<>.....................................................................<> . . . Dragon Quest 9 Levelling Guide . . ------------------------------ . . By Arashmin . . Revision 1.0 . <>.....................................................................<> Contents: 1. Welcome! 2. Version History 3. Guide to the Guide ~3a) When to Start Power Leveling ~3b) Abbreviations, And What They Mean To Us ~3c) How XP Is Divided Amongst Characters 4. Suggested Setup ~4a) Skills ~4b) Gear 5. Where And How To Hunt ~5a) General Practices ~5b) Metal Slimes (MSli's) ~5c) Metal Medley's (MMs) ~5d) Liquid Metal Slimes (LMS's) ~5e) Metal King Slimes (MKS's) ~5f) Platinum King Jewel (PKJs) 6. Conclusion, Copyright, and Thanks ------------ 1. Welcome! ------------ To be reading this means the title of this FAQ caught your eye, and power leveling, in order to take on some of the bigger challenges, is something that you are looking to do. There isn't going to be any actual main game play help listed here, except where it directly pertains to how to increase the rate that you accumulate experience. I wrote this guide for the love of the game and the genre. This is the first Dragon Quest that also gives you great incentive to push to the limits of leveling up, though I also find it to be the easiest title of the series for getting to level 99. Then again, to get the best grottoes, you need to get to level 99 a whopping 10 times in one class. Yikes. And technically, to be to the fullest of revocations, that's level 99... 120 times!! CRAZY. The focus of the guide is to direct you on how to track down Metal Slimes of varying grade, and successfully slay them - the buggers have the tendency to get skittish and flee from combat. In essence, we want to one-hit them in the first turn, and if not, then give them a reason to stay multiple rounds. This guide will cover various parts of the game, from early to post, and give details on how I power-leveled. Hope you enjoy, and send your feedback to [email protected] ------------------ 2. Version History ------------------ Version 1.0: Started the Guide with the sum of my knowledge thus far. --------------------- 3. Guide to the Guide --------------------- ~3a) When to start Power Leveling~ This is a very hard question, because it seems like there's a couple of things that could be considered power leveling. For example, getting to level 99 in one class as fast as possible would be power leveling. But so would, say, getting to level 20 in 10 classes as fast as possible. This guide basically works starting with the latter, then it grows in to the former. Here's a breakdown of what I did to be as time-savvy as possible. Also, I know of nobody in my hometown that plays DQ9, therefore you might be able to skip some steps if you get a decent map handed to you with some MKS's/PKJ's through Tag Mode. Once I got... Got to... Via... Paladin Class lvl 20 in 10 classes Sword-wielders vs. MSli's and MMs Sage Class lvl 30 in 11 classes 4 Sword-wielders, 1 being FB, vs. LMS 4x FB sword lvl 36 in 11 classes 4 FB-wielders vs. LMS 2x DS spear (MC) lvl 80 in main class 2 DS-wielders vs. LMS MKS grotto lvl 45 in all classes 4 DS-wielders vs, MKS lvl 45 all classes (MC) lvl 99 in main class 2 DS-wielders vs. MKS MC back to lvl 1 (MC) lvl 99 in main class 2 DS-wielders vs, MKS, switching second person with other party members every so often Repeat-Repeat-Repeat-Repeat-Repeat-Repeat-Repeat-Repeat-Repeat-Repeat-Repeat 5x Revocate+lvl 99 10x Revocate 4 DS-wielders hunting PKJ +lvl 86 Grotto For the sections labelled (MC), I was only focused on the main character levelling, and not so much whoever the second wielder was. Since there's no real point in revocating your partner characters (you get the item, but not the accolade, and you can only get the items once). The last step is opened to the most debate, as I put in there the point where you would have a total combined base quality of 210, therefore giving you a 25% chance per new grotto map to find a PKJ. They're first possible to find through a map, according to the calculator at http://plumeria.vmth.ucdavis.edu/~saintly/gaming/dq9_grotto.html, at a quality of 166, but they have less than 1% chance of appearing. 