Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:05 Uhr
Please don't twist my words, Mel. That's isn't what I said in the slightest.
1: I care about X. I followed the game doggedly since its reveal, poured over every single piece of content that was released for it and managed to accumulate over 30GB of downloaded videos before launch, purely consisting of trailers, stuff that Monolith showed off on its website and JP footage from after the game was released. The game introduced me to almost my entire online friend circle, including my best friend who I met before release and was uninterested in the game to start with.
2: I care about canon characters. I've made entire AUs with said friend and gone into meticulous detail over things that could support canon. We made an entire family for Lao, including both his parents sides, where he met Doug and how he met his wife, and how that all fed into building his character. We then made an AU where he was less defeatist in Chapter 11 and ended up stabbing Lyn in the back in Chapter 12 while in his Chimera form. Then we flipped it so that he was the Xeno and Elma was the traitor, creating an entirely new race of shapeshifting blacksmiths that coexisted with Yggralith in the process. Stella didn't even exist until about midway through 2016 when the fandom started taking off on twitter.
3: I care about Elma. I RP'd her since the JP launch day and got a feel for her character as I went along, most from the translated side stories and story trailers that we got. I voted for her at least 3 times in the Sm4sh ballot (I'd have voted more but I wasn't sure how they'd handle votes from the same IP and I was only about 15 at the time) and made a detailed moveset after X came out, though I have no idea where that document is now. I'd love Elma in smash as much as the next person: literally any bonus coverage of X would be wonderful to see.
Message character limit hit, gonna send the rest through in a moment
4: When I say Xenoblade, I'm talking about all the games. I can differentiate between Chronicles and X if I want to, but there's usually no need to. Xenoblade is basically the brand name in the west now (XenoX was XenoCross in Japan I believe). If anybody was going to exclude X from the label, it would be people like @/RamenBomber who hate X so violently that they literally surfed the tag for a whole year just to hate on people, not to mention had 'Professional XCX hater' in their bio.
5: X is my most played game of all times by miles at at least 800 hours, maybe 900 If I took my side file into account (where I played all available sidequests before continuing the story). My second is probably Kid Icarus Uprising at about 430 or so. In comparison, I probably only have about 250 hours in the original XC across both the Wii original and the 3DS version a few years later, and about 130 hours in XC2, 95 hours in Skyrim and about 120 hours in BotW from memory (feel free to call me out if my Switch profile says otherwise).
6: I think it's safe to say that a lot of people, whether they've played the game or not, aren't a fan of many of the designs in XC2. I was in a state of pure smh right up until the story trailer got shown, at which point I was reminded that it's a monolith game and that the visual presentation is separate from the story, gameplay and OST. Yes, the story was far simpler in scale than X's, or even XC1's. But I feel like Takahashi wanted to go for a simpler story this time, and as long as I get to nerd out over science shenanigans and draw up theories as to stuff, I'm willing to overlook some of the problems. I'm not ignoring them, but I'm not letting them get in the way of my enjoyment of the game's world.
