Xenoblade

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade Chronicles Part 11:  Monado Unshackled


Chapter 9 mostly concerned Prison Island, the long-awaited destination on Bionis's head.  The volume of enemies made the place a slog, but the dungeon itself was short.  A Giant named Zanza removed the "shackles" from the Monado, allowing Shulk to level its Arts up to the maximum, and to damage Mechons with faces. Level 42 Metal Face was appropriately the next boss.  The party was defeated once with a team of Shulk, Sharla, and Melia.  Swapping out Melia for the much more durable Riki was successful in spite of enemy attacks that Dazed the whole team at once.


"Faced Mechons" turned out to be humans piloting mechs, instead of being true robots.  That explained why the Monado couldn't affect them earlier in story terms.  Chapter 10 began with an embarrassing scene where Melia's staff obviously clipped through her robe. So much for Definitive Edition graphics! 


Valak Mountain was oversized like almost every other location in Xenoblade.  Takahashi must have thought "open world" meant "make every area tedious to trudge through".  Everyone bought new armor, especially Ice Climbing Boots for those annoying Topple monsters.  Too bad Riki could only wear Light armor. 


It took a couple of attempts in Lava Cave to defeat the Level 45 Conflagrant Raxeal without either falling in the lava, or falling victim to the Level 46 Moonlight Paimon "elementals" with Spike passive damage.  Eventually, the team of Riki, Sharla, and Shulk managed to win while buying enough time to keep out the other monsters for the most part.  As soon as that battle ended, Sharla died, and Riki the lead dashed out.  (Shulk is a better AI character than you might think given the number of Arts he has. . .)


Sorry if these updates aren't as exciting as some other RPG playthroughs.  Xenoblade combat can be a chore at times because enemies have so much HP, and cooldowns mean you have to use most of your Arts throughout the story.




Level 44



Shulk (Integrity)

Monado II (HP Up II, Night Vision II, Agility Up II)
Brandle Gear
Brandle Armour
Brandle Gauntlets
Climb Leggings (Divine Protect III)
Ice Climbing Boots (Topple Resist III)


Riki (Flexibility)

Longevity Biter (Poison Plus III)
Jail Cap (EXP Up I)
Jail Top (AP Up I)
Jail Gloves (Ether Def Up I)
Jail Bottoms (Strength Up II)
Jail Shoes (Muscle Up II)


Sharla (Confidence)

Spirit Rifle (Ether Up II)
Brandle Gear
Brandle Armour
Brandle Gauntlets
Brandle Leggings
Ice Climbing Boots (Topple Resist III)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade Chronicles Part 12:  Point of No Return?


Valak Mountain still had one boss to defeat:  Level 48 Mumkhar the traitor from the Prologue, aka Metal Face.  Who didn't see THAT twist coming, especially since Metal Face said he knew Dunban?  Fighting him at Level 44 was an obvious mistake since his health bar area was gold instead of the "recommended" red range.


My team of Shulk, Riki, and Sharla held out for a while.  They managed to Daze him once and strike with an 8541 Chain.  But Mumkhar's techniques like Fiery Pain IV scorched Sharla for 1421, when she only had 3121 max HP.  Victory came at Level 46, with the help of a free Heal Round to the whole party during a Chain.


Chapter 11 began in Sword Valley, just in front of the Mechon base Galahad Fortress and the Mechonis titan itself.  Dickson sold new equipment for the party such as "Anti-Mechon" weaponry and armor.  Some time was spent grinding for enemy drops and Collectibles in Valak Mountain to fund these purchases for Shulk, Sharla, Riki, and Melia.  Melia will probably stay on the bench for most of the assault, but she might be needed for Ether damage in case I run into Physical-immune bosses similar to Tyrea.


I'm growing fond of Riki.  His high HP allows him to take hits, and if the enemies ignore him, he can bop them with Sneaky or Bitey Bitey from behind.  Happy Happy fills the Chain gauge quickly, if he has enough "tension" to use that Art.  Tantrum is a decent 3-hit Physical Art.  Bedtime puts Riki and nearby monsters to Sleep, but other party members can easily wake him up.


Sharla recently got Head Shot, a Physical based Art.  It's supposed to instantly kill Dazed enemies, but the real reason to use Head Shot is for its high damage output.


EDIT:  Forgot to mention a detail that irked me in the story.  The faced Mechon said their motive was to fight against "the tyranny of the Bionis", but failed to explain further to the party.  This is the same trap that Bravely Default falls into:  suggest that the villains may be correct, but make their dialogue so cryptic and psychotic that you can't blame the heroes for slicing them in half.




