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Xenoblade |OT| Sorry I Kept You Waiting!
- Thread starter SecretMoblin
- Start date
KuwabaraTheMan
Banned
Yeah, those answers really should have been put in spoiler tags. Nice work, guys.
Played the European release last year but didn't get very far. Picked it up again this year, and I'm having a much better go of it. Not sure why; maybe it's the fact that I'm using a classic controller this time instead of remote+nunchuck. Now I can't put it down.
I love the scale and creativity of this world. Just spent a couple hours covering the first half of Makna Forest. (Minor early/mid-game location spoilers, I guess.)
Regarding party composition, should I be trying to keep a dedicated "healer" in my active party? So far only Sharla seems intended to fill that role. I guess I don't have everyone's skills just yet.
I love the scale and creativity of this world. Just spent a couple hours covering the first half of Makna Forest. (Minor early/mid-game location spoilers, I guess.)
Realizing that the next area's "sea" is floating directly overhead was a pretty awesome moment.
Regarding party composition, should I be trying to keep a dedicated "healer" in my active party? So far only Sharla seems intended to fill that role. I guess I don't have everyone's skills just yet.
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
No, you don't have to. It arguably makes the game easier though since you can win a lot of fights through attrition.
There is another new character that is more versatile than Sharla is. In addition to being able to being able to
heal the whole party, this character has other valuable supportive arts. All the other characters are really just meant to heal themselves or one party member at a time. By the way, Melia is not an ideal healer for the party.
Sharla is the only "dedicated" healer in the game. No, you do not have to keep a dedicated healer if you do not want to. Most party configurations can get by with little to no healing at all (actually, a least 4 other party members have at least one healing art of varying effectiveness, so it's basically impossible to not have SOME healing in the party).
Parties without Sharla will typically do more damage more quickly than parties with Sharla, resulting in faster battles and less damage taken in most minor battles. Additionally, evasion tanks like Dunban inherently require less healing than using someone like Reyn as a tank (or not having a tank at all). However, Sharla can certainly help keep your party safe, and she particularly compliments Reyn's tanking style.
It's all down to your style, though. Basically any combination of party members can make an effective party in most situations.
DarkChronic
Member
Dammit. Read the speculation but you gotta mark the answer in spoilers.
Dammit.
Dammit.
That sidequest was so cool, specially some of the "surprises".
Ever since I started NG+ I've been looking at the guide here doing sidequests.
Don't have lot of time to play these days so I'm playing the game with a guide to 100% the game faster. Did a lot of quests today, already got 3 stars on Colony 9 in a short amount of time. Man, these sidequests get tedious after a while
I can tell my second playthrough is gonna be longer than my first one, doing everything in this game is gonna be pretty tough.
I wonder if I'll ever finish it <_<
Don't have lot of time to play these days so I'm playing the game with a guide to 100% the game faster. Did a lot of quests today, already got 3 stars on Colony 9 in a short amount of time. Man, these sidequests get tedious after a while
I can tell my second playthrough is gonna be longer than my first one, doing everything in this game is gonna be pretty tough.
I wonder if I'll ever finish it <_<
Ever since I started NG+ I've been looking at the guide here doing sidequests.
Don't have lot of time to play these days so I'm playing the game with a guide to 100% the game faster. Did a lot of quests today, already got 3 stars on Colony 9 in a short amount of time. Man, these sidequests get tedious after a while
I can tell my second playthrough is gonna be longer than my first one, doing everything in this game is gonna be pretty tough.
I wonder if I'll ever finish it <_<
But at least you don't have to do any level grinding and most battles will be over in a matter of seconds. Doesn't it get boring killing monsters in like 1-2 hits ?
ShadowgeistX
Member
Just finished the game, about 60 hours in. Beating the final boss at level 78 felt pretty brutal, had a couple attempts that pretty much lasted about 20 seconds.
Yeah it does get boring after awhile but there is unique monsters I can still fight with, so it's not all bad.
Besides, I can finally get revenge on all those overpowered monsters that beat the crap out of me in my first playthrough!
Head of Vengarl
Banned
The game just arrived this evening. I put about 2 hours into it so far, and it's great. I was going to immediately change the voice acting to Japanese, but a quick Google told me that the British voice acting is actually quite good so I kept it. And so far I have to agree that the English version is just fine.
Combat seems fun so far; definitely feels MMO-esque. Honestly I've spent most of the time just exploring the city (I forget what it's called) and picking up side quests. I just reached the part where you take control of the girl.
All in all, I am very impressed so far.
Combat seems fun so far; definitely feels MMO-esque. Honestly I've spent most of the time just exploring the city (I forget what it's called) and picking up side quests. I just reached the part where you take control of the girl.
