Topic: Xenoblade Chronicles X - OT

@Eat_Pie: Buying memory isn't that expensive. I bought a 64 GB Flash Drive for something like $15 for this game and prob for downloading Zelda U digitally in the future. Lol, i just realized I have this strange obsession with filling in all the inputs on devices... I already have a wired connection, GC controller adapter and the Flash drive. I also have both the HD and AV inputs for two different monitors because why not . Now I just need one more for the last USB....

The pop in can be quite extreme even with the basic data pack installed. Especially in the Skell. I dread to think what it's like without!

Ok so as someone who has not played the Wii or 3DS Xenoblade games can I still enjoy this game without knowing anything about the other two, or would I be better off playing the other games first?

@Tasuki:
Well it can't be denied that playing the previous game will help you understand the core battle system and affinity charts a little better, but by no means is it something you need to do. They changed enough in this game that even knowing the battle system from the first game, it's not gonna give you all that much of an advantage. 15 minutes in combat will teach you everything you would have learned from the first game. And the games are unrelated so no story background you need or anything.

I only played the first hour of the first game, and jumped right into Xenoblade X no problem. I wholeheartedly recommend just playing Xenoblade X.

And you have the benefit of starting after everyone else has mastered the game. So if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. Can save you a lot of time on stuff that took us a while to figure out because we were playing at launch

***EDIT*** Biggest tips I could give for you starting out, is that there is no conventional "healers" like most RPGs. Healing predominantly comes through Soul Voices. Soul Voices are battle cries that you and your party cry out randomly during battle (well not randomly, each one is triggered by an action and then has a % chance of happening, so for example the "HP RISK" soul voice is triggered when your HP drops below 50%. When that happens there's a percentage chance your character will say their little soul voice line, like "I need healing" or whatever it is. I don't know the exact odds of each soul voice triggering but it's like 50/50, and there are augments you can craft later in the game that increase the odds of a given soul voice being triggered).

So anyways, when a character says their soul voice line, it will appear in a text box on screen in a certain color. And when that happens any arts you have of the same color will start flashing. Use an art of the same color as the soul voice, and you'll get a button prompt that flashes on screen. Successfully pull off the soul voice button prompt to get the buff tied to that soul voice, be it healing, double damage, elemental resistance, etc.

I believe there are around 15 different soul voices for each character, and for each soul voice you get to pick among 3 options for buffs. I made sure I set as many to healing buffs as possible- which were like 4 of the 15. You'll probably want to do the same, at least until you learn the game well enough. You can micromanage your soul voices in the menu. Just bear in mind you can't change the soul voices of other party members- only your avatar.

ARTS and SKILLS
So, you'll learn arts as you progress. There are 5 colors (kinds) of arts. Red is melee, yellow is ranged, green is buff, purple is debuff, and blue is aura. Try to keep at least one art of every color in your palate in the interest of soul voices, if you only have red melee and yellow ranged attack arts, and nothing else, you'll be missing a lot of soul voices linked to the other 3 colors. And in a game where healing predominantly comes via soul voice, that's a risky move to take.

Also, don't neglect leveling up your skills. Most people level up their arts but ignore their skills, but skills can be the difference between winning and losing a fight. Also, arts are tied to your class. There are 3 main classes and each branch out into 2 paths, resulting in 6 master classes. Each time you hit Rank 10, be sure to change classes to the next one in line in the branch, until you finally master that branch.

That's plenty of info, especially since you haven't actually started playing, but I just wanted to give you a brief run-down of some of the things which aren't explained well in-game. One final thing to remember- you can break appendages just like in Monster Hunter. Simply get near the appendage you want to target and click the right analog stick to lock on. Not only is this useful strategically, but some drops can only be obtained by breaking a specific appendage.

Let me know once you start playing how you like it!

Just got this game i playd for a few hours then downloaded the dlc. I tried loading the game but its not connecting online is their a maintenance or something?

@JaxonH: That's good to know. Hopefully I can pick it up here in the next few days.

@ELI-ASH:
No, but the game is horrible with disconnects. There is no in-game menu to reconnect, so if you want to reconnect just save your game, close it out and start it back up.

If you actually want to play online though, you'll need to choose the second or third option on the main menu. The first option (Lifehood Squads) is for single player. Although you should still have a connection in single player for Miiverse posts and scouting blades.

I'd recommend you play the original Wii game first. X on the Wii U is an improvement in several ways, from simple but effective things like the ability to run, and the important improvements in its graphics and dense and in-depth gameplay features and mechanics, the addition of Skells in particular are meant to be a game changing feature, though I can't comment too much on that as I'm nowhere near to getting one personally. What I can comment on is the Wii game having played it fully twice, it is well worth anyone's time and is a fantastic JRPG, albeit slightly dated already and cliché but what JRPG is not? I just feel that Xenoblade Chronicles will be harder to get into if you get used to how X plays/looks/feels. Though if you're only truly bothered about X then it is OK to skip the Wii/New 3DS game as it is not connected in terms of the story, just that it would be a shame to skip what many called the best JRPG of the last gen.

@Benjelo
I'm more of a retail only guy. Besides, I don't really see the point in buying a hard drive for one game.
@Eli-Ash
Online is only available after Chapter 3.
@Tasuki
You can jump right in to X without playing the original. There are a couple references, but nothing crucial. I would definitely suggest reading the in-game manual. It'll explain most things. Don't bother with the guide because it's terrible. If you have trouble with a quest, don't be afraid to ask or look online. Use this resource: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1g0YR4M8RAHiRhCbAvV4tj...

