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Dragon Quest 9 |OT| Last chance* to shine

D

decoyplatypus

Member
Alright, after a 6-hour break from the main quest to train up new vocations and replenish my alchemy supplies, I'm ready to return to the
mystery of Swinedimples Academy
. Before I start playing, however, I thought I would ask you all for some advice on my party. Here's how I've built everyone to this point:

Lara: (Level 22 Ranger) Claws 100; Focus 16; Ruggedness 42
Isabel: (Level 18 Paladin) Spears 72; Shield 25; Guts 22; Focus 16; Courage 8
Jeane: (Level 31 Mage) Whips 100; Spellcraft 18
Lysander: (Level 28 Priest) Spears 58; Faith 56; thief odds and ends

Jeane will eventually
be a sage
, and I'm banking her skill points unless I find a better use for them in the meantime. Isabel will master spears and either swords or shields. I don't know if she'll end as a paladin or gladiator. The other two are where I most need advice. Lysander was supposed to be my primary healer, but if other characters end up with healing spells I'm wondering whether it would be worthwhile to raise him as a paladin instead. Does paladin get Zing/Kazing? Lara was a balance of attack and support, but her time as a monk made her my most powerful attacker, and now I'm not sure whether I want to continue with ranger. For those of you who took a ranger to the final dungeon, how did you like him/her?
 
G

Gravijah

Member
Eteric Rice said:
Okay, so I just changed my Thief into a Mage because really, having two melee dps seems pointless (Martial Artist and Thief).

And since I've gone out into the sea I notice a lot of shit spawns at one time, so I think I'll need it.

Maybe I should change my priest into mage instead? : /
Click to expand...

My current group is based around my main being warrior/paladin/possibly gladiator, priest/armamentalist/sage, thief/martial artist/ranger maybe and the last slot started as mage and is sitting at minstrel... Not sure what I'll do with it.
 
F

Forkball

Member
Ok so question about class changing: when I change classes I go back to level 1, but if I change back to a class in which I already leveled up, my stats and levels for that class are reinstated? Like my main character is a level 15 minstrel right now and I will switch him to a warrior. If I want to switch back to Minstrel, will he be level 15?
 
Eteric Rice

Eteric Rice

Member
Class question. When you switch to another class, are they able to earn their own points?

Like, I mean, are the number of points you get per character, or per class?
 
I

Instro

Member
Forkball said:
Alright, so for classes,
Gladiator or Warrior?
Click to expand...

Pretty sure the Gladiator is better in every stat, plus has access to other weapons like the Axe. The only downside is that he cant equip a shield but you could easily max that out on another class so you can use shields with any vocation.

And to answer your other question, yes you can switch between vocations without losing anything. Any experience or skills gained will be immediately reinstated when you transition back. Any stat buffs or skills earned through skill points will carry over to any class as well.

Eteric Rice said:
Class question. When you switch to another class, are they able to earn their own points?

Like, I mean, are the number of points you get per character, or per class?
Click to expand...

Yeah each class earns its own points, but you can save the points if you want and put them into a different classes skills which is what alot of people do.
 
F

Freyjadour

Member
Kinda disappointed that
I just made a Catosomething Armor (60 Def - Mirror Armor effect), and it's 10 points higher than the DQVII Hero armor. Was really easy to make too :/. Guess it isn't that big a difference, so I'll just go with looks, but just seems kinda lame to have this boring old golden armor be 10 points higher than a Hero piece.
 
I

Incitemaybe

Member
I have a question regarding multiplayer.

What items can I trade out with another player? I take it I can't share any weapons and armor with a friend just items from the bag?
 
A

ACE 1991

Member
butzopower said:
Main character should have egg on, which will boost tension. You could use that, and psyche up 2 times each and most likely max out tension. What's hard is getting the slimes not to run, try using low (lvl >4) characters with very little equip.
Click to expand...
I can't psyche other people up though... Is this quest more trouble that it's worth? :lol
 
D

DarkKyo

Member
Ermac said:
Not so sure if I dig the customizable characters. I would prefer if they had a look of their own. Can you just leave them on the default?

