Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies - For Liquid Metal we would Slime!

I'm pretty sure he just means the Xenlon Robe. That's the only thing you can make with the Dragon Robe.

I'm about ready to surrender to the DQVC. I earned an incredible amount (by my lowly standards) of gold this week, but they've retaliated with these 40k+ items every day. I'm not even close to having enough gold to do one of those alchemy loops. YOU WIN, DQVC. BRING ON ALCHAID 4.
 
I found a far easier way to make money.
Most people by now have taught all their party members Half-Inch the Thief skill of stealing stuff from enemies. Use that against the Fright Nights on the island northeast of Swinedimples Academy after you have the Express. Half Inch until you get the Dark Shield.

You make 8,000 gold for every one you sell. Get a bunch and your set. I just do that for money as it's easier than the Alchemy route. I think i've gotten about 30 already.

And his other item is a Skull Helm with 3 Saint's Ashes from the green maniguni's you can have a Sun Crown.

Good Luck
 
That's actually a really good method, thanks. I've been doing it for the last 15-20 minutes and already have 6 dark shields and a skull helmet. That's much faster than my old method of killing goldmen. I also get a decent amount of experience for low-level jobs I'm building up.

Once I have enough to do one of the alchemy loops, I'll see how it compares.
 
Finished the game last week in abou 70 hours.

Started the post game stuff, but it seems like the post game mostly involves grotto grinding for rare drops. I'll probably skip it as it doesn't seem like much fun.
 
[quote name='io']^^ The thing is, once you do all that, the timing trick isn't that hardcore ;). All you need to do is quick save and reload and start a timer and open the chests at the right times. You can keep it running the whole time you are in a grotto. I guess the only "hardcore" thing about it is having to compare the Japanese text from the table that shows what each level chest has (which you can translate) to the table generated for your particular grotto (which can't be translated - at least as an entire web page).
[/QUOTE]

So I looked into it some more, and I might try it. I didn't realize that the map tool I linked to was actually just the first step of the chest timing process. :) I was just using the map tool to check my grottoes to see which ones had S and A-ranked chests to see if I even wanted to bother exploring the grotto at all, as a time-saver.

Anyway, here's a link to an English language timer chart: http://www.yabd.org/apps/dq9/chesttimer.php. Not quite the same as the Japanese one I don't think, but probably easier to use overall? I don't exactly understand how to use it.
 
I find the Dark Shield method easier and helps you level up your guys to.
I'm switching my Priest and Mage to Sage's and this way helps that. I find the alchemy boring and your have to travel to a bunch of places.

With the Dark Shield method you do it all in one place.
edit: Just posted my method to the GameFAQs game boards
 
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I just started this game and I have a few questions regarding this game. I'm a Dragon Quest/Warrior newbie. This is one of few series I avoided since majority of games are the same. I'm slowly trying to adjust to game play and learn the Dragon Quest name staples, so I can prepare myself for other Dragon Quest type games. So far, everything seem very simple compare to higher learning curve games like Cross Edge or Knights in the Nightmare.


1.My current party composed of a Mage, Healer and Marital Artist. I wonder what is the best skill set to distribute for these class?

Judging by some of skill set I might make my mage as spellcraft for a nuke type character(high magic stats combine with good AOE spells). I don't know what is the best skill set for a healer. Does the healer class have a good offense spell like holy towards the end game to move towards a mage or it's better to have him as a hybrid healer/attacker with hurt and heal strategy? And what is best weapon for martial artist or is it better to distribute toward his base stats?


2. Are there missable items/quests in this game?

3. Is there an option to view information what certain skills do? I don't know majority of these Dragon Quest type names.

4. Is there a skill reset in this game found in some Western RPG? I don't want distribute some skills points then I realize my character is fuck by end game.
 
[quote name='fatbeer']
1.My current party composed of a Mage, Healer and Marital Artist. I wonder what is the best skill set to distribute for these class?

Judging by some of skill set I might make my mage as spellcraft for a nuke type character(high magic stats combine with good AOE spells). I don't know what is the best skill set for a healer. Does the healer class have a good offense spell like holy towards the end game to move towards a mage or it's better to have him as a hybrid healer/attacker with hurt and heal strategy? And what is best weapon for martial artist or is it better to distribute toward his base stats?

