Xenoblade Chronicles' WORST Dungeon

[@TheAlmightyMoist]

On my first playthrough, I was completely blindsided by this dungeon. I had put literally all of my eggs in the Pyra/Mythra basket, only for them to be taken away. So what followed was a tremendous slog having to use Blades that I had barely any investment in. Then the dungeon culminated in what I still consider to be one of the most unenjoyable fights in the game. I was seething so hard. Thankfully on subsequent playthroughs, I have been prepared for the loss of Pyra/Mythra, so I don’t hate it as much as I used to. Still hate the Phantasm fight though.

[@willbill6942]

The phantasms are just evil. Who at Monolith thought giving them a replicate move that also grants evasion was a good idea?

[@TheAlmightyMoist]

@@willbill6942 the same one who thought adding platforming to Xenogears was fun

[@joeyjose727]

I’ve only played XC2’s twice but I remember hating this place, it took me so long 😭 it’s definitely tough! Honestly I’m not big on the aesthetic of the area either so it’s really just not for me

[@Stirdix]

That last unique monster also deserves mention since it's immune to driver combos - normally fine, but when you can't rely on blade combos either, it's *really* constraining (even setting aside, IIRC, the "blowdown above infinite pit" issue that can instakill you when you're about to defeat it).

[@FaesJournal]

My favorite dungeon in the game by a pretty huge margin honestly. Friction in game design is good! By the way, I wonder if Mythra really would be limited by special level/low affinity if she was available, seeing as how she draws power from the Conduit rather than the ether in the nearby atmosphere. I've never gone back and checked after the fact lol.

[@willbill6942]

From everything but gameplay, I absolutely love this dungeon. It's one of my favorites despite the frustration sometimes. I believe you can bring Mythra here in NG+, I forget if the low ether affects her or not.

[@dip4329]

I LOVE XENOBLADE

[@Lloydproductions4171]

So do I 👍

[@Typi]

I actually love the dungeon. It's basically a skill check to say "Hey, let's hope you haven't been getting carried by Pyra/Mythra this playthrough, or else you're not going to like what happens next". Even if you did mostly invest in the Pnumea duo, the dungeon makes you think outside of the standard on how to clear it, and it makes it very satisfying to complete. It did a good job at making it so the player had to learn to better utilize other blades for the late game. That being said, the boss fight is one of the worst designed pieces of garbage that I have ever had to fight through, and I did get slight PTSD when I found the arena in XB3.

[@eriklagergren7124]

I actually enjoyed this dungeon quite a bit

[@kennethdouglas21]

I'm pretty sure I didn't even know that Tora could be used in this dungeon to full extent

[@wolftoadi]

I think the dungeon works well naratively. Youre supposed to feel weak and lost without pyra/myrhra, but you will overcome that. Gameplaywise sure it can be a slog, but it forced us to switch strategys which imo is a good thing.

[@willbill6942]

Definitely an amazing dungeon narratively. I think it'd honestly be fine if they tweaked the boss a bit. Just the restrictions plus a tough boss really hurt the difficulty.

[@yobin3711]

TRUUUE this dungeon is ASS After the first 3 chapters were such a slog because they didn't let you engage with the combat system fully it's utterly bizarre that they'd stick this dungeon in chapter 7 and once again make you work with only half a combat system