Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition offers players a wealth of adventures. You can venture across the expansive world of Mira, battle formidable creatures, hang out with your teammates, and even create your own Skell, customizing it with your preferred weaponry. However, as you dive deeper into the game, you’ll discover that the real challenge lies in effectively managing your FrontierNav setup.
FrontierNav serves as your primary means of acquiring Miranium, which is essential for your financial growth in the game. While you can earn credits through various quests, those opportunities will eventually run out. Fortunately, Mira is abundant with resources and wealth; you just need to gather enough Research Probes to tap into it. Here’s how to find more of them.
How to Collect More Research Probes
Types of Research Probes
Before you start hunting for additional Research Probes, it’s essential to understand their function. There are significantly fewer Research Probes than Mining Probes, so using them wisely is crucial. Research Probes generate a smaller amount of Miranium compared to Mining Probes, but still contribute to your income.
Each Research Probe has a basic credit generation rate, which is then multiplied by its Income Ability depending on the Grade of the area where it’s placed. Below are the different types of Research Probes and their attributes.
|
Probe Name |
Base Credit Rate |
Income Ability |
|---|---|---|
|
Research Probe G1 |
2,000 |
200% |
|
Research Probe G2 |
2,500 |
250% |
|
Research Probe G3 |
3,000 |
300% |
|
Research Probe G4 |
3,500 |
350% |
|
Research Probe G5 |
4,000 |
400% |
|
Research Probe G6 |
4,500 |
450% |
For instance, a typical Research Probe G1 generates a base of 2,000 Credits. However, if it is set up in a site with a low grade, it may earn even less. Conversely, certain locations offer bonuses if you uncover all nearby secret areas, boosting that probe’s rate. So, if you placed a Research Probe in a site with two discovered hidden areas, its Base Credit Rate would rise to 6,000 Credits before any multipliers apply.
If you were to use a Research Probe G6 in the same scenario, with two discovered secret areas, its Base Credit Rate could reach 13,500. With an Income Ability of 450%, it has the potential to generate tens of thousands of credits from just one probe!
How to Acquire Research Probes
You can find Research Probes using the same methods as other probes, though they appear far less frequently. To build your income through FrontierNav, be diligent in your search. Here are the ways you can gather them:
- Looting Treasure Points. These may not always be tied to Segment Recon, so examine all Treasure Points you encounter.
- Boosting Survey Rate. You can track rewards by pressing ‘Y’ in the Segments view of the map.
- Completing Missions. Certain storyline missions grant you Research Probes, and Kirsty’s Probe-fessional Missions provide various probe types, including Research Probes.
Ultimately, there’s no shortcut or quick fix for obtaining these probes, especially since they cannot be purchased. It’s all about playing the game, but focusing your efforts in the right areas can speed up your probe collection a little.
Remember that certain Treasure Points may require an enhanced Mechanical, Biological, or Archaeological Field Skill, which you can unlock through Off The Record Basic Missions.
Are Research Probes Depleted Upon Placement?
The game introduces FrontierNav to players early on but throws a lot of information at you right away, making it challenging to grasp some of the smaller details, like what happens after you place a probe.
All types of Probes can be reused, and each has fixed specific locations. So, what occurs after placing them? Nothing detrimental. If you’re unhappy with a probe’s location, you can simply replace it with another, including a default Data Probe. There is a cost associated with moving them, but you will never lose them. Once you obtain a Research Probe—or any probe—you have the freedom to place and relocate it as you see fit.
