Massive roundup of Xenoblade Chronicles X details about gameplay and story

Lots of details about Xenoblade Chronicles X are starting to be translated from Dengeki Nintendo’s Xenoblade Chronicles X guide supplement. You can find a massive roundup of information below (thanks to Gessenkou).

– No damage when falling from heights for the most aprt
– No penalties upon dying in this game
– In the fields, you can find native creature nests as well as wreckage from the Moby Dick
– You need “Field Skills” to interact with these, and obtain items
– Get rewards for registering items in the Collepedia
– The Collepedia is split into lists for each continent
– Some field items can only be found at certain times of the day and in certain weather conditions
– 4 kinds of quests: Story Quests, Kizuna Quests, Normal Quests, and Simple Quests
– Story quests require certain conditions to be met before they can be accepted
– Kizuna quests affect the kizuna (affinity), and there are many involving your fellow main characters
– Story and Kizuna quests cannot be accepted at the same time, and cannot be cancelled
– Normal Quests are taken from NPCs in the city or field, with ? marks above their heads
– Simple Quests are taken from the Quest Board in the BLADE Area, up to 20 at a time
– The board changes each time you check it; the stars indicate the difficulty, but they don’t have recommended levels
– You can Scout other player’s avatars from the BLADE Scout Console
– It costs a certain amount of in-game currency, with Scouts higher than your own level costing more
– Once you’ve raised your class to rank 10, you can change to a higher level class; your available weapons could change completely depending on the route you choose
– If you reach rank 10 with a top tier class, you’ll be able to use that class’s weapons while playing as other classes
– Dolls have excellent jumping power, so they can take shortcuts around areas you’d have to take a detour past on foot
– You can’t ride in Dolls with frame levels higher than your inner level
– “Catch” can immobilize enemies for up to 10 seconds
– There are even alien bases in the Twilluminous Forest; they’ve got a gigantic machine in an inlet too
– There are native creatures that mimic the foliage; similar creatures exist in the Valley of Oblivion too
– If you fall into the misty ravine in the Valley of Oblivion, you will die
– Lightning strikes from the ground to the sky in the Valley of Oblivion
– If you’re outdoors while they’re happening, you’ll take continuous damage
– You can head indoors or hide in caves to avoid lightning
– Auroras dance in the skies of the Land of White Ash
– There are alien bases in the caves in the Land of Black Steel, with a pipe extending far underground
– You can select one of the quests you currently have, and have its details appear on the screen
– The minimap will display a marker indicating your goal
– Inner experience is awarded by completing battles, clearing quests, finding landmarks, and Frontier Net spots, and all sorts of other things
– Exp from clearing quests is relatively low
The exp you get from battle depends on how powerful the enemy is
– Stronger enemies give bonuses, weaker ones give reduced amounts
– There are seven types of locations to discover
– Vast regions called “Zones”
– Notable places called “Landmarks”
– “Areas” spread throughout the zones
– Hidden “Unexplored Regions” and “Superb Views”
– BLADE Troop garrisons called “Base Camps”
– “Frontier Net Spots” where you set Data Probes
– Each location type gives different rewards for discovering them
– Zones give no reward
– Landmarks give Inner Exp and Battle Points(BP)
– Areas give Inner Exp
– Unexplored Regions/Superb Views give large amounts of Inner Exp
– Base Camps give BP
– FN Spots give Inner Exp and BP
– BP are used to level up Arts and Skills; need 100 BP to raise a single Art to its max level
– If the nearest data probe to an Unexplored Region or Superb View is a “Research Probe,” you’ll gain rewards corresponding to their tourism value; discovering them raises the tourism value for that segment.
– Class exp can only be obtained in battle, and also changes depending on the strength of the enemy
– You need to amass “Union Points” to progress your “BLADE Level”
– Each time you raise your BLADE Level, you can choose one of your three Field Skills to level up as well
– Union Points are obtained by doing things like “defeating native creatures,” “defeating Overed,” “obtaining collection items,” “opening treasure boxes,” or “setting data probes”
– Ex: each time you pick up an item in the field, it does up
– There are many ways to obtain points
– The three types of Field Skills are “Mechanical,” “Biological,” and “Search”
– Mechanical: Necessary for setting data probes, and opening treasure boxes that require Mechanical; since it’s required to set Data Probes, you should raise it early on
– Biological: Necessary for examining Biological treasure boxes; they’re things like dung and 3meter anthills, they don’t look like actual boxes
– Search: Dolls abandoned by aliens become treasure boxes, and it’s used to open those; they can often be found in remote regions, like at the tops of cliffs
– The amount of Union points you receive change based on the Union you’re a part of
– If you don’t progress the story, you won’t be able to access certain areas or use certain systems
– Clearing early ones especially give you access to numerous new things, so you should hurry and clear them
– The requirements for accepting story quests include “clearing a particular quest,” “meeting inner level requirements,” “using specific party members,” in addition to “meeting an exploration rate on a specific continent”
– Talk to NPCs with a ? above their heads to accept Normal Quests
– You’ll be able to see these ? on your minimap if you’re close enough, but they’re very difficult to find in the field; some are difficult to reach, or hard to see; some are also hidden within objects, like inside of containers or beneath vehicles
– There is an immense difference in the number of quests compared to the first Xenoblade
– There are several hundred Simple Quests alone
– The three Simple Quest categories are “Subjugation,” “Collection,” and “Talk”
– Subjugation: kill the designated creatures or Overed; you won’t know the target’s level until you find them.
– Collection: Gather the designated item; if you already have them, the quest will complete as soon as you accept it and leave the board; the details screen lets you know if you’ve already got some of them.
– Talk: Quests where you talk to the client; different quests can often spring forth from these, even Kizuna Quests. Recommended for lovers of sub-stories
– Some Story Quests require you to clear Kizuna Quests before you can accept them
– There are even some involving the residents of the city, not just the main character
– When you accept a Kizuna Quest, you won’t be able to cancel it; you won’t be able to remove the required party members from your party until it’s completed
– There are Kizuna talks that happen when you raise your affinity/bond/kizuna with specific characters
– You can check the unique Arts your allies have in the kizunagram
– There are Story Quests that require certain levels of affinity/bond/kizuna
– Jumping while using the Dash feature greatly increases your distance and height; use this to jump on top of and walk on rocks, and avoid enemies
– Can’t stop Dashing immediately, since you slip a bit when you stop, so you might fall off a cliff, or get spotted by an enemy
– Some enemy reaction types (sight, proximity) change with the time of day
– You can change the time at Rest Points; in the field, you use BLADE tents; in NLA you use red benches
– If you have high Bolt resistance, you can negate the damage from Lightning weather
– The weather will change if you use Skip Travel
– Tension Arts use up 1000 TP
– Soul Voices you emit are “Soul Challenges”, and activate when you press B at the right time when the circle appears on the screen
– When you successfully complete a Challenge, the “Soul Stage” goes up by one level
– At higher Soul Stage levels, you get bonus TP for hitting Perfects on the Challenges, and the Soul Voice activation rate is increased
– You won’t get TP for getting non-Perfects, and the Stage will not decrease if you fail the Challenge; it resets when you get KO’d
– When you complete a soul voice, your affinity/bond/kizuna goes up
– Weapons and Skills can change how easily you amass TP
– There are even Skills that grant you TP when damaged by weather
– It takes 3000 TP to revive an Ally
– You won’t be able to use the OC Gear without progressing the story
– Non MCs have two unique Arts
– Ex: Elma’s “Ghost Stage” grants a buff to allies that lets them avoid a fixed number of enemy attacks
– The max level for Arts is 5
– Raising the level of Arts improves there Recast Time, Melee/Ranged Multiplier, Buff/Debuff/etc Effects, Buff/Debuff/etc Duration, and Special Conditions
– When attacking enemies from their blind spots(back, higher/lower elevations), your accuracy and critical rate rises; it’s easy to get Soul Challenges when you do critical hits.
– You can Dash and Jump even in battle
– Starting a battle with an Art has a high chance of producing a Soul Challenge
– You can choose which effects your allies will get for their arts that complete the Challenge from ‘dmg+100%/200% from back’, ‘each hit+100TP’, or ‘Recast Time reduced 50%’
– When you Topple enemies, they’re unable to do anything at all, your attacks are guaranteed to hit, and damage done to them is multiplied by 1.5x
– When you destroy parts, the enemy takes more damage
– Destroying different parts add to the bonus damage[multiplier]
– You can have your allies concentrate on the same part using the Battle Menu as well
– Using Arts while in OC Gear raises the Gear Counter
– Bonuses are easier to get if you use Arts with many hits
– Gear Counter effects include: Gear time extension, boosted damage, reduce all enemy debuff resistances, regain TP with attacks, shorten Recast time

