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Xenoblade |OT| Sorry I Kept You Waiting!

Bisnic

Really Really Exciting Member!
yeah intermediates. there are some characters that doesnt have intermediate ones, or are those dependent on restoring colony 6?

Yeah, i just completely restored Colony 6, and a lot of shops open with intermediate books. Still dont have all of them though... gotta find them. :(
 
Keep in mind that when you get the advanced books for any given art, that art's bar is maxed out - no intermediate book required.

Late in the game, it's generally more worth it to focus on finding the advanced books for the arts you use rather than getting the intermediate books.
 

emb

Member
I'm around level 53, just finished with
Gallahad Fortress
. Am I able to start searching for advanced arts books yet, or does that start happening later on? I'd kinda like to know if I can go find a unique and reset it's treasure, but I don't really want to look at guides for spoiler concerns. If I have all the party members, would that even matter?
 

Jive Turkey

Unconfirmed Member
It's Z + Dpad down with the wiimote; not sure with the CC. It's in the same submenu as the focus fire command.

Probably ZR + Down.

I'm around level 53, just finished with
Gallahad Fortress
. Am I able to start searching for advanced arts books yet, or does that start happening later on? I'd kinda like to know if I can go find a unique and reset it's treasure, but I don't really want to look at guides for spoiler concerns. If I have all the party members, would that even matter?

I found my first advanced book not much farther than where you are now. I wouldn't worry about hunting them down though. You aren't going to have the points to advance your arts much anyway.
 
I'm around level 53, just finished with
Gallahad Fortress
. Am I able to start searching for advanced arts books yet, or does that start happening later on? I'd kinda like to know if I can go find a unique and reset it's treasure, but I don't really want to look at guides for spoiler concerns. If I have all the party members, would that even matter?

There are a few (and I mean really, just a few) that are available from monsters in their late 40s, but the vast majority of books are drops from monsters above level 70. So don't really worry about it yet.
 

Bisnic

Really Really Exciting Member!
Late, like right before end boss, spoilers

I really didnt expect to see myself walking near fucking Saturn/Jupiter/Mars/Moon. It was cool and it looked...really good! I'm a sucker for everything planets related.
 

Balphon

Member
I'm around level 53, just finished with
Gallahad Fortress
. Am I able to start searching for advanced arts books yet, or does that start happening later on? I'd kinda like to know if I can go find a unique and reset it's treasure, but I don't really want to look at guides for spoiler concerns. If I have all the party members, would that even matter?

Pretty much every unique monster higher than level 45 has a chance to drop some, but the drop rates for the higher level (70+) uniques are significantly higher.

A few are found in chests, too. There's one in the
High Entia Tomb
, if I remember right.
 
Wow, the end of (mid game)
Valak Mountain was pretty incredible. The whole showdown with Mumkhar was great, and Dunban's dialogue during that whole scene was really stirring. He's a straight up boss.

This game, man. It just keeps impressing me.
 

Exeunt

Member
I'm traversing
Valak Mountain
now with my characters at level 51; I forgot to check the exact total after my last play session but I'm over 60 hours into the game. The whole
Prison Island
escapade was much shorter than I anticipated though I suppose there will be
a return trip there given all those deactivated contraptions lying around, much like how the Bionis' Interior seems like it will be revisited
. In terms of what went down during my visit,
the Faced Mechon being a contraption to counter the power of the Monado is a pretty good twist within the game's universe, and the game hints at this earlier when Shulk can't damage the assassins. I wasn't surprised to see Fiora in the female Face suit, but I guess there's more to this; the soul transfer seems to have possibly made her someone else. I don't really know what's going on here but at the same time I'm glad they got that "twist" over with along with letting Dunban know who was in Metal Face.

Now that the more predictable twists are out of the way I'm really open to enjoy the plot and the later areas in the game. I'm guessing the party will get to
venture onto the Mechonis
at some point so I'd love to see how that turns out visually. The environments are still extremely impressive and I feel like if any game has the potential to showcase a completely mind-blowing final area, it's this one. Not that I'll see this final area for quite some time however, since I figure I've only passed the halfway point not too long ago. Anyone have a percentage estimate at this point? I'm guessing based on level and progress I'm around 55-60% ish but that's just my gut feeling.

