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Dragon Quest 9 |OT| Last chance* to shine
- Thread starter Aeana
- Start date
Evac'd, reloaded, and ran the dungeon again. My first full haul:
Bad Axe, Gringham Whip, Poker, Stardust Sword, Metal Slime Armour, Metal Slime Spear, Ethereal Stone x3, Orichalcum, Lucida Shard, Mini Medal x2, Pentarang, Minerva's Mitre from the boss, and one timing mess up... 1500G.
This is ridiculously efficient and such a huge time saver. I was laughing evilly to myself as I did this. LOL
Bad Axe, Gringham Whip, Poker, Stardust Sword, Metal Slime Armour, Metal Slime Spear, Ethereal Stone x3, Orichalcum, Lucida Shard, Mini Medal x2, Pentarang, Minerva's Mitre from the boss, and one timing mess up... 1500G.
This is ridiculously efficient and such a huge time saver. I was laughing evilly to myself as I did this. LOL
balladofwindfishes
Member
I asked for this game for Christmas
Looking forward to it
Looking forward to it
Castor Krieg
Banned
So I bought this, and I play, and it's nice but...can someone explain how people are putting 300 hours into this? Is there something I'm missing, only 3hrs in so far.
Easystride
Member
Post-game content. There are tons of quests to complete (along with DLC quests), classes to master, and grottoes to explore. I think the main game took me like 50 hours, and I'm at 145 hours now. I'm just starting to get back into it, as I've been playing Golden Sun and Gran Turismo 5.Castor Krieg said:
Castor Krieg
Banned
Easystride said:
Can I later have equipment/skills that will make my characters really really really really powerful? I love that aspect in an RPG...
Got an awesome Hoimi table last night that only needed me to cast Heal once, and gave me the 100% drop and both the common/rare drops too. That's the first time that's happened.
However, if you read through the thread (particularly the last page or two), you'll see that there are ways to save yourself all this time and get the best gear. It still takes a considerable amount of time, but it makes this achievable for folks who don't want to spend every waking hour playing this game, but want to experience everything.
If you absolutely don't need the very best gear (and all of it), you can just play the game and its post-game content and get tons of great stuff that will make just about anything you ran across before you finished the game (and many post-game enemies) a walk in the park. I played for about 200 hours before I started using some of these tools, and except for a few quests and grinds, I loved every minute of it.
DQ9 is definitely the game that keeps on giving.
The short answer is yes. Post-game items/equipment are really powerful! If you do it without the help of some online tools, though, you could probably play the game for *years* and not get all the best gear. Them's just the breaks in a game that uses a random number generator for rare drops.Castor Krieg said:
However, if you read through the thread (particularly the last page or two), you'll see that there are ways to save yourself all this time and get the best gear. It still takes a considerable amount of time, but it makes this achievable for folks who don't want to spend every waking hour playing this game, but want to experience everything.
If you absolutely don't need the very best gear (and all of it), you can just play the game and its post-game content and get tons of great stuff that will make just about anything you ran across before you finished the game (and many post-game enemies) a walk in the park. I played for about 200 hours before I started using some of these tools, and except for a few quests and grinds, I loved every minute of it.
DQ9 is definitely the game that keeps on giving.
Castor Krieg
Banned
FFS, just discovered that my wi-fi router is WPA encrypted, I can try and make it WEP, but that's 26 damn characters I have to input as password...
Does anyone bother revocating their secondary characters? I just did my first hero revocation, but just drag along the secondaries for extra hits. Was planning on 99ing everyone in every class, but seems kind of pointless for my other characters. Going to have to start ditching mediocre maps soon too. Never did get a map with Shogum.
Never did get a map with Shogum.^^^I've done it a few times mainly for quick skill points in the Lv. 1-40 range, but I was focused on revocating my Hero's main vocation. I'm working on getting everyone up to 99 in all vocations, just so that I can switch things up however I want. Probably won't, but it doesn't take too much effort at this point.
