Topic: Xenoblade Chronicles X - OT

@OfNullAndVoid
As much as I dislike suggesting it, GameFaqs XCX's board had some pretty good suggestions for builds. Although the key is always in the augments you add.

The Verus model, for example, will never had strong defenses, so your best bet is to increase your evation to be a glass cannon, and to optimise the weapons it has. The G-Buster is an excellent option if you need crowd control.

And also, at least for your team it doesn't matter that much, since the AI is terrible. They'll never take full advantage of the skell, just try to keep it outfitted with good weapon and armor. I usually gave Lin a heavy model since she's naturally a tanker character.

@Luna_110 Thanks! I've been looking through some FAQs here and there, I just feel like I am always missing some useful information, and every now and then I come across something which I feel can be critically important to the game. For instance, I just found out that certain weather events, like the brimstone rain in Cauldros, only occur during certain time periods. Not only that, but there's augments which protect against that. I remember when I first played the game Cauldros tended to annoy me because of the brimstone rain, especially since I'm big on exploring, and it would happen during the worst possible times.

As far as skells go though, what's everyone's naming schemes? I always end up naming mine after G1 Transformers, and I try to match their color schemes. Right now I just got the skell license and named the free skell Optimus and gave it a red/blue/white color scheme. Once the weekend comes around I'll see if I can buy the team some skells and decide which Transformers I'll use, though Bumblebee and Jazz are at the top of the list.

@Tyranexx Yeah, I enjoyed that twist too. I just wonder if the mimeosomes actually will look anything like their human counterparts, or if there will be surprises there too. Maybe Lin is a grandma, Elma is a guy, and Vandham is skinny..

Unfortunately, I haven't had a lot of gaming time this week up to this point (barring a couple of short Tri Force Heroes sessions), but I hope to get back into this game this evening. It'll likely be an exploration/random quest session this time around.

My avatar is Tyra, by the way. I tend to frequent the single player/story server.

@OfNullAndVoid: I started having similar thoughts after that reveal. A skinny, noodle-armed Vandham would be pretty amusing. XD

So is anyone else still playing this? I'm taking a brief break from it (only a few days), but I finished Chapter 8 a couple of evenings ago. I must say, I really like this game's approach of making you explore the world and doing sidequests/affinity missions/etc. on your own before thrusting you into the next part of the story. The main story itself so far isn't award-winning, but it's definitely keeping me interested. I only recently entered Sylvalum for the first time and already have a third of that continent stuck full of probes. XD #PathFinders

As for Skell combat? It's FUN. Like, really FUN. I may or may not be rocking an Amdusias for my main character....

I really need to get back into this. I'm on chapter 5 or 6, I can't remember (it's right after you discover that story twist and go searching for a downed vessel amongst those shadow creatures). I lost a boss battle 2 or 3 times and haven't played again in months. It's hard to find the time to play in one sitting for as long as you need to to really get into the game.

If you don't take it slow and plan every gaming session you'll end up wasting your time and cursing at the game. This is not a title for everyone. I'm afraid to say but after 200 hours of gameplay, only real veterans of the JRPG genre can appreciate and understand the game's mechanics.

This weekend I managed to get my character, Elma, and Lin up to level 50, and finished Episode 9. I also got 2 level 50 skells, and altered the colors and names of 4 of my skells. Currently my skells are named Optimus, Bumblebee, Jazz, and Hound, and their colors based off the G1 versions. To bad they couldn't incorporate actual transformers into the game, I would certainly enjoy that.

@TheCurator - I was already taking it slow on my last play, but my current play I'm going even slower, and with this game it pays. I actually discovered and befriended a group of xenoforms I hadn't encountered previously, and found some quests which enriched the lore. This game definitely is all about exploring if you want to get the full game.

One aspect of the game I still need to look into is soul voices. Mine get triggered reasonably often, though I have a feeling if I'd look into it I'd probably trigger them even more.

@OfNullAndVoid Good for you. It's not your average current gen RPG where everyone rush off to the finish. People complain about Lin makkng fun of Tatsu too much but in reality she doesn't. It looks like she does because they hurry to complete Chapter after Chapter. Xenoblades Chronicle X it's not supposed to be played like that. You complete 1 chapter and at the same time you focus on the basic missions, grinding, exploring, farming Skell gear & augments. Anyway it's a great game in general. What Xenoform did you encounter btw?

@Ralizah Level progression: Joker 😅

@OfNullAndVoid: I'd also like to know which group you encountered your second time through. My NLA is full of xenos.

