Nintendo Switch's First Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Update Arrives Next Week, Here's What It Does

A patch is coming to Nintendo Switch's open-world RPG, Xenoblade Chronicles 2. This marks the first update for the game since it released earlier this month, and along with a few bug fixes, it makes some welcome improvements to its map. Monolith Soft head Tetsuya Takahashi detailed the forthcoming changes in a post on Nintendo's website.

The version 1.1.1 update rolls out for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 next Friday, December 22. It makes a handful of quality-of-life changes, most notably to the in-game map. "When you press the X button, the Skip Travel screen will open the map to your current location," Takahashi wrote. "We hope this will make it easier to spot Skip Travel locations and Salvage Points on the map." Additionally, you'll be able to display a 1:1 zoom on the mini-map by pressing the left control stick in.

The 1.1.1 update also adds a new easy mode to the Tiger Tiger mini-game, which is the only way to unlock more customization parts for Tora's artificial Blade, Poppi. Those who purchased Xenoblade Chronicles 2's expansion pass will also get the following set of items:

• Driver Essentials Set: 10 x Rare Core Crystal, 1 x Legendary Core Crystal, 3 x Overdrive Protocol
• Upgrade Parts for Poppi: 30,000 ether
• Pyra's Favorite Things: 5 x Jenerossi Tea
• Nia's Favourite Things: 5 x Ardainian Bear Carving

The Xenoblade Chronicles 2 expansion pass costs $30 and adds a lot of new content to the game throughout 2018, the first piece of which is a new quest that is slated to arrive sometime in January. Other content on the way to the game next year includes a new Rare Blade, a challenge battle mode, and a new story.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is available exclusively on Nintendo Switch. GameSpot awarded it a 7/10 in our Xenoblade Chronicles 2 review. Critic Peter Brown said, "[I]ts often clumsy nature keeps it from being the next groundbreaking Switch game, but Xenoblade 2 is worth pursuing if you've got enough patience to let it blossom." If you're intimidated by the game's battle system, we've put together a detailed Xenoblade Chronicles 2 combat guide.