Still want to learn more about Xenoblade Chronicles X? Then head past the break for a bunch of story information!

Prologue ~ Planet Mira

1 – Defeat Origin Blatta

2 – Head to NLA with Elma

3 – Defeat 3 Elder Lupus

4 – Take the outer elevator into NLA

Meet Lyn and Doug.

Ride the transport vehicle to the BLADE Area, and enter the BLADE Home.

Chapter 1 – New Los Angeles

1 – Leave the BLADE Home and head to the Quest Board

2 – Head to the BLADE Scout Console

3 – Head to the Shop District

4 – Head to the front entrance of the BLADE Tower

5 – Return to the BLADE Home

Chapter 2 – Frontier Net

1 – Head to the target in the Primordial Wilderness

2 – Defeat Pursuit Borkampf

3 – Set the Data Probe at FN Spot #116

4 – Return to the BLADE Home

The Quest Counter, Arms Company and Shop Skip Travel  choices become available, as well as choosing your Union.

Chapter 3 – Artificial Destiny Emancipators (BLADE)

1 – Head to the target in the Primordial Wilderness

2 – Defeat two Vyers Scouts

3 – Defeat the Grenner and two Vyers Ruffians

4 – Rescue Tatsu(Navigation Ball becomes available)

5 – Return to the BLADE Home

Gain the ability to add party members. You can add Elma, Lyn, Irina, Guin, and Doug as party members.

