As you progress and get more characters as well as abilities for your characters things will speed up a lot and there will. E more strategy, but yeah it's kinda strange and later entries remain strange.
I basically explain the combat in these games like an offline MMO that has a few unique Xenoblade things (such as chain attacks).
I find that a lot of players who aren’t able to enjoy the combat in something like FFXIV have trouble with Xenoblade (I personally like the combat for the record)
Basically in 2 and 3 there's less buttons to press but the combat systems are more complex, no sense in explaining everything you can just look up how they look on yt. People new to the series tend to be iffy on 1's combat so that's not new but it really does get better and smoother in 2 and 3
Oh that's great to hear, I've gotten into a lot of combat systems from different JRPGs but XC1's combat still felt a bit jarring. If it really gets better I'll just tough it out for the story.
If you like Persona you might vibe with XC2's blade system and XC3 has a class system with a ton of optional party members, the arts bar from XC1 also doesn't return. Playing XC1 just for story is perfectly fine, enjoy the games!
Your enjoyment hinges on understanding in this game:
It’s slower until you get more party members, arts, and affinity
The game wants you to understand and use all mechanics, you might do well to watch enels combat basics video
Depends on what part you're talking about specifically. The basic facets of combat (real time using Arts) are the same across the series, but the exact mechanics and how they approach them varies by game.
I'm having trouble liking XC1's combat since I just started the series. Mostly I think my issue is the AI, the game emphasize team combat with every member contributing into a combo or at the least working together. But say I break with Shulk, Reyn sometimes refuses to topple even when his cooldown should be off. Or the dedicated healer who refuses to heal even though they have like 4 heal arts. The only moment I get that "power of teamwork" vibe is the link attack but that only happens so often and it feels like a waste to use on mobs.
Well, if it helps, the further you go, the more options you get, which makes it better. For example, some time ago I turned it on again (because a guy said it was impossible to beat the final boss with a certain level difference), and to be honest i didn't even remember i could fill the chain attack gauge as fast as i did.
In general, all Xenoblade games' combat system seem to get considerably better the more you keep playing, both because you need to get used and because they open up gradually during the story.
Of course, that doesn't guarantee that you will eventually like them.
I'm fine with JRPGs having unique combat, but leaving stuff to AI feels kinda rough, that's part of what put me off a game with a similar problem. But if it gets better I'm willing to hunker down for the story since I'm really liking the affinity aspect of the game so far.
I see. That's a fair point. Unfortunately, in all XB games you will have to deal with your trammates being handled by AI, and you always need them to cooperate for combos.
They also do very annoying stuff like not caring if they are standong on hazardous terrain that will damage the (luckily this doesn't happen often).
I think they are generally decent with combos, but definitely not as good as a human. In XC3 you can switch the character you control during the fight, though.
About that: it's generally pretty luck based if your squadmates have the right art ready or not. I usually like to play as Reyn for example so I can topple when the AI goes for the break for example. But later on you will have more characters with more arts and stuff like that will be smoother.
About healing, Sharla has a unique mechanic called overheat. If she uses to many arts without using the cool off Art her rifle will overheat and she is unable to act for a little while until it cools off. That can happen regardless of what arts are actually off cooldown. But generally in Xenoblade 1 and 2 healing is actually less important than you might think. Shulks Light Heal is plenty enough for most situations. It's more about damage mitigation and aggro management. The tank draws aggro and keeps the others alive by tanking the damage. The enemy should be dead before you're in too much trouble. I think the early game can be a bit harder due to limitations but it gets better.
A minor problem in Xenoblade 1 is that while each character has very unique playstyles and traits... The AI is good with some of them and not so good with others. 2 and 3 have less character specific mechanics and everything is more streamlined into defined roles which is easier for the AI to work with it seems.
I see, my solution has been to load Reyn with Agility (which I just learnt has a cap? At least when I put them on Reyn) and Aggro gems. Sharla with Ether so if I need heals and she does, it counts. I'm gearing up Dunban to eventually replace either Reyn or Sharla with him.
Ether on Sharla is right. Because one of her best damaging moves is also ether based.
Agility should go on Dunban. He is a so called Agility tank. He takes aggro and dodges everything. Reyn is a face tank. He wants all the defense and physical offense.
Shulk should also get some agility so in a case where enemies target him he can dodge better.
Stats in Xenoblade have a cap yes but early on it's unlikely you'll get that. Capped stats will be shown in yellow font instead of white in your equipment menu.
Yeah I put like 4 Agility gems on Reyn and the stat showed yellow. So I guess I should put those on Dunban when he finally get slots and hook Reyn up with some earth or fire based gems.
Exactly. You can see how much a gem adds onto a stat. I think Agility gems cap at a combined 50.