25% chance seemed the best bet. You could always try to find them later on, as well - more revocates and higher lvl grottos gives you a better chance at finding them. MKS doesn't give you as much of a choice, unfortunately... I had to find mine through a 146 quality dungeon, which only gave me a 15% chance. LMS-leveling was just way too slow at that point. To note, this is revision 1, and the PKJ section is still not complete. Because I haven't found PKJs yet. ~3b) Abbreviations, And What They Mean To Us~ Stats ~~~~~ LVL = Level = Guess. AGI = Agility = Your speed, and thus what determines turn order. DFT = Deftness = Increases the chances that you'll get a preemptive strike against the enemy, increases natural crit chance. CHM = Charm = Increases the rate enemies will be dazzled by your characters by adding to Style. Comes naturally from the character. STL = Style = As above. Comes from equipment. MP = Magic Points = Having more allows you to use more skills, which depending on the strat you take may help in keeping you down in the grotto longer before having to surface and rest, if using methods like TT or HM. Weapons ~~~~~~~ FB = Falcon Blade = 2x attack sword, with very low power. But against these metallic beasts, we don't need power. UFB = Uber Falcon Blade = Same as above, but stronger. Requires you to sacrifice a Meteorite Bracelet, though... your call. DS = Demon Spear = Weapon with a chance to Whack the target, though not all too often. Skills ~~~~~~ TT = Thunder Thrust = Spear Miss-or-Crit skill, 8MP HM = Hatchet Man = Axe Miss-or-Crit skill, 8MP MSla = Metal Slash = Sword skill, against Metal Slime family, 1-2 damage if hits, 0MP, characters can chain damage, 2x with FB/UFB. Monsters ~~~~~~~~ See Contents, section 5, and also, section 5 itself. ~3c) How XP Is Divided Amongst Characters I puzzled over this for a little while on my own, but it just proves to be basic math. Each LVL gives a "part" of the XP gained. These are added together and then re-divided with the experience. To explain, say your main character is lvl 10, with 3 lvl 1's backing him, and you kill a MSli. The XP of 4096 would be calculated as such: -Add together all levels (total of 13) -XP is divided by total levels (for a value of 315.07 (roughly)) -Each character then gets X of those parts of experience (The lower level characters each get 1 part of the experience each, as they only have one level. Therefore they get 1/13th of the total, which makes for 315 XP gained, as it would round down. Them getting 3/13 parts altogether means that the main character would get the remaining 10/13 parts, or 3151 XP). -Lastly, for each character wearing Elevating Shoes, times their XP gain value by 1.05, and again round down (if the whole party was wearing elevating shoes, it would mean the lvl 1s would get 330 XP and the main character would get 3308 XP). ------------------- 4. Suggested Setup ------------------- ~4a) Skills~ These are the suggested skills for hunting Slimes, in order of importance. To get the skill points, you've got to level up, which of course is later in the guide. Also, this section won't highlight all of the skills and traits gained via the spending of the skill points, but rather the highlights of what we need that skillset to do for us. And even though they're in order of "importance", I wouldn't suggest holding off on putting points in one of the traits further down the list until that skillset becomes available. IMPORTANT NOTICE: I didn't note this at first when I was playing, but you can port skill points to use from class to class. Therefore, even though we don't have any real use for learning the Priest, Mage, Paladin, and Gladiator skill sets, nor the Armamentalist skillsets in full, we can level these classes to mule the points over to more pertinent skills. 1~Sword Skill lvl 100 - Allows swords to be equipped regardless of class, MSla + FB means 2-4 damage if both hits strike, and if all four characters launch with it and strike before the enemy can and do not miss, it becomes 2-6 damage for the 3rd fighter, and 4-8 damage for the 4th. With the FB, MSli's die in 1-2 sets of 2 hits, MMs die in 2-3, LMS in 2-4, MKS in 4-4+. And each strike may crit, which will kill the slime. 2~Martial Artist trait "Focus" lvl 100 - total AGI bonus of 100. 3~Thief trait "Acquisitiveness" lvl 82 - total AGI and DFT bonus of 60. If you go for 100, Treasure Eye Land helps you to find the stairs down in Grottos. You really only need one person to get to lvl 100 for that, though. 4~Ranger trait "Ruggedness" lvl 100 - AGI bonus of 20, and total DFT bonus of 120. 