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StarTopic Xenoblade 3 |ST| Σ Become One

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Zeal543 said:
Is there another "explosive" series of scenes in the game after the end of chapter 5/intro of 6? I really enjoyed that but I don't like how a lot of the lore/world-building elements are still tucked away, hoping for a mechonis core/chapter 10 equivalent in XC3. Enjoying the monado icons tease with the new noah talent art tho
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What are you looking for when you say explosive?
 
SammyJ9 said:
About to raid the castle (or just the prison camp? We’ll see). I’ve gotten extremely bogged down exploring the ocean and doing backlog quests
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Pleeease let me know when you're wrapping up the prison raid
 
I started the game yesterday and finished chapter 1. I was playing in hard difficulty but it seems, at this stage of the game, you have no many options yet available in combat and some fights in hard mode look more like a grinding thing than a fair understanding of the mechanics of the combat system. Healers can't keep tanks alive for as long as needed many times and when that happens is game over no matter how many combos you throw out.

However, I tried normal difficulty at the end of this first chapter and it's like you dont need to do anything to beat any enemy.

What are your impressions of the difficulty levels at this stage of the game and how do you think it progess in following chapters? I like a challenge but a fair one not resulting in just grinding levels to make up for the IA of my team.
 
linkwashere said:
I started the game yesterday and finished chapter 1. I was playing in hard difficulty but it seems, at this stage of the game, you have no many options yet available in combat and some fights in hard mode look more like a grinding thing than a fair understanding of the mechanics of the combat system. Healers can't keep tanks alive for as long as needed many times and when that happens is game over no matter how many combos you throw out.

However, I tried normal difficulty at the end of this first chapter and it's like you dont need to do anything to beat any enemy.

What are your impressions of the difficulty levels at this stage of the game and how do you think it progess in following chapters? I like a challenge but a fair one not resulting in just grinding levels to make up for the IA of my team.
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yeah I switched to normal mode for a few fights early on

but from like maybe 10 or so hours in early in chapter 3 to where i'm at now(chapter 5, 73 hours in) i've only done that once and it was pretty recently, i've had a few fights that took me more than one attempt but generally swapping around accessories and such is enough to push through them

normal does feel really easy in general so i'd definitely recommend sticking with hard if you're looking for a challenge, the times i've switched to normal for tough fights has always turned them into cakewalks
 
linkwashere said:
I started the game yesterday and finished chapter 1. I was playing in hard difficulty but it seems, at this stage of the game, you have no many options yet available in combat and some fights in hard mode look more like a grinding thing than a fair understanding of the mechanics of the combat system. Healers can't keep tanks alive for as long as needed many times and when that happens is game over no matter how many combos you throw out.

However, I tried normal difficulty at the end of this first chapter and it's like you dont need to do anything to beat any enemy.

What are your impressions of the difficulty levels at this stage of the game and how do you think it progess in following chapters? I like a challenge but a fair one not resulting in just grinding levels to make up for the IA of my team.
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I played on hard for a lot of the game and I don't think it's worth it. Chain attacks being gutted in terms of damage makes the battles go on too long (it's actually less damage per second than normal battling so it's largely a defensive option to get healed up on hard). Best course of action is normal mode + no bonus exp usage
 
Zeon is unexpectedly kind of wholesome. He acts like an uptight hardass at first, then he ends up being a green thumb who comments on the quality of soil everywhere you go and gets happy when you visit any forest area.
 
rickyson33 said:
yeah I switched to normal mode for a few fights early on

but from like maybe 10 or so hours in early in chapter 3 to where i'm at now(chapter 5, 73 hours in) i've only done that once and it was pretty recently, i've had a few fights that took me more than one attempt but generally swapping around accessories and such is enough to push through them

normal does feel really easy in general so i'd definitely recommend sticking with hard if you're looking for a challenge, the times i've switched to normal for tough fights has always turned them into cakewalks
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Zeal543 said:
I played on hard for a lot of the game and I don't think it's worth it. Chain attacks being gutted in terms of damage makes the battles go on too long (it's actually less damage per second than normal battling so it's largely a defensive option to get healed up on hard). Best course of action is normal mode + no bonus exp usage
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Well, I guess I will stay with hard for the moment and switch to normal if I find some battle not fair at all... but I am having a rough time finding something satisfactory for my liking with the difficulty levels.

On normal I just feel not need to engage at all with all the systems and that's a shame. But hard sometimes can be BS in terms of what is expected from the player and what they can really do.

Edit: Also I hope combat opens up quick. Because I enjoyed Xenoblade 2 possibilities and combat flow way more than 3 for the moment.
 
