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

Saw the most absurd deal yet in my store last night--a winter sky hat for 70k. I thought that seemed steep but then realized it's actually a savings of 80k and countless hours of legacy bosses. :drool:
 
Today was the first day I connected online. I balked at the high prices there.

Afterwards, I realized there were a billion people in my hotel, all folks from previous DQ games. Were they always there, or did they appear when I connected online? It was nice to suddenly get a bunch of outfits to choose from.
 
They appeared when you connected. They come as "visitors" to the inn every few weeks via WiFi and are permanent. You can get lots of free equipment from them depending on your class, etc.
 
So I switched from a minstrel to a warrior so I could use the whipping boy skills to be become a paladin. Is this worth it? It also looks like paladins dont use swords. I've already leveled up my sword skill just short of the miracle slash, did I waste my points/time?
 
Paladins are excellent. Go ahead and keep your main dude as a warrior and change one of your other people into a paladin once you can. That way your main guy can keep using swords and you can take advantage of the paladin skills with someone else. FYI, Gladiators and Armamentalists also use swords and are great choices for your main, so putting points into swords is a good idea.
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']You do know they're publishing 6 right?

Though you're probably right anyway.[/QUOTE]

Yep. They haven't been pushing it as much as they did IX.
 
Do you need to hit all/any of the alchemiracles to actually fill the Alchenomicon? If you look at where the ?'s are, it looks like you wouldnt need to.
 
[quote name='Backlash']Paladins are excellent. Go ahead and keep your main dude as a warrior and change one of your other people into a paladin once you can. That way your main guy can keep using swords and you can take advantage of the paladin skills with someone else. FYI, Gladiators and Armamentalists also use swords and are great choices for your main, so putting points into swords is a good idea.[/QUOTE]

My other characters are priest, mage and martial artist. My martial artist is pretty awesome and I dont want to lose him. Priest and mage seem essential.

I dont like how the warrior gets 3 skill points and the minstrel got 5.
 
You can of course get through the game with any combination; it's pretty easy all the way through. My advice for that group would be to swap the mage for a paladin, though. DQ rewards physical damage way more than magic damage. And priest is a great class, really the only one I'd call essential if I had to call any of them essential (at least until you get a sage, which is way way later).
 
I lost steam on this game after a sleepy incident. Behold my tale of gaming horror:

I was out sick from work for a few days, and did some grinding in a grotto of all Metal King Slimes while I had a Star Trek marathon (haha). (Side note, I obtained the map from a tag at MAGFest, this big gaming and music convention here in Virginia).

Anyway, I went from ~level 30 to 99 over the course of the day, mindlessly killing KMS while I vegged out on the sofa, too sick to do much else. I finally hit level 99 with all of my characters, and off I went to revocate. After I did with everyone, I was excited to go look at the badges I'd acquired. Reaching my thumb down to hit the Select button to go into Battle Records, I accidentally hit... the Power button on my DSi. I've been playing a lot more console games than usual lately, and had grown accustomed to using my LEFT thumb to hit select. The placement of the power button in basically the same spot as Select on a SNES/PS3 controller, combined with my sleepy, sickly state, made me lose probably 4 hours of grinding that I otherwise would never have the patience or motivation to do.

Suffice to say, I was so mad that I haven't played DQ9 in about 3 weeks, after playing it almost every day since it came out, if only for a few minutes or to connect to the WiFi shop. UGH.

On a positive note, I updated today and found a Dangerous Bustier for purchase, so I can FINALLY complete the quest where the old lady asks for one.
 
I beat the game with 4 rangers, but only because two of them had the suit that reflects all targeted spells (so the guy's super fireballs reflected on him doing about 400 damage to him instead of us)
 
Would anyone recommend changing the Celestrian's class to Martial Artist? Minstrel doesn't seem terribly interesting.