5~Illuminary trait "Je Ne Sais Quoi" lvl 100 - AGI bonus of 20, total CHM bonus of 60, and though not directly level related, Disco Stew is handy for taking out larger Grotto baddies with high DEF. 6~Spear/Axe Skill lvl 100 - Allows said weapon to be equipped regardless of class. Gives Thunder Thrust for Spears and Hatchet Man for Axes, both are 8MP, and it will either miss or crit. It's almost necessary for hunting MKSs, and pretty much needed for PKJ. Demon Spear is also good for when you might be low on MP and just want that extra little chance to get the kill. And though I haven't tested them yet, there are the Metal Slime Spear, the Liquid Metal Spear, and the Metal King Spear, which apparently can eat through the defenses of the slimes, though it wasn't shared in what regard from what I had read. No luck finding one yet, but I'm working no it. 7~Sage trait "Enlightenment" lvl 100 - +60MP and MP cost -25%, helps with the cost for Thunder Thrust and Hatchet Man. 8~Ministrel trait "Litheness" lvl 100 - CHM bonus of 30 and DFT bonus of 50 9~Armamentalist trait "Fource" lvl 42 - CHM bonus of 10 Final Stats: CHM +100, DFT +230, AGI+200, MP+60, and 824 skill points used (842 if full thief is learned). The skill points work out that, if you get to lvl 30 in all classes, you will be able to learn all of the above skillsets. You would have a total of 864 points, so you would have enough to get the final Thief skill for the entire class if you really wanted. If you got to lvl 29 in all classes, you would only have 804 skill points. These will help you to weasel your way around their pesky defenses and help to keep them from running away, but as MKS's and PKJ's have some tough friends in their grotto homes, I'd also suggest getting Shield lvl 100 to give the capacity to block to your whole party, Paladin lvl 100 for HP and RES, Gladiator lvl 100 for STR and HP, and then the rest for however you want to develop that character. If you feel you need more MP, Priest, Mage, and Armamentalist all have some MP bonuses. Seems like a lot of points, huh? But it really turns out to be quite manageable if you decide to get all of your job levels up to 45 via the earlier training methods in this guide. Even getting to level 20 in 10 of the classes is enough to net you 400 skill points, or 4 complete skillsets. ~4b) Equipment Equipment is a bit more simple, since it's more or less the skills that will do the talking. But here's some suggestions, nonetheless. Weapon: FB, UFB, Demon Spear, Metal Slime Spear/Liquid Metal Spear/Metal King Spear(?) -The first two double attacks, the Demon Spear can do a auto-kill, the Metal series spears can pierce the defenses of Metal Slimes (need to find and test this still). Shield: Highest STL (need to find) Body: Highest STL (need to find) Pants: Highest STL (need to find) Gloves: Highest DFT/STL (need to find) Boots: Elevating Shoes would be best, as they give a 5% XP bonus to the wearer. From there, I'd go with the Metal Slime series of boots, and then Agiliboots for Rangers, Bandit Boots for Thieves, and then lastly highest STL boots you have (need to find) Accessory: Meteorite Bracers, above all else. If you don't have them, then I'd say Agility Rings or highest STL accessory (need to find) ------------------------ 5. Where And How To Hunt ------------------------ ~5a) General Practices When hunting down slimes, you'll have a few barriers to work around to even get in to the battle. First, there are the other enemies. They can be broken down in to a couple of different types: Dash-On-Sight enemies: These ones will run directly towards you upon you entering their line of sight. They will not pursue, they will just keep running forward until they come to a stop. Easiest way to avoid them is to get somewhat close, like a character's length away, and run slightly away from your intended path, then when they start chasing you, start going the direction you intend to again. They'll most likely hit a wall. Common ones include the moai family and the charmour-type living armor creatures. Dash-On-Sense enemies: Like above, however they may be able to just sense you moving. Same practice as before, but you won't have to get in front of them. They seem to be able to sense through walls, and will try to dash through the wall... which is a huge advantage :) Common ones include sculpture vultures and slugly betsy's. Chase enemies: The bane of most slime hunts, these enemies will chase you upon sensing you (I don't know if there's any that will only chase on line of sight). They're faster than you, but your main advantage over them is the ability to turn on the spot, whereas they have to turn in an arc. Running a circle around past them and getting them to start turning the other way to chase you is the easiest way to get past them. Common ones include, well... most