All in all, I am very impressed so far.
All right, I'm 20 hours into the game at this point with most of my party hovering around level 27. The spoiler tags in my post all concern the game up to and a little after the first major boss fight in the
, so don't highlight if you you haven't reached that point. I got out of the
fight which I found rather difficult at first—but since the game doesn't punish you for dying I was able to experiment and find the best way to win
. Quite a nice use of the battle system, I have to say. I was breezing past most of the enemies at that point so it was nice to have something more challenging to contend with.
I'm still loving this game after 20 hours in and I have a feeling I'm not even that far in terms of the narrative—at least I see myself spending probably another 20 or so hours on subquests alone since I've seen a lot of high-level monsters about that I'm sure someone will ask me to confront. I've actually had a lot of fun with those when a certain quest came about;
Anybody else have experiences like this? I'm really fond of the way the game is designed to let you see these terrifying beasts that you know you'll get a chance to take a shot at when you gain another… fifty levels or so.
I also have to say holy crap at
I get that there are fancy tricks at work with rendering the environment and you can see enemies and geometry pop in at times but the fact that they pulled off that area with pretty much no visible loading time is mighty impressive but (negligible location spoiler)
. As I said before, I'm really impressed with the scale of the game.
The story is pretty serviceable as well for what it is. The villains so far have actually been pretty brutal and are definitely stronger than the standard JRPG villain I can remember. Plot up to this point and speculation to follow:
. I'm really hoping that the main "twist" of the story isn't that
I feel like it was pretty blatantly telegraphed so I'm hoping there's more to the narrative than that (I would love to be wrong as well). That said, I'm still interested to know how that happens and
so I suppose it's not a huge deal.
For perspective, how far would someone say I am in the narrative (not counting any sidequests and such) if I just
? It would be reassuring to know that I'm still fairly early on in the plot for more developments to take place.
I apologize if any of this has been asked or stated before, but I haven't wanted to read much of the OT to avoid spoilers; a couple posts above mine suggest that this was the right approach to take.
Ether Mines
---Xord---
I am talking about the first part of course, during which you have to rack up combos to topple him and use the Monado to deal damage
I'm still loving this game after 20 hours in and I have a feeling I'm not even that far in terms of the narrative—at least I see myself spending probably another 20 or so hours on subquests alone since I've seen a lot of high-level monsters about that I'm sure someone will ask me to confront. I've actually had a lot of fun with those when a certain quest came about;
I did the With Much Gratitude quest as a stealth mission creeping past the flying monsters and avoiding the high-level ants and I also stole a Giant's Mirror from a giant scary spider.
I also have to say holy crap at
the sheer scale of the Bionis' Leg area.
of course the Metroid Prime player in me always smiles when I come across a long corridor with little detail. I think Prime filled its blank corridors better, but Xenoblade is hugely impressive in its environments
The story is pretty serviceable as well for what it is. The villains so far have actually been pretty brutal and are definitely stronger than the standard JRPG villain I can remember. Plot up to this point and speculation to follow:
There's something great about Metal Face taunting Shulk even if the writing gets a little corny at times, and even Xord was pretty enjoyable for the relatively small amount of time he got. But I'm guessing they are going to try and make me feel bad about killing the sentient Mechon bosses soon.
the Mechon with faces are corrupted humans with Metal Face as the Wolverine claw guy.
I'm guessing the party will end up confronting the power that causes this transformation anyway
For perspective, how far would someone say I am in the narrative (not counting any sidequests and such) if I just
added Dunban to my party
I apologize if any of this has been asked or stated before, but I haven't wanted to read much of the OT to avoid spoilers; a couple posts above mine suggest that this was the right approach to take.
maybe like the 20% mark? and that's being generous. it's probably less.
i reached that part of the game about 35 hours ago and the endgame is nowhere in sight.
You're still very early in the game based on what you have said on your current progress. The story has a heck of a lot more to reveal and there's plenty of new areas for you to drop your jaw in amazement. Quite frankly, you can spend all day exploring and doing sidequests instead of moving on with the narrative. So that's what will basically determine your pacing of the game. Of course, you can do pretty much everything at your own leisure so there's often no rush to get things done.
According to google: Refugee camp, and the Nopon in the Ether Mine.
