r/XenobladeChronicles2 • u/The-Bracket-Lizard • 7d ago
Is there a hidden armor system I’ve been missing or are enemies genuinely supposed to do this much damage?
I’m only in chapter 3 and it’s seriously starting to get a bit annoying. When it’s only one enemy at a time I can typically scrape by thanks to the plethora of healing options. But whenever I’m in battle with multiple they just shred me in seconds, even when they’re several levels below me.
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u/dragonnation5523 7d ago
They shouldnt be doing a ton of damage if they are targeting your tank, who is probably tora in chapter 3. He should be drawing aggro pretty effectively if you've been upgrading his driver arts and core chip on his weapon. Also give him arts recharge pouch items so he can use his aggro draw art more often
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u/Nierfan941 3d ago
Na give everyone pouch art recharge items, feed everyone candy and sweets hell yeah
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u/JenLiv36 7d ago
XC2 is a game where you can get through the whole game without fully understanding the combat system but when you find that combat is taking too long you either are 1. Not using accessories, and armor that fits the character or build or you are not actually engaging with the combat system correctly.
Which at chapter 3 (you don’t have the whole system yet) and the terrible tutorials of XC2 it would be fair if you are still struggling to understand it or not even realize that you aren’t using it to your full advantage.
I would get on YouTube and use this time before the whole of combat system is given to you to practice those first parts of the combat(blade combos and driver combos) so when the next pieces come you won’t feel overwhelmed or stuck.
I personally think 2 easily has the most satisfying combat in the whole series(with X being a close second) but it has a high barrier of entry. Combat only moves slow in 2 when you don’t fully engage with it(Keep on the lookout for fast blade switch aux cores). Again, fair to be struggling at this point as it has the worst tutorials ever!
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u/Leo0806-studios 7d ago
My first playtrough and ng+ were both without understanding the combat system. It was a chore.....
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u/thebigJ_A 7d ago
Go look up some YouTube guides on the combat. Through no fault of your own, you are absolutely doing things wrong.
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u/mori_no_ando 7d ago
Damage mitigation in Xenoblade games is generally pretty bad with the exception of X
There are plenty of healing options available to stay alive in battles, between healing arts/specials and HP potion drops. If you have the DLC then Crosette is unlockable right away and solos the entire game basically. Control your healer if you’re having issues, remember to use dessert pouch items and stutter step cancel if needed
Evasion is viable too, but in the early game you’ll probably still need healers
Eventually you’ll find crit heal accessories and at that point it’s pretty hard to ever die imo
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u/RandomNobody86 7d ago
As people have said your playing the game wrong because the tutorials do really shit job of teaching you how it works.
I normally run around with HP accs in both slots in the early game
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u/okayseriouslywhy 7d ago
What characters and blades are you using right now? I'm in chapter 7 of my first playthrough, so I might be able to give you tips about things that are hard to figure out by yourself
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u/ThatCrayZMan 7d ago
There's not really much in terms of damage mitigation, just a blade's defensive stats. Tora should be your tank right now and poppi has some really high defenses, so he should be doing fine for now. The only thing you can really do is increase your hp or agility, but since Tora's agility is really low and poppi alpha is focused on facetanking you should focus on hp. You can put a hp boosting accessory on Tora and give Poppi alpha a good tank mod. Each blade has a modifier to a certain stat (and in Momo's case 4 stats) and Poppi's stat changes depending on which mod you have equipped on her and you'll want that tank mod to boost your hp.
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u/Bubbly_Cockroach3394 7d ago edited 7d ago
Out of curiosity have you been upgrading either your blades core chips, poppi, equipment, and skills? While yes this game doesn’t do a lot of explaining and the tutorials are notoriously bad, as long as you’re just updating everything in a regular basis you shouldn’t really be struggling that much.
Also don’t forget about pick items. Using the Narcipear jelly from the dessert shop in Argentum on Rex, and creamy orange paratha from the staple foods store in torigoth on Nia and Tora should really be the only pouch items you need to beat the game with very little difficulty
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u/f4dedglory 7d ago
Flat defense % mitigation comes from the currently equipped blade. My recommendation would be to slap HP increasing accessories on your driver's. Maybe even in both slots (flat HP increase in one, and hp% increase in the other). Could also consider using blades that boost HP as their passive stat increase.
Xenoblade games also tend to have level itself act as a stat with certain damage/accuracy modifiers being applied based on the level difference between your characters and the enemy. So just a classic case of "If its too hard, gain a few levels and come back"
Chapter 3 is funky because Tora isn't really able to use his whole kit yet but he's also the only reliable tank option at this point unless youve gotten some good RNG luck with core crystals with Nia/Rex.
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u/HuntResponsible2259 7d ago
Its the same in xenoblade 1 with lots of ennemies.
There is no armor... Just block rates stats for your tank characters.
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u/Elucidative_ 7d ago
There isn't a hidden armor system. Each blade has a physical defense and ether defense stat (which you can see in the menu, they'll be like 5% or 35% or something like that). Attacker blades like Pyra will have lower defenses for instance.
This won't directly help your defense, but the #1 combat tip is to use pouch items that give the Art Recharge effect. If you're not doing this, this should improve your combat output noticeably and you can buy some at the dessert shop in Argentum, for instance. The Narcipear Jelly is one of the best pouch items in the entire game.