Xenoblade

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade 2 Part 1


The Peanut Gallery didn't expect me to write about another Xenoblade game this year!  Well, Amazon was selling Xenoblade 2 for a reasonable price for a change, so I ordered it.  I'll be sure to pay attention to any references that I missed in Xenoblade 3, since this game is the origin of Agnus.  Xenoblade 2's difficulty only goes up to Normal, so there's no Hard setting like in its sequel.  I have an idea for a challenge, but I won't mention it until it becomes relevant.


The game began with a treasure diver named Rex hauling a crate from the sea.  However, the surface of the sea in Alrest looks like clouds rather than water.  And Rex's boat was an old dragon-headed Titan named Gramps.  Rex's first enemy was a Level 1 King Crustip crab that was hiding in the crate.  Since it was a tutorial battle, all I had to do was to auto-attack and then use Anchor Shot when it was ready.  Xenoblade 2 Arts depend on auto-attacks for cooldowns just like Agnian classes in Xenoblade 3.  Anchor Shot produced a small HP Potion to heal Rex when it hit an enemy.


After killing the King Crustip, Rex narrated about the history of Alrest.  According to him, humans once lived in a paradise called Elysium at the top of the World Tree, but were kicked out for unknown reasons.  (There's always a World Tree in these Japanese RPGs!)  Alrest's god, the Architect, pitied humans and gave them continent-sized Titans to live on.  By Rex's time, many of the Titans had perished, and one died in front of him during that cutscene. 


In spite of Gramps's complaints about "kids these days", Rex ordered him to sail to Argentum Trade Guild.  This was an economic way station that was home to many shops.  A Nopon named Tiwitiwi said that 360 Nopon per year died from eating poison mushrooms.  Alrest's Nopon didn't have the sense of Riku or Manana!  Rex didn't receive much money from his recent salvaging job, but disagreed with the merchant Nopon's idea of salvaging weapons to profit from a future war between Mor Adain and Uraya.


(My readers may remember Uraya from the Urayan Tunnels in Xenoblade 3, and its role as target practice for Keves's Annihilator.)


Chairman Bana the Nopon commissioned Rex for a job with a 100,000 gold advance, to be followed by a 100,000 gold payment when the job was complete.  His companions were to be several Drivers and Blades, such as Jin, Dromarch, Malos, and Nia.  Nia was the friendly Queen of Agnus in Xenoblade 3 who wasn't used to formal speech.  In Xenoblade 2 so far, her role was to insult Rex. 


Both Gramps and Bana were surprised that Rex would take a job without knowing its nature, but he wanted to send money to Fonsett Village.  Even in a world where boats are talking dragons, the economy is still based on remittances. 


Rex failed to open several treasure barrels because he didn't have enough of certain stats like Focus or Nopon Wisdom.  He used some of his advance to purchase a mandatory Abyss Vest to increase his Level 2 HP from 348 to 431.  Cylinders functioned like fishing rods for salvage, and its minigame depended on timed A button presses.  Rex completed several side quests which were worth the time.  A Muscle Belt Accessory from one of them increased his Strength from 18 to 38!  The side quests themselves involved playing hide and seek, killing various Krabble enemies, and salvaging a lost item for a Nopon. 


Xenoblade 2 distributes bonus experience at inns.  Staying at the Argentum Trade Guild Inn was mandatory, and the only choice I had was whether to go to Level 4 or 5.  To preserve a bit of challenge, Rex only went up to Level 4.  One odd difference from the rest of the series is the Belt Pouch, which seems to be the equivalent of Xenoblade 3 cooking.  You put an item in the pouch and gain temporary bonuses from it, but this is not limited to food.  If my memory is correct, books and musical instruments are also eligible.


One problem I've already encountered is the quest marker system.  It's not like Xenoblade 3 where you can just rush to the point on the map.  In Xenoblade 2, you might see multiple markers on the top of the screen, and move toward them as if you were playing "hot or cold".  Another issue specific for this Let's Play is that Xenoblade 2 happens to be one of those Switch games where you can't record a 30 second clip to review later.  Therefore, the readers should expect less detailed accounts of battles in general.


When Rex approached the boat to set out on Bana's mission, Nia had this to say:  "Gawking at a boat?  What are you, twelve?"  Another line was "You don't close your mouth soon, you're gonna swallow a fly", which made me wonder if Xenoblade 2 was programmed in Spanish instead of Japanese.  In Spanish, "En boca cerrada, no entran moscas", or "Flies don't enter a closed mouth", is a common proverb.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade 2 Part 2


Rex talked to the passengers on the C.S.E.V. Maelstrom until it was time to salvage the Ancient Ship.  Malos's Blade named Sever congratulated Rex on dodging Malos's attacks when he wasn't even a Driver.  Rex had a conversation with Nia during guard duty, and she thought Elysium was only a legend.  She didn't feel like drinking because she didn't want a headache, and Rex said the Salvager approach was "swim like a fish, and drink like one too".


The Ancient Ship was hoisted to the surface with "flotation devices and cranes".  Rex, Nia, and Malos formed a battle party with Fighter, Healer, and Defender roles respectively.  Xenoblade 3's class system originated in 2, and Nia even kept her Healer role as a guest character in the sequel.  Dromarch the wolf (?) was Nia's Blade.


The first battle with a full party was against a Lv 2 Lethal Lysaat King that was easy to kill.  Rex had a new ability called Sword Bash which worked like any other "damage bonus from behind" attack in the series.  Rex used some Weapon Points (WP) to upgrade his Double Spinning Edge, a Broadsword Art that has a side attack bonus. 


Xenoblade 2 may not have many conveniences compared to the rest of the series, but Rex's Pouch refilled with a Braised Cloud Sea Shark when the previous one expired.  While inside the Ancient Ship, the party had to fight many Lv 2 Lethal Lysaats, and also killed a Lv 5 King Crustip.  An Ether Cylinder unlocked the door to the lower areas.


I actually died once to the Lv 4 Megalo Aligo "shark with legs" boss because Xenoblade 2 doesn't automatically draw your weapon to start a fight.  Otherwise it was a standard starter physical boss, and some of its Arts were used by Xenoblade 3 Uniques like Cursed Cuisine and Fin of Fear.  The reason Rex was needed for the job was that only a Leftherian could unlock the "Addam's crest" doors.  Inside was a girl in suspended animation known as the Aegis. 


