For Those Who Played Them-Thoughts on the Trails and Xenoblade Games

All other video games not related to the main farming series - Pokemon, Stardew Valley, My Time at Portia, and other indie-developed games.
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infel
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Kikki wrote: Sep 21, 2022 4:51 am Yeah...people tend to find enough to criticise themselves about in life without adding 'I'm not playing my games the way I'm supposed to' to the list. The only way games are meant to be played is whatever way is fun, even if you never finish them. Unless you're a professional gamer or streamer, I guess, and then you probably have a different set of requirements, lol...but I don't think that's the case for anyone here! Life doesn't hand out a prize for how many games you strike off your backlog, either.

I often wonder if people who stream games for a living (or at least trying to make it a living even if they currently also hold a regular job) manage to continue to enjoy games. They have to play in such an unsatisfying way for the entertainment of their viewers. I'd hate it. No way am I ruining my favourite hobby by letting hundreds or thousands of others meddle in it, or turning it into a chore rather than fun! They have to play their games only on camera, for the allotted amount of time, and they can't just play that game when they WANT to. It just looks awful to me.

With Xenoblade it tends to be hard to stop yourself from continuing your progress, once you get into the story. I know several people who ended up having to play backward for a bit to catch up to their main story progress, because they didn't want to stop and do side-quests to level up (and gain affinity) because they were so into chasing down the main story. Hopefully the story grabs you and carries you along. If it doesn't, then you'll just have to put it aside...life's too short to force yourself to play games that you don't find fun, imo. There are much better things to exercise your willpower on. Imo!
Yeah, I can understand what you mean. I follow some who do take their time with games, and actually finish them. In fact, one girl actually often comes out with a review about two or three months after they are out. Still, I don't know how streamers can really enjoy gaming given how they have to stay on top of things. I'm sure some enjoy it, but I've heard plenty of stories of how difficult it can be to be a streamer/yt. In fact, the community can be quite toxic. It's amazing when someone can stick with it. I admit though, people I follow tend to be more of a reviewer for games and not streamers though. Still, I'm sure some streamers want to play, but still find it stressful. But you are right, it looks awful =(.

Also, you're right about enjoying games. I do enjoying playing them a lot. I guess for me it's so hard for me to finish them, that I feel guilty about it. A part of me feels full-filled when I finish something, even if it's not really that important. Blue Reflection 2 proved this for me last year. Sadly, due to mental illness and such, I find it so hard to even finish a farming game. Still, I do enjoy gaming and trust me, I never keep going with something that I truly dislike. I'm really hoping to get into Xenoblade and Trails though, because they look like games I'll like for the most part.
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Kikki wrote: Sep 20, 2022 11:47 am
I could talk for a soul-crushingly long time about Xenoblade or Trails, either, so...I'll stop here and just say that if you have any questions you'd like answered before you can make a decision, then go right ahead, as I probably have an answer.
Hi Kikki, I'm responding to this section because I wanted some advice on the game if it's okay. First off, I took your advice to go all the way to at least chapter chapter 4. I've just met Sharla and currently am on level 20. So far, I've had a lot of fun with the game. The story is good so far and the characters charming. I'm liking it a lot so far (got ten hours in currently). I just wanted to ask, do you have any tips for the combat? Also, am I really high right now level wise or am at a good level? I ask because some people have said if you do most/a lot of the quests, you'll be over leveled. I'll say for me I've done all the quests so far for Colony 9. For combat, I'd also like to ask, when playing as Shulk, should I move around to use his back and side moves? The game really seems to want me to do that.

PS-Just wondering, do the chapters get longer? The three I've beaten have been pretty short, despite me doing the side quests. I ask just cause many say this is a 80 to 100 hr jrpg.
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The chapters are short if you chase the main story directly, but long if you do all the quests and exploration (filling in entire maps). Chapters 1-3 are shorter, though, as there are fewer quests available then. (Though there are actually a lot available the early areas, if you find them all...different people are available at different times of day. Also, more quests unlock in previous areas after some plot progression, so if you go back to Colony 9 after certain plot points, you may find new quests available.) Just for reference, there are about 480 quests in the game (though some are mutually exclusive.) If you get all of them throughout the whole story, there are 81 available in Colony 9, for example, 13 in Tephra Cave, and 38 on Bionis' Leg...24 of which are 'timed', which means that they'll expire once you pass a certain point in the game's main story. ("Timed" quests that expire if you progress past certain plot points have a little clock beside them in your quest menu, though, if I'm remembering right.)

