Topic: Xenoblade Series chat

@StarPoint Xenoblade games almost always hold, or go up in price for some reason. Limited run I think.

I sold my copy of XC1 on Wii for 4 times what I paid for it many years later. I also picked up XC2 at launch for £40 (around $50) and put 200+ hours into it. Then I sold it in part to stop me playing it (It's addictive) but also because the price had gone up to £60. (I actually made money on it)

But years later I tried to rebuy it for the DLC and had the same problem. It's expensive everywhere. Had to pay more than I sold it for! Doh!

Unless you get very lucky on ebay etc. The only other way to get it cheaper is if you are happy with Digital, have other games you want to buy AND have switch online you can use the "get 2 digital games for £84 / $100 voucher" on the console.

@EaglyPurahfan @themightyant Ah yeah, I figured it was probably some limited print thing. I'll probably just wait for the next eShop sale to pick it up, then. I prefer physical games, but if it ends up costing significantly more than digital, I don't mind getting a digital copy.

Can anyone recommend me a game to play after XC3?

I completed XC3 last week and it has become my favourite game ever. I loved the story, characters and combat - but mainly the story. I’m trying to find something else to get into but can’t seem to find anything similar/as good and it’s bumming me out.

I’m a fairly new switch owner so am open to any recommendations as there are a lot of games I haven’t tried.

Help!

@Dannyboy89 Have you played the other xenoblade games already?

@Vortexeo yes I played DE first but skipped XC2 before playing XC3. I picked up XC2 last week for a pretty penny and put 10 hours into it but it wasn’t for me. The more anime style and humour didn’t do it for me, it’s quite different to XC3 and didn’t feel as good.

@EaglyPurahfan thanks I did take a look at this one but it felt a bit too dystopian for my tastes. I’ll give it another look though thanks for the recommendation 😊

@Dannyboy89 Fair enough! I know a lot of Xenoblade fans are also Fire Emblem fans. I've only played Fire Emblem: Three Houses so far but I really loved it! I'd definitely recommend that if you haven't looked into it already. I think Ys VIII is also a pretty good game to try as well. I picked it up after I saw some people comparing it to Xenoblade and it ended up becoming one of my favorite RPGs

@Vortexeo thank you 🙏 yes I’ve been looking at the Ys games tonight as have been scouring the web for similar games - I think it’s on sale atm in EU too. Fire Emblem would probably be next in line, and I’d like to try Three Houses. Frustratingly Engage has a demo available atm but TH doesn’t 😭.

@Dannyboy89 no problem! I think now is definitely a good time to get into the Ys series since Ys X is supposed to come out this year in Japan. (The English release probably won't be until 2024 though if I had to guess.)

@Dannyboy89, my best suggestions would be Final Fantasy X (maybe XII as well. I've never really played it, but it apparently has a pretty "proto-Xenoblade" combat system), Ys VIII (IX is good too, but I heard it doesn't run too well on Switch), and Shin Megami Tensei V.

@Dannyboy89 It's tough to recommend a game as there isn't anything quite like Xenoblade imho. But depending on what aspects you like it may be easier. E.g.

If you enjoyed the world exploration perhaps Zelda Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom

If you enjoyed the battles and combat system perhaps Monster Hunter Rise.

If you liked the sweeping narrative and RPG elements maybe Tales of Arise, Ys IX or Ni No Kuni.

Failing that maybe a more traditional JRPG like Dragon Quest XI S or Final Fantasy or something more off the wall like Nier Automata

Ultimately there's nothing quite like Xenoblade unfortunately. Good luck and let us know if you find anything you like.

Alright, I thought I would just get on here and see if anyone can offer any help/tips/advice. I'm trying to get back into Xenoblade 2 after not playing for a long time. I quit after not being able to do anything in a boss fight (I'm on Uraya and have to defeat Malos and Akhos to save Iona). Going through the menus I realized I had a lot of upgrades to do to my weapons and my affinity charts and things, but even after doing that I do almost no damage to them even when I survive for awhile and they just wipe me out. I'm sure there are many things I don't remember (like I can't assign unrefined Aux Cores, but I don't even remember what those are or how to refine them). So I know the basics like Break->Topple->Launch, but what are the things I should really focus on to get better at battling and re-learn to understand what I'm doing in this game? Are there tutorials somewhere in the menus that I'm missing, or maybe a good website to explain the different details I'm missing or forgetting? Thanks.

@Xyphon22 Honestly it's been so long since I've played it, can't remember, but I don't remember it being a particularly hard game, but then I usually like to explore a LOT which often makes me well/over levelled. Hopefully someone else can help you on this one. Good luck

@Xyphon22 That particular boss fight is pretty infamous but you only have to get them to half health, if you're on normal I would advise equipping everyone in with accessories that help you resist taunt and shackle driver, if you're on a harder difficulty I would recommend looking up a specialized strategy.

@themightyant Yeah, there is so much in this game and so many skills to learn that it is difficult to remember them all even when you know what you are doing, let alone when it has been awhile since you've played. Right now I'm just wandering around trying to do side quests in the hope of leveling up while I do it.