Also, some sixty hours into the game I finally realized that if you pull up a quest it will show you the closest landmark to the NPC who gave it to you. Now I know how the people who played through Resident Evil 4 without using the Run button must've felt; this definitely helps make the "return" quests much more reasonable even if you do still have to track down NPCs the quests themselves tell you to hunt down. The maps linked earlier are huge helps though, and overall I'm finding quests for large areas easier to manage at this point.

To finish my post, I have a minor question about the name of a major antagonist to refresh my memory (not looking for new details). The name has already been mentioned but I didn't want to Google it and accidentally catch a glimpse of plot details surrounding the character. So without further ado: what is the name of
"the Wolverine claws guy" who is now part of Metal Face
? The last time it was explicitly mentioned was
in the intro when he was fighting "alongside" Dunban and Dickson
but I can't remember it and it's been bothering me for a while but especially when
Dunban just stopped short of saying his name on Prison Island
. Thanks to whoever humours my request!
 

Man God

Non-Canon Member
To finish my post, I have a minor question about the name of a major antagonist to refresh my memory (not looking for new details). The name has already been mentioned but I didn't want to Google it and accidentally catch a glimpse of plot details surrounding the character. So without further ado: what is the name of
"the Wolverine claws guy" who is now part of Metal Face
? The last time it was explicitly mentioned was
in the intro when he was fighting "alongside" Dunban and Dickson
but I can't remember it and it's been bothering me for a while but especially when
Dunban just stopped short of saying his name on Prison Island
. Thanks to whoever humours my request!

It's
Mumkhar
 
Anyone have a percentage estimate at this point? I'm guessing based on level and progress I'm around 55-60% ish but that's just my gut feeling.

Prison Island is about 40% from what I understand (I'm just a bit further than you are), both of us still have over half a game left.
 

Exeunt

Member
It's
Mumkhar

Ah, great. Thank you! Seeing it now, it's not surprising at all that I couldn't come up with that name. Probably doesn't help that
it was the only one of the three that doesn't start with a D
.

Prison Island is about 40% from what I understand (I'm just a bit further than you are), you still have over half a game left.

Wow, really?
I had thought I was past the halfway point... I suppose I still have a lot to see! Then again, these assessments are pretty subjective but it's nice to compare.
What's great is that I don't feel like the game is dragging at all since it gives you so much freedom in terms of storyline progression; I can only think of a couple times when your movement is restricted and you have to continue the story. Out of curiosity, how have you been approaching the game since we're around the same point? Lots of exploring, mostly storyline...?
 
Wow, really?
I had thought I was past the halfway point... I suppose I still have a lot to see! Then again, these assessments are pretty subjective but it's nice to compare.
What's great is that I don't feel like the game is dragging at all since it gives you so much freedom in terms of storyline progression; I can only think of a couple times when your movement is restricted and you have to continue the story. Out of curiosity, how have you been approaching the game since we're around the same point? Lots of exploring, mostly storyline...?

I do pretty much every sidequest I can find in each area. My characters are mid-50s at the moment. XD

And yeah, I don't feel like the game is dragging at all.
 
Also, some sixty hours into the game I finally realized that if you pull up a quest it will show you the closest landmark to the NPC who gave it to you. Now I know how the people who played through Resident Evil 4 without using the Run button must've felt; this definitely helps make the "return" quests much more reasonable even if you do still have to track down NPCs the quests themselves tell you to hunt down. The maps linked earlier are huge helps though, and overall I'm finding quests for large areas easier to manage at this point.

Damn, that's mind blowing. I hadn't realized that at all, and it was some times a pain to track down a specific NPC for finishing a quest. I'm just a bit further than you are, but I really can't believe I put in 64 hours or so without knowing this.
 

Papercuts

fired zero bullets in the orphanage.
Yeah, quest says the landmark, but that can still be pretty broad with the size of these areas. I've been looking at the quest then double checking the person on the affinity chart to see the time and I've still had issues with it. Still helps atleast.
 

