you think. The game calls him a

Spoiler

machine - an "administrative computer of a phase transition experiment facility."

 

[Hiltz]

Junie12, did you bother to complete the Colony 6 reconstruction?

 

[Junie12]

Junie12, did you fully finish the Colony 6 reconstruction?

Nah, I skipped that part.

I usually skip side quests in my first play through when I'm playing JRPG's.

It's when I start my second play through I 100% the game.

I enjoyed the second play through more because of that

 

[Hiltz]

Nah, I skipped that part.

I usually skip side quests in my first play through when I'm playing JRPG's.

It's when I start my second play through I 100% the game.

I enjoyed the second play through more because of that

Understood. Xenoblade is an exhaustingly long but satisfying journey after all.

 

[The Technomancer]

Finally beat it

Spoiler

That ending was certainly something...I like the concept they were going for but a lot of the dialogue was painful and they use the word "god" so much that it starts to lose meaning

 

[Hiltz]

Finally beat it

Spoiler

That ending was certainly something...I like the concept they were going for but a lot of the dialogue was painful and they use the word "god" so much that it starts to lose meaning

Yep. Welcome to anime storytelling.

 

[Omzz]

Anyone focusing on improving Colony 6?

I've tried for hours just hoping to get a Light Rain Element from the Aqua Nebulae. No luck . I've gotten everything else to LV 1 besides the Special category.

Don't know what else I can do to potentially get it. I'm doing the right things (i think) by waiting for it to rain on the the Bionis Leg, and searching for the Aqua Nebulae. Any other suggestions?

 

[Korosenai]

18 hours in over the past week and a half. This game is going to last me a long time.

Which sucks because id love to get in on the conversations in this ot, but i really dont want to spoil anything.

 

[Hiltz]

Anyone focusing on improving Colony 6?

I've tried for hours just hoping to get a Light Rain Element from the Aqua Nebulae. No luck . I've gotten everything else to LV 1 besides the Special category.

Don't know what else I can do to potentially get it. I'm doing the right things (i think) by waiting for it to rain on the the Bionis Leg, and searching for the Aqua Nebulae. Any other suggestions?

I think once the enemy's hp is low enough, it will explode, leaving no treasure chest behind. I suppose you can either try finishing it off with a well-timed chain attack or just level up enough so you can kill it before it explodes. The Bionis Leg during rain/ thunderstorm is the only place you can find the item from that type of enemy. Apparently, you can trade npc Noranora for the item, but first you'll have to talk to her to migrate to Colony 6 first. That requires 4 star-affinity on the map of whatever town she is found at.

 

[Omzz]

^^ I've actually been killing all of them. I'm level 44 right now so that's not a problem. Just can't manage to get that Light Rain Element. Was it that easy for everyone else?

Is there anything else that could be done (ie. equipping something which drops rarer items)?

 

[Roo]

I already asked Nintendo about this but they were like... "stay tuned" and I'm sorry to ask this here but do we know if they're planning to release the game in South America that is not via Gamestop or Nintendo.com? Like... walking away with your Xenoblade copy from you're favorite gaming store?

I don't remember hearing something about it so sorry if dumb question =/

 

[Hiltz]

^^ I've actually been killing all of them. I'm level 44 right now so that's not a problem. Just can't manage to get that Light Rain Element. Was it that easy for everyone else?

Is there anything else that could be done (ie. equipping something which drops rarer items)?

Riki will come in handy then. He has

Spoiler

two skills that increases the drop rate of silver and gold treasure chests. I just don't remember if they're only available by getting the 4th and 5th optional skill trees via sidequests.

 

[burgerdog]

Don't wait for the game to make it rain naturally, just advance the clock by one hour until you get the desired weather effect.

 

[Omzz]

lol yep, done all those tips, still no luck . Will keep trying though.

Ahhh last question, where can I buy the items needed to level up Dunban's arts to immediate level?

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[chaosblade]

lol yep, done all those tips, still no luck . Will keep trying though.

Ahhh last question, where can I buy the items needed to level up Dunban's arts to immediate level?

Thanks for the help guys.

Which ones? I think it's either the first merchant in Makna Forest or the one in the marsh that has a bunch of books for Dunban. Then there are a couple more in Frontier Village.

 

[Omzz]

was the intermediate ones. found them in satorl marsh like you said. thanks