Personally, I always do literally EVERY quest possible, and I was never all that over-leveled until the very end, as I had to drive my level to max to be able to complete the final side quests, as the monsters in them were max level as well and I don't particularly enjoy a difficult fight. I've actually had two friends quit the game at mid-point because they were UNDER-leveled and the game became too difficult. That happened to both of them somewhere around level 45, ime. (I don't want to mention place names.) Mind you...they were skipping all the side quests to chase the main story exclusively (even though I warned 'em that they'd hit a painful difficulty spike if they continued on that way!)

Is being over-leveled a problem to you? It wasn't to me...I LIKE being super powerful. I even tweak my team's power extra by giving them the best gems so that they walk all over their enemies. But if you dislike it, and you're playing the Definitive Edition, it's not an issue...you can always drop your level in the menu, to whatever you want. (And raise it later if you're struggling.) You can usually tell if you're high-level or not by the level of boss enemies. If you're within a few levels of them, you're about the level you're intended to be. I personally didn't find over-leveling to be all that much of an issue in XC1. It was definitely a big thing in XC3, but not XC1, imo.

Yes, you really should be moving Shulk around...his moves are highly dependent on position to deal a lot of damage. He's not a great fighter if you don't move him around for his back and side attacks...he does half the damage he would otherwise.

Do you need combat tips? If you're worried about being over-leveled, I assume the combat is too easy for you. Do you need tips to make it harder? I can give some, I'm just not sure what results you want from any tips I could give. What are you struggling with, that you need tips for?
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Kikki wrote: Sep 23, 2022 2:55 am The chapters are short if you chase the main story directly, but long if you do all the quests and exploration (filling in entire maps). Chapters 1-3 are shorter, though, as there are fewer quests available then. (Though there are actually a lot available the early areas, if you find them all...different people are available at different times of day. Also, more quests unlock in previous areas after some plot progression, so if you go back to Colony 9 after certain plot points, you may find new quests available.) Just for reference, there are about 480 quests in the game (though some are mutually exclusive.) If you get all of them throughout the whole story, there are 81 available in Colony 9, for example, 13 in Tephra Cave, and 38 on Bionis' Leg...24 of which are 'timed', which means that they'll expire once you pass a certain point in the game's main story. ("Timed" quests that expire if you progress past certain plot points have a little clock beside them in your quest menu, though, if I'm remembering right.)

Personally, I always do literally EVERY quest possible, and I was never all that over-leveled until the very end, as I had to drive my level to max to be able to complete the final side quests, as the monsters in them were max level as well and I don't particularly enjoy a difficult fight. I've actually had two friends quit the game at mid-point because they were UNDER-leveled and the game became too difficult. That happened to both of them somewhere around level 45, ime. (I don't want to mention place names.) Mind you...they were skipping all the side quests to chase the main story exclusively (even though I warned 'em that they'd hit a painful difficulty spike if they continued on that way!)

Is being over-leveled a problem to you? It wasn't to me...I LIKE being super powerful. I even tweak my team's power extra by giving them the best gems so that they walk all over their enemies. But if you dislike it, and you're playing the Definitive Edition, it's not an issue...you can always drop your level in the menu, to whatever you want. (And raise it later if you're struggling.) You can usually tell if you're high-level or not by the level of boss enemies. If you're within a few levels of them, you're about the level you're intended to be. I personally didn't find over-leveling to be all that much of an issue in XC1. It was definitely a big thing in XC3, but not XC1, imo.

Yes, you really should be moving Shulk around...his moves are highly dependent on position to deal a lot of damage. He's not a great fighter if you don't move him around for his back and side attacks...he does half the damage he would otherwise.

Do you need combat tips? If you're worried about being over-leveled, I assume the combat is too easy for you. Do you need tips to make it harder? I can give some, I'm just not sure what results you want from any tips I could give. What are you struggling with, that you need tips for?
Hey, sorry for the delay. Been a long few days. Anyway, thanks for the info about Xenoblade. The length seems to be going okay for me. Not too long or too short, so it seems to be good.