Exeunt

Member
I do pretty much every sidequest I can find in each area. My characters are mid-50s at the moment. XD

And yeah, I don't feel like the game is dragging at all.

Sounds like our playstyles are quite similar then! I've been doing pretty much the same thing, which of course means that I've been somewhat overlevelled at times. My characters should be in their mid fifties sometime once I reach
Sword Valley
or so since there seems to be a dearth of quests in
Valak Mountain
. But I'll see of course—I haven't finished exploring the area.

I actually was going to cut down on quests for a bit but fell right back on my old habits after clearing
Prison Island
. In a way I think that—if you intend to do them at all—it's best to get a list of quests as soon as you can when you enter an area. The Monster Quests (or any "kill 5 of these enemies" quests) are pretty easy to complete as you're exploring and become rather dull when you're massively overlevelled and acquainted with the area. And while it is easy to become overlevelled, I'm finding more quests give good now and the system makes it so that you never have to grind for experience if you don't want to.

Damn, that's mind blowing. I hadn't realized that at all, and it was some times a pain to track down a specific NPC for finishing a quest. I'm just a bit further than you are, but I really can't believe I put in 64 hours or so without knowing this.

I can't count the number of times I've pulled up the quest listing the last sixty or so hours to find what enemy I need to kill. To think that I could have maybe cut out an hour or two by thinking to look at these quests for another second or two... The revelation is not my proudest gaming moment to say the least.

Yeah, quest says the landmark, but that can still be pretty broad with the size of these areas. I've been looking at the quest then double checking the person on the affinity chart to see the time and I've still had issues with it. Still helps atleast.

I still think it would be best if the NPCs showed location (or landmark—whichever is closer) on the Affinity Chart unless they wander across a large area. Some of the areas in this game—really, most of the areas in this game—can get quite large and when you take into account the time-based system and the fact that many NPCs wander a bit it can be tricky to track them down and remember who's who. It's a learning process for sure, but I can understand how some people could be turned off by the system.

What I've found is it's generally best to acdept and finish quests at the same time in the middle of the morning and night—that way you have the NPCs available and you get a sense of where they should end up. But even that's a flawed system; I encountered at least one NPC who was active starting at 3 in the morning if I recall—just by chance.
 

Mael

Member
OH MY GOD!

first, spoiler alert for pretty far in the game :
where?
After you see the destruction of Meinas
actual spoiler
I'm nearing 100hrs and this happened :
Finally reached the Mekonis capital, learned what Zanza did.
Then you learn that people from Bionis are food supply for Bionis.
Fucking hard fight against Gedoe

I expected the destruction of the Upper Capital from where Melia is from but not like this, it's masterfully done. The game did a total flip since I expected Eghil to be the last foe and seeing the whole of Mekonis but in the end Zanza appears and all.

I think I'm on the final stretch and the game keeps getting better.

New places are available in the cave near the beginning but it's filled with lvl 90 monsters so I mostly run (lvl70).

I unlock another quest on the Giant's civilisation and I'm being given the task to get a key....which is behind a lvl 90 named monster and another lvl 90 monster but I couldn't sneak past the guy to get it....

Also went back to Valak mountain to see the link to sword valley which is blocked evidently and I see....a lvl 115 named monster?

I didn't care for the characters in a rpg in a long time and they actually did it!
It's perfectible with the animations and all but by god the script/VA is good and the story is interesting.
 
Anyone able to tell me how much longer I have left in hours about?
I just went to prison island for the last time about 50 hours in
 
Anyone able to tell me how much longer I have left in hours about?
I just went to prison island for the last time about 50 hours in

The second time? As in, you've done everything on the Mechonis and back on the Bionis? Then you're right at the end, as that is the final dungeon and the boss is at the end of it. Depending on your levels and given how fast you've played through the game so far, it should take you less than an hour and a half to see the ending.

So I asked a few pages back about which component cables to buy for my Wii from the Amazon results for it.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=wii+component+cables

Cheapest ones okay?

Those should be sufficient, I use them and they work just fine.

Be aware, though, that component/composite signals are analog, so quality can matter, unlike HDMI cables. It shouldn't be enough of an issue to warrant spending $50+ on great cables, as you're obviously looking for the cheapest ones, but just know that those other options exist.
 