Level 46



Shulk (Integrity)

Monado II (HP Up II, Attack Stability III, Agility Up II)
Amethyst Gear
Amethyst Armour
Amethyst Gauntlets
Climb Leggings (Divine Protect III)
Ice Climbing Boots (Topple Resist III)


Riki (Flexibility)

Anti-Mechon Biter (Strength Up III)
Aid Cap (Recovery Up IV)
Infantry Attire (Damage Heal IV)
Brave Gloves (Strength Up III)
Engineer Belt (Earth Cloak IV)
Amethyst Boots (Arts Seal Resist III)


Sharla (Confidence)

Anti-Mechon Sniper (Ether Def Up I)
Amethyst Gear
Amethyst Armour
Brandle Gauntlets
Amethyst Leggings
Ice Climbing Boots (Topple Resist III)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade Chronicles Part 13:  Enchant is Redundant


Chapter 11 took place in Sword Valley and Galahad Fortress, home to the Mechon army.  Xenoblade's developers were kind enough to allow "Anti-Mechon" weapons on other party members to damage Mechon without Enchant.  Having to buff everyone with Shulk before EVERY fight would have gotten old fast.


Riki gained two new Arts.  Riki is Angry deals passive Spike damage to everyone who uses regular attacks against him while the Aura was active.  Peekaboo strikes with Physical damage and Confuses Mechon if used from the side, similar to Shulk's Slit Edge.  Sharla received Cure Round, an all-target version of Cure Bullet, and Drive Boost, which reduces cooldown for a single target's Arts.


Some mission objectives had the designation "Surprise Quest".  I guess that's Xenoblade's version of a Pop Quiz.  These involved defeating a miniboss Mechon like Prudent Purson. 


Level 52 Mumkhar and Level 48 Mass-Produced Faces served as the boss fight.  The usual tactics secured victory at Levels 49-50 with Riki, Sharla, and Shulk.  Tantrum and Sneaky were among the finishing blows.  In the post-battle cutscene, Shulk refused to finish off Mumkhar in spite of him having no redeeming qualities, since he was human.  Luckily for him, Mumkhar took himself out by destroying part of the scenery.


Most of Galahad Fortress's fights were typical.  In the room with Level 55 Glorious Jurom, the party used the "lure" ability to draw each Mechon out 1 by 1 to avoid battling them all at once. 


Fiora was still brainwashed during a cutscene boss battle where the party had to kill Mechon minions and avoid harming her.  Afterwards was another glorified cutscene against Fiora and Egil, the dictator of Mechonis.  Egil nullified the Monado by manipulating Ether waves, and this was reflected by Shulk MISSing all the time during the fight proper.  Sharla and Riki still managed to inflict some damage before the cutscene where Fiora seemingly sacrificed herself to destroy most of Galahad Fortress and attack Egil.


At the beginning of Chapter 12, Shulk woke up alone in a place called Fallen Arm.  It seemed like a good place to end the session.  I may complain about Xenoblade in these posts, but it is fun to play even if it isn't variant material.



Level 52



Shulk (Integrity)

Monado II (HP Up II, Attack Stability III, Agility Up II)
Amethyst Gear
Amethyst Armour
Amethyst Gauntlets
Climb Leggings (Divine Protect III)
Ice Climbing Boots (Topple Resist III)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade Chronicles Part 14:  Return of Fiora


Chapter 12 was short, with only a few battles.  Much more time was spent on Chapter 13.  Shulk and Fiora reunited at last, and Fiora now had a Mechon body that had new Arts and could equip Mechonis class armor.  Other characters were separated into their own temporary parties, such as Reyn/Sharla and Riki/Dunban/Melia. 


Fallen Arm was home to the Machina, the friendly inhabitants of Mechonis.  All the Mechon that had fought against the party earlier were under the control of the renegade Egil, son of the village leader.  Egil planned revenge against Zanza and Bionis by stuffing humans into "faced Mechon" in order to counter the Monado, but early "models" like Fiora and Mumkhar still retained memories from their earlier lives.  Later versions like Sharla's boyfriend Gadolt would not have such distractions. . .


The village also sold a few upgrades for Arts, especially for Riki and Sharla.  Over the course of this update, Riki relied more on "damage over time" abilities such as Freezinate and Burninate, which seemed to be effective.  The battle party rotated for a bit so Melia saw some action.  She didn't have the best AI as she seemed to summon elementals at random and fight at close range. 


One Chain with Riki/Shulk/Melia against an unfortunate Level 53 M56 Prototype dealt 263,832 damage (!).  No idea HOW that happened, but the Achievement "World Shaker" appeared on the screenshot. 


