The Xenoblade games have a reputation for being overwhelmingly massive and complex in both story and gameplay, often to the point of scaring off many potential players, so it’s no surprise that the series’ newest instalment, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, is also an absolute behemoth of a game. Of course, there’s an undeniable appeal to an experience like that, and by the looks of it, Monolith Soft’s latest open world action RPG delivers a damn fine one. The game is now out on the Switch, so as you dive into the world of Aionios, here, we’ve prepared a few handy tips and tricks to make your earlier hours in the game a little smoother.
POSITIONING
Let’s start with one of the most basic things you need to know about Xenoblade Chronicles 3’s combat, which you’ll already be well aware of if you have prior experience with the franchise. How you position your characters in combat can be a crucial element when using Arts. Several Arts, for instance, will deal a good chunk of additional damage if you are attacking an enemy’s flank or if you’re attacking them from behind. Of course, using them from the wrong position will still do damage, but especially in tougher encounters and boss fights, your positioning is something you should keep in mind.
LANDMARKS
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is brimming with vast open world environments, and there’s a lot to see and plenty of things to distract you while you’re out exploring. One thing in particular that you should keep an eye on, however, are Landmarks. Like previous games in the series, Xenoblade Chronicles 3’s maps have Landmarks scattered about that serve as fast travel points once you’ve unlocked them, and that’s something that always comes in handy, especially in a game as massive as this one.
SHOW QUEST ROUTE
Navigation has often been a bit of an issue in Xenoblade Chronicles games, particularly because their UIs don’t do a very good job of conveying the paths that you need to take and the points that you need to get to, which can get doubly confusing in some of the more elaborately designed and vertical locations. Xenoblade Chronicles 3, however, has thankfully delivered a simple and effective solution with its Show Quest Route feature. Press ZL and Y at any time and a faint orange line will appear in front of you to show you the quickest path to your destination. Of course, on the flipside, those who want to turn this feature off and explore without any assistance can do so.
NOPON COINS
Nopon Coins is one of the currencies used in Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and it is, to say the very least, quite an important one. Essentially, the game’s progression system is built around them, because they’re necessary for cooking food, crafting gems, and even unlocking new classes. Thankfully, there’s plenty of ways to earn Nopon Coins, from finishing side quests to exploring the world, so make sure you’re doing that every chance you get.
MEALS
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 introduces rest spots, which are essentially camp sites scattered throughout the world where your party can rest up and engage in several activities. One of these is cooking meals, and it’s something that you definitely shouldn’t ignore. Meals grant various buffs to your party, and the advantages of that are obvious. You’ll run into many difficult quests and boss fights in the game, and having the right buffs from meals can be a big boost.
CANTEENS
Cooking at rest spots has its obvious advantages, whether that’s its convenience or the fact that it’s free. That said, you should still pay for and eat new meals at canteens every now and again as well, because doing that lets you learn the recipes for those dishes. With those recipes, you can then cook them whenever you want at rest sites.
GEMS
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 dropped the gem crafting system of its predecessor, but it’s back in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 in a new form. At rest spots, you can also use crafting materials and Nopon Coins to craft different kinds of gems. Gems, of course, provide various boosts in combat, and having the right gems equipped to your party members can actually have an impact on fights- so make sure you keep crafting and equipping new and better gems.
ACCESSORIES
Another customizable element of your characters’ builds is the accessories they have equipped. This obviously doesn’t have as much impact on proceedings as something like characters’ classes does, but it can still be useful if you use it right. Essentially, make sure that the accessory matches the class of the character you’re equipping it to. If it provides healing benefits, then ideally, the character you’re equipping it to should be a healer.
BONUS XP
Bonus XP is something you’ll be familiar with if you’ve played Xenoblade Chronicles 2. While you will, of course, get regular XP and continue to level up as you play the game, certain things will also grant you bonus XP, like completing quests. Bonus XP is something that you have to manually spend at rest sites, so if you want that additional bump, make sure to spend your characters’ Bonus XP.
AFFINITY
Affinity continues to be a major game-wide system in Xenoblade. Once again, the your party will have a massive Affinity chart with multiple settlements and their denizens. The higher your Affinity, the more quests you unlock, in addition to getting better prices at vendors. Those are both useful advantages, to say the very least, so if you want to increase your Affinity, make sure that you talk to every NPC you can find and finish side quests regularly.
TRAINING DRILLS
It would be a bit of an understatement to say that Xenoblade Chronicles 3’s combat has a lot going on. Unless you’re familiar with the series (and perhaps not even then), chances are you’ll struggle to properly grasp some aspects of the game’s combat system. Thankfully, unlike its predecessor, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has the good sense to include Training Drills that you can access from the menu that essentially serve as small tutorials to not only explain mechanics but teach new tricks.
SELLING ITEMS
As you explore the vast world of Xenoblade Chronicles 3, you’ll naturally be picking up a lot of crap and shoving into your inventory. You never know what you might need for a future side quest or activity, but thankfully, some items are made specifically for selling. When you’re sorting through your inventory at a vendor, these items will have a scale-like icon next to them, indicating that these are safe to sell.
TIME OF DAY
Like its predecessor, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 makes constant use of time of day, not only to have a night-and-day cycle for its open world, but also with side quests. Often, certain side quests can only be found or triggered at a specific time of day, which means that when you enter a new location, you should ideally explore it at both nighttime and daytime to get all the side quests. Of course, you can also change the time of day whenever you want, so you don’t have to worry about having to wait around.