[quote name='johnnypark']Anyway, I went from ~level 30 to 99 over the course of the day, mindlessly killing KMS while I vegged out on the sofa, too sick to do much else. I finally hit level 99 with all of my characters, and off I went to revocate. After I did with everyone, I was excited to go look at the badges I'd acquired. Reaching my thumb down to hit the Select button to go into Battle Records, I accidentally hit... the Power button on my DSi. I've been playing a lot more console games than usual lately, and had grown accustomed to using my LEFT thumb to hit select. The placement of the power button in basically the same spot as Select on a SNES/PS3 controller, combined with my sleepy, sickly state, made me lose probably 4 hours of grinding that I otherwise would never have the patience or motivation to do. [/QUOTE]

Oh wow. I feel for you. Those kind of moments can kill a game for me. When you spend so much time accomplishing something and then you lose it all... It can be really discouraging.
 
Got some Estard Clothes in my store today, so no grinding high level Orgodemir for me! I just wish I had picked up the Estard Hood last week or whenver that was.

[quote name='utopianmachine']Would anyone recommend changing the Celestrian's class to Martial Artist? Minstrel doesn't seem terribly interesting.[/QUOTE]

Please change your minstrel to something else as soon as possible! They're just too mediocre. A martial artist with a pair of claws is really good.

[quote name='johnnypark']I lost steam on this game after a sleepy incident. Behold my tale of gaming horror:[/QUOTE]

That really sucks, but at least it was just grinding and not like four hours of trying to meet some absurd quest condition. That would be a real DS-through-the-wall situation.
 
[quote name='metaly']Please change your minstrel to something else as soon as possible! They're just too mediocre. A martial artist with a pair of claws is really good.[/QUOTE]

My other three party members are Priest, Thief, and Warrior. I had a Mage but wasn't impressed. My Thief battles with claws. I like battling with fans for the Minstrel, so perhaps I'll keep that up if I switch to Martial artist.
 
[quote name='utopianmachine']Would anyone recommend changing the Celestrian's class to Martial Artist? Minstrel doesn't seem terribly interesting.



Oh wow. I feel for you. Those kind of moments can kill a game for me. When you spend so much time accomplishing something and then you lose it all... It can be really discouraging.[/QUOTE]

I for some odd reason kept the Minstrel and it wasn't terrible. But they aren't especially good either. Martial Artist is great and eventually everyone should do that skill tree, the Meditate ability is extremely helpful early in the game before you have Multi-Heal. If your Priest can only heal 1 person at a time and your whole party is hurting, Meditate can be a life saver. Since DQ9 doesn't give you any easy way to revive party members until basically post-game (ala the Sage's spell Kazing), so any way to preserve your party and keep that HP up should be used =)

I kept my Hero using swords, though, which the Martial Artist can't use. So if you've been focusing on a weapon skill (which I encourage) then I'd choose a class that uses the same weapon as whatever you've been leveling.

For the long-term, the best weapons are swords (for Metal Slash early on) and then later Axes/Spears for their critical hit abilities (also for hunting metal enemies). Everything else IMO is a waste of skill points, and I believe you'll find this a consistent opinion here.

And, yes... discouraging is the perfect word to describe what happened to my game. Something similarly awful happened when I was in Japan - I had been dungeon crawling on the train off and on all day, and had found a 4 star weapon I was excited about. My DSi was in my coat pocket, and when I took it off, the DS went flying out, clattered on the floor, and the DQ9 cartridge popped out while in sleep mode. Hadn't saved in hours that time, either. I'm surprised I haven't sworn off the game altogether, it's starting to feel cursed.
 
[quote name='johnnypark']Martial Artist is great and eventually everyone should do that skill tree, the Meditate ability is extremely helpful early in the game before you have Multi-Heal. If your Priest can only heal 1 person at a time and your whole party is hurting, Meditate can be a life saver. Since DQ9 doesn't give you any easy way to revive party members until basically post-game (ala the Sage's spell Kazing), so any way to preserve your party and keep that HP up should be used =)

...

And, yes... discouraging is the perfect word to describe what happened to my game. Something similarly awful happened when I was in Japan - I had been dungeon crawling on the train off and on all day, and had found a 4 star weapon I was excited about. My DSi was in my coat pocket, and when I took it off, the DS went flying out, clattered on the floor, and the DQ9 cartridge popped out while in sleep mode. Hadn't saved in hours that time, either. I'm surprised I haven't sworn off the game altogether, it's starting to feel cursed.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the tips about Martial Artist. I think I'll switch to that class for the fun of it. I wanted to change classes to see what was up with it, but I like my Warrior, Thief, and Priest. I'm not too worried about grinding later.

And as for your copy of DQ9, I'm surprised you're not running off to a church to save every 10 minutes after what's happened to you. That's some rough luck.
 
[quote name='utopianmachine']My other three party members are Priest, Thief, and Warrior. I had a Mage but wasn't impressed. My Thief battles with claws. I like battling with fans for the Minstrel, so perhaps I'll keep that up if I switch to Martial artist.[/QUOTE]

Mages aren't so great in this unless you can get some of the MP-restoring equipment, like a goddess ring or happy hat. Then they pretty much always have MP to cast huge spells every turn.

[quote name='johnnypark']For the long-term, the best weapons are swords (for Metal Slash early on) and then later Axes/Spears for their critical hit abilities (also for hunting metal enemies). Everything else IMO is a waste of skill points, and I believe you'll find this a consistent opinion here.[/QUOTE]

This is 100% the truth!
 
After reading some of this thread and catching up on the videos, I so have to get this game. anybody know where I can get this now for a decent price?
 
Still love DQ9

my gang is Ranger, Mage/Sage and Priest/Sage and Martial Artist.

My Martial Artist is beast with staff. Psyche up and hes murderouly strong.

I love my Mage. Mine has goddess ring and her SA are beast.
Boom and Kafrizz are strong as heck.
If you max the mages skill and then when u unlock sage she and the priest become powerhouses
 
[quote name='utopianmachine']My other three party members are Priest, Thief, and Warrior. I had a Mage but wasn't impressed. My Thief battles with claws. I like battling with fans for the Minstrel, so perhaps I'll keep that up if I switch to Martial artist.[/QUOTE]

Mages are OK but physical damage is far more effective than in other DQ games. You NEED a Priest, so having a Mage means 2 magic users, which isn't worth sacrificing a another fighter-type character. At least, until you get access to Paladins and Sages.

[quote name='utopianmachine']Thanks for the tips about Martial Artist. I think I'll switch to that class for the fun of it. I wanted to change classes to see what was up with it, but I like my Warrior, Thief, and Priest. I'm not too worried about grinding later.

And as for your copy of DQ9, I'm surprised you're not running off to a church to save every 10 minutes after what's happened to you. That's some rough luck.[/QUOTE]

The post-game content is enormous. I've logged over 200 hours and, prior to losing all those hours of gameplay, I was still fully into it. Point being, you'll have to do some grinding to hit upper level dungeons and do well against Legacy Bosses, and the only efficient way to do that is Swords/Spears/Axes. Certainly have fun with it and customize your characters to your heart's content, it's just a bummer to realize you've sunk time and skill points into weapons you'll never use again once you need those other abilities.

If it wasn't for taking so long to get down into a Grotto, I'd save more frequently. I feel like they should have made a real "save-anywhere" and not just the Quick Save since it's a portable title.

Also, the DS/DSi should have a latch to secure cartridges, but that's another issue.

[quote name='metaly']Mages aren't so great in this unless you can get some of the MP-restoring equipment, like a goddess ring or happy hat. Then they pretty much always have MP to cast huge spells every turn.
[/QUOTE]

Yep. And you won't get those til much later in the game and by then you'll have better classes. Dedicated magic users would do well to eventually max out Mage skills though for the MP bonuses.