Character limit again. Sorry for the essay
Melissa - gestern um 18:22 Uhr
LOL the OST... when everything is "you will know our names" nothing is "you will know our names"
Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:22 Uhr
Final point, not exactly a strong one to end on but you dropped it in at the end: I didn't see that you'd posted anything. No other reasons or excuses
There's nothing wrong with having a lot of high-powered battle themes. X had them too in its own way. Z29, Z37, Z30 (that one still terrifies me on occasion), the Vita battle, Vs Telethia and (can hardly skip it over) Uncontrollable
Xenoblade 1's OST was generic. Not in a bad way, it was still great IMO, but it was like it was the average of all that had come before it with the bad parts stripped out. Most of the game was like that: taking all the good parts of the JRPG genre and leaving out the bad parts, but not building or expanding on the formula beyond the absolute mind-screw that was the Mechonis Core plot twist and the final act, but that was closer to a Takahashi thing than a genre thing.(bearbeitet)
Melissa - gestern um 18:26 Uhr
but literally every song is you will know our names
"oh look at this one successful song from the first game that everyone loves lets make every single piece just a bunch of random heavy guitar riffs and make it sound like it"
i cant make sense of any of it
not even the quieter one of the second area
can't hear anything other than random shit thrown together
Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:28 Uhr
The unique theme for the second half of the game is similar, there's no denying that. Hell, it's even called "You will know our names again" (direct translation)
Melissa - gestern um 18:28 Uhr
jesus
this is just a bad doujin of the first game
it's like some 13 year old kid wanted to make an AU
Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:28 Uhr
That one (and the main battle theme in the second half of the game) is closer to Mechanical Rhythm
I'll say this much willingly: it's a divisive game in terms of its visual presentation in the same way that X was in terms of its story structure. People went into X expecting Shulk to be in it, especially after he was in Smash, and their expectations left them angry
Melissa - gestern um 18:30 Uhr
the only satisfaction i get from watching my bf play this game is him screaming at how fucking terrible it is the entire time but he wants to get through it cuz it cost 60 bucks
literally the whole time. he's screaming "fuck this game" at the tv
and he loved the xc and liked (but not loved) xcx
Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:31 Uhr
How far through it is he? There are some serious difficulty spikes
Melissa - gestern um 18:32 Uhr
the whole time we're laughing at how generic and overly terrible the entire game is
third area
he's like 25 hours in
and he's just fucking glad all the tutorials are done
and then he walks 5 steps and there's a long ass cutscene and then we yell at the tv again
Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:32 Uhr
Mor Ardain? Yeah, the final boss of the area just before that is a goddamn nightmare and not a single person disagrees
Melissa - gestern um 18:33 Uhr
expositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexposition (gameplay) expositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexpositionexposition
Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:34 Uhr
I'll say something as a help for the guy though: Awakening Wulfric on Rex and don't summon any other cores on him if possible. Pyra/Wulfric/Roc will get him through the whole game, and Wilfric is probably one of the strongest melee rares
Melissa - gestern um 18:35 Uhr
haha he's not playing it anymore
Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:35 Uhr
(Plus you need Earth mastery and superstrength in a few places to progress the story so it's worth building up his chart)
Oh rip
Melissa - gestern um 18:35 Uhr
he's trying to get through but painfully doing so
but he restarted x instead
Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:35 Uhr
Ah ok
I hope he has a good run on that^^
Melissa - gestern um 18:36 Uhr
he is
but omg the dialogue in xc2.... "they're the strongest driver and blade (about morag and her purple blind waifu)"

rex: "so together they're.....ultra ultra powerful."
WHAT
WRITING IS THIS
like i think we both need to get smashed to get through this game
Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:37 Uhr
Rex is about 15 or so, and while his immaturity can be a bit grating, it definitely fits his character. Don't worry, he DEFINITELY gets better
I'll call up Frye and see if he can get something in for you both
Melissa - gestern um 18:38 Uhr
:rolling_eyes:
Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:38 Uhr
You'll probably need scotch strong enough to take the ostrich down^^
Melissa - gestern um 18:38 Uhr
probably
Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:40 Uhr
But yeah, some parts are a mess but if it's any motivation for him, the last 4 chapters go just go way out there. Not Yoko Taro levels of out there, but let's say that Yoko may or may not have had a student at one point (I doubt it actually happened but Chapter 7 is the wildest hecking ride and Chapter 10 WILL have your bf screaming, at least the opening of it)
Melissa - gestern um 18:40 Uhr
this game is like the equivalent of sword art online is to anime. lowest common denominator
that for some reason everyone likes
Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:41 Uhr
I watched SAO years ago. Liked the premise but then it went downhill
If someone made an anime of a similar VRMMO setting without the things that became the downfall of SAO, it'd be really awesome to watch
Ah well, not much we can do about it from here
Melissa - gestern um 18:50 Uhr
We'll see about the screaming
He's really not invested in the world, story, or any characters
He's just there for the combat and even that's like ehhh to him. Really he's just trying to get any worth out of his 60 bucks
Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:51 Uhr
Fair
I recommend buying some food items that restore arts cooldown (probably about 0.3 per second) and doubling up on them in pouches. It'll make battles fly by amazingly fast since you can spam arts much more. Even if it doesn't necessarily make stuff more fun it'll speed up the thing as a whole
Melissa - gestern um 18:53 Uhr
That'll be good
Can you make Rex run faster in battle cuz right now looking at him run is the same feeling as trying to run in a dream
Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:53 Uhr
The shops with cake icons usually have them, Argentum's got one on the lower floor
Melissa - gestern um 18:53 Uhr
Like running through mud
Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:54 Uhr
Not in battle specifically, but by buying shop deeds you can increase the party movement speed overall. If you need to sprint around to collect items you can use a Blade special and run around then instead of letting the cheering animation play out
Melissa - gestern um 18:55 Uhr
Ok that's another thing
Why do they have collection points now???