Chapter 13 mostly occurred in Mechonis Field, which was really a massive vertical dungeon filled with pistons and elevators.  And Mechon, since Shulk and friends seemed to kill them by the hundreds.  The party reverted to the usual Riki/Shulk/Sharla configuration eventually.  Equipment dropped from enemies supplemented what our heroes bought in the village.  Shulk somehow gained +3 Physical Def and +43 Ether Def by taking his shirt off.    


A Level 60 Revolutionary Bifrons was too much for the team due to its high attack power and passive Spike damage, so they had to retreat after several failed attempts.  Sometimes you can get away with running past enemies in Xenoblade instead of fighting them, even if they're blocking the path forward.


Jade Face, aka Gadolt, was the "boss".  In practice, Riki/Shulk/Sharla ran around fighting the same Mechon that they had before.  They took cover behind barricades to prevent Jade Face's lasers from sniping them, then rushed on to deal some token amount of damage before the cutscene played where Fiora saved them with deus ex machina powers.  Vanea the Machina told the party more about Egil's army, and called Fiora "Lady Meyneth".  Meanwhile, the High Entia empire was about to strike Galahad Fortress along with Dickson and the Nopon.  Loritihia designed the weapons, so they're bound to be evil.


(All of you Realms Beyonder villagers playing Werewolf right now would effectively win the game on Day 1 if playing against the Xenoblade cast. . .)


Even while ignoring most of the sidequests, Xenoblade will probably be a 50 hour playthrough, to give you an idea of how bloated the game is.


Level 58


Shulk (Intuition)

Monado II (HP Up II, Attack Stability III, Agility Up II)
Ruby Glasses (Ether Up V)
Sleek Oil (Chill Defence III)
Frozen Gauntlets (Chill Defence IV)
Lord Leggings (HP Up IV)
Sleek Sandals (Bind Resist II)


Riki (Vivacity)

Machina Nibbler (Strength Up III, Strength Up I)
Aid Cap (Recovery Up IV)
Infantry Attire (Damage Heal IV)
Brave Gloves (AP Up I)
Sleek Trunks (Quick Step II)
Amethyst Boots (Arts Seal Resist III)


Sharla (Confidence)

Machina Rifle II (HP Up IV, Ether Up III)
Taurus Helm
Stellar Armour (EXP Up I)
Taurus Arms
Gemini Leggings (Muscle Up I)
Ice Climbing Boots (Topple Resist III)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade Chronicles Part 15:  Level Grinding Required


Chapter 14 of Xenoblade Chronicles took place in Mechonis Central Factory and the capital city of Agniratha, which meant. . .fighting hundreds more robots!  A few posts on other sites suggested that some players gave up on the game around here, which makes sense given how tedious the chapter can be.  (Others quit around Chapter 8 in Eryth Sea.)


The best way to tackle Xenoblade is in shorter sessions.  You'll enjoy the combat much more if you do it that way.


Level 68 Gadolt in his "face" mech was the first boss.  Besides his supporting units like a Level 64 Defensive/SHAME, the party had to beware being Dazed.  Gadolt himself preferred Ether type attacks like Linear Laser V.  Monado Shield blocked those, while Buster dealt damage.  Shulk/Sharla/Riki was the battle party as usual.


Egil appeared outside his mech and had a conversation with the party.  He wanted to kill the races of Bionis because they actually served as fuel for the titan.  Remember when they talked about people being "returned to the Bionis" during funerals?  Didn't Deus do something similar to the humans in Xenogears?  (Haven't played that game, or the Xenosaga series. . .)


Egil fought the group at Level 70 in Meyneth Shrine.  It was a typical boss battle except for when he occasionally summoned Mechon minions such as a Level 67 M97/EAGLE.  Homing Missiles IV was his most dangerous attack, and could be sent at Riki for 8437 damage if not blocked with Monado Shield.  Back Slash was as helpful as Monado Buster for offense.  Then again, the nature of a cooldown system in a real-time battle system meant that most skills are used in each fight anyway.  Dragon Age Origins has a similar issue.


Takahashi's penchant for religious references appeared when Egil summoned his Level 72 mech, Yaldabaoth.  What that has to do with the Gnostic demiurge is beyond me, but then again the Monado-disabling ability is called Apocrypha.  It was probably added to sound cool rather than to have any greater significance.


At Level 66, the party saw MISS for almost the entire fight.  They held out for a long time thanks to the group's healing abilities.  It seemed like one of those unwinnable boss fights at first.  It wasn't.  After grinding to Level 68 in Agniratha, our heroes could act normally.  Attempting to battle any enemy around 5 levels or more above you is suicide in Xenoblade, not merely difficult like in other RPGs.


