The Xenoblade thread (aka the Thread of the Monado)

I've tried three times to finish XC2, but I just can't. The tone is ghastly and I hate almost every single character (Nia is the exception, and even she has bad moments). Ran like arse. Music was nice, though.

I gave up on 2 a few months ago. I do generally like it. The presentation of the story is step up from 1, although I think the first had a better story overall. I really liked the world though and it is great exploring new areas. The combat, when it worked, was really satisfying as well.

By chapter 8 or 9 though, I just hit a brick wall without any way to proceed. Fights with individual enemies were mostly fine, but as soon as I ran into more than 1 enemy I was getting destroyed. Named enemies became impossible to face, so had to be avoided. I was in a place where I was having to drag out enemies one by one, spending ages making any progress. I would then die and have to repeat the whole 20 mins again.

There is a lot going on with builds, be it the blades you are using, characters in your party, the equipment on them, the elements the blades fit into, cores, pouches, affinity, etc. What I was able to change though was making little difference.

Trying to just out level the areas wasn't working either, as all the side missions I had available required skill checks that I just couldn't meet (think it was focus or something that was constantly required and I could only get to level 2 on it), so I had no means to level up outside of very, very grindy ways.

The change was incredibly abrupt too. Up to about chapter 5 or 6 it was easy enough to go on autopilot without much thought. It really felt like I was missing something that was suddenly important, but I was able to scrape through enough to keep making progress. Now though I don't think I'm in a place where I can really proceed and certainly not in an enjoyable way.

I liked 2, but I prefer X over all the mainline games. By a significant amount, too.

XC2 is my favourite out of the three mainline games. I didn't have a WiiU so haven't played XCX. I really hope that game gets ported.

Perhaps a hypothetical Switch 2 would allow developers the option to use the Switch as a second screen like the Gamepad instead of automatically switching the image from the TV to the Switch as soon as it was undocked? It would work like the Switch for the majority of games, but open up more options for Wii U ports and new games that used it that way.

Only problem is that whatever games used this function would not be playable on the go... And a Switch 2 Lite would probably be impossible.

No idea how it would actually be made in terms of hardware though, maybe the screen could be detached from the rest of the console (leaving the game still docked)?? I dunno, the more I think about it the more unfeasible it sounds...

Yeah, at this point making the map, probe system and all, a more traditional Xenoblade map you can just bring up with a button and edit/navigate from there seems like the obvious choice. Easier to make, too, especially if they don't have enough other ideas for using a second screen to justify making it...

Haven't played XCX. I'm tempted to get it for my Wii U, but I'm afraid that as soon as I buy it, the Switch version will be announced (along with the Switch2, of course).

Yeah. Essentially a handheld Series S would be lovely. 1440p-ish with max graphics or 1080p with 60fps, and then drop those to 1080p30 or 720p60 for handheld.
And more useable on-board storage too. What was it, 32 or 64GB on the Switch? Bump that up to 512GB, please. 👀

Anyway, to bring the thread back on track a bit, I really, really like the Side Story/Ascension quests. All of the sidequests are pretty great in their own way, but the Ascension quests are Monolith's character writing in great form. It takes skill to create a big cast of characters and then make the player care about each of their stories individually, and while that did exist with the Rare Blades' quests in 2, the backstories and nuances of each Hero (especially their way of are explored very well here IMO.

Even was a pretty nice conclusion to their arc, while leaving an open spot for further developments if they decide to add a new sidequest or two at some point.

That's just about the point where I became overlevelled too, between an abundance of sidequests and overkilling every Unique and getting the experience bonus it was inevitable

That said I don't regret it at all. Having earlier than you're "supposed" to (according to quest levels) is a damn good offensive buff and it does eventually correct itself (if you don't use the Bonus Exp. at camps, at least)

Just keep in mind that your class experience points slow to a trickle if you're not fighting things at your level.

Not NG+, you can just load your endgame clear save.

rhaegyr no joy on the map colour or location names (that I've found) but the doors are exactly that: doors. If you can't access a door even though it seems like you're on the right elevation level, it might be because it's part of a later sidequest. Some of them display the icon even if you can't interact with them at all yet (I think I remember the ones in the desert you're talking about and I haven't been able to go in either, so unless I've missed something it's a late game sidequest)

So, I went back to XC2 and tried to see if I could fix my difficulty issues. First I played around a bit with the accessories, but don't think that made too much difference. I then took a look at my blade affinity trees and noticed that a few were quite barren. So, worked on filling that for 2-3 hours and suddenly the game has become much more manageable again. I think it was mostly filling up Nia's, which gave me some added healing.

Managed to make a little more progress and now early on chapter 9. I'm at that point where things are getting increasingly batshit.

Poppi QTpi is the most busted blade in the game, takes ages to grind her to S+ though.