Why
And also can he shut up and just dig up the items
It's bad in both eng and jp
Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:56 Uhr
(Best way to increase development level is to go salvaging and then sell the stuff you pull up at a trader to make big money. Raising the dev level unlocks purple/non-repeatable merc missions which let you add more items to the stores)
You can mash A to skip all but the first line of Blade dialogue if any Blades have the related field skill
That goes for other field things as well as collection points
Melissa - gestern um 18:56 Uhr
Also can pyra not sound like the most bored out of her mind California girl while Rex sounds like wannabe shulk?
"Yeah...lets just like....go to Elysium or something..whatever yeah.."
And fucking Nia and her fedora cat(bearbeitet)
Hey my body is 12 but I'm like 30
"Milady..." Tilts hat
Kami_Elma - gestern um 18:58 Uhr
He's more of a butler than anything else
But yeah, the age/body thing is offputting. Though it's not like she's got a broken spine unlike some older-than-they-look characters
Kami_Elma - gestern um 19:02 Uhr
Don't worry about Poppi/Tora though. You'll get another tank character soon, and while it might not be the best idea to use them in the fight where they join you since you need to spec into their agility/block values (as well as maybe pull some Crystals on them) said and they don't really come with much at the time, they wind up being a MUCH better tank than the Nopon is
(Also: sleep in inns and level up as much as possible. When the new characters join, they arrive at your party's average level, but still have all the bonus EXP you've ever earned. when the final character joined on my file, I got them 10 levels higher than everyone else purely from bonus EXP)
Melissa - gestern um 19:12 Uhr
Omg....tora...
That part where he shows you poppi for the first time...my BF didn't say anything, turned off the switch and went to bed he was so mad
kingddd - gestern um 19:17 Uhr
yeah i am not a fan of the direction of xc2 in general
i beaten the game already
Kami_Elma - gestern um 19:17 Uhr
Poppi's first reveal is pretty innocent by itself tbh. It's the extra context you get from the H2Hs that don't help Tora's case
kingddd - gestern um 19:17 Uhr
yeah...
there's a reason why out of all the characters i only care about morag
but even then she suffers from constant critcism of her character from the group
in h2hs
it's like no....
