How to Withstand Xenoblade Chronicle's Sidequests

Tonight I'm going to discuss how to do Xenoblade Chronicle's sidequests. Why? Because, as far as I can tell, they comprise the painful parts of the game, and if you develop obsessive completion disorder while playing XC (or, when you develop this), you will suffer them.

So here is how to do Xenoblade Chronicle's sidequests as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Tip number one is: Do not sell anything under the sections labelled "materials" and "collectables" Don't sell them because, as the 480 billion side quests come, you will be asked to collect a lot of "materials," some of which are rarely found. By not selling them, you'll end up finishing many of these quests the moment you start them. (Note: You CAN run out of inventory space; when this happens, dump the crapiest-looking stuff)

Tip number two: Everytime you kill a monster or see a floating orb (these represent materials and collectables), take that monster's stuff and grab that orb. If you run out of inventory space, sell the items represented by the smallest pouches (i.e. the cheap stuff); most of the crap stuff will end up just being crap.

Tip number three: Before you leave a new town (or sidequest-giving place), start as many quests as possible; i.e. talk to as many NPCs with the white exclamation marks as you can, before you head into the wilds. This way, when you beat enemies and minor bosses, you will simultaneously be finishing quests. Killing monsters before you get the quests will not will not effect quest completion; even boss-killing doesn't count until you activate the quest.

Tip number four: A common sense tip: If you feel like you're going through the story too quickly, and you're so addicted to Xenoblade Chronicles that you can't stop playing, do sidequests. When the sidequesting starts boring or frustrating you, resume the main quest. [This tip will be counter argued by tip number six]

Tip number five: Have a computer on sleep and connected to the internet so you can google sidequests' monster and item locations. You may object to this tip because it takes the scavenger huntness away from the game, but I feel, with a Xenoblade Chronicle's Direct X 8 graphics, you'll end up wanting Internet help, especially once you realize you've been searching over the same old places for hours.

Tip number six, is the most important tip: It's "Do not do the sidequests on purpose (do them on accident!)" Most of the tips above have been written under the assumption that you'll want to do the sidequests because you're a completionist. But seriously, DO NOT DO THEM ON PURPOSE, because if you actually spend your "I'm going through the game's story too fast and want to slow down a bit" time on the sidequests, then basically you'll end up boring yourself. "How's that?" You ask. "Grind quest" is the answer. "Search for X number of (sometimes rare) item Y," "Kill X more of this," "Kill that boss monster you might already have killed," "etc." These are, essentially, the sidequests of Xenoblade Chronicles. I am reminding you that anything that makes you do something you've already done over and over and over again is not interested in your happiness. You can't do Xenoblade Chronicles's sidequests on purpose and simultaneously not feel like you should be doing something else with your life. So, when you play this game, just make sure you talk to the non-playable characters who give those quests, and do not sell materials nor collectables. Accidentally completing the sidequests that award you XP makes the main story's boss battles less loseable.

Tip number seven: Read Tom Chick's "Xenoblade Chronicles Beginner's Guide." Some of it you've just read, but it's good review.