Rex touched the Aegis's crystal, which prompted Jin to impale Rex on his sword.  Rex fell to the floor, dead.  His "afterlife" was an illusion Elysium meadow with a single tree at the center.  Rex talked to the girl, who was a Blade named Pyra.  Pyra wanted to find the real Elysium, and gave half her "life force" to resurrect Rex and make him her Driver.  Xenoblade 3's Blades are merely conjured weapons, but the Xenoblade 2 Blades are living beings who serve as battle companions.


Xenoblade 2's budget clearly did not go to the voice acting.  Rex let out the worst "Aaaaiyah!!!" I've ever heard while attacking Malos in a cutscene.  Malos's performance wasn't much better.  Lv 5 Malos was a necessary tutorial for Blades.  Rex and Pyra were connected with a tether of light called Affinity, and when Affinity was strongest, Rex would have faster movement and Art cooldown.  Pyra automatically increased Rex's accuracy with one of her Blade Arts, and added a Special move to the A button.  Xenoblade 3's diamond shape Art interface is directly copied from 2, except the left side of the screen in 2 is for switching Blades rather than using Fusion Arts.


Specials could go up to three Roman numerals in strength, and could combo if cast before a meter of the top of the screen ran out.  Rex used Heat, then immediately used its II version Burnout when the tutorial refilled its meter.  Malos was easy to beat, but Rex had a much harder time against him in the following cutscenes.  Xenoblade characters always seem to be weaker in the story sections!


While fighting Pyra, Malos said "Takes me back to 500 years ago. . .".  Gramps the dragon came to the rescue when he flew to Rex + Pyra and Nia + Dromarch and spit fireballs at the Ancient Ship as a distraction.  Malos and Jin's cannons failed to strike Gramps before he flew to the south of the Cyclus Sea and ended Chapter 1.


Bana talked to his fellow Nopon Pupunin about the failure of the mission.  "Meh-meh-meh. . .Even pricey insurance Bana take out on Maelstrom go to waste. . .".  Bana correctly thought Rex and friends had gone to Gormott.  Another call to Bana was from a human named Dughall, who congratulated him on selling defective Core Crystals to Mor Adain's army.  Bana wasn't impressed:  "And blabbering about Core Crystals on unsecured line?!  Is Dughall some kind of idiot?"


Rex + Pyra were alone on Gormott's Titan, with Nia + Dromarch and Gramps nowhere to be found.  A tutorial text box explained the different stats.  HP and Strength are what you'd expect.  Ether functions as both "magic attack" and "healing power",  Dexterity is accuracy, Agility is evasion, and Luck is resistance to "debuffs/reactions".  Rex was now Level 6.  He was somehow able to fast travel back to Argentum Trade Guild in spite of not having Gramps or any kind of boat.  There weren't any new side quests, but the upper floors were now open.  Rex found a Core Crystal in a barrel but couldn't use it yet.  A Nopon with the Hawaiian sounding name Helehele mentioned "Torna terrorists" as being responsible for the attack on Rex.


Rex's last notable act was to increase his Strength by 20 after spending 375 Skill Points on Muscle Builder in the Affinity Chart.  He failed some checks for Break Lock (Superstrength 5, Nopon Wisdom 5) and High Jump (Wind Mastery 3, Leaping 2) because he didn't have the correct Blades or Drivers.  These CRPG style stat checks aren't seen in the other games.  Rex warped back to Gormott for lack of anything better to do.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade 2 Part 3


A tutorial in Forgotten Waste explained how to enhance Blades with Core Chips, the Affinity Chart, and Aux Core accessories.  Rex rushed through places like Wrecc Marshland until meeting Gramps.  He was too injured for any medicine to cure him, and seemed to die, until he managed to turn back into his "larval" form, a rare ability for Titans.  It would take 300 years for him to become a full-sized dragon Titan again.


Pyra had to activate her Kindle Flame Field Skill to burn trees blocking the paths ahead.  They encountered Nia + Dromarch again as they were battling a Lv 6 Wormeater Brog frog.  This fight was meant to explain Blade Combos between multiple party members.  Rex activated Pyra's special move, and combined it with Nia's powers to cast Steam Bomb.  Overall the fight was easy.  Nia's (and Mio's) cat eared species was called Gormotti, and was native to this area.  Nia equipped a Muscle Belt for 20 Strength and a Friendship Ring to increase revival HP by 25% for other party members.


Gormott Province's fields were a large area, perhaps meant to remind the player of Bionis's Leg.  Rex dashed through the area as fast as he could, since there wasn't much of a point completing all the side quests before my challenge idea could even begin.  He got too close to the first Unique in the game, Lv 8 Moonlighting Elwyn, who killed him before he could reach town.  One side quest Rex accidentally ran into was Knocked About Nopon, where the party had to kill several Lv 5 Snooz Volffs.  Besidese Gold, EXP and SP, the rewards were Puffoundation and Treesap Conditioner.


On Gormott, high tides and low tides were possible due to its Titan walking around.  In the city of Torigoth, Nia was furious when she saw her wanted poster, which looked more like a feral cat.  Mor Adain was trying to recruit new Drivers to serve in the military, and promised noble titles to those who fought well enough.  One overconfident Gormotti died after touching the Core Crystal, while another Gormotti who wanted to support his family got a Blade companion.


The party was recongnized as fugitives, so Lv 8 Captain Padraig and other Mor Adain troops fought in a boss battle.  They were easy to kill with the standard abilities by concentrating on one at a time.  Captain Padraig returned in a sequel battle along with Lv 10 Brighid.  None of these fights was hard, even though the party was only Lv 7.  The only setback was having to revive Nia as Rex.  Revival isn't restricted to Healers in Xenoblade 2, unlike in the 3rd game.


Brighid used fire powers like Pyra, but wasn't an Aegis and so failed to cast her spells when a burst pipe doused her with water.  Tora the Nopon was the one who destroyed the pipe, and he wanted Driver friends.  Pyra revealed she could cook, so long as it involved her fire powers.  Nia and Dromarch were captured in "ether nets" as Rex and Pyra fled.  In another cutscene, Captain Padraig was so stupid that he didn't know "emerald" color meant "green" until Dughall told him. 


