Xenoblade Chronicles 3: How to Recruit Ino
Quick links
- Activation of the DLC and what happens next
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has an excellent roster of heroes that fit in the seventh slot of a player’s party, and thanks to Wave 2 of the DLC, a new mechanical ally has been added to that roster. In this guide we will explain how to recruit Artificial Blade Ino, the Noponic Champion.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has been on the road for several months at the time of writing, and many players have already fought their way through the adventure of Ouroboros to uncover the truth behind their world and their endless war. With the release of DLC Wave 2, players can enjoy a new heroic quest alongside a series of challenge battles offered by the Nopon Archsage.
Activation of the DLC and what happens next
Once the DLC is installed, players should access the “Expansion Pass” section in the pause menu. By choosing Vol.2, players can get the quests added by the DLC, and the quest to unlock Ino is called “Champion of the Nopon”. When the quest is activated, players must head to the Great Idalla Canyon in the Fornis region. Players who have visited the area before can skip the journey as it is treated as a landmark. With the quest set as active, players can navigate to the objective fairly easily from there.
Meeting with Ino
Ino is found protecting a Nopon caravan from a pack of monsters, specifically a level 19 Dannagh Arachno. The party jumps in to help, and the battle begins. This shouldn’t be much of a challenge as long as the team is roughly on par with the enemy, and in hindsight, Ino reveals that she protects all Nopon species, just like her Masterpon taught her. She’s also looking for something called “High Ether,” so the group offers to help her.
The place where the High Aether can be found is very close and guarded by some monsters. After defeating them, Ino presents the party with an HD Ether Cylinder+ (the HD stands for Handy Dandy, by the way) to collect the High Ether. After collecting it, she proceeds to drink it, much to Ino’s surprise, then explains that she is an “artificial blade”, a term familiar to players Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will be very familiar.
Noah unlocks her class, and switching to her convinces Ino that he must be her “destined driver.” In order not to let them down, Noah takes on the role of Ino’s driver, completing the quest and unlocking Ino in the hero list.
Switch to Full HD
Recruiting Ino also unlocks the Inoswap feature, which allows players to unlock and upgrade Ino’s abilities by spending High Ether collected in Aionios. The HD Ether Cylinder+ is the only way to do this, but Ino mentions that it could be upgraded with the help of a Nopon engineer. On the way to the indicated Nopon caravan (which can be skipped if players have previously visited the camp), players will meet up with Totoma. Totoma is spot on for the job, and after upgrading the Cylinder once for free, he can be asked for assistance in further upgrading in exchange for the materials required.
Upgrading the HD Ether Cylinder+ allows it to collect High Ether more efficiently, allowing players to upgrade Ino faster and easier. Ideally, this quest should be completed as soon as possible and the cylinder updated as soon as resources allow.
The Hope of Noponkind
In order to unlock Ino’s ascension quest, The Hope of Noponkind, players must first unlock all available upgrades for Ino in Inoswap. Obtaining the required High Aether shouldn’t be too difficult, as the deposits are shown on the map in areas the player has already explored, and harvesting often causes the game to reveal a new location as a bonus.
When the requirements are met, players will have to head back to the Nopon caravan, where Totoma is found during Going Full HD. This sparks a discussion between the Nopon and the group about a “Nopon Eater”, a type of monster that Nopon hunts and eats that Ino has fought in the past. Following the clues will take you to a location near the Clifftop Ferronis Hulk in the Pentelas region. Jumping down to the quest marker will trigger an encounter with Nopon’s aforementioned bird-like attacker.
This quest is best done at level 50 as the boss is at that level. After the boss is defeated, he escapes through the air, and the group hatches a plan to stop it happening a second time. This forces players to gather the resources to craft an OP Pollen Orb (OP stands for Overwhelmingly Potent, by the way) that could once again stop the Nopon Eater from escaping. Afterwards, the group pursues the Nopon Eater to the Cadensia region and a second fight ensues.
Defeat the Nopon Eater with the power of Driver and Blade and the day is won. Completing this quest increases the class level cap to 20 for Noponic Champion and unlocks the second half of the Inoswap menu, allowing players to further upgrade Ino’s abilities.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is available for Nintendo Switch.