Here you’ll get a crash course in the duties of BLADE, humanity’s military organization. Are you up to the task?
Chapter Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this chapter—going back to the BLADE barracks per Elma’s request at the end of Chapter 1 triggers it.
Story Mission Walkthrough
Right at the end of Chapter 1, Elma suggests that everyone go back to the BLADE barracks. Go ahead and do so when you’re ready, because you’re going to be scouted for BLADE the second you do.
Whichever answer you pick, Nagi’s sly wit will make it so that you’re drafted into BLADE no matter what. Soon afterward, you’ll be thrust into your first BLADE training mission.
New Story Mission: Chapter 2
Install the data probe at the FrontierNav site and complete your training.
The Student Becomes the TeacherNeed a quick and early power boost? Go ahead and use the Active Members menu to switch Elma to the party leader and playable character. Since she starts out at a higher level than your avatar, she can dispatch indigens more easily, and help bring your avatar up to speed. |
Objective 1
Head to the designated site on the East Gate Plains.
Go ahead and leave the barracks. In a cutscene, Elma and Lin ruminate on the state of the gates leading out of New LA.
Mechanical Advancement: The Segment MapThe segment map, found on the screen of your Wii U GamePad, is your absolute best friend in Xenoblade Chronicles X. The more of Mira you explore, the more of Mira gets put at your fingertips, allowing you to get detailed information about regions, missions, and even fast travel. For a more detailed rundown of its capabilities, refer to the Segment Map section in the Primer. 
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Now you can head to the East Gate. As usual, it’s as easy as following the arrow on your mini-map. It leads you out of New LA, via the East Gate, to the data probe planting location.
Getting close to the probe installation site triggers a cutscene, along with a boss battle directly afterward. Get ready for your first battle with a tyrant!
Mechanical Advancement: Gear and ArtsBefore your tyrant battle, Lin gives you the scoop on equipping gear and leveling up your Arts. Listen to her—and check the Battle Mechanics section of the Primer if you want to be completely up to speed! 
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Objective 2
Defeat Volkampf, the Pursuer.
You’ll be a given a chance to deck yourselves out to the nines and level up your Arts. Once you’ve done both, go ahead and engage the foe standing in the way of you and your data probe installation.
Volkampf, the Pursuer
Lv. 5: Tyrant
Generally, tyrant fights go well if your entire party is at least five levels above the enemy. Right now, unless you’ve done some grinding beforehand, you’re probably nowhere near that point. Don’t worry, it’s still quite beatable.
As with most fights, you do not want to tackle Volkampf from the front—it’ll stab at you with its horns and pincers, and generally make life miserable for you. This is before we even talk about its Ether Laser attack, which emerges from its mouth. Go for its sides and back, and pay special attention to its legs—whittling down their HP will impair it significantly and give a greater chance of inflicting it with Topple. Keep the pressure on and you’ll pull through.
Once you beat Volkampf, Lin and Elma explain to you how probes work, then allow you to plant it.
Mechanical Advancement: Installing Data ProbesCongratulations on installing your first FrontierNav data probe! Installing more from this point on is easy—just approach a vacant FrontierNav point and press (A) repeatedly. Doing so allows you to survey data for greater swaths of Mira, as well as fast-travel to these points. Make sure to keep your Mechanical field skill leveled up, as some probe installations require higher levels. 
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Objective 3
Report to Secretary Nagi in New LA’s BLADE barracks.
Make your way back to the barracks at your leisure. Once there, you’ll be rewarded for your efforts and introduced to Commander Vandham, whom you’ll be seeing a lot of from here on out.