Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (July 29, 2022)

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The end of chapter 5 was some of the best sequences in any game. To the point I’m feeling like they can’t match that for the final fight. I almost think they should have saved that for the end.

I’m a go get all the heroes before I do anymore main missions
this has probably been the weirdest xenoblade thread by far because i think most people who beat the game recognized how well executed a lot of the character moments, narratives, combat, and particularly that chapter 5 sequence was.

its done so well that like... i think its got this thing going on where people don't even want to entertain typical internet back and forths over it
 

Rayzah

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this has probably been the weirdest xenoblade thread by far because i think most people who beat the game recognized how well executed a lot of the character moments, narratives, combat, and particularly that chapter 5 sequence was.

its done so well that like... i think its got this thing going on where people don't even want to entertain typical internet back and forths over it
Yea, I’m not trying to argue either, but I feel like if you don’t think this is a great game then you are playing it wrong. I know sometimes I don’t like the AAA games everyone else does but I know I’m in the minority and I just don’t post about it.
 

winb83

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I been reading through this thread and it seems like based on you comments that you really didn’t enjoy this game that much. It’s been a high 9 -10 for me so far, so I’m not really worried. I’m 80 hours in and still have a lot of heroes to unlock, you said you was burned out by 60 hours. I think our opinions of this game differ greatly
Chapter 5 was the highlight of the game for me. I wasn't into the formula the game followed where you kept going to colonies and breaking clocks which was much of 2-4. Loved chapter 1 and 5.

To me after chapter 5 the game kinda felt like it was on a fast track to ending. A good portion of the game's play time is spend going to colonies meeting their leaders then breaking clocks. Really after chapter 4 that becomes optional but if you don't continue doing that the game winds down pretty fast. Chapter 6 and 7 combined aren't nearly half as long as some of those middle chapters.

The main antagonists outside N fell flat to me. Particularly X, Y, and especially Z. Z came across as a poor imitation of Xenosaga's main antagonist with far less screen time and presence through the game. X and Y were basically nobodies. If you don't do Eunie's character quest you barely even interact with X.

The ending while I'm not going to spoil it tries to go for a certain bittersweet vibe. It's a mess that left me with more questions than answers. To compare it to another game it tries and fails to pull of what Xenosaga Episode 3 did. This game's overall plot infact rehashed the main overarching theme of Xenosaga with a twist to it. I get the creator is the same but just felt like I'd seen it done better there. Even the ending of Xenosaga 3 pulled off bittersweet better.

Highlight of this game was the N and M parts. I think it's a 7/10 for me. It's a solid game but the weakest of the trilogy.
 

tripleaamin

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Chapter 5 was the highlight of the game for me. I wasn't into the formula the game followed where you kept going to colonies and breaking clocks which was much of 2-4. Loved chapter 1 and 5.

To me after chapter 5 the game kinda felt like it was on a fast track to ending. A good portion of the game's play time is spend going to colonies meeting their leaders then breaking clocks. Really after chapter 4 that becomes optional but if you don't continue doing that the game winds down pretty fast. Chapter 6 and 7 combined aren't nearly half as long as some of those middle chapters.

The main antagonists outside N fell flat to me. Particularly X, Y, and especially Z. Z came across as a poor imitation of Xenosaga's main antagonist with far less screen time and presence through the game. X and Y were basically nobodies. If you don't do Eunie's character quest you barely even interact with X.

The ending while I'm not going to spoil it tries to go for a certain bittersweet vibe. It's a mess that left me with more questions than answers. To compare it to another game it tries and fails to pull of what Xenosaga Episode 3 did. This game's overall plot infact rehashed the main overarching theme of Xenosaga with a twist to it. I get the creator is the same but just felt like I'd seen it done better there. Even the ending of Xenosaga 3 pulled off bittersweet better.

