The chain attack guide is here: ua-cam.com/video/suvvXMp7uWI/v-deo.html Thanks to Wiiland for agreeing to be in the video, check him out on Twitch and UA-cam! Twitch: www.twitch.tv/itswiiland UA-cam: www.youtube.com/@itsWiiland
Respect for actually admitting your mistakes and wanting to improve, rather than just hating on the game and rage quitting. I'm pretty sure I only started to fully figure out the combat system during Chapter 5.
Blade Combos are absolutely key, but the problem is that the game introduces the concept in a rushed and artificial way in the battle against Malos. The next stretch of the game barely even features any enemies sufficiently durable to survive long enough for you to pull off a Blade combo, and by the time you reach Brighid, you've probably forgotten all about it. When you REPLAY the game however, you notice how well the early party compositions (Rex + Nia and Rex + Tora) set up easy Blade Combos and how quickly you can pull them off (especially with pouch items), making even early-game combat really fun, so some thought clearly went into easing people into the combat system, the tutorials and tutorial battle just let the game down. Anyway, great initiative, it's never too late to help new players have more fun with this flawed masterpiece of a game!
LMAO he actually made the guide haha. Nah but great guide! I always felt like the game didn't explain the mechanics very well (never knew about the combo trees in the top right) or put the tutorials in weird places, so this will definitely help out most beginners. The guide went into great detail without being too overwhelming, a great balance you always manage to keep in all your guides (Xenoblade 2 could learn from this haha)! The Ultra powerful joke was also really funny, caught me offguard.
Very nice guide. It explains the concepts of the battle system pretty well. Also, I feel like people don't give this battle system enough credit. It's very flexible and requires thought and what you choose to do as a player actually matters moment to moment. There's very few games that do this well.
This was a great Guide for people to watch and I appreciate spreading awareness of 2's combat which is one of the many things I love about this game. Still a few things to mention in addition to what you've already said. 1. Both Level 4 Specials and completing Blade Combo Route offers you and the entire party invincibility. So it would be in your best interest to complete a Blade Combo to give your party a chance to survive certain attacks that the enemy might be doing if you see an Art text appear below the health bar. 2.The player controlled character is able to spam as many Blade Special as they want even if the Specials level is too low or if the Special doesn't further the Blade Combo Route. This does not apply to your AI party members as they are restricted from using Specials if they do not further the Blade Combo Route or if the level of their Specials isn't high enough to elevate the Blade Combo or complete it. So if you have your party members completing a Blade Combo but you don't have a Blade that can match the element needed in the Route you can still use Specials on your player character without restrictions. 3. Expanding on the Blade Specials when none of your AI controlled party member has a Blade with an element that can further the Special their portrait will not show up even if they have a charged Level 1, 2, or 3 Special. This means that if you start a Blade Combo in an element that your teammates are unable to help advance then they will not be able to use their Specials until that Blade Special runs out or you complete it. So when you are setting up your parties Blades be sure to have a diverse set of elements on each driver to ensure that both you and your party members are able to contribute to a Blade Combo and complete it without being stuck on a Route because you don't have the element for it. 4. Look under the enemies HP bar when you are fighting once in a while. If you look closely you can see text for an Art that the enemy is about to use pop up when they are attacking with it. When this happens you can use your player character to either: Use a Level 4 Special, Break then Topple then Launch, stop auto-attacking, or move out of the way of the enemies way depending on what area the Art hits. Each enemy has a set number of arts they will use and depending on the position of where you attack or how low their HP you could suffer defeat if your not careful. 5. Auto Attacks can bounce off enemies that are able to block such as enemies with Blades, Drivers, or strong monsters. This can lead to your character being unable to Chain all 3 of your Arts into Cancel Arts to quickly charge your Specials or throw off your rhythm of battle if your not careful. For this equip the accessory Auto-Balancer which bypasses the enemies block and ensures that you won't be interrupted when you are Canceling into Arts Chain or when you Cancel into a Blade Special. This can be found later in the game but with the DLC you get one for free if you receive it from the Expansion Pass. 6. Core Chips. Some shops have these items that buffs your Blade Special Damage so if you really want to increase how hard you hit check some shops to see if they offer any good Core Chips. Most good Chips are found beating certain monsters so be on the look out for them. That's all I can think of for now. This is just me adding onto the guide as suggestions or small detail I wanted to add. Hope everyone learns from this guide. Meanwhile I'm going to be playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 again to relive the experience. Have fun!
