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JAlpsWanderer

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,023
Well excuse me for wondering why two characters on the same side are fighting each other while allowing their enemy, who is standing right there, to overpower and transform. I'm sorry but the subplot while reinforcing the game's themes (which I now understand better thanks to the replies in here, the subtext was much appreciated) had to be taken in a vacuum. The whole "I'm on your side the whole time but I won't tell you until you defeat me in a boss fight, and then I won't help you at all reach your goal because I spent my last seconds fighting you" sequences never work, I wish JRPGs would stop shoving one every now and then.

Might want to spoiler the above, just in case.

Anyway, it's fine if it didn't work for you, but
Ethel was on their side the whole time. This is something that she made clear to Noah, both when she had her comrade relay the information to him, and when she was about to fight them.
 

JAlpsWanderer

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,023
Just finished
Segiri's hero quest, and it's really crazy how much more involved Sena was here than with her own ascension quest. It seems really weird for them to have done things like this. I really enjoyed both quests though. Got a bit teary eyed in the former. Also, I'm so so glad I can finally traverse poison.
 

Gibson

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,270
I just got the (chapter 5 spoiler)
boat. Wow this Eryth Sea area is humongous. It's almost comical how large it is. I love all of the different sea creatures they have. Earlier some of the dolphin-like glowy ones started following along the boat and diving in and out of the ocean like dolphins do, I thought this was a lovely touch. Also, the music here is amazing!

I think this area and then the wide open fields area (forget the name, but it also has lovely music there, too!) are probably my favourite so far.

I am basically just doing a handful of sidequests (incl. Ascension) and doing a bit of story now and then. I am level 63 and most trash mobs don't attack me, but some of the larger guys still pose a challenge. I expect when I go to the Agnus Castle it'll be a piece of piss!

I don't have any complaints with the story, I am enjoying the world building and I think it has been well done so far. Most of the plot has been alluded to since earlier chapters, and I guessed that N was Noah pretty much as soon as his name 'N' was revealed. I am curious about the Queens (currently finding the real ones?) and how that seemingly connects with previous games. I remember Melia but I didn't played XB2 so maybe I should have!

Character wise, I think everyone has some degree of depth. Noah is nice and likeable in the individual cutscenes, though he is very much generic hero archetype for story-telling purposes. Mio is vulnerable and relatable. Euinie and Lanz are the best in terms of characterization (and I would argue voice acting here is also strongest). The little observances are my favourite things, when characters are ripping on each other or making some personal comment--these are very believable. Sena I find a bit bland and she has been given the least characterization and back story so far (just that she has not been respected in her colony in the past). Taion has had some backstory, which I find intriguing, I want to know more about what happened with Nimue etc., but I find his personality a bit dull (perhaps this is deliberately dry, but meh). I love Nopons in all of the Xenoblade games, though to be honest I am not a big fan of Riku's voice acting. I kinda wish one of the nopons were proper characters in the team and not just Hero status.

Plot-wise there are still loads of questions to be answered, but I am happy to be led astray for the time being and am expecting some degree of rug-pull moments in the coming chapters.

Most of all, as with the first Xenoblade, I am just impressed by the scale of everything. I will confess it is a bit overwhelming at times, and for the past 30 hours I have just been pressing 'auto-recommend build' on the class screen because I can't be arsed choosing equipment and skills myself every time I change classes (and I am playing on easy because I don't give a fuck). I have also occasionally forgotten which colony is which!

Anyway, it has made me want to go back and play Xenoblade 2/X after I finish this one. But slower pace, of course!
 

Gotdatmoney

Member
Oct 28, 2017
14,487
Some of the optional attacking classes are so broken from a damage standpoint. Cancel boosting gems remain fucking broken.
 

mèx

Member
Dec 30, 2017
187
Italy
I don't understand how Monolith thought it was a good idea to make class unlocking dependant on level.
I have been sidequesting a lot during Chapter 6, and in the timeframe it took me to bring a class from level 1 to level 10, that class made very little progress unlocking towards other characters. This is so fucking stupid. It's also making me wary during exploration, i.e. I would like to explore places where enemies are 3-4 levels above me, but it's not worth it since I would become overlevelled and unable to make progress towards class unlocking if I go back to the main/side quests later.

Also, after 100+ hours of playing, I'm really fucking tired of hearing the menu and chain attack music. Don't get me wrong, the tracks are awesome, but please let me disable them. I think a lot of people are not enjoying the OST as much due to these tracks being omnipresent, they are overpowering everything else. I have to make a conscious effort to not use the menu and not use the chain attacks, which sucks big time.

Anyway, aside those complaints the game is great, really loving it, the last time I put so many consecutive hours into a game was with XB2. A few pages ago people were talking about the ending of Chapter 5, and while it is indeed well-done, the scene I liked the most was actually towards the beginning of the chapter: touching, thoughtful and masterfully directed. Just incredible.
 

Gibson

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,270
I think the magic of the voice acting is that all of the cast are legit actors (not just 'voice actors') as a profession. Somehow it hits different, and that's not knocking on traditional VAs, either.
 