Back in Torigoth, I finally unlocked the ability to bond with more Blades.  The idea I had in mind was the Peasant Revolt challenge where I would use Common rarity Blades as much as possible.  Pyra could play the role of "noble sympathizer in the revolution" whenever she had to be used, since she couldn't be unequipped.  She had many more Affinity Chart bonuses than the Commoners.  The first Common Blade was Arai, with the following stats:


Wind element
Role:  HLR
Auto-Attack:  13
Block Rate:  10%
Critical Rate:  15%
Phys Def.:  13%
Ether Defense:  5%
Strength:  7


Bizen was the second Blade, though I wasn't able to equip it alongside Arai yet?


Water element
Role:  TNK
Auto-Attack:  14
Block Rate:  20%
Critical Rate:  19%
Phys. Def.:  21%
Ether Defense:  19%
Strength:  8


Arai's starting abilities


Flying Knuckle:  Creates HP Potion, with 60% chance for 2 potions
Assault Rush:  Absorbs 60% of critical damage dealt as HP
Executioner:  Restores 30% of damage dealt as HP for party
Good Balance:  +30% Break resistance
Wind Mastery:  Power of Wind Blade


Bizen's starting abilities


Drop Edge:  +100% damage to Toppled enemies
Counter Spin:  Increases aggro from Special moves by 60%
Magnum Edge:  +60% damage to enemies targeting user
Resist Fire:  -20% fire damage
Avenger:  +50% damage when ally is dead
Water Mastery:  Power of Water Blade


Arai got the Critical Up II Aux Core for +12% critical rate.  Rex bought Reflex Response for himself in the Affinity Chart, which gave him 20 Agility.  The next part will involve a lot of exploration since now I have Common Blades to experiment with.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade 2 Part 4


Rex began these sessions by upgrading Arai's Primitive Knuckles to Plain Knuckles with the purchase of a Tin Chip in Argentum Trade Guild.  Various areas of Gormott were inaccessible due to the high tide, and it didn't seem to be based on the hour like you'd expect.  It wouldn't be a Xenoblade game without high level monsters to discourage the player from wandering off course, and Lascham Island had Lv 38-41 foes.  A Lv 10 Winter Eks killed Rex when he tried to fight it solo.


One sidequest chain in Torigoth involved repairing a crane and defeating the monsters that broke it, but it was too high level (10-12?) for Rex to beat solo.  Tora confessed to not being a real Driver, as he had a "nosebleed for three days" after touching a Core Crystal.  The game treated that incident as a joke, but if I had a 3 day nosebleed, I'd be concerned!  Tora's substitute was an artificial Blade called Poppi, which was activated through Frankenstein style lightning.  Tora had to tone down her initial attitude:  "*How may I be of service, Master?"  He claimed the original version wasn't his idea, but the maid outfits in the closet gave him away. 


Poppi can't equip Aux Cores like a true Blade, but she can power up with Ether gained from an arcade machine named Tiger!  Tiger!  It has nothing to do with the William Blake poem.  Instead, it's a 2D treasure diving game.  You have to sink to the bottom to collect a giant treasure chest, then bring it back to the surface.  During the descent, you can kill enemies like jellyfish and sharks with your grappling hook, but you're defenseless during the ascent.  Collecting Ether crystals increases your score.  Poppi Alpha has enough skills on her Affinity Chart to rival a Legendary Blade, but the most important so far are Leaping, Nopon Wisdom, and Superstrength for use on the field.


Poppi had to pull Pyra up to the Titan where Nia was imprisoned because she was too heavy for Rex to winch up with the grappling hook.  Are humanoid Blades made of metal?  Pyra tore open a hole to free Dromarch from his cell, and from then on out the party was fighting Ardainian soldiers and turning off valves to advance.  These troops killed the party at least once when enough of them ganged up on Rex and Tora.  Tora equipped an Infantry Vest to increase his HP from 770 to 1230.


Common Blades may be randomly generated robots, but they're not identical.  Arai was superior to the others since he had two Aux Core slots, and Bizen, for example, had none.  The miniboss fight was against a Lv 12 Ardainian Sergeant and a Lv 11 Ardainian Soldier, and the party was only Lv 9-10.  Tora with Poppi Alpha functioned as an Earth element Defender with the Arts of Steady Drill, Big Boost, and Spinning Cutter.  Steady Drill has a bonus against Launched enemies, and now we know where the Launch status from Xenoblade 3 comes from.  Big Boost inflicts Topple, but I don't have Break inflicting Arts yet.  Spinning Cutter is meant to increase aggro.


Lv 8 Nia rejoined the party after this fight, and I made a ** Common Blade called Shinra for her.  Common Blades can go up to ****, it seems.  Shinra's starting stats:


Role:  TNK
Auto-Attack:  14
Block Rate:  25%
Critical Rate:  4%
Phys. Def.:  21%
Ether Defense:  25%
Strength:  9


Shinra's Affinity Chart bonuses:


Ground Impulse:  +100% damage to Launched foes
Turn Strike:  +60% aggro from Special moves
Wheel Crash:  +60% damage when in front of a foe
Streamlined Step: +20% evasion while moving
Treasure Sensor:  +60% item drops from enemies
Water Mastery:  Water element
Transport Mastery:  Can move "lots of goods quickly" for "Merc Missions"


After equipping Nia with her new Blade, it was a good time to stop playing.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade 2 Part 5


Escaping the Titan Battleship took a while, since the quest marker pointed to a locked door rather than the switches needed to open it.  This did give the party an excuse to fight Ardainian troops and level up.  Shinra's weapon for Nia was a kind of hammer, and made her fight a bit like Sena's default Ogre class from Xenoblade 3.  Her attacks were Rumbling Smash with a front bonus, Elephant Press for aggro, and Buckler Slam for bonus against Toppled enemies.  A Bronze Chip upgraded Poppi Alpha's weapon from a Primitive Shield to a Flatform Shield.