2. Are there missable items/quests in this game?

3. Is there an option to view information what certain skills do? I don't know majority of these Dragon Quest type names.

4. Is there a skill reset in this game found in some Western RPG? I don't want distribute some skills points then I realize my character is fuck by end game.[/QUOTE]

1. Dragon quest heavily favors physical damage over magic damage for the most part. You'll definitely want a healer (use the priest vocation). Mage could be fun but you'll have an easier time with a warrior or thief probably (or even another martial artist) instead of a mage.

2. No missable stuff that I can think of, thankfully.

3. Nothing in game, but you can view FAQs to see what skills actually do so you don't "waste" too many skill points. This site rules for DQ9 info: http://www.woodus.com/den/games/dq9ds/skills.php. Only problem is it's easy to look at too much info, which kind of ruins the fun (for me anyway). Try not to use the site too much until post-game for maximum pleasure.

In general, the vocation-specific trees are best since they grant permanent abilities and stat bonuses regardless of whether you switch vocation or weapons later. Then you can also focus on one weapon skill tree per character (swords is always a good choice in DQ games for at least one character).

4. No skill point reset. However, you can get tons of skill points by switching vocations and leveling in a new vocation and then switching back to spend the points. You get the ability to switch relatively early on.
 
[quote name='fatbeer']This is one of few series I avoided since majority of games are the same.[/QUOTE]

I have to respectfully disagree there. Dragon Quest games are the same in the same sense that the earlier Final Fantasy games are the same - similar battle system, similar enemies - yet the games are a different experience despite some mechanical similarities.

I didn't really realize until you wrote that out how utterly different each of the DQ games feels (at least after 2). Each game is puts forth a unique experience and twists on gameplay I hadn't really appreciated it until just now...

DQ games are worth playing if you enjoy RPGs and don't hate the battle system.
 
I think IX is way different from 4 and 5.

And i beg to disagree about the Mage.
My Mage, Mystic, is top notch.
She's maxed in Mage skills and Sage skills and her wand.
With the move Kafrizzle combined with Channel Anger she can do close to 1000 damage.
She and my Martial Artist are my boss killers.

My minstrel is to boost my MA and my Priest/Sage is the healer.
 
Went to try stealing dark shields with 2 of my party members at low levels so I could get them some extra skill points. Got wiped out and lost 35000G. I don't think I'll be using this method anymore.
 
[quote name='pete5883']Went to try stealing dark shields with 2 of my party members at low levels so I could get them some extra skill points. Got wiped out and lost 35000G. I don't think I'll be using this method anymore.[/QUOTE]

Could put your money in the bank :)
 
Yeah, I never carry around more than 1k or 2k unless I'm in the middle of a grotto run. And I bank after every grotto run. Why would you carry 70k around?
 
In Stornway Inn.
As soon as you walk in look to your right.
Behind the counter she waits.
She only operates in multplies of x1000
 
[quote name='pete5883']Went to try stealing dark shields with 2 of my party members at low levels so I could get them some extra skill points. Got wiped out and lost 35000G. I don't think I'll be using this method anymore.[/QUOTE]

Sori. The best for this to have a Mage with Kerfrizzle to take care of Uncommon Cold. I've been doing this for awhile and only seen them like 3 times. It's best to try this with only one low level person. 2 is asking for it.

Also a strong Priest/Sage helps.
 
Yeah, I usually bank everything but I got so tired of having to take it out every day for the DQVC when you have to page through 6 screens of unnecessary text. I also forgot that the enemies on that island are stronger than your average overworld enemies. I did get a dark shield out of it though, so I guess I really only lost 28k.
 
That really sucks, but at least you'll be able to make it back in no time by stealing dark shields. ;)

I've been using rangers (and a sage for healing) since that's what I'm leveling at the moment, but I'll probably switch to thieves so I can squeeze an extra shield out of the occasional coup de grace. It's so gratifying getting back to Stornway and having the shopkeeper say he'll pay me XX0,000 for my haul. :)
 
Seems that there are a good deal of recipes that you don't get, including some items you need to make for quests.

I felt like in DQ8 recipes were pretty easy to figure out, while in this game I have no idea how they come up with what items create what. Has anyone here actually spent the time to figure them out, or just used a guide? Seems that the recipes are random more than anything.
 
