Oh, so you guys were the ones who fixed the bridge? ...I can buy that, rockslides wouldn't have done that.
It'll be a bit of a quick visit through here.
Hendrik: Loath as I am to admit it, the truth is that I harbour an intense dislike of insects of all kinds. I would be grateful if we could head west of here and make haste for the Costa Valor.
There was a "down here" you could see in the Act 1 version of the Manglegrove, but it is now an accessible area. Which is good, because Flint's bridge has been busted again.
Four shiny spots down here, and one treasure.
This mini medal.
Cute little carnivorous plants that just kept growing and growing until eventually they were huge, hideous, man-eating monsters.
Chewlips are the base form of the gnawchid family as it appears in DQ2, although this family hasn't reappeared until now. These guys can launch crits and Sweet Breath.
This bit, here, is where you get back up. It might be a little hard to pick out at a distance.
...Flint must be feeling really annoyed with this one.
This is a good time to pick up this Campsite again. This one's a good one for a single sidequest later.
Right here, beside Tricky Devil's chest, is our "repaired bridge"- a log plonked down over the path.
...It got us over to the Costa Valor, at least. Can't complain too much.
Hendrik: This place reminds me of my youth. I spent some time in a town in this region... But that is of no consequence now- the King has instructed us to travel to Mount Pang Lai, and seek those whose fate is deeply intertwined with that of the Luminary. We need to head north and find the checkpoint of which His Majesty spoke. Come, let us go there without delay.
I believe he is talking about the Champs Sauvage, which is totally an area we can get to from the Costa Valor now. He brings up some flamboyantly dressed men behaving in flamboyant manners. If that sounds like Sylvando, that's because it is. It is in our best interests to climb Mount Pang Lai first, though.
There's no real reason to come here until much later (in comparison to the things we can get from this area), but we're allowed to, and it's nice to get the Zoom Point and a few goodies lying around.
Hendrik: How long has it been since I last came to Puerto Valor? It has certainly been many a moon since I honed my sword skills under the formidable Don Rodrigo, the lord of this domain. We trained every day, from morning until night, the vast ocean below us. Watching those endless roiling waves taught me much about the harshness of nature. But this is not the town I once knew. Its people are cowed by the Lord of Shadows. I will not rest until that fear is banished from the land.
A lot of people in Puerto Valor have something to say about the madmen in the Champs Sauvage. They have... no idea what is going on with them. Which is usual where Sylvando is concerned, but not to this extent.
Especially when there's nothing to be worried about at all.
At least the Ashlynn mage believes in the integrity of these strangely dressed men.
When you get to Act 2, a few additional equips are added to the Puerto Valor Casino stock. Sainted Soma is reasonable, and while the Metal Slime Sword and Liquid Metal Helm are good items, I would not maintain they're really worth the Casino grind. Mothmask Principles, though... I would recommend that. It's something you can leave long enough that the Casino grind gets a lot easier, but screw that, I want to see if I can get it now.
All in, let's play reckless!
This looked interesting to me when I got it, because I don't recognise it. It's the 10-25% resistance to Sleep necklace, and if I wanted one, I could've acquired it from back when I first visited L'Academie.
...GIMME GIMME GIMME
There we are, that's a powerful recipe book to claim now.
Save first, then let's have a look...
The Dread Dagger is a powerful knife with the "paralyse on hit" chance. Coagulant is really cheap to just buy, so Sylvando is almost definitely getting this when gets back in the party.
But this is the real prize. The Papillon Mask can be equipped by all party members, gives MaMight and MaMend to be a good pick for basically anyone, and has a 100% Paralysis resist effect. Some bosses really hate it when you pick up four of these. We don't have the Mythril Ore to make it yet- a sign we're expected to get this later.
Anyway, time for the climb up Mount Pang Lai.
Hendrik: Those who dwell on Mount Pang Lai are said to have some deep connection with the Luminary. Let us climb to the mountain's peak and see if there is one who can teach us how to defeat the Lord of Shadows.
This is a pretty linear climb with a lot of map transitions- and there's almost no reason to come back to it after you've made it once. No sidequest directs you out here.
These rakish rogues of the grublin world like to grin their way into the hearts of grublin girls, then toy with them mercilessly.
Gleeful grublins have every reason to be such, with all that gold they're wearing. They're new to 11, and have all the same tricks grublins usually have- countering your attacks, getting angry, and calling for help.
Attack and agility for these guys. 2 stages, too.
They're supposed to share their steeds' sweet honey with everyone else in the monster world, but they love it so much that they can't quite bear to.
Honeyhead horknights are the mounted forms of Gleeful Grublin, able to counterattack, confuse, and use Multiheal. They're also new to 11, same as their grubbly cousins.