Highlight of this game was the N and M parts. I think it's a 7/10 for me. It's a solid game but the weakest of the trilogy.
Are you looking at it based only on story? Cause gameplay wise it’s easily the best of the trilogy. Much better then 1 in this regard since optimally you are forced to use Shulk who is a chore to play because A.I. is atrocious. It is much better designed then 2's gameplay. And really the only overly busted thing in this game that I have tested so far is Chain attack with Triton class smash damage.

To your bolded point the same happened in 1 after Egil's sacrifice. Also each of the commanders and their side quests are one of the best aspects of the game. There quests are awesome and really fleshed out. Anyone skipping out on these is missing great content.

To your 2nd bolded point I would argue that outside of Egil, (who is def one of the best villains in the trilogy) the villains in 1 were lacking as well.
 

Rayzah

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Chapter 5 was the highlight of the game for me. I wasn't into the formula the game followed where you kept going to colonies and breaking clocks which was much of 2-4. Loved chapter 1 and 5.

To me after chapter 5 the game kinda felt like it was on a fast track to ending. A good portion of the game's play time is spend going to colonies meeting their leaders then breaking clocks. Really after chapter 4 that becomes optional but if you don't continue doing that the game winds down pretty fast. Chapter 6 and 7 combined aren't nearly half as long as some of those middle chapters.

The main antagonists outside N fell flat to me. Particularly X, Y, and especially Z. Z came across as a poor imitation of Xenosaga's main antagonist with far less screen time and presence through the game. X and Y were basically nobodies. If you don't do Eunie's character quest you barely even interact with X.

The ending while I'm not going to spoil it tries to go for a certain bittersweet vibe. It's a mess that left me with more questions than answers. To compare it to another game it tries and fails to pull of what Xenosaga Episode 3 did. This game's overall plot infact rehashed the main overarching theme of Xenosaga with a twist to it. I get the creator is the same but just felt like I'd seen it done better there. Even the ending of Xenosaga 3 pulled off bittersweet better.

Highlight of this game was the N and M parts. I think it's a 7/10 for me. It's a solid game but the weakest of the trilogy.
This game is better than two imo. 2 started slow and it took me a while to get into it. Also Rex was an annoying character to me so I like Noah better. But to each their own
 

winb83

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Are you looking at it based only on story? Cause gameplay wise it’s easily the best of the trilogy. Much better then 1 in this regard since optimally you are forced to use Shulk who is a chore to play because A.I. is atrocious. It is much better designed then 2's gameplay. And really the only overly busted thing in this game that I have tested so far is Chain attack with Triton class smash damage.

To your bolded point the same happened in 1 after Egil's sacrifice. Also each of the commanders and their side quests are one of the best aspects of the game. There quests are awesome and really fleshed out. Anyone skipping out on these is missing great content.

To your 2nd bolded point I would argue that outside of Egil, (who is def one of the best villains in the trilogy) the villains in 1 were lacking as well.
Gameplay wise it's kinda like when Apple releases a new iPhone and says it's the best iPhone ever. Of course it is you built it off the last one so why wouldnt it be? Why wouldn't Xenoblade 1 will have inferior gameplay to 3 or even 2? Those other games were made from lessons learned from 1.

Those heroes join you most don't matter. They have a short quest to join then the level cap quest and outside Ethel most of them don't hang around too long in the story or factor in very late in the game. It's unfortunate because some of the heroes are more interesting than actual party members. Sena and Taion could have been dropped for some and I wouldn't have minded.

I got all the heroes except
Gray, Monica, and Segiri
so I missed 3 normal ones as well as the 2 post game heroes.