Okay; thank you both! I'm glad to hear there is still much to come. I really like how the game lets you set your own pace like described above; I stopped following the narrative for a bit to do the
time-sensitive quests for the Refugees
The one problem I have with the exploration in the game is how the unique monsters are handled in relation to quests; you can kill one of them while exploring then get sent to kill it again. Not a huge deal since you should know the time and place to find it, but you still have to wander over and the fight might not be as fresh this time. I had this happen to me when I was
exploring the Bionis' Leg and I ended up finding the Tirkin Hideout and killing everything thereincluding the Vagrant Alfead. Then of course I was sent to kill it again and I had to take two more trips when I realized it didn't immediately respawn.
dragonlife
Member
Just so people know: you can warp anywhere instantly by opening up the map. And I don't mean hitting the minus button; I mean the leftmost icon when you bring up the menu. I never even bothered with this method until the 60 hour+ mark because... I never really noticed. I would always just warp back to the earliest landmarks and exit to enter new areas... I did this a lot when gem crafting. It didn't take too long, but I was doing it the longer way for sure.
Also, this is one game where sidequests have gotten the better of me. I burned myself out to the point of me not giving a fuck anymore. Very little progress for a bunch of exhausting sidequests made me a sour bitch. Suddenly the game felt like it dragged and I just wanted to beat it. My play time per day dwindled because of this, and my other compulsions (beating every monster I see and navigating every inch of the maps) were also beginning to shatter my sanity and giving me mixed feelings on the game.
Small chunks of play time definitely helped me progress, but ever since it felt like I was nearing the end, I would just beeline it to the story progression markers ASAP. I would get this itch like I just wanted the game over with... but I do like it. It's weird.
I'm certain I'm in the final area of the game, so, beware:
. No joke, I didn't fight more than 4 monsters--and that's including the bosses. I was a broken man by this dungeon; I would just start being a little whiny bitch and start talking to myself/the TV/the game if more areas had to be traversed. I was so over exploring and fighting... except for bosses. I just want to fight bosses and watch the awesome cutscenes.
Anyway, like I said, I do like the game--adore, even--it's just that I burned myself out with sidequests. I'm no 100% nut, but I like doing as much as I can, and I usually don't mind... but there was just a bit too much for me in this game.
Did anyone else feel like I did?
EDIT: I was wondering, but is (late-game location/boss spoiler)
Also, this is one game where sidequests have gotten the better of me. I burned myself out to the point of me not giving a fuck anymore. Very little progress for a bunch of exhausting sidequests made me a sour bitch. Suddenly the game felt like it dragged and I just wanted to beat it. My play time per day dwindled because of this, and my other compulsions (beating every monster I see and navigating every inch of the maps) were also beginning to shatter my sanity and giving me mixed feelings on the game.
Small chunks of play time definitely helped me progress, but ever since it felt like I was nearing the end, I would just beeline it to the story progression markers ASAP. I would get this itch like I just wanted the game over with... but I do like it. It's weird.
I'm certain I'm in the final area of the game, so, beware:
I'm back on Prison Island. I stopped at the dragon boss after you ring a bell
Anyway, like I said, I do like the game--adore, even--it's just that I burned myself out with sidequests. I'm no 100% nut, but I like doing as much as I can, and I usually don't mind... but there was just a bit too much for me in this game.
Did anyone else feel like I did?
EDIT: I was wondering, but is (late-game location/boss spoiler)
the battle with Lorithia the Mt. Gagazet Seymour/Matador battle of this game? It's the only fight that gave me trouble. I had to retry it about four times, I think. I never lost to any boss before them. My usual Riki (me), Shulk, and Dunban party wasn't cutting it. I had to switch Dunban for Melia (me controlling her) to win, but even then it felt a bit challenging
This does seem to be that one boss for many people. It's a combination of how the boss works to attack and be attacked, combined with environmental dangers that people forget how to overcome.
As for time spent side-questing, I agree that it's overkill to go for completion on the first run. I'm currently doing my second playthrough (non-NG+), and I'm only going for completion because I know where things are, know how long they'll take, and freely use the spreadsheet to see where trading can save me time and effort.
SecretMoblin
Member
The reason that one boss is considered... well, that one boss is because you can't just rush in and beat it with the strategy you've been using and abusing for the entire game,
. It takes some thought, it takes ordering your team around a bit, and it takes patience.
unless you've been using and abusing Melia
I will be honest, I think the main problem with that fight is that it's just poorly designed.
For whatever reason the NPCs absolutely love walking into those pools (or in Riki's case he just stands there on the edge doing nothing) and the game fools you into thinking the adds need to be killed (color based adds each with a different effect when they "activate". Compare that to almost any other game with a similar mechanic and you 90% of the time have to kill those colored balls). The first time I tried the fight I used the same party setup as you except I controlled Shulk. I probably could of won the fight but I was really sick of Dunban running off into the pool of water and then dying which happened multiple times. I also barely burned any of the boss' hp away because I was trying to take down those adds. I got pretty annoyed with the fight/ai, reset the game, switched my control to Dunban, told the party to focus on Lorithia (ignoring the adds) and then killed her without a single death. It's just a dumb fight, not really that hard.