Nice video for beginners ! About Fusion combos, the opposite also works. Driver combos increase the duration of your blade combo, making it easier for you and your mates to charge your specials. Smash increases the damage of the Dot (not useful for casual playthrough but needed for Bringer of chaos challenges RTA). Finally, fusion combos fill the party gauge !
If I remember correctly, it was on Indol that I "understood" the combat a lot better, it's a great memory understanding a little bit better the combat. Even then, the UA-cam videos help a lot. (After finishing the game)
@@nishquikpops XC2 was my proper introduction to the series, so I didn't know guides existed (I think I played the game on release week), but I'm glad that I watched Enel guides later on
@@nishquikpops it was a great experience, later on they fixed a lot of the things. And maybe I'll follow some Xenoblade fans replay of the trilogy. Now that I understand a lot better the combat and story.
Great guide, I recently found your channel and I'm really enjoying your vids. I'm playing Xenoblade 3 at the moment, so I'll have to see if my mind changes afterwards, but for now, after you really understand the combat of 2, it's my favourite by far. It's just so satisfying :)) And I think, even in general, 2 is gonna turn out to be my favourite out of the trilogy. I definitely have my complaints, but the good point about the game make up for it so easily, I just love it :D
Thank you, happy to hear you like my videos! 2's combat took me a while to learn but I love it to death now, though Xenoblade 3 has surpassed it in terms of combat. Hope you'll enjoy the rest of Xenoblade 3!
I somehow beat the game without understanding the combat the first time. It took me like halfway through my second playthrough before it began to click. But once it clicks it clicks, everything just starts piecing together all at once and it’s so satisfying
Thanks for this man! I loved the first xenoblade chronicles and just couldn't get into this one as the story was compelling, but at the time, I thought the combat was slow and terrible. I still wanted to play this before xenoblade 3 and now its gone from, ok lets just get through the story as fast as possible, to I want to overturn every stone and not miss a single side quest.
Very nice guide! Pretty concise, and the editing is really well done, it makes it clear what gameplay elements you're talking about. I'll definitely recommend this one to new players whenever I get the chance.
Thanks for this i just started the game after beating XC:DE thinking the combat would be more like the first one so this really help me and made battle that would have been a nightmare a pretty fun and painless cakewalk Great video❤❤❤
This is pretty much the ideal guide and says the things I've been wanting to tell my friend when he reaches XC2. (He is currently at Future Connected, so almost there!) Now I can show him this video (that you left spoiler free, down to future party members, even!) instead of telling him myself. However, I notice one thing is missing in this video, and that's Chain Attacks (and how Blade Combo Finishers apply Elemental Orbs to smash during the Chain Attack). Is this intentional and meant for a future video?
Thank you! I always found it a shame that other good guides had spoilers so I made sure to avoid them. And yes I briefly talked about orbs around 6:47, but decided to leave chain attacks for another video. (they're only available after chapter 3 anyway and there's a lot I can say about them)
@@MaxMonado Reminds me Chrono Cross's final boss where you SHOULD use different elemental attacks to be able to use Chrono Cross skill and beat the boss for good ending.
The chain attack guide is here: ua-cam.com/video/suvvXMp7uWI/v-deo.html
Thanks to Wiiland for agreeing to be in the video, check him out on Twitch and UA-cam!
Twitch: www.twitch.tv/itswiiland
UA-cam: www.youtube.com/@itsWiiland
For a casual player who winged most of XBC1, this guide was so clear and straight to the point. I feel a little less overwhelmed now 🤺
Alright, I will master this, and no one will ever want to spam L in my chat again!!! 😤😤
Respect for actually admitting your mistakes and wanting to improve, rather than just hating on the game and rage quitting. I'm pretty sure I only started to fully figure out the combat system during Chapter 5.
Yeah we'll see about that buddy 😂
Blade Combos are absolutely key, but the problem is that the game introduces the concept in a rushed and artificial way in the battle against Malos. The next stretch of the game barely even features any enemies sufficiently durable to survive long enough for you to pull off a Blade combo, and by the time you reach Brighid, you've probably forgotten all about it. When you REPLAY the game however, you notice how well the early party compositions (Rex + Nia and Rex + Tora) set up easy Blade Combos and how quickly you can pull them off (especially with pouch items), making even early-game combat really fun, so some thought clearly went into easing people into the combat system, the tutorials and tutorial battle just let the game down.
