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[Gaming Truth]

So I've not found this option yet in the game. At what point and where can I access the DLC? I'm just about to leave the starting town and almost level 10.

I've noticed that it seems like each players DQVC is slightly different.

For example, last week was ring week. There were 4 rings and 3 items on sale at the store on any given day. However, which rings/items differed between my copy and my friend's copy. It was weird. (and I was mad because he bought a Sorcerer's Stone, which I still don't have). I got my Sorcerer's Stone the next day, but it can be slightly random when you have access to the pool of things they're making available for the week.

 

[Gaming Truth]

That front row/back row stuff is BS. Maybe I have just had bad luck, but enemies seem to target my lowest level party member, even if they are sitting in the back doing nothing the whole fight.

At least they still get partial experience if they die.

Yeah, my party is completely in the front row now after that disaster of a quest

Spoiler

where you needed to shield someone else, so of course, that person was the only person in the front row ...

. I learned that it doesn't seem to matter at all, so now its one less thing to worry about.

 

[HildyB]

I've noticed that it seems like each players DQVC is slightly different.

For example, last week was ring week. There were 4 rings and 3 items on sale at the store on any given day. However, which rings/items differed between my copy and my friend's copy. It was weird. (and I was mad because he bought a Sorcerer's Stone, which I still don't have). I got my Sorcerer's Stone the next day, but it can be slightly random when you have access to the pool of things they're making available for the week.

Thank you for the information, that is good to know. When do I get to access this feature though. Is it an in game store in a city or something I access from a menu? I should probably RTFM, but .. well you know.

 

[Holy Order Sol]

...Did I just complete a sidequest and get sexually assaulted by animals for my trouble? I think I did.

 

[Gaming Truth]

Thank you for the information, that is good to know. When do I get to access this feature though. Is it an in game store in a city or something I access from a menu? I should probably RTFM, but .. well you know.

No, it's a slight spoiler, so I'll tell you in here:

Spoiler

It's at the inn in Stornway, but that particular part of the inn doesn't open up until you're able to switch classes at Alltrades

 

[Oxx]

I just spent something like 700 skill points across my entire party in one go. Sooooo much vocation-switching.

At least my party is fighting-fit after all that revocation nonsense. And now I have staggered the levels of my characters so they don't all hit 99 at the same time.

Back to plundering fresh grottoes!

 

[rpmurphy]

I've noticed that it seems like each players DQVC is slightly different.

For example, last week was ring week. There were 4 rings and 3 items on sale at the store on any given day. However, which rings/items differed between my copy and my friend's copy. It was weird. (and I was mad because he bought a Sorcerer's Stone, which I still don't have). I got my Sorcerer's Stone the next day, but it can be slightly random when you have access to the pool of things they're making available for the week.

One good thing is though is that you can share each other's DQVC to get as many of the items you want from the other person's world (resetting the game every time it's sold out). Otherwise, yeah the randomness is kinda annoying. I missed the skull cap the other week.

 

[Socreges]

Can someone please explain to me how the items in the ground (farming?) work? How often do they appear? Is it possible to have them appear more often? I hadn't gotten Manky Mud in a very long time, went to fetch some, and there was nothing.

Also, do you guys feel that having a Thief in the party is worthwhile?

How far into the game do the last two jobs become available? I have everything up to Ranger.

 

[Gaming Truth]

Also, do you guys feel that having a Thief in the party is worthwhile?

I used two thieves in my main party, was doing tons of Alchemy that helped me in places I would otherwise be underleveled for. Also, it's extremely satisfying to make stuff that's clearly better than what you can buy at the time.

I stopped stealing towards the end of the game and really, that's also when I stopped with Alchemy. I'll pick it back up again, depending on how much post-game stuff I want to do.

How far into the game do the last two jobs become available? I have everything up to Ranger.

One is near the very end of the game (but achievable). One isn't available (so I've been told) until after you beat the game. The quest-giver isn't even there until then.

 

[Forkball]

Can someone please explain to me how the items in the ground (farming?) work? How often do they appear? Is it possible to have them appear more often? I hadn't gotten Manky Mud in a very long time, went to fetch some, and there was nothing.

Also, do you guys feel that having a Thief in the party is worthwhile?

How far into the game do the last two jobs become available? I have everything up to Ranger.

For the alchemy items, they just respawn in the field. Depending on which item it is, some may take longer to respawn than others. Here's a map of all the alchemy items.

For the last two jobs, one appears near the end of the game, and the other is only in post game. But the requirements for the one at the end of the game is a bit unusual so you probably won't even complete it until post game. You should get 10 classes pretty early on though.

 

[Socreges]

Awesome. Thanks for the answers, guys. I think I'll change my Minstrel into a Thief.

One more: do you think that armamentalists are better than mages?

 

[Princess Skittles]

Awesome. Thanks for the answers, guys. I think I'll change my Minstrel into a Thief.

One more: do you think that armamentalists are better than mages?

Try one and come to your own conclusion, that's the best way to play the game!

 

[Holy Order Sol]

Try one and come to your own conclusion, that's the best way to play the game!

Not to mention, you'll also find out that basically everything is awesome at some point.

 

[donny2112]

One more: do you think that armamentalists are better than mages?

Don't really care for armamentalists, but their ability to use elements to increase attack/defense against bosses is super-sweet. Therefore, you really should max out someone in their ability and then switch them back to something more useful. Finishing the Lvl. 40 quest in them is a superb bonus, too.

 

[Oxx]

Approaching 150 hours and I finally got around to unlocking the final vocation.

I'm glad I checked the quest requirements while I was down in the grotto. If I had gone ahead and repeated that awful technique another 9 times I probably would have thrown my DS out of the window.

 

[Socreges]

Are thiefs useful if I don't use a guide at any point? I'd rather not look to see which enemies drop which items since it takes away from the enjoyment, but at the same time I can imagine that using the steal ability to great effect will be a lot more tedious and time-consuming unless I check the internet.

Don't really care for armamentalists, but their ability to use elements to increase attack/defense against bosses is super-sweet. Therefore, you really should max out someone in their ability and then switch them back to something more useful. Finishing the Lvl. 40 quest in them is a superb bonus, too.

I'm not sure what you mean exactly.

 

[donny2112]

I'm not sure what you mean exactly.

Each vocation has a special skill set (e.g. Litheness, Guts). Maxing out that on an Armamentalist and doing the Lvl. 40 quest for them is way worth it, but I don't find much usefulness in them, in general.

 

[Socreges]

Each vocation has a special skill set (e.g. Litheness, Guts). Maxing out that on an Armamentalist and doing the Lvl. 40 quest for them is way worth it, but I don't find much usefulness in them, in general.

Alright. But worth it in what way? Should I work toward building my armamentalist now while I'm still playing the main quest since the Lvl. 40 quest will help me during the game or just wait until the post-game when I can level up faster?

Sorry for all the questions.

 

[Gaming Truth]

Are thiefs useful if I don't use a guide at any point? I'd rather not look to see which enemies drop which items since it takes away from the enjoyment, but at the same time I can imagine that using the steal ability to great effect will be a lot more tedious and time-consuming unless I check the internet.

For me, I just stole whenever I could. The recipes you happen to find normally correspond with the items you could gather/steal from the area, so it goes in lockstep. Haven't looked up anything in a guide yet (you should be using recipes), but I'm in the post-game, so that won't be true for much longer.

I'm not sure what you mean exactly.

(by maxing out the Armamentalist)
Different strokes for different folks. I didn't even use magic my entire game (actually, I still don't now). Made some parts easier, some parts harder. Ignore the Armamentalist example, but follow his general rule: Define your party members (fighter, caster, healer, etc.) and focus on going deep into their weapon/skill trees. Don't split your precious skill points amongst multiple weapons. Same may go for class skills, though some synergize well with others (Martial Artists, Thieves), so it might be worth double-dipping.

Those should be good tips. Make the party you want and stick with it. There's no right way to play this game. My playthrough should prove that. =)

 

[Cheerilee]

Are thiefs useful if I don't use a guide at any point? I'd rather not look to see which enemies drop which items since it takes away from the enjoyment, but at the same time I can imagine that using the steal ability to great effect will be a lot more tedious and time-consuming unless I check the internet.

You don't need to have a Thief in your party to steal.

Earn 10 spare points for all four of your characters. Go to Alltrades. Switch everyone to Thief. Allocate 10 points to each of them. All four characters will learn Half-Inch (Steal). Change your classes back to normal.

The only reasons to stay a Thief are for his class spells (which are nearly useless) or his high Deftness stat, which you can get elsewhere.

When a quest tells you that you need a skill and it's a cheaper skill that doesn't cost many points to learn and carries over to other classes, it's a good idea to give that skill to everyone. It's much easier to carry out the quests that way.

Stealing will mostly give you a bunch of little alchemy items (which is good because you'll need a ton of them if you want to do alchemy), and some weapons and armor that you probably didn't have the money to buy (which is good, because you need a wide selection of weapons and armor if you want to alchemise them into stuff that's better than you can currently buy).

Setting one person to steal is almost pointless. When ever you see someone new, set all four people to steal and you'll probably get his item in 1-3 rounds, instead of like... never.

 

[rpmurphy]

Are thiefs useful if I don't use a guide at any point? I'd rather not look to see which enemies drop which items since it takes away from the enjoyment, but at the same time I can imagine that using the steal ability to great effect will be a lot more tedious and time-consuming unless I check the internet.

I'm not sure what you mean exactly.

Thieves can aqcuire a skill where you can identify which items a monster carries. You must kill the monster and win the battle afterwards though or I don't think it will register.

But as the above post says, the thief class is not a particularly useful class in of itself. You want the skills, boosts, the class scroll, and (eventually) the revocation item, but other than those, it isn't a keeper. For the main story though, it doesn't matter so much which classes you choose.

 

[Cheerilee]

I'm not sure what you mean exactly.

To expand on what Donny said...

When you go to allocate skill points, the fifth options are that character's "job skills" (and stat boosts). These are very attractive and you should want them. You can earn points in any job, and spend them in another job and they carry over to all jobs.

You should choose a main set of jobs/roles for your four characters. Once you've done that, you can grind for skill points by switching jobs (you can pretty much grind and play at the same time if the job your are grinding is close to your "role"). When you've built up some points, go to Alltrades, bounce around through the jobs, and either spend the points on a unique weapon skill (each character should work on one, but only one for now), target some job abilities to complete quests (the stat boosts will be a bonus), or target some stat boosts that fit your roles (the job abilities will be a bonus).

The main reasons to stick with a job are because they have the right stats and magic set for the role you have in mind (I think that Ranger makes a stronger substitute for Priest, for example, and Armamentalist has the fun stat-boosting spells of a Mage without all the attack spells which I found useless), and because they have access to the unique weapon you want on that character.

I'd say don't worry about the Level 40 quests until you get there. It's easy enough to catch up by grinding. Just try switching your Mage to an Armamentalist, and see if you like him that way. If you don't like him, all you did was grind some free skill points.

 

[Aggrotek]

Story spoilers a bit:

Spoiler

Ok so funny thing... For the longest time I didn't know I could fast travel away from the Gortress to recruit my party members again. I was getting so pissed that I couldn't beat the stupid pig guy. :lol

 

[Oxx]

Oh shi-

Did anybody else get this email?

...

Dear Dragon Quest fan,

Thanks for registering your copy of Dragon Quest IX with Club Nintendo. We hope that you are enjoying this epic adventure for Nintendo DS!

We're writing to you as we'd like to offer our DQ fans a unique opportunity - we want people like you to tell the world how much they like Dragon Quest IX, as part of an innovative TV commercial!

If you would like to get involved just send an email to xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx with the following details:

* Name
* Age
* Profession
* Contact phone
* email
* Explain why you're the right person for the campaign.

We hope to hear from you very soon.

