Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Production Notes #12: Ver. 1.4.0 and first two additional Rare Blades dated

Update: added additional details and videos for the two new Rare Blades to be added in Xenoblade Chronicles 2!

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On November 14th, the official website of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was updated in Japan, adding a new section: Production Notes. It’s a blog-like section, where members of the development team will come discuss various aspects of the game.

• Production Notes #1: Drivers and Blades
• Production Notes #2: Script
• Production Notes #3: Character Design (Part 1)
• Production Notes #4: Music
• Production Notes #5: Introduction to Xenoblade Chronicles 2
• Production Notes #6 (Ver. 1.1.1 update)
• Production Notes #7 (Pyra figure)
• Production Notes #8 (Issue with “disappearing Blades” in Ver. 1.2.0)
• Production Notes #9 (Ver. 1.3.0 and New Game+)
• Production Notes #10: Original Soundtrack
• Production Notes #11: Issues with Ver. 1.3.0, to be fixed in Ver. 1.3.1

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Production Notes #12: Ver. 1.4.0 and first two additional Rare Blades dated

The latest Production Notes blog post is once again from Tetsuya Takahashi, who came to talk about the next major Software update for Xenoblade Chronicles: Ver. 1.4.0. It will be released on April 27th worldwide (effectively April 26th for those of you on the west coast!). It will add not one, but two new Rare Blades!

The first one is called Hana Buster in Japanese and Poppibuster in English. It will be available exclusively for players who purchased the Expansion Pass. It was designed by Saito Masatsugu, the main character designer, who already designed Poppi and Poppi QT. Unlike the other versions of Poppi, she was designed so that any character can resonate with her (not just Tora).

In order to get Poppibuster, you will have to tackle a special quest, as she will not be available via the usual Blade Resonance method. What is that strange antenna on her head? You will have to find out by yourself in-game! Also, don’t worry: Hana Buster is indeed getting her own Blade Quest(s), like all the other Blades!

Here’s some additional details about Poppibuster (+ a video!):

• Unlock quest: “Shiny New Power”
• Weapon: Hammer
• Element: Light
• Designer: Saito Masatsugu
• Voiced by Misaki Kuno, Kase Yasuyuki

The second Rare Blade to be added in Ver. 1.4.0 is none other than T-elos Re:, in collaboration with Bandai-Namco. It’s the very gift for players who have beaten the game that Tetsuya Takahashi mentioned in a previous Production Notes post!

For those not familiar with the series, T-elos Re: serves as KOS-MOS’s rival in the Xenosaga series. It’s CHOCO who designed her as a Rare Blade, unlike KOS-MOS who was designed by Kunihiko Tanaka.

As mentioned above, this Rare Blade is a gift for players who have cleared the game, which means that you actually don’t need to have purchased the Expansion Pass to get it. When you save after clearing the game, there’s a star on your save data file (right next to the amount of money).

If it’s there, that means you can get her via Blade Resonance (it doesn’t look like you need to start New Game+). But don’t worry: it will not be as soul-crushing an experience as getting KOS-MOS: T-elos Re: will have a much higher drop rate!

Here’s some additional details about T-elos Re: (+ a video!):

• Designer: CHOCO
• Voiced by Mariko Suzuki

Finally, Tetsuya Takahashi details some of the other changes coming to the game via the Ver. 1.4.0 update:

• in New Game+, you will be able to exchange XP for Poppi Parts via the Bard
• a new sorting option will be added.

But that’s not all for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 updates! From May onwards, the team will add more additional elements for owners of the Expansion Pass, such as new quests, more Rare Blades, the Challenge Mode, a new difficulty option (called Bringer of Chaos), and more.

The new Rare Blades have been designed by new artists (who haven’t designed one for the game yet), and are voiced by new voice actors (in fact, he supervised the recording of one today!).

Finally, here’s some pictures for the two new Rare Blades to be added in Ver. 1.4.0:

Make sure to keep an eye out on the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Updates and the DLC + Expansion Pass pages to keep up to date with the various updates and DLC releases for the game!

Source: Nintendo