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Dragon Quest 9 |OT| Last chance* to shine

Religion is a pretty strong theme all throughout the series, but it's slightly more thick than usual in DQ9, haha.

Though for a JRPG series it's refreshing that religion does not necessarily equal EEEEEEEEEVIL throughout the series.
 

Chairhome

Member
Got to the first treasure map boss. What the heck? He wiped me out! My levels are all around 20. That bolts of darkness move is cheap. Should I get new equipment or just come back later?
 

botticus

Member
Chairhome said:
Got to the first treasure map boss. What the heck? He wiped me out! My levels are all around 20. That bolts of darkness move is cheap. Should I get new equipment or just come back later?
A lot later. He was a pain with a party in the 30s.
 
Jtwo said:
Is there any good reading material about Dragon Quest?
I'm not ashamed to admit that I had basically never heard of the series until DQ4 came out on the DS a few years ago. But it's fast become one of my favorite franchises. I'm taking a break right now from 9 and reading some wikipedia stuff and began to wonder if there are any books or in depth magazine articles that are must reads.

There is also a new article in the latest Edge magazine.
 

bon

Member
Regulus Tera said:
Guys I'm pretty sure either Stella or the King of Stornway makes a comment about forming a party in one of the cutscenes.
Yeah, I definitely remember Stella telling me to go form a party at that point in the game. I guess a lot of people just don't talk to her. :lol
 

Echoes

Member
5dc6a


I got this when playing with my brother today. A co-op Coupe de Grace? Freaking awesome.

DQIX multi-player = best JRPG experience for me.
 
nli10 said:
The game is really religious! Are all DQ games this god damn preachy? Also the stereotypes mean you can see pretty much everything coming so far (only about 8 hours in though) but that's a JRPG thing in general.

DQ7's subtitle was "Warriors of Eden." It had a whole lotta God in it.
 

Oxx

Member
I guess when none of your party levels-up when you kill a metal enemy it's a sign you should stop grinding and get back to the story.
 

zoku88

Member
Of course there would be a lot of religion in the DQ world, they live in a non-technological world... -_-;;

It's not like the game is preaching to you, though...
 
bon said:
Yeah, I definitely remember Stella telling me to go form a party at that point in the game. I guess a lot of people just don't talk to her. :lol

She does say something like that, although I initially just took that as a plot point at the time, i.e. I would soon be meeting NPCs. I took one or two whacks at The Wight Knight before I realized I had to make my own companions.
 

Oxx

Member
At least some of my party are starting to look fairly swish in their latest set of clothes.

My freshly-minted ranger is looking a bit plain in her rudimentary dress, though.
 

nli10

Member
zoku88 said:
Of course there would be a lot of religion in the DQ world, they live in a non-technological world... -_-;;

It's not like the game is preaching to you, though...


More the 'you must do good deeds' kind of preachy than the religious kind. I don't feel like it's secretly trying to convert me to worship the world tree (oddly from Norse mythology I thought).

It doesn't bother me - it's just something I'd have never associated with the series from a total outsider perspective. It only jars with me as I've never come across it before. I do like RPG worlds with consistent mythos though so I'm happy to go along for the ride.


the 'every leader is dumb and doesn't understand until a kid helps them understand' trope is probably the reason I though all authority figures were dumb as a kid. I guess some kids cartoon stereotypes add fun to the game though (OMG the cat is a wizard!) and balance out the natural tragedy of the story.


And they do live in a technological world - just not by our standards. They have Bronze and Iron working so far, and I only have the cheap first weapons - I've just go to the part where you learn 'zoom' - I'll bet there is better to come.
 

BooJoh

Member
Dechaios said:
I heard there wasn't much to do after the final boss or that it becomes really boring.
I'm at 160 hours and just starting to slow down a bit, but that's more because I have other games I want to play too.

I guess whether you enjoy the endgame or not boils down to whether or not you enjoy loot games, because basically the endgame (after you finish quests) is running through randomized dungeons leveling up and hoping for that one piece of equipment that would be an upgrade for one of your characters.

If that's not your cup of tea, you could always just come back once a week for the DLC quests.
 

Johnas

Member
steveovig said:
Ok, but should I keep checking old bookcases that I've already checked for stuff or is that pointless?

I know I'm late with this reply, but in my experience so far rechecking old bookcases doesn't net you any new recipes. In fact, the game tells you something about having already recorded them.

Also, just out of curiosity, did anybody play through the main game without changing any classes at all? I'm in the early 20s level-wise and just got the fourth fygg (am currently
at the desert palace
) and have been progressing just fine. I'm also behind on quests, in fact the game won't let me accept any more until I finish some of the ones I have.

My party is main (still minstrel), warrior, priest, and mage.
 

colinp

Banned
Johnas said:
I know I'm late with this reply, but in my experience so far rechecking old bookcases doesn't net you any new recipes. In fact, the game tells you something about having already recorded them.

Also, just out of curiosity, did anybody play through the main game without changing any classes at all? I'm in the early 20s level-wise and just got the fourth fygg (am currently
at the desert palace
) and have been progressing just fine. I'm also behind on quests, in fact the game won't let me accept any more until I finish some of the ones I have.