Melissa - gestern um 19:18 Uhr
Yeah it's like his uncle is a big perv with all the maid outfits
kingddd - gestern um 19:19 Uhr
yeah and it's worse in the japanese version
Melissa - gestern um 19:19 Uhr
And God..we were so happy when old man gramps died cuz finally we don't have to hear his terrible voice anymore
Kami_Elma - gestern um 19:19 Uhr
Yep, pretty much. Tora's not much better
Melissa - gestern um 19:19 Uhr
Then he comes back as the annoying rodent in the helmet
Kami_Elma - gestern um 19:19 Uhr
He's less annoying in Eng than JP if nothing else
His JP voice is kinda unfitting imo
kingddd - gestern um 19:20 Uhr
i pretty much gave the game a chance and my opinion of it was...not very highly tbh
like the combat system is fine but the pacing was....not good
they made the field skills even more annoying
the reliance on RNG system didn't help the matters
Melissa - gestern um 19:21 Uhr
I'm ripping this a new asshole cuz it deserves a new asshole with the amount of shit it has
kingddd - gestern um 19:22 Uhr
like i can tolerate grinding....but not RNG grinding in the sense of getting new quests
Kami_Elma - gestern um 19:22 Uhr
Tbh, all the field skills you need for the main story show up in the story itself. Wind Mastery and Leaping from Roc, Earth Mastery and Superstrength from Wilfric, Ancient Wisdom from Dromarch, Keen Eye from Bridgid and so on
kingddd - gestern um 19:23 Uhr
but not exploration aspect
Kami_Elma - gestern um 19:23 Uhr
True
kingddd - gestern um 19:23 Uhr
like there is a lot of mechanics i like but there are a lot of mechancis i just can't tolerate
Kami_Elma - gestern um 19:23 Uhr
But that's the side stuff and I'm getting the feeling that Mel's bf probably just wants to get through the story
kingddd - gestern um 19:23 Uhr
that's a problem for me if a game has half of the stuff i like but half of the stuff i can't stand
overall, xc2 is mechanically a decent combat system but the overall structure...could have been so much better
the writing was pretty cringey for me
like i can udnerstand the appeal but it's an appeal that was kind of slapped in
and i couldn't care in the end
Melissa - gestern um 19:26 Uhr
I know it's like people are saying you can enjoy the game without all this bs detracting you but it's hard when every 10 seconds pyra slaps you in the face with her boobs
They're their own character
kingddd - gestern um 19:26 Uhr
basically and she's on the screen every time since she's the main character
and then of course they play with the generic anime boobs tsundere things that's been done to death
and the writing doesn't fit with the designs too(bearbeitet)
like "I like to dress ettiquette"
in that clothing?
no
Melissa - gestern um 19:27 Uhr
It's obvious the creators want you to think about all that
kingddd - gestern um 19:28 Uhr
and you can see with teh fanbase it's all talking about her body
Kami_Elma - gestern um 19:29 Uhr
Not that I've seen really. And the few that are are mostly part of the 'Pyra redesign club'
kingddd - gestern um 19:29 Uhr
nah i've seen it
there are tons of them
you've only seen a set portion of it
Melissa - gestern um 19:29 Uhr
HURH HURR THICCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
kingddd - gestern um 19:29 Uhr
^^
Kami_Elma - gestern um 19:29 Uhr
Fair. It's not like I've followed many more people in the past year or so
Melissa - gestern um 19:30 Uhr
and of course she also looks 12
kingddd - gestern um 19:30 Uhr
gods that doesn't help the case either
Kami_Elma - gestern um 19:30 Uhr
There's a bit of that in the FB group but honestly that place it pretty civilised, given both Facebook culture and its size (about 3000 members or so by now. X group is at 3.3k)
kingddd - gestern um 19:31 Uhr
but yeah overall, if i see the designs like it was in 2 again...i most likely won't bother with teh xenoblade series in general
because i really don't want it to become another tales game
i stopped playing tales because of these tropes
Melissa - gestern um 19:32 Uhr
i dont even watch anime anymore cuz of it
not that i was ever big into it cuz of all that bullshit
kingddd - gestern um 19:32 Uhr
yeah i've been getting more into older series these days because of it
Kami_Elma - gestern um 19:32 Uhr
I've never even bothered to look at Tales tbh. I'm probably misinformed to an extent but I see it as the generic anime RPG series and don't really care for it
Melissa - gestern um 19:32 Uhr
heck i dont even like jrpgs in general
kingddd - gestern um 19:33 Uhr
if you played xc2, you pretty much played tales games
Melissa - gestern um 19:33 Uhr
they're all painfully linear and tell the same story
kingddd - gestern um 19:33 Uhr
in terms of story and tropes and character designs
i played symphonia, abyss and it has a very similiar structure
in terms of characters and personality
Kami_Elma - gestern um 19:33 Uhr
XC2 still had the Takahashi flair to the story in the last 4 chapters and that's not something that one can really deny
kingddd - gestern um 19:34 Uhr
i only felt that in the last chapter
but that's for another story
otherwise, i couldn't tolerate the pacing
Kami_Elma - gestern um 19:34 Uhr
Yeah, not the thing to say RN, even if people aren't too interested it's best not to spoil stuff
kingddd - gestern um 19:35 Uhr
but that's kind of a problem for me
if only the last chapter was interesting to me
out of the 10
i can't in good conscious say that's...good
but yeah there is a reason i don't rt or tweet xc2
because my opinion of it was very strong
in the sense of i gave it a chance
but overall, it's something i can't go back to
in any case i gtg out for lunch
kingddd - gestern um 20:41 Uhr
so how's everyone doing?