Sharla had to watch out for moves like Alchemist V for 6869 damage, but Monado Shield blocked it once it was seen in a vision.  Since this was a "cutscene boss", Shulk and friends only had to remove about 1/4 of Yaldabaoth's life bar to advance to Chapter 15.  Egil became the pilot of Mechonis and pulled back the sword, sending many Bionis allied troops to their deaths.  The Machina villagers rescued the party and sent Shulk back to their village.  Will they have new equipment and new Arts upgrades?




Level 68


Shulk (Integrity)

Monado II (HP Up II, Attack Stability III, Agility Up II)
Ruby Glasses (Ether Up V)
Sleek Oil (Chill Defence III)
Agrius Arms (Buff Time Plus IV)
Lord Leggings (HP Up IV)
Sleek Sandals (Bind Resist II)


Riki (Flexibility)

Machina Biter II (Strength Up III, Strength Up I)
Aid Cap (Recovery Up IV)
Agni Plate (Spike III)
Alcyone Gloves (AP Up I)
Alcyone Bottoms (Quick Step II)
Alcyone Shoes (Arts Seal Resist III)


Sharla (Perseverance)

Machina Rifle II (HP Up IV, Ether Up III)
Taurus Helm
Gemini Armour (EXP Up I)
Taurus Arms
Gemini Leggings (Muscle Up I)
Ice Climbing Boots (Topple Resist III)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade Chronicles Part 16:  Sit Back and Watch the Story



Monolith Soft decided to make up for the excessive combat of Chapter 14 with excessive cutscenes in Chapters 15 and 16.  Plot twists suited for their Baten Kaitos games appeared, which I'll discuss later.


Shulk/Riki/Sharla confronted the Level 70 Apocrypha Generator before facing Egil.  Although it was a sphere, it was still as vulnerable to Back Slash and Slit Edge as an opponent with a back or side.  Monado Buster sliced it apart whenever its cooldown ended.  The party had to beware of Topple and a move (Magnetic Field:  First?) which decreased Ether Def and Strength.  Otherwise it was an easy battle.  Shulk gained a new Monado power called Cyclone, designed to Topple enemies in a circle around him, but he didn't have much of an opportunity to use it.




Level 72 Yaldabaoth was a proper boss fight this time.  No cutscenes to save Egil.  The Mechonis Core area prevented the party from attacking Yaldabaoth in the back or side, so Shulk's normal Arts were less effective.  Although you'd think the main character of a Japanese RPG would play more like a Fighter, Shulk is closer to the stereotypical Thief who always looks for backstab opportunities.


Yaldabaoth Toppled our heroes with what seemed to be Weakness Model.  Egil's mech had other Arts, of course, and sometimes summoned Mechon allies just like other bosses throughout the last couple of Chapters.  Yaldabaoth did have one gimmick:  Bionis Slash X, which would have hit Shulk's world for an "infinity symbol" damage if the party didn't destroy the 3 generators before the vision came true. 


Sharla had died due to me misunderstanding a vision.  Not all Arts can be blocked with Monado Shield, and it seemed that the game recommended Speed instead.  I tried Monado Shield anyway.     Shulk and Riki still managed to win by ignoring the minions and hacking away at Yaldabaoth.


Chapter 16 had a 1-on-1 fight between Fiora as Lady Mayneth vs. Zanza.  Zanza was Lv ???, suitable for his self-proclaimed godhood, but Fiora still managed to hit him.  Not that she could do much damage before the cutscene activated, since the fight was for show.  Zanza used Shulk's own Monado powers, like Buster and Shield.


Fiora/Sharla/Dunban struck a Level 70 Sureny Telethia before even more cutscenes played.  This was a relief since they would probably have lost if they tried to fight for real.  Without Shulk's Purge ability, they could not negate the aura that caused all moves to miss.


Time for story!  After Yaldabaoth was defeated, Shulk resisted the urge to kill Egil despite a voice from the Monado telling him to do so.  Egil vowed to fight on until he realized Shulk's desire for peace was sincere.  Dickson shot Shulk, and Zanza appeared in the form of Shulk with longer hair, wings of light, and a halo.  Zanza had killed Shulk as a boy, and used his body as a host.  Zanza was the Monado itself, not the giant on Prison Island.  The giant was Egil's friend until he became possessed by Zanza during the previous war between Bionis and Mechonis.


