The Network was the multi-player mechanic in Xenoblade Chronicles X. All the players of the Network were BLADE members. The players' Avatars appeared across Mira or the BLADE's Home. This online game mode consisted of a Squad of four-player online game mode for the special Squad Missions, as well as a Squad of up to 32 players online game mode for the BLADE Report consisting of online communication (in-game chat), item trading and information sharing functions, and for the Squad Tasks. With the shutdown of Wii U online services, the Network ceased to function, along with all of its online mechanics.
Online Functions
The developers have described the world of Xenoblade Chronicles X as being "loosely connected". The online feature led to a free and gradual evolution of relationships with other players. By progressing in the game while the Wii U console was connected to the internet, it was possible to scout and meet the other players' Avatars across Mira's fields or on the BLADE Scout Console at the BLADE Home, and add some allies to the party. At that time, the other players did not control the avatar added to the player's Network. Conversely, the player's avatar could be added and become an ally to the other players of the Network, gaining Experience Points in the meantime. Since the other players who could be helped are beforehand not known, it was useful to create and design an attractive avatar.
Squad
Once connected, it was possible to create a Squad with other connected players, up to 32 people. All the connected players were BLADE members and were potentially recruitable in the Squad team. The information about the connected players appeared in the Member List, such as the Division affiliation, the Level, the Class affiliation and the Class Rank.
By selecting a connected player, a menu was proposed and allows to:
- Check the Avatar
- Ask for becoming friends
- Add to the Friend List
- Add to the Block List
Squad Selection
Three Squad types could be selected:
- The Search LP Squad for a solo player (LP for Life Points).
- The Conquest Squad for an online Squad team of players present across the Network.
- The Friend's Squad for an online Squad team with players from the Friend List.
BLADE Report
The BLADE Report was a tool allowing to communicate with the Squad's players. A Squad member could share an information with all the members. A Squad player who had found a Treasure Box, a new area, a particular enemy, can share their information. After a battle, Squad players could leave items to other players, a menu proposed to "Take all", "Select and Take", "Sell all", or a Treasure Deal.
Treasure Deal
If a Squad ally had found a Treasure Box, he can advise the other members. By checking it, it was possible to take or not take a part of or the whole the content. If many people wanted to get a particular item but failed to agree, the item owner would be randomly selected. If successful, Tatsu intervened with a message.
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| It is possible to organize a Treasure Deal ("Yield"). | It is possible to participate to a Treasure Deal ("Receive"). |
Squad Task
Some Squad Tasks could be proposed to the Squad. A Squad Task consisted of a list of objectives within a specific time. These objectives were represented by an icon and required to defeat a type of enemy, a number of them, or to find an item. Each time a Squad player completed an objective like slaying an enemy, it was removed from the list. Up to 32 players can be involved in a common Squad Task goal. By achieving the conditions of a certain number of Squad Tasks, a blue gauge filled and provided access to Squad Missions.
Squad Mission
There were special Missions called Squad Missions which could include a party of up to 4 online players. They required some specific conditions such as a minimum Sync Level as an example. An online Conquest Squad team could be joined too. Squad Missions could be accessible from the BLADE Home's terminal. This terminal gave access to several information pieces related to the Network. A specific time was necessary.
Conquest Development and Nemeses
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| The Conquest Development menu. | A Squad Mission involving a Nemesis. |
By completing Squad Tasks and Missions, the Conquest Development level increased. Upon investigation progression, if a Task or a Mission was successfully achieved, some Nemeses became available. They were difficult to defeat, were stronger than Tyrants, but important rewards could be earned.
Division Gram
There are eight Divisions in the BLADE. The Division Gram gave a measure of the Divisions importance across the Network. It provided information about each Division such as the number of Division points gathered. Although actions were not limited to the Division membership, the rate of the Division increased by fulfilling conditions and tasks, and Division points were earned, for example the Data Probes setting as a Pathfinder or slaying enemies as an Interceptor. The Division Gram also displayed a Ranking Select menu where the Divisions ranks appeared for the player as well as the Squad players across the Network. There were various categories of ranking to compare.
Online Mission Mechanics
By progressing through the game within a Squad, online Missions could be freely received in order to play with the other players. It was recommended to actively participate in online Missions because some valuable materials were only available online.
Online Mission Process
Squad Task Completion
The Squad Task panel appeared at the bottom right of the screen, and displayed five types of Squad Task, the number of objectives for each type, and the required time to achieve them. The common Squad Tasks shared by the players could randomly occur. The objectives included "Controlling an Enemy", "Collecting Items", each time an objective was completed, the number of the related Squad Task type decreased for everyone. When this number reached zero, the Squad Task type appeared as "Clear".
Squad Mission Order/Join
When a Squad Task type was "Clear", a Squad Mission became available at the BLADE Home. A maximum of four players could be ordered.
Online Mission Achievement
Money and Experience Points gathered, or materials collected, could be exchanged with Reward Tickets, as well as a BLADE Medal earned by completing a fight request against a mighty Nemesis. It was possible to get a variety of items by exchanging Reward Tickets.