The second time? As in, you've done everything on the Mechonis and back on the Bionis? Then you're right at the end, as that is the final dungeon and the boss is at the end of it. Depending on your levels and given how fast you've played through the game so far, it should take you less than an hour and a half to see the ending.

I'm level 73, ty.
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
I'm playing the European version (but I hear the codes work regardless and here is what I used) in dolphin too (using the 3.0-578-g460610e_x64 build; still get some occasional audio glitch and one crash but otherwise fine). I edited the game config (properties>edit config) on the game and inserted these lines at the [Gecko] part
Code:
[Gecko]
$EXP *0.5
C20A2C04 00000008
48000009 3F000000
C9828198 D981FFF8
6C978000 92E1FFFC
C961FFF8 ED6B6028
7D8802A6 C18C0000
ED6B0332 FD60581E
D961FFF8 82E1FFFC
60000000 00000000
$EXP *0.75
C20A2C04 00000008
48000009 3F400000
C9828198 D981FFF8
6C978000 92E1FFFC
C961FFF8 ED6B6028
7D8802A6 C18C0000
ED6B0332 FD60581E
D961FFF8 82E1FFFC
60000000 00000000
Then ticked the code I wanted. I also enabled cheats as otherwise it does nothing.

Way late on this, but this does the same thing for me as the other code I tried. Maybe it doesn't actually work with the NA version, since I get -21000 something experience and it instantly levels me to 99 as soon as I gain any at all. :(


Edit: No exp code works though, so I guess I'll just enable and disable that as I go for now.
 

Tunic

Member
Finally had time to continue my adventure in Xenoblade Chronicles. The past couple of weeks have been busy either with work or having family in town. I have about 33 hours of playtime now and just finished up with the
High Entia Tomb. I absolutely loved walking into Alcamoth the first time and I found myself just running around checking the area and architecture out. The music is amazing also, but I have been enjoying all the music anyways. I am also getting more and more into the storyline and cannot wait to find out more about Tyrea, Yumea, and the Bionite Order.

On a separate note I do have a question: Is there somewhat of a guide or listing out there that will show which shops have the talent art books for specific characters? I am in need of puchasing quite a few books for several characters but don't know where to even start looking.
 

Seik

Banned
You probably wont be able to kill the final boss at this lvl, i tried a few days ago at lvl 78, and even with Sharla as a healer, i couldnt defeat the boss. Was too hard.

Yep, first time I managed to beat him, I was lvl 80. Any lower level = my team wiped.
 
Can you guys help me out with some mechanical stuff? I'm sure it's in the thread somewhere but if you dont mind since the thread is infinity + 1 pages long.

Explain what tension does exactly? I know if I initiate a battle, I get that QTE thing and if I press B at the right time, that's good, but what happens? Does my defense increase? My attack? Both? Am I faster? By how much? Is it important or does it make a big difference? Similarly, I know sometimes it happens during battle for certain characters(I guess that's 'affinity'), and if I press B at the right time their character portrait bursts into flames, which seems like a good thing. But what's it do exactly? And finally, what is 'burst affinity'?
 

Wichu

Member
Can you guys help me out with some mechanical stuff? I'm sure it's in the thread somewhere but if you dont mind since the thread is infinity + 1 pages long.

Explain what tension does exactly? I know if I initiate a battle, I get that QTE thing and if I press B at the right time, that's good, but what happens? Does my defense increase? My attack? Both? Am I faster? By how much? Is it important or does it make a big difference? Similarly, I know sometimes it happens during battle for certain characters(I guess that's 'affinity'), and if I press B at the right time their character portrait bursts into flames, which seems like a good thing. But what's it do exactly? And finally, what is 'burst affinity'?

Tension affects hit/dodge rate. It's really important for higher-level enemies.
Burst affinity is the name of the QTE events during battle; they occur sometimes when you dodge an attack or get a critical hit. This also raises the tension (and increases character affinity). The character portrait denotes the current tension level of the character.

I'm pretty sure all this is in the manual :p
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Can you guys help me out with some mechanical stuff? I'm sure it's in the thread somewhere but if you dont mind since the thread is infinity + 1 pages long.

