Posted January 19, 2018 You’ll want to start switching Party members up when you get more Rare Blades to allow for more elemental orbs to be generated in battle when using Blade combos & to allow for full Driver combos. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 19, 2018 In regards to party structure, it does seem to be mostly 2 attackers, 2 tanks and one healer with the party members that you get, but with different elemental specials. So if you haven't been collecting Rare Blades then your Blade Combos are going to be somewhat limited. I'm currently on Chapter 7 and have been effectively trying to maximise specialities. Since there's no alternate classes in the same way as Xenoblade 1 (no Melia alternative sadly) then I've chosen my party based on my three favourite characters in the game. And yes, I dropped Rex... Current Party is (coloured in for spoilers, highlight if you want to see: Zeke Lv.50 (Pandoria, Percival, Wulfric) Nia Lv.50 (Dromarch, Dahlia, Ursula) Tora Lv.50 (Poppi A, Poppi QT) Also, did Nomura literally just take Sephiroth and modify him to make Jin's true form? I mean, it looks pretty much like Sephiroth with short hair... https://twitter.com/GenericAperson/status/954499871213604864 Also, Akhos being a Flesh Eater makes sense given that it would fall in line wiht a group of Blades, but still makes it weird how they could have drivers of their own, leading me to think that anyone in my party could be a Blade or a Flesh Eater without it having been revealed. I mean, Zeke has already revealed he was saved from death by Pandoria and has part of her core crystal in him. I had theorised that perhaps Rex was secretly going to be descended from Addam, but it looks like they've gone down the route of his village being founded by Addam and that is why he was the one who was able to reawaken the Aegis. So, it could have really been anyone from Fonsett who could have become the Aegis driver. The game and story definitely pick up in the second half, I think it just depends on whether you can enjoy the first half of the game enough because it's a game that gets better as you go along. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 24, 2018 (edited) Just 4 more Rare Blades left to get... Spoiler Dagas, Perun, KOS-MOS & Adenine. ...and the Super Bosses to beat down (I’ve already taken down Cloud Sea King Ken). Although I don’t think I’d stop playing, I love it so much! Anyone who has the DLC, what do you make of it, worth the purchase? Edited January 24, 2018 by Kav Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 24, 2018 Do you have any way of obtaining specific Rare Blades or is that just random? I'm still in Chapter 4, haven't had the time to play much over the past couple of weeks. Ran into a unique monster (Man-Eating Glenn) and almost beat it but then I was attacked by two more monsters and had to run. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 24, 2018 (edited) 20 minutes ago, MindFreak said: Do you have any way of obtaining specific Rare Blades or is that just random? I'm still in Chapter 4, haven't had the time to play much over the past couple of weeks. Ran into a unique monster (Man-Eating Glenn) and almost beat it but then I was attacked by two more monsters and had to run. Some are acquired through the story, some from side-quests but the most are RNG from Blade Cores! You can always increase your characters Luck and then use Boosters when bonding with Cores to help you find the Blades you want but it’s still RNG. Edited January 24, 2018 by Kav 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 24, 2018 6 hours ago, MindFreak said: Do you have any way of obtaining specific Rare Blades or is that just random? I'm still in Chapter 4, haven't had the time to play much over the past couple of weeks. Ran into a unique monster (Man-Eating Glenn) and almost beat it but then I was attacked by two more monsters and had to run. I hate it when games misspell my name... And accuse me of eating people. I've just reached Chapter 4 myself. I like how Chain Attacks net you extra EXP and Loot if you kill an enemy with it. And you get more when you go way too overkill with it. Latest Rare Blade I got was Aurora, who is probably the best design I've seen so far. On account of her dressing reasonably modestly. And the Polar Bear. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 24, 2018 I just got Elektra. She's something else... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 24, 2018 I tend to find Nia summons all my rare blades. Rex 1-5 Nia is the spread so far. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 27, 2018 (edited) On Chapter 8 so far. So, underneath the fantasy world turns out to be a human city. An actual human city which has been completely devastated and it's inhabitants turned into mutants. The Torna Titan has crash landed in it and you get to explore said Titan for a very brief moment and then Jin tells you that Titans are actually reformed Blades. The reason for the Titans dying out in the first place? The Pratorium is keeping all the core crystals in check to prevent new Titans from ever showing up. Who is Malos' driver? The Praetor. Malos is the Endbringer Aegis who wants to wipe out all of humanity and from what I can see now, his driver shares the same desire.So in a very different way to the original game the conflict changes (doesn't quite have the same shock factor and impact