I am like you with quests actually. I've done nearly every single one I've been able to find so far and go back to old places after some time. I'm fine with being over leveled, especially in a game I'm having difficulty with. My only problem with side quests honestly is that in this game they will have me go to an area with super high monsters, giving me a choice to either try and sneak by them, or just wait a long time for when I'm on that level or higher. Lucky timed quests haven't done this to me yet. Anyway, yeah I have done many of the quests and they are fine. On level 29 and on chapter six with about 24 hours of gameplay. i think the length will be fine. I asked before because it seems short for a game people say is really long, but I'm still sort of in the beginning.

As for the combat, I am having some trouble with it. Shulk has a lot of things one needs to focus on if using him. While I like the combat, it's confusing sometimes when being him since I don't always time things well. So, for easier gameplay, I'm playing as Sharla right now. A bit of a boring style, but easy for people new to this system. For my question, I'm just wondering if you had any tips for combat or when making gems/crystals for the characters. I ask this (especially now), because sadly I died twice when fighting the Colony Six's mine boss despite being a bit higher then him (about two or three levels.). I died the first time we fought him, but then beat him the second time without needing to reduce his stats. I then lost to him again when we faced him on the elevator. Again, I beat him the second time I tried. I'm wondering though that if I lose to bosses, do their stats go down the more you lose even if you don't prompt the game to lower their stats? I also find the gem system a tad confusing cause I never know what to equip. I'm hoping now thought that my characters will be a bit better off since I took the time to make more gems.

Anyway, sorry for my slight rambling. I've played quite a bit and am enjoying the game and even combat, but admit I'm not very good with it and sometimes don't know if I'm equipping the right things. If you have any tips that would be great, but if not, it's okay. You've helped me a lot already. Thanks again!.
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I assume you're playing the Definitive edition (on Switch.) You can put the combat to 'easy' if you want to make everything about combat easier in one fell swoop. As for gems...the MOST useful gems on Shulk are Double Attack, Haste, and Agility Up. I max Shulk's agility first since it's easiest, and as soon as I can (you can't make the best gems in early chapters), I also max his double attack and haste stats. If you do this, he will dodge almost every hit coming at him, and meanwhile, he'll be hitting so fast with his auto-attacks that his arts bar will charge at an insane rate, so you can fire off arts almost constantly, and your party gauge will fill really fast at the same time, which means you can do a lot of chain attacks.

The same gems are very useful on Dunban. Shulk is my favourite to fight as because I know him best, to the point where I don't feel like I have to think while using him, but I've used all of the party members a fair bit except Reyn. (I don't enjoy tanking.) What gems work best depend on the character. Who do you like to use most?

Later in the game, when it becomes more of a problem, I also equip Anti-Spike gems, to keep enemies from being able to reflect my own damage back at me. Though you can swap those on and off for when you need them most, such as for certain boss battles. If you ever find yourself being killed RIDICULOUSLY fast and you can't figure out how it even happened, it's probably because the enemy you were facing has a spike ability, which basically means they make you kill yourself.

Oh, and don't forget to be levelling up your skills, btw...and that you can rearrange your arts into a configuration that works better for you in the menu. Oh, passive skills, too...and skill links. Have you been keeping an eye on those?
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I’ve never played the Xenoblade games before so I can’t answer to that, but I have played every single Trails game available in English and it’s my favorite series ever next to SOS/HM.