In the Affinity Chart, Nia took Feral Awakening I to let her use her X button Art at the beginning of combat, Rex unlocked Rescue for a +15% HP for revival, and Tora got Spongy Bod for +200 HP.  A Lv 13 Ardainian Fighter was a difficult and rare enemy on the deck of the ship, and seemed to be a small armored Titan.  It shot Sweep Cannon at the time and had too much HP.  Poppi Alpha came to the rescue with a Mega Eruption technique.  The party had the first Heart to Heart conversation inside Titan Battleship, and discussed the Torna ship Monoceros and Tora's theft of Ardainian technology.


Inside the Titan Battleship's Hangar, Lv 13 Dughall was cocky enough that he thought he could beat Rex, Tora, and Nia.  His main "tactic" was to run away from the party and occasionally take potshots at them.  Eventually, he stayed close to his giant hammer-wielding Blade.  Stone was the common opener to Blade Combos like Gaia Crash, though Rex once followed through with Volcano.  Rex had to be revived once, but other than that the fight was simple.  The main annoyance was flying through the air after a Blowdown attack.


Lv 15 Mòrag with her Blade Brighid was a competent boss compared to the foppish noble Dughall.  (It's not often that I have to type that downwards accent mark.  It doesn't exist in Spanish, the one foreign language I know well.)  Brighid used her fire spells from before, while Mòrag herself fought with dual blades.  I almost won on the first try, until context sensitive controls caused the party's downfall.  Xenoblade 2 uses the A button for both Special moves and reviving fallen characters, and guess what happened when Nia tried to resurrect someone? 


(Xenoblade 3 is actually worse about context sensitive A button presses!  Holding the button when you're slightly off will cause you to sheathe your weapon instead.)


Switching to Tora on Take 2 was more effective than I had anticipated.  This caused the AI Rex to swap out the under-equipped Pyra for Arai.  Arai's Commoner practicality activated Final Disaster multiple times for around 2320-2679 per combo.  And to think most Xenoblade 2 players spend a lot of time trying to roll for Rare Blades when a 1* Common kills a difficult boss!   


Rex teamed up with Poppi to spill the contents of a water tower on Brighid to weaken her in a cutscene, then escaped without killing Mòrag.  Mòrag felt insulted that the party was holding back on her.  Chapter 2 ended, and Chapter 3 opened with a scene about the Torna terrorists' plans.  With their ether detection, they recognized the wavelength of Dromarch and realized the party was trying to leave Gormott. 


Chapter 3 unlocked the ability to take "long rests" at certain inns to change the Cloud Sea tide.  That will be useful for sidequests coming up in Gormott.  Before the boss battle, Mòrag had said Pyra was responsible for destroying 4 continent Titans 500 years ago, which is the plot for the prequel game Torna the Golden Country.  Torna the Golden Country is big enough to get a physical cartridge release, so who knows whether I'll cover it or not.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade 2 Part 6


Rex ran around Gormott completing side quests in this session.  In Torigoth, he bought all the items in Llysiau Greens along with the title deed to complete Paying it Forward.  To repair the crane, Rex had to make several salvage dives.  Shinra's Primitive Hammer was upgraded to a Beastly Hammer with a Wing Clip from the Torigoth blacksmith.  One Heart to Heart conversation in Forgotten Waste had Rex tell Gramps that he liked him better when he was a full sized dragon.


The culprits behind the crane incident were a Lv 10 Infallible Tirkin and a Lv 12 Resourceful Tirkin, which only came out at night.  These were easy to beat at Lv 12-13 with a full party after completing Titan Battleship, and the crane quest chain was complete.  Rex picked up some Buoyweed for Sunya from Cooley Lake so he could learn how to swim, and later I saw Sunya make some friends with his new hobby. 


Lv 8 Moonlighting Elwyn was the first Unique in the game to die.  I was playing as Rex + Arai, and the AI party members were smart enough to use Break + Topple combos.  Gaia Crash from Poppi Alpha was one of the last moves used.  Xenoblade 3's Unique tombstones actually come from Xenoblade 2, though unlike in 3 you can't fast travel to them.  Shortly after this victory, Lv 81 Territorial Rotbart ambushed Rex and annihilated him.


In Concerned Carpenter, the party had to fight off several Lv 9 Nabadan Gogol apes to save Pawli, who was trapped in a tree.  Pawli pulled the old "I'm injured!  Do my work for me!" trick that I remember from Final Fantasy 12's Giza Plains.  Then Rex had to buy Gormotti Walnut from Mokumoku the Nopon for Siorge the carpenter.  He exchanged two Muscle Branches for two Gormotti Walnuts, but had to pay 10,000 gold for the third.  Xenoblade 2 is rather too realistic when side quest characters take advantage of the player!


Rex took Ether Studies for +20 Ether in the Affinity Chart, Tora got +20 Luck with Luckypon, and Nia increased her Agility by 20 with Catgirl.  One consequence of Rex pulling down the water tower was that the local farmers had to use poisonous purple ponds.  In the quest Grow, Little Vegetables!, Rex had to deliver two loads of materials to a Nopon gardener when his first harvest was bad.  To solve the pollution problem, Rex warped to the nearby military base and shut off a valve.


Getting Hustle Hyacinth was a hassle, but Rex did it by staying at the inn between gathering sessions at Coolley Lake.  He happened to have a Chain of Keys to pay for oven repairs, saving me some gold.  Twaina's reward for the Fresh and Fruity quest was Twaina's Recipe. 


Since the recommended level was now above the party's, I raised everyone to Lv 17-19 using quest experience at the Torigoth inn.  Rex jumped off the west side of the map to swim through the Cloud Sea to a small island.  I had to look up the route to the next story location on GameFAQs because the quest marker was so misleading, and there were no directions on the map.  I wasn't the only reader to have this difficulty according to the forums!  Xenoblade 3 is definitely a more polished game than 2.  One wrong turn led to death by Lv 75 Queen Arachno.


The last upgrades before advancing to Greatspine Boundary were Wing Chips for Pyra and Poppi Alpha.  Since they're mandatory Blades, I might as well keep them in shape.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade 2 Part 7


I forgot to upgrade Dromarch's weapon, so I returned to Torigoth to buy a Wing Chip for the white tiger.  Nia attempted to awaken a new Blade.  To my dismay, it was a Rare Blade named Finch that I couldn't use!  Rex, however, drew Tsubaki, a spear-wielding 2* Blade which he would use for the rest of the session.


