I'm on a quest to find entry into that big area inside the bionis's trachea. It's harder than I thought it would be..

I made it to Makna Forest, what a gorgeous environment! You have the lush and dense forestry, the (very) long rope bridge across the deep chasm, and these monumental waterfalls far off in the distance that I suspect I could probably get to if I wanted!

The story keeps getting interesting too, what with the new characters I just met, including my new party member Melia.

@roykoopa64 I liked that area, though the game started losing me both during and after that area. I'll have to put some time in tonight and see if things start turning around for me.

30 hours in, it's been great so far!

So I made it to Eryth Sea! Awesome environment, very pretty. My wife has been enjoying the story as she watches me play, and things got interesting when we find out more about Melia and the High Entia, only to have the party arrested because Shulk carries the Monado. But wait, that mysterious guy Alvis comes to the rescue! Hmmm..

Now I need to save the worker, and he's surrounded by 4 Defensive Kromars. Ugh, these guys keep hitting me with status ailments: sometimes I can't move, sometimes I can't use my arts/ abilities… I've been wiped out repeatedly!

Hm, I could always try to do more side quests, perhaps try a different party combination. I don't even have my portable furnace yet (will have to check what item I need for that one again). I haven't done much with rebuilding Colony 6 because I'm missing so many of the required items, even for the level 1 stuff (I think I need some Steel Silk or something)! Man, it seems like I'm missing so much stuff, even when I take the time to go and explore so much terrain.

EDIT: Oh, one thing I'm not sure is clear to me, but I notice that a benefit of doing side quests is that the town/ area has a stronger 'affinity' for Shulk and the crew, ie the hearts increase and everyone in the town loves Shulk even more. What's the advantage of having the towns liking your party even more?

@roykoopa64 You should be capable of obtaining the item you need for the portable furnace. To acquire the item, you have to rebuild all areas of Colony 6 up to level 2.

As for affinity, hearts mean that the affinity between two party members has increased, and stars mean that the party's affinity to the area has increased. The stars on the affinity chart show the level of each area, with five being the max. When you increase the level, more sidequests become available, as well as citizens having more items to offer when you trade with them.

Mop it up said:

You should be capable of obtaining the item you need for the portable furnace. To acquire the item, you have to rebuild all areas of Colony 6 up to level 2.

Thanks, I got the portable furnace, you only need to rebuild Colony 6 up to level 1. Now I'm trying to get it to level 2. I need to get the 'Special' category to level 2, but I need some more Dust Elements, which apparently come from Caris Nebulas. I can't figure out the best way to take them down though; they always seem to self-destruct before I finish them off, and I end up with nothing!

Mop it up said:

As for affinity, hearts mean that the affinity between two party members has increased, and stars mean that the party's affinity to the area has increased. The stars on the affinity chart show the level of each area, with five being the max. When you increase the level, more sidequests become available, as well as citizens having more items to offer when you trade with them.

Sounds good!

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I just love how engrossing this game truly is. I jumped back to Tephra Cave, for example, to get a few things, and ended up doing a bunch of quests I still had on my list, plus adding on more quests all the time. The best part is being rewarded constantly. It's just so satisfying.

Anyway, I got past saving the worker. The story keeps getting more interesting: Melia entered the Tomb to prove her worth as successor to the throne, and Shulk and friends make their way through to save her after seeing her in danger in another vision. That assassin from the Bionite Order (?) was partnered with the Telethia? What a battle. Anyway, the Emperor talks about Bionis coming back to life if the Mechons continue their assault. There's also some mysterious scenes with events taking place in the background that makes you wonder what is really going on...

REVENGEEEEEEE!! I'LL MAKE THEM PAY!

Seriously, everyone in this game is out for revenge. I kind of chuckled when even Melia said it, after her father died. I dunno how far this motive can carry the story... though finding out that Fiora is still alive, and brainwashed, apparently was finally another interesting motivation to push onwards.

I just finished the game today.
All my characters were around 95 or 96 because I had been fighting all the high level UM's.

Anyone know what the three giants treasures are supposed to do?Was a bit disappointed nothing happened when I got the last one.

@roykoopa64 Oh, does it start at level 0? My mistake, I thought the base level was 1. Oh well, at least you figured it out.

The best way to take down the Nebulas is to use Melia. Nebulas resist all physical attacks, so her ether summons are the only real thing that can do good damage on them, Bolt especially.

I saw this game at Toys R Us yesterday, it surprised me because I thought it was a Gamestop exclusive.