of the enemies in the game are of this type. Cower enemies: I notice with rockbomb-type enemies and some other types that the enemy may react to you, turn towards you, and... sit in place, shuddering. I don't know if this is a bug in their movement or if it's actual fear. If you come across this, just walk around them... Only common one I've met is rockbombs. Running enemies: Enemies that run away from you. Not much strategy in avoiding them, but catching them is generally the focus. All of the metal slime family, and most enemies that would chase you at low levels but is now meeting your much-higher-level self, fall in to this category. Warping enemies: They will not move, but suddenly you'll see the fade and appear again in another spawn spot. No real tactic hear. Examples are magmalice and live lava. Dumb enemies: They just ignore you until you run up and fight them, and move from spawn to spawn. Examples include gigantes and drakulard. Also, keep in mind that when you enter a combat, the enemies that are walking around will be reset, and you'll have to wait for them to respawn. On field, they generally spawn within 2-3 seconds, whereas in dungeons, it takes about 5 seconds. ~5b) Metal Slimes (MSli's) Where to find: Quarantomb, Pluvi Isle, Slime Plateau Suggested: Quarantomb. I've never seen a single one on Pluvi. What level you should get to through these: 10-13 How to kill: MSla them with 1-3 characters, or with FB, 1-2 characters. How to hunt: They appear rarely, and they run away quickly. In the Quarantomb, it's all long, narrow chambers, meaning that you're more than likely to come upon them before it notices you and runs. Just keep moving, and avoid anything you don't want to fight. XP: 4096 *: Don't do this for all classes. I'd say just do it enough to get the points for all of the characters to get 100 points in swords for all characters, then move on to Metal Medley's ~5c) Metal Medleys (MMs) Where to find: Lonely Coast, The Bad Cave, Slime Plateau (Angel Falls), low-lvl grottos Suggested: The Bad Cave. Again, I've never seen one at the Lonely Coast. What level you should get to through these: 20-25 How to kill: MSla them with 3-4 characters, or with FBs, 2-3 characters. How to hunt: They appear rarely, and they run away quickly. In the far reaches of the Bad Cave, you have to deal with 3 other enemies that are all Chase types. Keep moving, but keep in mind that some of the sub-chambers in the back area might be a little constrictive when they get filled with an enemy body. Grottos may be the better bet, as MMs have a good chance to appear in low level grottos, and can appear with a variety of fellow creatures that might be of a better movement type. XP: 12288 *: This is where I started doing it for all classes. With 10 classes unlocked, that is 400 skill points, which allows you to get developed enough to hunt the next mob. ~5d) Liquid Metal Slimes (LMS's) Where to find: The Bowhole, Slime Plateau (Angel Falls), mid-lvl grottos Suggested: The Bowhole or Slime Plateau; I prefer the former. What level you should get to through these: 36-40 How to kill: TT or HM them if you are hunting with two people, or if you're hunting with a full party of 4 each with FBs, 3-4 MSla's will do it. How to hunt: They appear rarely, and they run away quickly. On Slime Plateau, you don't have much room to work with, so getting a spawn point to reset can be rather hard. I'd say use the cave at the north side for this purpose. In the Bowhole, the best strategy I've come across was to go in to the room with the overhead bridge and where the stairs down to the next room are surrounded by water. Right near those stairs down, there's a set of steps to the right that lead up to the overhead bridge. Stand on the top of the steps and position yourself so that your character is basically hugging the wall, and tilt the camera to the right, so now that your character is right in between the torch and the wall. The enemies will come out from near the stairs down, and then move up the steps towards you. If you're positioned right, even if the enemy is a big fat drakulard, it won't enter you in combat. The enemies will spawn, for a maximum of about 5 enemies. Then you'll notice the enemies won't move any more. To remedy that, rush past whatever enemies are nearby and go to the stairs down, and then right back up, and repeat. Or instead of going down the stairs, you could always kill the closest thing to you and not have to move much. XP: 40200 *: I got all my characters up to lvl 36 in all classes this