A new Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Direct just aired, and it gave us a good look at a bunch of new game mechanics, locations, characters, and more.
There’s no time to go over everything featured – we imagine if you’re a fan you’ve probably already watched it – but what follows below is the major headlines.
Expansion Pass
The biggest news here is that Xenoblade Chronicles 3, much like its predecessor, will be getting a multi-stage Expansion Pass, with content set to release in four waves, starting with the game’s launch and finishing by the end of 2023. The first wave, set to release alongside the game on release day, will include “helpful items” and outfit colour variants for your playable characters. The second wave, set to release by the end of this year, will feature challenge battles, new Hero characters (temporary party members that can be swapped in and out), and new outfits. The third wave features pretty much all the same stuff as the second, and will release before the end of April next year, while the fourth and final wave will introduce a brand new story scenario. It’s not quite known if this will be as big as Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s Torna: The Golden Country, but given it could be up to 18 months away, it’s probably going to be pretty hefty.
The expansion pass will be available from day one, and will launch at a price of $45 AUD, the exact same price as XC2’s. Not bad!
Amiibo Support
There’s not a great load of detail on this one, but given how few games seem to support amiibo these days, it’s definitely worth a mention. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will support every amiibo, and the vast majority of them will just give you a useful item. If you scan the Super Smash Bros. Shulk amiibo, however, you’ll be given a weapon skin for the Swordfighter class, which’ll let you change the look of your weapon to that of the Monado. No amiibo specifically for this game were announced, which is a touch disappointing, but I suppose all we can really do is wait and dream of the day Nintendo graces us with a Nopon amiibo.
Character Classes
This one is a bit more technical, so I’ll be providing a very surface-level overview of what’s on offer here. In the trailer, we saw that any of the six main playable characters can change into whichever combat class they like. It looks like you’ll start the game with six classes – one for each character, of course – with the normal archetypes on offer: healer, DPS, tank, ranged attacker, that kind of thing. You’ll be able to unlock more classes later in the game by hiring Heroes to fight by your side, and it looks like there’s gonna be a tonne of folks to hire. There’s a bunch more intricate information in the Direct, so if you just can’t wait til next month, you can check it out below.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is set to launch at retail and on the Nintendo Switch eShop on the 29th of July. Keep an eye on Vooks soon for our Aussie Bargain Roundup, so you can snag yourself a deal.