Tsubaki Base Stats


Role:  ATK
Auto-Attack:  15
Block Rate:  5%
Critical Rate:  19%
Phys. Def.:  4%
Ether Defense:  7%
Strength:  9


For comparison, here's what Finch looks like:


Role:  TNK
Auto-Attack:  14
Block Rate:  25%
Critical Rate:  4%
Phys. Def.:  20%
Ether Defense:  30%
Strength:  19


This makes me think of Sullla's comments on one of the Fire Emblem games (Genealogy of the Holy War?) about how royals are better in every way in that world.  Tsubaki does have some tricks to lead the Peasant Revolt, however.  Beast Slayer has a 1% chance of killing a regular Beast type monster instantly, which actually did come up in this session.  Open Space grants a +40% outdoors damage bonus, and Tsubaki is the first Dark type Blade.  Its Strong Horn has a damage bonus with high current HP percentage, and Heavy Hitter decreases aggro.  Tsubaki's true advantage is Power Spike, an Art that inflicts Break from the side.


After acquiring Tsubaki, the team had a much higher chance of Toppling foes.  They fought the Lv 14 Grambi Tirkins menacing two side quest lovers.  The party managed to kill the Grambi Tirkins, only for a Lv 18 Sniping Brent to fly over and eventually murder them with Arts like Feather Vane of Pain.  Uniques are jerks in Xenoblade 2 compared to Xenoblade 3!


Rhiannon and Norman were a couple from Torigoth who were about to elope.  Rhiannon's father hated all Ardainians because some Ardainians in the past had killed most of his clan, and still disapproved of the relationship even after the quest was over.  Rhiannon's disinherited brother Nils made medicine for Norman to complete the quest.  Chances are there'll be a follow-up reconciliation mission later in the game.


Poppi Alpha learned the meaning of "passing the buck" in the Burgeoning Curiosity Heart to Heart when Dromarch and Gramps tried to dodge the question of how Cloud Sea tides were made.  Tora's uncle Umon was willing to build a ship for the team because Tora came up with a story about running out of money.  Rex and Nia loudly wondered if Tora's lies would work since they couldn't let Umon know about their actions in Torigoth.  Somehow Umon did not hear this.


(But Tora said he didn't have any money in an earlier cutscene if I'm not mistaken, so he was telling the truth!)


The problem with the boat was lack of materials.  I already collected Puzzletree Wood, but reaching Dawnview Grotto to find the Diamond Oak required a Google search.  Xenoblade 2's horrible sense of direction can't be accurately portrayed in a text Let's Play, and you'll get a better idea if you watch some footage of gameplay in the Gormott region.


Tora bought Good With Hands for +20 Dexterity and Nia unlocked Ether Talent for +20 Ether in the Affinity Chart.  The next task was to feed the Titan powering the ship with Green Pollen Orbs, and it could only be found during high tide.  It was too obvious that something would go wrong as Rex sailed toward the World Tree.  Uraya the Titan swallowed the boat and passengers whole.  The nation of Uraya was inside the Titan, unlike Gormott which was on its Titan's back.


Xenoblade 2's Normal difficulty is odd in that a Lv 17-19 party can sometimes kill Lv 24 monster like a Doryu Riik if it's solo.  In Xenoblade 1, Shulk and friends wouldn't even hit it most of the time.  While looking for a side quest in Acid Gullet, a Lv 23 Implacable Dylan annihilated the team.


I found out while looking in the Enhance Arts menu that Nia uses Twin Rings when Dromarch is equipped.  One of the signature moves is Butterfly Blade!  Mio in Xenoblade 3 was only an imitation Nia, just as Noah was copying Shulk and Lanz was emulating Reyn.  Will someone in Alrest be the inspiration for Taion's origami Mondo birds next?


All of Tora's Drill Shield Arts were upgraded to Lv 2 with Weapon Points.  To continue the proud tradition of "Herman Gigglethorpe accidentally falls off a ledge in a 3D action game", Tora plunged to the floor while fighting a Lv 18 Amari Vang bat, allowing him to get away by climbing some vines (?).  A common escape technique in Xenoblade 3 was to climb the nearest available surface.


Three Urayans accosted the party because they wanted to capture Pyra:  Lv 18 Yew, Lv 19 Zuo, and Lv 20 Vandham.  A tutorial box recommended pressing Left on the D-Pad to force the AI party members to attack the same target as the leader, but I already knew that.  All three seemed like typical physical opponents, though it's hard to tell exactly what's happening in hectic Xenoblade combat.  The Urayans were vulnerable to Topple, so Tora's Big Boost was the most valuable Art.  Yew was the first to die, and Zuo was second.  Rex used Tsubaki's Dark Special move Gravity, followed by his Black Abyss and Tora's 3472 damage Meteorite.  Nia contributed a Steam Bomb, and AI Rex switched to Pyra to cast Steam Explosion for what looked like 5695.  Vandham dodged a few attacks with Fast Twitch but was no match for the party.


Of course, in the following cutscene, Vandham suddenly had the advantage over the reckless Rex.  Xenoblade games have a bad habit of making the protagonists useless in the story when they're experts in gameplay.  (Xenoblade 1 sometimes had an excuse when Shulk was working with the "shackled" Monado.) 


Vandham never wanted to harm the party, and enjoyed the test of strength against the Aegis.  He took Rex to the Urayan town of Garfont.  But before pursuing any more quests, I played a bit of Tiger Tiger to upgrade Poppi Alpha since the second stage was unlocked.  She got to I out of III of the Specials Enhancing RAM.  Poppi Alpha is a silly dilemma for the challenge.  She has a 5* rating, making her Rare.  But Tora's project rejects the idea of "chosen one" Drivers and special Core Crystals from Elysium, making Poppi Alpha the most Common in spirit. 


(The game uses the real Greek letters for Poppi, but I can't be bothered to figure out how to type those.)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade 2 Part 8


The party drew another Rare Blade from the Core Crystal lotto that they couldn't use:  Godfrey the TNK.  Garfont's blacksmith had impressive Scale Chips for the various Blades in the party.  For example, Poppi Alpha's Auto-Attack increased from 37 to 73!  Scale Chips also gave substantial bonuses to Critical Rate.


