Topic: Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Only had the time to play through the first chapter (which was super short), but it's nice to be getting back into it again!

Not sure if that bit's a spoiler since they've been in the pre-release trailers, but I tagged it anyway.

I just started chapter 3 right now (about 5 hours in) and I'm completely hooked! The collectopedia seems to be more in line with XC1 as opposed to XC3 which I prefer. I filled out the collectopedia entirely in XC3s base game but it didn't feel nearly as satisfying to complete. I guess there's just something about seeing that completion percentage hit 100% 😂

Frankly, the entire affinity points system is perfect for me. I normally try to go for 100% completion in the Xenoblade games so this is going to be incredibly helpful. I'm very satisfied with the Enemypedia and the fact that you can actually view how many landmarks, and locations are needed to complete the map. In just about every game prior to this I always needed to look up how many landmarks were in an area just to make sure I had all of them. Doing this was terrible in XC3 because you can only track landmarks but not locations.

I also wanted to comment on the Unity Combo addition to the battle system...Funny enough this is actually how I was hoping the Ouroboros system was going to work in the base game. When I saw the party members fusing in the base game I was so curious if we could mix and match different party members with each other. The Ouroboros system was fun to use but I'm pretty happy to see this new idea implemented! I put an accessory on Matthew that boosts damage by 45% to launched enemies and then I gave him another accessory that boosts Unity Combo damage by 60%. Now whenever I use a Unity Combo on a launched enemy it does so much damage and I love it 😂

Also about the music...I just love how music from previous games plays when you're in an area from a previous game. Not only that, but it appears that the battle theme from the previous games play as well! When I started Chapter 3 I heard the music from Gaur Plains and the XC1 battle theme. For a brief moment, I was confused but when I realized why it was playing and where we were actually headed I exploded 😂

@Vortexeo The XC1 nostalgia is pretty heavy with this game so far. Moreso than the main game, which I'd argue was a little more weighted toward XC2.

@Mrkittyhead The rest spot interactions in XC3 are lowkey one of my favorite aspects of the game. Glad they preserved this aspect.

Hmm, finished it (didn't really do any quests) and my thoughts are:
1. I found it quite on the short side and a lot was just doing story quests.
Spoilers for the whole rest of the DLC ahead.
2. That part mentioned in Ralizah's post was definitely weird and confusing.
3. I also spent ages attacking the wrong thing against W.
4. What the heck is up with Riku?
5. Love the fact the ending theme is sung by the singer of a few tracks from Xenosaga or Xenogears, to celebrate they finally brought a Xeno series to a conclusion.
6. Again agreeing with Ralizah, it's a real bummer that Pyra and Mythra weren't in it, also the Aegis swords looked smaller and how come Rex was still able to use Pnuema's power after the ending of 2?
7. Panacea and Linka got seriously shafted and is Panacea the kid of Sharla and Reyne and Linka the kid of Pandoria and Zeke?
8. Surprised by the lack of M, she's in one cutscene for about one second, you'd have thought this would be the perfect opportunity to either confirm or deconfirm her being Rex and Nia's daughter.
9. Too much reused music.
10. Could have done with having more locations from 2, methinks.
11. Anyone else think the whole explanation for A is a bit strange? Also, it never seems to say she's a consul, heck, it seems to say the opposite.
12. Did Nia, Melia, Shulk, Rex and possibly Poppi enter Aionios in a different way to everyone else? They retained their memories, plus it wasn't set right near the beginning of Aionios so if Rex and Shulk had been there all along surely they'd have died of old age.
13. I now want a canon Xenoblade fluff piece (I think that's the word) set after 3.
14. It was crazy seeing them all in a modern suburban neighborhood.
15. And what happened to Matthew and his family anyway? Also, how come he has a different surname to his sister?
16. Also, it's a shame we didn't get to see Shulk lose an arm and Rex an eye.
@Vortexeo The Indol thing made sense though, it was established in game that Indol had a choir that was singing in the background.

A big middle finger to whoever convinced Monolith Soft it was a good idea to introduce Western AAA-style forced walking segments into the DLC. I really hope this isn't indicative of a trend that'll continue in their next game. If you want to control the pacing of a scene that badly, just make it a cinematic.

@Ralizah Hey Ralizah o/ , cool seeing ya here. Usually talk to ya on PushSquare.

Nice to see you're just as critical over here too xD

@TraCuz- Heya!

Decided to branch out to the sister sites?

I finished the DLC last night, and while I didn't do all the side content, I did a good bit. I got 16 hours out of the DLC itself, and I mostly just wanted to see the ending so I wouldn't be spoiled by it and could talk about the content asap. The ending was extremely well done, and it's a perfect send off for the current storyline. It makes base game 3 feel like it's a proper conclusion, and wraps up some of the plot points, while leaving some stuff just to go unanswered still. The final fight is probably one of my favorites in Xenoblade as a whole, but to some people it's probably going to be chalked up to nothing more than "more xc1 fanservice!". The music was amazing, and I wish I could go back to replay that fight again.

