Xenoblade Chronicles X

It's more having a Skell than levels if I'm honest. Skells have some sick weapons that have obscene damage output that allows them to take on monsters higher leveled than the player, horrible cooldowns but they're amazing at killing things instantly!

I believe this is the first time I've breached the 100 hour mark without finishing a games story.  Absolutely insane how much this game sucks you in!



L officially best character. Just did his second affinity mission and this guy's a riot! He's never leaving my party again!

Ah, I think I've found your racist. Bozé, huh? Yeah, not great.

I want to say something about the music, because I think Andy's very mistaken. I feel that the majority of the game's tunes are wonderful, and that the lyrics fit. It's just that the music in Neo LA and in the standard battle theme are underwhelming (to me, anyway - they've got a bit of TWEWY in them, Jay may enjoy them), and because you hear them so often, I can see that they might colour perception of the soundtrack. But the Primordia, Oblivia, and especially Noctilium themes are much better.

Also how much grinding are people doing? As in, not doing missions, just going out and fighting enemies? I'm feeling a bit underlevelled - not my MC Belidé, or Lin, or Elma, but everyone else. (I'm mucking about doing missions before starting chapter 6, by the way.)

It might be alright for a while but I just found it to be mind boggling repetitive. Couldn't take another moment.

This has totally disappeared off my to play list. It was among a handful of games that I took home and Smash, Bayonetta 2 & Yoshi's Woolly World all managed to grab my attention over it. It's gutting because people seem to be loving it, but to me this is the biggest grind for the littlest payoff I've ever played.

Fair enough, everyone's taste is different (yours sometimes legendarily so ). I do want to (mining) probe a bit here, though: when you say "littlest payoff", what payoff were you hoping for? The payoff for XCX does seem to mostly be in opening up this gorgeous world, it's true, but what were you after? More trinkets? More story?

Also, where did you get up to, chapter-wise? I'm wondering whether if you play the main storyline only, ignoring all the affinity missions bar those obligatory to advance it, it might feel more focussed - there seems to be minimal collectathonning if you do that.

Finally, what do games with other massive open world do with their music to stop feeling repetitive that XCX doesn't? Your Elder Scrolls games, your Fallouts and the like. I think Gaur Plains might have had a longer loop time for its music (speaking of which, there's still not much in XCX that can touch Gaur or Satorl as yet), but other than that I can't see what such games would do.

Some story more than anything else. I didn't find the gameplay fun enough to warrant pushing on alone, so some intrigue would've gone a long way.

I reached chapter 8 and got hit with an affinity mission for Lao (who I hadn't used at all). I think it's a massive flaw that you can only do one Affinity mission/mission as taking them on becomes too much of a commitment (plus it's only a matter of go here, kill this anyway). I hadn't done much side stuff because of this, I'd take on the ones you can do whilst you're out and about to try and get as much as possible by accident. The problem with those is that they're endless so there wasn't a feeling of completion in that respect either. The endless nature also means you have the limit, so I can't take on half of the quests I want because I've got a long list of unfinished bastards.

I think the music is likely just less obtrusive. I remember X's a lot more than any other game so I assume it's just so annoying that I notice it.

Balladeer wrote:

Ah, I think I've found your racist.  Bozé, huh?  Yeah, not great.

I want to say something about the music, because I think Andy's very mistaken.  I feel that the majority of the game's tunes are wonderful, and that the lyrics fit.  It's just that the music in Neo LA and in the standard battle theme are underwhelming (to me, anyway - they've got a bit of TWEWY in them, Jay may enjoy them), and because you hear them so often, I can see that they might colour perception of the soundtrack.  But the Primordia, Oblivia, and especially Noctilium themes are much better.

Also how much grinding are people doing?  As in, not doing missions, just going out and fighting enemies?  I'm feeling a bit underlevelled - not my MC Belidé, or Lin, or Elma, but everyone else.  (I'm mucking about doing missions before starting chapter 6, by the way.)

Yep, it's Boze.  When he started prattling on about sensei this and sensei that I was .  Then he started being super horrible to the Manon and I was pretty much .   Since you're at the point in the game I feel safe mentioning it, head over to the Church in NLA if you haven't already.  

I take it you haven't gone to Sylvalum yet?  That's pretty much the game's Satorl Marsh.  As an aside, I recommend you don't take a Skell there once you get your licence unless you want it to get wrecked really fast.

On the Lao thing Andy,

Spoiler:

For the record so people can plan ahead the other affinity missions mandatory for the story that require affinity with another character are Gwin's, although his only require one heart so it's not all that tough.  

