Once players have made some progress in Xenoblade Chronicles 3's campaign, they can return to places in earlier chapters and unlock various types of quests to keep themselves busy. While players can easily be swamped by the number of sidequests in XC3, some will take priority over others. The standard quest, An Off-Seer's Anguish, isn't a pressing conflict, but it's an easy one that can net players some EXP and Gold.
By the time Xenoblade Chronicles 3 players have access to An Off-Seer's Anguish, they'll have started Chapter 3. If they are still in Chapters 1 or 2, then there's still plenty of time before they can freely explore the Aetia Region. Taking the time to level up before backtracking to Colony 9 or Colony Gamma will make completing the perquisites for An Off-Seer's Anguish a little easier.
Unlocking An Off-Seer's Anguish
As mentioned, getting this Standard Quest involves starting Chapter 3. This means players will have liberated Silvercoat Ethel and Colony 4 from the Flame Clock. Players will then need to do Ethel's Hero Quest: No Want of Courage. Doing the Hero Quest will unlock her as a Hero as well as unlock the Supply Drops feature. After this, players can speak to Ethel to progress Chapter 3 and more conversations around Colony 4 will pop up around camp.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will warn players that Ethel will be unavailable as a Hero if they continue the Main Story. They should therefore take the time to level up with her before going to her office in Colony 4.
Players can essentially eavesdrop on NPCs by approaching characters with a yellow "I" icon above their head. They should hold down ZR to listen in until a Discussion is unlocked. For unlocking the Standard Quest An Off-Seer's Anguishafter Colony 4, players will need to do the following:
- Listen in on some NPCs around Colony 4 to get the Discussion: Colony 9 Lately.
- Go to the Canteen or any campsite and select Discuss and then the Colony 9 Topic.
- Once this is done, a Question Mark icon will appear on the Map, particularly at Alfeto Valley Mouth Landmark. Players can save time by warping to the Kilmarris Highland Landmark or the Forward Post Camp Rest Spot.
- After meeting Zeon, players will unlock the Hero Quest: Where the Heart Is (recommended level: 22). Complete this to finally liberate Colony 9 from Moebius.
- Now, listen to one of the conversations in Colony 9: "I asked Url to do an off-seeing..." to unlock the Discussion.
An Off-Seer's Anguish Walkthrough
Discussing the Topic regarding Ulr will formally unlock the Standard Quest: An Off-Seer's Anguish. Again, this can be done at the canteen or barracks in Colony 9, or at any of the Rest Spots. To save time, players can just use the Colony 9 Barracks for the discussion. After this, they'll need to speak with Roald and will then have to find Carrie at Viliera Hill.
Next, players will want to warp to Luca's Eyot. If they can't remember, this is the Landmark in the middle of the river running through the southern part of Aetia Region.
If by chance players have beaten the level 13 Pertrubed Bilkin Unique Monster, they can warp immediately to Viliera Hill in Millick Meadows instead.
Speaking to Carrie will reveal the names of two NPCs that players will need to track down: Ellis and Lenny. The Objective Markers will show one near Kamos Guidepost and the other by the northern part of the river. While it doesn't matter which one Noah and co. speak with first, the easier one to reach is Lenny.
Finding Lenny
- Warp to the Kamos Guidepost Landmark. If by some chance players do not have this Landmark, they should go to Luca's Eyot again and then head east up the hill with the tower-like structure sticking out of the ground.
- Speak to Lenny. He'll have a blue exclamation point over his head if players are tracking the quest. This will unlock Url's Whereabouts (1/2).
Finding Ellis
- Getting to Ellis can be tricky if players aren't careful. Look at the image above to see a close-up of the Aetia Region, Full. To be more specific, the arrow/player-icon is indicating the spot between the right of the waterfall and the opening of the "cave" where the Jingoistic Gigantus occasionally waits. The Jingoistic Gigantus is a level 90 Unique Monster and will attack if players get too close. Fortunately (or unfortunately), it walks along the river, so just wait for him to move away from the waterfall.
- Once the Gigantus is far enough away, approach the cliffside right of the waterfall (refer to the left-side of the above image) and speak to Ellis to get Url's Whereabouts (2/2).
With this done, players can warp to the Hillside Ferronis Husk Rest Spot and Discuss the Url's Whereabouts topic. If players have forgotten, this is the Rest Spot where they "unlocked" the first Ferronis Husk. After this, they'll want to fast-travel to the Kilmarris Highland Landmark and head north to the teal objective marker on the map. They can then speak to Url and choose any of the answers provided (ex: People need off-seers, Try tapping into a different emotion).
Once Url agrees to speak to Carrie, players should travel back to Viliera Hill by warping to the Pertrubed Bulkin's grave or Luca's Eyot. If going to the latter, they'll want to make sure the Gigantus isn't patrolling the area. Once there, players can talk with Carrie and watch the following scene to finally conclude the Standard Quest. As a reward, players will receive 940 EXP, 1210 Gold, and 3 SP.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is available now on Nintendo Switch.