[quote name='hiccupleftovers']After reading some of this thread and catching up on the videos, I so have to get this game. anybody know where I can get this now for a decent price?[/QUOTE]

It's $27 on Amazon. Not a deal exactly but it's completely worth it. I scored it for $20 thanks to a pricematch on release week, but would have gladly paid $35-40. It's the best RPG on the DS, period.
 
It seems like you wouldnt really want to hit an alchemiracle on the first try.

If you do, you now lack 2 spots in the Alcheminicon/Item list - The item you get when you fail and alchemiracle and that item + reset stone to go back to the original. Odds are, you only have one of the super rare item that you are trying to alchemiracle, so if you hit it, you basically have to grind out a second one.
 
[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']It seems like you wouldnt really want to hit an alchemiracle on the first try.

If you do, you now lack 2 spots in the Alcheminicon/Item list - The item you get when you fail and alchemiracle and that item + reset stone to go back to the original. Odds are, you only have one of the super rare item that you are trying to alchemiracle, so if you hit it, you basically have to grind out a second one.[/QUOTE]
Unless you don't really need the miracle item (at this point I can't remember if even the ultimate sword is better than uber falcon blades; haven't reviewed the stats in a long while), in which case it's more efficient to get it first and reset it.
 
Once you get to the point where you can make those items, the uber falcon blades are the best swords. Their stats aren't quite as good, but by that point your strength stat is the main factor in your damage, not the sword's power. So the fact that the sword hits twice far outweighs its less-than-stellar power.

Other alchemiracle items are awesome from what I've read, though (I don't have any - I am not going to bother using the hoimi tables).
 
It seems like the only reason I play this game is for the leveling and the alchemy.

The story is a total snooze. I'm going around the world collecting fruit (which I keep reading as eggs) to feed a tree in order to get my wings back.

There's no evil. Even the people who ate my fruit and got corrupted aren't that bad. They never stay in town and attack people, they're always hidden away by themselves in a far off dungeon.
 
[quote name='eldergamer']There's no evil. Even the people who ate my fruit and got corrupted aren't that bad. They never stay in town and attack people, they're always hidden away by themselves in a far off dungeon.[/QUOTE]

Actually, I've found the Dragon Quest series of late -- the DS remakes, that is -- to be particularly engaging to me. DQ5's story was very touching. Spoiler about DQ5:
I actually shed a few tears at the fact that the hero was turned to stone for a decade or so, during the whole scene where you see that family grow up and change around him while he remains a stone statue.
DQ9 has some really genuine characters, and I'm finding I'm enjoying it more than any DQ game to date.

And on a different note, the sloop hat is great. :D
 
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http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featu...PageIndex=3&CommentPosted=true#commentmessage

An article detailing all the Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior games that have made it here. How many have you played? I must say my Dragon Warrior experience is limited exclusively to handhelds:

Dragon Warrior Monsters
Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Cobi's Journey
Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Tara's Adventure
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
Dragon Quest IV DS
Dragon Quest V DS
Dragon Quest IX DS

Back in my high school Gameboy Color days, I played the crap out of the Dragon Warrior Monsters franchise. I loved the Pokemon-esque game far more than the Pokemon franchise.
 
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I have played Dragon Warrior and DQ8, but only a small bit of each.

Otherwise it's been all DS - DQIV, V, soon-to-be VI, IX, Rocket Slime.

In more relevant news, my bestiary is up to 98%, with only 4 legacy bosses remaining. And of all the legacy bosses, I only need 4 more equipment drops. Add to that a couple rare grotto boss drops, and I'm not sure where the other 10%+ of alchemy and wardrobe are going to come from.
 
[quote name='botticus']In more relevant news, my bestiary is up to 98%, with only 4 legacy bosses remaining. And of all the legacy bosses, I only need 4 more equipment drops. Add to that a couple rare grotto boss drops, and I'm not sure where the other 10%+ of alchemy and wardrobe are going to come from.[/QUOTE]

Oh wow. I'm almost afraid to ask how many hours your cartridge says you've played.
 