My party is main (still minstrel), warrior, priest, and mage.

Yep, I only started playing with classes around lvl 23 or so, and even then only with my main. I enjoy the new classes but am quite happy with my mage and priest and thief so I don't think I'll change them just yet... I had been using my minstrel as a damage dealer and that isn't really a suitable role so I switched him to an armamentalist. I miss his healing abilities as a minstrel but at least he can do some real damage now! Plus, learning innate abilities from other classes is really helpful.

I have been completing quests though. Not all, mind you, but I want to accept every one I come across at the very least.
 

ManBearPanda

Neo Member
So I've been having a blast with the game so far, but I do have one question. My martial artist is doing a horrible job at stealing things off mobs, and I just unlocked the ranger class. Could I switch him to a ranger and not lose out on too much damage (the other classes in my party are a gladiator, a priest, and a mage)?
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Most of the thief abilities, include the steal, rely on the deftness stat.
If I'm not mistaken, powering up the ranger abilities grants you some of the best deftness perma-boosts in the game. So certainly, the ranger vocation is a very worthy upgrade for your main stealer.

Johnas said:
I know I'm late with this reply, but in my experience so far rechecking old bookcases doesn't net you any new recipes. In fact, the game tells you something about having already recorded them.

Also, just out of curiosity, did anybody play through the main game without changing any classes at all? I'm in the early 20s level-wise and just got the fourth fygg (am currently
at the desert palace
) and have been progressing just fine. I'm also behind on quests, in fact the game won't let me accept any more until I finish some of the ones I have.

My party is main (still minstrel), warrior, priest, and mage.

Actually, I read through a ton of book cases before I opened up the alchemy system. I decided to revisit those old book shelves, and a small handful of them DID give me recipes. So I'm pretty sure that the game won't allow you to start recording recipes until you gain access to the Krak Pot.
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Just connect to the DQVC shop via wifi.
They'll be releasing a quest a week, on average, and upon connecting, your game will automatically unlock any of the quests released so far.

If you don't have access to the DQVC, keep playing.
Once you gain the ability to switch vocations, you'll be able to talk to Sellma (*chuckle*) over at the Stornway Inn counter. She'll walk you through the process.
 

JeTmAn81

Member
BooJoh said:
I'm at 160 hours and just starting to slow down a bit, but that's more because I have other games I want to play too.

I guess whether you enjoy the endgame or not boils down to whether or not you enjoy loot games, because basically the endgame (after you finish quests) is running through randomized dungeons leveling up and hoping for that one piece of equipment that would be an upgrade for one of your characters.

If that's not your cup of tea, you could always just come back once a week for the DLC quests.

Wait, have you really been playing this game an average of 9.4 hours a day? It came out on July 11th, which was 17 days ago, and you've played it for 160 hours...if so, that's amazing. How have you managed it?
 

colinp

Banned
Mejilan said:
Most of the thief abilities, include the steal, rely on the deftness stat.
If I'm not mistaken, powering up the ranger abilities grants you some of the best deftness perma-boosts in the game. So certainly, the ranger vocation is a very worthy upgrade for your main stealer.

Would you recommend replacing the thief entirely with a ranger then?
 

Oxx

Member
Is it downloadable/unlockable quests or treasure maps from the DQVC?

Admittedly I haven't looked in my quest-log for a while, but I've been on the DQVC daily and I only have the one treasure map so far.
 

Johnas

Member
Mejilan said:
Actually, I read through a ton of book cases before I opened up the alchemy system. I decided to revisit those old book shelves, and a small handful of them DID give me recipes. So I'm pretty sure that the game won't allow you to start recording recipes until you gain access to the Krak Pot.

Ah, that's interesting, I never considered that.
 
Mejilan said:
You're welcome. Would have been a damn shame to miss out on such a great game over such an easily fixed issue. I can't believe the devs left the text speed that slow, though.

How do you change it?
 

colinp

Banned
Where can you find Densinium? It's not on the material map that's been floating around.

Ah, must be high ranking blue chests only, nevermind!
 

Forkball

Member
Damn, got beat by
Corvus' second form. I was doing well, but he got some lucky critical hits and his magic power is pretty strong. I thought maybe I could finish him off with my gladiator and priest, but then he did some crazy ass magic attack that nearly killed me, and restored 500 HP. Stupid fucking Zing spell, I wish it worked better. And now I have no Yggdrasil leaves.

I'll do some of the level 40 class quests before I go at it again.
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
colinp said:
Would you recommend replacing the thief entirely with a ranger then?

