Topic: Xenoblade Chronicles 2

@Knighty_IX Lmao

I'm currently in Chapter 9, and things are getting tense! It seems like the enemies (or at least the stronger ones) have finally more or less caught up to my level (my Rex is 65, while Nia & Morag are 66 & 67 respectively) making each fight pretty tense, and I find myself saving often & taking a quick break everytime I discover a new landmark.

@Tsurii lol. They remind me of the Palicos in Monster Hunter when you let them go.

@RR529 Just lure the monster away from the ledge and you'll be fine.

Yay, Chapter 6!!

Does anyone feel like Mor Ardain, as well as Morag and Brighid are inspired a bit by Valkyria Chronicles? It's a military nation whose most powerful/renowned warrior is known for her blue flames.

@AlternateButtons Ah, she's a toughie. She gave me some trouble. Took me a few tries! I remember she would retaliate with powerful moves when her health fell under 50%. What you want to do is set her up with some elemental seals for a chain attack. Try to gauge how damaging your chain attack will be, and use that to finish her off.

If you are still having trouble, share what your party looks like. I'll help with what I can.

@AlternateButtons The key is breaking element orbs. You create orbs by doing a level 1 attack followed by a level 2 attack followed by a level 3 attack. The other blades you give Rex and the other party members' blades can help you create different element orbs and then you smash them with a chain attack. Each round (1 blade attack for each party member) of the chain attack you break an orb grants you another round which is a level higher provided you press B in time at the end of the round.

@AlternateButtons That part I actually immediately take my TNK rare blades and slap them on him. Managed to survive luckily...

(Yeah, any moments when you aren't in full party sucks)

Uhhhh, tfw I literally forgot things in the factory. I only remember you have to grab the key from those tirkins that is playing together then it's all fine...

@AlternateButtons You see on the screen sometimes stuff like "Photon" and "Heat", those represent stages of certain element combos. For example, the complete fire combo is:
Heat -> Burnout -> Mega Explosion

So if you used Pyra's level 1 A move followed by Pyra's level 2 A move followed by Pyra's level 3 A move within a certain time the Mega Explosion attack would make a fire orb circle the enemy.

You can also have mixed combos by pressing ZL or ZR for your other team mates to help you achieve the combo faster and/or creating different element orbs. For example:
Heat -> Steam Bomb -> Steam Explosion

That can be obtained by using Pyra's level 1 A move followed by pressing ZL when Dromarch can use Steam Bomb followed by using Pyra's level 3 A move.

One you may want to try given where you are is: Photon -> Gamma Ray -> Ruinous Weather.

Hope this helps, it's hard to explain without images/videos and the game didn't exactly explain it well either.

@AlternateButtons I felt like I was doing you a disservice by not telling you that it was going to get even harder. LOL! For this part, you're going to want to put your TNK Blades on Rex. For a safety buffer--I had to do this--take control of Nia to manage healing.

Also, check out the Xenoblade 2 Wiki for the rest of the Blade combos Grumblevolcano touched on.

@AlternateButtons I just edited in the Wiki that shows all possible Blade combos. Be sure to check that link! It should prove to be very helpful.

@AlternateButtons You can heal while using chain attack so you don't end up dead as soon as it finishes if the enemy still has health left. I usually end up back at full health while doing one. You just need to use your healer blades' attack during the combo. For example, Dromarch's level 2 and 3 specials (Aqua Wave and Wild Roar) heal your team so use them to your advantage.

Update! Mission accomplished! I have spent almost 20 hours over the last week or so grinding and opening core crystals to get the last 2 rare blades! And I finally did it! I got every last one! OOOOOOHHHHHH Man! Patience is a virtue! Now I can finally get back to the actual gameplay! Feels good man! Feels good! Newt and KOS-MOS round out the pack, but approximately 700 crystals later(just for those last 2) I did it!

Is there a pattern for the rare blades? I am on chapter 2, and got the first core crystal and unlocked one of the generic blades uppin (robot looking) or something like that.

Well, I'm a level below them (based on what I've heard), but I think I'm going to give up on what sidequests I have going and try the final boss (hopefully good pouch items can make the difference).

Two of the sidequests I have going would have me going up against enemies still out of my reach (a level 80 & a level 90 enemy, respectively), and a few others are having me traipse across Alrest looking for this or that & I'm getting impatient, lol.

@scubydo The very first crystal you use will always be common(and I have heard it's always wind). From there on, until you have them all, it's always a RNG based chance if you get common or rare. Rare or legendary crystals do not give rare or legendary blades, they increase your chances of getting a rare. Boosters (supposedly) influence your chances of getting specific element types. However after collecting all the rare blades and opening hundreds of commons, I can't say boosters have more than a tiny effect.

Finished it last night! Although it was a bit rough around the edges, it was a fantastic experience, and the ending was great! Based on what I had heard, I was expecting Pyra/Mythra to be gone for good, but was very pleasantly suprised to learn that wasn't the case!

I may go back to it when the story DLC releases (if it picks up where the main game leaves off in terms of difficulty, as I don't think I'm going to challenge the superbosses, or even the lvl 80 or higher unique monsters), but for now I'm going to take a much deserved break with some Mario Kart 8 Deluxe!

@Heavyarms55 i read where you didnt like wiki guides to much...did you not use one for xc2?