Board 8 > Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Discussion Topic 1: Something a Bit Meatier

(+) Yeah! (+)

also I don't know if I'm using Stalker wrong or if it's just a bad class, but my party always seemed worse with one in it. Ended up just using nopon coins to teach it to people without having to use it too much.

It is generally considered to be bad, yes.

I usually felt alright controlling a stalker. Used art boost, break, and topple as my master arts. Kept bleed up, and slammed a boosted side shot for big damage.

Felt better to use than Yumsmith at least, though the side attack is slow

Stalker sucks in boss fights when applying bleed is difficult or impossible.

Also I just did the teach sidequest where they slapped Lanz for stripping, and then when he asked what the problem with stripping was they were like...I have no idea. That was cute lol

Stalker and Machine Assassin are considered the worst two DPS classes, since they rely on debuffs that can be resisted, while Ogre and Incursor are the top two.

I've had a Stalker bring an at-level boss from over 50% life to overkill in a single use of Rapid Shot in the middle of a chain attack, so I won't hear any slander even if they do need to get the bleed online to make that kind of zaniness happen. (I do recognize that Incursors can pull the same thing off without needing a debuff, but feh)

Also I'm curious, why is Ogre ranked so high? That's a class that feels like gives most of its value away to other classes via its master arts and skills. I'd expect FMJ to take one of the higher spots with how much it ramps. (Though I suppose I'll note that I haven't seen the dps classes past Incursor yet and based on Incursor I imagine there could be some truly wild stuff there.)

Xiahou_Shake posted...

Also I'm curious, why is Ogre ranked so high? That's a class that feels like gives most of its value away to other classes via its master arts and skills. I'd expect FMJ to take one of the higher spots with how much it ramps. (Though I suppose I'll note that I haven't seen the dps classes past Incursor yet and based on Incursor I imagine there could be some truly wild stuff there.)

IIRC Ogre is highly rated because of its skill that allows it to basically have a near certain chance at Breaking to start the combo.

Yeah, some of the later enemies are nearly impossible to Break, but Ogre can Break them easily. They're not particularly good otherwise, but being the only class that can inflict Break makes them almost mandatory for some fights (though all fights can be done without them).

Man I've been thinking a lot about the world design (like, level pacing/enemy placement) and the general leveling curve in this game and I'm kinda stuck on what exactly happened. Almost everyone I talk to has the same problem of being way overleveled so "exploration" kinda just ends up being running unopposed through vast swathes of land and occasionally sniping a UM it feels like you should have beat up a long time ago.

I'm feeling this too even without ever touching Bonus EXP so now I'm starting to wonder if the Overkill system is some kind of afterthought that completely fucked the balance of this game. I'm in Chapter 5 now so I feel like it's way too late, but I'm going to shut it off too and see if things even up at all. Even if they do, I feel like the balance of the game being dependent on your players hearing from other players "hey, don't touch bonus exp and be sure to turn off overkill if you want this game's progression to have anything resembling decent balance" isn't a great state of affairs!

Post game mechanics spoilers.

It seems to me like they intended for you to basically skip all UMs in the game until you reached post game and can fully control your level. This would be in line with how Soul Hacker works, too.

Yeah, it's definitely a bit off. Oddly enough though, I still ended up one level below the final boss, despite overkilling all throughout and gaining like 5 levels in the final dungeon...

I don't think the guess in the post before mine is correct at all, though.

MacArrowny posted...

I don't think the guess in the post before mine is correct at all, though

The alternative is they did a bad job.

Which, you know, possible!

Xiahou_Shake posted...

Man I've been thinking a lot about the world design (like, level pacing/enemy placement) and the general leveling curve in this game and I'm kinda stuck on what exactly happened. Almost everyone I talk to has the same problem of being way overleveled so "exploration" kinda just ends up being running unopposed through vast swathes of land and occasionally sniping a UM it feels like you should have beat up a long time ago.

I'm feeling this too even without ever touching Bonus EXP so now I'm starting to wonder if the Overkill system is some kind of afterthought that completely fucked the balance of this game. I'm in Chapter 5 now so I feel like it's way too late, but I'm going to shut it off too and see if things even up at all. Even if they do, I feel like the balance of the game being dependent on your players hearing from other players "hey, don't touch bonus exp and be sure to turn off overkill if you want this game's progression to have anything resembling decent balance" isn't a great state of affairs!

Counterpoint: have you ever had to run through a cave where all of the enemies are the same level? It takes forever fighting everything honestly.

Yeah, I also agree with that. One of the things I didn't like about the final dungeon was how all the enemies seem to aggro you, despite having 10 levels on some of them.

Oh no, I'm done with Chapter 5 side content. Now what am I supposed to do?

mnk posted...

Oh no, I'm done with Chapter 5 side content. Now what am I supposed to do?

Yeah I just had to advance the story I don't even know what to do with my life now what is this boat shit

What I'm saying is a late game mechanical spoiler, but for the love of God please read it if you're getting into Chapter 5.

You're going to get a boost for your boat later, do not suffer through mapping this thing out before getting it.

Thank you sir I will take that to heart

I already did it.

My chapter 5 map is like someone shot silly string onto a table, but I've done every quest in the game so I care NOT.

Monica Ascension beated............ *looks up Jansen's age*

GuessMyUserName posted...

Monica Ascension beated............ *looks up Jansen's age*

Yeah, it's interesting how much younger he is. Makes me think her husband was probably her age.

i just want a copy of the game where all ages are redacted

Ch7, just pulled into Kevesi Castle, oh hell yeah it's literally Alcamoth's Imperial Pala-... BIONIS VS MECHONIS MURAL <3

can't say i give a shit about Crys tho

GuessMyUserName posted...

can't say i give a shit about Crys tho

Crys is lame yes. Kinda felt like a bit of a pointless diversion? I was expecting that part to explain the meaning of off-seeing, but it just never happened...