as the first game's major twist did but the way it puts Jin in your party thanks to Rex's incredible idiocy that he even wants to be friends with his mortal enemy and slowly reveals that while Jin might have bad intentions (albeit done from a tragic backstory with his driver), he isn't the true villain as I suspected.) The game picked a decent point to forshadow this but... ...it looks like the true villain and probable final boss is in fact the Praetor Amalthus. It appears that Amalthus wants to destroy the entire world and that is why he is letting the Titans die out. He's also seemingly a bit of a religious dictator and doesn't want anyone to turn away from the Praetorium (again, kind of underlining this whole anti-religoius stance the Xeno series has going on). I don't know anymore than this though, Indol has just become inaccessible for the rest of the game the last time I played. Btw getting to play as Jin in that moment is cool, you can even Skip Travel back to previous areas with him and have him wonder around the previous areas threatening people... erm... Oh yeah and the World Tree is in fact a mechanical sci-fi tower which just so happens to have vegetation growing around it. And you enter it in Chapter 8. The World Tree just so happens to be my current location storywise but I'm stuck now so... Edited January 27, 2018 by GenericAperson Butchering of proper sentence structure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 27, 2018 I have it reserved at Argos to collect for the same price The last thing I need is another huge game to play, though.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 28, 2018 (edited) Strugged on trying to beat certain levelled monsters in my current location in Chapter 8, so decided to try and do sidequests and fill out the affinity chart. In the process I had unlocked Poppi QT's fourth affinity chart link and continued to fill that in. I did consult Xenoblade Wiki for help on trying to find the location I was supposed to go to and discovered about a special sidequest... It's one of the funniest sidequests in the game imo, if you have been using Tora on your team then it's definitely worth doing to put him level with the other party members in terms of versatility. The addition of this Blade and levelling up to Level 64 has made a big difference to the party as a whole, Tora at Level 64 has over 8000 HP now and tanks hits incredibly well, not to mention that he now has an ability where he heals from a fraction of the damage taken. Only problem is that I have no idea after getting past the thing that was blocking me where the object I am supposed to attain is... I guess we know what QT stands for now... apart from being an obvious pun on "cutie". The third form is "QT Pi". It is effectively meant to be Poppi grown up. What would a more adult Poppi look like? This of course... Oh yeah, I was laughing myself to pieces after this following scene, Poppi QT Pi's power is to be able to carry Tora... And thus, Tora finally has Three Blades to choose from. I later changed QT Pi's element to Wind due to already having two Ice Blades on Nia and no Wind Blades as part of my main party. Quite often my Blade Combos end in an ice move so I needed Wind for the Chain Attacks. The addition of this Blade and levelling up to Level 64 has made a big difference to the party as a whole, Tora at Level 64 has over 8000 HP now and tanks hits incredibly well, not to mention that he now has an ability where he heals from a fraction of the damage taken. Only problem is that I have no idea after getting past the thing that was blocking me where the object I am supposed to attain is... Edited January 28, 2018 by GenericAperson Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 29, 2018 I'm finding that I spend my time levelling up blades to farm boosters and idea level ups more than advancing the story, the rare blades all having distinct personalities and artists for the portraits make it so addicting to bond all the cores I can find, but it sucks you don't get to see how many you need to level up ideas. But there is nothing more frustrating than using the boosters and getting only common blades as a result. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 29, 2018 52 minutes ago, Emerald Emblem said: I'm finding that I spend my time levelling up blades to farm boosters and idea level ups more than advancing the story, the rare blades all having distinct personalities and artists for the portraits make it so addicting to bond all the cores I can find, but it sucks you don't get to see how many you need to level up ideas. But there is nothing more frustrating than using the boosters and getting only common blades as a result. I know your pain, these last 3 Rare Blades are a killer for me! The RNG is horrible! Spoiler Perun, Adenine & KOS-MOS. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 30, 2018 (edited) Started Chapter 5 and I finally think I understand the battle system now. It took a while to get those elemental orbs-thing. I'm still not sure which element is opposite which but that'll come. I'm also doing a lot of side-quests to level up my blades. I don't have so many Rare Blades yet, probably about 10 including the story related ones. I spent half an hour yesterday bonding common cores but didn't find any (I still have 50 common cores left, though). I think they should have made a better way of obtaining these blades. New Game+ is coming: Edited January 30, 2018 by MindFreak 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 30, 2018 I’ve got a 32% Luck increase on my character and I must have opened nearly 50 Legendary Cores now... I’ve not had a single Rare Blade from a Legendary Core yet!!