"Shulk Zanza" regarded all Bionis life as "bacteria", suitable only for fueling Bionis and powering him up.  He judged Meyneth as being too weak to be a god, while Meyneth wanted to create a world where people could live out their own lives without gods.  High Entia were programmed to become Telethia once the time had come for the Bionis to reawaken, and destroy all opposition to Zanza.  The corpse of the real Shulk remained with the party.


Chapter 17 begins with no Shulk, though it's likely he'll return before the final battle.  No "stats and equipment" this time since these chapters were so heavy on story.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade Chronicles Part 17:  Nothing But Bionis From Here!


Shulk was floating inside an asteroid field coma dream at the beginning of Chapter 17, so a party of Melia/Fiora/Riki fought the Level 69 Sero Telethia instead.  Melia was better off when I controlled her than the AI, since the player could actually pick the proper elementals and cast them at range.  These elementals provided buffs to allies within range as well.  Fiora died later in the fight but was revived at the expense of the Chain gauge.


Now Shulk had the willpower to snap himself out of his coma and make a replica Machina sword into a makeshift Monado.  He ground down a Telethia's back in a cool cutscene and replaced Fiora in the party against a Level 70 Sureny Telethia.  I still controlled Melia at this time, and attempted to regenerate HP to the party with Summon Aqua as the boss tried Killer Dive V against Riki.  Sani Telethia at Level 72 was next, while the party was still at 68-69.  The usual techniques of summoning elementals and launching them worked well.


Bionis Interior was the next region, and looked like the proper place for the final battle.  In a game set in a world of 2 titans, why wouldn't the heart of one of them be the perfect ending?  But no, there was still more of the game to go.  Melia found her Alcor Staff here for a considerable boost to Auto-attack, Ether Def, and Critical Rate.  Electric Plus V, Blaze Plus V, and Arts Stealth VI gems were attached. Sharla found the Agape, another Christian-themed reference.  Why a gun represents divine love, I'm not sure, but HP Up V and Heat Sink III were nice.  Not sure what Unbeatable IV does.


Gigas Telethia wasn't a boss, but once pushed Shulk off a small ledge into a lake of ether just as it died, resulting in a "Game Over".  Oops!


Level 75 Disciple Loritihia was the boss here, controlling Melia's brother Kallian in his Telethia form.  For once, Shulk sat a boss fight out where he could have participated.  Melia/Sharla/Riki did fine at Level 70-71.  It was probably a good idea to use a "Black Mage" like Melia against all the elementals she summoned.  Blasts with Elemental Discharge and a Mind Blast dealt considerable damage, and Melia snapped the others out of Confuse status with B button Encourage.


Dickson awaited the party at Prison Island, now with a much larger area to explore.  He seemed content with throwing various demons at the party in an arena rather than fighting our heroes directly.  Melia/Shulk/Riki defeated a Level 75 Obelis Obart gargoyle at Levels 71-72 with typical tactics, but lost to Level 78 Demon Pavlovsk easily.  A team of Level 73-74 Riki/Sharla/Shulk returned and beat up Demon Pavlovsk, proving they were the best team.  Their high "affinity" from battling so often together let them get more Chains.  Level 78 Master Obart was another standard miniboss.


A battle on a bridge against Level 77 Masterful Gigapur and other flying monsters won Sharla the ability to upgrade her all-target Heal Round to the maximum level.  Dragon King Alcar at Level 79 was at least different from the other Prison Island opponents, with high Spike passive damage and Ignis Breath fire.  Riki insulted him by breathing Burninate on the dragon for the final blow.


At this time, it seemed like a good idea to take a break.  Be sure to do that often when playing Xenoblade; the relatively long regular battles combined with the repetitive tactics can wear you down.  (Unless you're switching party members constantly for some reason.)


The story at this point has degenerated into "Zanza and his Disciples are evil and we have to stop him!".  Egil had more interesting motivations, and might have made for a good endgame party member after his "redemption", if he had survived.


EDIT:  This update's title is meant to refer to how Monado Buster will no longer have its damage multiplier now that there are no more Mechon to fight.  But it's still one of Shulk's more damaging moves, apart from a properly positioned Back Slash.