The requirement of Gwin was posted everywhere so I'm more than ready for that one. In fact he was in my party most of the time as I didn't want to keep subbing people out for lower levelled losers.

Crumpy Andy wrote:

Some story more than anything else. I didn't find the gameplay fun enough to warrant pushing on alone, so some intrigue would've gone a long way.

I thought the story was getting pretty good actually, with the prone and the Chapter 5 bombshell and that. But I do find the gameplay fun enough to press on. Taste.

Crumpy Andy wrote:

I reached chapter 8 and got hit with an affinity mission for Lao (who I hadn't used at all). I think it's a massive flaw that you can only do one Affinity mission/mission as taking them on becomes too much of a commitment (plus it's only a matter of go here, kill this anyway). I hadn't done much side stuff because of this, I'd take on the ones you can do whilst you're out and about to try and get as much as possible by accident. The problem with those is that they're endless so there wasn't a feeling of completion in that respect either. The endless nature also means you have the limit, so I can't take on half of the quests I want because I've got a long list of unfinished bastards.

Definitely is a flaw, hasn't been a major one for me thus far though.

Crumpy Andy wrote:

I think the music is likely just less obtrusive. I remember X's a lot more than any other game so I assume it's just so annoying that I notice it.

Again, sounds like that's down to musical taste rather than anything more fundamental.

Athrun888 wrote:

Since you're at the point in the game I feel safe mentioning it, head over to the Church in NLA if you haven't already.

Will do!

Also check out the side quest at one of the hangers to the right of the barracks, that's another good one and leads to a questline where choices actually affect the outcome too.  

----

I have unlocked what is officially the best Blade Barracks wall!  

Nopon remain hilariously adorable! (Slight side quest spoilers):

Crumpy Andy wrote:

...losers.

And yet your choice of a fourth party member out of all the recruitable cast was apparently Gwin.  


Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh for the guy, but there's no way on Earth he'd ever make it in my party full-time.  One of the most boring lame characters of all the optional party members.  Even Irina has more appeal. And after doing his affinity missions for the story, honestly I think he is a bit of a loser really. A necessary one, a foil to show not everyone is some sort of epic badass, but a bit of a loser nevertheless.

Balladeer wrote:

Athrun888 wrote:

Since you're at the point in the game I feel safe mentioning it, head over to the Church in NLA if you haven't already.

Will do!

Erm. The cathedral, right? Have I missed something? I haven't started chapter 6, by the way.

DoPo, but I've just reached Sylvalum, because I had to for an affinity mission (stupid chirpy science lady, reminds me of Ema Skye only old enough to know better).  Swam most of the way like a muppet.

And... yup, it's everything Athrun said it would be.  Achingly beautiful, definitely in music, possibly in landscape?  But are those snowflakes, or... or spores?

Oh, and there's a bloody level 50 robot thing getting in the way, meaning every so often I'll be duelling a relatively innocuous foe and my party will suddenly all die.  Bloody robot thing.

I must be mistaken, I thought the quest would open up as soon as the newcomers came to nla, must be after chapter 6.  

And yeah, the giant robots are a problem.  Thankfully they don't care about normal humans normally.  

There is one other little surprise Sylvalum has in store, but I think I'll leave that unsaid for surprise factor.  

As an aside you can actually get to Cauldros right now as well, the entry from Sylvalum is blocked off by level 35+ enemies, but there's another entry on

Discovery spoilers?  Is that even a thing?  Spoilered just in case you'd rather explore.:

Oh sweet lord the feels from that last side quest.  The absolute crushing gut wrenching feels.     Sad part?  There are people genuinely that evil in the world we live in.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHOSISxFWnY

Once again, humans can be some of the greatest monsters of all.

Now I've seen everything!  Why are the Nopons the most hilarious things ever?

Spoiler:

Alright, Athers - I think I need some help. It's the first mission with Murderess in, and I'm getting repeatedly curbstomped. Irene's not at a terribly high level anyway. Handy hints?

How's your gear and art set-ups? Got any good damage dealing combos? Being able to quickly thin numbers in a hoard is often fairly useful, especially when the hoard has a Skell. A passive approach can often be deadly in fights like that one as it's very much a kill them before they kill you affair. Don't forget to use Overdrive and chain arts of the same colour together for a extra damaging combo if you aren't already (also don't forget to take advantage of Overdrive speeding up the secondary cooldown of Arts).

