Huh. That's weird.

I struggled like hell against level 66 Jin, but Level 68 Amalthus directly afterwards was a complete cakewalk, beat him first try without breaking a sweat. Bizarre.

Out of curiosity, how much side content and exploration have you been doing? I only ask because I sort of have the opposite problem. I feel like I've been 10+ levels above every story boss I fought, with potential for more if bothered to use bonus experience at inns, and so every fight related the main story has been a cakewalk. If you run into trouble, maybe it's worth taking a break from the main story and just exploring the Titans, or doing some random Blade quests.

Glad you got past that point though. I've run into a few issues with side bosses (the "random adjective" + "English name" ones), but even when that happens, I never really feel like I've hit a road block, since the game has like 50 different systems to keep track of that will eventually impact combat. Biggest thing for me was the aux cores...I never paid much attention due to how ubiquitous they were and how tedious it was to check all 14 equipped Blades, but there are some crazy OP ones that really make a difference.

I've done a few sidequests but not much. I know it'd be a lot easier for me if I was sidequesting more heavily and gaining a massive level advantage, but honestly I found the sidequests struggled to hold my interest; in a lot of them I'd end up getting told to go to an area that was blocked off or told to go find some thing that only spawns at a specific place during the night when its raining, and I couldn't be bothered. I know, I'm lazy. Besides, the primary thing that keeps me playing is the main storyline, so if I'm not continuing that it's hard to summon the motivation to sit down for a play session.

Jin is a one-man-army guy, it's true.  I think going double tank like I was, my party could absorb the punishment and I could quickly bring up the heals.   Amalthus is more a standard boss.  

Also, if evasion bothers you, Dexterity is your accuracy stat, buff that.

Rare blade sidequests are neat.  Herald has a cool one.

But yes. Xenoblade 2, like 1, is a game where you almost want to look up a list/guide to find the good sidequests cause there are a lot of basic ones.

Yeah that was what made him far more manageable for me; it was nice and straightforward, I just had to keep my party's health up and build elemental combos, the chain attack, like in a regular fight. With Jin on the other hand, he kept interrupting me.

That's fair. I enjoyed the side quests a lot more than the first game (and X...though that doesn't take much), but it's true a lot of them turn into fetch quests at a certain point. I like the unique setups for the Blades, so it motivated me to push through less interesting sections.

Personally though, my biggest draw into the game is the exploration, so the side quests simply gave me an excuse to go look around the Titans, finding unique vistas and new landmarks. There was something charming about find a secret location while roaming the colorful worlds.

Friendly reminder to avoid spoilers in this thread.

I finally just beat the game, really enjoyed the ending. Although it's hard not to be a little disappointed with the the post game, but I totally understand why they did it that way. Although it makes me very curious what the new story content in the expansion pass will be. Overall great game, glad I bought it. Definitely convinced me to get the expansion pass so I get to play even more later this year.

Without spoiling anything, I do like that the game makes the effort to give even the villains some backstory, so there's more to them than just "I like being evil."

Each torna character is similar in someway (or complete opposite) with the main drivers of the game. I liked that too

Rex and Jin

Nia and Malos

Morag and Patroka

Zeke and Mik

Tora and Akhos