Level 75


Shulk (Integrity)

Replica Monado (Topple Up II, Attack Stability III, Ether Def Up I)
Ruby Glasses (Ether Up V)
Lancelot Armour(Chill Defence III)
Agrius Arms (Buff Time Plus IV)
Lord Leggings (HP Up IV)
Sleek Sandals (Bind Resist II)


Riki (Flexibility)

Banquet Biter (Blaze Plus V, Chill Plus V, Poison Plus V)
Aid Cap (Recovery Up IV)
Agni Plate (Spike III)
Lancelot Gauntlets (AP Up I)
Hierax Bottoms (Quick Step II)
Alcyone Shoes (Arts Seal Resist III)


Sharla (Devotion)

Agape (HP Up V, Heat Sink III, Unbeatable IV)
Asura Helm (HP Up V)
Lancelot Armour (EXP Up I)
Asura Arms (Strength Up VI)
Lord Leggings (HP Up IV)
Rex Greaves (Sleep Resist III)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade Chronicles Part 18:  Grinding Vs. Gods


Disciple Dickson transformed into his monster form at Level 80, and a Level 75 party of Riki/Sharla/Shulk was ready to challenge him.  He didn't go down easily when he had a Spike aura and the ability to Daze everyone at once.  Riki relied on his usual tactics, like taking hits for the team and bonking him on the back with Sneaky when Dickson was distracted.


Around halfway through the 1st phase of the fight, Dickson activated a cutscene where the whole party encouraged Shulk and Fiora to continue fighting.  Some fights in Xenoblade seem too manageable to justify this kind of "seemingly hopeless situation" storyline.  Monado Speed dodged single target special moves like Chaos Combo.


The relative easiness of Dickson belied the difficulty of the final section of the game.  Shulk and friends suddenly teleported to what seemed to be our solar system.  The Landmarks had names like "Saturn", "Jupiter", and "Mars", and the characters were walking on an outer space background.  Enemies here were ghost versions of previous opponents, such as Level 78 Spirit-Xord.  These were simple to kill, though Sentient Genesis contained Zanza.


Zanza liked to summon guardians like earlier bosses, and unleashed Arts like Monado Cross VIII and Twin Break.  Roman numerals indicate the Monado Shield level needed to nullify the enemy Art.  Upgrading Monado Shield to the maximum level seems pointless.  Zanza's Monado Right was dodged with Monado Speed.  (Monado Speed upgrades only increase the duration rather than its effectiveness.)  "Quick time event" B button presses were necessary to receive the vision to block Zanza's Arts, though these were easy to clear. 


As for Zanza's 2nd form. . .well, the party was Level 76, and his Level ??? was really Level 82 in practice.  With the "underleveled accuracy penalty", Shulk saw nothing but MISS.  That is easily the worst mechanic in Xenoblade, and I'm not sure why Monolith Soft included it.  It certainly didn't exist in the Baten Kaitos series.  Was it an idea from Xenogears or Xenosaga?


Since Dickson was the point of no return, I had no choice but to reload my save and level up on Prison Island.  Shulk and Riki made some new gems for their equipment back at Colony 9, since they got so many materials from fighting monsters.  Riki's Bitey Bitey move got its final upgrade from a monster drop.  None of the "Art Level VIII-X" upgrades are available from main story shops.  Maybe Colony 6 has them if you do their sidequests? 


For a playthrough based on following the main story and ignoring most sidequests, Expert Mode can make the game easier.  That's because you can temporarily level down to match the monster levels in order to avoid diminishing returns with experience and AP.  The "true level" for my party is 77.


Level 75


Shulk (Integrity)

Replica Monado (Strength Up VI, Strength Up V, Strength Up V)
Ruby Glasses (Ether Up V)
Lancelot Armour (Spike Defence V)
Agrius Arms (Buff Time Plus IV)
Lord Leggings (HP Up IV)
Hierax Shoes (Arts Seal Resist V)


Riki (Flexibility)

Banquet Biter (Blaze Plus V, Chill Plus V, Poison Plus V)
Aid Cap (Recovery Up IV)
Agni Plate (Spike III)
Lancelot Gauntlets (Muscle Up V)
Hierax Bottoms (Quick Step II)
Hierax Shoes (Arts Seal Resist V)


Sharla (Devotion)

Agape (HP Up V, Heat Sink III, Unbeatable IV)
Asura Helm (HP Up V)
Lancelot Armour (EXP Up I)
Asura Arms (Strength Up VI)
Lord Leggings (HP Up IV)
Rex Greaves (Damage Heal V)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade Chronicles Finale


It only took until this part to finally figure out that using Arts of the same color in a Chain powers up the combo.    


Zanza's first form fell to this technique at Level 79.  Not all attacks in the final Chain were color coordinated, as they went like this:  Thunder Bullet (Sharla) + Slit Edge* (Shulk), Bitey Bitey* (Riki), Head Shot* (Sharla), Back Slash* (Shulk), Tantrum (Riki).  Moves marked with an asterisk were compatible.  Shulk is a bit difficult to work with in Chains due to the fact that his Arts have diverse colors and are fixed. (i.e. you can't swap them out in the menu like with, say, Reyn)  No idea what Monado Arts fall under, if any.