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Ozzie said:
I just find it weird that they lock that gameplay element until chapter 4 considering
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 teaches you that at the beginning of the game
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You definitely don't get the ability to cancel arts into other arts at the beginning of 2. You have to unlock it in the second (or third, can't remember) row of each Driver's affinity chart.

Sorry, now that I've beaten the game I'm going back through this whole thread and reading all the spoiler posts
 
Cool Fornis Region exploration spoiler:

In the Elaice Highway area you can climb up the Distant Mechonis Finger like in Xenoblade. Like it has the same walkway and secret area at the top. If someone knows feel free to reply to me, I wonder if you climb up in a Thunderstorm if a unique bird will be up there. It was raining which made me think about it.

Anyway felt really cool considering you can see the hand clearly in chapter 2.
 
bellydrum said:
The end of Chapter 5 and the beginning of Chapter 6 has been on my mind for the past couple days. The emotional punch stuck with me.

Trapped in an abusive relationship with someone who is a shell of the person you fell in love with, where that person is long gone and replaced with a fearful idealizing monster, and death feels like the only way out... that resonates with me hard.

I love the way the fight against M foreshadows these events without you even knowing. The battle shows you that she can transfer her mind into others' bodies and control them. You get a hands-on feel of what is mechanically about to happen.

And it happens, right in front of us. That moment between M and Mio I felt was surprisingly short. I expected a private conversation to happen between them, similar to Seven's Zanza.... Zanza! moment in Xenoblade 1. But no, it's over in an instant. It's not even until later that you realize.... that was the switch.

And god, "my noah"... I've never seen one line get so much retrospective impact than that one. God, I cried through that whole revelation.
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I’m pretty sure that you never even fight against M. The switch happens before the battle, hence why the battle music incorporates the flute (which has nothing to do with M, just Mio).

It’s also why “M” cries when they first meet. At that point, the switch had already happened, and Mio was lamenting the sacrifice M chose to make.

Also pretty interesting that, technically, there are actually 7 playable characters in XC3, given that M is in Mio’s body for the duration of those fights.
 
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"So how much budget do you guys want for these cutscenes"

"Yes"

I'm guessing I'm midway through Chapter 4 right now, and goddamn those were some amazing scenes. And the way y'all are talking the best may be yet to come
 
Kartina said:
I mean I don't know that
I'm just hearing people's that have different opinion on the game
Who's to say that it doesn't become a xenoblade 2 situation?
The game came out for only a week, there's no general opinion yet, that's why I'm curious and asked.
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Well, no need to worry, you're trying to make it something it's not. It's perfeftly nornal to hear differing opinions on a game. Just because people tend to be extrene in their opinions doesn't make a game "divisive".

Your original question is loaded, which is I think why it wasn't received well by anybody. "I've heard it's the worst, I've heard it's the best. Which is it?"

To me, that question is divisive. Why are you pitting us against some invisible "other" you "heard from"? No need to debate about this. Just read the thread if you want that answer.
 
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I think it’s going to be interesting to see the game’s long term reputation.

I say that in the sense that I think JRPG fans unfamiliar with the series, Xenoblade fans, Xeno fans and the wider gaming community - four distinct camps - may all have different feelings.

Of course, they’ll be variance within those little communities, but still. It’s an excellent game… but how excellent I think will depend on perspective.
 
I cannot imagine how someone new to Xenoblade would make sense of the ending of this game

Why are there two universes? What brought them crashing together? What are all these references I should be getting, like that red sword on the wall or the photo of happy people?

Heck I'm even confused about some things

So why does Z exist and want to take over Origin, without the context of previous games? Is he truly simply just a magical manifestation of "fear"? The fear of all the lives encapsulated in the data within Origin? And that's what Moebius is? Then why was he just a guy?

Also, something i feel like was mentioned in tge story but i must have missed —

Which Noah was N? Was he just one of the many iterations that Z plucked out of the flow? Because in that life, Noah happened to leave Ouroboros out of fear? Why?

Also, the big lingering question:

Why did time stop?
 
bellydrum said:
Once enough people finish Chapter 5
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This is actually the chapter that soured me on the whole thing! Lots of little things adding up, but with some of the extensive scenes early in that chapter they completely lost me. Overall I think 1 and 2 (especially Torna) are much better. I certainly would never think of it as one of the best JRPGs of all time.
 
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I’ve still got a lot of side content to get through, but for me XC3 is easily the best game in the series. XC1 is fairly close behind, then XC2T, then XC2. No opinion on XCX given how long it’s been since I played it (and I barely understood what was happening when I did).