It has everything you need in XCX and is very helpful if you're going for that 100%.

There's only 1 other game: Xenoblade Chronicles. The 3DS version is a carbon copy port of the Wii game.

You can play either game first. I'd probably play the original first though because it's marginally a better game and a bit easier to understand (which will then help you understand the Wii U game a bit easier). If you live in the US and don't have a New 3DS (therefore making it hard to find a cheap copy), just play X first instead. If you live in Europe, get the eshop version of Xenoblade Chronicles instead. It's a game that is better on a larger screen.

Okay, so have I encountered a glitch, or just doing something wrong? More likely the latter...

I'm on chapter 4, needing to get survey data to 15%. However, Eleonora won't increase my field ranking meaning I can't plant any more probes (they are level 3; my mechanical skills are level 2). She said to level up after reaching Blade rank 3 - I'm currently rank 4 but only get standard dialogue when talking to her, with no option to upgrade (same thing when I was rank 3).

I don't fancy starting the game again - is there another way to raise my mechanical skills or survey percentage? I'm probably (hopefully) missing something obvious. Thanks.

@Pahvi @Tsurii Thanks. Guess I'll treasure hunt for now, and hopefully on my travels I'll do something to trigger Eleonora's proper dialogue so I can upgrade my field stats. If not, I'll be moving onto another game - such a glitch will put me off starting over.

@Tsurii Ha, well thanks for replying to it now (your other post also helped). By standard dialogue, I mean the usual inquire/discuss/cancel prompts; I don't have any active missions (either with Eleonora or anybody else). All the probes I encounter seem to require level 3 mechanical skills. I spoke to Eleonora once I got to Blade rank 3 then again at rank 4 but she hasn't offered to upgrade my field skills so I'm a bit confused. It seems I'm not the only one: http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/701151-xenoblade-chronicles-x/...

You said I don't need level 3 mechanical - can you (or anybody else) give any tips for raising the survey rate please? I'm only on about 10% and starting to run around like a headless chicken...

This game would play so much better with a mouse & keyboard. You could hover over items for stats when you loot, you can click any specific enemy to target, and you could have individual keys for all the arts. XCX is good, but it feels like it should be a PC game. It even has the tiny text meant for playing on a PC. As a fan of Nintendo/Wii U, it's great to have such an epic exclusive, but as a fan of the GAME, the Wii U is certainly holding it back and limiting its potential.

I agree, mouse & keyboard would make it much better. But anyway i haven't encountered major problems playing it on the gamepad although i do prefer playing on the Wii U Pro.

I'm impressed by the quality of the game, it's really a great exclusive for the Wii U.

@DiscoGentleman
Nice! I got the flight pack and it opens and shrinks the world at the same time. You'll want to ditch the free skell they give you first chance you get and buy a level 30 one.

@MonkeyBalls
You can easily get 15% survey rate by completing normal missions, finding treasure, and defeating tyrants. You do need Mechanical level 3. Get your Mechanical skill to level 4 ASAP. Probes require only the mechanical skill, and you can plant a lot more probes once you get Mech. level 4. Have you tried saving, closing out the game, then restarting? It seems to work for some people when they encounter a bug/glitch.

I finished Chapter 10 last night. I've decided to speed things up and take less normal missions, leaving everything for post-game. I'm only taking on a couple of affinity missions(Nagi's for Blossom Dance, and Celica's for Zero Zero, and the Wrothian one).

i'm finding this experience very very strange, sometimes i love it and sometimes i hate it. i find all the messing around with probes quite boring and don't want a bar of it, i'm starting to understand it but it's not appealing at all. i want to play the game not "install data probes" everywhere to "gain resources and minerals" i don't even know how you keep track of - all the items in this game are overwhelming. also i can't believe there's no way to keep track of the people you can invite to your party? doug and all those people? i just randomly run into them about the place and recruit them for a bit and then have to drop them because of a mission.

i can't believe your arts change whenever you upgrade class, just as you get used to something it all changes... everything is quite complex in this game..

@martinskrtel37
Probes are important. They're good fast travel locations but also provide valuable resources. Playing through the game, you don't really need it that much, but some quests will require you to use it. However, if you want to go for the good skells, create augments, craft gear, or get lots of money, you'll need to know how to use FrontierNav. If you look on your Gamepad map, they'll be a yellow star. Click on it, and it'll tell you where the character is. Arts are tied to the weapon. If you want to use the same arts, equip the same weapons.
@DiscoGentleman
No problem! The flight pack is awesome. You have access to everywhere you couldn't go before, and flying is fun.

Am I the only person who is stuck on Chapter 5? I can't take out one of the turrets as it is surrounded by ~Level 20 mobs and I am only Level 16. Pl0x halp!

A lot of people seem to be stuck on this chapter. You can always level up a couple levels, but you should be fine(the enemies you're supposed to kill are around level 16). You're not supposed to fight those enemies. The point is for you to avoid them. Stick to the walls. There are places you can jump on along the walls, allowing you to avoid the enemies. There's also a place where you can take a bridge, but take the detour instead. You can also play as Elma and use her Shadowrunner skill, which allows you to run away from enemies for 1000 TP.