They also seem to drop magic shields. We have the number we want.
15 Antidotal Herbs, it doesn't really matter this party doesn't have Squelch.
Mini medal in the grass over here.
In the caves, we can find some mountable dragon riders to fly up some cliffs. This is where we're supposed to meet them, especially since riding their dragon is the main reason they get added to maps.
This is the Accolade for riding lots of mounts. I think it judges based on number of unique mounts- so palette swap mounts don't count- but it's counting compared to the number of mounts available in the vanilla game. Definitive added a few new ones, so this is definitely getting it early.
We need the dragon rider to go up those tall cliffs.
You'd never know it from their gormless grins, but they're constantly griping and grumbling, resulting in them often being told to like it or lump it.
Lump shamen were found in DQs 3, 8 and 10, and they know the spells Frizzle, Moreheal, Fuddle and Lullab-eye. They can also flash a grin to waste their turn. The problem with them is that they're still pretty frail.
Ah, here's that Mythril Ore. There's a lot more of it later, but this can give us a Mask or two now.
This recipe book gives some pretty solid recipes, including my next greatsword. It helps I was keeping swords for now.
These masters of the frozen north have complete control over cold and ice. They're extremely intelligent, and make awkward opponents as a result.
Boreal serpents come from DQ3, and they have both Crackle and an icy breath to chill your day. They can also crash down on your head, too.
Honeyhead horknights can also be ridden up in this part of the mountains.
Mostly just for this Enchanted Stone, honestly.
There's also a staff of antimagic up here. This is about where the game expects you to have one, which is weird, because we could've got one perfectly normally back up against Arachtagon.
...I thought the deal with hermits was that they didn't do this sort of stuff.
(Also, how they didn't know who the hermit was right now is weird in hindsight.)
Sensible reason to block this road.
I guess we'll be stopping here, then.
Oh, and as a side note, the upcoming cutscene is hilarious with the Drasilian Armour on.
Welcome to the last big Town in Erdrea. Well, perhaps "big" is a stretch...
I don't think it's that big of a mystery, what a temple in a hard-to-reach location has to do with a mythological being who dabbles in supernatural origins.
This is a true observation- it's often tricky for me to recall that Arboria and the First Forest, being south-east of Sniflheim, stray particularly close to Pang Lai and the Champs Sauvage, since there is no direct passage between the two locations by land or sea.
The blockade left by Heliodor has, for obvious reasons, angered the people that live here, and they jump right into an offensive presence.
They surround us and begin performing an esoteric dance. I feel like Hendrik is incorrect about the purpose of the dance, but they've clearly done that, at least.
Fortunately, they are stopped before we have to stop them with steel.
...Most people would use "we cannot be sure of their intentions" as an expression of not jumping immediately to hostility.
This is why I brought the Drasilian armour. Hendrik, the man clad in a goofy apron, is more military looking than Erdward, the man in full plate.
...You can tell that? Well, I'm afraid I've got to disappoint you, sir, I'm not the Luminary anymore. You see, Mordegon stole that from me when-
...OK, yes, I was the Luminary...
We'll find out later that they haven't just been waiting for the Luminary to turn up because he felt like it, but had a specific reason to believe the Luminary ought to have come this way sooner rather than later.
Which is why they're here and not elsewhere in the world, perhaps.
He's not kidding about that, by the way.
The game never actually explains why a kid is put in charge around here. Considering certain plot elements, I suspect that the High Lama might actually be older than he appears, although that's just opening a different can of worms.
Hendrik: That young monk divined your true identity with a single glance, Erdward. His Majesty was not wrong- the people here must surely possess some powerful connection to the Luminary. We should do as he suggests and join him in the High Hall at the top of the temple.
Consider this a lesson to assess before you attack.
Apparently, the High Lama's judge of character is inherent to himself, rather than being a result of his experiences.
The purchases available here in Angri-La when it comes to weapons and armour. The Battle Dress is new to the Definitive Edition and a costume armour for Jade. There is no other way to acquire it other than purchasing it from here, which kinda makes it hard to get all of Jade's costumes on No Shopping. The PS4 version is a lot better about making sure you always have the chance to get the costumes.
I like this kid.
There's a Heliodorian up here who got saved from harm despite everything Jasper ordered him to do. Luckily, there seems to be an effort among Angri-La to engage with Heliodor despite the stonewalling Mordegon thrust on them earlier.
The Heliodorians were trying to do the right thing. Their boss was just telling them being evil was the right thing, and they swallowed the story. Foolish, but not hostile.
Besides, I'm the one looting.
The Prince of Dundrasil? Yeah, Angri-La and Dundrasil go way back, and that's going to come up.
