Xenoblade Chronicles 3 – Latest details, pictures, videos (Archives 2)
Announced during the Nintendo Direct presentation on February 9th/10th, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was released on July 29th on Nintendo Switch. Just like they did for Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Monolith Soft. shared some details, pictures, and videos in the months leading to the game’s release.
And on this page, you will find the archives of all the posts from October 2022 to February 2023. For the most recent updates, make sure to check out this post instead!
February 17th
Masha’s Ascension Quest features two NPCs: Jake and Tessa, a passionate couple from the City. In Japanese, they’re voiced by:
- Jake: Kousuke Tanabe (who also voices Lanz)
- Tessa: Aoi Koga (who also voices Ino)
February 15th
Wave 3 of the Expansion Pass for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 finally comes out tomorrow! This wave includes a new Hero, Masha, and judging by the cutscene below, it looks like she’s having trouble with the people of the City…
February 14th
Starting today, Wave 3 of the Expansion Pass is available for pre-download (you will still need to wait for the new update on February 15th/16th to access the new content!).
In order to craft accessories, Masha needs a strange material known as “Enigmatter”. By the way, the accessories she will craft for you can be further enhanced!
February 13th
Wave 3 of the Expansion Pass introduces a new type of Challenge Battles, called the Archsage’s Gauntlet, with rogue-like battles. Which Hero, items, or abilities you get (and when) is key to victory. If you’re afraid of being KOed too quickly, why don’t you borrow the power of a Defender?
Battles in the Archsage’s Gauntlet have a “Life Nopoclock” (official English name TBC). If this clock ever runs out, you will be penalized during the following battle and will have to fight at a disadvantage. Therefore, it’s important that you remember to buy a special item to refill that gauge, and don’t just focus on Heroes and abilties!
February 10th
Wave 3 of the Expansion Pass introduces a new type of Challenge Battles, called the Archsage’s Gauntlet, with rogue-like battles. First, you start by choosing one character (among the 6 party members), and then, you take on waves of enemies, one after the other. With each victory, you get special items and Heroes.
You can choose up to 6 Heroes, and knowing which Heroes and items to get (and when!) is key to victory. This is a dream battle with Heroes. Aim for victory and clear the final stage with your favourite Heroes!
Completing battles in Archsage’s Gauntlet allows you to earn Nopon Crystals, which can then be traded for powerful accessories, as well as Enigmatter (a unique material Masha can use to craft accessories). If you want her to craft lots of accessories, make sure to drop by the Archsage’s Gauntlet often!
February 9th
Wave 3 of the Expansion Pass includes a brand new Hero: Masha (voiced by Rie Tanaka in Japan). She’s an attacker-style Healer who can heal nearby allies when the combat situation gets critical. She was designed by Yoneyama Mai.
Masha is a jeweler (her Class is Lapidarist) with an elegant aura. It looks like Noah and the others will meet her in the City… does that mean she’s also a resident? She can craft accessories. Those accessories come with random effects, and can only be crafted thanks a mysterious ore known as “Enigmatter”. Try to collect as much as you can in order to craft lots of accessories!
As with all other Heroes, the various party members will be able to take up Masha’s class (Lapidarist) once she has joined your party and affinity with each character is deep enough. Naturally, her class comes with a brand new outfit for everyone!
Also, Wave 3 of the Expansion Pass features the usual costumes. This new set is called Nostalgia, and is based on past games from the Xenoblade Chronicles series. You unlock those new costumes by completing certain Archsage’s Gauntlet battles.
Finally, we got a sneak peek at the brand new scenario that makes up Wave 4 of the Expansion Pass. It features some familiar faces…
October 26th
If you’ve tackled Ino’s Hero and Ascension Quests included in Wave 2 of the Expansion Pass for Xenoblade Chronicles 3, you’ve probably noticed that the new Nopons introduced in those quests sounded rather familiar. And the reason for that is that they’re voiced by the same people as the main cast:
- Sunny: Ryouhei Kimura (Taion)
- Cheerio: Megumi Han (Eunie)
- Paroro: Miyuki Satou (Sena)
October 19th
The Ver. 1.2.0 update for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 introduced a really handy feature: Save Party Formation. Available from the Main Menu, it allows you to save your party formation (party members’ classes and Heroes), allowing you to quickly access them at any time. You can save up to 15 different formations, which is pretty useful if you want to experiment with classes and Heroes combinations.
October 14th
In order to make use of Inoswap to power up Ino, you first need HD Ether Cylinders. You can collect those from Ether Spheres, which can be found throughout Aionios. Just like Ether Channels, you can see them on the map in case you’re not sure where to look!
Speaking of Inoswap, you can power up Ino even further by completing certain special quests!
October 13th
Today, we have a video showing a story cutscene with Noah and co. wearing the swimsuit costumes you can get from Challenge Battles!
October 12th
Wave 2 of the Expansion Pass also includes some additional costumes for Noah, Mio, Lanz, Sena, Eunie, and Taion: swimsuits! Those can be obtained as rewards from the Challenge Battles mode, and come in different colours.
Here’s pictures of alt. colours for those costumes:
October 11th
Wave 2 of the Expansion Pass includes a new game mode: Challenge Battles. There, you can test your mettle against powerful opponents. To access it, you need to examine a mysterious light (which is actually a portal) located on the bank of a small lake in Llyn Nyddwr (in Ribbi Flats, in the Fornis Region).
Once you enter the portal, you will be transported to the Land of Challenges, where you will meet the Nopon Archsage (voiced by Akio Ootsuka in Japanese, who also happens to be Consul Z’s voice actor). Don’t be fooled by his appearance: he’s anything but an ordinary Nopon!
October 7th
At long last, Wave 2 of the Expansion Pass for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will be released next week (on October 13th in North America, and October 14th in Europe and Japan). It includes a brand new Hero: Ino, who was invented by a great Nopon! They introduced themselves as an “Artificial Blade”, and Noah and the others can’t help but be suspicious of them…
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch) is now available worldwide.
