Chapter 782 - 782: Players' Discussions

"Boss Lucas, you're full of malice! How did my poor Nia end up as a heartbroken loser!"

Inside Nebula Games, Anna sighed as she looked at the online comments.

She actually quite liked the character Nia.

Especially her role as the team's designated complainer, which made the character incredibly popular.

When Rex was defeated by Malos and felt down, Nia punched him awake, and then later, seeing the duo of Pyra and Mythra appear before him, she actively pushed Rex forward. These moments made many players fall in love with Nia.

Because of this, seeing so much content in the game that seemed to pick on Nia made Anna, as one of Nia's fans, truly upset.

"How can you call this full of malice? This is called a choice of destiny," Lucas coughed lightly beside her.

"As expected, no matter how long you've known someone, it can't compete with a sudden arrival!" Anna mused.

"That's too hasty. And Nia, although she's new, hasn't known Rex for that long. If it were a childhood friend, she might not necessarily lose to a sudden rival," Lucas said with a chuckle.

Who says a childhood friend can't beat a sudden rival?

In the world of the Mechonis and Bionis, where Klaus's other half exists, there's the typical example of Melia, the queen of heartbroken losers, who possesses the three great buffs: 'Melia's Hope,' 'Jiali Had It,' and 'Lost to Ya.'

However, Lucas wasn't planning on presenting the story of Mechonis and Bionis to players so soon; he wanted to give them a transition period for now.

Therefore, in the Challenge Areas of the game, Lucas didn't include Shulk, Fiora from the first game, or Elma from X as easter egg characters, unlike the original Xenoblade Chronicles.

But just because they weren't included, Lucas did keep some of the original game's plot points.

For example, in the end, when Rex, along with the Soul and his Blades, defeated the Earthbound God, Shulk and his companions in another timeline also slew a god with their own power, forging a new future.

But for the current players, this aspect of the story isn't urgent. The story of the Holy Grail War 500 years ago, however, can be offered as DLC content.

Lucas also made some changes to this. For instance, the "Power of People" in the original DLC storyline was meant to let players empathize with Torna, allowing them to truly feel the land of Torna.

And the sense of helplessness when the Heavens' Holy Grail went berserk, causing Torna to fall into the ocean.

However, due to budget and schedule constraints, this point had to be relegated to a side quest, serving merely as a tool to increase player playtime.

This design isn't problematic in terms of emotional impact, but architecturally, it causes a bit of a disconnect for players.

After all, moments before, Jin had just seized the energy core that could decide Torna's fate, and then, moments later, Aldred, controlled by the player, is helping residents in need across Torna and Gula.

This disconnect is quite severe, and ultimately, it resulted in the most impactful part of the entire Torna storyline being the relationship between Lora and Jin.

Lucas can naturally add more content in between these parts.

The content related to Torna, the "Golden Country," is currently under development, something players are unaware of.

However, what exactly happened during the Heavens' Holy Grail War 500 years ago, along with the ending and world-building of Xenoblade Chronicles after completion, have become topics players love to discuss.

"So, the monsters in the land of Morytha were humans? That alien king dropped something like a work permit or an ID card. Could it be that female scientist?"

"Possibly, but what I'm more curious about is the story of Jin and Lora back then."

"+1. Also, when Jin took Mythra from Argentum, he seemed quite disappointed in Rex, didn't he?"

"Why does everyone seem to look forward to Jin's story? Am I the only one who hates him? He's utterly wicked. Think about how many people died because of Jin!"

"Uh… buddy in the row above, don't get too excited. The main thing is, don't you think Jin is cool? And regarding those who died because of Jin, it was only that Blade from the Pontiff's court, right? Also, looking at Morytha and Pyra's memories, and the later plot, that Blade seemed to be controlled by the Pontiff's court. It was likely a Blade that originally belonged to Jin's former Blade, possibly to free him."

"What about Vandham, our Uncle Vandham? Did you forget him?"

"Vandham was killed by Malos. And speaking of which, you're all talking about picking on Nia, but don't you think the most tragic figure is Malos? From beginning to end, Malos, the Heavens' Holy Grail, created an undefeated legend, only to fall to Rex's background music every single time."

"Don't talk about it, didn't Malos win at Argentum? He even snatched the Heavens' Holy Grail."

"Buddy, replay that scene. Did Malos make a single move? He was just there spewing threats. He clearly relied entirely on Jin to win. It's like playing DOTA; your mid laner is 10-0, but you're 0-10, and you still win. Can you honestly claim all the credit is yours?"

"Sigh, I'm really curious about the stories that happened back then. And if Amalthus had contracted with Pyra and Mythra back then, what would the story have been like?"

"So the boy met a hunk? And Pyra turned into a big villain?"

"Kid, I'll give you half my life. Can you take me to Elysium?"

"Pyra: Speaking of which, your memories have been erased. Malos is really that simple, talking about not taking away my and that kid's memories."

": Malos, Malos, all you talk about is Malos. Can't you just look at me properly?"

"Holy crap, you guys are too much! 'Boy met a hunk' my ass!"

Players online were joyfully discussing everything about Xenoblade Chronicles, from the plot to the game's content.

Even though many players had already completed Xenoblade Chronicles on their first playthrough and understood the related content, the game could still consume a significant amount of their time, especially for those with bad luck.

Grinding for cores, opening cores, and then seeing a bunch of common Blades seemed to have become their daily routine.

For those lucky players who had already collected most of the Blades, opening their bonds became their main task.

And once players delved deeper into Xenoblade Chronicles' combat system, they immediately felt its charm.

Orb management and breaking, followed by unleashing a chain attack for 9,999,999 damage was initially thought by many players to be the main means of output.

But as Blade levels increased, and better accessories and support equipment were obtained, and even with Zeke unlocking a "Overlord's Eye" skill in the second playthrough, players discovered that the damage dealt by Blade Combos was actually less effective for controlling the enemy than regular Driver Combos.

Especially when equipment and Blades were reasonably paired, utilizing Auto-Attack Charge and the characteristics of Special Arts could keep monsters perpetually airborne for continuous attacks.

Combined with the Challenge Area setup, this allowed players to immerse themselves in the game for hundreds or even thousands of hours.

Of course, the wide variation in playtime largely depended on the player's luck, whether they were unlucky or fortunate.

In the early game, they might not get the desired SSR Blades. Later on, after understanding the game's combat mechanics, they would realize that even common Blades could become powerful support, such as level 5 orb generators, and 24% stat boosts.

But this was another big test for the unlucky ones. Don't think that just because you're unlucky, you can get an SSR Blade from our common Blade faction. Look in the mirror while you're on the toilet; does your luck match?

(End of chapter)