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 30, 2018 That sounds crazy! Isn't this basically the sort of thing that Battlefront II and EA were criticized for? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 30, 2018 That sounds crazy! Isn't this basically the sort of thing that Battlefront II and EA were criticized for? There are no microtransactions in this though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 30, 2018 20 minutes ago, Sheikah said: 29 minutes ago, MindFreak said: That sounds crazy! Isn't this basically the sort of thing that Battlefront II and EA were criticized for? There are no microtransactions in this though. True but they'd make a fortune if it had. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 30, 2018 56 minutes ago, MindFreak said: That sounds crazy! It is! I’m farming Relentless Arduran for them but not having any luck in getting the last few Rare Blades at all! I’m using all the right boosters when bonding too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 30, 2018 How does everyone like to have their Party set up in this for fights? My preferences changed late-game so I’ll spoiler mine: Spoiler Rex: Mythra/Pyra - Light/Fire - Topple Pandoria - Lightning - Launch Roc - Wind - Smash Nia: Dromarch - Water - Break Floren - Earth - Break Dahlia - Ice - Break Morag: Brighid - Fire - Break Kassandra - Dark - Topple Theory - Ice - Smash I like to control Rex and have Nia act as not just the Healer, but as the starter of Driver Combos with her inflicting only Break... I then finish them off with Rex. I make sure to have all elements in my Party so I can build up all the orbs from my Blade Combos for max damage when using a Chain Attack. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 30, 2018 @Kav I just got to Chapter 5, and so far I have Rex with all attacker blades with accessories that focus on nailing critical hits, which in turn raise the party gauge and heal Rex whenever he does so, Nia with all healing Blades with accessories that bolster that and keep her aggro low. Meanwhile, I've replaced Tora with the fourth party member, they're a tank that focuses more on agility than defense. So, basically Dunban from Xenoblade 1, and he was one of the best characters in the game. Accessories are focused on getting that agility as high as possible, as well as drawing aggro with all tanky blades. It seems to be working because I beat a unique monster 5 levels above my party, felt good. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 30, 2018 48 minutes ago, Glen-i said: @Kav I just got to Chapter 5, and so far I have Rex with all attacker blades with accessories that focus on nailing critical hits, which in turn raise the party gauge and heal Rex whenever he does so, Nia with all healing Blades with accessories that bolster that and keep her aggro low. Meanwhile, I've replaced Tora with the fourth party member, they're a tank that focuses more on agility than defense. So, basically Dunban from Xenoblade 1, and he was one of the best characters in the game. Accessories are focused on getting that agility as high as possible, as well as drawing aggro with all tanky blades. It seems to be working because I beat a unique monster 5 levels above my party, felt good. That’s how I had my Party during the first half to 2/3 of the game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 30, 2018 I wonder sometimes if grinding for boosters is worth it, didn't apply any to my last core and got a rare blade. Guess I'll stick to levelling up blades and only release them when I run out of space. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 30, 2018 Must admit the main reason I kept Tora in my party was because I liked him as a character. Yes, his catchphrase can get annoying but he's SO much better than Tatsu was in X. If you're willing to grind Ether Crystals for hours playing Tiger! Tiger! then Poppi has the potential to be one of the best Blades in the game. I haven't even maxed out the full potential yet but this is what I'm rocking currently. Depending on how soon I want to finish the game by the time I reach the final boss I may see about trying to upgrade all these and get the two additional skill upgrades. Suffice to say that getting Perfects on the first stage of Tiger! Tiger! on Easy difficulty has been hardwired into my head for a while now. I am at a point where I have all the manuals though, I believe there are six in total which you need to collect to be able to build the more powerful parts in addition. Tora#s definitely more of a timesink as a tank that Morag is, but I still think he gets the job done well enough as a tank, he's over 9000 HP now and only in the mid 60s levelwise. I even threw in an Evasion Mod on Poppi QT to mix things up a bit. Though whether I should have just gone for another Tank Mod V is another matter altogether... Then again I used Riki in my party throughout the entirety of Xenoblade 1 and also played with Robo in my party while playing Chrono Trigger, so I clearly have a soft spot for the novelty non-human characters. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