I played Trails in the Sky back when I was in high school and had to wait 3-4 years before they announced Second Chapter was coming over too which was AGONY after the ending of the First Chapter. Out of the entire franchise, I have to say the Sky games are my favorite and I love Estelle. The Sky games are a slow build up but it is SO worth it in the end, especially when the newer games like Trails of Cold Steel 4 have many references to it still and it’s like, this fangirling moment because I know some of the characters or I know what event they’re talking about that happened. There were two games that were “skipped over” for a while, Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure, but they went back and Trails from Zero is actually releasing tomorrow in English which is helpful because the later Cold Steel games reference many things that happen in those games. I geeked out with this series and looked up Japanese playthroughs and scripts, so I already know what happens, but I’m so stoked for Trails from Zero to release! Ultimately it’s up to you, but I highly recommend finishing Trails in the Sky. The ending is what hooked me into the entire series. :)
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Kikki wrote: Sep 26, 2022 4:47 pm I assume you're playing the Definitive edition (on Switch.) You can put the combat to 'easy' if you want to make everything about combat easier in one fell swoop. As for gems...the MOST useful gems on Shulk are Double Attack, Haste, and Agility Up. I max Shulk's agility first since it's easiest, and as soon as I can (you can't make the best gems in early chapters), I also max his double attack and haste stats. If you do this, he will dodge almost every hit coming at him, and meanwhile, he'll be hitting so fast with his auto-attacks that his arts bar will charge at an insane rate, so you can fire off arts almost constantly, and your party gauge will fill really fast at the same time, which means you can do a lot of chain attacks.

The same gems are very useful on Dunban. Shulk is my favourite to fight as because I know him best, to the point where I don't feel like I have to think while using him, but I've used all of the party members a fair bit except Reyn. (I don't enjoy tanking.) What gems work best depend on the character. Who do you like to use most?

Later in the game, when it becomes more of a problem, I also equip Anti-Spike gems, to keep enemies from being able to reflect my own damage back at me. Though you can swap those on and off for when you need them most, such as for certain boss battles. If you ever find yourself being killed RIDICULOUSLY fast and you can't figure out how it even happened, it's probably because the enemy you were facing has a spike ability, which basically means they make you kill yourself.

Oh, and don't forget to be levelling up your skills, btw...and that you can rearrange your arts into a configuration that works better for you in the menu. Oh, passive skills, too...and skill links. Have you been keeping an eye on those?

Hi Kiki, sorry for the delay. It's been a tough week. I didn't really get to play since yesterday. But thanks for the advice. I'm still having trouble with combat, and what makes it worse is that I believe I'm at the right level range. Currently, I'm in the marsh (chapter six) and level 32. However, I'm finding it hard going against level 30 monsters and also the first side quest for colony six which I need to fight two rounds of monsters. At this point it's not that I'm under level because I've done many of the side quests. Rather, it's because I can't get this combat system very well. At this point, I may need to drop the game because, while fun, I find it a bit upsetting to be on a good level but dying a lot of the time.

I am using gems, but I never know what the best thing to equip is. I usually prioritize defense and attack, but it seems that may be a bad idea. For example, I faced a level 30 bird while i was on 32, and it killed me. I thought my team had good physical defense and ether defense, but apparently not. Looked up tips and people said prioritize agility with gems for tanks. Did that with Dunban and Ryne and won the battle, but still nearly died. Playing as Sharla is somewhat not fun because her healing abilities take so long to cool down (wish the game had items...). I just am not really getting into this battle system. I also know I could tone the game down, but I really want to play it normally. Games with little challenge aren't always fun for me sadly.

It's sad because I'm having fun with the game when I'm able to do it, but sadly the combat for this game seems to be finally making me not like the gameplay much....I'm so confused with gems and even when knowing when/how to equip the right weapon or armor.....With being at the 26 hour mark, I may need to drop this which is sad because I am having fun playing =(
Last edited by infel on Oct 01, 2022 10:18 am, edited 3 times in total.
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StormFire wrote: Sep 26, 2022 6:29 pm I’ve never played the Xenoblade games before so I can’t answer to that, but I have played every single Trails game available in English and it’s my favorite series ever next to SOS/HM.

