Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Don't say I never listen to you guys.

Following some of your recommendations, I got myself a copy of Xenoblade Chronicles. I managed to get it used for about the price of a new game, which is a bargain from my understanding since they made about ten copies of the NA version (that after almost deciding to make zero). Luckily for me, I ended up with a copy that was in impressive condition, with virtually no wear on the box, manual or disc.

Anyway, the question I have for anyone who's played this is, is there anything I need to know before I get started? Lost-forevers (that aren't already covered by this), things I should do, things I should NOT do (such as leaving Melia to the AI, because yes, I at least know about this), and so on?

23 comments:

  1. Wish I could give you advice, but I haven't played it yet even though I've had it since the NA release date. What I know about the game is that it supposedly has several hundred hours worth of content, and that's always intimidated me.

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  2. Two quests in Alcamoth (Adventurers in Peril and Talia's Research) need to be accepted before a certain point, then completed after that point. Waiting to finish these two will allow to accept two more quests later on. Hope that helps. If I think of anything else I'll let you know.

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    1. I'll take good note of that. Thanks. That sure is a weird set-up, though.

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    2. I need to amend this, since the wiki is wrong about the quest "Talia's Research." It looks like you can go ahead and finish that quest before the cut-off and be fine. I'm assuming the same goes for Adventurers in Peril. The extra two quests I mentioned are actually just substitutes, in case you didn't finish them before the cut-off.

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  3. Three things:
    1. Revisit each major area after you finish a big storyline event. New quests.
    2. Accept all quests ASAP as some have to be finished before a certain point. (these are marked)
    3. Don't let Shulk be AI unless you are using Melia. He uses way too many arts and doesn't take advantage of the side effects.
    Hope it helps!

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    1. Yeah, I heard AI Shulk was pretty bad too, especially in near-death situations. Not Melia-tier, but still.

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  4. I don't Chugga completely covered it, but fight every Unique Monster that you can. There are a few missable ones in the lost forever areas, but one I believe that can be missable is the Elegant Marin in the Ether Mines. The reason you want to fight them is because each time you defeat one for the first time you get an Affinity Coin, which are needed for Skill Links.

    Also Gems are your best friends, especially in the late game against the superbosses. I find that the best combination is having Shulk as shooter and Reyn if you're going for specific Gems. Maybe even Dunban as shooter. The reason these combinations are so good is because you can easily get Mega Heat when crafting once you get your party's affinity up.

    For playable characters pretty much everyone is useful except for Sharla (at least in my opinion). I tend to have Shulk, Melia, the seventh party member, or Riki be the playable character. Shulk has the Monado Arts which are devastating when played right. The seventh character is pretty nice offensively as well, especially when you have the proper skills linked and have unlocked that character's other Skill Trees. Riki's DoT Arts stack and do a lot of damage with the right Gems on them and he is a pretty reliable healer. Melia has the insanely broken Art combination of Spear Break and Starlight Kick. When used it will always topple an enemy unless it completely resists topple.

    That's it for now. There's probably more, but those are some of the things that come to mind.

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    1. To add to this, some of the items needed for Colony 6 reconstruction are gonna be a pain to find. Some are really rare and can't be obtained through trading, like the stupid Ice Cabbage that you need two of. I suggest looking up a list of items that you need for the reconstruction and crossing them out as you get them. I know some of the items are needed for other Quests as well, like the Kneecap Rock and the Ardun Elder Beard.

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  5. I have not played it myself, but I have listened to a few podcasts where they talk about it. What I can say is be prepared for anywhere between 80 and 100 hours of playtime. Also, your first three party members will be able to handle most things, but on the rare instance where they can't, if you didn't level up your other party members, you are in trouble.

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    1. Huh. I'd heard inactive party members got a large chunk of the experience, like 90% or so. So why would it be an issue?

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    2. Yep. I never had trouble leveling up my inactive party members because of that reason.

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    3. I'm just going off of hearsay, so I apologize if that was inaccurate.

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  6. Incoming wild suspect test. Mawileite

    https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/np-xy-ou-suspect-testing-round-6-wrecking-ball.3514144/

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  7. I literally just finished the game a few days ago. Just the main story, I didn't go for 100% since it was my first time through.
    Here's my pieces of advice:
    Don't go for 100% your first time through, unless you really want to spend probably over 150 hours on the game. This basically just means, do sidequests, but don't get hooked on doing too many.
    Sidequests with a clock expire after a while, so if you DO want to do them, do them soon.
    In my opinion, Shulk's AI is fine unless you want to rely on Monado arts to help you win, then you REALLY want to be the one controlling him.
    I disagree with NeoDarkraiTV with Sharla, I find her to be a very useful healer, particularly when you can keep the enemies from targeting her.
    When using Dunban, you want to give him as much agility as possible. He's really useful that way.
    Gem crafting is useful, but I wouldn't call it an out right necessity unless you want to fight some late game high level optional monsters. You pick up a lot of useful gems throughout the game you can just equip. That said, there's a quest that will give you a portable gem crafting machine so you can craft from anywhere, which is handy. Basically, don't feel you need to be crafting all the time.
    Last thing on the subject though, if you DO want to do gem crafting to its maximum potential, there's a strategy you can look up involving using Sharla and Riki, then Shulk and Reyn. If you want to do that, then I recommend DON'T raise Sharla and Riki's affinity for each other past green. Shulk's & Reyn's though, make as high as possible.
    When you look at the character's stats, there's a spot that says the range of damage they can do with their auto-attacks, well there's a glitch in the game where you cannot do more than 100 damage of your minimum damage in auto-attacks, regardless of what it says. This also makes attack plus gems pretty much useless, so keep that in mind.
    I'm sure I may be missing some other tips, but you should be able to figure out everything else. So the last tip is, enjoy this game! It's long, but the story is fantastic and the game is really fun! Try various combinations with your team members and find out what works for you and what doesn't.