This is exactly how I played it and despite putting 140 hours into the game in the span of 2 entire years, those jokes were still impressively unfunny and repetitive.

@TheCurator
Yeah right. Sure I'm an RPG veteran but I beat the game at 80 hours.

It's not that the game or the mechanics are "hardcore" or anything like that. It's the lack of explanation that really kills it. Much like the first Xenoblade, use side quests to level up and you'll be fine. Just remember kiddies:

Striker: Tank character
Commando: Attack character
Enforcer: Support character

And the right augments will break EVERYTHING.

@BloodyMurder I agree lack of explanation of basic mechanics is a big issue in this game. But to complete a game of this grand scale one must 100% explore Mira, finish all basic missions, perfect as much as he can the side characters, build a perfect ground & Skell build, and unlock as much of the achievements as possible. Personally, I cannot 100% the game because I didn't do Lao's Hearts to Hearts plus no Miiverse anymore and I don't think the Global Nemesis will be beaten again so I can get the relevant achievement. I agree about the augments. They will indeed break EVERYTHING.

@kkslider5552000 The lack of good storytelling is indeed a flaw of the game. A big one. In comparison to Mass Effect or DragonAge storytelling techniques, Xenoblades Chronicles X make me feel too much disappointed from the way it was directed. After all IT IS a RPG & the main focus of a RPG should be the way it tells the player the story and how much the said player can interact with it positively and interactively.

@TheCurator
Actually a couple guys and gals defeated the global nemesis yesterday. It was co-ordinated over at the reddit xenoblade discord. A fine job they did.

@TheCurator @Tyranexx The xenoforms I encountered are: The Zaruboggans.

Not sure how I didn't encounter them in the first play, but I had only started Chapter 11 the last time before other games drove my attention away from XCX, a bad habit I'm trying to currently break by actually completing games before moving on to the next. Anyway, I think I missed them the last time because I was moving to fast in the game.

The fortunate part is that because I started a new game, I managed to get all of Lao's heart-to-hearts, and of course I'm actually paying more attention to the basic missions. I also never got level 50 skells before, and that's helping me a lot at the moment. The lore that you get from doing some of the basic missions does flesh out all the different characters of the game, which is something I enjoy. The game definitely rewards slow & steady, and does feel a lot less hold-your-hand than many other RPGs these days.

I actually haven't encountered that particular race yet, though I wonder if one of the missions I picked up doesn't address them. I'll have to look into it later when I get a chance to sit down and play.

Edit: Turns out I did pick up the mission. Definitely an interesting group.

Same here. I'm glad that I didn't just steamroll through the main story alone; the game does a good job of encouraging you to explore and expand FrontierNav (something I enjoy) as well as get to know more about NLA and its various denizens. I've found some quests that I thoroughly enjoyed, and some were even deliciously dark. This game seems to have no problems offing Ma-Non and addresses some difficult topics that we deal with IRL.

The main story was hit-or-miss and left some gaps (particularly the ending; I suspect Monolith was/is setting things up for a future sequel or something), but overall I enjoyed it. Chapter 5's twist admittedly pulled the rug out from under me a bit, though I suppose I should have suspected the mim reveal sooner based on how the characters look and move at times; I always thought the jumping was a bit weird but put that up to Mira's gravity or something with BLADE gear before that reveal. XD Chapter 11 was, I thought, the best chapter in terms of character development.

Also, I agree about the Lin/Tatsu jokes. They were funny at first and made me appreciate their relationship (particularly when their ages are revealed), but they did get a bit old after awhile.

So I beat Pharsis with a ground build. Later I will make new topic-guide on how to create a perfect Lvl50 Skell build and Ether Blossom Dance build so you can obliterate everything in the game before Chapter 12.

Finally!:

https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/wii-u/xenoblades_chronicle...

Last night I completed the game. Ending leaves a lot to speculate and wonder. It left me hanging but explained a lot about this wonderful planet called Mira. Amazing though to storm through the end battles with EBD build and all side characters maxed out with Prime shop gear and weapons. Now I have to do the remaining normal missions and affinity quests, craft some final augments and craft the unlocked fashion armor for the side character and also to beat the extra superbosses 😊 .

UPDATE:

After completing the final quest of the Tree Clan where you have to feed the deceased granddad Prone to the Jacul, a Prone said that the planet of Mira "regenerates the dead and gives them new life". Maybe that's why the human race that landed on Mira were initially dead but their consequences lived on and developed and maybe that's why Lao was seen ALIVE at the end of the second final cutscene.

Yesterday I beat Nardacyon, the Shadowless on EBD ground build and am at Mira completion 84% .