Anyway, great initiative, it's never too late to help new players have more fun with this flawed masterpiece of a game!
Thanks! And indeed, Xenoblade 2's bad tutorials are its biggest downfall.
LMAO he actually made the guide haha. Nah but great guide! I always felt like the game didn't explain the mechanics very well (never knew about the combo trees in the top right) or put the tutorials in weird places, so this will definitely help out most beginners. The guide went into great detail without being too overwhelming, a great balance you always manage to keep in all your guides (Xenoblade 2 could learn from this haha)! The Ultra powerful joke was also really funny, caught me offguard.
Me making the best Xenoblade guide just so I had a chance to make fun of my friend
Very nice guide. It explains the concepts of the battle system pretty well. Also, I feel like people don't give this battle system enough credit. It's very flexible and requires thought and what you choose to do as a player actually matters moment to moment. There's very few games that do this well.
Thank you! And I agree, 2's combat is amazing
This was a great Guide for people to watch and I appreciate spreading awareness of 2's combat which is one of the many things I love about this game.
Still a few things to mention in addition to what you've already said.
1. Both Level 4 Specials and completing Blade Combo Route offers you and the entire party invincibility. So it would be in your best interest to complete a Blade Combo to give your party a chance to survive certain attacks that the enemy might be doing if you see an Art text appear below the health bar.
2.The player controlled character is able to spam as many Blade Special as they want even if the Specials level is too low or if the Special doesn't further the Blade Combo Route. This does not apply to your AI party members as they are restricted from using Specials if they do not further the Blade Combo Route or if the level of their Specials isn't high enough to elevate the Blade Combo or complete it. So if you have your party members completing a Blade Combo but you don't have a Blade that can match the element needed in the Route you can still use Specials on your player character without restrictions.
3. Expanding on the Blade Specials when none of your AI controlled party member has a Blade with an element that can further the Special their portrait will not show up even if they have a charged Level 1, 2, or 3 Special. This means that if you start a Blade Combo in an element that your teammates are unable to help advance then they will not be able to use their Specials until that Blade Special runs out or you complete it. So when you are setting up your parties Blades be sure to have a diverse set of elements on each driver to ensure that both you and your party members are able to contribute to a Blade Combo and complete it without being stuck on a Route because you don't have the element for it.
4. Look under the enemies HP bar when you are fighting once in a while. If you look closely you can see text for an Art that the enemy is about to use pop up when they are attacking with it. When this happens you can use your player character to either: Use a Level 4 Special, Break then Topple then Launch, stop auto-attacking, or move out of the way of the enemies way depending on what area the Art hits. Each enemy has a set number of arts they will use and depending on the position of where you attack or how low their HP you could suffer defeat if your not careful.
5. Auto Attacks can bounce off enemies that are able to block such as enemies with Blades, Drivers, or strong monsters. This can lead to your character being unable to Chain all 3 of your Arts into Cancel Arts to quickly charge your Specials or throw off your rhythm of battle if your not careful. For this equip the accessory Auto-Balancer which bypasses the enemies block and ensures that you won't be interrupted when you are Canceling into Arts Chain or when you Cancel into a Blade Special. This can be found later in the game but with the DLC you get one for free if you receive it from the Expansion Pass.
6. Core Chips. Some shops have these items that buffs your Blade Special Damage so if you really want to increase how hard you hit check some shops to see if they offer any good Core Chips. Most good Chips are found beating certain monsters so be on the look out for them.
That's all I can think of for now. This is just me adding onto the guide as suggestions or small detail I wanted to add. Hope everyone learns from this guide. Meanwhile I'm going to be playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 again to relive the experience. Have fun!
Forgot how fun this game was. Peak
Peak indeed
Amazing guide! I still see newcomers to the series so a guide like this is still very relevant!
Thank you, nice to hear it!
This was just the tutorial I needed. I’ve watched a few others. But this is the first one that’s made me feel confident in what I’m doing in combat
Great to hear it!
So basically, if you think about it, this video was made because Wiiland never learned how to read.
SO TRUE
Nice video for beginners !
About Fusion combos, the opposite also works. Driver combos increase the duration of your blade combo, making it easier for you and your mates to charge your specials. Smash increases the damage of the Dot (not useful for casual playthrough but needed for Bringer of chaos challenges RTA). Finally, fusion combos fill the party gauge !
