My FOURTH attempt at finishing Xenoblade Chronicles... here I go!

[Jumpin]

SegataSanshiro said:

Bristow9091 said:

Progress update thingy;

I've now spent almost 20 hours with the game (19:40 on save file), which is clearly a LOT longer than my previous attempts, and I'm really enjoying it, despite not playing as much as I wish I could (Busy with work and other stuff so my game time for the time being is very limited)

In terms of how far I am; I've just reached the village in Makna Forest, but saved and turned it off at the entrance... I have the fifth party member, Melia, although don't really plan on using her since my current party is rather strong. All my characters are Lv. 33 right now.

Without spoilers, how far through the game am I right now? 

You are still a ways off but I wanted to say it while it's on my mind. When in Mechonis. Do every side quest. Collect everything (esp if you are rebuilding Colony 6 which btw is very much worth it)

I'm of the opposite opinion. Seeing as how Bristow9091 had trouble getting into this game, to begin with, I'd recommend avoiding side-quests unless more levels/money are required. 

For completionists, there's always New Game+. You can probably achieve all of that stuff in a significantly shorter period of time by playing the entire game activating New Game+ if you really wanted to; everything can be done MUCH faster.

The reasoning is that the side quests are incredibly dry and 98% flavourless forgettable fetch-quests. It's much more fun exploring the world on your own terms without burdening yourself with 400 variants of be at point X between time A and B to talk to a character who will tell you: "Collect 8 Stony Carrot Root, 3 Onion Fish, and 7 Lobster Roaches so Mamapon can make proper soap to wash colourful dino-feather skin pants!"

In my opinion, especially on the first playthrough, moving through the main story without the burden of completing all of the side quest content is a FAR more liberated and enjoyable experience. Especially if for players worried about getting burnt out/tired of the game/sidetracked by other games. As I mentioned before, there's a much easier way for players to do a completionist run: I'm a firm believer that a completionist run with New Game+ is far a more tolerable and efficient experience.