In terms of plot my criticism is that much of what you go through in this game doesn't contribute to the overarching plot. You go through chapter 1 and the game tells you to go to Swordmarch then the plot stalls out until about the end of chapter 4. A lot of what you do between the end of chapter 1 and 4 doesn't really feel like it matters in the grand scheme of it all and the ending slaps you in the face with it. The trope used in the ending was one of the worst tropes in fiction.
It happened but it kinda was pointless because no one remembers anything as everything reset to before it happened thats the cousin of the it was all a dream trope. What was the point of teaching all those people to see past their discrimination just to have their memories wiped? Also what world were the residents of Swordmarch dropped off in who didnt exist in either original world

That's not to say this is a bad game cause it isn't. The other games in the series did a better job holding my attention and when the credits rolled I felt way more satisfied. I went into this in denial about the consensus the late game and ending were a let down and now I feel like the people saying that had a point even if I went in not wanting that to be true.
 

tripleaamin

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One thing about post game.
Melia is broken in chain attacks. It is very easy to rack up damage and constantly get 200%+. Has a topple art as well to boot. Elemental damage can be inconsistent cause you need to summon elements on the right phase and you don't know when it would be better for her to just topple.

But the damage output she helps with chain attacks is ridiculously good.
 

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:wow: Finally completed this today as want to focus on GOWR when it releases. Dam this is easily the best of the four games, this game was just incredible loved every minute and loved all the main characters. N probably has the saddest story in all of Xenoblade even beating Jin. What a horrendous life he lived dam, bet you if they release story DLC then it will be about N life. This was truly a masterpiece of a JRPG, the only thing I would say is that Z was whack as a villain. They should have dropped him and made N the main guy. If N was the main villain they could have adopted you either did a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain.
 

tripleaamin

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Decided to grind all the classes, most likely not worth it. Tho if a new difficulty or tougher challenges come out it would be nice since I got this done. Def aint doing a 100% completionist since only 5 gems are worth to maximize which you can get 2 more in a NG through gold coins.Tho got to see what classes are good.

Chain attack damage optimization is the most important thing with this game. But to get that you need to inflict combos on them. Toughest part is breaking on uniques. Break Broaches are great. Currently I have two and tbh having 3 might be optimal. Optimize smash damage that is the one goal.

Here is my thoughts on the heroes on who to pick again maximize smash damage:
  • Fiona is prob the best if you can get the setup right but it is very inconsistent.
  • Consistency Ino is usually the best. Tho getting Melia with the right party setup is really good as well.
  • Everyone else doesn't compare. Altho Dame Alex and Ethel have potential post game but the first seems very very inconsistent and the 2nd one I haven't tried in post game much yet.
As far as classes go. Here are somethings I have found:

  • Soulhacker class is stupid when it comes to damage. And it is so versatile with different types of Attack, Tank and Healer Builds. Tbh a team of 6 of these might be optimally the best. But it does seem boring.
  • In chain attacks Break + Topple and Topple + Launch fushion combos in chain attacks make getting optimal damage easier. (Basically the art from the class needs to be the one needed before the combo and the second from the other type of class would come next to complete the fushion art) The classes that can get the break + topple fusion are:
    • Swordfighter
    • Yumsmith
    • Incursor
    • Noponic Champion
  • The classes that can get the topple + launch fusion combo is only one that can do due to being the only Agnes class with topple. If a DLC Kevves class comes out then 3 more classes can do it,
  • You don't want launch + smash since only the Lone Exile class can do this and to be quite frank, it is not a good class for optimizing damange.
Now for chain attacks you want 2 healers since that allows to set the % meter to 99% more consistency to optimize damage. Since damage in a chain attack is basically on the smash damage you can be fine with only having 2 attackers. But there are so many builds so can't really suggest a particular one.

Edit: Also for who you assign as your break units. Make sure they are in ogre class it gets an extra passive to help get breaks. But this is not unlockable for the other classes.
 
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Rayzah

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I finally finished this a few weeks ago and I am now hunting the “superboses” I’m level 90 and already took out the first one (light work) The only hero I didn’t get was machine assassin since there is a series of side quests that you have to do to get him and I just don’t feel like it.

I only maxed out the main 6 characters, Ethel and triton.