Another thing I found funny was that 3 as a whole is just "Legally distinct Xenogears", and this DLC proves it even moreso than the base game.

I just finished the dlc as well! I'm definitely going to try and go for 100% completion now. I'm currently sitting at 84% exploration, 77% Battle Missions, 95% Affinity Scenes, 65% community, 80% Enemypaedia, and 93% Collectopaedia. That last chapter was pretty freaking wild but I still have some questions 😅

@VoidofLight since you finished the DLC do you think you could answer some of my questions for me? I still don't exactly understand what A is supposed to be. I know she says she's alpha's conscience but how did she get separated from Alvis? Was it during Klaus's experiment when that happened? She also says at the end that she's an avatar for the world but I don't really understand what that means 😅. I think she compared it to how zanza used shulk in the first game but I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around it

I apologize for asking but I know we've discussed more before

@Vortexeo Basically, Given how A has one half of the set of wings that A had, and Alpha has the other half, it's likely that they could've split from one another back when the explosion happened in the city. Na'el is more of a "shulk" to Alpha's "zanza", being the body that he has to exist within, given he has no physical form. The whole avatar of the world thing is mainly just because she was apart of Alvis, and Alvis' core is what Origin's internal structure is based upon, and origin basically is what keeps the world the way that it is.

@VoidofLight I see! So in addition to that a few more things...
1. I'm a little confused why alpha needed a vessel in the first place because in XC1 Alvis was able to exist normally without needing a vessel. Was this because he took the role or zanza?
2. Why did A, Shulk, and Rex disappear at the end? I read somewhere that they were becoming the new trinity to prevent the world from destroying itself but I'm not quite sure how that works because shulk and Rex don't have core crystals.
3. What was alpha's motive? I feel like this was explained but I don't think I understood it very well. Shulk and Rex said that alpha deemed their lives obsolete but do you know why that is? I'm assuming it's because they were hindering the new world that alpha wanted to create but why did he want to create a new world in the first place?

I apologize for all the questions 😅

Finally got movied out and got back in a gaming mood. Started the XC3 expansion and I'm loving it. Idk how I so easily forget how much I love something.

It's fantastic. Every time I mourn what's happened to modern Final Fantasy, I'm reminded Xenoblade is now here instead. Its just so addictive. And, I love exploration. That's why these games resonate with me so deeply, I think.

The collectopedia is back! I can't remember if it was missing in the main game. I think it was. This one lets you buy entries, and I'm such a sucker for that kinda stuff.

@Vortexeo effectively

Gosh dang this expansion is good. Way better than Future Connected and I'd say even better than Torna.

It's exactly what I wanted from XC3 before I knew what it was about. This is how you tie the trilogy together.

I think this is the best DLC I’ve ever played. I can’t stop thinking about it whenever I step away for a bit. Xenoblade is just so perfect, and ai get to play my darling Zelda in less than two weeks. It’s a great time to be alive.

@VoidofLight I see, thank you for answering my questions! I think that clears things up for the most part! I'm curious what your thoughts are on a few other things...

This question is related to an optional scene after chapter 4 I believe. I know you said you mainly focused on the story so idk if you got it but Who do you think Rikus dad is? He tells Mathew that his dad used to go on adventures with Melia and he refers to Melia as "Melly" which means his dad must be either Riki or Kino. What do you think?

@Mrkittyhead Oh for sure 😂 I played it a lot over the weekend and now I'm almost 100% complete! The only things I have left is the Enemypaedia (98%) and Battle missions (93%)

@JaxonH The Collectopaedia was in the base game for XC3 but it wasn't in the same format as the DLC. They were called Collectopaedia cards and pretty much all the NPCs had one. Tbh I prefer the way they did the Collectopaedia in the DLC but that's just me 😅

@Vortexeo From what I heard that blue light wasn't a XCX reference but a Xenosaga one. I haven't played Xenosaga or XCX though, how's it supposed to reference X?

@TeaCatherine I haven't played Xenosaga either so idk about saga references but for XCX I'll try to keep it as vague as possible At some point in Xenoblade X an alien travels to Earth to warn people about an incoming invasion. So I guess some people believe the blue light is what that is.

Part of me doesn't really want XCX to be canon because of how different it is but I guess we'll have to wait and see 😅

@Vortexeo Doesn't FR confirm that XCX is canon and was set in Klaus's world before it was destroyed? Also, yeah, sounds like it could be either. Basically, that cutscene of Klaus's world in FR has a radio playing and it mentions something from X (the white whale), someone from Xenosaga (Dimitri Yuriev) and something from Xenogears.