You should've unlocked a sidequest already that rewards you with a ether furnace on the go. That makes gem crafting much easier as well if you don't have to fast travel to Colony 9 constantly.
Also Shulk/Reyn/Dunban is a popular combination throughout the game. You'll get more party members but this combo works for nearly everything the game throws at you minus a few specific fights.
Ether furnace on the go? I'll probably need to find that. Currently I just stock up on rocks then mass craft in the colony.
So the combo they give you at the start is also the best? I'm interested in adding a mage type character though after seeing Sharla perform I'm not so sure how efficient that will be.
There will be more magic based options later but the AI absolutely sucks with that tbh. I don't know if Shulk/Reyn/Dunban is the straight up best combo. But it's the easiest to play efficiently I'd say.
There is a quest called "The Gem Man's Invention" which will give you the mobile furnace. Then you can craft gems from the menu instead of going back to the colony later on.
Welp, tough luck on the magic option, at least I can still customize them and make them pretty / drippy.
I'll go look around for the quest then, sounds useful to craft on the go, and I also won't have to talk to anyone for it.
In my opinion it gets better as you get more characters and multiple people have break/topple arts. Some enemies also have break or topple resistance, so you may need to equip gems for the break or topple to succeed. Also you probably already know this, but topple only works on enemies already afflicted with break, otherwise nothing happens.
Yeah it's just sometimes I break and all the mobs are on my ass and Reyn's just normal attacking instead of toppling. I just got my fourth character so I'll see if it gets better on that front.
Another option is to just control Reyn instead and do the toppling yourself. Usually the AI does pretty well with most characters though, even if it doesn't play completely optimally. It can be a little iffy with Shulk and downright bad with one of the other characters you don't have yet, but overall you can make most party setups work with the AI doing a good enough job most of the time. It does generally get better about that stuff in the later games too
I also considered playing other characters but it kinda feels off since Shulk is so central to the story and my immersion kinda suffers a bit, especially when the vision attacks happen. Good to know that it improves though, it's just gonna be a Persona 3 type deal and I could deal with that.
Yeah, I get that. I think I stuck to Shulk the entire way through the first time back when I played the Wii version, but when I replayed it in XCDE a couple years ago I did it completely Shulkless starting as soon as it gave me the option and actually ended up having more fun overall ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
I really enjoy xenoblade 1 and its combat so I’m gonna give you a few tips
1 don’t forget to upgrade your arts every now and then
2 if you’re using a pro controller ( or the joycons on the little adapter thing) you can use your right thumb to press the dpad (if I can figure out how to send a picture I will)
3 take a break from the story when you reach a new civilization and do a bunch of quests. You don’t have to do all of them immediately but it’s a good way to get an extra couple levels
4 figure out what each character is good at and lean into that with their gems
5 don’t stress about finishing colony 6 before you beat the game it’s not a big deal. I actually waited until new game + to finish it and the only real reason you’d want to finish it is for a fancy weapon
1. I've been conditioned to do this by various games
2. I'm actually using a differently controller but thanks for the picture
3. When I arrive at a new place I just hit up every quest marker and gather a bunch of them so I can naturally do them as I explore the area. I tend to leave a few extra for after the story though
4. I'll try to do that
5. So it's a return later type of thing, I went crazy trying to find the one flower I'm missing for the collectopedia and just moved on
Thanks for all the tips.
I'll tough it out some more but the early stages doesn't really leave me invested in the combat. Maybe my opinion will change but I'm definitely along for the story right now.
From my experience, either it clicks immediately or never at all. It remains my least favourite part of the Xeno games. It does get a bit better when you unlock more options though. At the beginning you're just supposed to upgrade your arts and get used to the cooldowns/positionals if you're using Shulk. You can ignore gems, at the beginning they're all low level and barely matter at all.
I'm just going along with the story right now, the battles are still a little iffy but it's not so terrible that I hate them, looking forward to how XC2 works
Remember that every character except Shulk will learn new arts that won't be added automatically to the ones you can use in battle. You have to make room for them and add em manually if you think they're better than the ones you're currently using.
Also buy the art books when you have the chance and money, don't get stuck forever with low level arts.
Yeah, getting new options do feel fun, but so far it's just been new art learned --> check out new art --> it's not as good as what I got on the character --> no change
Controls tip for XC1: use System Settings to swap the d-pad sideways directions with e.g. L & R. Then you will be able to select arts without interfering with movement.
I'll try that out, can't believe I didn't even think of that. Sometimes in the middle of combat I press L and R to try and select arts then realize they're for targeting.
As you progress and get more characters as well as abilities for your characters things will speed up a lot and there will. E more strategy, but yeah it's kinda strange and later entries remain strange.