Yours sincerely,
Your Nintendo Team

 

[nli10]

Oh shi-

Did anybody else get this email?

...

Dear Dragon Quest fan,

Thanks for registering your copy of Dragon Quest IX with Club Nintendo. We hope that you are enjoying this epic adventure for Nintendo DS!

We're writing to you as we'd like to offer our DQ fans a unique opportunity - we want people like you to tell the world how much they like Dragon Quest IX, as part of an innovative TV commercial!

If you would like to get involved just send an email to xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx with the following details:

* Name
* Age
* Profession
* Contact phone
* email
* Explain why you're the right person for the campaign.

We hope to hear from you very soon.

Yours sincerely,
Your Nintendo Team

Yeah - I couldn't be less tempted

TV ads featuring me would be a bit embarrassing... I'm 'young professional' enough to get their attention too.

Great to see they are blatantly planning this to be one of the big Xmas games though. Result for DQ.

 

[Oxx]

I've already given them authorisation to use my comments from the surveys they keep sending me. I'm not going to sign away my image-rights as well.

 

[madara]

I need help staying motivated playing this. Dont quite get the DQ feel from this one yet, feels more generic. I got raped by Leviathan with nonstop tidal waves, dont quite feel like grinding but level 14. I have minstrel, mage, priest, and a warrior with spear that seems to be only one doing decent damage. So far the classes and combat feel really dull. I have some quest that seems to unlock gladiator but my hero is the only one that can egg on and pysche others up, right? He is also the only one with dragon slash to complete this quest. Any tips on how and when change classes? Should I be putting allocation pts into class specify tree or something like sword? Which carries over when you change back? They seemed to have copied alchemy pot from DQ8 but I dont see alot recipes yet, maybe there some uber gear I suppose to have by now.

 

[lordoftherink]

Any tips on how and when change classes?

While it is possible to beat Lleviathan first, try going to Alltrades Abbey which is northeast to Porth Llaffan, in the middle of the continent/island. Once you beat the boss associated with that place, you will be able to switch classes.

Should I be putting allocation pts into class specify tree or something like sword? Which carries over when you change back?

If you're putting the skill points into something like sword skills, those will carry over to other classes that also use swords (Thief, Warrior, Gladiator etc), provided that is the weapon you have equipped. The fifth skill category always carries over, it is a universal stat boost.

They seemed to have copied alchemy pot from DQ8 but I dont see alot recipes yet, maybe there some uber gear I suppose to have by now

I don't recall having that many recipes at all that early in the game. Just read every bookshelf and you should get most of them.

 

[RurouniZel]

Oh shi-

Did anybody else get this email?

...

Dear Dragon Quest fan,

Thanks for registering your copy of Dragon Quest IX with Club Nintendo. We hope that you are enjoying this epic adventure for Nintendo DS!

We're writing to you as we'd like to offer our DQ fans a unique opportunity - we want people like you to tell the world how much they like Dragon Quest IX, as part of an innovative TV commercial!

If you would like to get involved just send an email to xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx with the following details:

* Name
* Age
* Profession
* Contact phone
* email
* Explain why you're the right person for the campaign.

We hope to hear from you very soon.

Yours sincerely,
Your Nintendo Team

Nope. I wish I had, that sounds awesome!

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

I am a bit confused. In Bloomingdale

Spoiler

I just went to the Bad Cave, beat the spider monster and then I went back to the town. Everyone says "oh she's gone off on some journey" and so I went down to the dock. There's a dude standing there that says "Oh so she gave you her boat huh? Hot gossip yep, be safe" or something along those lines. But the old man at the pier is blocking the path and says "you better go catch up with the lady to ask her about the boat, yep yep!" so.. is she GONE or is she still around? Everyone else in town says she's gone. Like what? I can't find her either.. so.. help?

