Xenoblade Chronicles X: more details about the battle system, new backgrounds

26 March 2015 Lite_Agent Monolith Software, Nintendo, screencaps, Wii U, Xenoblade Chronicles X

Today, Monolith Software updated their official website with lots of new stuff: artworks, screenshots, a video, and more. And now, thanks to Gessenkou, we have some translations for the details about the battle system.

The developers explain that to gain the upper hand in battles, the order and timing of your Arts is crucial, just like your position. They give some useful info to become really efficient in battle:

– Combos: some arts become more powerful if used after a certain type of attacks (like melee or ranged attacks, for example). By linking arts the right way, you can deal even more damage to enemies.

– Toppling: a system that was already in Xenoblade Chronicles. By using techniques inflicting the “Break” status to enemies, and then following it by a technique inflicting the “Topple” status, enemies become dazed and are unable to move for a short period of time. When enemies are in that state, your attacks never fail, and damage is increased by 1.5. Some arts even deal more damage when enemies are dazed. Important: it’s impossible to topple an enemy if you haven’t used a “Breaking” art first.

– Blind spots: if you attack from behind, below, or above, your accuracy is increased along with your critical hit rate. Just like in Xenoblade Chronicles, some arts are more powerful when used from a certain position.

– Parts: during battle, you can break the body parts of some monsters. This prevents them from using them to attack you, and you can get some bonuses.

The developers also give some additional details about the Overclock Gear (shown during the Battle presentation, earlier this month). This powerful technique requires 3000TP: that’s a lot, but you actually conserve TP after battles. That way, if you have to fight a very powerful enemy, you can simply stock on TP before you start the battle, in order to use the Overclock Gear.

Also, the Gear Counter changes colour depending on the Arts used; as for the Gear Time, it’s a countdown that indicates how long you have until the Overclock Gear ends.

– Count Effects: if you use Arts of the same colour, you increase the number of hits on the Gear Counter. This allows you to get some special effects like “Gear Time Extension,” “Extra Damage,” and “Gain TP While Attacking”.

– Color Combo: a special combo system, which allows you to get special effects like “Double Count Number,” “Increase Part Damage,” “Recover HP,” and “EXP Bonus.” To get those, you need to change colours in a specific order.

– Party Chain: if your teammates also have 3000TP, they can activate the Overclock Gear with you, allowing you to get some special effects.

– Re-invoke: if you get 3000TP while using the Overclock Gear, you can extend the Overclock Gear duration.

Here’s some additional backgrounds from the website: