Xenoblade Chronicles 2 [Switch]

[Klashikari]

In a nutshell:
-Hanabuster will be an artificial blade available for those who bought the expansion pass. As you can expect, you don't get her through core crystal, but a quest and anyone can use her, not just Tora.
-T-elos is a free new blade for those who have finished the game, not exclusive to the expansion pass (the medal icon next to the gold counter is pretty much the visual cue). She is in the core crystal pool, but apparently, her drop rate is "very high".

There is still another DLC blade in production, although there isn't any detail. Meanwhile, they have other stuff in preparations such as challenge mode and extreme difficulty.

[Shinji103]

Yes, were still getting more updates to the game! (even if it’s just more rare blades) This will help pass time until the new story content in late October.

[serenade_beta]

I think there will be probably be more than one more new additional Rare Blade, from the way they were talking about it.
Anyways, a bit slightly loli-fied T-elos is delicious.

[shadow1296]

https://twitter.com/XenobladeJP/stat...08458154786816

T-elos now with a side of megane

[Applehell]

Surprised this hadn't been posted yet, easily the most substantial DLC. Hope we can use our Blades from the main game here:'

YouTube

https://youtu.be/-EP6XV1BmOk

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

[Klashikari]

I'm a bit surprised they went as far as releasing the DLC with a physical edition, which could hint as a rather big content.

[Shinji103]

Okay, so.......is this the main story update that was scheduled for late October and they just moved up the release? I don’t think it is, since the main story DLC is supposed to be only for those who bought the expansion pass, but this has a physical copy for those who didn’t get it.

Please say it isn’t Nintendo, because I was really hoping the main story DLC would be an After Story, and after the disappointment of no XB2 in the new Smash I don’t think I could take another letdown. >.<

[Klashikari]

The "october" date was simply a placeholder. It is pretty much the story DLC from the expansion pass, which was expected because 1) the DLC had Ira/Torna crest 2) Takahashi explained few weeks ago the DLC could be played "even if you didn't finish the game, but it makes more sense if you did", so it was expected to be a prequel, not an epilogue.

The physical release is basically a way for people to play it without the main game.

[Shinji103]

Great. So, letdown. Again.

*sigh* Everything I wanted and was hoping for has gone down in burning flames this E3. Amplified by how much I hate when they leave endings like that at the end of XB2.

[serenade_beta]

Considering the setting, it would be pretty hard to make an afterstory. I'd leave a good end as a good end and not try to "continue" the story pointlessly, where they would have to add bad guys and fighting and all that.

[Shinji103]

I wouldn’t mind added bad guys if it meant getting more conclusion for our lead now-trio.

[Klashikari]

Challenge mode is available on 14-15th June depending of your timezone. Features some special blades but also outfits for every character. They use a aux core slot, but have skills too. For instance, the Gura/Gormotti hood for Homura/Pyra gives +30% fusion combo damage.

EDIT: YT link to the showcase. Contains spoilers (thumbnail included, so not going to embed the video).

[serenade_beta]

*dies from hype*

[Applehell]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

I'm a bit surprised they went as far as releasing the DLC with a physical edition, which could hint as a rather big content.

I read that Monolilth Soft is adding some pretty significant changes to battle system too to make more in line with lore during that time. Of course it's entirely vague what that means.

[Klashikari]

As far as I could tell with the videos, you actually swap the character you control. So if you control Laura, the switch will not make her swap blade, but make you control Shin/Jin instead.

[ZGoten]

I was not planning on picking this up, but since they announced a physical version of the expansion, I'll probably end up playing it. I'm kind of excited now.

[Applehell]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

As far as I could tell with the videos, you actually swap the character you control. So if you control Laura, the switch will not make her swap blade, but make you control Shin/Jin instead.

Huh, that's kind of weird since Blades in the OG system are primarily support and don't do much beyond specials you active. I wonder the Driver does under A.I then...

[Klashikari]

This reflects the actual context:
In the normal plot, blades are pretty much there "for the sake of the driver", so they act as a support, but can unleash massive attacks after the driver has "purified" the ether through arts.

Meanwhile, Ira/Torna kingdom went truly on the "humans and blades are equals" motto, so both driver and blade help each other as "equals". So if the blade is engaging the fight, the driver takes the "support" position and vice versa.

Note that in such case, characters have 2 "move sets" one when they are engaging the ennemy (vanguard) and one when they support the other character (rear guard). Switching also lead to a special attack from the rear guard character as they come to the vanguard slot.
In a nutshell, the combat system in the DLC has more notable changes in term of arts when it comes to switching, but obviously, you have less customization and less elemental coverage considering the nature of the party composition (even if you can actually equip a weapon for the driver in the DLC).

Also, from the live stream today, they revealed the talent system from XB1 is back in some fashion: all characters have a special skill that can be activated with right on the D-pad. For instance, Lora's talent art allows her to instantly refresh all of her arts at the cost of 25% of her HP (activeable only if she has 30%+ HP).
Video can be found here.

[serenade_beta]

Oh boo, I was actually hoping for changes in the models, but the prizes for the Challenge Mode are mainly just color swaps. Still not bad if you consider it an extra to the Challenge Mode, which is a challenge, but I wanted to see Homura in Hikari's outfit and vice-versa...

[Klashikari]

Done with the DLC in 15 hours. I did around 2/3 of the sidequests, so I'd probably have done something like 20-25 for a 100% run.

Anyway, it was interesting to say the least and the DLC felt fresh enough in term of story and gameplay. It definitely got improvements in term of general feel (less performance issue, etc).
In general, I liked the characters interactions in general and how the DLC connected the dots with the flashbacks seen in the main game. The OST was also pretty good.

That said, there are few things that didn't sit well with me:
-Laura and Shin are the main protagonists in there no doubt. But the game doesn't exactly flesh out Addel and Hugo, especially the latter. While it isn't as abysmal as Meleph's brother, Nephel, Hugo often feels "absent" for a lack of better words. Meanwhile, Addel hardly is promoted as a legendary figure whatsoever.

-The battle system is faster for good reasons, but it was also too simplified I believe. My main beef with the changes is that any blade special put an orb on an enemy now (instead of only when a blade combo is finished), and you can chain any element in a blade combo (although you have SOME elemental routes from the main game in the DLC), so you can bruteforce 3 elemental orbs in a single combo. The switch system ultimately makes you realize that the original blade system was really solid, because in the dlc, customisation is extremely limited due to fixed party members.

-The crafting system is really not that great and makes some stuff a chore to get because for some reason, there isn't any shop aside of accessory and chip shops. As such, you are forced to craft pouch items and key items. However, just like the original game, you don't have any compendium whatsoever, so if you are missing an item, you are pretty much in a wild goose chase to figure out where you can get the missing items. But then again, the DLC is easy enough to completely ignore those items altogether.

-The community feature is probably my least favorite part of the game. It is basically the kizuna system from 1 and X grafted to the side quests. The thing is that the progression of the relationship with the NPC is superficial at best, and grating at worst. While this feature is harmless on its own, it is particularly annoying when the game gate your progression with this, TWICE (particularly that one time asking you to reach lvl4, which is a major padding crap that breaks the plot momentum quite a bit).

In more details:

Spoiler for Plot related to the DLC:

-Laura's mercenary life was barely mentioned at times, and we never see any of her fellow mercenary in any shape or form.

-Shin's previous driver was mentioned multiple times, even by Seiryuu, but she wasn't really explored that much.

-Addel was similar to Zeke in his role and plot, to the point it was hard to believe he was the hero mentioned all the time in the main game. I was particularly disappointed that we didn't get glimpse of that one year after he awakened Hikari, nor what he did with Homura in Elpys, nor why he didn't do anything after that.

-Hikari's character progression was a bit too fast paced but properly done still (she was pretty similar to Metsu, not caring about humans in general). I'm however a bit annoyed they didn't make some "dream paradise" sequence to show the birth of Homura and their initial interactions.

-Following this, Homura is merely a cameo and has ZERO role in the dlc at all. I was expecting some discussion with Addel regarding the "trial" and the message she would have to tell to Addel's descendants. I wonder if they didn't do that to "hook" the newcomers, although it looks a bit pointless.

-Satahiko was accounted in the cast, but Milton felt way more relevant than him. If anything, he was just... "there" for some reason. They didn't show how he got abducted by Acedia soldiers, leading ultimately to the blade eater experiment on him and other refugees. They didn't show how he could escape from there either.

-Gort being a "final boss" after the climatic fight against Metsu wasn't really the best idea. Following this, I'm not sure what to think about Laura's mother subplot, because it wasn't particularly detailed and very quickly wrapped. There wasn't really enough to make Laura sidetrack the crisis for a while. In fact, it is more of an issue that they didn't explore anything about the 17 years gap.

I nitpickerd quite a lot, but I still had fun with the DLC and thinks it is worth its price tag with all the extra stuff for the main game. It does bring some interesting stuff that wasn't brought in the main game, although it is still missing few features and plot elements that would really make it special.

Suffice to say, unlike what many media outlets imply, I really think the DLC is NOT a proper game for newcomers. The context of driver and blade isn't really well explained at the start, and a lot of throwback scenes hardly have any weight for those who didn't play the game. It is really the usual prequel stuff.