Important advice. If you think you're going to lose, you're going to lose. Your brain is very good at forming patterns, and equally good at arranging those patterns into reality.
There's also a bunny girl here, and a part of me feels like this is the same model as the one Pang transformed into for Rab. She's almost certainly not related- Pang probably isn't aware she's here- but it's a bit of an interesting observation.
She's actually got some level of interest in what the Angri-Lan monks are up to. Probably not enough to join in, but it's on the table.
It’s widely agreed that Angri-La’s unique style of cooking grew out of the need to provide delicious nutrition for the monks to perform their gruelling training while still adhering to a strict vegetarian diet.
Perhaps the temple’s most famous dish is the legendary Bam Bam Noodles, which are served only at special festivals. Claims that this is the most delicious food in all the world are certainly not unfounded.
The meal is said to symbolise pride in one’s achievements, and anyone capable of making the arduous mountain climb in order to taste them first-hand has every reason to be pleased with themselves!
Bam Bam Noodles are not an item the player can acquire for themselves. More's the pity.
Start your day with a lazy morning relaxing by the water, and enjoy a traditional breakfast of pancakes with coconut sauce and strong Valorian coffee.
Then make your way to the beach, where you can sun yourself while enjoying a good book and snacking on delicious tropical fruit. The sweet, juicy flavours of fresh Valorian produce simply can’t be beaten!
Once the day starts to cool, make your way to the casino and try your luck at the tables until it’s time for dinner at the hotel’s world-class restaurant. The chef’s special is out of this world!
Finally, sit at the bar on the beachside terrace, sipping a cocktail and losing yourself in the stunning saffron sunset- or the bartender’s arresting azure eyes…
This is just one of the many ways to while away a day in delectable Puerto Valor. If it sounds like your idea of fun, then don’t delay- start planning your trip today!
...OK, which monk does the High Lama have to worry about?
...Good question. Maybe?
Sorcerer? I presume this isn't Serenica.
Mini Medal over here.
And now begins the forging. The Dragonsbane and Wyrmfang are both swords Effective against Dragons, while the Dragon Shield and Mail are both armour pieces that block fire and ice damage (20% on the armour, 10% on the shield). Both can only be equipped by Erdward and Hendrik alone. Many armours that were "Erdward-locked" before now can be equipped to Hendrik.
Got a decent enough Wyrmfang, I guess. I don't need it for that long, +2 is plenty.
More Mythril Ore? I guess we did just find it...
Oh yeah, I finally remembered to switch back to the casual outfit. Oops.
Well, I guess we're probably not leaving without at least attempting to do that too.
Anyway, it's time to have some long talks with the High Lama.
That answer tells us very little.
Do you enjoy giving cryptic answers?
...On second thought, I suspect he does.
And this is why the High Lama was expecting to see the Luminary sooner than this.
Had Erdward been raised a Drasilian, he'd have spent some of his childhood here. Which... OK, I'm going to be perfectly frank, I disagree with this practice. Angri La is by no means the worst place to train, but just knocking out six years of one's childhood to this? We know very little of how this turns out for the princes themselves- Rab is the only character we know who underwent the training (for some reason the game is mum about whether Eleanor did). Even then, we do know at least some of his more... eccentric traits are because of his time here.
Hendrik kinda underscores who Pang is supposed to be by just calling him "Erdward's tutor". Grand Master Pang, by dint of her title, is someone Very Important- quite possibly the reason we're here, even.
...Well, that puts paid to any ideas of that.
Note that the High Lama does not describe Pang as dead.
...I thought we had much to discuss here in the High Hall? What's this about walking?
Hendrik: If Dundrasil had not been destroyed, you would surely have been sent here to study under Grand Master Pang's tutelage. But that was not to be. Still, what is done is done- for now, we must do as the High Lama instructs, and follow him to the Field of Discipline.
Heliodor: "Turn over the Darkspawn or we attack."
Pang: "Do your worst."
Heliodor: Turns around.
Pang: "That's what I thought."
The Field of Discipline has an important role to play, but we'll have to wait until after the Town Story to see what that is.
His love for cryptic conversations is matched only by his fondness for exposition.
This is relatively unimportant. Erdwin did a lot of stuff we eventually do.
This part, however, is important.
Morcant is the fourth party member to form Erdwin's four-man band, alongside Serenica and Drustan. A team of a Hero, a Sage, a Warlock and a Warrior... a classic DQ setup. Ironically, despite having party members that explicitly harken back to Erdwin's selections, it's difficult to build and harder to recommend recreating this party for DQ11. Although I do tickle the idea from time to time.
Erdwin and Morcant's rivalry is quietly the most important part of this exposition. Morcant was a wizard who always wanted to know more than he did, always strived to be even stronger than he had been before.