[quote name='utopianmachine']Oh wow. I'm almost afraid to ask how many hours your cartridge says you've played.[/QUOTE]
Three hundred... 80 hours? Maybe a few more now.
 
mine has over 100
but i havent played in awhile but still DL the quest on friday
when i do play ill have a bunch of quest to do
 
like utopianmachine i played Dragon warrior as a young tyke cause i love the Pokemon feel of it.
I remember fusing monsters together
the one i remember the most is a lamp monster
 
[quote name='adriley313']like utopianmachine i played Dragon warrior as a young tyke cause i love the Pokemon feel of it.
I remember fusing monsters together
the one i remember the most is a lamp monster
[/QUOTE]

Yay for a fellow Dragon Warrior Monsters fan! I remember how fascinating it was to be able to breed two completely different types of monster and get a totally unexpected monster. Sometimes, games are so much cooler when you don't have a strategy guide or don't know what to expect when something happens. I loved hanging out and seeing what two combinations of monster would get me.
 
I've been using the Half Inch ability with all 4 of my members on a Boa Bishop for more than 20 minutes, and I still have nothing!
I've gotten items of Boa Bishops pretty easily before, but this is just insane.
Anybody dealt with this kind of thing before?
 
Yes, half-inch is maddening.Supposedly it works better with higher deftness, but I dunno. Try wearing gloves that increase deftness instead of defense, I guess.
 
You definitely want rangers if you're trying to steal stuff. Even a mid-level ranger with a utility belt can have like 400+ deftness. Half-Inch is still pretty fickle, though, depending on what you're stealing.
 
[quote name='metaly']You definitely want rangers if you're trying to steal stuff. Even a mid-level ranger with a utility belt can have like 400+ deftness. Half-Inch is still pretty fickle, though, depending on what you're stealing.[/QUOTE]

I was aiming for the Ranger quest this evening. Gotta find a Toxic Dagger. I'm about to start zooming around to see if anyone has one for sale. Or perhaps I can have it available to Alchemise.

Edit: Oh. After zooming a bit and not finding a Toxic Dagger, I googled the quest. Turns out Toxic Dagger is the very first ability you can get for the thief, if you level up the Knife skill. As I always focused on claws, I never got the ability. Grinded for a bit to get Toxic Dagger, then beat the hocus chimeras. Off to become a ranger now, I think. :)

Edit 2: Not sure I'm going to change my Thief after all. I rather like him being able to heal along with my Priest.
 
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Is there any point to doing quests multiple times? Like bringing the girl in Angel Falls more tanglewebs, or letting the guy in Dourbridge burn more of your stuff?
 
[quote name='utopianmachine']
Edit 2: Not sure I'm going to change my Thief after all. I rather like him being able to heal along with my Priest.[/QUOTE]

Rangers heal a lot better than thieves actually, and they can zing too. Plus they have better deftness... so yeah, thieves are pretty not good.
 
[quote name='celegus']Rangers heal a lot better than thieves actually, and they can zing too. Plus they have better deftness... so yeah, thieves are pretty not good.[/QUOTE]

Ah, did a little Googling and see what you mean. Looks like a Ranger it is.
 
I just crossed the 300 hour mark, which I'm going to claim is 2nd or 3rd here.

I'm having a lot of trouble getting lvl 90+ grottos. I've got exactly 2 that are above 90, but they are both boss #12, so I cant get more maps from them. I feel like I'm just being shafted by the random number generator, but surely 3 revocations + back at lvl 99 is enough to do everything.
 
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Pfft. I can't do my first grotto. It's right next to Stornway castle. Problem is, I've been changing vocations of party members, and my highest is only level 20 or so. I made it through the grotto easy, but the boss? Yipes.
 
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