Failed attempts at Zanza's 2nd form happened to level up Riki to 80.  That may have been just the boost needed to survive.  He made sure to warn Shulk to use Monado Speed or Monado Shield if a vision appeared!  That's why it's not recommended to swap the protagonist out of the party here.  It was a good idea after all to upgrade Monado Shield to the maximum since Zanza tried Monado Shooter IX.


When Zanza was almost dead, he went into his 3rd form, mostly a weak version of the 2nd now that Shulk had the True Monado.  Alvis seemingly betrayed Zanza to allow Shulk to win.


In the ending, it was revealed that Zanza was once a scientist named Klaus who destroyed our universe with an experiment and created the world of Bionis and Mechonis.  That explained the solar system backgrounds just before the final battle.  Meyneth was another scientist who tried to warn him not to do it.


Alvis was an AI, and asked Shulk to create a new universe now that he had become a god himself.  Shulk wished for a universe with no gods, and ended up making a world seemingly similar to Earth.  Reyn was surprised that the water was salty while he was fishing, hinting that oceans as we know them didn't exist on the planet of Bionis and Mechonis.  Fiora got her human body back, and everyone was excited at the possibilities of life.


My thoughts?  Xenoblade can be fun, but at times it can be tedious relative to other RPGs.  Especially the side quests which are all about looking for items or killing X number of enemies.  Xenoblade approaches 50 hours if you mostly ignore those.  If you only like the shorter style RPGs like Chrono Trigger, Pokemon, Super Mario RPG, stay far away!  Cooldown combat in real time is repetitive, whether here or in Dragon Age Origins.  Vary your party from time to time and experiment with Chains to get the most out of the battle system.


Xenoblade was designed by people who hate variants.  Low level games are impossible with that accuracy penalty, and solo runs are dead when you consider the rotating story and necessity for Break + Topple in mandatory fights. 


Even with all my complaints, I overall enjoyed the time I spent with Xenoblade.  But I don't understand people who praise it as one of the best games of all time.  Its hype mostly seems to come from it being a good game during a weak generation for console RPGs (Wii/Xbox 360/PS3).  The main rival to Xenoblade from that time seems to be Tales of Vesperia, for comparison.


Don't hold your breath for the Future Connected epilogue.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Xenoblade Chronicles BONUS 1:  True Monado vs Chapter 1


Anyone who's followed the thread will know that my solo Shulk attempt failed in Chapter 2.  But Boro wanted to see him in New Game Plus, so I'm writing at least one bonus episode.


New Game Plus carries over some features from a cleared game file, such as level, equipment, Skill trees, and Arts.  Since Shulk doesn't play by the other characters' rules, he gets the True Monado as the Monado III and all its Arts in Chapter 1.


The Prologue is funny in New Game Plus when Dunban is stripped of his Monado and has to use his "normal" moveset from later in the game.  He still hacks apart Mechon with ease.


Might as well get Shulk's standard Skill Trees out of the way first.  Skills are active all the time, but the stat bonus from each tree depends on which one you have equipped.  Humanity gives 50 Ether, Integrity provides +15% Block Rate, and Intuition boosts Agility by 15.  Block Rate is NOT evasion:  instead it can decrease damage by 50%.  Agility governs accuracy and evasion.  Ether is the science fiction equivalent of Magic Attack.


Humanity

-Healing Wisdom:  +15% healing Arts
-Kind Encouragement:  Encouraging an ally heals them
-Friendship Heals:  Heal party for small amount after Chain
-Cheer of a Friend:  Makes Burst Affinity increase Chain gauge more
-Chain of Friendship:  Increases probability of Chain Link


Humanity Skills are useful with a party, but are pointless for a solo challenge except for Healing Wisdom.  Chains are useless when alone, and you don't want to Encourage your allies!


Integrity

-Medium Equipment:  Shulk can wear Medium armor
-Secret of Life:  Reviving an ally heals them more
-Rewarding Work:  Quests give more experience
-Resilient Warrior:  More Physical and Ether defense
-Ultimate Teamwork:  Chain attacks are stronger


Shulk can benefit from Medium armor if he doesn't mind an Agility penalty.  Rewarding Work may be worth it if he needs to be higher than Level 79 by the end.  And higher defense stats is always good.


