Topic: Xenoblade Chronicles 2

I honestly never finished X1 myself...so XC2 is my only reference, though I didn't do a majority of the side quests...and I didn't own XCX unfortunately. Really wanting to do a second play through at some point.

How do I do specials with mythra because it seems the light element is not that easy to combine with other elements for specials.

@Fujin there are combos with fire and dark off of the top of my head. There are charts with all possible combos you can do - try searching up one of those.

@Fujin

All the combos are listed on the Wiki:
https://xenoblade.fandom.com/wiki/Blade_Combo

@StephanDLW I think "side quests are the best of the 3 games" is kind of like saying "The Zelda games were the least terrible of CDi's games." The side quests were a horrendous disaster with some fun story, but nothing in the game indicating that you needed some McGuffin from completing some other quest in order to do this quest, and that McGuffin can't be obtained until the last chapter of the game even though you've had the quest since chapter 2. So you spend half the game trying to do a quest you can't do until you've completed multiple other connected quests (that you don't know are connected), without ever knowing you can't actually do that until you've nearly beaten the game. A quest you can't actually complete when you get it, and there's nothing to indicate you can't is just a design fail.

And of course "HM Slaves" with the Blades sucked. But the battle system was actually fun. My problem with it is they never adequately explained the system....if they explained it better it was great. Monolith has a massive Bionis-sized hole in their tutorial department.

I loved the villains though. The villains are exceedingly complex. They didn't really flesh out the narrative very well in terms of what's going on, but when you examine the villains, they are actually fantastic. More literary than comic book, actually. I've said before but the strong point of the story is there are, in actuality, no actual villains at all in the game. Both sides have their reasons, and both are valid reasons. At times I agree with the "villains" more than I do Rex and "the power of friendship!" malarkey. I find myself rooting for the villains frequently...because they're not evil. And they're not necessarily wrong. Destructive...but also kind of right. Opponents that aren't evil/villains make the most interesting kind of foe. XC1 isn't too far off that mark either however, and that also ties into the XC2 story. BUT they didn't fully explain some things either, and Torna is really necessary to get a complete picture.

Monolith excels at world building, but I have to say Falcom and Bandai Namco walk all over them in narrative pacing and exposition, even if Monolith has more intricate overall stories.

Comparing XC1 and XC2, personally, I'd say the villains are interesting in both, though more intricately complex in 2 (though it's interrelated with 1), XC1 had the better overarching narrative, but XC2 has much more developed and interesting characters. Combat is much superior in 2, but they never fully explained the system so you hit a difficulty spike until you actually learn it half-way though. Blades/HM Slaves really ding it though. XC1 is a product of having been such an "experience" the first time through with tons of narrative twists and turns.

@StephanDLW I would say the Torna the Golden Country might help address a lot of the problems you had, but if you don't want to play it because XC2 wasn't too enjoyable to play, I understand it too.

You know, I keep hearing this, but Trails in the Sky FC was one of the most poorly-paced games I've ever played in my life. It felt like all build up and no satisfaction at the end.

@Dezzy Thanks.

I find this interesting because XC1 and 2 are happening concurrently and briefly converge at the end, so it's basically one story.

@EvilLucario 2's grindiness depends entirely on how long it takes you to get a certain girl and her bear. She was the last rare blade I got (I never did get KOS-MOS) and it ended up taking me nearly 200 hours to 100% because of that.

@StephanDLW Didn't say it couldn't, I just find it interesting

I just started xenoblade torna the golden country and I"m confused on how to heal in this game. Can someone explain to me because it's different than in xenoblade chronicles 2.

So I went back into this game after a long break, and I'm trying to find a specific piece online. Haven't beaten it yet so no spoilers please.

Any links or knowledge of the name of that piece would be appreciated

Edit: Nevermind, I found it. It's called Disappearing World

I finally beat this game after forever. I love the twist at the end tying the whole thing back to the first game. What's even better is it makes the whole first game's story more logical.

I'm stuck on the Malos fight where your just fighting him, all my characters are mid to high 50s. I want to use a chain attack on him, but he kills my companions before my meter gets high enough so I have to spend that reviving them. Been grinding, but that comes slowly when your that high. Advice?

@paburrows Try changing up your party. And are you using all rare blades? I always find it's not worth the time of day to use common blades for anything other than merc missions.

Perhaps a weird question to ask so many years after release, and I don't expect many answers, but what is everyone's favorite Titan/Nation. Mine is the Leftherian Archipelago. I love the setting with its many islands and Fonsett Village is such a calm little place where I'd love to live myself. The music too is wonderful throughout.

Oh yeah Leftheria is by far the best. Probably my favourite location in all 3 of the Xenoblade games actually. Something very heavenly about it. They're just geniuses at world design and the way they can make you feel the sense of a place through its design and music.

I'm honestly a bit surprised with the responses so far. I was under the impression that the Leftherian Archipelago wasn't that beloved. I've seen it described as being boring and empty by many. Glad to see I'm not the only one who loves this place so much. 😊

@Knighty_IX
You described the Archipelago particularly well. Good job! I love Temperantia as well for being this big hunting ground, especially at later levels it becomes quite fun to roam around in.

@Dezzy
Monolith Soft sure are great at world building. I can't wait to see what they come up with in their next game.