Xenoblade Chronicles/Colony 9

Before you get to the meat of the game, first follow the story. Get some advice about speeding up your experience, getting rich and filling up the affinity on the town. Also help with the relationships between the main characters.

Calm before the Storm
One year later you get to meet Shulk and Reyn at the Mechon Wreckage Site. Follow the instructions and take out as many enemies and get as much loot as you can. This will also begin to fill up your collectapedia.

You will be in the village called Colony 9. You'll be left alone from the entrance to Ether Light to Gem Man Stall. Don't talk to anyone at the moment. Go to Central Square to the Weapons Development Lab located where the Military District is on the left side. You meet Dickson before he lets you off to Outlook Park.

Trio Trouble
Dunban is unable to move because he overused the Monado with his right arm. You control Fiora at the moment. Go to Outlook Park to find Shulk. Whatever you wear affects the cutscenes. When the cutscene is finished, party affinity and heart-to-heart is unlocked. Heart-to-heart can be goofy but it's important in improving relationship as it's possible to finish the whole game with every main character getting along with each other well.

Heart-to-heart is like Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love's mechanic, but Xenoblade Chronicles is about building up party affinity relationships, which plays somewhat of a minor role in the story. For example, in Outlook Park, Fiora worries about the time in which she blurted out about getting married when she was younger and she hopes that Shulk, who heard her, will forget about it. In situations like this, it's best to save often so you can experiment with the results of the dialogue choices. Find out which gives a positive response and it will save you the trouble later on.

After Outlook Park, go to Weapon's Development Lab to find Reyn touching the Monado as it goes haywire and almost slices Fiora! After the first part of the conversation, Shulk sees visions of the future for the first time with people you will meet later on.

You control Shulk and Reyn as you're going to Tephra Cave. From the entrance, go to the far forkleft of the path until you reach the cave. Fiora joins you and it's a good time to pile up and complete as many quests as possible. As you go along, don't forget to level up your arts, even though you can't link up just yet.

Also worth mentioning, this is a perfect time to build up more of your party affinity relationship through battles, sidequests and through gifts as well as filling up your collectapedia. Your going to need it to make your chain attacks longer, to help with your chances in taking down more tougher monsters as the game does slowly gets harder. Perhaps it's worth noting there's no random encounters and when it comes to a boss, you won't have to watch the cutscene again.

Mechon Strikes Again
To keep it brief, Tephra Cave is very limited in the exploration. Apart from Caterpillar Nest and Mag Well Ruins, you can't go in the locked red door just yet which is located near the exit. When you're done with the sidequests (or not depending on your choice) exit the cave at the other end.

After collecting Ether Cylinders, your town's in danger. Jump into the lake and hurry back to town. You'll control Shulka and Reyn at the moment as Fiora check's on Dunban. All you can do is break and topple. Once Fiora comes back, hurry back to the weapons lab to find that it's blocked off. Also it's the last time you'll see Fiora in human form. Go to the central as you'll control Shulk and Reyn with Dunban joining the party for a brief period of time.

Shulk with the Monado for the first time
With the Residential District blocked off, go through to the entrance where the Monado change hands. Well, there will be a cutscene showing for the last time Dunban using the Monado. You'll see the future again. For now, you can use enchant and mechon damage strike. You'll meet Metal Face with claws I might add. A cutscene seeing Fiora using the mobile machine before she gets her just dessert. Or so we thought. Attacking Metal Face once more. In the end, this sets off Shulk's revenge with Reyn tagging along while Dunban stays behind for his body to heal itself. Dunban will join your team permanently far later on.

Special advice: As soon as Shulk, Ryen and Fiora comes together, do as many sidequests as you can. The reason is simple. Enemies can be as tough as you think. You'll get tons of experience and money to help you get better clothes and weapons. In particular, Shulk is the only one who can't sell his weapon selection at all.

If you're playing the second time, the highest level for Fiora if you repeatedly attack the birds in Air-Battery 3 on a small platform is level 75 if you want to max out her four arts. It's time consuming but it works anyway.

You can only use the Gem Man's Stall to create gems after the Mechon attack. To create gems anywhere, as soon as you reach the end of Sartorl Marsh and help Otharon get the refugees over. Then get Colony 6 to level one to get the Ultra Small Reactor, bring it to the man and you get the item.