At this point I’m mostly figuring out whether it beats out Three Houses for my 2nd favorite Nintendo game of the current generation. It’s not on Breath of the Wild’s level, but it’s still really damn good.
 
Currently at Chapter 5. Seeing how people are talking about Chapter 5 and 6. I really need to move on. Luckily I am mostly finished with most of the more important Side Quests :).
bellydrum said:
If you're feeling overleveled, try the following options in this order:

1. STOP USING BONUS EXP

2. Switch to Hard Mode.

I've been on Hard Mode since the start and only used Bonus EXP once to get me just strong enough to pass a really difficult story boss. This feels exactly like the way someone like me (experienced playing Xenoblade games) was intended to play the game.
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Yeah Bonus EXP really pushes you around. Though with RPG's I do enjoy being overleveled especially with longer story heavy RPG's as that is my main gist of a RPG (other than unlocking classes etc). When I do a new game+ I mostly look for the challenge.
 
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Josh5890 said:
Chapter 4 and I have finally hit a wall in the game.

This Ethel and Cammuravi tag team fight is killing me. Level 38 and the best I can do it is get to halfway with one boss.

Gonna have to strategize better lol
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My main suggestion is:
bellydrum said:
Along with what @rickyson33 said, Valdi is extremely useful as a hero in that fight for a reason you may not have discovered yet, but was introduced to you in his Hero Quest's concluding boss fight.
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I believe what belly's getting at is his chain attack bonus against machines, but cure bullet is also great here. Cammuravi slaps you with blaze, a fairly strong damage over time debuff. Cure bullet clears it. The Thaumaturge class (if you have it; it's an optional Hero) also gets a debuff clear in the Leaping Current art, but the War Medic one is a bit better because it also gives a debuff shield that stops one future debuff.

But yeah - any time you have health bars turning pink and everyone"s health going down fast, it's probably blaze or something similar. Making sure you're running cure bullet or leaping current on at least one healer is a huge boost in those fights.
DecoReturns said:
I got every Hero.

Oh golly, finally. Some quests sucked. Some were great.

I give the best one due to the hilarity and simplicity to Ashera. Funny, easy, and above all. a beast for chain attacks.

I think what I liked most about the Hero quest was guessing which Main Cast was gonna inherit the class first lol. I got about 90% right. There were a few I was off.
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You can actually tell ahead of time on the class screen. Every Hero class has one party member with S compatibility, and that's who inherits it. I'm fairly certain the rest of the cast always has two B compatibilities and one for every other letter, though I'm not certain of that.
bellydrum said:
You definitely don't get the ability to cancel arts into other arts at the beginning of 2. You have to unlock it in the second (or third, can't remember) row of each Driver's affinity chart.
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I swear it depended on the Driver but I'm not certain. It was second for most though.
 
bellydrum said:
I cannot imagine how someone new to Xenoblade would make sense of the ending of this game

Why are there two universes? What brought them crashing together? What are all these references I should be getting, like that red sword on the wall or the photo of happy people?

Heck I'm even confused about some things

So why does Z exist and want to take over Origin, without the context of previous games? Is he truly simply just a magical manifestation of "fear"? The fear of all the lives encapsulated in the data within Origin? And that's what Moebius is? Then why was he just a guy?

Also, something i feel like was mentioned in tge story but i must have missed —

Which Noah was N? Was he just one of the many iterations that Z plucked out of the flow? Because in that life, Noah happened to leave Ouroboros out of fear? Why?

Also, the big lingering question:

Why did time stop?
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I can’t answer any of these with a degree of certainty, but I’ll comment on them…

- Z is indeed the manifestation of people’s fears of the future. My interpretation is, he and his faction were born from the fears of the people of XC and XC2 ahead of the merge. It could be related to that opening shot of Noah in the square, looking up to see the Earth, then it occurs… before the final shot shows the same sequence, without that happening. The real worlds of XC and XC2 never actually merge. Aionios is created ahead of the incident and the conclusion of XC3 basically allows time to continue moving forward in those worlds again, without the merge seemingly on the cards… for now. Though it’s suggested it will happen at some point. I have no idea why Z’s just a guy. I thought he would have some kind of personal backstory that embodied the fear humanity felt ahead of the merge… but no, there’s nothing. lol

- I don’t think it’s ever said which Noah, N was. The Chapter5/6 sequence shows a montage of lives both he and Mio led, so he seems to have been one of many. Not the first and obviously not the last. Of course, without Noah and Mio dying in that timeline why would our heroes exist now? I think this is said in some fashion at some point, but there is no answer. My best guess is that, if Z represents the fear of moving forward into an uncertain future, Noah and Mio represent humanity‘s desire to move forward to a new tomorrow. Basically, they exist because the will of humankind wills it so.