 

[Celine]

I am a bit confused. In Bloomingdale

Spoiler

I just went to the Bad Cave, beat the spider monster and then I went back to the town. Everyone says "oh she's gone off on some journey" and so I went down to the dock. There's a dude standing there that says "Oh so she gave you her boat huh? Hot gossip yep, be safe" or something along those lines. But the old man at the pier is blocking the path and says "you better go catch up with the lady to ask her about the boat, yep yep!" so.. is she GONE or is she still around? Everyone else in town says she's gone. Like what? I can't find her either.. so.. help?

Spoiler

Go to the lady's grave.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

Spoiler

Go to the lady's grave.

Thanks. All the people telling me "she's long gone" and her lack of immediate observable appearance had me fooled..

 

[nli10]

I've already given them authorisation to use my comments from the surveys they keep sending me. I'm not going to sign away my image-rights as well.

The only thing tempting me is that you'd probably get a 3DS as part of the deal. :lol

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

Maybe I should just look at a FAQ at this point, but..

How many jobs are there total? I have the default available plus Ranger and Armamentalist. I enjoyed to take up these two new jobs happily, but I can't say I'm all that interested in shifting my current chars to WArriors or Martial Artists (the so far unused classes of mine). I'm kind of more interested in getting a new job available. Are many of them open to me at this point? I just got the

Spoiler

boat

at Bloomingdale not super far in.

Also, what do I get out of completing the quests from the jobgivers? (I got the second quset for the tigertuars, but I'm not quite sure where they are yet). Do I get more EQ for that class or something?

Also, why in god's name did they put so many text blocks when job changing? I really don't need to be told all of that every time, eesh!

 

[Socreges]

I am a bit confused. In Bloomingdale

Spoiler

I just went to the Bad Cave, beat the spider monster and then I went back to the town. Everyone says "oh she's gone off on some journey" and so I went down to the dock. There's a dude standing there that says "Oh so she gave you her boat huh? Hot gossip yep, be safe" or something along those lines. But the old man at the pier is blocking the path and says "you better go catch up with the lady to ask her about the boat, yep yep!" so.. is she GONE or is she still around? Everyone else in town says she's gone. Like what? I can't find her either.. so.. help?

Spoiler

Go back to the cemetary behind her house.

 

[rpmurphy]

Maybe I should just look at a FAQ at this point, but..

How many jobs are there total? I have the default available plus Ranger and Armamentalist. I enjoyed to take up these two new jobs happily, but I can't say I'm all that interested in shifting my current chars to WArriors or Martial Artists (the so far unused classes of mine). I'm kind of more interested in getting a new job available. Are many of them open to me at this point? I just got the

Spoiler

boat

at Bloomingdale not super far in.

Also, what do I get out of completing the quests from the jobgivers? (I got the second quset for the tigertuars, but I'm not quite sure where they are yet). Do I get more EQ for that class or something?

Also, why in god's name did they put so many text blocks when job changing? I really don't need to be told all of that every time, eesh!

There are 4 more. 2 of which you can get since you have the boat (one of which I think you didn't get yet at Alltrades). Class/weapon quest rewards are equipment for the first quest, skill scroll for the second quest.

 

[Link Man]

Looking forward to next week's DLC.

Spoiler

New character Get!

 

[Cheerilee]

I have some quest that seems to unlock gladiator but my hero is the only one that can egg on and pysche others up, right? He is also the only one with dragon slash to complete this quest.

If you spend 16 skill points on someone's Martial Artist's skill tree, they can increase their own tension. It's a very useful skill for an attacker. The hero is the only one who can increase somebody else's tension though.

If you teach Psyche Up to your first non-hero attacker, as well as a big attack like Gigaslash or Falcon Slash, and then have the hero and attacker combine their efforts on raising that character's tension, you can very quickly unload a massive and efficient attack when you need to.

Any tips on how and when change classes?

Never and always. You decide what jobs/roles you want for your four characters (like attacker, attacker, healer, and whatever you like as your fourth) and you keep a specific job in mind for these characters as their default jobs. You only switch to other jobs as a way to grind for skill points, maybe complete some quests, and an excuse to play around with some new jobs to see if maybe you want to make a change in your roster. It makes absolutely no difference what job you wear while you're grinding skill points (although if the job fits your assigned role then the fights might be a little easier than they would be if you unbalanced your party). Building up your levels in one job doesn't affect any other job. Only the skill points you spend can buy you things that carry over (and weapon skills don't even carry unless you're equipped).