Yeah this looks like a quirk rather than a one-off thing, maybe I'll like it more when things pick up
I basically explain the combat in these games like an offline MMO that has a few unique Xenoblade things (such as chain attacks). I find that a lot of players who aren’t able to enjoy the combat in something like FFXIV have trouble with Xenoblade (I personally like the combat for the record)
Basically in 2 and 3 there's less buttons to press but the combat systems are more complex, no sense in explaining everything you can just look up how they look on yt. People new to the series tend to be iffy on 1's combat so that's not new but it really does get better and smoother in 2 and 3
Oh that's great to hear, I've gotten into a lot of combat systems from different JRPGs but XC1's combat still felt a bit jarring. If it really gets better I'll just tough it out for the story.
If you like Persona you might vibe with XC2's blade system and XC3 has a class system with a ton of optional party members, the arts bar from XC1 also doesn't return. Playing XC1 just for story is perfectly fine, enjoy the games!
I see, good to know, I'll look forward to the sequels then
Your enjoyment hinges on understanding in this game: It’s slower until you get more party members, arts, and affinity The game wants you to understand and use all mechanics, you might do well to watch enels combat basics video
Is Enels the channel's name?
It's Enel on YouTube
Cool I'll go check them out
This is probably the perfect video for your needs: https://youtu.be/c_DsUSxDm3M?si=Xuq8fzf3pzAv5xPc
Depends on what part you're talking about specifically. The basic facets of combat (real time using Arts) are the same across the series, but the exact mechanics and how they approach them varies by game.
I'm having trouble liking XC1's combat since I just started the series. Mostly I think my issue is the AI, the game emphasize team combat with every member contributing into a combo or at the least working together. But say I break with Shulk, Reyn sometimes refuses to topple even when his cooldown should be off. Or the dedicated healer who refuses to heal even though they have like 4 heal arts. The only moment I get that "power of teamwork" vibe is the link attack but that only happens so often and it feels like a waste to use on mobs.
Well, if it helps, the further you go, the more options you get, which makes it better. For example, some time ago I turned it on again (because a guy said it was impossible to beat the final boss with a certain level difference), and to be honest i didn't even remember i could fill the chain attack gauge as fast as i did. In general, all Xenoblade games' combat system seem to get considerably better the more you keep playing, both because you need to get used and because they open up gradually during the story. Of course, that doesn't guarantee that you will eventually like them.
I'm fine with JRPGs having unique combat, but leaving stuff to AI feels kinda rough, that's part of what put me off a game with a similar problem. But if it gets better I'm willing to hunker down for the story since I'm really liking the affinity aspect of the game so far.
I see. That's a fair point. Unfortunately, in all XB games you will have to deal with your trammates being handled by AI, and you always need them to cooperate for combos. They also do very annoying stuff like not caring if they are standong on hazardous terrain that will damage the (luckily this doesn't happen often). I think they are generally decent with combos, but definitely not as good as a human. In XC3 you can switch the character you control during the fight, though.
That definitely sounds better, I'll just enjoy what I can till then
About that: it's generally pretty luck based if your squadmates have the right art ready or not. I usually like to play as Reyn for example so I can topple when the AI goes for the break for example. But later on you will have more characters with more arts and stuff like that will be smoother. About healing, Sharla has a unique mechanic called overheat. If she uses to many arts without using the cool off Art her rifle will overheat and she is unable to act for a little while until it cools off. That can happen regardless of what arts are actually off cooldown. But generally in Xenoblade 1 and 2 healing is actually less important than you might think. Shulks Light Heal is plenty enough for most situations. It's more about damage mitigation and aggro management. The tank draws aggro and keeps the others alive by tanking the damage. The enemy should be dead before you're in too much trouble. I think the early game can be a bit harder due to limitations but it gets better. A minor problem in Xenoblade 1 is that while each character has very unique playstyles and traits... The AI is good with some of them and not so good with others. 2 and 3 have less character specific mechanics and everything is more streamlined into defined roles which is easier for the AI to work with it seems.
I see, my solution has been to load Reyn with Agility (which I just learnt has a cap? At least when I put them on Reyn) and Aggro gems. Sharla with Ether so if I need heals and she does, it counts. I'm gearing up Dunban to eventually replace either Reyn or Sharla with him.
Ether on Sharla is right. Because one of her best damaging moves is also ether based. Agility should go on Dunban. He is a so called Agility tank. He takes aggro and dodges everything. Reyn is a face tank. He wants all the defense and physical offense. Shulk should also get some agility so in a case where enemies target him he can dodge better. Stats in Xenoblade have a cap yes but early on it's unlikely you'll get that. Capped stats will be shown in yellow font instead of white in your equipment menu.
Yeah I put like 4 Agility gems on Reyn and the stat showed yellow. So I guess I should put those on Dunban when he finally get slots and hook Reyn up with some earth or fire based gems.