The vocation system is pretty fluid, and with some strategic overlaps here and there.
There's little enough benefit to sticking with just ONE class per character, and substantial benefit to mixing things up. Certain class progressions are naturally suitable, and once you've gotten the thief skills you're interesting, classing up from thief to ranger is one of those comfortable progressions.
 

gimz

Member
finally beated the last boss!! and at the end of the credit it says
to be continue, and we see a golden fruit dropping to the sea
does it means anything?
and is there anything new or interesting i should check out from now?

edit:
oh and i beated the last boss with lvl 43 Paladin, lvl 34 armamentalist, lvl 31 paladin and lvl 41 priest

during the adventure i was too lazy to do side quests and treasure map, only complete 1 treasure map and couldnt find the next place
(lv 14, clay tunnel of bliss)
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
There are a shit-ton of DLC quests coming via weekly DLC unlock key downloads.
They're the Extra Quests category available from Stella's menu.
A goodly number of those Extra Quests are marked as "story" quests, so your spoiler COULD be a reference to those.
 

john tv

Member
gimz said:
finally beated the last boss!! and at the end of the credit it says
to be continue, and we see a golden fruit dropping to the sea
does it means anything?
and is there anything new or interesting i should check out from now?

edit:
oh and i beated the last boss with lvl 43 Paladin, lvl 34 armamentalist, lvl 31 paladin and lvl 41 priest

during the adventure i was too lazy to do side quests and treasure map, only complete 1 treasure map and couldnt find the next place
(lv 14, clay tunnel of bliss)
I think it basically means keep playing - there's tons of post-game content. :)
 

zoku88

Member
Forkball said:
Damn, got beat by
Corvus' second form. I was doing well, but he got some lucky critical hits and his magic power is pretty strong. I thought maybe I could finish him off with my gladiator and priest, but then he did some crazy ass magic attack that nearly killed me, and restored 500 HP. Stupid fucking Zing spell, I wish it worked better. And now I have no Yggdrasil leaves.

I'll do some of the level 40 class quests before I go at it again.
It's actually the same pattern every time. Just make all of your party members block. Then use the next turn to heal.
 

Koomaster

Member
Forkball said:
Damn, got beat by
Corvus' second form. I was doing well, but he got some lucky critical hits and his magic power is pretty strong. I thought maybe I could finish him off with my gladiator and priest, but then he did some crazy ass magic attack that nearly killed me, and restored 500 HP. Stupid fucking Zing spell, I wish it worked better. And now I have no Yggdrasil leaves.

I'll do some of the level 40 class quests before I go at it again.
Whoa, I must have gotten super lucky then as he never used that healing attack when I battled him. I don't think I was overleveled, but he went down pretty easy for me.
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Segata Sanshiro said:
After booting up my JP one to tag myself, it really is amazing how slow the English text scrolls compared to the Japanese. I wonder why they did that?

Certainly couldn't have been an engine limitation.
Otherwise, I can't imagine that the cheat code for instant text would have been nearly as effective.
 

gimz

Member
im starting to wonder, whats the point of using armamentalist?
it has low damage, and the spell always dont work :/
 

Forkball

Member
So the level 40 mage quest is impossible.
Kill ten of these fuckers with a shitty wand that does 2 damage? The fuck, Square-Enix?
 

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
Forkball said:
So the level 40 mage quest is impossible.
Kill ten of these fuckers with a shitty wand that does 2 damage? The fuck, Square-Enix?

That's the easiest level forty quest.

Oomph the attacker, tension to maximum or fifty, sap the shit outta the target. Bam, done.
 

Forkball

Member
Regulus Tera said:
That's the easiest level forty quest.

Oomph the attacker, tension to maximum or fifty, sap the shit outta the target. Bam, done.
Alright, I figured it out. My priest who has a much higher attack can also hold the wand, and his kills count. Still, ten is a bit too much.
 
Ok, I've been playing this for a little while, I'm maybe 5 hours in and I'm amazed how polished this game is. Just for comparison's sake, I purchased a used copy of Final Fantasy III yesterday and popped it into my DS to make sure it worked alright. And while I'm sure it's a great game in it's own right, when I popped DQ9 back into my DS XL, I was floored how much smoother the animation was and just the overall look of the game seem so much more refined. I'm having a great time with DQ, I've been grinding at a leisurely pace and so far it seems to be paying off. Love it.
 

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
So I decided to stop messing around and start saving the world. Firstly, I went on to upgrade my equipment for the final battle so I could be prepared.

For starters, my team looks uglier now. I miss my old equipment. Secondly, I had amassed more than 100k Gold from my treasure map hunting and questing. Now I'm left with less than 5K.

Fucking capitalism, how does it work?

EDIT: Before I go to save the world, a Celestrian in the Observatory (the one guarding the treasure chests) mentions something about a secret room in its depths holding more treasure. Where's that?
 

Koomaster

Member
"You don't hold back with those metal slimes, do you? Their hearts must sink like lumps of lead when they see you coming!" ~ Stella

Busted! :lol

Metal Slimes Defeated: 177
Liquid Metal Slimes Defeated: 51

Just call me the Sliminator. 8)

I'm at 95 Hours on the game clock and I have a question. For the
Luminary
job quest; I have read that the monster I have to defeat is in grottos. But is there any way to tell which type of grotto? Are they in high levels, or a certain type of environment or what? I've been running through grottos all day and have yet to see one. :/

Regulus Tera said:
EDIT: Before I go to save the world, a Celestrian in the Observatory (the one guarding the treasure chests) mentions something about a secret room in its depths holding more treasure. Where's that?
It's behind some stairs. The door is hidden from the camera just like the door in Dourbridge.
 
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