Explain what tension does exactly? I know if I initiate a battle, I get that QTE thing and if I press B at the right time, that's good, but what happens? Does my defense increase? My attack? Both? Am I faster? By how much? Is it important or does it make a big difference? Similarly, I know sometimes it happens during battle for certain characters(I guess that's 'affinity'), and if I press B at the right time their character portrait bursts into flames, which seems like a good thing. But what's it do exactly? And finally, what is 'burst affinity'?

Tension raises and lowers stats, so you want high tension and you want to avoid low tension. Not sure how big of a difference it makes, but I know at very low tension the agility penalty is big enough for you to start regularly missing attacks. Battle start affinity is the first B-button QTE you mention, it only affects tension and any skills that use it (some give temp stat boosts on battle start affinity).

Burst affinity is the B-button QTE that appears mid-battle. It raises tension, also has some skills that give boosts when you do it, and it increases affinity between party members. It also raises the party gauge.

Flames = high/max tension. The purple haze thing means very low tension. Then you have the standard portrait changes for levels inbetween.

And you can enter low tension when "bad" things happen battle. Missing attacks lowers tension. Some enemies have spikes that affect tension. If a character gets KOed and revived, they start at low tension. You can raise someone back to normal tension just by encouraging them if it's low.



On another note, Commander Oracion is kind of a dick. Lots of spike damage on that one, you definitely want to be controlling Shulk (purge) or something for him. Really struggled with a improperly setup party, won with less than 400HP left on all 3 characters in the middle of a chain attack. One more round for any of them would have been death to spike damage. Only 2 uniques left before all under level 60 are clear!
 
Tension affects hit/dodge rate. It's really important for higher-level enemies.
Burst affinity is the name of the QTE events during battle; they occur sometimes when you dodge an attack or get a critical hit. This also raises the tension (and increases character affinity). The character portrait denotes the current tension level of the character.

I'm pretty sure all this is in the manual :p

Oh, I don't have the manual because I got it from gamefly. It is in one of the tutorials, but I got some of the terms mixed up and I wasn't really clear on the actual effects. Thanks!

EDIT: There are a lot of mechanics in this game, and it's hard to keep up. I love that though, I like being challenged with complex mechanics, but I do wish the in-game tutorials went into more depth sometimes.

EDIT: Oh, the character portrait...I just notice that sometimes the portraits are on fire, and sometimes they're not. I assume that if you get to a certain level of tension you get the 'on fire' graphic, but is there more than one graphic? Is it fireier if I have higher tension? Thanks again!
 

nan0

Member
EDIT: Oh, the character portrait...I just notice that sometimes the portraits are on fire, and sometimes they're not. I assume that if you get to a certain level of tension you get the 'on fire' graphic, but is there more than one graphic? Is it fireier if I have higher tension? Thanks again!

The one with fire is already maxed tension, the lower levels are represented by different stages of, well, "shouting" portraits.
 
Oh wait... intermediate books? I think i got it mixed up with the expert ones.
In the case of 7th most are in a shop that requires
Colony 6 to be level 5 in commerce
to be open.

Also there were some back in (area that gets locked off)
Sword Valley shop
(some of these are Reflection and Lariat). Somewhere else sells them too though. Probably also related to
Colony 6 commerce
 
Decided to picked this up after all the gaf hype and realizing I can play it via Dolphin now (new laptop) rather than the blurry mess on the wii

OH GOD ITS SO ADDICTIVE!

Ive not moved for four hours and the combat keeps getting better! all the random quests are going to be the death of me.

Been a long time since an RPG had clicked with me! I thought I was done with the genre but apparently.
 

Kamek

Member
Is there ANY possible way, someone could send me a save file or instruct me on how to use one of the part of the game where you reach
the city where you fight Gadolt for the 2nd time in the city with the dead Telethia on the floor
? I've been asking the internet forever, but no one has come through to help me. I bricked my Wii, and lost all my save files so anyone who could hook this save file up, preferably at this boss battle would be FOREVER thanked and loved.
 