I played Trails in the Sky back when I was in high school and had to wait 3-4 years before they announced Second Chapter was coming over too which was AGONY after the ending of the First Chapter. Out of the entire franchise, I have to say the Sky games are my favorite and I love Estelle. The Sky games are a slow build up but it is SO worth it in the end, especially when the newer games like Trails of Cold Steel 4 have many references to it still and it’s like, this fangirling moment because I know some of the characters or I know what event they’re talking about that happened. There were two games that were “skipped over” for a while, Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure, but they went back and Trails from Zero is actually releasing tomorrow in English which is helpful because the later Cold Steel games reference many things that happen in those games. I geeked out with this series and looked up Japanese playthroughs and scripts, so I already know what happens, but I’m so stoked for Trails from Zero to release! Ultimately it’s up to you, but I highly recommend finishing Trails in the Sky. The ending is what hooked me into the entire series. :)

Yeah, I just got Zero actually. Can't play just yet until finishing Sky. I've enjoyed Sky when I can play it, though I admit I'm not in love with the characters yet. I actually really like most of the characters in Xenoblade 1 actually. But I love the town, npc, and combat so far. I'm hoping to finish Sky and then play the rest of the series. It's nice so far.
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Are you levelling up your arts? If your arts are still all level one, that'd be why you're struggling so much. These things you find through the menus...not through gameplay itself. I always level the arts I use most first, like Shulk's Back Slash, which has a huge position bonus, as well as his Light Heal, because at high levels, that art actually heals a decent amount.

It's difficult to win higher-level battles when controlling the healer, ime, though it does depend on your own leanings. But Sharla and Dunban both operate better on AI th an Shulk does, so it tends to be more effective to control him than her. (Btw, Sharla isn't particularly in need of agility gems since she's not intended to get hit in the first place...I advise maxing out her Ether Up with gems. If you have a Heat Sink gem, that's for Sharla. An Arts Stealth gem would be nice, too, to reduce any aggro she draws. If you have extra gem slots open, an Unbeatable gem is nice on any character, as it gives them a chance of surviving an otherwise killing blow with 1HP.) Of characters you have in Satorl Marsh, I suggest you take on Shulk or Dunban. Shulk's very easy to use...only his Back Slash and Slit Edge require you to move. (The name makes it pretty obvious, but Back Slash gets a big bonus if you use it from BEHIND your enemy, and Slit Edge gets a bonus if you use it from the SIDE. Air Slash also applies an extra debuff when delivered from the side, but that's not enough to worry about.) Make sure to use your chain attacks, too, if you've not been doing so...you can both do big damage to your enemy or heal during them, so they're really useful. Double Attack and Haste gems help a lot in building up your party gauge quickly to be able to chain-attack more often.

Shulk has the worst AI in the game except for one other character, so it tends to be effective to control him yourself, particularly during boss battles and mechon battles, because the computer doesn't use his Monado Arts wisely, and it's way too free with Battle Soul (I would remove it from his palette entirely if I was leaving him on AI, so that the computer can't force him to use it.) Dunban, Sharla and Reyn all operate quite a bit better on AI than Shulk does.

As for Easy mode...you say you don't enjoy games with no challenge, but you're also saying you're not enjoying this because it's too challenging, so...seems like lowering the difficulty has a better chance of letting you enjoy the game than leaving it where it is. It's not like you're stuck with it if you change it, so...try it out, maybe? Xenoblade has SUCH a great story, it'd be a shame to miss it because the combat was befuddling when they put an easy mode in for that very reason...to let people enjoy the story without having to worry so much about the combat.

But the FIRST thing I'd do, if I had your game in my hands, is make sure that the arts are being levelled up with any AP you've earned, and that if you hit the level cap, you buy or find and then use the art books that allow you to level those arts up even further.
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Kikki wrote: Oct 01, 2022 10:50 am Are you levelling up your arts? If your arts are still all level one, that'd be why you're struggling so much. These things you find through the menus...not through gameplay itself. I always level the arts I use most first, like Shulk's Back Slash, which has a huge position bonus, as well as his Light Heal, because at high levels, that art actually heals a decent amount.

It's difficult to win higher-level battles when controlling the healer, ime, though it does depend on your own leanings. But Sharla and Dunban both operate better on AI th an Shulk does, so it tends to be more effective to control him than her. (Btw, Sharla isn't particularly in need of agility gems since she's not intended to get hit in the first place...I advise maxing out her Ether Up with gems. If you have a Heat Sink gem, that's for Sharla. An Arts Stealth gem would be nice, too, to reduce any aggro she draws. If you have extra gem slots open, an Unbeatable gem is nice on any character, as it gives them a chance of surviving an otherwise killing blow with 1HP.) Of characters you have in Satorl Marsh, I suggest you take on Shulk or Dunban. Shulk's very easy to use...only his Back Slash and Slit Edge require you to move. (The name makes it pretty obvious, but Back Slash gets a big bonus if you use it from BEHIND your enemy, and Slit Edge gets a bonus if you use it from the SIDE. Air Slash also applies an extra debuff when delivered from the side, but that's not enough to worry about.) Make sure to use your chain attacks, too, if you've not been doing so...you can both do big damage to your enemy or heal during them, so they're really useful. Double Attack and Haste gems help a lot in building up your party gauge quickly to be able to chain-attack more often.