Okay so I've determined my least favorite character in this game.

It's Ghondor. By a country mile.

MacArrowny posted...

Crys is lame yes. Kinda felt like a bit of a pointless diversion? I was expecting that part to explain the meaning of off-seeing, but it just never happened...

yeah like in XB1 I always felt like Gadolt was a bit tacked on that you don't get to feel much for him, but you feel a deeper significance to him for Sharla's character and coming to terms with her relationship with Reyn.

Crys though I just... really don't care at all bud, we've already been through characters from the party's past being reborn as Moebius... it's not a surprise that happened to you too but what do you actually have to tell about that.... nothing, I didn't care about you in the flashbacks and you've done nothing with your time as Moebius.

[xb1 & xb3ch7] Gadolt & Crys are both characters with early "deaths" that you eventually know are gonna show up used by the enemy as you learn that's a thing the enemy's doing. Both characters that the player doesn't really get to know directly but we're supposed to understand their significance through the party members they are significant to.... but Crys just feels like some guy with nothing to add, while Gadolt was the key piece of Sharla's grief since Juju was saved, and his death allowed for the passing of his torch to Reyn and it was nice, even sending him off with a surprise hero's sacrifice to protect that party. Watching it back it's even rather touching with flashbacks and A+ sorrowful backing track Once We Part Ways.

TheRock1525 posted...

Okay so I've determined my least favorite character in this game.

It's Ghondor. By a country mile.

incredibly easily 2nd best character by a country mile

There we go end of Chapter 4

74 hours played, Level 60

At the end of chapter 5 I skipped Noah shaking the bars for the third time not realizing it skipped literally the entire ending of the chapter. Thank God I went back and used the auto-save.

That was long as shit, though.

Oh I guess with Mio no matter what you choose, you can give Mio long or short hair via the menu. I was seriously worried about that choice lol.

TheRock1525 posted...

Okay so I've determined my least favorite character in this game.

It's Ghondor. By a country mile.

BOOOOOOOOOOOO

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/1/9/AAB6RfAADlWb.jpg

This guy looks familiar

Noticing him but not Fei Fong Wong?

Wait Rock weren't you also the one who put Eunie in last for the party?

If I'm remembering right then I guess you just don't like ABRASIVE WOMEN.

Such little class.

ahoooooooy

ya dags

https://twitter.com/shineget64/status/1561067576389644288

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Wait Rock weren't you also the one who put Eunie in last for the party?

If I'm remembering right then I guess you just don't like ABRASIVE WOMEN.

Such little class.

Nope, I said Eunie is by far the best character in the party and the game.

Meanwhile you're the one hating on the XB1 cast and saying Shulk is overrated.

My mistake! It's a lot of posts to dig through.

I stand by all that BTW. Kind of astounding how the entirety of XB3s cast dumps all over the first 2 games, except Nia and Melia obviously, which they were clearly keenly aware of.

But the XB1 cast is trash though.

55 hours into this game and I'm getting a little burned out in chapter 6. The side quests just don't stop coming, might be time to start rushing the story for me.

XB1 party >>>>>>>>>>> XB3 party

skullbone posted...

But the XB1 cast is trash though.

I wouldn't say TRASH, just mediocre.

Trash is like the what's his face Chunni dude in 2 I can't remember the name of. Or maybe cringe is more apt. What a loser.

I'm the girl with the gall

and i was the mvp

you were all thinking it

Zeke rules ok

skullbone posted...

But the XB1 cast is trash though.

55 hours into this game and I'm getting a little burned out in chapter 6. The side quests just don't stop coming, might be time to start rushing the story for me.

Skipping the side quests for the story means missing out on the good stuff for the bad alas

Zeke is a top three party member (or Driver, at least) in XC2 but that's not saying too much when the two below him are actively bad. (Nia and Morag are above, ofc)

I'm still in chapter 5 but I'm pretty prepared to say this is the best party in the series if they keep handing out the kind of characterization they've been doing thus far. XC1's highs are REALLY high but its party has legit clunkers like Sharla and entertaining/memorable but extremely one-note characters like Reyn. Also you have stuff like Melia, one of the best characters, being flat out tossed aside and neglected before her arc even really feels fulfilled.

This party by contrast doesn't really feel like it has any dead weight and is totally killing it with character moments even without any heart-to-heart equivalent. (Sena feels the closest to a weak link at this point in the game but just as I was starting to think that the game started building up some stuff for her, so there we go!)

XB3's cast is quite good overall, but I'd say its best characters don't hold up to the best of XB1 or 2. Noah kinda sucks too, though he's better than Rex at least.

Full party ranking including the Blades that have enough characterization to include.

Eunie
Nia
Mythra
Lara
Mio
Morag
Adaam
Melia
Riki
Sena
Lars
Dunban
Noah
Taion
Pyra
Vandham (2)
Shulk
Haze
Fiora
Minoth
Hugo
Poppi
Ryne
Brighid
Dromarch
Sharla
Rex
Tora
Zeke

It gets a little weird for characters that are in both Torna and XB2 obviously.

No I did not forget Pandoria or Aegeon, you saw my criteria.

Cant understand a list with Rex not in last!

Rex, Tora, and Zeke are the 3 in the hate tier. Rex is above the bottom 2 because Rex is merely "I hate this fucking guys" while Zeke and Tora offend me with their existence.

Also for clarification, the Shulk to Sharla range is the "do not give a fuck" category.

the true worst playable xb character is Boze

his character arc is just that he's a racist prick