Topic: Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Am I the only one practically ignoring sidequests? I do some but most are just collected, only to be somewhat forgotten...

I'm still in doubt what the merc group level does for me too. I read somewhere it increases the amount of blades you can carry? If that is of any significance I'll definitely try it I'm more in the "get good blades camp" now and have no idea how to help that cause lol

@erv i don't know how to ignore quests in games.. doesn't matter how crappy the reward.. must.. doit..
And yea you're going to want to raise the merc group level so you can hold more blades

@erv I've been ignoring side-quests for the most part. I take them and then one day I notice I've done them. I just finished the Torigoth crane quests yesterday. I took them back in chapter 1 or 2 and now I've played over 70 hours and in chapter 7. The quests are memorable enough that I can remember what was going on even if I stumble upon the next part of the quest half a month later.

That said, I'm thinking of getting some of the quests done now that I'm visiting all the previous locations again. I must say, the world is just so much fun to run around. I haven't felt bored even though I spent another hour just talking to people in Torigoth. There's always something new wherever I go.

I decided to take a look at the place where you rescue Nia in early chapters and it was full of things to do. I found a new heart-to-heart, new rooms, named enemies, chests and a salvage point I'd missed. Seems a bit cruel to go in one of the jails, kill a guy and leave their tombstone while the guard doesn't care about what I'm doing. Maybe they already received a death penalty and were waiting for their execution...

EDIT: Just got Praxis's Core Crystal. I was too lazy to go through the mine so I just jumped to the correct place from Alba Cavanich. Then I worked my way backwards after I received the crystal. It was quite funny to open a door by using field skills when the valve that opened the door was on the other side. I guess they never expected anyone to do it the way I did it.

@Late Lol I tend to do the same thing most of the time when I have trouble finding my way doing quests. It's funny when I fall to my death only to get back up and trigger a cutscene.

Hey if anyone could help me with something. I got Praxis and I keep using her but I'm not earning WP not matter how many battles I use her in.

Finished this game today. Yeah I actually finished a game!

All I can say is, Wow! Tears. Sad tears, happy tears. This game was so good. I was glad to find out I wasn't over leveled for the Ch. 9 bosses and the Ch. 10 boss. I was actually on the same level as them, but even then I only died once to the first one in Ch. 9.

The one thing I an say I didn't like about the game was the randomness of obtaining rare blades but once you find enough blades that work for you it's okay.

Nia's voice. OMG I love Nia's voice. Seriously I want to go pick up some Welsh girls right now. Who's coming with me, man?

Alright I gotta go shave and wash clothes and other stuff I've been neglecting around the house. (I'm not a gaming addict, I swear.)

I was finally able to clear away a few sidequests tonight. Also, Adenine does indeed cause those Krabble at the Mor Ardain port to drop even more core crystals than they normally do.

@AlternateButtons it's hard for me to remember how hard this fight was.. but do you understand the combat well? Getting the elemental orbs and breaking them with a chain attack?

@AlternateButtons Bolster Rex and Nia as much as you can. Equip Nia with a full team of healers. Same applies to Rex but attackers. I'm sure you know this already, but just for clarity: Their stats get buffed when you set multiple Blades. Rigid Shield should be set on Tora, and he should have aux cores that draw aggro, while Rex and Nia should be stealthy. If you don't mind swapping out your lead for Tora, you can spam moves to ensure he maintains aggro.

Some additional points: Make sure Tora has the highest block rate possible. If you have a critical absorb accessory, equip it to Rex and give him a core chip that increases his critical rate. This makes him almost infallible. Nia should have accessories that boost ether, healing, or stealth. Whatever you choose, follow through with the aux cores to stack the effects.

@AlternateButtons also put some good pouch items in

^

If you're having issues with maintaining the party gauge, the pouch items that boost party gauge gain are pretty much broken.

@AlternateButtons the game provides a good challenge at times.. when you know what you're doing the difficulty is pretty balanced.. what level are jin and malos?

You should bee able to keep tora alive long enough to get chain attacks off.. what accessories do you have equipped on tora and is he holding aggro?
Also are you spamming anchor shot?