I tried stealing dark shields from Night Knights for around 30 minutes and I got one skull helm and zero dark shields. I guess my guys just suck at stealing. :whistle2:(
 
[quote name='Backlash']I tried stealing dark shields from Night Knights for around 30 minutes and I got one skull helm and zero dark shields. I guess my guys just suck at stealing. :whistle2:([/QUOTE]

Every creature has a item. Don't stop Half-Inching until you get it.
It's best to teach all your party Half-Inch to help you out get it faster.
Sometimes it can take a bit to get one. But keep at it.
I do this while I'm watching TV and time passes quick and you get a bunch.

So cool that you guys use this idea.
We'll be rich in no time.

For recipes I just check GameFAQs. You get more hi level recipes with extra quest that you download.
That may be the only way.
 
Oh, all 4 of my party members have Half-Inch. And I know the monster has an item, I just got sick of seeing that my robbery attempt was thwarted (or whatever the message is) for 30 minutes.

I decided to level up one of my guys to level 40 as a thief (he got up to 34 alerady before I switched him to Paladin) and do that quest to get the Thief's Theory to see if that would help. I like doing as many quests as I can anyway (other than the ones that require 100 points in weapons that I'll never use).
 
So I sold enough dark shields (51!) to afford the gold mail alchemy loop. While it may be fast, it sure is mind-numbingly tedious. If only you could alchemize 99 items at once. :cry:

I'm taking a break from getting money to level up a crack team of rangers to boost my steal rate. If I could steal just a little more successfully than I do now, I'd definitely prefer the dark shield method over the alchemy loop.
 
You guys are STILL playing this game?! As much as I liked it and the DQ series, I got sick of it when it became a glorified loot hunt.

Says alot about the state of the DS when the most bumped topic is on an almost 4 month old game.
 
[quote name='Backlash']I tried stealing dark shields from Night Knights for around 30 minutes and I got one skull helm and zero dark shields. I guess my guys just suck at stealing. :whistle2:([/QUOTE]
The steal rate is really not good. 1/64 I think.

I checked every day and was never offered Dragonlord Claws :bomb:
 
[quote name='BattleChicken']I have to respectfully disagree there. Dragon Quest games are the same in the same sense that the earlier Final Fantasy games are the same - similar battle system, similar enemies - yet the games are a different experience despite some mechanical similarities.

I didn't really realize until you wrote that out how utterly different each of the DQ games feels (at least after 2). Each game is puts forth a unique experience and twists on gameplay I hadn't really appreciated it until just now...

DQ games are worth playing if you enjoy RPGs and don't hate the battle system.[/QUOTE] The only Dragon Quest games I played are Dragon Warrior Monsters for the Gameboy Color, Dragon Warrior 7 and Dragon Quest Joker. I got all of them near release date. I'm not sure how these games rank compared to other Dragon Quest games but I do remember that these games got pretty good scores from critics, so I gave it a shot.


The ones I played so far are pretty boring. I quit after playing around 10 hours for each game. Nothing interesting seem to happen at first 10 hours and everything else seem like generic JRPG. I think the only Dragon Quest game I beat and enjoyed was Rocket Slime(I'm not sure does that count). After playing those game, I stop bother with Dragon Quest series. When I heard there was a lot positive reviews on this game I decided to add this game on my Goozex want list. So far, I am really enjoying this game. I wish they add save points in dungeons or make some these fetch quest less annoying.

[quote name='Backlash']1. Dragon quest heavily favors physical damage over magic damage for the most part. You'll definitely want a healer (use the priest vocation). Mage could be fun but you'll have an easier time with a warrior or thief probably (or even another martial artist) instead of a mage.

2. No missable stuff that I can think of, thankfully.

3. Nothing in game, but you can view FAQs to see what skills actually do so you don't "waste" too many skill points. This site rules for DQ9 info: http://www.woodus.com/den/games/dq9ds/skills.php. Only problem is it's easy to look at too much info, which kind of ruins the fun (for me anyway). Try not to use the site too much until post-game for maximum pleasure.

In general, the vocation-specific trees are best since they grant permanent abilities and stat bonuses regardless of whether you switch vocation or weapons later. Then you can also focus on one weapon skill tree per character (swords is always a good choice in DQ games for at least one character).