Overall thoughts:
I don’t even know why they made an easy mode for this game since normal was way too easy and hard is only slighter tougher.

The combat is excellent, there are so many things that I didn’t even realize you can do until I saw a video on YT using a different build I never considered.

Great story and like I said that sequence in 5/6 is top 5 all time. Very well done and this game better get some votes for GOTY, even though we all know GOW and ER probably already got the awards sitting at home

To me having only played 2 and torna before this, this is the better game. I think Torna had potential to be better than two but I hated that community bs at the end of the game. It was too much and that ruined it for me.

Should I go and get definitive edition? I have Dragon quest XI, Nino kuni collecting dust l, I never finished persona and I just found out Witcher 3 next gen is dropping soon? What do I play next
 

tripleaamin

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Another thing worth pointing out. Eunie's Ouroborus form has a skill that increases damage for each buff the party has and Taion has a skill that gives him a buff for each debuff on the enemy, which can be shared between the two. Taion's is not very helpfully, but Eunie's skill can make their ourborous form the best in terms of DPS. If you make sure at least one party member is in the Signifer class, using their Ouroborus finisher is better then the other two especially if set up correctly in chain attacks. It is worth noting that using Noah is essential in chain attacks since it bypasses defense. Making sure Noah, Eunie and Taion as the party members selected during chain attacks is by far the most optimal.

Been busy fighting superbosses. They really made Perilwing Ryuho (lv 100 superboss) immunie to smash effect. :unimpressed: I mean it aint even tough to beat just keep him launched in chain attacks and have as many multipliers to launched and aerial enemies that you can. It just takes longer then it needs to be. Especially since he is one of the superbosses that can fight you at higher levels. shyt is just annoying.

I also messed with Fiona as a hero for chain attacks. Tbh her thing feels way too convoluted to properly optimize. Granted she is great to use with the skill I mentioned with Taion and Eunie above, but any party member can use this class. Plus Ino, Melia and Ashera are much much more consistent options. Plus you don't run into the issue of if you use Fiona first in a chain attack, you ruin the benefit of using her in chain attacks. (Getting the extra turn compared to all the other heroes)

I finally finished this a few weeks ago and I am now hunting the “superboses” I’m level 90 and already took out the first one (light work) The only hero I didn’t get was machine assassin since there is a series of side quests that you have to do to get him and I just don’t feel like it.

I only maxed out the main 6 characters, Ethel and triton.

Overall thoughts:
I don’t even know why they made an easy mode for this game since normal was way too easy and hard is only slighter tougher.

The combat is excellent, there are so many things that I didn’t even realize you can do until I saw a video on YT using a different build I never considered.

Great story and like I said that sequence in 5/6 is top 5 all time. Very well done and this game better get some votes for GOTY, even though we all know GOW and ER probably already got the awards sitting at home

To me having only played 2 and torna before this, this is the better game. I think Torna had potential to be better than two but I hated that community bs at the end of the game. It was too much and that ruined it for me.

Should I go and get definitive edition? I have Dragon quest XI, Nino kuni collecting dust l, I never finished persona and I just found out Witcher 3 next gen is dropping soon? What do I play next

DQ XI was hella good but it's a long ride. But for me it is the best turned based RPG since the PS4 generation.

Xenoblade DE clearly shown its age in terms of gameplay. Plus you have more of the these areas have too much damn area to explore. It's far worse then 2 and 3 since exploring every part of 3 is worth it to a different degree. If I recall from 2 the only bad one was Tantal for exploring. (Ignoring the awful compass obviously) 1 has more of these.

Definitely get a quest guide. So you can find which quests give what rewards and the only ones worth it are those that progress the skill tree. But most really suck. Unlike 2 + 3 were you can mess with different builds. 1 you got a set skillset for each character. So if you have a preferred playstyle you have to switch characters.