@AlternateButtons You'll be faced with some difficulty spikes that'll force you to jump your understanding of the gameplay mechanics. It's nothing you can't deal with if you use the tools that are available. The bitball and ring weapons should be prioritized with Nia (whatever you have). Those have healing arts. Also, be sure to include the arts that spawn potions. The spear weapon has an art to reduce aggro, so be sure to take advantage of that when your attacker is targeted.

As for Tora, just scroll through your chips and see which has the highest block rate. It's pretty easy to get Poppi's block rate up. You can also go play a few games of Tiger Tiger to get her some aux cores that boost aggro and block. If you have the Ultimate Shield aux core available, you should gun for that and put it on Poppi. It has a 50% chance to eliminates any damage sustained from a block, essentially transforming Tora into a super tank. For example, a 50% block rate on Poppi will make her invincible 25% of the time. This is how I built Tora and Poppi for the post-game, and it makes them pretty OP.

I don't remember if the combat's minutiae was covered to this degree anyway. Regardless, there needs to be a manual readily available. I figured out most of this on my own through trial and error. It can be rewarding, but it can also cause some frustration. Maybe this will be addressed in later updates.

Whew! Made it through the epic, epic, EPIC chapter 7.

That was incredibly tough. And epic. Did I mention it was epic?

Gosh dang... I'm winded. I just had to put the console in sleep mode, set the controller down and reflect on everything that just happened. Wow. The sense of accomplishment after that chapter, brutal field skill requirements and all... is beyond words. There are other factors that make this chapter particularly difficult but I won't get into those for spoiler reasons.

All I know, is I feel incredibly connected to the characters now. Even more so than before.

@AlternateButtons

Set a healer with good healing arts and upgraded chip for their weapon in Rex's 3rd blade slot. That way you have a 2nd healer when fighting. You can try sticking with them the whole fight if you want. Might take a little longer but it might keep you alive too.

Set reduce aggro accessory on Nia, and the biggest Health Boost core you have (percentage usually yields higher than flat number). Probably want to use health accessories for at least one slot for Rex and Tora as well, then strategically use aux cores for the Blades. Stock up on the best pouch items, and maybe level up at an inn with bonus XP. I remember that difficulty spike, but I think was leveled up enough that I won on my first try. Can always level up a few too. It'll save you time leveling up later and make the journey a little easier.

Useful tips these. I need to sort out some of my gear and point allocation obviously. Especially on tora as he dies a bit anyway before putting stealth on the others and taunt on him. I’m actually on the same battle, end of chapter 3. Only had one go so far but failed miserably. These tips are good generally though.

@Tsurii @AlternateButtons
That's fine in theory, but you can't avoid getting hit. And when you do, having an extra 1,000 can mean the difference between staying alive long enough to heal up.

I can't stress how much every last bit of health on Nia has helped. And Rex.

I'm sure there's more than one way to approach winning, but after trying various accessories, I had the hardest time when I wasn't boosting health.

Yeah, the Malos & Ahkos boss fight is one of the most annoying (mandatory) battles in the game. If I could add a couple of things, they'd be:

1) Try to having at least two Earth-type Blades in this fight. When used at the end of a Blade Combo, Earth seals the target's ability to cast "Shackle Driver", which is really the only thing that makes this fight the pain that it is. Mega Eruption (the Earth-Fire-Earth combo) is the easiest one to pull off, relatively speaking.

2) Get Nia a Knuckles Claws-using Blade, they give her an Art (Comet Punch) that Launches the enemy after they've been Toppled.

3) I think it's the Amethyst Chip that turns Dromarch's Chakrams into "Rings of the Maiden" which reduces the aggro Nia draws from auto-attacks by 50%.

4) Malos' Chakra Burst attack is one the few attacks you can dodge just by moving out of the way. When you see/hear him charging it, just back off for a moment and get out of range until he fires it.

@Tsurii
600 hours for me in XCX. 132 hours in XC2.

It's not a problem. IT'S A LIFESTYLE.

I've just reached chapter 4, loving this game