Topic: Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition

Man you guys are worrying me. I think i turned down the difficulty on the last boss for both XC1 and XC2. I was fine with normal on XC3. I guess I'll just look up recommended levels and builds once I get towards the later section of the game.

are the sidequests in Xenoblade X pretty much the same as in Xenoblade 1 and 3 where you do fetch quests and slay certain numbers of creatures to get stronger weapons etc?

@seinfeldfanatic Yes and no. There is a mission board where you can accept up to 20 quests, and they are essentially collectathons. I recommend accepting them because you can complete them pretty easily and it automatically completes the mission — you don’t have to talk to anyone, so that’s nice.

However, the side quests (green question marks on the map) are quite story driven and provide a lot of good character development and cut scenes. The same goes for affinity missions (yellow question marks). These quests are basically loyalty missions with your party members, and also a way to acquire new members to your team. Again, there is a lot of world building and plot through these. And then similarly to other Xenoblade games, you can have heart-to-heart moments with your squad. They are typically quick conversations, but they help grow your affinity and learn new abilities.

Honestly, the one thing I like about this game is that everything has a purpose, and doing side activities are actually very meaningful. They can provide upgrades, new shops, and so forth. The only downside — and I personally like it, but I know others don’t — is that sometimes the main quest has to be put on the back burner because you have to complete some side quests/affinity missions to progress the main campaign.

For what it's worth, you can buy the G-Buster and Phoenix from the shop, from level 30, if you've invested in their AMs. It's Sakuraba for G-Buster and Grenada for Phoenix.

The level 50 versions are a significant improvement though, and dropped ones can come with more useful traits than the shop gear.

For those of you who finished the game, do you think the new story additions addressed the Mira mystery? I only played this game on my Wii U, but caught the endings on YouTube. My specific question below are in spoiler tags for those of you who have not completed the game.

I’ve just reached chapter 9 and loving every minute of it. I’m also quite shocked by how dark some of the side missions are, from attempted murder scenes, trying to force alien races to choose between jumping off a cliff or getting shot, to people committing suicide — it’s something unexpected. Nonetheless, it’s still really good, and I almost have all playable/party members unlocked, and working on maxing out some of my classes/subclasses. Full Metal Jaguar+ is so OP if you have the right arts available and leveled up.

The epilogue isn't too scary compared to some of the other post-game content. Get yourself a level 60 Skell, like the Ares 90, and you should do fine, You can get 100,000 miranium by chaining all your storage probes, and the rare materials bought with online tickets.

As for the story of it...

@Anakin It's only a grind if you're playing offline, and have no means of getting tickets. If you are playing online, you can just buy all the items from the Materials Exchange.

@Matt_Barber How would you go about the probe situation if you don't have an Online membership? I can't afford to subscribe, so I feel like I'm out of luck.

@VoidofLight
Probes aren't locked to online.
They are part of the main game.
Hit the "Y" button, then "L" twice and it'll bring up the map and then segments on the map and then Frontier Nav.

Choose a Blue circle with "A" and then choose the new probe.

@Spider-Kev No, I know probes themselves aren't locked to the Online functions. I'm moreso asking how I can buy better probes if I can't get the tickets due to not having NSO.

@VoidofLight
Probes aren't bought or sold in the game.
At least in the WiiU version.
Switch version seems to be the same. But I'm between chapters 6 and 7.

The issue for offline players in getting the Ares 90 early is the limited supply of tickets for them.

You still get them from surveying Mira and Division rewards even if you play offline, and they go a lot further in the Definitive Edition, so you can still get all the gear in the game eventually. It's just going to take a lot longer and a lot more grinding to do it.

That's not necessarily a problem if you're just playing for the story, as you can certainly finish the game with a level 50 Skell; just be prepared to get one shot a few times, hit that eject sequence and fight on foot. I've done that against the game's superbosses a few times and there's nothing that the main story throws at you that's as strong as them.

I just completed chapter 9 — and it was a tough boss fight until I upgraded my gear for my Skell — and now have the flight module. The game opens up significantly more in an incredible way. I am constantly blown away by how Monolith Soft creates a seamless open world to explore.

The story is ramping up as well, and I’m completely on board. Mix that up with the affinity/side quests that provide a lot of character development and lore, and you have a really good story at the core of the game. Some of these side quests really dive deep into Mira and its inhabitants.

@Kraven I'd say definitely invest in the Phoenix Wings art. It's so broken that even speedrunners use it.

And I just LOST SEVEN hours of playtime!
So pissed and annoyed!
I hate auto save when it isn't just for entering a new area or teleporting or some such!

All those quests and levels just... gone!

@Spider-Kev Dude, that sucks. I’m sorry to hear that — I know how infuriating it can be. I hope you managed to overcome it and still press onward with the game.

@Kraven
Yeah, doing stuff slightly differently now.
Taking the Doll/Skell and leveling up a bit.
Maxing out my squad classes.

Then I'll go back and do all the green quests that pop up and the affinity quests.

What happened was, I mis-remembered something...
The save three Tree Clan...
I went and saved the last one first, only you need to do the middle one before the final one. Or you lose out completely on the final one.
So I had to load an earlier save as the damn auto save saved right after the cutscene!

I. Freaking. Love. This. Game. I’m on chapter 10, but haven’t fully accepted the story mission. I’ve been doing affinity quests. I’ve just finished the one with Liesel. I won’t say any spoilers, but damn it was really cool. The writing, voice acting, any character development was top notch. And the reward is a game changer.

I’m really starting to understand why this game is praised despite its flaws. The only real negative I see is that it lacks story content compared to the original trilogy. While I do agree in some regard, the real meat of the game and its story is the affinity quests. And I like how the game sometimes forces you to complete some of these missions in order to advance the main plot. Granted, most of it is optional, but it all ties into the main narrative.

I also like how the game doesn’t shy away from dark themes. You’re essentially stranded on an unknown planet, and there isn’t much law and order. Therefore, crime is up; some people turn to their darker side in order to appease themselves on this unknown planet. People commit suicide, there is murder, blackmail, fraud, racism, and just lawlessness. People are looking out for themselves and that’s it, despite an ever growing community that is reshaping a society for everyone to live in.

There is so much depth to the world building, not only from an unknown planet, Mira, but also in New LA. You’re reshaping civilization with all forms of life, and the game presents that through its many side quests and affinity quests. Speaking of, don’t neglect the “Mission Board” quests. While they typically are fetch quests and can be completed just by collecting items (and not returning back to the poster), some actually lead into full blown side quests and other benefits. In fact, I did one last night where I had to find a keycard. I located it and thought the mission would end, but it didn’t. It led me to a platform way under New LA, where a guy has a machine that gives you the ability to change your appearance, gender, and so forth. I was pleasantly surprised. And while this should have been an in-game feature from the start, it’s really cool that a little mission that seemed meaningless turned out to be an integral part of the game.

I love the Xenoblade franchise, with the first game being my favorite. However, X may take the top spot. I’ll see how I feel once I finish the main story and its additional content that wasn’t in the regular game, but man, I’m having an amazing time.

@Kraven
I've already played and beaten it back on the WiiU.
I forgot quite a bit of it, so, it's almost like playing for the first time...