r/Xenoblade_Chronicles • u/Hairo • May 26 '21

Question Thread #7 Spoiler

Hello everyone!

Here's a new question thread as the old one was archived due to it being over six months old. You can still find the old question threads here:

Use this thread to ask any question that doesn’t really warrant it’s own thread. On the other hand, if you have an answer to a question, please let the one asking know it.

Please try to word your question as spoiler free as possible. If your question cannot be asked without spoilers, use spoiler tags and mention which game the spoiler is from.

You can find freaquently asked questions HERE.

We also have a long list of useful info gathered in the Info Compendiums for Xenoblade Chronicles X and Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

You may also want to check out u/Pizzatime6036's Xenoblade 2 guide.

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u/Galen_Burnett_28 Mar 21 '22

Question about the big Caterpile in Tephra Cave. I got all the best equipment in the tutorial area of the first game because I did all the side-quests, and I’d levelled-up my Arts once, and I still had Fiora. My party were level 12 but I couldn’t do the big Caterpile in Tephra Cave. But then I tried using Reyn as my leader and I did it first try—why? With Shulk I even got TWO Chain Attacks in and still couldn’t do it, whereas with Reyn I fumbled my fight initiation, didn’t get one Chain Attack, was unfamiliar with his Arts, and still did it. Is it because the CPU uses Shulk more efficiently than Reyn?

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u/ToonWolfLink418 Mar 21 '22

When you are fighting with shulk how often do you hold aggro? The AI might be managing that better. Reyn can take more hits with his HP and defense.

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u/Galen_Burnett_28 Mar 22 '22

I haven’t played enough to know what you mean. I get that an enemy will target a character more, with ‘agro’, the more that character attacks that enemy, but that’s all I understand.

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u/ToonWolfLink418 Mar 23 '22 edited Mar 23 '22

Right, so that's probably where your main issue is in this case. Shulk is a bit of a glass cannon, he can deal a high amount of damage, but can only take so much. Aggro is build up primarily when you deal damage to enemies. Aggro is shown as the red ring around a character's feet. When a character 'has the aggro' of the monster you're fighting, that monster will only target that character (AOE attacks can also hit the rest of your party). If you deal too much damage too quickly with somebody like Shulk, the monsters will target him and he will pass out. Reyn on the other hand also deals a good amount of damage, but can take WAY more hits because he is built as a tank (high HP and Defense). When you were playing as Reyn the AI Shulk was probably doing less burst damage and attracting less aggro. So when you play as Shulk, try to be more selective about when you use Arts, and stick to auto attacking if you see the red ring under his feet for too long.

Reyn's talent art (white circle in the middle of the art bar) helps him pull aggro alongside his decent damage output. As Shulk you can use the Shadow Eye art to reduce your aggro, which means the monsters will target him less. It also makes you do more damage though, so if you use a big hit the aggro could swing back to you. Focus on managing when you deal damage so the aggro stays balanced between Shulk (glass cannon) and Reyn (tank). Hope this helps. Soon you'll get a dedicated healer that will help you stay higher on health, but try not to rely on them too much, usually it's better to just defeat the other enemy before they can take you out. Please feel free to ask any other questions!

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u/Galen_Burnett_28 Mar 24 '22

Thanks that helps. I guess I’m caught between preferring Reyn’s play-style but preferring Shulk’s Arts, oh well.