Simone Reed 
So you’ve started farming for gear? I bet you are getting tired of reading “Step 1 – Affinity Farming”, so let’s get to it. This guide is directed towards people who have little-to-no knowledge about affinity farming, or are seeking very specific information. If you already know what affinity farming is, and just want to know where, I suggest you skip towards the end of this article.
Affinity is a hidden stat most equipment acquire as they level up with us (the player). The higher the affinity on an item is, the higher chance it will gain double XP when we kill an enemy/destroy a crate with that weapon equipped.
xenoblade chronicles x how to raise affinity fast
The affinity value on an item is influenced by the location in which you got it. For example, if your weapon or frame dropped from a level 20 source (the final boss in quests), it will have less than 100% affinity when you first pick it up. If you continually farm this area for gear, the affinity will slowly raise to its max. This is why you see people farming at the same spot for hours, because each weapon drops with a different value of positive/negative affinity.
Equipment drops with high negative affinity are more plentiful in some areas over others. For example, level 18 enemies on Valak Mountain tend to drop weapons with less than 100% affinity (the highest value you can get), whereas level 19+ enemies on Primordia tend to drop weapons with over 200% affinity.
What is affinity farming and how does it work?
After you have finished a quest and returned to Alrest, the drops that enemies had will reset. If too much time has passed since you last opened a treasure beyond a certain point of the game , then the drops will also reset. This is why people wait until after they have finished a story quest before opening every treasure chest in an area.
Equipment acquired from affinity farming (AF gear) is usually around 100%, which means that it will gain double XP when we kill an enemy/destroy a crate with that weapon equipped. AF gear can also be dropped by enemies at varying values, anywhere between -50% and +200%.
Benefits of affinity farming
There are multiple benefits which you will gain by opening each chest/killing each enemy/destroying each crate with the right weapon equipped (the one which has affinity). The first benefit is that every piece of gear obtained this way has increased chance for double XP, similar to equipment dropped from high-level sources.
The second benefit is called Affinity Sliding, which is basically when one weapon with high affinity kills an enemy/destroys a crate, it will increase the affinity on your other weapons to 100% or become very close to it. This mechanic was introduced in Xenoblade Chronicles X, and you can read more about it here .
Types of crops that are best suited for affinity farming
The following crops are the ones which provide us with a high chance of receiving affinity, depending on their level. Each one is more effective in different locations when compared to others.
Vine – 100% affinity in Primordia, Valak Mountain & Noctilum (level 30-60)
Wheat – 100% affinity in Noctilum (level 30-60)
Tulip – 100% affinity in Leftheria & Primordia (level 20-40)
Mushroom – 100% affinity in Noctilum, Cauldros, Valak Mountain & Oblivia (level 40-70)
Conclusion
Affinity farming is a very simple and efficient way to gain double XP on your gear. Always remember that the higher negative affinity your gear has, the easier it will be for you to farm those weapons with high positive affinity. A +200% affinity weapon (which you can buy from some NPCs) will drop as low as -50%, which is a lot easier for you to farm.
Maynard Coffman 
Steven Schuster 
