Xenoblade 1: How important are trade quests?

[bigtakilla]

Nuvendil said:

t3mporary_126 said:

I guess that's true. I don't play RPG often and wasn't quite sure how Xenoblade rewards them like with valuable items, stats, or major exp reward.

With XC the sidequests aren't that interesting.  There are a few but not enough.  And the rewards aren't that interesting.  Now, if you play XCX next (assuming you haven't already), totally different.  Side content is both good (normal missions and affinity missions) and also imo playing a good number as you go is essential to having the best experience. 

You get a LOT of rare augment materials too. Sidequests in Xeno X is almost a must. But agreed, Xeno 1 you don't really need too, but it makes you feel awesome to see the affinty tree end game and how many peoples lives you have had direct or indirect impact on.