- As for the time question - my cynical take is so that the story can happen. So that this convoluted narrative can simultaneously exist as a sequel to both XC and XC2, without actually having any impact on those worlds. Aionios has existed for hundreds of years, but I think within the worlds of XC and XC2, that entire timespan lasts only a second (something to this affect is said I believe). The idea of the universes merging and becoming one is such a cool one and consistent with the other two games… but the execution is bizarre. Without being too down on it, it’s almost like Takahashi said, how can I get the collective unconscious into the Xenoblade universe, without touching the main timelines.
 
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linkwashere said:
I started the game yesterday and finished chapter 1. I was playing in hard difficulty but it seems, at this stage of the game, you have no many options yet available in combat and some fights in hard mode look more like a grinding thing than a fair understanding of the mechanics of the combat system. Healers can't keep tanks alive for as long as needed many times and when that happens is game over no matter how many combos you throw out.

However, I tried normal difficulty at the end of this first chapter and it's like you dont need to do anything to beat any enemy.

What are your impressions of the difficulty levels at this stage of the game and how do you think it progess in following chapters? I like a challenge but a fair one not resulting in just grinding levels to make up for the IA of my team.
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I think once you get more combat and equipment options you can go back to hard mode for a better challenge. Having more classes and equipment gives you a much fairer chance while still getting mopped when being careless.
 
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I'm at chapter 6 and I have to say that while the story and the game are possibly the best in terms of consistency and delivery, I also feel like this game will really make it or break it based on the ending. It feels like it just keeps building up towards the ending while the other games also had proper climaxes in 2 or 3 places before the ending.

In 3 I have yet to feel "bombs" the caliber of Mythra's awakening or Lora's final moments.
 
Hoping to end chapter 4 soon and after doing some exploration I would say Xenoblade 3 equals 2 in greatness but it's not better than 2. 2 Has certain qualities that are better like a huge variaty in music, huge explorable towns with lots of items to buy and fun little deviations like how some blades are very different in how they are upgraded. 3 has a much better battle system and story setup. The class system is awesome. Some of the places I visited made my jaw drop too but the towns are a bit disappointing and the music seems samey and overly dramatic even though it is great still.
 
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zumaddy said:
Since some of the voice acting lists seem to have spoilers in them, can anyone tell me the English voice for Cammuravi?
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Pause menu -> system -> Hero Roster
(assuming you have him unlocked already, I don't)
xghost777 said:
Cool Fornis Region exploration spoiler:

In the Elaice Highway area you can climb up the Distant Mechonis Finger like in Xenoblade. Like it has the same walkway and secret area at the top. If someone knows feel free to reply to me, I wonder if you climb up in a Thunderstorm if a unique bird will be up there. It was raining which made me think about it.

Anyway felt really cool considering you can see the hand clearly in chapter 2.
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This game doesn't do weather-specific monsters/quests luckily/sadly.

catonkatonk said:
So at what point do we formally canonise this as one of the goat jrpgs.
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bellydrum said:
Once enough people finish Chapter 5
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idk I've had the crown ready since partway through chapter 2 lol
 
linkwashere said:
I started the game yesterday and finished chapter 1. I was playing in hard difficulty but it seems, at this stage of the game, you have no many options yet available in combat and some fights in hard mode look more like a grinding thing than a fair understanding of the mechanics of the combat system. Healers can't keep tanks alive for as long as needed many times and when that happens is game over no matter how many combos you throw out.

However, I tried normal difficulty at the end of this first chapter and it's like you dont need to do anything to beat any enemy.

What are your impressions of the difficulty levels at this stage of the game and how do you think it progess in following chapters? I like a challenge but a fair one not resulting in just grinding levels to make up for the IA of my team.
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I generally recommend turning on hard mode at chapter 2 if you're into it as the game is clearly designed for 6 party members, but just do what feels best to you. You can flip flop as much as you want, so it's not like it's a commitment.

I turned it off after realizing I was straight up unable to kill an on level unique and felt like I was playing perfectly. I didn't feel anything was jarringly easy after that except the boss fight when you first get all 6 party members. I considered changing back then, but instead decided to wait until I had 6 members permanently.