At first I forgot the Nopon favorite food and told Hototo it was Tasty Sausages, but then I remembered how many Nopon died from poison Mushrooms every year.  The Pouch Item of choice for these sessions was Gormotti Woodwing from Fallone Crafts, which gave -6% Affinity Loss and +8% Special damage.  Rex told Vandham that he wanted to stay out of wars, but Vandham pointed out that even the "compasses, valves for ether stoves" that he salvaged were used in army logistics.  And the bread they were eating came from Mor Ardain's government.  This was a philosophical conversation for a game that otherwise spends so much time on writing even worse jokes than mine.


With their new Core Chips and Level of 21, Tora, Rex, and Nia struck down Lv 18 Sniping Brent back in Gormott.  One Special move, which was probably Steam Explosion, hit for 11,183 in one screenshot.  The interesting event happened AFTER the battle, when some Lv 22 Dont Rhoguls swooped in and slaughtered the team.  Xenoblade 2 monsters treat battles as a party to invite all their friends to.


Nia drew the 2* boxing Blade named Kirim from a Core Crystal.  Kirim's initial stats:


Role:  HLR
Auto-Attack:  13
Block Rate:  10%
Critical Rate:  15%
Phys. Def.:  11%
Ether Defense:  7%
Strength:  10
Element:  Ice


Kirim's moves are Jackal Claw with a Cancel bonus, Deadly Twister which creates HP Potions, and Comet Punch which inflicts Launch.  Much better than the Pokemon version of Comet Punch!  Healers in Xenoblade 2 prove that the Agnian aversion to direct HP restoration didn't originate in Xenoblade 3. 


In Would-Be Mercs, our heroes fought off some Lv 12 Naola Crustips and failed to convince Jelved that revenge was bad.  (Then again, they did go back to another continent to murder a bird for the sake of vengeance.)  Tora gained Placebo to increase HP Potion restoration by 20%, Rex took Rapid Attack I to let him use his X button Art right away, and Nia gained Kinetic Vision for +20 Dexterity in the Affinity Chart.


Vandham, ancestor of Xenoblade 3's Guernica, Monica, and Ghondor, joined the party for the time being.  His rejection of any other Blade apart from Roc implied he was a temporary character, and in fact I only used him in one regular battle before putting him on the bench.  He was meant to decrease his HP with Fast Twitch, then Muscle Slash when low on HP.


Lv 21 Rampaging Ardun served as the tutorial for the Smash combo, and Rex's Anchor Shot move could now Topple if he had Pyra as his Blade.  Vandham was forced into the party, so he kicked out Tora.  But for the sake of the Peasant Revolt, Rex stuck to his reliable Common companion Tsubaki.  Cold Snap was one notable Special, but apart from that the fight was typical.


One atypical fight was a Lv 22 Elder Arachno that had its own Blade for some reason.  Elder Arachno fought like every other giant spider in Xenoblade history, using moves like Queen Bite and Queen Bomb.  The anonymous Blade used Termination Blast and Brutal Lance.  Elder Arachno could be Launched no matter how many legs it had as support, and Poppi Alpha unleashed a Permafrost Crash.  Other Special moves like Pandemic made an appearance too.  After the battle, Vandham explained that Blades revert to their Core Crystals when their Drivers die.  Blades can be reincarnated, but they lose their memory in the process.  Since Pyra was found in stasis rather than as a Core Crystal, Rex suspected her true Driver was still alive.


Lv 24 Akhos the Torna member confronted the party in Garfont.  He was unlucky enough to serve as the Chain Attack tutorial.  Chain Attacks are convoluted in Xenoblade 2 compared to the rest of the series, and even now I don't fully understand them.  Activating them is simple enough:  fill up all three bars of the Party Gauge and press +.  Reviving a fallen ally costs 1 bar, so Chain Attacks are one incentive to keep them alive.  You're supposed to counter the enemy's "element orbs" with the opposite element, though getting the right orbs to appear is tricky.  If you're successful, you'll fill up another gauge and unleash a Full Burst.


I probably didn't do it right, but Akhos was simple to defeat with Chain Attacks and Topple.  He escaped after Vandham interfered with his Blade, and Vandham suggested going to the capital of Uraya to meet an "old mate".  In the worst Heart to Heart yet, Tora suggested that Pyra dress up as a maid to enhance her "blushy-crushy" status.  Nia had the right idea:  "Listen, Pyra.  There's no point paying attention to this little twerp", but the only options about being interested were "Yes I am!" and "If you think Rex would like that. . .".  


(The "blushy-crushy" conversation isn't the only way Tora is insufferable.  His voice clips while gathering items made me turn off all voices outside of cutscenes.  If Tora sang in a duet with Poshul, they'd make all RPG characters beg for deafness.)


In the next cutscene, Jin cut through the soldiers in what looked like the Titan Battleship and stole a cache of Core Crystals.  Rex journeyed through Uraya as I admired the scenery around the Cobalt Cliffs.  Zeke and his Blade Pandoria spent a cutscene as unfunny joke characters until they attacked the party.  Zeke was at least more effective in battle than he was in the story section, with moves like Stratospheric Thunder, Electric Circus, and Lightning Force zapping the party.  Zeke was still vulnerable to Launch, and Poppi Alpha cast Gaia Crash.  One minor Chain Attack dealt 11,891 damage.


Zeke destroyed the cliff supporting him with his Ultimate Lightning Fury Slash in the next cutscene.  Lv 23 Karlin Skwarors were annoying monsters because they liked to call all the other monsters in the area for help.  Lv 21 Prom Piranhax near the Eight-Rock Skip revealed that Xenoblade 2 characters couldn't fight and swim at the same time, like their Xenoblade 1 cousins.  Keves and Agnus must have made fixing that a priority with their Xenoblade 3 military training.