OP
OP
TheMoon

TheMoon

|OT|
Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,777
Video Games
I think the magic of the voice acting is that all of the cast are legit actors (not just 'voice actors') as a profession. Somehow it hits different, and that's not knocking on traditional VAs, either.
the difference is that they have proper direction and scene context this time. proper ("just") VAs run circles around non-VO-actors-doing-VA usually.
 

Morlas

Looking for a better cartoon show.
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
72,742
In general I wouldn't worry too much about unlocking hero classes on everyone until endgame. Also keep in mind the best way to unlock classes on other characters is to have both the hero and inheritor with the class equipped in the party and then overkill elite or unique monsters with chain attacks.
 

TooBusyLookinGud

Graphics Engineer
Verified
Oct 27, 2017
7,939
California
I think the magic of the voice acting is that all of the cast are legit actors (not just 'voice actors') as a profession. Somehow it hits different, and that's not knocking on traditional VAs, either.
I'm almost finished with chapter 4 and I have to say that the voice acting has been really good for this one. My favorites have been Taion followed by Mio. Might be my favorite of the entire series.
 

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
56,891
In general I wouldn't worry too much about unlocking hero classes on everyone until endgame. Also keep in mind the best way to unlock classes on other characters is to have both the hero and inheritor with the class equipped in the party and then overkill elite or unique monsters with chain attacks.
IMO, always switch to a third as soon as you unlock the second person with the class, and stick to Elite (blue) monsters as they go down much faster and you can farm them easier.

little tip for all: if you're close to killing the monster and your Chain guage is almost full and you might not make it, make sure Tnak has aggro, press Group up, switch to someone with a support circle, and keep dropping it to fill the last part of the guage while everyone else stands still to keep the monster alive.
 

InternHertz

Member
Oct 25, 2017
670
Brussels, Belgium
Tonight, after 146 hours I'm finally ready to really go for the ending.
All sidequests are done, I'm quite ok with doing the rest of my farming once I get to post game.

I've dodged all spoilers so far but I don't want to push my luck. Let me watch it then gorge myself on anything XC3 related.
 

viskod

Member
Nov 9, 2017
4,396
How do you get to the plateau in the first region? The one across the river from where Gray's Hero Quest starts. I'm in the post game and I still haven't found a way to fill out that little portion of the map.
 

Hellstruck

Member
Jun 29, 2022
1,288
Lol.

Didn't care much for the Colony Oh-meh-ga plotline, but it was all worth it simply for Cammuravi. He's so fun. His subplot with reborn Ethel and his dialogue is so fun. You can take him anywhere in The City after his Hero Quest and he'll have a comment about it, it's crazy.
 

tjlee2

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,735
In general I wouldn't worry too much about unlocking hero classes on everyone until endgame. Also keep in mind the best way to unlock classes on other characters is to have both the hero and inheritor with the class equipped in the party and then overkill elite or unique monsters with chain attacks.

For unlock, I think same level or higher and a NM (first kill) are the two conditions for fast unlock. When I got the defender in ch4 (so progression for all was at 0), with said hero and inheritor in party I did

-party lvl39 against a lvl39 elite, finished with an overkill (~350), and got very little progression

-party lvl40 against a lvl40 NM, finished with an overkill (~400), and got completion on rank A, 70% on rank B, 50% on rank C, and 40% on rank D.

Repeat kill of the same NM did not result in the same amount of unlock, so rank D didn't hit 80%. It also seems like having the hero doubles the amount of unlock, but I didn't see if each instance of the class just means it's +1x to unlock speed. An NM even 1 level below your level hits the gains quite a bit also. I managed to unlock 3 different classes for everyone off just 3 NM fights, 2 same level (@40 and 41), and 1 underlevel (lvl38 when I was lvl40).
 

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
56,891
Tonight, after 146 hours I'm finally ready to really go for the ending.
All sidequests are done, I'm quite ok with doing the rest of my farming once I get to post game.

I've dodged all spoilers so far but I don't want to push my luck. Let me watch it then gorge myself on anything XC3 related.
Respectable time haha. I think I'll be around that when I eventually finish the game.... in like a month or two.
 

Diogo Arez

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 20, 2020
17,624
I have been in the Urayan Trail for 10 minutes and no music plays, is this normal? Thought it was a bug but battle music still plays
 

Diogo Arez

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 20, 2020
17,624
Mine is like that too. Might just be like that to add to the mystery of the place, for the payoff where it connects back to the earlier region.
Makes sense, just disappointing that after the initial reveal with the name I expected a banger to drop but nothing did.
This OST has been meh for me overall but I still rather hear something than nothing haha
 

Vampirolol

Member
Dec 13, 2017
5,815
Just did my first ascension quest and it was fantastic, this game has one of the best cast of characters ever. Having all six, all the time, really helps getting attached to them. It's a slow burn but it's working for me.
Same for the music.
 