Shulk has the worst AI in the game except for one other character, so it tends to be effective to control him yourself, particularly during boss battles and mechon battles, because the computer doesn't use his Monado Arts wisely, and it's way too free with Battle Soul (I would remove it from his palette entirely if I was leaving him on AI, so that the computer can't force him to use it.) Dunban, Sharla and Reyn all operate quite a bit better on AI than Shulk does.

As for Easy mode...you say you don't enjoy games with no challenge, but you're also saying you're not enjoying this because it's too challenging, so...seems like lowering the difficulty has a better chance of letting you enjoy the game than leaving it where it is. It's not like you're stuck with it if you change it, so...try it out, maybe? Xenoblade has SUCH a great story, it'd be a shame to miss it because the combat was befuddling when they put an easy mode in for that very reason...to let people enjoy the story without having to worry so much about the combat.

But the FIRST thing I'd do, if I had your game in my hands, is make sure that the arts are being levelled up with any AP you've earned, and that if you hit the level cap, you buy or find and then use the art books that allow you to level those arts up even further.

Yeah I am, but when you say level one, do you mean the entirety of the first bar section? If so, I have not yet leveled any arts into the second bar section for them. If not, I will say I have been leveling up arts, especially healing for Sharla. Shulk’s Light Heal is all filled up in the first bar(does this mean though it's still level one).


And I do understand. It’s just it’s cool to be able to play other characters. I feel like the AI is doing okay, but if you say Shulk doesn’t have very good AI, maybe I should just go with him. I’m not sure. As for Shulk, I do understand his moves and how to use them, but sometimes it’s stressful for me to move him correctly. I don’t always time things very well. Still, I'll use your advice for the gems with ether and other things. I’ve been making them, but it’s hard to know what’s the best to use. Can you tell me, what is the highest a stat can go. For example, I have Dunban at 120 right now in his agility. Also, is it dumb not to focus on defense too much? As for Shulk, I’ll go back to him and see how things go.

For easy mode, it’s not that I don’t like it, but for some reason I want to prove to myself that I’m a decent gamer and can get things. Don’t know why. Still, I wanna finish the game, so if the game really is just too much I’ll turn casual mode on. Sad thing is, I’ll likely be a little down about using it because I’ll feel like I can’t even play the game correctly. Still, I’ll try to keep with it.

Still, thanks for all the advice. I’ll see what I can do. I just feel like I keep messing things up.
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No, when I say a level, just one little section of the whole bar is what I mean. One upgrade. Some people forget to upgrade their arts entirely, like my cousin :)

Shulk's AI is okay when you're fighting run-of-the mill schlubs, but for bosses and any mechon, at least in the first half of the game, being in control of Shulk tends to be a big help, since he has the necessary skills to make it possible to kill mechon and no one else does, as well as some of his other handy-dandy party boosting and protecting Monado arts. The AI handles things like Monado Enchant and Shield very haphazardly...rarely when you most need it. Plus it keeps using freaking Battle Soul, which take half of Shulk's HP in one blow, which is usually a detriment rather than a help. But Shulk is less necessary in the latter half of the game, if that's reassuring :) He's always super useful, you just can get around having to use him when other options open up.