I have made a Hypernova Sword and Xenlon Claws, though... nice to have, but I still prefer the Uber Falcon Blade w/ Falcon Slash (Oomphed w/ the right Fource and Sap x2) for ridiculously high damage.
Agreed on the DQVC... sometimes there will be some decent accessories, but for the most part, it's been pretty weak... I've had the same piece of clothing come up twice already.Oxx said:
I have made a Hypernova Sword and Xenlon Claws, though... nice to have, but I still prefer the Uber Falcon Blade w/ Falcon Slash (Oomphed w/ the right Fource and Sap x2) for ridiculously high damage.
That was annoying, I got a treasure map that had an identical name to a previous map, but was located elsewhere on the world map. I go in and clear it, and it's literally identical to the previous one. Guess I can safely discard that one right?
Can you actually do anything with canvassed guests? I finally managed to get one tag, but unfortunately he was so early in the game that he only had the very first map you can get. Since he's my only guest, I threw him up into a royal suite for now. It's kind of lame how they only appear as 2D sprites.
Can you actually do anything with canvassed guests? I finally managed to get one tag, but unfortunately he was so early in the game that he only had the very first map you can get. Since he's my only guest, I threw him up into a royal suite for now. It's kind of lame how they only appear as 2D sprites.
Yeah, I think the location of grottoes is completely random, but the name/level will yield the same dungeon. If it's literally the same layout/type (including the boss), then yeah, you can ditch it. Keep the one that is maybe more conveniently located or easy to remember. And to save yourself the headaches some of us are experiencing now, write down what boss is at the bottom.DarthWoo said:
As for canvassed guests, in addition to getting you maps, they will expand your inn... it changes the look, unlocks upper/lower floors, has some gear to collect, gives you access to more recipes, and a fountain that seems to drop random alchemy ingredients. Fun to check out, but I don't think there's anything in the expanded inn that you can't get through other means (like a guide).
i_am_ben said:
Essentially impossible through sheer luck. The only real chance is to get it through a tag. It is pretty common to get a grotto that also has Metal enemies in it, though. Just not whole floors of nothing but metal.
I did get a completely empty floor in a grotto before, though. I romanticize that maybe it could've been a Platinum King Jewel Slime only floor, but maybe they had coded to specifically eliminate those. :lol
Yes, there are elemental strengths/weaknesses now. There weren't always (like back in the NES days).Teknoman said:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/ds/937281-dragon-quest-ix-sentinels-of-the-starry-skies/faqs/60450
Seven different elements, and fourteen different status effects, and every different monster has their own strength/weakness to the lot of them, apparently ranging from completely ineffective to 2x effective.
But since the game doesn't give you "Fire, Ice Lightning, Fire2, Ice2, Lightning2" spells, it doesn't really give you enough information and it's mostly invisible to you, and you can't figure it out and it just feels random and needlessly complicated. Sort of like the "how attractive am I?" stat. It's a waste of time trying to figure it out for yourself. Heck, it's a waste of time even checking an FAQ for the answers. Just punch the monster and you'll be done before you can look up his name.
Nihilistic Monk
Member
LTTP I know, but I have DQ9 and plan to get through it over the Christmas period. Never played a DQ game before. I'm not too far in, just got through the first village, and at the 2nd boss fight agains the
I kinda get the levelling system where you keep what you have and go back to level 1, but I'm freaking out about what my party members should be, and when to change them... If I'm going through the game, then go back to level one, won't I get destroyed? Do I have to grind out hours and hours to get back up to a decent level? I've tried reading some FAQ's, but nothings really clear, so I'm kind of stagnant in regards to getting stuck in.
Should I just stop worrying and grind through, will it become apparent what I need to do?
I don't really care about getting a ton of optional stuff, just want to have a good time, get through the story and have a reasonable group of dudes to do that....
dark knight
I kinda get the levelling system where you keep what you have and go back to level 1, but I'm freaking out about what my party members should be, and when to change them... If I'm going through the game, then go back to level one, won't I get destroyed? Do I have to grind out hours and hours to get back up to a decent level? I've tried reading some FAQ's, but nothings really clear, so I'm kind of stagnant in regards to getting stuck in.