@TeaCatherine Oh, really? I didn't know that. That makes me feel a bit better about doing so badly at this fight. I've definitely noticed that they do shackle driver a lot which stops me from doing anything, so I will definitely look for accessories to help with that. I'm sure I'm on normal difficulty at most, there's no way I would have started on something harder. I just didn't know if I'm just missing something or forgetting an important battle strategy since it's been so long, because I'm basically the same level as them (they are 24 and 26, and all my characters are either 24 or 25).

@EaglyPurahfan Thanks. I'm still not sure how much I got out of that video other than I probably need to spend more time getting some more blades (I think I just have Pyra and one other one and all my other Driver teammates only have one). It would also be nice if I had one that could do Break. I can do Topple, but I always just have to wait for one of my teammates to do Break first.

Alright! I was finally able to win that battle and now I feel like I am really back in the game and feel good about being able to continue in it. The accessories shop in the nearby town had something to limit the shackle driver so I bought three and gave them to each person. It still took a few tries because it wasn't 100% effective, and Nia kept dying right before I would fill up the third bar to be able to Chain Attack (another thing I had completely forgotten about but learned about it in my reading online) and I would have to revive her and lose a bar. Once I was able to pull of a Chain Attack, though, I got through the first part and then fortunately beat the second part on my first try.

The story it tells after makes no sense to me, however. If Malos is also a super powerful Aegis who almost destroyed the world 500 years ago, why does he not just do it again if that is Jin and Torna's goal? And why would he be a part of the team to bring back the one person who can actually stop him like she did back in the Aegis War? Maybe this will be explained later, but it doesn't make much sense now.

@EaglyPurahfan That makes sense, but one of the big parts of RPGs for me and why they are my favorite genre of video games is the sense of personal fulfillment, like I am leading this group to victory. So I always try to keep the main person as the main person because I like to view myself in that role. I remember there was one battle in the original Xenoblade that I finally had to give up and control someone besides Shulk in order to beat it, but other than that one battle I controlled Shulk the entire time, and I'd like to keep Rex as the leader here as long as I can.

I mentioned this to @Tyranexx before and she definitely agrees, but all three Xenoblade games have rooooough pacing. It leads me to assume that despite how quickly the games have been made, they were definitely rushed, and the endgame of each game screams this. It's egregious, and honestly I'd rather waited another few months for the developers to make balanced, even storytelling.

1's entire second half feels rushed and uneven with proper story moments. We go to Mechonis Field, meet Jade Face at the very end (or near the end if you count the bit at 4F) and so absolutely nothing of note happens except powering elevators. When we go through Central Factory the first time round, again, nothing happens. On the Bionis, the story quests would have been given full cutscenes but instead they just pop up when you get near. And Xenoblade's never shy about getting technical with repair quests and whatnot. Same with Bionis' Interior to a certain extent.

2 was developed the quickest out of all the Xeno games and it shows. The Blade gacha system is meant to encourage discovery and collection of Core Crystals, which is done through exploration and side quests, and has an appallingly low chance of giving Rare Blades. Not to mention in Chapter 4 the party gets Roc's core crystal stolen and they have to backtrack all the way to Gormott to track down the thieves, do a few bosses, then be on their merry way to Mor Ardain. The subplot with Niall also pads out the game in Chapter 6. The games are big as is, why so much filler?

Torna's less "offensive" than the others but it's not getting away. The game requires you to do heaps and heaps of side quests in order to unlock portions of the late game, but the quests themselves really flesh out the world, which is never a bad thing. But again, take them away, or make them not mandatory to finish the game, and the main quest becomes rushed.

3's Chapter 7 was so bad compared to the rest of the game. We have the "Origin metal" fetch quest that was so clearly filler, Noah's Side Story being mandatory, padding out the chapter more (in fact the mandatory hero quests in chapters 3, 4, 6 and 7 all do the same thing, padding), and Origin, which was just so rushed it sticks out like a sore thumb. The boss fights with X and Y are meant to be climactic, given how badly they've meddled with the protagonists and instead they say barely anything and for most players die offscreen.

Even Future Redeemed to an extent, the game goes at such a good pace until we finish Chapter 4, then it goes breakneck to the finish line! It's been out for two months at this point, that could have been used for, again, even storytelling.

I do agree with much of the above, though I can't speak for Future Redeemed since I haven't played it yet. The Xenoblade games are amazing in many ways, and at times the pacing is excellent. But definitely not always consistent; it's fairly easy to detect what's filler and what isn't. Torna is the least offensive I can speak for, though this is mainly due to its brevity and tightened focus compared to the other games.

Alright, I'm moving along quite nicely now, but I've got some questions about Blades and their attributes. I'm trying to upgrade my Merc rating and I was sent after some onion that is deep underground but I'm not even close to being able to get it. I need like a level 4 or 5 Earth mastery and I only have 1 or 2, and there's another one that I'm way short on. Is there a good way to upgrade these, or do they just get stronger as you fight with them and grow their Trust/Affinity/Whatever? And does it use the attributes of all of your Blades, or only the ones you have currently equipped? Finally, what do you do to upgrade Poppi? She's totally different and I don't remember what to do with her. I have almost no ether crystals or whatever they are that you need even she's in every battle. Am I doing something wrong with her?