I know I'm probably in the minority here.
Click to expand...
Yes. Yes you are.
 
G

GaimeGuy

Volunteer Deputy Campaign Director, Obama for America '16
so, you know the quest where you have to show off your best outfit to the chick in the typical toriyama bunny costume? What the fuck am I supposed to wear to get through this quest? :X
 
S

Stencil

Member
Just saw a commercial for DQIX. Seth Green? A little random, but I thought it was funny.

TV COMMERCIAL SPOILERS:
the boy tries to take a girl out on a date wearing a purple fur poncho
 
N

NinjaBoyLao

Member
I really wish somebody can make a program like Xlink Kai for DS so we can tag people using Wifi. I feel sad whenever I see my Inn with only 3 guest :(
 
R

Ravidrath

Member
A few questions...

1. I'm at the end, more or less... where can I unlock Sage?

2. Anyone know where I can find a list of all the
Ultimate Key
locations?
 
R

RevenantKioku

PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS oh god i am drowning in them
I'm nearing the end of the game (great progress considering I got it a year earlier than all of you!) but I'm not sure what to do with my party.

Here's what I'm working with

Zerick - Maxed Sword, Boomerang, Shield, Minstrel's Special Skill. Currently Lv. 30 Paladin.
Eriko - Maxed Spear, Soldier's Special Skill, Paladin's Special Skill. Currently Lv. 1 Battlemaster.
Lin-Lin - Maxed Claws, Thief's Special Skill. Currently Lv. 1 Ranger.
Shotaro - Maxed Staves, Priest's Special Skill. Currently Lv. 45 Priest. Has 100 Skill points waiting to be used. (Saving for Sage.)

Not sure where to go here. Unlocking Sage is the first big thing, but that's in a little while I think.
 
Eteric Rice

Eteric Rice

Member
Okay, question!

I want to do the Gladiator quest. How do I get my Warrior to super high tension when he can't egg himself on or anything?
 
J

jaxword

Member
Eteric Rice said:
Okay, question!

I want to do the Gladiator quest. How do I get my Warrior to super high tension when he can't egg himself on or anything?
Click to expand...

Minstrel has Egg on, which is easy to get early.
 
F

Fewr

Member
Incitemaybe said:
I have a question regarding multiplayer.

What items can I trade out with another player? I take it I can't share any weapons and armor with a friend just items from the bag?
Click to expand...
Instruction manual says you can trade stuff as long as it doesn't have any rarity stars, which means you can only trade ingredients.
 
K

Kinitari

Black Canada Mafia
Forkball said:
Ok so question about class changing: when I change classes I go back to level 1, but if I change back to a class in which I already leveled up, my stats and levels for that class are reinstated? Like my main character is a level 15 minstrel right now and I will switch him to a warrior. If I want to switch back to Minstrel, will he be level 15?
Click to expand...

It's actually a really good idea to level up multiple vocations, my main guy is only level 25 or so, and some of the other party members are in the mid thirties, but he's nearly as strong as them, and he has a substantial amount more defense, all the bonuses in the class-skill trees (like +30 to str in Gladiator) are permanent bonuses to your character, not your vocation, so when you switch to something else, your +30 str bonus applies to that vocation as well. This also means abilites in the class skill trees carry over without you needing to equip certain weapons, so if you really need to steal something, have a few characters level up thief to get half-inch (also doesn't hurt to have more agility).
 
B

botticus

Member
Eteric Rice said:
But my Warrior is my minstrel. -_-
Click to expand...
Best way is to get somebody else switched to a Minstrel for Egg On or get your Warrior switched to a Martial Artist for Psyche Up so he can do it all himself. I think the latter is better, since you can't have your Warrior attack while they're getting their tension boosted anyway, avoids wasting another person's turn.

Has this game been a horrible drain on anyone else's battery? Could just be my DS Lite going through its occasional bouts of awful battery life, but I've had to charge it every day over the weekend, with only 5-7 hours of play per day. Usually it lasts well over 10.
 