ZenaxPure

Member
What party are most people using for the final boss? I don't really get the complaints, I found him very underwhelming/easy and was a much lower level than anything listed here. I could perhaps see some trouble if you aren't using Shulk but otherwise I am unsure.
 

McNum

Member
What party are most people using for the final boss? I don't really get the complaints, I found him very underwhelming/easy and was a much lower level than anything listed here. I could perhaps see some trouble if you aren't using Shulk but otherwise I am unsure.
I beat the final boss at leve 80 with
Shulk, Sharla and, 7th
.
Controlled Shulk doing the Monado Armor thing and hitting Back Slash when the boss had its back turned, 7th also having a back slash style attack positioned on the opposite side of the boss so we could bounce aggro and always have a back attack ready, and Sharla on temp HP, status protection, and healing.
Worked fairly well. Just remember one thing:
Hitting those QTE prompts in that fight is a very good idea, otherwise you won't get visions.

It was a decent fight, had to keep on my toes, but in the end, Shulk won the day with a Back Slash.
 

Adam Prime

hates soccer, is Mexican
What party are most people using for the final boss? I don't really get the complaints, I found him very underwhelming/easy and was a much lower level than anything listed here. I could perhaps see some trouble if you aren't using Shulk but otherwise I am unsure.

Melia, Riki, and 7 @ Lv 79.

Beat it on first try no problem. The last boss should've had topple immunity to make it more challenging. Whenever we had a vision, I would just Topple with Melia and beat the shit outta em, OTG.

The only boss in the entire game that I had to retry multiple times was
Gadolt in the long long
hallway. Actually the boss itself wasn't terrible, but it was just trying to get to him. That required some excellent Party meter management, and honestly was the best boss fight in the game. They should've made more fights like that, where it required you doing something
dealing with visions
outside of actual combat.
 

ZenaxPure

Member
Interesting strategies, makes me feel like I cheated the game even more so than I already felt like
Shulk/Riki/Dunban ~level 74, won with chaining chain attacks back to back
. I can't really say I wish the final boss was immune to chain attacks but reinforces my thoughts that the game was reworked a bit.

Also really have to agree about the
Gadolt
fight.
It was one of my favorites as well but it was another one of those fights where I had problems with the AI. MULTIPLE times one of my characters would go to the other side of a barricade and then would simply run into the barricade when I used the command to call them back, instead of simply walking around it. Made it pretty frustrating to be honest but it was still an awesome fight.
 

ag-my001

Member
The only boss in the entire game that I had to retry multiple times was
Gadolt in the long long
hallway. Actually the boss itself wasn't terrible, but it was just trying to get to him. That required some excellent Party meter management, and honestly was the best boss fight in the game. They should've made more fights like that, where it required you doing something
dealing with visions
outside of actual combat.

Can't you just hide behind the walls?
That fight reminded me of the 'Assault' game on American Gladiators, with having to duck behind barriers to avoid the 'turret' like boss.
 
Man, I've only turned my computer on like two times since I last posted in this thread. My schedule has pretty much been: go to work, come home, eat dinner, play Xenoblade, go to sleep. I absolutely love the feeling of being hooked on something (which is why I've never gotten drunk or high). I'm hooked on this game.

I had some trouble with (Ether Mines Boss)
Xord
and ended up just watching a YouTube video of someone beating him after I failed miserably twice. I hate having to do that (or consult GameFAQs) but there is a point where I'm just not having fun and I want to get on with the game. I promised myself I'd give the next difficult boss at least three tries before I do that again, though.

I'm now ~30 hours in and I'm at the part where
Juju leaves to rebuild Colony 6 and you have to gather the 4 artifacts in order to progress from the Satorl Marsh.
I pretty much spent all of my playtime last week doing quests on the Bionis' Leg, so I'm at a decent level. My current party is Dunban, Reyn and Shulk. Until recently I had been controlling Shulk and using Sharla instead of Dunban; I figured it was the perfect synergy because I had a damage-dealer, a tank and a medic. I was surprised when I tried out my current team setup and it was just as effective, if not better. Maybe the AI isn't that good at healing with Sharla? I dunno, I haven't tried controlling her yet.

Question: Do Ether Up gems increase healing? I've got Sharla decked out with them so I really hope so.
 
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