Melissa - gestern um 20:45 Uhr
fine
working on my womens day thing
Anny - gestern um 20:47 Uhr
fine too. Just reading all of the above
Mel,  I like you,  but the way you express yourself is very hurting
Let me clarify this: I like you guys. YOU the person
not. because of the game?? But because you are people
Honestly,  you have to stop seeking validation this way. The way you said things? You sounded just like those haters you dislike so much
we all have our own issues and all so don't go assuming we all hate you. So,  please. Stop before you hurt yourself or those close to you
Melissa - gestern um 21:02 Uhr
i know i do. that's the point
doesn't feel good does it?
doesn't feel nice when your precious game gets shit all over? but i guess it's ok to you if xcx gets shit all over and you go about like it doesnt exist and not do anything, but oh no.....not your precious xc2(bearbeitet)
Anny - gestern um 21:32 Uhr
I was not talking about the game
I was talking about the people
You are speaking to us rudely,  like complete strangers. Worse,  like some sub-human group not worthy of you
We are not a bunch of internet trolls,  we are people who are trying to help you cope with all this
and you give us not only the cold shoulder but also passive agressiveness
Melissa - gestern um 21:35 Uhr
ive tried honesty
people tend to step over you and forget about it like it's nothing
they say nice things once, try to be supportive, then forget about it and i end up still living with the same problems
at least this cuts people deeper
maybe people will actually do something. i dont trust anyone anymore
also if this is passive aggressive to you..im actually laying out my feelings about everything even if it stings. it's how i feel
"we're inclusive and we care about everyone!! you're worthy and of value to us and to the community!!"

then you do nothing.
Anny - gestern um 21:40 Uhr
Ok,  then tell me,  what can I do
Melissa - gestern um 21:40 Uhr
if it wasn't for kingddd id have no reason to stick around.
be more engaged here and on twitter with us
actually invite us into your circle to do things with cross
AUs, headcanons, etc
Anny - gestern um 21:42 Uhr
I will try to,  but I am currently job hunting so I might not be able to be here 24/7
Melissa - gestern um 21:42 Uhr
so am i
everyone is busy doing their own thing. draco is gone playing splatoon so he's never here. eventually losing common interests to me makes it hard to communicate about anything. so why bother
if there's no reason to talk with people why bother?
Anny - gestern um 21:46 Uhr
There are lots of other things we can talk about
Melissa - gestern um 21:46 Uhr
i have no interest in splatoon, or anything on the switch lately beyond mario odyssey and botw, and no one is interested in talking about xcx so where's the reason to talk
it's like someone said, "there aren't cliques..just natural forming circles of friends."
k well in this case there is nothing natural connecting us anymore
so why?