I haven't regretted putting it back on, though some fights can really drag on, so be warned. There have also been some thoughies that seem unbeatable, but by that point you have enough options that careful consideration of what's actually wiping you can lead you to better party compositions. I will say normal enemies in Xenoblade traditionally aren't threatening outside of large groups (like, 5 or more); it's the special ones you gotta watch out for. Fighting your random level 15 volff with a level 15 party was always pretty easy, and it stays that way even in hard mode.
 
Joseki said:
I'm at chapter 6 and I have to say that while the story and the game are possibly the best in terms of consistency and delivery, I also feel like this game will really make it or break it based on the ending. It feels like it just keeps building up towards the ending while the other games also had proper climaxes in 2 or 3 places before the ending.

In 3 I have yet to feel "bombs" the caliber of Mythra's awakening or Lora's final moments.
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This is exactly how I felt before I finished everything. Prepare yourself.
 
xghost777 said:
Cool Fornis Region exploration spoiler:

In the Elaice Highway area you can climb up the Distant Mechonis Finger like in Xenoblade. Like it has the same walkway and secret area at the top. If someone knows feel free to reply to me, I wonder if you climb up in a Thunderstorm if a unique bird will be up there. It was raining which made me think about it.

Anyway felt really cool considering you can see the hand clearly in chapter 2.
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That monster was actually a clear weather spawn back in XC1. It's not here, but funnily enough you wouldn't have seen it in the rain or thunder in the original either.
 
Jersh said:
That monster was actually a clear weather spawn back in XC1. It's not here, but funnily enough you wouldn't have seen it in the rain or thunder in the original either.
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Was there a rare item spawn tied to the weather there? I seem to remember some reason for reloading that spot, but I guess it was for the opposite reason.
 
xghost777 said:
Was there a rare item spawn tied to the weather there? I seem to remember some reason for reloading that spot, but I guess it was for the opposite reason.
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Yeah there was an item for a side quest that you needed a thunderstorm for it to spawn. The creature also wasn't there in a storm which helped!
 
zumaddy said:
Well, uhhh did not know he was a Hero at all considering he just died where I'm up to. Welp
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I just assumed because every named character so far that we've heard about became a Hero and now I've clicked your spoiler -.-"

please always label your spoilers so other can identify up to when or what sort of general thing gets spoiled.
 
After the emotional rollercoaster of these last few chapters, i'll enjoy my day off from work doing chill stuff, sidequests and hero's quests
 
TheMoon said:
I just assumed because every named character so far that we've heard about became a Hero and now I've clicked your spoiler -.-"

please always label your spoilers so other can identify up to when or what sort of general thing gets spoiled.
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I thought you knew that because of the hero thing and were ahead of me, sorry.
 
I'm at the beginning of Chapter 5 now, but...

Not technically a spoiler but just in case:
There was a moment in Chapter 4 that I thought was so climactic and game-changing and was like "that's a great ending to that chapter" and then I looked at the progress bar for the chapter and I was only like 1/3 through chapter 4...

This makes me scared for my emotions for the rest of the game...
 
The early cutscenes in chapter 5 were pretty feel good. I expect it to happen actually, given the circumstances, but the delivery was emotional.

Them hyping up on the baby was very cute!
 
rAndom said:
The early cutscenes in chapter 5 were pretty feel good. I expect it to happen actually, given the circumstances, but the delivery was emotional.

Them hyping up on the baby was very cute!
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That sequence was the last I saw before going to bed last night. I was crying.
 
BradenAndEggs said:
I'm at the beginning of Chapter 5 now, but...

Not technically a spoiler but just in case:
There was a moment in Chapter 4 that I thought was so climactic and game-changing and was like "that's a great ending to that chapter" and then I looked at the progress bar for the chapter and I was only like 1/3 through chapter 4...

This makes me scared for my emotions for the rest of the game...
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Where can you find the progress bar for the chapter?
 
So, if I understand correctly, every Hero has an Ascension Quest, right? And their Ascension Quest is unlocked after you get their respective class to Rank 10?

I am 75 hours in and I just realized that. :p
 
I'm on Chapter 7 now. Doing my usual checking of side quests in the previous areas per chapter start, savoring the experience. Hit the 70 hour mark last night.

I appreciate how hard mode almost expects you to have done that. The recent boss battles have still been challenging, even if I am multiple levels ahead. Not where I need to repeat them, but I definitely need to pop off ourboros and/or chain attacks at the right moments to reset the playing field during fire moments. The perfect difficulty level, imo.

Drifting souls remix gave me chills immediately. I didn't think the moment with Mia really pays off in that way, but wow that song had memories from XC2 flying.
 
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