I'll show you a picture of Sharla in my game. If you look, you'll see her Ether Up gem effect is in green, at 150. There are different categories of gem and they have different maximum limits, but if it's in green, it's maxed. Most boosts that go by percentages, like Arts Stealth, cap out at 50%, and a bunch of stat boosts (like agility) also cap at 50 points added. But Topple resist can decrease your topple resistance by 75%, I believe. But at least you can pile the gems on and see if they're maxed by checking if they've gone green :)

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Kikki wrote: Oct 01, 2022 5:41 pm No, when I say a level, just one little section of the whole bar is what I mean. One upgrade. Some people forget to upgrade their arts entirely, like my cousin :)

Shulk's AI is okay when you're fighting run-of-the mill schlubs, but for bosses and any mechon, at least in the first half of the game, being in control of Shulk tends to be a big help, since he has the necessary skills to make it possible to kill mechon and no one else does, as well as some of his other handy-dandy party boosting and protecting Monado arts. The AI handles things like Monado Enchant and Shield very haphazardly...rarely when you most need it. Plus it keeps using freaking Battle Soul, which take half of Shulk's HP in one blow, which is usually a detriment rather than a help. But Shulk is less necessary in the latter half of the game, if that's reassuring :) He's always super useful, you just can get around having to use him when other options open up.

I'll show you a picture of Sharla in my game. If you look, you'll see her Ether Up gem effect is in green, at 150. There are different categories of gem and they have different maximum limits, but if it's in green, it's maxed. Most boosts that go by percentages, like Arts Stealth, cap out at 50%, and a bunch of stat boosts (like agility) also cap at 50 points added. But Topple resist can decrease your topple resistance by 75%, I believe. But at least you can pile the gems on and see if they're maxed by checking if they've gone green :)

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Hi Kiki, thanks so much for all the help ^^. And thanks for clearing up the arts upgrade system. I actually have be leveling them and hopefully have been keeping up with it. I use to miss gameplay elements like this when I played something like Skyrim (not leveling up skills), so I know how that is with not doing it lol XD

As for Shulk, I really like him as a character. And he has a great battle style. It’s just I’m really new to this type of combat, so it’s hard for me. Still, I should go with him and learn the style instead of just mostly sitting back and using Sharla as a healer. Also though, thanks so much for the info with the gems and skills for the characters. I’ll try this out tomorrow and see how things go as I go further in. Can I ask, do you find grinding not important in this as long as you do most/all the quests? I have, but I’m wonder if I should train my character a bit.

And thanks so much for the example of Sharla this helps. I’ll try and shape her like this to make her a more bearable character cause she’s really bad at taking hits. Also, does this mean ability can only go up 150? If so, this would explain why I was able to handle a certain monster better. I got Dunban’s agility up to 120 and Reyn’s up to 80. I’m also not having Shulk in the party right now because I’m trying to get the friendship levels up.

Again, I’m really grateful or all the help. If I can’t do better, I’ll just need to turn on casual mode cause I do like this game quite a bit.

Also, maybe I can do some Trails if I need some break from the combat system. Sometimes it helps to step back a bit.
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Kikki
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No problem; I can type endlessly :)

When your arts hit a cap (4 sections at first) you can get Arts Books to increase them further. Some enemies drop them, and others you can buy. You probably already have some in your inventory, and maybe you're already using them when you get them?

There's no single limit cap for gems, so that's hard to say. No matter how many Ether Up gems you add to a character, they will cap at 150 points. However, with Agility Up, it caps at 50. 50 is a HUGE amount of points to be able to add because...well, for example. Dunban is the most naturally agile character in the game. I have all my characters at level 99 and made sure to max out my most-used characters' agility (to prevent them from getting hit as much as possible.)

In my game, Dunban has an agility of 208. (So without the gems, he's 158.) Agility stats are a much smaller number compared to what your Ether capability can go up to. (Sharla has naturally high ether...without any gems at level 99, hers is 605.) So not all gems have the same cap on points-added. Even the percentages aren't always the same. Most gems that add a percentage of something, like the Arts Stealth shown in the picture, cap at 50%. However, some don't! Like gems that protect you from debuffs. I think those cap at 75%, so that 3/4 of the time an enemy tries to topple you, say, your Topple Resist gems would protect you from it. (That kind of gem is specialized. I never bother with them unless I know a tough enemy that I can't avoid is especially prone to using Topple, and then they're super useful. But otherwise, that's a waste of a gem slot, since gems that are useful all the time are much better than ones that are only good in specialized circumstances.)