Very true! Fusion combos are busted!
If I remember correctly, it was on Indol that I "understood" the combat a lot better, it's a great memory understanding a little bit better the combat.
Even then, the UA-cam videos help a lot. (After finishing the game)
I'm glad I binged Enel's videos before and during my playthrough of 2! 😅
@@nishquikpops XC2 was my proper introduction to the series, so I didn't know guides existed (I think I played the game on release week), but I'm glad that I watched Enel guides later on
@@silvershield9217 it must've been an interesting experience playing at launch! I played it in Oct 2021 almost 4 years later haha
@@nishquikpops it was a great experience, later on they fixed a lot of the things. And maybe I'll follow some Xenoblade fans replay of the trilogy. Now that I understand a lot better the combat and story.
Honestly probably same for me, I don't even remember when it clicked
Great guide, I recently found your channel and I'm really enjoying your vids. I'm playing Xenoblade 3 at the moment, so I'll have to see if my mind changes afterwards, but for now, after you really understand the combat of 2, it's my favourite by far. It's just so satisfying :)) And I think, even in general, 2 is gonna turn out to be my favourite out of the trilogy. I definitely have my complaints, but the good point about the game make up for it so easily, I just love it :D
Thank you, happy to hear you like my videos! 2's combat took me a while to learn but I love it to death now, though Xenoblade 3 has surpassed it in terms of combat. Hope you'll enjoy the rest of Xenoblade 3!
I somehow beat the game without understanding the combat the first time. It took me like halfway through my second playthrough before it began to click. But once it clicks it clicks, everything just starts piecing together all at once and it’s so satisfying
I had the exact same for Xenoblade 1 when I first played it lol, only understood how chain attacks worked after beating the final boss in that game
Thanks for this man! I loved the first xenoblade chronicles and just couldn't get into this one as the story was compelling, but at the time, I thought the combat was slow and terrible. I still wanted to play this before xenoblade 3 and now its gone from, ok lets just get through the story as fast as possible, to I want to overturn every stone and not miss a single side quest.
Nice to hear it! You're not alone, many people hate the combat at first, but I'm happy it's starting to click for you!
Very nice guide! Pretty concise, and the editing is really well done, it makes it clear what gameplay elements you're talking about. I'll definitely recommend this one to new players whenever I get the chance.
Happy to hear it, thanks!
Perfect time to replay this game
Always a good idea
Thanks for this i just started the game after beating XC:DE thinking the combat would be more like the first one so this really help me and made battle that would have been a nightmare a pretty fun and painless cakewalk
Great video❤❤❤
Happy to hear I could help!
THANK YOU!!
@susanbrigham3030 Hope I could help!
Learning the combat is powerful. Watching this video is powerful. So learning the combat from this video is like, Ultra Powerful!
This guy gets it!
Tier list every Monado. Even Replicas, even hairpins, and even the Sword of Legendariness >:Y
This was so helpful
@@randumbcat5610 Happy to hear it
thank you sir! I followed you!
Perfect!
Big thanks!
Happy I can help!
This is pretty much the ideal guide and says the things I've been wanting to tell my friend when he reaches XC2. (He is currently at Future Connected, so almost there!) Now I can show him this video (that you left spoiler free, down to future party members, even!) instead of telling him myself. However, I notice one thing is missing in this video, and that's Chain Attacks (and how Blade Combo Finishers apply Elemental Orbs to smash during the Chain Attack). Is this intentional and meant for a future video?
Thank you! I always found it a shame that other good guides had spoilers so I made sure to avoid them. And yes I briefly talked about orbs around 6:47, but decided to leave chain attacks for another video. (they're only available after chapter 3 anyway and there's a lot I can say about them)
@@MaxMonado Alright, gotcha. Looking forward to that then!
This game is great but by god it does a poor job of explaining a new combat system thats radically different than the first game
@@nerdbrain396 Agree
Spread this so that everyone stops watching enel.
Damn what did he do?
@@MaxMonado nothing... yet. But we should be prepared for when he does. This is a joke btw.
@@alexpousson5237 enel situation is crazy
It’s funny for me to see so many people struggling with these mechanics when I understand them directly and easily 😅
sure you did
Vs final superboss I use one for each element
The best way to finish the game
@@MaxMonado Reminds me Chrono Cross's final boss where you SHOULD use different elemental attacks to be able to use Chrono Cross skill and beat the boss for good ending.