Lv 24 Cunning Saggie destroyed the Lv 23 party twice, and no amount of Chain Attack experimentation worked.  At least it kept to itself unlike intrusive Uniques such as Sniping Brent.  Nia gained Soothing Hand for +15% HP for revived teammates, and all three upgraded their Common Blades and Poppi Alpha's Arts to Lv 2.  In the quest Gotta Start Somewhere!, the heroes killed many Igna lizards to save inferior mercenaries and their Nopon client Dororo.  One reward was an Amethyst Chip, and I had a second one lying around.  Tsubaki and Kirim equipped them.  Tsubaki's Cleric Lance had a +50 Dexterity bonus for Rex, and Kirim's Face Punchers increased Nia's HP by 500.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade 2 Part 9


It was a long walk to Uraya's capital Fonsa Myma, and Rex's team had to fight many monsters along the way.  Regular enemies seem to be more aggressive than in the other Xenoblade games.  At the city's entrance, the party discussed the differences between Mor Ardain and Uraya.  Mor Ardain preferred to armor their Titans, while Uraya tried to keep them as natural as possible.  Nia thought the "Ardainians are worse" because "All that metal's just bad taste".  Gramps resigned himself to the usual human treatment of Titans.


Rex picked a fight with a Lv 23 Violent Driver who tried to take Iona's rations and justified himself by saying he was a soldier who contributed to his country.  Violent Driver didn't even have the dignity of a name, so he was an easy "boss" to defeat with Tsubaki's Dark type specials such as Black Abyss and Hyper Graviton.  Violent Driver was Launched at least once, and the party subjected him to a minor 13,738 damage Chain Attack.


(The fact that Dark type moves in Xenoblade 2 are gravity themed is probably a reference to the similar Black element in Chrono Cross.  At least some Chrono Cross developers moved to Monolith Soft.)


Poppi Alpha, Dromarch, and Pyra all got Spinel Chips from the Fonsa Myma blacksmith.  The Commoners didn't need them since they had superior Amethyst Chips from side quests.  The Rare nobles have to serve the Blades in this revolution instead of being their masters.


Everyone visited the local theater to see a play called The Heroic Adventures of Addam, a retelling of the Aegis War.  The Aegis descended from the ceiling in the form of an angel and destroyed some monster puppets, while a ship decorated the background. 


Side quests in these sessions were not worth the effort.  True Colors was about gathering art supplies, which were random drops from enemies.  There are ways to increase item drop rates in Xenoblade 2, including modifying Poppi Alpha, but doing either that or killing many Krim Crustips would have taken a lot of time.  It took several tries to get the Mysterious Note in the lair of Implacable Dylan, and then it led to treasure on a platform that was impossible to reach.  Lv 23 Implacable Dylan himself was one of the smartest Uniques in the series, since he could survive in Uraya's acid pools, while the party would take gradual damage from them. 


Xenoblade 2 characters move slowly, and they don't have the fancy rolls from Xenoblade 3.  The AI never tries to lure monsters out of the acid either.


Vandham's old friend was called Cole, and he was the manager of the theater troupe and the adoptive grandfather of Iona.  Akhos and Malos promised Cole a longer life if he would help them after the party left for the day.  Cole said that he had lived for long enough.  Then Malos and Akhos tried to make a similar deal with Iona, since she wanted Cole to survive.


Cole said that Iona, Malos, and Akhos had likely gone to Olethro Ruins, Addam's headquarters from 500 years ago.  The party increased some Arts to Lv 2 with Weapon Points, then fought Lv 24 Akhos and Lv 26 Malos at Lv 25.  Torna's terrorists had many strong Arts, like Flash of Steel, Shadow Cut, Cruel World, World's End, Chakra Burst, Shred, and Checkmate.  Checkmate inflicted Shackle Driver to disable attacks and Arts.  Malos could sometimes force the party to attack him instead of the weaker Akhos.


After the initial defeat, the team grew to Lv 28 with side quest experience at the Fonsa Myma inn.  Tora staged a production of his own play Uraya Goes to War.  Nia played Queen Raqura, and Tora played the War Minister.  Poppi Alpha commented on the causes of Mor Ardain's aggression, mainly involving the barren soil of Mor Ardain's capital Titan.   


The second attempt against Malos and Akhos was a failure too.  Afterwards, the party bought some new skills on the Affinity Chart.  Nia took Herb Synthesis for +20% HP Potion effects, Rex got Gramps' Blessing for +20 Luck, and Tora got Super Spongy Bod for +10% HP.  Playing some Tiger Tiger to gain Ether for Poppi Alpha paid off by letting her equip Affinity MAX Barrier III for a barrier based on 20% of Tora's HP, AC Damage Absorb III for more barriers, and Tank Mod II to upgrade the Role.  Nia changed one of her accessories to an Activity Amulet for a +22% HP Potion.


I didn't take as many screenshots of the success during the first part of the battle because I didn't think I'd get that far.  A Permafrost Crash hit someone for 7112 once.  Once the fight lasted long enough, a cutscene played where Akhos's Blade disrupted the atmospheric Ether flow from the party's Blades to their Drivers.  Malos said the true purpose of Blades was to eliminate humanity for their sins.  Vandham sent his weapon's energy through his body to stop Akhos's tactic and sacrificed himself to save the party.  I could tell he was dead as soon as Roc changed back into a Core Crystal.


Pyra showed her true form when she turned into a blonde Blade named Mythra.  Mythra had made Pyra as an alternate personality 500 years before in an attempt to prevent Aegis-related destruction forever.  But Malos had returned, so Mythra had no choice but to return.  The second phase of the battle had me playing as Rex with Mythra as the Blade.  (This was by choice:  I did NOT want to have to fight the most difficult battle in the game so far again!  And Rex would have to use her sometimes anyway since she permanently occupied one Blade slot.)  Mythra's Arts were the same as Pyra's, but she was a Light element Blade with a Special called Gamma Ray.  One Chain Attack against Akhos worked better than usual and dealt a total of 57,228 damage.  Malos was Toppled, and a Chain Attack at the end of the fight got an Overkill bonus.


Akhos and Malos were forced to retreat after Mythra's assault, and Chapter 4 began with the burial of Vandham.  (No flute funerals in Xenoblade 2!)  According to Dromarch, souls reincarnated in the Xenoblade 2 world.  Mythra insulted Rex for his rash behavior in the Malos + Akhos fight, and said he should have run like Vandham suggested.  Mythra turned back into the reserved Pyra afterwards.  Pyra thought of Mythra as a "sister", and the two personalities dreamed together before Rex awakened the Aegis.  Malos turned out to be the second Aegis that fought against Mythra 500 years ago.  Addam the hero of the dead Titan of Torna was Mythra's Driver, and Malos's Driver was a man who reached Elysium, only to find it empty except for the Core Crystals. 