4. No skill point reset. However, you can get tons of skill points by switching vocations and leveling in a new vocation and then switching back to spend the points. You get the ability to switch relatively early on.[/QUOTE]

Thank you for answering all my questions. I'm still trying grasp all weird Dragon Quest pun names. Do this game really favor physical over magic? I'm not a huge fan of the fighter type class for any game. Most of them involve brute force or constant jamming on the attack button. I always start with mage when given the opportunity.


Also, is the sword mastery really the powerful? I was browsing the gamefaqs board and they keep mentioning falcon blade/slash. I have no idea wtf they are talking about since most of it was in cryptic Dragon Quest abbreviations or acronyms. Is it really necessary to have that many sword user to beat the game? I would like to have a good mix of class rather having a clone army. Is a claw mastery any good? I'm considering making my martial artist a claw user.
 
[quote name='fatbeer']


Also, is the sword mastery really the powerful? I was browsing the gamefaqs board and they keep mentioning falcon blade/slash. I have no idea wtf they are talking about since most of it was in cryptic Dragon Quest abbreviations or acronyms. Is it really necessary to have that many sword user to beat the game? I would like to have a good mix of class rather having a clone army. Is a claw mastery any good? I'm considering making my martial artist a claw user.[/QUOTE]

falcon slash is a sword technique that you can use (for 4 mp?) to allow you to attack twice.

Falcon blade is a sword that has that ability built in.

If you use falcon slash while equipped with a falcon blade, (or its upgraded version, the uber falcon blade) you attack 4 times.

just about all of the weapon trees are useful, but some are better than others depending on your playstyle

just be aware that you can get an infinite number of skill points, (when you get a job to level 99, you will have aquired 200 skill points in that job, and then you can revocate to start over at level 1)
 
You will be able to beat the game with pretty much any combination of vocations. Post-game content can be much harder and require certain techniques to beat the really hard optional bosses. The only class that I really recommend you use is a Priest. Otherwise, feel free to use any other vocations and weapons that you enjoy.

I started with Minstel, Priest, Martial Artist, and Thief. Later that became Armamentalist, Gladiator, Sage, and Paladin, which is what I still use even for post-game. You'll be able to switch vocations whenever you want, so don't worry about it too much.

However, Dragon Quest games contain creatures called metal slimes that are hard to kill (generalyl you only do one damage at a time or miss entirely) but gice a TON of experience. Sword skill tree comes with a skill called "metal slash" made specifially to help kill these creatures. Later, Axe and Spear tress have skills that either miss or do critical damage, which kills the metal slimes in one hit. So those can be really helpful for leveling up.
 
@fatbeer- if your like me and like using magical people in games/rpg's then you the Mage class. When you level her up she gets some strong moves.
I like Boom and Kaboom as they hit ALL enemies not just groups.

Mines at lv 70, maxed in Mage, Sage, Wands and she is strong as hell.
Also be warned that the Mage class is very weak, it's a good idea to max them out with shields to help lower some of those hits.

Also your Priest can become dual type to. Priest then switch to Sage.
He becomes a hi class healer that can to Magic attacks too.

Same for Mage. She can become a dual type too. She can become a Strong magic attack that can be a back up healer.

That's what I'm doing with mine.
But I also have a strong Martial Artist that is killer.
 
[quote name='Master Troll']Martial Artists are broken imo.[/QUOTE]

Why do you think he's broken.

Mine's named Lee, Rock Lee from Naruto

He's maxed in Staff, Shield, Paladin set
He's awesome with Double Up and Psyche Up.
 
[quote name='adriley313']Why do you think he's broken.

He's maxed in Staff, Shield, Paladin set
He's awesome with Double Up and Psyche Up.[/QUOTE]

Usually when people say "broken" they mean over-powered, though I definitely don't see that with the martial artist.... I'd say the Paladin is broken if anything. 100 points in virtue and a decently leveled Paladin using Forbearance and you're totally safe against all monsters except those that use lots of powerful group attacks (like Octagoon's move where he sends rubble raining down or Fowleye's damn haywire spells). And when the Coup de Grace Knight Watch kicks in, your whole party can't be hit for 3-4 turns.

My gladiator also uses psyche up and double up. One of the main differences between gladiator and MA is that gladiator will have a higher strength stat at the same levels as the MA (gladiator is the highest, MA is the 3rd highest) Check out this chart: http://www.gamefaqs.com/ds/937281-dragon-quest-ix-sentinels-of-the-starry-skies/faqs/57795

So, assuming this is your main physical damage dealer, you're better off with a gladiator. Of course, either will work fine; this game isn't particularly hard for the most part, except the legacy bosses.