OP
OP
TheMoon

TheMoon

|OT|
Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,777
Video Games
I still havent been able to get past that dragon. Just when Im about to land on the climbing vines, I get one shotted. My partys running speed is too slow :(
like, is there more to it? I just followed him until he returned back home and the quest completed, the dragon walking around near the start of that area was unloaded for me while I was following the nopon's footsteps and I've not seen another dragon there since. or do you just mean what's under that large tree with the super high lvl enemies aka sneaky temptation zone?
 

effingvic

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,162
like, is there more to it? I just followed him until he returned back home and the quest completed, the dragon walking around near the start of that area was unloaded for me while I was following the nopon's footsteps and I've not seen another dragon there since. or do you just mean what's under that large tree with the super high lvl enemies aka sneaky temptation zone?

Ohhh whoops, we were talking about two different things. Yup I was talking about that area under the large tree. That emo nopon is relevant later on, but if you go past the point where he decides to turn back, it gets real lol
 

Tankshell

Member
Nov 1, 2017
2,113
Chapter 5 map is really activating my OCD to defog the entire map. I can't stand looking at the spaghetti I currently have uncovered. Halp!
 

Geg

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,539
So what exactly is the differences between normal and hard mode? I spent so much time exploring optional areas and doing quests in chapter 5 that I ended up being about 3 to 4 levels above the boss fights at the end of chapter 5/beginning of chapter 6 and as a result they weren't as fun or engaging for me as some of the earlier major story boss fights were. I still have so many quests to do that I'm worried I'll probably stay overleveled compared to the main story and I'm wondering if hard mode would help with keeping those story boss fights fun for me
 

effingvic

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,162
Colony Tau question

Is it possible to reactivate the elevator above Colony Tau? I had some NPCs mention it but I havent received any quests about it yet.

If you find all the landmarks on a map it'll defog the rest automatically.

Ah interesting. That means there are still many landmarks in earlier areas that I havent uncovered yet. Thats crazy to think about lol
 

Galava

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,080
I din't know why but Alex and Isurd VA's sound like they didn't record on-site. Their voices sound a bit different, remote work?
 

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
56,891
So what exactly is the differences between normal and hard mode? I spent so much time exploring optional areas and doing quests in chapter 5 that I ended up being about 3 to 4 levels above the boss fights at the end of chapter 5/beginning of chapter 6 and as a result they weren't as fun or engaging for me as some of the earlier major story boss fights were. I still have so many quests to do that I'm worried I'll probably stay overleveled compared to the main story and I'm wondering if hard mode would help with keeping those story boss fights fun for me
Why not just try it? You can change the difficulty any time.

I'm not sure of all the differences, but enemies have more HP and resistances and Chain Attacks do a lot less damage.

It's a fun challenge though imo, sometimes you really need to fine tune your build for certain fights.
 

Galava

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,080
Colony Tau question

Is it possible to reactivate the elevator above Colony Tau? I had some NPCs mention it but I havent received any quests about it yet.

Explore the lower Maktha forest. Not linked to any quest or progression. The elevator is down there somewhere :)
 

foxuzamaki

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,550
Colony Tau question

Is it possible to reactivate the elevator above Colony Tau? I had some NPCs mention it but I havent received any quests about it yet.



Ah interesting. That means there are still many landmarks in earlier areas that I havent uncovered yet. Thats crazy to think about lol
I did some exploring in lower maktha, and found where the elevator leads, apparently there's no sidequests attached to it afaik, once you find it it just works again and you can travel between tau and lower maktha, don't know if anything else is attached to this in terms of quests or what have you
 

effingvic

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,162
Explore the lower Maktha forest. Not linked to any quest or progression. The elevator is down there somewhere :)

I did some exploring in lower maktha, and found where the elevator leads, apparently there's no sidequests attached to it afaik, once you find it it just works again and you can travel between tau and lower maktha, don't know if anything else is attached to this in terms of quests or what have you

Ah, can you point me to where it is in lower maktha? I feel like I combed the area but I couldnt find it. I also found only 1 landmark in the main area and another inside the big tree. I feel like theres gotta be at least one more or some kind of UM there
 

Gibson

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,270
I feel that the OST is even a slow burn in this game. I didn't care for it in the first two or three chapters but now I think it's excellent.
 

Galava

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,080
Ah, can you point me to where it is in lower maktha? I feel like I combed the area but I couldnt find it. I also found only 1 landmark in the main area and another inside the big tree. I feel like theres gotta be at least one more or some kind of UM there
South of the swamps, it's on a corridor all the way south
 

Gibson

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,270
Chapter 5 colony spoilers
Does the Colony Mu and Irma stuff get explained later? I could barely understand what Irma's intentions were and the dialogue veered off into vague JRPG land during her scenes with Fiona. Probably the weakest writing in the game, for me. Hope it gets clarified in the game later.
 

Diogo Arez

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 20, 2020
17,624
After 25h of sidequests I can finally start the story of chapter 5 lmao
I feel that the OST is even a slow burn in this game. I didn't care for it in the first two or three chapters but now I think it's excellent.
I'm liking some of the tracks more but I still find it heavily underwhelming, can't see myself remembering most songs or even hearing them outside of the game like I did with the previous games