After you've built up some skill points, go to Alltrades and go through the somewhat tedious process of jumping back-and-forth through jobs in order to find good things to spend your points on.

Also, why in god's name did they put so many text blocks when job changing? I really don't need to be told all of that every time, eesh!

It's because the Japanese version set the text speed to instant and then took out the option to change it. They could be as wordy as they wanted to be. If you want to read, you've got something neat to read. If you've read it all before, you can skip it with ease. The translators apparently didn't know that anyone who knows anything about Dragon Quest always sets the text speed to instant, so they haxxored it back down to medium for us because they thought we'd like it better that way.

 

[Johnas]

So I was at Best Buy earlier today and thumbed through the strategy guide for a little bit, I had no idea there were that many possible accolades you could get. One of them was for

Spoiler

playing the game for 1000 hours

. :lol

I really wish they would double up on the downloadable quests. At this rate it will probably be

Spoiler

February or so

before they're all available. :|

 

[Quixzlizx]

At one point do I have to worry about perma-gimping a character EO style (I'm not patient enough to grind everything to 99) through the misallocation of skill points? Is it a bad idea to put a few skill points into each weapon type to try them all out?

 

[chespace]

Just got this game the other day and tried it this morning. It's my first DQ after all these years!

So as a newb, what should I know? What mistakes shouldn't I make?

Can we party up over wi-fi or is it local only?

 

[Oxx]

So I was at Best Buy earlier today and thumbed through the strategy guide for a little bit, I had no idea there were that many possible accolades you could get. One of them was for

Spoiler

playing the game for 1000 hours

. :lol

Madness.

Spoiler

I'm 15% there.

 

[Johnas]

At one point do I have to worry about perma-gimping a character EO style (I'm not patient enough to grind everything to 99) through the misallocation of skill points? Is it a bad idea to put a few skill points into each weapon type to try them all out?

Multiple weapons per character is fine after you've maxed at least one weapon per character (preferably in your most-preferred vocation as well) and maxed the vocation-specific passive traits you want that character to have (the option at the bottom below the weapon skill point options). Honestly though, I only found myself putting points into multiple weapons in the post-game. Before doing that, you may consider changing each character into offbeat classes (offbeat for that character, like changing a sage to a gladiator) and putting points into those vocation-specific traits first (in that case, you'd build up the sage's HP and defense, if I'm remembering correctly).

I really only started doing multiple weapons per character in the post-game because I want to finish all the quests, and each weapon has specific quests associated with it that require you to max that weapon at least once.

 

[Quixzlizx]

Multiple weapons per character is fine after you've maxed at least one weapon per character (preferably in your most-preferred vocation as well) and maxed the vocation-specific passive traits you want that character to have (the option at the bottom below the weapon skill point options). Honestly though, I only found myself putting points into multiple weapons in the post-game. Before doing that, you may consider changing each character into offbeat classes (offbeat for that character, like changing a sage to a gladiator) and putting points into those vocation-specific traits first (in that case, you'd build up the sage's HP and defense, if I'm remembering correctly).

I really only started doing multiple weapons per character in the post-game because I want to finish all the quests, and each weapon has specific quests associated with it that require you to max that weapon at least once.

OK, that's all way past where I am in the game. I'm only a couple of hours in

 

[Johnas]

OK, that's all way past where I am in the game. I'm only a couple of hours in

Gotcha, sorry if I went overboard there.

In summary, just get one weapon per character to 100 first, this allows you to equip that weapon at any time, no matter what class you are. (Each class only allows you a choice of three weapons while you're in that class, but if you put 100 skill points into any weapon, you can use it whenever you want, regardless of job). Also max out those passive traits, they are extremely beneficial.

I would say it's impossible to gimp a character, just play however you want. But definitely don't spread your skill points across multiple weapons early on, that won't really benefit you.