Cole gave a dagger to Rex and told him to take it to his former Driver.  Cole was actually a "Flesh Eater" experimental Blade called Minoth.  Flesh Eaters were Blades that were fused with human cells in an attempt to give their Drivers more power.  The experiment failed with Cole, and so he lost his Blade immortality.  Rex requested that Cole write a play about Vandham.


One important game mechanic has now opened up:  the third Blade slot!  This didn't come through cutscene powers or anything.  It was only an arbitrary restriction.  At this point I activated some Core Crystals hoping for a 4* Common.  Instead I got the 5* HLR Blade Boreas that I couldn't use.  Drawing Rare Blades now at least increases the odds for Common Blades once I find more Core Crystals.  


  
Xenoblade 2 Moves That Are Also In Pokemon  (The list will probably grow longer!)


Comet Punch
Mach Punch
Muddy Water
Dragon Rush

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade 2 Part 10


The first side quest Rex and friends took on was The Titan Scholar, where Pilolo in Fonsa Myma wanted the party to look for Guztin.  Our heroes leveled up some of their Arts with Weapon Points, and I discovered that I could switch out one of the weaker abilities for the 4th Art at the bottom of the list.  Up till now, I thought that Art was related to A button specials.  Most notable was Raptor Beat, a Knuckle Claw attack for Nia that had a side damage bonus.  Tora got Rigid Shield to restore HP while guarding.


Guztin was being attacked by Lv 26 Punishing Flamii and Lv 25 Ambushing Flamii birds, so the party had to fight them to rescue him.  Guztin said he wanted to get Dragon Incense from Dragon's Stomach, but the road was closed.  Near the Cataracts of Rujah, Rex eventually found the path to Dragon's Stomach.  To open the way, the team fought off Parisax monsters that both outnumbered them and out-leveled them.  Fortunately, Rex's Arai and Nia's Kirim made good partners since Wind was easy to Blade Combo with Ice.  Even Poppi Alpha combined once with Arai to whirl in a Sandstorm.  The Titan Scholar was complete after talking to Pilolo again.


In one conversation, Gheena said "Nobles of the six houses of Uraya are all sooo private. . .".  Now we know where the snooty drab clothed aristocrats of Xenoblade 3's City got the idea from.  Urayan mercenary squads had 6 members according to Kaizar, suggesting that the developers took more inspiration from Pokemon besides Art names.  Doghant pointed out "As is usual for Titans at the end of their lifespan, the surface temperature was rising, withering the plants. . .", just in case players missed the obvious global warming and sea level rise metaphors from the cutscenes.


To make the multiple gathering side quests less tedious, Nia set her Blade to Shinra before going into combat.  Shinra is ordinarily a bad Blade:  its hammer Arts cool down slowly and it has low damage output.  However, one of its Affinity Chart passive bonuses is Treasure Sensor which yields 60% more item drops.


Rex inherited Vandham's mercenary guild in Garfont and unlocked the Merc Group feature in the main menu.  Merc Missions function like "dispatch missions" in other games, such as Freighter quests in No Man's Sky.  You pick up to six Blades that aren't in the active party and send them out to finish missions automatically over a period of time.  This demeaning labor is perfect for the Rare Blade nobles who'd otherwise live a parasitic life of leisure on the bench!  They have to be re-educated, after all.  Some Merc Missions have prerequisites based on the Blade's gender, stats, or element.  The squad leader for First Mission was Finch because it would be named The Albatrojans.  "Albachaens" would have been a more auspicious name, but I didn't have that choice.


After completing First Mission, Rex grew to Merc Group Rank 1 so he could carry out missions for Argentum Trade Guild, Gormott, and Uraya. 


Falala the Nopon in Argentum Trade Guild sent the party on the longest side quest yet.  First they had to make Serenade with several recipe experiments so she could become a talented singer, then collect Rhinon Tail and Skwaror Rib-Eye Steak from Gormott enemies, then put up leaflets in Alrest's major cities, and after that complete a Merc Mission!  (Still haven't done the Merc Mission yet.)  Xenoblade 3 quest givers are so demanding that Malos is sympathetic in comparison.  You'll want to destroy most life on Alrest too if you have to deal with these NPCs.


Xenoblade 2 has obvious flaws compared to its predecessor and sequel, but I still enjoy the game.  One nice feature is some of the conversations that can occur after side quests.  Rhiannon's father eventually approved her marriage with Norman, but you wouldn't know that if I didn't go out of my way to see some of the minor conversations in Torigoth.  Another feature that distinguishes Xenoblade 2 from the rest of the series is the elemental system and Blade Combos.  Xenoblade 1 and 3 only have the Physical vs. Ether difference.


One side quest had the "onigiri scene" required by law in Japan.  The same side quest also had a man named Mabon who craved a mysterious Urayan delicacy called "choclit".  Bad memories of the You Say Which Way book Dragons Realm returned to me, as there was an annoying character who craved chocolate with a misspelled name.  Realms Beyond needs a queasy smiley for situations like this!


The Torigoth militia was almost as needy as Falala.  First Rex had to collect 10 Melosian Honey from Honeypot Grotto, then solve various disputes in Torigoth.  I ended the session just after learning about the second part of the quests.


Earlier in this session, a Gormotti kid stole the Core Crystal for Roc, and Rex had to pursue them to Gormott.  Mor Ardain's emperor seemed like a reasonable person during a cutscene, and he happened to be Mòrag's brother.  The impending war with Uraya was the fault of a renegade faction in the empire's Senate.


Agnus in Xenoblade 3 uses a strange architecture that doesn't look like any Xenoblade 2 buildings I've seen so far.  Maybe it's a reference to some place later in the story?


EDIT:  Forgot to mention that Xenoblade 2 has a bad case of the "repeat what the previous character has said as a question" RPG cliche.  Do Japanese people really talk like this, or is it merely a fiction convention used by all their bad writers?