way, but maaan... it was pretty tiresome. It threw on about an extra 5 hours of playtime. I did this right before the last boss... well, right after he pretty much whooped me once, heh. Anyways, this gave me a total of 1056 skill points per character, giving you the full hunting skillset and then some. ~5e) Metal King Slime (MKS's) Where to find: Tower of Nod, mid-to-high lvl grottos. I met one in the Tower of Nod, actually, but it's really unreliable. Suggested: Grottos, especially if you get one where they're on floors 1-4. What level you should get to through these: 45 in all classes, and then 99 and revocating your main class for the main character. How to kill: TT or HM them if you are hunting with two people, or if you're hunting with a full party of 4 each with FBs, 4 MSla's may kill one, but considernig you can meet multiples of them (up to 3 in one combat), it's really better to stick with TT and HM. How to hunt: Grottos vary in the baddies that haunt them, so it's really hard to give any one strategy here. I would suggest if you find a grotto that they're in, clear the grotto first so then you have the full map, and then see how you can use the terrain to your advantage to have the enemies respawn at a steady rate. If you keep moving and keep getting to empty respawn points, you'll see an enemy pop up once ever 5 seconds, roughly, and MKS's seem to pop up about 1/32 of the time. Keep in mind there's also usually 3 other mobs that can spawn, and those ones would generally be a lot more likely. You may want to find a grotto with as few Chase type enemies as well. Right now I'm using a water grotto where they appear at b5, and thus have slugly betsies, charmours, and moai ministrels, which are all pretty easy to deal with as they're all Dash types, and only the slugly betsie can actually sense my character to dash at him. XP: 120400 *: I got all my characters to lvl 45 in all classes with this, except for the main character. I left him in the main class and just kept revocating him until I got to 6 times revocated, so I could finally "easily" move on to the next mob. However, once all the side characters were lvl 45 in all classes, I started getting them up to lvl 99 in their primary classes, and then to lvl 99 in secondary classes, designed for Legacy boss hunting. If you get lvl 45 in all classes, you'll have 1512 skill points, which is enough to learn 2 weapons, shield, and all the class trait skillsets. More than enough to be serious about hunting Legacy bosses. ~5f) Platinum King Jewel (PKJs) Where to find: High level grottos Suggested: Well, not much of a choice here. What level you should get to through these: As high as you want to get to. How to kill: TT or HM them only. You could go MS, but these guys won't even fall in 4 hits from it. How to hunt: I imagine it would be the same as the MKS's, but as I still have not come to the point of fighting them yet, and therefore what mobs surround them and which ones are the easiest to deal with, I'll have to add this later. XP: 240000 *: You need 2600 skill points to master all weapons and skills. Even lvl 99 in all 12 classes will only give you 2400 skill points (200 each at the end), therefore for all characters to master eveything, they would need to get to lvl 99 in all classes, revocate once, and then get to lvl 99 again in that class. ------------------------------------------------------------ 6. Conclusion, Copyright, Thanks, and Future Release Details ------------------------------------------------------------ Well, that's it for now. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to send them to [email protected]. And from that I'll build the FAQ section. Copyright disclaimer: Property of Arashmin 2010. Feel free to email me if you want to use this, just remember this is protected by mine AND GFaqs copyright. Thanks to SquareEnix, Level5, and all the other teams involved with the making of the game, for such a great game, and to me, for being such a great gamer. :D And also for containing some of the nice details like the XP values Also thanks to fallacies and his helpful Experience Guide for the information on the skillpoints per level. And to you, for being so great as to read the guide... even the thanks section! Next release, I will add HP values for the slimes (HP seems to flux a bit for them, I've killed a MSli with 2 damage before, and sometimes with 3 damage - same goes with MM and LMS. Also will add an FAQ as the questions come in. o---o END o---o
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