Should I just stop worrying and grind through, will it become apparent what I need to do?
I don't really care about getting a ton of optional stuff, just want to have a good time, get through the story and have a reasonable group of dudes to do that....
You can't really go wrong with all the levelling and vocation switching stuff. At the very worst you'll just have wasted a bit of time.
Obviously skill points are harder to come by in the early game, so you might be better off to pick a weapon to invest in and get the bonuses from.
As long as you have some decent damage-dealers and a healer the game won't pose too much of a problem. I did spend quite a bit of time grinding skill points and it can be easy to obsess over it, but it isn't mandatory.
Obviously skill points are harder to come by in the early game, so you might be better off to pick a weapon to invest in and get the bonuses from.
As long as you have some decent damage-dealers and a healer the game won't pose too much of a problem. I did spend quite a bit of time grinding skill points and it can be easy to obsess over it, but it isn't mandatory.
Nihilistic Monk
Member
Oxx said:
Cool, that's what I wanted to hear. I probably WILL grind a bit at some point, but I just can't bare sitting down for a gaming session thinking I'm going to make a wrong choice and waste my entire game backing myself into a corner :lol
I'll just try and relax and take things as they come.
Spent a good chunk of the morning working low-level grottoes (3-6 floors) and taking notes on what bosses were at the bottom. I now have a set that are pretty low level and have one each of every boss so that I can Hoimi the rare armour for Alchemiracles. That way I can blast through in just a few minutes. Only problem is that my party is so strong that even fleeing a bunch from most grotto bosses doesn't really take a whole lot of health off. So, I have to end up running those, then fighting a strong Legacy Boss, knock my health down, and then Hoimi a weak one or the Krak Pot. Almost have it all down to a cyclical system... fun for now, but we'll see how long it takes before farming Agates start killing me. LOL
slaughterking
Member
I just wondered: Did we ever get to know how many games Nintendo/SE shipped in EU/NA? I'm sure DQIX has to be the most successful game in the series, but I don't think they ever told us how many copies they actually shipped.
^^^ Oh wow, I didn't even think to do that. Thanks!
I pretty much have the Alchemiracle grinding down to a science... still takes quite a while even with all the shortcuts, though. Also mixed things up and have 6 vocations for Hero maxxed out. Hopefully will get the remainder this week. I wonder if there's an accolade for maxxing them all out? Guess we'll see.
DQVC this morning was a complete bust.
I pretty much have the Alchemiracle grinding down to a science... still takes quite a while even with all the shortcuts, though. Also mixed things up and have 6 vocations for Hero maxxed out. Hopefully will get the remainder this week. I wonder if there's an accolade for maxxing them all out? Guess we'll see.
I *hate* it when you have to hope for a rare chest drop for an item. I really wish they would have at least made it possible to alchemize them or get them through a quest. Leaving it up to 2% odds is annoying.Oxx said:
DQVC this morning was a complete bust.
lucablight
Member
I just got the 5th Fygg and I still haven't distributed any skill points at all or managed to find any additional classes. I imagine I've nearly finished the game? Am I playing it wrong? I just don't like the idea that any change you make to your character is pretty much permanent unless you enjoy lengthy grinding.
lucablight said:
Are you playing it wrong? Hard to say what's wrong or what's right but you don't seem to enjoy the game.
Go talk to the people at All-Trades and you'll get quests for 2 advanced classes (Gladiator, Armamentalist) and several L15/L40 class quests if you meet the requirement.
On your way to get one of those figs I don't think it was possible to miss the guy that offers the Ranger quest.
Paladin's probably the only one I've seen that you have to go out of your way exploring a town for, but hey, it's a Dragon Quest game with Mini-Medals. Explore towns!
* * *
Insofar as skill point choices:
Two good options, as I see them.
1) Define roles for each party member, pick as many things that support that role as possible from as many different classes as possible. I just got the boat and hit Gleeba, and I've got the classic four D&D roles pretty well covered with some highly specialized classes. Every character is above L15ish in every known vocation. Do that and you'll have enough skill points to spread around comfortably. I really like the gameplay results so far on this.