@jonjon85 I haven't gotten one of them yet, but I'm right near the end of the game, and I have a quest wherein I have to collect all three and do something with them. I'm not near my Wii right now, so forgive me if I butcher some location names or mess this up, but I think I fast-traveled to that place the Monado was stored at Valek Mountain and was given a quest to save a High Entia who was trying to check out the Three Sages place. He was on the path on the way up. After he returned to the refuge, I'm pretty sure it was him who gave me the quest to use the three giant treasures somewhere. I have no idea yet if it's worth doing.

VickiL said:

@jonjon85 I haven't gotten one of them yet, but I'm right near the end of the game, and I have a quest wherein I have to collect all three and do something with them. I'm not near my Wii right now, so forgive me if I butcher some location names or mess this up, but I think I fast-traveled to that place the Monado was stored at Valek Mountain and was given a quest to save a High Entia who was trying to check out the Three Sages place. He was on the path on the way up. After he returned to the refuge, I'm pretty sure it was him who gave me the quest to use the three giant treasures somewhere. I have no idea yet if it's worth doing.

Ah I see,thank you very much.

Maybe at some point I will start my NG+ and do that quest.I felt majorly ripped off that nothing happened after I got the last treasure.

I'm in major trouble with this game right now. I just got my butt handed to me by a pre-end-boss lackey...three times. My first beat-down in the game, actually. Given how soundly I was trounced, I suspect I need more than some equipment tweaks and skill level-ups. I'm only level 75ish. Meanwhile, I got a very mediocre DS game as a gift, but I am a bit immersed in it nevertheless. This happens far too often with epic games, where I get distracted by something else when I can practically smell the ending. I must persevere and not let the 136 hours I've put into Xenoblade be for nothing!

I didn't get a whole lot of gaming done this weekend (for one thing, my dad and I removed my old dishwasher and installed a new one, taking up a lot more time than either of us anticipated), but I played as much Xenoblade as I possibly could.

44 hours in, I just started Valak Mountain (incidentally I happen to be at level 44). Some big story events just took place, and I'm genuinely excited to keep playing and see what happens next. I love this game.

I should be able to squeeze in some good play sessions on 4th of July!

I finally beat this after 102 hours of gameplay. Epic final boss was very epic, and the ending was very satisfying. Outstanding fun, and I'm even interested in starting a new game + to see how fast I can blow through the game now!

@TheOldManFromZelda

102, eh? Sounds like 250 for me, SIGH.

I'm about 59 hours in so far and am making my way through the first part of the Mechonis continent, starting with Mechonis Field (the music here is awesome and fits the mechanical nature of the environment beautifully).

I loved the part where you are crossing over the Fallen Arm and can see the Bionis and Mechonis towering above you on either side. The game is filled with these breathtaking moments (especially when I climbed this ridiculously tall 'Fingertip' structure which led to a secret area and yet another wonderful view of the world below me. Some of the views in this game give me a true sense of vertigo, it's nerve -wracking to look down especially when you're crossing areas where you have no guard rails!)

I was just breezing through the game rather briskly but I finally hit a part where I could not advance as the enemies are very challenging (around the third floor of Mechonis Field, guarding one of my story objectives). I think this 'brick wall' is my cue to check out my unfinished quests as well as explore more regions I left behind. (Hhm, I also haven't been seeking out the 'unique monsters,' I hadn't realized before how valuable it is to kill them).

It's tough trying to find all the items needed to upgrade Colony 6. And I think I read somewhere you can talk to certain people so they will immigrate over to the colony? I have not encountered any of that yet.

Oh wow, there's more skill tree branches to be found as well... Such a massive game.

I'm about 40 hrs in.... I'm way behind everyone but I'm enjoying it still... I've been working on a lot of sidequests lately - I find it a bit more enjoyable then grinding to level up -

There is no reward apparently for completing all the sidequests.. they are what they are though...sidequests. It's so easy to fall into the "Must. Complete. Everything!!" trap. This game is so huge you have to decide for yourself what your limit is so you don't get bored with the game.. the story is still very engaging.

S

73 hours in, now I'm stuck on a boss who is absolutely destroying me. I'm in Agniratha and was about to head up to the shrine but now I have to fight Gadolt. I can't even put up a fight! Most of my members are level 68, and I've been doing a ton of the quests up to this point. Hhm, time to figure out how to get past this obstacle.

I should have time tomorrow night to start leveling up. I walked away at that wall, but don't want it to be a long-term shunning of the game. My usual method of leveling the skills and tweaking the equipment just doesn't seem to be enough for this boss, but I hear it's one of the hardest in the game, so that's a thought to give me comfort while I grind my way up to 75 or beyond.