Anny - gestern um 21:47 Uhr
Because you like the person
because there is so much more to one individual than just shared interests
Melissa - gestern um 21:48 Uhr
cool then we can all sit here in silence and admire each other
Anny - gestern um 21:49 Uhr
what if we instead just, talk about the day,  or just share something interesting that happened
I am aware I'm not here much,but the main reason is that,  well,  I always feel left out
Melissa - gestern um 21:50 Uhr
you and basically everyone else
but literally nothing is stopping any of you from starting your own conversations with each other
i imagined everyone would be comfortable enough with each other that you can just start a conversation
yet it's usually me and kingddd starting them
Anny - gestern um 21:51 Uhr
Here is the thing. You can't force that.
if we feel like this it makes us wary of what we say
I am walking on thin ice right now
That's how I feel
If I slip and say one thing wrong, you will block me,  you will hate me
And that is no way to try and engage people to talk more
Melissa - gestern um 21:54 Uhr
i literally cant think of anything that would make me do that as long as you keep most xc2 talk to that channel
Anny - gestern um 21:56 Uhr
it's good to know. But the way you express yourself makes it feel that way. I want to be here more! Be closer. But it's hard
Melissa - gestern um 21:57 Uhr
why because i have very direct opinions about everything and im not afraid to say it?
i got that way from years of people telling me i have shit taste in everything so i dont really care anymore.
kingddd - gestern um 22:00 Uhr
well i can tell you that we're not those people.
i get those people that unfortunately spit in my face or harass me for doing so too
Anny - gestern um 22:04 Uhr
And Im sorry you had to go through that, it is awful indeed
kingddd - gestern um 22:05 Uhr
it's hard when you get them but i can tell you that your taste isn't shit.  And it can be intolerable but those people shouldn't be the ones to dictate you
Anny - gestern um 22:06 Uhr
Yeah,  but also stop doing the same to other people
I like you,  but you need to stop putting yourself and others down.
this is not directed to you king
Mel. As I consider you my friend and as such,  I am asking you to be more careful with your wording
You can't expect to stop being lonely by being cruel to others
and I'm sorry if I sound cruel myself
but you have to stop using that approach
Melissa - gestern um 22:16 Uhr
i mean ive fully accepted that everything ive done meant nothing to anyone. i dont really care if im lonely or not. at this point it's too late to try and climb into your circle
im literally at the bottom of the barrel with how much i care about anything. ive tried to reach out so many times last year but nothing came of it.
you never realize the problems if you're in the circle yourself.
that's why kingddd and i made this little server. 1) we were both overwhelmed by the big discord 2) still wanted a place to chat with all our friends 3) hoped that we could get to know everyone else a little better through here where it'd be more personal
obviously we failed to do any of that cuz you all saw it as this side thing that's just mainly king and me.
and you all still just keep to your own little circle and our attempts at trying to fit ourselves into that failed(bearbeitet)
i mean..im not the type of person to demand drawings of my cross from other people in order to feel like a validated person in their circle. i can do that on my own.
but then that in turn made you all feel like this entire place catered to just me and king
so that's where that statement confuses me...like if you want to see more content that you'd enjoy seeing why not create it yourself? write about it, draw it, post your favorite screenshots
this is a much easier place to form bonds cuz we can just go back and forth together on stuff
but end of the day...still just mostly king and me doing that. did you all expect us to share content for you all as well? i can only speak for myself and what i would want to see,(bearbeitet)
that's where im so confused. i really dont understand. if there's something you wanna talk about and share, why not share? if there's a cool screenshot, why not post it?
why did us sharing what we liked and wanted to see have to make the rest of you feel excluded?
kingddd - gestern um 22:30 Uhr
one example i could give is like if you shared your art here too.  I would have loved to compliment and talk about it
sometimes twitter comments can be bit too fast to my liking
Melissa - gestern um 22:31 Uhr
or in the AU channel, which is basically just the cross talk channel, throw in a cross question and then tell us about your cross
or be like "hey i have a neat story moment for my cross check it out."
kingddd - gestern um 22:33 Uhr
it's the small things
it doesn't have to be oh so big thing
Anny - gestern um 22:34 Uhr
We can all try to do that but you must remember creativity often doesn't flow. We will try to help
kingddd - gestern um 22:35 Uhr
well really just anything small can help.  I don't want to force you to do so but if you want to share your wips
i'm more than happy to talk about it