Until I'm up to about level 70, I never need to grind in XC1. Basically a point at which I've done all the quests in the game that I CAN do, without levelling up more for end-game content. But otherwise, just getting through the story and doing the quests (and exploring the maps) is enough to keep me at a good level.
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Kikki wrote: Oct 02, 2022 5:05 am No problem; I can type endlessly :)

When your arts hit a cap (4 sections at first) you can get Arts Books to increase them further. Some enemies drop them, and others you can buy. You probably already have some in your inventory, and maybe you're already using them when you get them?

There's no single limit cap for gems, so that's hard to say. No matter how many Ether Up gems you add to a character, they will cap at 150 points. However, with Agility Up, it caps at 50. 50 is a HUGE amount of points to be able to add because...well, for example. Dunban is the most naturally agile character in the game. I have all my characters at level 99 and made sure to max out my most-used characters' agility (to prevent them from getting hit as much as possible.)

In my game, Dunban has an agility of 208. (So without the gems, he's 158.) Agility stats are a much smaller number compared to what your Ether capability can go up to. (Sharla has naturally high ether...without any gems at level 99, hers is 605.) So not all gems have the same cap on points-added. Even the percentages aren't always the same. Most gems that add a percentage of something, like the Arts Stealth shown in the picture, cap at 50%. However, some don't! Like gems that protect you from debuffs. I think those cap at 75%, so that 3/4 of the time an enemy tries to topple you, say, your Topple Resist gems would protect you from it. (That kind of gem is specialized. I never bother with them unless I know a tough enemy that I can't avoid is especially prone to using Topple, and then they're super useful. But otherwise, that's a waste of a gem slot, since gems that are useful all the time are much better than ones that are only good in specialized circumstances.)

Until I'm up to about level 70, I never need to grind in XC1. Basically a point at which I've done all the quests in the game that I CAN do, without levelling up more for end-game content. But otherwise, just getting through the story and doing the quests (and exploring the maps) is enough to keep me at a good level.

Okay, I think i get what your saying with the gems. It's still a tad confusing though. I mean, your version of Dunban would be at 158 if you didn't give him crystals and your Sharla is 150. Can I ask though how Dunbad got the eight extra points. Is it because of armor or something? I know for now I can't get it up that high because I'm only in chapter six. I'm guessing though I should mine for crystals right to get agility gems. But knowing that many special abilities cap around 50 to 75 also really helps because I thought it was much higher lol

I'll have to keep that in mind about topple though. For this game though, is speed and agility more important? Is it best for me not to put defense gems on characters?

And you're so lucky you don't have to grind. Don't get me wrong, I do like grinding. However, seeing how such little experience I get from monsters really makes me not want to, especially when sometimes I get attack by level 80 monsters. Still, if I'm at a decent level, it may just be that I'm really bad at combat sadly. I find that even on level 32, for example, I could not beat a level 30 bird very well. The monster wasn't a boss but rather a mission monster. Had to kill him for a merchant.
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Every character has different base abilities. Dunban is the most agile character in the game. (Sharla at her max, without any gems, is actually only 121.) Reyn has naturally high defence. Sharla has naturally high ether. Etc. That's why it's more effective to kit your characters out differently, depending on their role. Sharla's a healer and can do some damage from a distance...she's never meant to be on the front line, drawing the aggro. She has lower defence, too...she's best off to be protected from damage with Arts Stealth, as defence gems don't help her enough...but Arts Stealth will make her draw less aggro any time she uses one of her healing arts, so the enemy is less likely to target her (especially if the other party members are doing their jobs right and drawing the aggro to themselves.)

Defence gems and attack gems are okay. But they're a waste of a gem slot that could be used to increase agility, instead, or improve a character's specific role within the party. Defence gems just add a few points to defence, and you already tweak your attack and defence by changing your armour. High agility means your character has a better chance of dodging an attack entirely, and not taking ANY damage several times is way better than just mitigating a few points of every hit.

I hate grinding :) I like getting my levelling up from quests, story, and the few fights I can't dodge while 100% filling in the maps. I do always have to grind somewhere around level 70 or so, though, to be able to do all the extra end-game stuff easily.

You get crystals from mining...but mostly from fighting. There's ample info on the internet if you ever want to know what enemies to fight to get certain types of crystals. :)
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