2) Make every character good at killing the metal slime family, and every character will ultimately be very good at everything in less time.
Also, skill points are not a finite supply in this game. When you max out a vocation's level, you can revocate, keep the earned skill points, and level the vocation again.
In general: spend your skill points, change jobs and fight some metals to pick up more skill points to invest, and go get those advanced jobs. Pick up some extra passive HP/MP/Strength/Resilience/Agility/Deftness bonuses if nothing else.
ghibli99 said:I*hate* it when you have to hope for a rare chest drop for an item. I really wish they would have at least made it possible to alchemize them or get them through a quest. Leaving it up to 2% odds is annoying.
DQVC this morning was a complete bust.
DQVC is terrible this month.
I'm hoping Golden Sun arrives tomorrow to take me away from the daily grind of grinding for Agates.
I'm sort of the same way in that I usually don't spend strength/agility seeds until the end of the game, if ever, but the ability points in this game are so plentiful, you don't have to worry about running out of them. You should spend your points. If you spend them on your shield, you'll block a lot more. If you spend them on your weapons (just one weapon style per-character, don't mix it up), you'll have access to the most powerful attacks. You can make your fighters better fighters and your wizards better wizards, or balance things out by doing the opposite. There's really no way to spend points wrong (aside from foolishly spending points on weapons you'll never use), and you'll grind more (assuming you have to grind at all, the game's pretty easy) if you don't spend them.lucablight said:
And there's nothing at all wrong with the basic job classes that are first available to you, if you're using them properly, in a way that suits your playing style.
Funny thing... I was wiped out for the first time last night (240 hours in). I was grinding Gem Slimes, got lazy w/ low health, and one of them did that all-out attack where they expend all their MP. I lost about 300,000G in the process. That definitely put a damper on my evening! LOL
Had a good run last night and did several more Alchemiracles and Hoimi'd most of the rare gear from the regular and legacy grotto bosses. I think I'm going to switch back to quests for a while until those start pissing me off again. LOL
So here's a question: On my Hero, the best sword in the game (Hypernova Sword) has an Attack of 840. The Uber Falcon Blade is 686. However, do you double the Uber # to an Attack of 1372 since it hits twice? Wouldn't this make the Uber (damage-wise) the best sword in the game? Granted, the Hypernova can Sap twice in one round if you use Falcon Blade (which is great), but I was just curious. I haven't done any calculations, but when I'm Oomphed and properly Fourced, using Falcon Slash for 4 hits is capable of doing 2-3k damage per round, depending on who I'm up against and the effectiveness of said Fource. Thanks!
So here's a question: On my Hero, the best sword in the game (Hypernova Sword) has an Attack of 840. The Uber Falcon Blade is 686. However, do you double the Uber # to an Attack of 1372 since it hits twice? Wouldn't this make the Uber (damage-wise) the best sword in the game? Granted, the Hypernova can Sap twice in one round if you use Falcon Blade (which is great), but I was just curious. I haven't done any calculations, but when I'm Oomphed and properly Fourced, using Falcon Slash for 4 hits is capable of doing 2-3k damage per round, depending on who I'm up against and the effectiveness of said Fource. Thanks!
Little Green Yoda
Member
Been playing the grottoes in the postgame. Things can be so deceptive sometimes.
Oh, a grotto full of Hunter Mechs, Sluggernauts, Teaky Masks, and Sorcerors that my team can take down without a problem? And no pesky Octagoons or Darkonium Slimes roaming about? Should be an easy grotto!
Then I get to the boss and get 3/4ths of my team pulverized in 2 turns by Atlas.
Oh, a grotto full of Hunter Mechs, Sluggernauts, Teaky Masks, and Sorcerors that my team can take down without a problem? And no pesky Octagoons or Darkonium Slimes roaming about? Should be an easy grotto!
Then I get to the boss and get 3/4ths of my team pulverized in 2 turns by Atlas.