Also, gladiators use swords natively, so you can use a falcon blade and even just fill the sword tree halfway or so to use Falcon Slash instead of having to put 100 points into swords to use that move (best move in the game IMO for bosses and enemies like Darkonium Slimes) with a MA.

On another note, I recently started using Kaboom with my sage (formerly a priest) and it's working pretty well. She has 100 points in Sage, Priest, Wands, and Paladin skills. Not sure where to go next - maybe 52 points into shields just to get the extra 6% blocking?
 
I love my Martial Artist. I think he's awesome. He's using Staff and I'm maxed his shield for extra defense.

I'm turning both my Mage and Priest into Sage's.
One a Mending Sage and the other a Might Sage.

My Mage knows Kaboom and I love it. Kerfrizzle is my boss killer.
If your priest needs points go with Shields to get Immense Defense. All my guys have it for added protection against bosses. Also I give my Priest/Sage the Shield Scroll as I don't ever want him knocked out my a Crit Hit when I need my healer.
 
FYI, if you have the book/scroll from the Paladin level 40 quest, give that to your mage/sage. It lets you use Solar Flair, which does a lot more damage than Kaboom. It only hits one group of enemies but that's usually fine.
 
Ah, the Halloween Faire is this week, and ends just two days shy.

I love my Martial Artist and Mage, I just can't think of a very compelling reason to replace them. Multifist continues to rule, even if the damage tops out at 3996. Unless there's an ever surer method.
 
[quote name='detectiveconan16']Ah, the Halloween Faire is this week, and ends just two days shy.

I love my Martial Artist and Mage, I just can't think of a very compelling reason to replace them. Multifist continues to rule, even if the damage tops out at 3996. Unless there's an ever surer method.[/QUOTE]

In the words of Kyle's mon
'What What what'

Please tell me how you do this.
Im slowly replacing my Mage and Priest as Sage's but I always switch back on boss fights.
 
I'm not hardcore into fighting leveled-up legacy bosses or anything so I tend to use sages over mages and priests. The only thing I really miss from them is Oomph, so I just have my fighters Double Up instead.

Now that I'm obsessed with Half-Inch, what are some good enemies to steal from? I've also got a small stockpile of orichalcum. Are there any must-have alchemy recipes that use it? I had my eyes on those orichalcum claws until I bought the Dragonlord claws from my store this week.
 
@metaly- where do you get orichalcum from. Ive been searching for Mini Medals to trade for them.
Lot's of stuff use orichalcum. the slime weapons and the rusty ones and ruinous. You'll need lots of Glass Frit too.

Some good things to steal are as follows:

Genie sanguini- Saint's Ashes- he's also drops rings
Drakularge- Gold Bar
Any beast that pretends to be a chest will always have Mini-Medals. And if your lucky they might drop them too.

Maybe try for the seeds which I'm gonna try
 
Multifists really tops at at 999 per hit considering it's 100 or 50 tension, when you power up the character. It helps a lot using stat bonuses from other classes and exploiting the foes weakness. Sir Sanguinus has nothing on me.
 
God, I hate this stupid revival spell. I don't understand why they have to make it so random. One of boss battle I missed a revive 5 times. If that revival spell missed in the first attempt, I say screw it and leave that guy dead. They should of made these low tier revival connect all the time with at least 10-25% of it's current hp. I hope there is a better upgrade of that spell in the late game.
 
[quote name='adriley313']@metaly- where do you get orichalcum from. Ive been searching for Mini Medals to trade for them.
Lot's of stuff use orichalcum. the slime weapons and the rusty ones and ruinous. You'll need lots of Glass Frit too.[/QUOTE]

I've just been slowly accumulating them from grottoes/metal king slimes. I haven't tried farming them specifically yet.

Pumpkin head in my store today, woo!

[quote name='fatbeer']God, I hate this stupid revival spell. I don't understand why they have to make it so random. One of boss battle I missed a revive 5 times. If that revival spell missed in the first attempt, I say screw it and leave that guy dead. They should of made these low tier revival connect all the time with at least 10-25% of it's current hp. I hope there is a better upgrade of that spell in the late game.[/QUOTE]

Sages eventually get Kazing, which
60% of the time it
works every time.
 
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