I'm at work right now, but I'll post some of my impressions since I have a few seconds.
- Some data probes are a fucking BITCH to find. I found out later that some are in caves. Since they're drilling, it would make sense that they wouldn't be above you. If they're outside, there's a very very visible pillar of light that you can follow to go where you need to get.
- So far, I haven't found a way to set the navigation ball to take me to data probe spots I can't find. If there is one, that would make some things much easier.
- Simple quests are total garbage, and the drop rates for some of them are beyond silly. DO NOT focus on them. Instead, focus on normal quests and kizuna quests. Normal quests are far more fleshed out, fill out the world, are really fun, and in general, what I want out of Xenoblade. There's also a large amount of them, so there's really no reason NOT to focus on them.
- Quests that involve killing a specific creature, getting a very specific red item, or meeting a specific person all have waypoints, making questing easier. That said, it's not always apparent HOW you get to the waypoint. The navigation ball and Hover Camera (which you actually have early on, though the game doesn't tell you) are incredibly helpful for getting a lay of the land and finding the right route to where you want to go.
- The map in hex grid mode shows you when certain hexes have something new available (quests, kizuna, etc.) even if you're NOT in the region. This is incredibly helpful, as I can check if there are new quests in an NLA region when i complete something without having to warp back and run around searching. (NLA quests open over time, so you'll have to return every once in a while to open up more)
- Don't expect to just complete the hex grid objectives from NLA out. They're set up in such a way that you're going to encounter some tough ones surrounded by easier ones. It makes for some interesting traveling and route plotting.
- I love that I can swim out into the water and try to find a path to a new place without taking the well trodden (and monster-plagued) path. No invisible walls that I've found. Combine that with the fast run speed, huge jump and no fall damage means exploring the world is a real treat. I absolutely love it.
- Once the online element opens up, there are some really cool asynchronous online mechanics that integrate well into the gameplay. You can "rent" other player's characters to fill out a slot in your party, and if you see a squad member standing around in the field, they can give you support ability buffs based on the Union they're part of. There's also a set of icons under the minimap that shows which Unions are being repped in your current squad (darkened means none, lit means at least one, green square means you're currently blessed with that union's support ability, I believe)
- Additional Online elements: you can turn on whether or not you see your squad teammates' achievements as they play. I found when I was playing yesterday (a holiday in Japan), the "Play Award" notification kept coming up on my screen every 2 seconds. It's out of the way, though, so it wasn't a big deal. Nice to see that my squadmates are playing the game too.
- Kizuna quests are really fun. Like Xenoblade, you have a marker that you go to and activate. Once activated, you're given conditions you have to meet in order to start the quest (Level, Kizuna rating with a specific character, and who can and can't be in the party when the quest is activated). Once the kizuna quest is activated, you're unable to do side quests or main story, and instead do fairly long side quest that revolves around a specific character. The prerequisites for doing kizuna quests is pretty lax in comparison to Xenoblade 1's kizuna cutscenes, and because they're visible on the watch, you can easily do them once you've fulfilled the conditions.
- I recently changed my class from Drifter (base class, assault rifle and knife) to Assault (Assault Rifle and Sword). Completely new skills means you suddenly play a little differently, but it wasn't hard to get into the new class. Tempted to change to Forcer eventually, so I can become a Galaxy Knight (also known as the best class name in existence).
Phew! That's a lot to read...