Madness.

Spoiler

I'm 15% there.

Spoiler

195 hours here, and still loving it!

 

[gotee12]

So I was at Best Buy earlier today and thumbed through the strategy guide for a little bit, I had no idea there were that many possible accolades you could get. One of them was for

Spoiler

playing the game for 1000 hours

. :lol

I really wish they would double up on the downloadable quests. At this rate it will probably be

Spoiler

February or so

before they're all available. :|

The strat guide is great. I got mine from Amazon. It is only $13 there and Prime eligible...

 

[Cheerilee]

At one point do I have to worry about perma-gimping a character EO style (I'm not patient enough to grind everything to 99) through the misallocation of skill points? Is it a bad idea to put a few skill points into each weapon type to try them all out?

IIRC, if you worked a character from level 1 up to level 99, you'd get about two or three hundred points. Maxing out one of the trees costs 100 points. So if you don't change jobs, you can max out your job skills and one or two weapons. If you change jobs and max them all out to 99, you can max out all the job skills and almost all of the weapons.

If you're not even going to max out one job, then you don't have enough points to waste points on weapons you won't use.

You can and probably should give each character points in a unique weapon (like give your Minstrel fans, your Warrior swords, your Priest spears, and your Mage wands, or whatever). If you want to play around and experiment, maybe do it with your recruited characters, not your hero, because they are basically disposable (not like that really matters, but if you're going to "gimp" someone...).

So as a newb, what should I know? What mistakes shouldn't I make?

Design a hero that you really like, because if you get hooked by the game, you will be stuck with them for hundreds of hours and (aside from armor) will never be able to change their appearance.

Also, when you get the option to recruit the default party members, unequip their helmets or whatever to get a good look at them and decide if you want to keep them or design/name your own characters. If you are going to change them, sooner is much better than later.

It sucks to play with a character for several hours, become somewhat attached to them, then find a nice hairband for them, unequip their helmet, and *poof*... ohmigod! What's wrong with your hair?

 

[Johnas]

The strat guide is great. I got mine from Amazon. It is only $13 there and Prime eligible...

Yeah, it really is impressive. I'll probably end up buying it just for collector's sake.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

So I'm beginning to wonder about multiplayer. I have a friend who is waiting to play this, but do they really expect you to link up and play this segment by segment? This game seems infinitely lengthy for something like that. Or can multiplayer better be exploited at higher levels? I don't really see how you're supposed to play it per se.

 

[Cheerilee]

So I'm beginning to wonder about multiplayer. I have a friend who is waiting to play this, but do they really expect you to link up and play this segment by segment? This game seems infinitely lengthy for something like that. Or can multiplayer better be exploited at higher levels? I don't really see how you're supposed to play it per se.

There are basically two ways to play multiplayer.

1: Lower-level person joins a higher level game.
2: Higher-level person joins a lower level game.

The game's plot doesn't proceed at all for the guest. And the guest is limited to "only" going places where the host can go. You just run around with somebody, and then your friend stops and a film icon appears above his head, and you say "Oh no. He's stuck watching a cutscene" and you go wander off to do something else until they're done.

If you're a low-level person joining a higher level game, you basically get dragged along like dead weight to a bunch of advanced areas like bowholes and grottos that you've never seen before, and you get a share of the money and experience, can raid some advanced weapon stores, and open some better blue chests (in multiplayer, a blue chest can basically be opened 2-4 times and give out 2-4 items so nobody misses out).

If you're a high-level person joining a low level game, you are basically a disinterested bodyguard/enforcer. You swat some bothersome flies and get worshipped for your awesomeness.

#1 is good for grinding the lower level person's game (but only for their hero), #2 is good for rushing the lower level person's game forward (leaving them a little underpowered, but they can always catch up quicker).

I guess method #3 would be two people with similar levels joining each other, in which case the guest plays a dungeon for a while, doesn't get to see the cutscenes, and then has to turn right around and do it all over again (with the cutscenes this time) after they go home. Or two advanced people just playing grottoes for the heck of it.