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    1. From my limited understanding of the game, it's not that Sharla's a bad healer, it's that it's the kind of game where a dedicated healer is somewhat unnecessary. This is what I've been told, anyway.

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    2. Exactly. Sharla is a great healer, but I never saw much of a reason to use her later on in the game. And crafting isn't necessary for the main game, but it is such a help for Unique Monsters, especially in the late game. It would be a help for completionists.

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    3. I suppose. Late game I was using mainly Riki's healing art for healing, which went fine.
      The final boss though, I basically said "I want as much healing as I can get" so I had Sharla for that fight.
      I suppose you're right though, minimal healing ability is usually fine for most of the main game.

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  8. I have yet to find this game, so what I know of it is only from Chuggaaconroy's playthrough. The game looks very interesting, but I can see why the amount of stuff in the game would be intimidating...

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  9. I could say a few things considering this is one of my favorite games ever, but most have covered the main things (I.E Sharla isn't all that great late-game, don't leave Melia as AI, etc).


    AI CANNOT DEAL WITH GETTING OUT OF ETHER POOLS FOR SHIT. That's one of my biggest nitpicks in the game, whenever you're fighting an enemy near and area of toxic waste/ether, your other party members will either unintentionally walk into the pool or be knocked into it by and enemy, AND THEN NOT REALIZE THE POOL IS DEPLETING 800 POINTS OF DAMAGE EVERY 2 AND A HALF DAMN SECONDS, it's hardly avoidable, considering there's one end-game boss fight that's on an island surrounded by an ether pool, but if that does occur, make sure not to have a character that remains stationary in combat like Sharla or Melia in your party unless you're playing as them.

    I heavily agree with people on not leaving Shulk or Melia as AI (Shulk especially because he often will use Monado Enchant at the beginning of a battle even when it isn't necessary, hell he's even used Shield a couple times when I was experimenting with him in the party).

    On the note of party members, I found that I used Riki the most of any member mainly because one of his arts does overall a better job at healing all party members than Sharla due to her rifle heating up eventually. Sharla is still pretty useful for the first 45-50% of the game though, especially considering she has a OHKO move after inflicting daze on an enemy. Riki also has arts with a 30% chance to topple without the need of break (which normally I don't like to bank on, but not having to cast a break art is worth it, especially during chain attacks).

    Make sure you handle all the sidequests you can before heading to the Mechonis capital, that is definitely one of the no-turning-back moments.

    Unique Monsters drop a ton of really good gems, so be on the lookout for them as long as they're not in the lvl 70-90 area. (Don't get me started on Avalanche Abaasy).

    Enjoy the game!

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    1. Also I'd take zxzxi's advice and attempt to 100% the game during your second playthrough on New Game+, that way it doesn't break up the pace of the campaign and make your first playthrough drag on.

      One more slightly important thing is that I did experience just twice the game crashing on me, which got pretty infuriating. The screen went black with "loading game data" or something along those lines popping up, and then sending me to the menu screen a couple seconds after. It happens very rarely but you should already know to save wherever you can.

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    2. I like it when the AI stands in lava. Like, actual lava. They just chill there until they hit 1 HP.

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    3. Can it be worse than the Flickies in Sonic 3D Blast, though?

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  10. I managed to solve the game 100% on my first attempt, however with the issue of LPing it it took almost 2 years to finish (start October 2012 - end July 2014).
    My advice:
    - If you want to do all the sidequest then work with an guide otherwise you'll turn insane
    - if a quest does not activate even though it should talk to other persons who could be involved in the quest, sometimes they're first activated then
    - to gain harmony in your group you can either give them items they like (not recommended - takes simply forever) or you hit the commands in a battle. If "b" appears in the screen try to hit the timing. If you're character has a status effect he can sometimes be healed by talking to him (f. e. sleeping) and that boosts your harmony. In the Eryth Ocean their is a nebula who gives you a lot of status effects you can heal by talking to you party members. I farmed there one or two hours and had a large boost. However don't do it too late or your level will obliterate it but it is a good place to farm
    - You don't have to explore every bit of the map to fully reveal it. It is enough to visit all areas that are listed on the card (I sadly don't know the English term)
    - if you are in Swords Valley BUY anti-mechon weapons. I missed it since they were weaker and it turned out bad for me
    - if you have problems hitting higher-leveled monsters try to increase you ability it lets you hit them easier
    - if you take damage in battle not knowing from what you most certain have spikes. Your Monado may be able to help you there...
    - beating every boss brings you a harmony coin which you can use to relate your talents. So even if a boss is first to strong it is recommended to come back to beat him later
    - try to pick of every blue ball you see on screen even if your collection is already full. You never know when it may pay of since you could need it for a quest or as trade for an necessary quest-ingredient.
    - throwing enemies on the ground gives you a 100% chance of hitting them regardless the level

    That's all for the moment. If you have any other questions I will be glade to answer them.

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