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 reach, 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 everyone main character getting along with each other well.

Heart-to-heart is like Sakura Wars So Long My Love but it's just building up positive relationships and plays somewhat or a minor role in this. For example, in Outlook Park, it's about Fiora worrying about the time in which she blurted out about getting married when she's young and hoping that Shulk forget about it. Can't spoil here for now but if you save first and experiment which lines give a positive response it will save you the trouble later on.

Back to the game. Go to Weapon's Development Lab to find Reyn touching the Monado as it goes haywire and almost sliced Fiora! After the first part of the conversation, Shulk saw visions of the future for the first time with people you'll meet far 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 perhaps the best time to pile up as many quests as you can and completing them. Also as you go along, don't forget to level up your arts but you can't link up just yet.

Mechon Strikes Again
After collecting Ether Cylinders, your town's in danger. Jump into the lake and hurry back to town. You'll control Shulka dn 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 wear the Monado change hands. 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 particularly, 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 74 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.