Topic: Xenoblade Chronicles 3

I'm 87 hours into the game, my party is at level 76 and I'm at the final door before the last boss.
Done plenty of side quests but got many more waiting for me and now I can't decide what to do first.
Go through the door, or finish all side quests first?

Ugh... decisions, decisions. lol

@FroZtedFlakerZz Wow. That's a bit too fast. Almost makes me not want to upgrade as 30 hours for the base game and 20 hours for the post game expansion is too short for $60 if you already have the Wii version imo.

Still on chapter 3, my party is all level 34.

Is it worth it to 100% a Xenoblade game? I'm still on chapter 4 (I think) (I had to do some travelling so I had to stop playing for a bit) and I was wondering if I should do all the side stuff, I will do the hero missions before I finish the game.

42 hours in, and I've just entered Keves Castle. I have to assume I'm almost at the end of chapter 4.

I think Ashera is my favorite of the heroes to date. Not only for her amazing chain attack skill, but also because her bravado reminds me heavily of Dunban, who was one of the few characters I actually really liked in XC1.

@Kermit1
Only you can decide if it's worth doing all the side content. You can always go back and complete the game 100% after finishing the story, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
See how you feel and act accordingly is what I'd suggest.

I’m 15 hours in and on chapter 3. From other comments I’m not sure if each chapter starts getting longer, or if I’ve gone a bit quick so far.

@JoeDiddley Chapters get longer, but there's also a lot more sidecontent that unlocks. If you're going out of your way to do most of the side-quests that unlock, you'll probably be able to run through the game significantly more quickly.

@Ralizah it feels light on side quests so far, I had heard that mentioned, but it’s good to hear they increase. I like to do most of them to keep my team levered and explore. Then you don’t need to grind.

@JoeDiddley You must be fairly early in ch. 3. The game goes from being linear and having almost no side-quests to opening up in a big way and almost overwhelming you with side-quests. That has been the trend with ch. 4 as well.

BTW, be sure to return to older colonies throughout the game, as new side-quests continue to unlock as you progress further in the story.

Those doing speed run are for spoilers and how to play but not to enjoy the game. I am takin my time to progress I only got to chapter 3.

@Ralizah thanks I will revisit older colonies. Does the map give any kind of prompt when they become available? I guess that the affinity rank needing effort to increase for each colony is a clue in itself.

@JoeDiddley Not that I've noticed. Although it'd be hard to miss the hero quests, since the map tells you where to trigger those.

Actually, thinking about it, might be best to revisit campsites as well, as I recall a few of them unlocking new side-quests also. Colonies will be where you encounter the bulk of them, though.

Well it took me 105 hours (still have a few side quests that I'm gonna enjoy later down the road), I've played the game nonstop from release date till now, I have a lot of work to do for my master of science and I didn't want to leave the game behind in the upcoming weeks. Without spoiling anything: this game is a masterpiece, I absolutely cannot believe how they manage to make each title in this series better than the last. Everything clicks and delivers, it has been a while since I enjoyed a game this much. The trilogy of Xenoblade Chronicles (alongside Future connected and Torna) is without a doubt one of the best gaming memories I have. I cannot wait for the expansion next year and I look forward to the future of the series which in my opinion couldn't be brighter.

Right.. I waited 5 years for this game and Xeno is my favorite franchise out of anything. You think I want to be done with it in a week? I took a week off work and spent like 60 hours up to chapter 4. Yea i'm eager to know what everyone is talking about but i'm still going to take another month to beat the game lol.

@TowaHerschel7 Yeah, definitive edition. I used casual mode after makna forest because I kept dying to that telethia

I remember how long it took me to beat some of the bosses when playing Xenoblade on the Wii. It was so hard sometimes (Jade Face, Yaldabaoth, All Final Bosses) but it was more rewarding when beating them.

@JoeDiddley

You're sort of prompted. The game has a couple of mechanics in place to let you know where to find sidequests. Most importantly, I feel it's the story itself that prompts you. Let's just say that what happens in chapter 3 narratively justifies the explosion of sidequests, because now it's something the characters themselves want to do.

I am one of those that watch and then strategies how to collect all the extras to progress when I go side-quests. So for me speed-runs helps how to gameplay but if one wants a complete overall encompassing game fun then you have to take sides quests and collects over and over that way when you get Quest you already have the collected items. As I saw through the gameplay some of those quest did include the items I picked along the way. Doing this does take many many more hours but is fun and time consuming but fun as you can level-up the characters faster and survive the game fights longer and especially the Boss fights gives you a advantage fighting.

Alright, after exploring a bit more to clear my head, I made the decision to do all side quests first. And I'm glad I did because I now find myself in this groove of completing quests and finding new ones and I'm having a blast!