Mauricio_Magus
Banned
That god damn boss battle... I had to grind like crazy to defeat that boss.
Also, I never did side quests... I basically rushed through the whole game and finished it in under 50 hours
Mauricio_Magus
Banned
I believe the game is the same as the PAL version in... basically every aspect.
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
It's probably just formatted to work on NTSC consoles. Even the title screen is PAL
Well, every aspect but the save file.
Adam Prime
hates soccer, is Mexican
Which text exactly? I never once thought this in my entire playthrough of the game. Maybe it's your TV?
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
I actually did exactly this and won. It wasn't the smoothest battle, but still.
I'll probably try doing it wrong again for the sake of doing it wrong. But chances are it won't matter because the further I get in the game on this playthrough, the more I'm getting overleveled. Wouldn't be surprised if I'm level 80+ for that fight at the rate I'm going. I'm almost level 50 going into
Valak Mountain
Need to decide if I'm going to clear all the uniques 100%, or just whatever I can kill up to the final boss. If I'm doing all of them, I probably need to start doing quests so I can get
the extra skill trees
Wyndstryker
Member
Little tip against the
battle.
You can actually tell your teammates to move towards you so this way, you just need to watch your party members from falling into them pools. Was able to beat it with my usual team but it was a long slug fest.
Disciple Lorithia
You can actually tell your teammates to move towards you so this way, you just need to watch your party members from falling into them pools. Was able to beat it with my usual team but it was a long slug fest.
I didn't end up using
Melia
Melia
ShadowgeistX
Member
lol, the usual team is what I used to beat that boss in the end after getting demolished with almost every team imaginable. There was a lot of Monado power abusing and hoping the team doesn't end up getting themselves killed.
Which can be converted.
Like the hat?
Banned
If I just got to the point where I defeated (boss spoilers)
about how far into the game am I, percentwise? I'm about 15 hours of playing in but I've been doing a lot of side mission stuff.
xord in the underground area
Like 15% or 20%. Not very far.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Oh yeah, that boss battle. I'll give it this: it taught me how to own with Melia. It just came too late in the game.
That's the most bonus you can get out of Equipment Gems for Agility. If you want more, it will have to be from Skill Trees or Skill Link.
Like the hat?
Banned
sweet. loving this game.
SecretMoblin
Member
Or leveling up, or different gear. The cap is probably at around the right point, actually.
Oh. Well then!
Starwolf_UK
Member
Are you sure you set the Wii to 16:9. I remember back in the European thread we had people playing in 4:3 on a 16:9 TV which is bad due to stretching the image but the game being 16:9 only also adds borders for players on 4:3. Using 3/4 of the screen height makes everything 25% smaller which could make all the difference.
I found this text perfectly fine (if I was playing in 4:3 with screen forced to 4:3* it would be too small though...):
Note: The and everything else would not be as sharp on a real Wii due to *...also imagine it is 480 pixels high rather than 576...
*-Which I normally do for Wii games since its 640x480 either way due to the anamorphic widescreen issue so I might as well maximise pixel density to minimise jaggles.
dragonlife
Member
Do you mean crystals? It's 10 pages for ALL of them, not per level (I, II, III, etc). You'll have to go make some gems or throw away some.
Yeah, I'd suggest to everyone to go through your gems every once in a while and just vendor some. You'll find that most of them are ones you will probably never use for one reason or another. In my case I found myself never bothering with the cloak ones (aggro distance reduction) and just sold those without a second thought.
Also should probably vendor 90% of the ones that are below the current level of which you are using. Unless you are confident in your ability to craft them into a higher level they will be pretty much useless. As a whole the game gives you far more gems than you will ever use. At the start of the game I found myself crafting them all but there really isn't a need to that I ever found.
Easiest way to see tension is by paying attention to the character portraits in combat. The more depressed someone looks the lower their tension. The more angry they look the higher. The cap for it I believe is when there is flames behind their picture.
As for it's use I can't recall if it does anything the higher it is but I do remember the lower it is the higher chance the character's seem to miss. Also Riki has an ability that can only be used at higher levels of tension.
I think I asked this a while back, but I got banned before I got to see any responses, so pardon me for asking again:
- What is tension? How do I know how much tension I have? Why is it good(or bad)?
I've looked through the tutorials and haven't found anything on it.
Also, I'm finding/creating gems that reduce or extend 'duration' of effects of gems. What does that mean? I wasn't aware any gems had time limits or whatever on them.
- What is tension? How do I know how much tension I have? Why is it good(or bad)?
I've looked through the tutorials and haven't found anything on it.
Also, I'm finding/creating gems that reduce or extend 'duration' of effects of gems. What does that mean? I wasn't aware any gems had time limits or whatever on them.
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