M

methos75

Banned
Picked up DQIX and a NDS Lite as well Mario and Luigi 3 and SMT: Strange Journey last thursday. Good stuff, I am fully addicated to DQIX, best game I have played in a long time and since Thursday I haven't even looked at my PS3 or XB360. So sad a handheld has better gaming.
 
T

TheKingsCrown

Banned
methos75 said:
Picked up DQIX and a NDS Lite as well Mario and Luigi 3 and SMT: Strange Journey last thursday. Good stuff, I am fully addicated to DQIX, best game I have played in a long time and since Thursday I haven't even looked at my PS3 or XB360. So sad a handheld has better gaming.
Click to expand...
I just picked up DQIX yesterday, and I've actually been more impressed with it than I thought I would be. I disliked VIII a lot, it was pretty boring to me. IX seems to have brought back some of the old DQ with a few gameplay enhanced twists that is far more interesting to play through for some reason.

So I too am surprised a handheld is giving me more fun things to play. I never got through VIII but I think I'm almost certain to finish IX.
 
Eteric Rice

Eteric Rice

Member
FUUUUUU THE SLIMES WON'T STOP RUNNING AND SNOOZE DOESN'T WORK ON THEM!

npnwci.jpg


methos75 said:
Picked up DQIX and a NDS Lite as well Mario and Luigi 3 and SMT: Strange Journey last thursday. Good stuff, I am fully addicated to DQIX, best game I have played in a long time and since Thursday I haven't even looked at my PS3 or XB360. So sad a handheld has better gaming.
Click to expand...

I just picked up DQIX yesterday, and I've actually been more impressed with it than I thought I would be. I disliked VIII a lot, it was pretty boring to me. IX seems to have brought back some of the old DQ with a few gameplay enhanced twists that is far more interesting to play through for some reason.

So I too am surprised a handheld is giving me more fun things to play. I never got through VIII but I think I'm almost certain to finish IX.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the handheld gaming club! We have pie.
 
F

Freyjadour

Member
Kinitari said:
It's actually a really good idea to level up multiple vocations, my main guy is only level 25 or so, and some of the other party members are in the mid thirties, but he's nearly as strong as them, and he has a substantial amount more defense, all the bonuses in the class-skill trees (like +30 to str in Gladiator) are permanent bonuses to your character, not your vocation, so when you switch to something else, your +30 str bonus applies to that vocation as well. This also means abilites in the class skill trees carry over without you needing to equip certain weapons, so if you really need to steal something, have a few characters level up thief to get half-inch (also doesn't hurt to have more agility).
Click to expand...
Also the way experience works in the game, switching to a new class after 25 levels on another class with Party Member A and staying on the same job with Party Member B, by about 30-32 both will be the same level and A will have a LOT more skill points to use.


And dear god does the invisible party and instant text make the game run smoother. Eliminates all issues I had. I love this game so much.
 
H

Hobbun

Member
I am about 5 hours in and just got to
Stornway and have recruited my party
and am raising some levels and getting some gold for equipment before I go on. I am really enjoying the game so far.

I hope you start to get more skill points later on than 3 as I am one who likes to get most of my skills maxed. And granted there are a lot of weapon skills that overlap, the skill trees that are unique to each class eat up a lot of points on their own.

Freyjadour said:
And dear god does the invisible party and instant text make the game run smoother. Eliminates all issues I had. I love this game so much.
Click to expand...

How did you do that? Is that an option in the game or did you have to do so through some other means?
 
K

Kinitari

Black Canada Mafia
Eteric Rice said:
FUUUUUU THE SLIMES WON'T STOP RUNNING AND SNOOZE DOESN'T WORK ON THEM!

http://i28.tinypic.com/npnwci.jpg[IMG]

.[/QUOTE]

When I did it, it was super easy - here are the steps I took.

I used the slimes right outside the Abbey of Vocational change or whatevs.

I changed my main characters vocation to a low level one (I know this determines whether or not monsters will run from you on the field, and it looks like in battle as well).

When I encountered a group of slimes, I would have my Ranger snipe one or two of the slimes every round so they couldn't group up to a stack.

Had my main rallying my martial artists (who I changed into a warrior just for this occasion), while she psyched herself up.