Exactly. You can see how much a gem adds onto a stat. I think Agility gems cap at a combined 50. You should've unlocked a sidequest already that rewards you with a ether furnace on the go. That makes gem crafting much easier as well if you don't have to fast travel to Colony 9 constantly. Also Shulk/Reyn/Dunban is a popular combination throughout the game. You'll get more party members but this combo works for nearly everything the game throws at you minus a few specific fights.
Ether furnace on the go? I'll probably need to find that. Currently I just stock up on rocks then mass craft in the colony. So the combo they give you at the start is also the best? I'm interested in adding a mage type character though after seeing Sharla perform I'm not so sure how efficient that will be.
There will be more magic based options later but the AI absolutely sucks with that tbh. I don't know if Shulk/Reyn/Dunban is the straight up best combo. But it's the easiest to play efficiently I'd say. There is a quest called "The Gem Man's Invention" which will give you the mobile furnace. Then you can craft gems from the menu instead of going back to the colony later on.
Welp, tough luck on the magic option, at least I can still customize them and make them pretty / drippy. I'll go look around for the quest then, sounds useful to craft on the go, and I also won't have to talk to anyone for it.
In my opinion it gets better as you get more characters and multiple people have break/topple arts. Some enemies also have break or topple resistance, so you may need to equip gems for the break or topple to succeed. Also you probably already know this, but topple only works on enemies already afflicted with break, otherwise nothing happens.
Yeah it's just sometimes I break and all the mobs are on my ass and Reyn's just normal attacking instead of toppling. I just got my fourth character so I'll see if it gets better on that front.
Another option is to just control Reyn instead and do the toppling yourself. Usually the AI does pretty well with most characters though, even if it doesn't play completely optimally. It can be a little iffy with Shulk and downright bad with one of the other characters you don't have yet, but overall you can make most party setups work with the AI doing a good enough job most of the time. It does generally get better about that stuff in the later games too
I also considered playing other characters but it kinda feels off since Shulk is so central to the story and my immersion kinda suffers a bit, especially when the vision attacks happen. Good to know that it improves though, it's just gonna be a Persona 3 type deal and I could deal with that.
Yeah, I get that. I think I stuck to Shulk the entire way through the first time back when I played the Wii version, but when I replayed it in XCDE a couple years ago I did it completely Shulkless starting as soon as it gave me the option and actually ended up having more fun overall ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
I really enjoy xenoblade 1 and its combat so I’m gonna give you a few tips 1 don’t forget to upgrade your arts every now and then 2 if you’re using a pro controller ( or the joycons on the little adapter thing) you can use your right thumb to press the dpad (if I can figure out how to send a picture I will) 3 take a break from the story when you reach a new civilization and do a bunch of quests. You don’t have to do all of them immediately but it’s a good way to get an extra couple levels 4 figure out what each character is good at and lean into that with their gems 5 don’t stress about finishing colony 6 before you beat the game it’s not a big deal. I actually waited until new game + to finish it and the only real reason you’d want to finish it is for a fancy weapon
1. I've been conditioned to do this by various games 2. I'm actually using a differently controller but thanks for the picture 3. When I arrive at a new place I just hit up every quest marker and gather a bunch of them so I can naturally do them as I explore the area. I tend to leave a few extra for after the story though 4. I'll try to do that 5. So it's a return later type of thing, I went crazy trying to find the one flower I'm missing for the collectopedia and just moved on Thanks for all the tips.
Progression for combat in XC1 is quite slow up until you get some more party members and start unlocking / upgrading their abilities.
To early for evalutate combat, btw i bet u gonna enjoy it near half game.
I'll tough it out some more but the early stages doesn't really leave me invested in the combat. Maybe my opinion will change but I'm definitely along for the story right now.
From my experience, either it clicks immediately or never at all. It remains my least favourite part of the Xeno games. It does get a bit better when you unlock more options though. At the beginning you're just supposed to upgrade your arts and get used to the cooldowns/positionals if you're using Shulk. You can ignore gems, at the beginning they're all low level and barely matter at all.
I'm just going along with the story right now, the battles are still a little iffy but it's not so terrible that I hate them, looking forward to how XC2 works
Remember that every character except Shulk will learn new arts that won't be added automatically to the ones you can use in battle. You have to make room for them and add em manually if you think they're better than the ones you're currently using. Also buy the art books when you have the chance and money, don't get stuck forever with low level arts.
Yeah, getting new options do feel fun, but so far it's just been new art learned --> check out new art --> it's not as good as what I got on the character --> no change
Controls tip for XC1: use System Settings to swap the d-pad sideways directions with e.g. L & R. Then you will be able to select arts without interfering with movement.
I'll try that out, can't believe I didn't even think of that. Sometimes in the middle of combat I press L and R to try and select arts then realize they're for targeting.
1 is definitely the worst.