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When you first arrive in New Los Angeles inXenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, the sheer number of sights to see and quests to complete can be a bit overwhelming. Of those many sights, though, one of the first that may catch players' eyes is a locked container right outside B.L.A.D.E. tower.
Up to that point, you’ve been able to examine every recon object like this without a problem, but this one is different, as it requires a mechanical field skill that the game doesn’t tell you how to obtain. This guide will detail how to obtain all three field skill upgrades by completing all Off the Record quests.
Off The Record 1 - Archaeological Field Skill
Each quest that ends with upgrading one of your field skills is titledOff the Record. These quests canappear randomlywhenaccessing the B.L.A.D.E. mission concourse, but if they don’t appear for you initially, simplyexit that concourse and reopen ituntil one appears.
The first of these Off the Record missions is toupgrade your archaeological field skill, with this mission having a recommendedlevel of 18.Unlike most other missions in the game,you are unable to track this quest on your map or with the follow ball, and are instead giventhree riddles.
Each of these riddlescorresponds to either a collectible item, a hidden location, or an enemy tyrant. These riddles can be difficult to work out, especially for those unfamiliar with the map and the areas in question.
For riddle number one, the"pure white shell"the riddle is referring to is aWhite Forfex shell, which isdropped by Forfexes in Oblivia.
These enemies can be commonlyfound over by FrontierNav Site 319,and are not too difficult to kill. You can alsobuy 10 of these with material ticketsin the online material exchange shop for relatively cheap.
The second riddle refers to a"snake of stone"that you must enter, which is actually talking aboutthe Orichi’s Belly hidden area in Noctilum.
Starting fromFrontierNav Site 220, simplyhop off the edge of the land bridge and climb up onto the nearby ledgeto discover the area. Once you’veadded it to your map, even before accepting the quest, this objective will be complete.
The final riddle for this first quest is the clearest of them all, as it refers tosome part of Primordia that borders the sea. In truth, this area is theTurtle’s Nest hidden area,which you can find by going toFrontierNav Site 108, hoppingoff the cliffonto the beach down below, thenturning left to see a nearby canyon.Follow said canyon to its end and you will discover the hidden area.
Upon completing these first three riddles,you’ll receive a fourth one that tells you where to find your prize. The last riddle goes: “In the fields of green in New LA, ask in the morning to find the way.”
To find the answer to this riddle,head to Deliverance Park in the Residential District and head west to talk to Solan, who will give you the archaeological field skill upgrade.
Off The Record 2 - Mechanical Field Skill
The second quest, titled Off the Record is toupgrade your mechanical field skill,with a recommendedlevel of 34.Obtaining this field skill upgrade will alsoallow you to finally open the locked container in front of B.L.A.D.E. tower, along with any similar containers out in the world.
From this point onward, we recommendwaiting until you have obtained the Skell Flight Moduleto continue, as the rest of the objectives for this quest line require you to have access to hard-to-reach areas that require flight to reach.
Thethree riddlesfor this quest go as follows.
For the first riddle, the"quiet lady"it refers to is actually the tyrantYelena, the Sequestered, a scirpo enemywho can be found to theeast of Janpath Lakebeneath the large natural overhang.
If you’vealready defeated this tyrantbefore the quest,you’ll have to defeat it againfor this objective to be counted.
For the second riddle, the"forgotten land’s ultimate peak"is actually theMount Edge Peak areain Oblivia. It’sthe tallest mountain in the region, so once you have the Skell Flight Module, you cansimply fly up thereand complete this objective for the quest.
For this quest’s last riddle, the"elevated corn"the riddle refers to is actuallythe collectible item Pale Maize,which can be foundin Sylvalum. This is avery rare drop from item orbs,but the place it appears most frequently is inthe Delusion Mountains North Summitarea in Sylvalum.
Once you’ve completed these three riddles, Solan’s final riddle to you is: “In suburban glory in a setting sun, the afflicted tell of what’s to come.” For this last riddle,you may find Solan north of the Ishmael Hills landmark in the Residential District during the eveningin order to receive your second field skill upgrade.
Off The Record 3 - Biological Field Skill
The final mission titled Off the Record, focuses onupgrading your biological field skill, with a recommendedlevel of 51. After completing this mission, youwill be able to analyze every recon point on Mirawithout fail.
Yourfinal three riddlesstanding between you and free analyzing are as follows.
The first riddle of this mission clearly requires you tokill a tyrantsomewhere in the world. In this case, the tyrant in question isAndrea, the Famished Hunter,who you may find onthe western shore of Lake Ciel in Sylvalum.
Be careful fighting this tyrant, asit is surrounded by weaker versionsof the same species who willall attack youwhen you engage with Andrea.
The second riddle for this mission refers to asecret area in Noctilum,specifically an area called theSentinel’s Nest in the northeast portion of the Divine Roostarea in Noctilum. There areseveral powerful enemieshere, including the level 99 tyrant Telethia, the Endbringer, sobe careful while traveling to this hidden areato fulfill this objective.
The final riddle of this questline requires you toobtain a collectible item from Cauldros. In this case, you mustcollect six Savage Sketches, a rare collectible fromitem orbs in the fiery region, but they can be found most commonly aroundFrontierNav Site 515.
If you don’t find all six items on your first go around, simply fast travel back to Site 515 and collect the nearby item orbs again.
Upon completing the hardest riddles yet in this quest, Solan presents you with one final riddle: “Where ordnance takes first breath, collect your spoils after sunset.” To claim your final field skill upgrade, you mustfind Solan at night in the Outfitters Test Hangernear the break room.
Once all three of your field skills have been upgraded, Solan will have no more riddles for you, andyou can return to surveying the rest of Mirawithout being held back by arbitrary skill checks.
