@pokepal148

No, I don't! Thats the point!

So me final question about the game: do I just kind of do whatever I want to do without feeling like I am playing the game wrong? This game is a little daunting when it comes to progression. So far I have just been exploring the world trying to hit probe sites and see what's out there and killing whatever I can, but when I did regular missions from NPCs I was way overlevelled. Am I playing the game wrong or should I just keep playing the way I want which is acting like I am exploring an alien planet?

@Scrawnton

You are playing the game correct.

As I see it, there's not wrong way to play this game. The main story is almost secondary to the exploration and characters you meet and interact with.

@Scrawnton

Yeah with how massive the game is, it's hard to really find a "right" way to play it. You'll always find yourself overleveled for some quests because of this which sort of bugs me anyway. Still, the game is still a ton of fun for what it is and it's interesting to see the quests it has to offer. Some of them are really strange and entertaining.

@Scrawnton

Don't worry, I'm sure you can accept some sidequests that you're really underpowered for. You might even find some that are challenging but possible

@Mr_Mustache

I'm Sophie in the game. I asked Karen if I should create a man or a woman, she said a woman. And then, lacking inspiration, I named her after the cat…

Should I be taking the side quests from the quest board seriously? Or are they just optional stuff to do while exploring? I hate the idea of searching for hours just to find pearls..

@Scrawnton

One thing you can do for the gathering quests is go to the board, filter quests by "Gathering" and check its requirements. Once it says you have the required materials for it, then accept the quest and it'll auto complete it. Also even though you accept quests from the board, it's not like you have to complete them right away so just leave them on the side until you happen to come across the materials or monsters you need to hunt down.

@Scrawnton

Some are optional, some (expecially the "social" ones) will lead you directly to a mission that will clear up a hex somewhere on the map. Mostly they help you gain Blade Points.

Personally, I would often take on an affinity quest, and then opt in for all the quests on the board that were set in the area where the affinity quest takes place.

The chapter 5 woah you're a robot?! reveal felt pretty well done, but then it sort of instantly is explained and loses its mystery. I feel like they should have kept you wondering for a bit.

@Mr_Mustache

You've played so much more than I have I assumed you had a Skell. I don't know the exact history but Jetfire is a Macross fighter put into the Transformers world. The original Transformer toys were a combination of various transforming toy lines from Japan. So I guess he got swept up in that.

As far as paint goes. You don't have free reign, but you can change the colors of your Skell.

Yeah, the main story is really more like just another sidequest in this game. It doesn't really feel different in terms of goals or content than the other tasks in the game you handle, except it's just longer. I think the only way to play the game "wrong" is if you just want to play the story quests and not anything else, because the game won't let you do that. Which annoys me, since I wanted to unlock features as quickly as possible. Doubly so when the requirements for the story mission are to complete some random affinity mission located in some random area with no indication it's there unless you stumble upon it. I've quickly resorted to using an FAQ for mission locations, it makes the game a lot better.

It feels like this game has taken several steps backwards from the original Xenoblade when it comes to ease of play. It's disappointing to see, especially when I was hoping a sequel would take several more steps forward instead.

@Mr_Mustache Thanks for the responses mate. I realised that I never checked the squad section of the manual, so I found some of it in there. It was still kind of vague though, so your explanations helped me understand it better.

I don't mind the Miiverse popups in the corner, though I think I'm still seeing some of the same messages from a few days ago. I guess they must not refresh too often

I didn't know you could actually meet up with players after you complete the squad tasks, I thought that was the thing you had to beat the game to unlock. I guess there are two different types of things you can do directly with players? So confusing. I guess I'll have to check this out and see if we can actually play sometime, instead of roaming around by myself like a chump all the time.

@Scrawnton

HAHA, dude. Soon enough, you'll be wishing you weren't complaining about missions being too easy. I've had to put some missions BACK because I won't be able to beat them for like 20 more hours. Blech!

@Guillaume

SOPHIE, right. Sorry. ..who is Rose??

Guillaume said:

@Scrawnton

Personally, I would often take on an affinity quest, and then opt in for all the quests on the board that were set in the area where the affinity quest takes place.

Yep yep (and it should be noted that for a lot of these missions, you can Set As Destination, too)

@gojira

I know! Its bonkers! Its gonna be a whole new world when I get out there. No free reign? Ah well. Maybe I'll find something moderately close.. Doubtful? Maybe I'll have to settle for STARSCREAM. Or DIRGE. I don't know why I keep picking plane guys, nearly all of the "Robot"-form Transformers look like Skells!

@Mop it up

You're welcome

The Miiverse ones do not get new often. I'm still seeing "Just took down a Tyrant. Anyone up for a Turkey Dinner?" that I saw back in Week 1 or 2.

No, yep. As soon as one of those things goes CLEAR!, Barracks it up, console, "Squad Missions," pick the one in white (NOT the red one..), and either go alone or Accept & Recruit. If you've coordinated with someone on here, HOPEFULLY they're paying attention. I did get 3 random strangers the other day while waiting for Lou though, and they showed up QUICK. That was weird!

When are your best times? I play late night a lot. Maybe late late tonight.. No promises though. What Lv are you?

Yeah, also late, if I play, in the Eastern timezone.

I've realised that the game identifies players by their character name, and not by their NNID or Mii name like most other games, so should we perhaps compile a list of player names to put into the opening post of this topic, just to be clear?

@Mop it up

Theres a place that you can see who is who in-game (I think its under Intel? Lists? Etc.?). I'm Rob.

That said, theres like never more than 3 people on at a time, sadly, so it doesn't really matter. Kinda just take whatcha get and go from there. I wish we had like 16 people on there together, all taking up a squad to ourselves. That would be KICKASS.

Finally doing my first affinity quest: The Repair Job. So form what I gathered from you guys, I should just play the game by exploring the world as I see fit. That advice makes the game much more enjoyable. I no longer feel overwhelmed; I simply just do what I feel like at any given moment.

Let's see how this quest goes.

@Scrawnton

Yeah, don't feel overwhelmed. They give you all those Divisions to choose from to fit YOUR style of play, too. If you want to explore, pick the exploration rich one, etc. I like to collect things / Collectopedia, so I went with Curators.

If you do the bare minimum in this game, you'll probably line up ok level-wise with what the story is giving you, but if you do those side missions, obviously you're going to have some boosted XP. Just have fun out there!

@Mr_Mustache Definitely. Playing it as a world to explore and live in rather than a story to push through really changes my perspective on this game.

@Scrawnton

I've played WAY more side quests and Affinity quests than Chapters, I can promise you that. I've gone over 100 hours without even TOUCHING a Skell. The story is not controlling me, sir, haha.

@Mr_Mustache Well, I am buying a house so I have to save money by not buying anymore PS4 games... so I am going balls deep into this game to enjoy until Twilight Princess comes out. Hopefully I did not miss the negative world hype train for this game.