Personally I say just play though the main story and see what the first one is like since you beat 2 + 3 already. But since this is a game that is 12 years old, I wouldn't do much extra stuff with it. Opinion here on the story varies so I would say experience it yourself and make your own judgement call on it.
 

Rayzah

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Another thing worth pointing out. Eunie's Ouroborus form has a skill that increases damage for each buff the party has and Taion has a skill that gives him a buff for each debuff on the enemy, which can be shared between the two. Taion's is not very helpfully, but Eunie's skill can make their ourborous form the best in terms of DPS. If you make sure at least one party member is in the Signifer class, using their Ouroborus finisher is better then the other two especially if set up correctly in chain attacks. It is worth noting that using Noah is essential in chain attacks since it bypasses defense. Making sure Noah, Eunie and Taion as the party members selected during chain attacks is by far the most optimal.

Been busy fighting superbosses. They really made Perilwing Ryuho (lv 100 superboss) immunie to smash effect. :unimpressed: I mean it aint even tough to beat just keep him launched in chain attacks and have as many multipliers to launched and aerial enemies that you can. It just takes longer then it needs to be. Especially since he is one of the superbosses that can fight you at higher levels. shyt is just annoying.

I also messed with Fiona as a hero for chain attacks. Tbh her thing feels way too convoluted to properly optimize. Granted she is great to use with the skill I mentioned with Taion and Eunie above, but any party member can use this class. Plus Ino, Melia and Ashera are much much more consistent options. Plus you don't run into the issue of if you use Fiona first in a chain attack, you ruin the benefit of using her in chain attacks. (Getting the extra turn compared to all the other heroes)



DQ XI was hella good but it's a long ride. But for me it is the best turned based RPG since the PS4 generation.

Xenoblade DE clearly shown its age in terms of gameplay. Plus you have more of the these areas have too much damn area to explore. It's far worse then 2 and 3 since exploring every part of 3 is worth it to a different degree. If I recall from 2 the only bad one was Tantal for exploring. (Ignoring the awful compass obviously) 1 has more of these.

Definitely get a quest guide. So you can find which quests give what rewards and the only ones worth it are those that progress the skill tree. But most really suck. Unlike 2 + 3 were you can mess with different builds. 1 you got a set skillset for each character. So if you have a preferred playstyle you have to switch characters.

Personally I say just play though the main story and see what the first one is like since you beat 2 + 3 already. But since this is a game that is 12 years old, I wouldn't do much extra stuff with it. Opinion here on the story varies so I would say experience it yourself and make your own judgement call on it.
Well damn! That’s the most in depth answer I’ve ever had on here. Lol.
 

Rayzah

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Decided to grind all the classes, most likely not worth it. Tho if a new difficulty or tougher challenges come out it would be nice since I got this done. Def aint doing a 100% completionist since only 5 gems are worth to maximize which you can get 2 more in a NG through gold coins.Tho got to see what classes are good.

Chain attack damage optimization is the most important thing with this game. But to get that you need to inflict combos on them. Toughest part is breaking on uniques. Break Broaches are great. Currently I have two and tbh having 3 might be optimal. Optimize smash damage that is the one goal.

Here is my thoughts on the heroes on who to pick again maximize smash damage:
  • Fiona is prob the best if you can get the setup right but it is very inconsistent.
  • Consistency Ino is usually the best. Tho getting Melia with the right party setup is really good as well.
  • Everyone else doesn't compare. Altho Dame Alex and Ethel have potential post game but the first seems very very inconsistent and the 2nd one I haven't tried in post game much yet.
As far as classes go. Here are somethings I have found:

