Like any good RPG, the gear you equip in Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition makes a big difference. This comes from the raw stats that increase your various stats and resistances, but also the copious traits they can come with. One way to make you grind for better gear is to tie the strongest bonuses to high-level monster drops.
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Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition – How To Obtain The Skell Flight Module
We take a look at the quest you’ll need to complete in order to obtain flight for any Skells you own.
Battle Traits are what you should really focus on when you choose what gear to wear, but it’s not the only thing. Where Battle Traits can be quite random, Augments give you a lot more control and just as much benefit. Both are essential parts of your gear, so here’s everything you need to know about them.
What Are Battle Traits?
Battle Traits are intrinsic to every piece of gear that they appear on, and can be present on both weapons and armour, as well as any piece of Skell gear, too. These are unique skills, just as giving you TP every time you use an Art, increasing the damage against certain enemies, increasing critical hit chance, and so much more.
The number of Battle Traits that can appear naturally on a piece of equipment is relative to its rarity, rather than its level. A Rare item may only have two Battle Traits, while an Intergalactic one may have four or five Battle Traits intrinsic to it.
With there being two different ways to get armor and weapons, there are then two different ways in which Battle Traits can appear on them. Here are both.
Random Battle Traits
As you defeat enemies out in the world, they will drop items. Many of these will be items unique to the enemy and those dropped from breaking their appendages. However, they also have a chance to drop equipment. The types of items that enemies can drop is dependent on the category of enemy they are.
Armor dropped by enemies is determined by species, while weapons dropped are determined by level and party make-up.
Equipment dropped by an enemy will always be at the level of the enemy itself, rather than your own. This effectively lets you get equipment at a higher level by hunting a bit above your level. These pieces of equipment dropped by enemies will have random Battle Traits, though typically at higher levels and more plentifully than those acquired elsewhere.
Armour that you acquire from enemies will also have a additional part to their name, being called ‘Worn’ or ‘Advanced’. This determines the level at which you can equip them relative to their tier, but also means its intrinsic Battle Traits can be upgraded more than those purchased from shops.
Store-Bought Battle Traits
The other source of armour in the game is buying them from the Shop Terminal in Armory Alley, NLA. These are divided sharply between levels, stretching from the lowest level all the way to to level 50. There is never variation in them, with the jumps in level indicating the jump in tiers and the subsequent stat jumps inherent to that.
Armor provided in the store comes from Arms Manufacturers, which are unlocked as you progress through the story and complete certain Normal Missions. This will add the equipment to the shop terminal. As you upgrade AMs, the rarity of the gear they provide will also increase. This will give them more intrinsic Battle Traits, as well as extra Augment slots.
Keep in mind that armor bought from the store both comes with pre-determined Battle Traits, and can be upgraded less than those dropped by enemies. It is a choice between certainty and strength.
What Are Augments?
Augments offer much the same benefits as Battle Traits, and cover all the same bonuses as Battle Traits do. However, Augments are not intrinsic to a piece of equipment, and must be added by you manually. Augments are found in a few different ways, but are primarily acquired either by crafting, or from certain unique enemies, such as Tyrants, Bosses, and Time Attack Missions.
To use an Augment, you must first have an available Augment Slot on a piece of gear. This is a slightly variable system, as not every piece of gear is guaranteed to come with an Augment Slot. Here’s an explanation of how to use Augments on your gear.
Augment Slots
On any piece of equipment, weapons and armour and those of your Skell, you may see a small, empty circle. This is an Augment Slot, which allows you put an Augment on your gear for the number of empty circles there are. The number of Augment Slots is determined by the rarity of the gear, with Common and Rare gear not coming with any, and gear of higher rarities gaining an extra Augment Slot each, up to a maximum of three.
This works slightly differently for armour. These can only have one Augment Slot each, where fullbody suits can have up to three due to the number of slots they take up.
Augments are split across various categories, with each category associated with a certain piece of equipment. Aside from this restriction, any level of Augment can be put in any piece of equipment provided there is a free slot. With Augments being so rare and difficult to craft, they can thankfully be removed from any piece of equipment completely free-of-charge to be put into another.
Crafting Augments
While many Augments can be found from certain Missions and Salvage points around the world, these are finite sources, and so crafting will be the primary way in which you can acquire them. They are split into categories for each type of equipment, and then further sub-categories within each. Here are all of them:
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Main Category |
Sub Category |
|---|---|
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Weapon Augments |
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Armor Augments |
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Skell Weapon Augments |
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Skell Armor Augments |
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Skell Frame Augments |
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Once you try to craft an Augment, you will immediately be hit with the fact that they are very expensive to craft. While the Credit cost isn’t particularly exorbitant, the materials required are much rarer. You can choose the level at which certain Augments are created at set intervals.
Newly added in Definitive Edition, you can track a single item at a time so its materials are marked on the map.
Adding New Battle Traits And Augments
Upgrading Battle Traits
Sometimes, you hit the jackpot in terms of the Battle Traits you want on a certain piece of equipment, but the level of the Battle Traits themselves just aren’t where you want them. Well thankfully, you’re not out of luck here yet. At the AM Terminal, you can increase the level of individual Battle Traits.
This depends on the gear itself. Those that have been dropped been enemies can be upgraded multiple times, while those both from stores can be upgraded significantly less times. Materials are needed to upgrade these traits. The materials needed will be the same at every level, though the number of those items will increase as the level does.
Adding New Augment Slots
The same is true for Augment Slots. You come across an incredible piece of gear, but it just has too few slots. Thankfully, this is even easier to upgrade, though takes a bit more time before it unlocks. To do so, you must complete the Normal Mission Booming Business, which ends with L opening a shop that can add Augment Slots to any piece of equipment.
Like mentioned earlier, there is a limit to the number of Augment Slots a piece of equipment can have, which are as follows:
- Weapons – Three Augment Slots.
- Armor – One Augment Slot.
- Fullbody Armor – Three Augment Slots.
Instead of materials and credits, Augment Slots are added with Miranium. This scales relative to the level of the equipment, so be prepared to shell out quite a bit of Miranium if you want to add new Augment Slots.
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Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition – How To Unlock Every Skell Superweapon
As if Skells weren’t strong enough, here’s how to get the Skell Superweapons in Xenoblade Chronicles X.