I was lucky enough to do it all in one encounter, my martial artists as a warrior was slow enough to attack after the slime, so the slime would call for backup right before it died, my ranger would wait a turn until there were two slimes again before 'sniping' (it would kill the second slime before it had a chance to call for backup). I got all the way up to slime N (it would have been less, but I accidentally psyched up to 100 and used a regular attack, twice I think).

And that's my strategem.
Click to expand...
 
H

Hobbun

Member
Ok, maybe it’s because I am not far enough in the game, but what is the purpose of farming slimes? For Alchemy drops? Unless you are talking about metal slimes.
 
K

Kinitari

Black Canada Mafia
Hobbun said:
Ok, maybe it’s because I am not far enough in the game, but what is the purpose of killing a large amount of slimes? slimes For Alchemy drops? Unless you are talking about metal slimes.
Click to expand...

He has to kill them in a particular way to unlock the Gladiator vocation, specifically kill 3 (or was it 5?) using Dragon slash with a super high tension level (100).
 
M

Mr. Wonderful

Member
Man, I'm loving this game. I just finished the quest against the
Wight Knight.
The only real complaints I have are the following:

-The framerate SUCKS. Like, it's so annoying, and at times completely ruins what could be beautiful towns and the world map.
-I'm not 100% crazy about having a whole party full of silent characters. I wish they would have at least thrown one other characterized party member into the group. That would have at least given you a considerable amount of conversation between the main character, Stella, and the third character.
-The lag/loading between dialog boxes and the text speed are way too slow! Together, the lag and text speed really slow the game down, and it's just frustrating.
-The Alchemy Pot is in a fixed location, rather than always in your menu system. What's up with that decision?
-The menu system UI is not user-friendly and sometimes logical. You have to dig through a series of menus to get to things that I wouldn't logically place where they are. And then there's the fact that when you select the "Battle Records," you're brought to a whole other menu screen, complete with a little loading time!

All together, the game feels about like Dragon Quest 7.5, which is awesome like Dragon Quest IV-VII are, but slightly *slightly* disappointing in that, of course, the world isn't on the same scale as Dragon Quest VIII. I'm really glad that the game started off with a strong anecdote with Stornway as it did. I found the entire story very enjoyable.

Urgh! Now I wish I was playing now! Loving this game!
 
G

Gravijah

Member
Speaking of slimes, I got so angry last night using the ones outside the abbey to unlock
gladiator
... I would keep getting the kind that stack into three instead of the the ones that forever call more. After an hour or so I got it, but it was so frustrating.
 
D

Deku

Banned
methos75 said:
I haven't seen these framerate or lag issues, do the NDS models make a difference?
Click to expand...

I haven't either. There's busy parts of the overworld and no slowdown.
played/playing on DSi
 
G

Gravijah

Member
Deku said:
I haven't either. There's busy parts of the overworld and no slowdown.
played/playing on DSi
Click to expand...

You have a full party of 4? Because I see slowdown nearly everywhere. Well, not necessarily slowdown, but the framerate does get pretty choppy.
 
D

Deku

Banned
Gravijah said:
You have a full party of 4? Because I see slowdown nearly everywhere. Well, not necessarily slowdown, but the framerate does get pretty choppy.
Click to expand...

yep party of 4. I'll check the US ver again, haven't play in a while.
 
H

Hobbun

Member
Deku said:
I haven't either. There's busy parts of the overworld and no slowdown.
played/playing on DSi
Click to expand...

I am playing on my DSi XL and I do notice some slowdown in town
in Stornway
once I got a 4 person party. However, I am not getting the slowdown in the overworld area.
 
H

Hobbun

Member
Gravijah said:
Are you guys people who usually notice framerate issues? Did you guys notice 'em in Shadow of the Colossus? :lol
Click to expand...

Never played SoC, so I can’t compare. But yes, I can notice framerate issues with this game. It isn’t to the point where the framerate is so bad you see lines across the screen, but walking/running in town with a full party I do notice it is a little more sluggish. However, n the overworld, it is fine.
 
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