  • Soulhacker class is stupid when it comes to damage. And it is so versatile with different types of Attack, Tank and Healer Builds. Tbh a team of 6 of these might be optimally the best. But it does seem boring.
  • In chain attacks Break + Topple and Topple + Launch fushion combos in chain attacks make getting optimal damage easier. (Basically the art from the class needs to be the one needed before the combo and the second from the other type of class would come next to complete the fushion art) The classes that can get the break + topple fusion are:
    • Swordfighter
    • Yumsmith
    • Incursor
    • Noponic Champion
  • The classes that can get the topple + launch fusion combo is only one that can do due to being the only Agnes class with topple. If a DLC Kevves class comes out then 3 more classes can do it,
  • You don't want launch + smash since only the Lone Exile class can do this and to be quite frank, it is not a good class for optimizing damange.
Now for chain attacks you want 2 healers since that allows to set the % meter to 99% more consistency to optimize damage. Since damage in a chain attack is basically on the smash damage you can be fine with only having 2 attackers. But there are so many builds so can't really suggest a particular one.

Edit: Also for who you assign as your break units. Make sure they are in ogre class it gets an extra passive to help get breaks. But this is not unlockable for the other classes.
I’m down to the final superboss. Any tips ?
 

tripleaamin

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I’m down to the final superboss. Any tips ?
This one can be realllly annoying with AoE attacks. Most of the same strategy for the other superbosses works like make sure your characters with break are in the Ogre class with the accessory that lowers enemy break resistance.

What I liked to do was have the player I controlled be away from the party. So that if I draw aggro even if I die from an AoE attack the rest of my party wouldn't be hit.

The boss can lock your chain attack meter, which is annoying but as long as you can break it you should be good. I think it can bind your healers iirc. Make sure to check what debuffs your partners have. If you see them in a bind and unable to move switch to them to get them out. The AI does suck at mashing.

How many healers do you have? For non challenge mode I ran 2 healers (Mio and Taion). However I would give another party member the memory locket accesorry which allows a non healer class to heal. I gave it to Noah who was in Monica's class. And I was able to give it close to a 90% block rate meaning I have survivability for a healer.

For those in the healer class you should emphasize the abilities to heal fallen allies and increase that speed. Miyabi's class has AoE regenerate art so basically you heal over time. Which is all you really need. Also her class is amazing, if a character dies using that class all other allies regain 100% of all their non special arts. This is amazing for your breakers since they are limited to the Ogre class if playing optimally.
 

Rayzah

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This one can be realllly annoying with AoE attacks. Most of the same strategy for the other superbosses works like make sure your characters with break are in the Ogre class with the accessory that lowers enemy break resistance.

What I liked to do was have the player I controlled be away from the party. So that if I draw aggro even if I die from an AoE attack the rest of my party wouldn't be hit.

The boss can lock your chain attack meter, which is annoying but as long as you can break it you should be good. I think it can bind your healers iirc. Make sure to check what debuffs your partners have. If you see them in a bind and unable to move switch to them to get them out. The AI does suck at mashing.

How many healers do you have? For non challenge mode I ran 2 healers (Mio and Taion). However I would give another party member the memory locket accesorry which allows a non healer class to heal. I gave it to Noah who was in Monica's class. And I was able to give it close to a 90% block rate meaning I have survivability for a healer.

For those in the healer class you should emphasize the abilities to heal fallen allies and increase that speed. Miyabi's class has AoE regenerate art so basically you heal over time. Which is all you really need. Also her class is amazing, if a character dies using that class all other allies regain 100% of all their non special arts. This is amazing for your breakers since they are limited to the Ogre class if playing optimally.
That would have been nice to have, but ultimately I kicked his ass after like 3-4 tries. I use Noah sword fighter class max rams for everyone btw. I had thee healers 2 running signifier and nip running life saver or whatever it’s called that you get from nia. And I had lanz running soul hacker defense build. With Ashera as my hero.

Light work, my strategy was basically hang on long enough to get a chain attack and then hit a launch and go to work.

I unlocked all the heroes and some ascension quests including the dlc and post game heros. But I didn’t come close to doing all them damn side quests. IMO I’m as done as I’m going to be until the story dlc.

Also them last 4 challenge battles are tough
 
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