Getting Irina's level up a bit also probably wouldn't hurt. Levels may not matter as much as they did in the first game, but having someone outfitted with some better gear can make a good deal of difference.

If worst comes to worst you could always use the Scout Recruitment thing next to the mission control at NLA and recruit a level 35-odd avatar for the fight to ease some of the pressure. Unless the mission prevents it, haven't really scouted many players and never during a mission. I know you don't like the online parts but grabbing another member for the one fight and releasing them is always an option.

Thanks, eventually I revised my gear (turns out I hadn't been paying the attention to it I should have been ) and levelled up both Irina and Belidé. Irina still died, but otherwise, went off without a hitch. And... she's now my creepy fangirl? What the hell?

I ship it.

Oh, and I managed to... kill someone in a side-quest. Not someone terribly important, but still!

Well, just finished the story.  Honestly my mind's still reeling from some of the bombshells that got dropped, but I can now honestly say I like this game more than Xenoblade.  The world is just so addicting!  

Finale super spoilers:

I know nobody'll read that between Balla who daren't touch any spoilers and nobody else caring about this game (such cruelty!   ), but I seriously needed to get that off my chest.  Awesome game, now to do every affinity mission and manufacture myself THE BEST SKELL EVER.

Final ending time: 139 hours and 37 minutes. P.S. Nopon rule!

Oh go run a blog. I might remember to read it, you never know!

Back onto the story mode, §6.  Getting a bit fed up with the Linly-Tatsu-eating-nonsense, but I appear to have another 3 to go.

Unfortunately, my most defensively strong outfit for Belidé makes her look like a sexy catgirl.

If it's any consolation Arthrun, I read the Spoiler ending thing! I just... don't know anything about what it means, that's all!

(I know what a Skell is *big eyes*)

Have you tried using the Fashion Gear option Balla?  I had everyone wearing default outfits the entire game thanks to it.  Well, cept for my avatar who I equip whatever I feel like, normally a space suit.

Jimbob wrote:

If it's any consolation Arthrun, I read the Spoiler ending thing! I just... don't know anything about what it means, that's all!

(I know what a Skell is *big eyes*)

I'm not sure if I should be happy it got read or sad that I've spoiled some amazing plottwists for someone.

Jimbob for some reason takes against JRPGs that aren't in the Mother series, I don't think you've done him too much of a disservice. And I'll cope with the outfits - I like having some visual feedback for strengthening my team.

I've finished Chapter 6, having lost once to the end of chapter boss while its life bar display was actually empty. Sodding potato.  That said, at least my party gains experience even if three of them die.

Skell licence mission time! I've also done the cathedral mission, for what it's worth, and yes - definitely worth doing.


It seems like I'm the only person currently playing through the story, so while I'm not going to reveal any major twists or anything, I'm going to be slightly more relaxed with spoilers from hereon out.  Let me know if you too are playing through the story and I'll stop.

Athrun888 wrote:

Also going to make bets that Balla is going to hate the intro of a new character at the end of the chapter.  I'll keep the whys to myself for obvious reasons.

Looking back through thread, saw this.  Goetia?  While her outfit is eminently unfitting, she's not only a villain, she's also a squid (and definitely not a kid).  So it's hard for me to get too het up about "revealing is bad" in the way I normally do.

The rest of the villain designs are equally meh, from what I've seen in cut-scenes.  Giant frog, lion-face.  To quote Tatsu, meh-meh-meh-meh-meh.

To be fair it wasn't just that she had a super revealing outfit, the camera also zoomed right up in her booty, then her boobs, before finally getting around to showing us the face.  Not that I cared when i happened, but it was pretty clearly fanservice.    

Still looking back it was pretty tame compared to... That scene later on.  That scene was certainly not bad on the eyes.  

As far as villain designs go, I like them honestly.  Aside from Goetia they make a nice departure from the nonsensical sorts of designs major villains typically have in this genre.  The game has a good sense of when to be out there and when to be grounded when it comes to aesthetics.  Mostly, skimpy battle gear aside, although I can let that slide through the justification that if a person is going to be starring at something for over 100 hours it looking nice can only be a good thing.

You know, I appear to have overwritten all of that in my memory? But seriously, I don't see what fans that could service, apart from the most hardened Zora-fetishists. Her skin was visibly slimy!

As for your characters having skimpy clothing, that was actually a thing I liked about the original XC: you could (weren't obliged to) strip all characters down equally, and it was actually a male who got nudity bonuses.

Besides, if you choose a female OC like wot I have, XCX passes the Bechdel Test with flying colours. Even if the three human positions of power are still all male...