Chapter 4 Conditions:

Inner Level: 1; Max Party: 4

Required Members: Elma, Lyn; Unusable Members: None

Progress Conditions

• Primordial Wilderness completion rate at least 15%
• Clear “Learning About BLADE Level” quest
• Clear “Introduction to Pathfinding” quest

Normal Quest “Learning About BLADE Level”

Gather enough Union Points to reach level 2, then talk to Eleanora near the Quest Board to raise your BLADE Level.

Quest “Introduction to Pathfinding”

Accepted from Kirstie near the BLADE Area – Maintenance Center

1 – (a) Set Data Probe at FN Spot #114 in the PW, and change it to a Mining Probe

(b) Set Data Probe at FN Spot #112 in the PW, and change it to a Mining Probe

(c) Set Data Probe at FN Spot #116 in the PW, and change it to a Mining Probe

2 – Once all three are in place, return to Kirstie

3 – Set Data Probe at FN Spot #117, and change it to a Research Probe.

4 – Discover the Unexplored Region ‘Rock Cave’ in the PW

5 – Once you’ve done 3&4, return to Kirstie

Chapter 4 – Growth

1 – Meet up with Lao at the Greenery Tunnel in PW(Lao becomes available as a party member)

2 – Head to the Life Point by Sunny Spring in TF

3 – Meet Lu at Tripod Rock

4 – Defeat three Vyers Blasters at Sunny Spring

5 – Defeat the Goetia and two Marnuk Rule that appear immediately afterwards

Chapter 5 Conditions

Inner Level: 1, Max Party: 4

Required Members: Elma, Lyn; Unusable Members: Irina, Guin

Progress Conditions:

• Set the Data Probe at the entrance to the Valley of Oblivion
• Clear the “Refresh” Kizuna Quest

Kizuna Quest “Refresh”

Accept “Refresh” in the Business Area.

Required Level: 15, Max Party: 3

Req. Members: Elma, Lyn; Un. Members: Irina

Progress Conditions: None

1 – Defeat four Early Strutt in the PW

2 – Defeat the Plume Aquira in the south segment

Chapter 5 – The Ma Non

1 – Talk to the mysterious aliens(Ma Non) in the Valley of Oblivion

2 – Destroy the three Target Zigs

3 – Return to the Ma Non’s location

4 – Head to the Upper Bute Ancient Ruins

5 – Defeat the Head Kmuva and two Platoon Kmuvas

6 – Report to Van Damme in front of the BLADE Tower entrance

Chapter 6 Conditions

Inner Level: 1; Max Party: 3

Req. Members: Elma, Lyn; Un. Members: None

Progress Conditions:

• Twilluminous Forest complete rate at least 20%
• Clear the “Pathfinder” Kizuna Quest

Kizuna Quest “Pathfinder”

Accept “Pathfinder” at the BLADE Home.

Inner Level: 1; Max Party: 3

Req. Members: Elma, Lyn; Un. Memebers: Lao

Progress Conditions: Clear Chapter 5

1 – Talk to Zyden in the Valley of Oblivion

2 – Head to the target in the Valley of Oblivion

3 – Defeat six Crack Pagurus

4 – Defeat Feace[Fierce?] Pekka

5 – Talk to Zyden in the BLADE Area

Chapter 6 – Mementos from the Planet/Star

1 – Head to the target in the Twilluminous Forest

2 – Defeat three Braed Nox

3 – Defeat Braed Luos

4 – Go to the Hanger in the lower strata of the BLADE Area

Normal Quest “Doll License”

Take the Normal Quest “Doll License” from Van Damme in the BLADE Home

• License Authorization Trial 1 – Set a Data Probe in FN Spot #117 in the PW
• License Authorization Trial 2 – Defeat twelve Blitz Blatta in the TF
• License Authorization Trial 3 – Defeat Flash Shatskikh in the PW(elusive)
• License Authorization Trial 4 – Obtain the “Solar System Navigation Map” in the TF
• License Authorization Trial 5 – Collect 15 Twilluminous Dragonflies, 3 _ Pumpkins, and 6 Thousand Ladybugs
• License Authorization Trial 6 – Earn at least 15000G from Frontier Net Earnings
• License Authorization Trial 7 – Receive the exam weapons from Tauler in the BLADE Area and complete any of the following:

• Defeat 3 Massive Lupus in the PW using Trial Knife
• Defeat 3 Massive Lupus in the PW using Trial Assault
• Defeat 3 Massive Lupus in the PW using Trial Sword

• License Authorization Trial 8 – Complete any of the following

• Clear Normal Quest “Ma Non Workshop”
• Clear Normal Quest “Eye-opening Technology”
• Clear Normal Quest “Purified Mind Company”

Once you’ve obtained all 8 Authorization Trial Certificates, talk to Walter in the BLADE Area Lower Strata.

Receive Doll License and one Doll.

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