Intuition

-Battle Cry:  Increases Tension from Battle Start Affinity
-Underdog:  Agility buff at start of battle with higher level opponent
-Equipment Master:  Decreases Weight
-Fever Pitch:  Better chance of a Fever while crafting gems
-Element of Surprise:  More damage for Back Slash if enemy hit from behind


Underdog may come into play in later Chapters if Shulk sets his level 1 lower than enemies.  It's always beneficial to have lower Weight.  Fever Pitch can make better stat bonus gems for weapon and armor slots.  In a solo, Element of Surprise only works if Shulk sneaks behind an enemy and Back Slashes at the beginning of the fight since he has no way to remove aggro from himself.


In these BONUS posts, Shulk will fight regular enemies at his endgame level to cut out tedium from the Chapters and sidequests.  He'll try to battle unique monsters and bosses with Chapter appropriate equipment and levels.  Well, except for the Monado III, but even that scales to level instead of having a fixed power.


A Level 39 Roguish Frengel was the first notable opponent in the Colony 9 area during Chapter 1.  The bug bit Shulk to death through his gem-less Empyreal armor set from the Colony 9 shop.  Since this miniboss was "out of depth", as they say in dungeon crawlers, Shulk got even with his late game equipment:


Ruby Glasses (Ether Up V)
Agrius Plate (Physical Protect VI)
Agrius Arms (Buff Time Plus IV)
Lord Leggings (HP Up IV)
Ice Climbing Boots (Topple Resist III)


Attempts from Levels 39-41 failed, mostly when Roguish Frengel liked to use Scissor Jaws to Topple Shulk and render him helpless for a few seconds.  But I learned a trick that would serve Shulk well for future New Game Plus encounters:  Monado Speed.  Normally this move is there to block certain Arts foreseen in visions.  Its single target nature makes it dubious for a buff in a normal game, but this is solo Shulk.


At Level 42, Shulk dodged most of Roguish Frengel's attacks and restored what damage he did take with Light Heal.  Auto-attacks and Stream Edge were preferred to speed up the Monado's cooldown cycle.  It was obvious that no one was supposed to kill Roguish Frengel in Chapter 1, since the rewards from its treasure chest were Siege Gnasher for Riki and Mani Defender for Dunban.


Versus a Level 5 Verdant Bluchal, Shulk returned to his Empyreal equipment.  He used the same tactics as he did for Roguish Frengel, but once Toppled the enemy with Monado Cyclone for entertainment's sake.  Shaker Edge's lag lasts longer than Topple, it seems, so good luck Dazing an enemy with Shulk!


Lake Magdalena was technically a unique monster, but its habit of swimming out of combat range in the previous playthrough prompted Shulk to slice it in half with a Monado Buster at Level 79 for revenge.    


Level 40 Gentle Rodriguez was another out-of-depth monster in an optional location.  This was another physical opponent that could be worked around with Light Heal + Monado Speed.  Big Body Press could Bind Shulk in place, like Immobilize in Final Fantasy 12 but with a shorter duration.  Gorge was a vampiric attack that healed Gentle Rodriguez for a paltry amount of HP by the standards of Shulk's attack, let alone Xenoblade enemy health.  Shadow Eye lasted long enough to power up the next 2 Arts, usually Back Slash and Stream Edge. 


(Solo fights are NOT for the impatient in this game:  that's one reason these BONUS challenges are restricted to bosses and unique monsters!  Gentle Rodriguez has 197,300 HP when Shulk could hit for 5400s at best with Shadow Eye + Back Slash.)


The Level 10 Cellar Bagworm in Tephra Cave had to be defeated at Level 11 with Empyreal equipment and a Muscle Up II gem on the Monado III from a Chapter 1 sidequest.  The main reason for that was Toxin Shower, which dealt Poison damage that Shulk couldn't dodge.  Reyn was alive during the successful attempt because of the lack of aggro towards him, but he MISSED thanks to his low level.


Level 8 Mining Patrichev was killed at Level 8, and finished off in style with a Shadow Eye Stream Edge and Back Slash.  Level 9 Wallslide Gwynry would have been a tough fight if low level Reyn and Fiora actually let Shulk play a proper solo run.  Instead, the monster ignored them, letting them automatically Encourage Shulk out of Topple from Knock-Down Spin.


Chapter 1's boss was 2 Ancient Machines at Level 8.  Shulk didn't need to be at Level 12 since he had a better weapon than his Junk Sword, and Monado Speed.  Monado Buster cleared the Chapter.


Don't know if I'll do the whole game this way.  Depends on whether later fights get too tedious.  At least most of Chapter 1's sidequests are done, since Shulk needs Affinity with the region to obtain his bonus Skill trees.  He'll spend some time in Central Bionis and Fallen Arm to receive his extra Monado Arts if possible.