...OK, now the narrative is kinda cheating. Presumably, Morcant did several things worth remembering- sealing Krystalinda being one of them- but to describe the defeat of the Dark One as having hinged on Morcant's abilities is to grossly misrepresent the nature of the effort to do so.
...Anyone else kinda feel like this is tempting fate?
(Also, I notice the Drasilian emblem engraved above the message. Which came first- the message or the emblem?)
Hendrik is not familiar with the name "Morcant". While Serenica and Drustan are known, established figures in Erdwin's legend, Morcant faded into obscurity.
...On one hand, not coming out and hinting at what happened is pretty subtle. On the other hand...
Again? I think the game is trying to hide the nature of the above exposition by just shoving a bunch of other exposition topics right next to it.
Hendrik: The original Luminary and Morcant, his wizard companion, trained here together. Doubtless they learnt much. This place has an extraordinary history. Should time allow, I would very much like to accompany the High Lama on a tour of the Field of Discipline.
...This looks like the sort of place where fighting is going to happen. Fortunately, that comes later.
...Blood? Probably a bad sign.
...Please do not ascribe that to karma. Just... just don't.
As cool as it is, I'm going to pass.
Ah, yes, the "...acheivements". My favourite kind.
And here we get introduced to Pang's favoured weapon. No wonder Rab was terrified when Pang whipped out a second.
I'd think the threat of corporal punishment alone would be enough, wouldn't you?
Hendrik doesn't sound all that impressed.
The High Lama assures us grandpa can handle himself. I feel rather assured.
I love how he admits it won't be a grand one. I'm reminded of Ranger's Apprentice:
"What will we be having?"
"The same hard rations we have every night. But tonight, the table setting will be exquisite."
It turns out this is even truer than it sounds: there is assistance that explicitly only Pang can provide.
Pause for a nice rest, and...
...I can't disagree, but it seems a shame to come all this way and walk away with nothing.
Hendrik: We remain no closer to finding a means of bearding the Lord of Shadows in his den, Erdward... The High Lama awaits us outside the High Hall. Come, let us go and speak with him.
The master teaches that man is the world, and the world is man.
To devote oneself to good deeds is to serve the world.
To bring goodness into the world is to protect it.
The master teaches that through suffering, we learn of ease.
That through sadness, we learn of joy.
To love mankind and thereby the world- this is our duty.
Man is the world, goodness serves the world, learn good things from bad, and thereby love the world. These are the wisdoms of Angri-La, realm beyond the clouds. These are the precepts by which we live.
Well, that's a fine philosophy to live by. Although I think Erdward embodies it a little more than the Angri-Lans. Especially the ones that came to greet us.
The grand masters of Angri-La wield a mighty weapon whose name echoes through the ages. I speak not of the Wavecutter Scimitar, nor of the Staff of Torn Clouds- no, I speak of the Naughty Stick.
The origins of this legendary tool of instruction can be traced back to the very founding of Angri-La. It is said that the Stick itself chose the very first grand master.
Some believe that it was carved from a branch of Yggdrasil, and that even a dragon could not break it, though it tried with all its might.
Of course, it is best known for its use in punishing young monks for lapses of focus. The pain it inflicts is rumoured to be so severe that acolytes fear that their very souls have been spanked from their bodies.
The Wavecutter Scimitar and the Staff of Torn Clouds are not items the player can acquire, although the former sounds close enough to the name of the DQ7 Hero's ultimate sword that I suspect there's a reference there. Perhaps in JP.
I'll admit, I've not had butter tea anywhere else.
...This sounds like trouble.
...Although I'm unclear as to the nature of the emergency.
Now, see, this confuses me greatly. This implies the hermit in question stopped to say hello to the Angri-Lans. And then proceeded not to introduce himself or announce his intentions.
We can gather this much: the hermit was here to make himself known to Pang.
...So yeah, this is Rab. This is where we get to the downside of the Side Stories telling us what our party members have been up to while they've been gone- the suspense the vanilla game tries to pull in hiding them is completely wasted. Rab is probably the worst victim.
Whatever the Rab's been up to, it's riskier than it was before, and he is now isolated from assistance.
And the monks themselves are now in desperate need of reassurance in their worth as people. On the other hand, I don't see them getting it.
Nonsense, I'm the Luminary, this in my job description somewhere.
Apparently, it's in Hendrik's, too. Hendrik, I think you and I are going to get along just fine.
The High Lama volunteers to aid us. He's not even a Guest fighter, so I'm not sure what aid he's providing, but we'll be glad he came once we get there.
High Lama: I am very worried about the hermit. He has set out for the summit all alone. If we are to catch up with him, we must hurry. There is a cave to the east of here. We must pass through it to reach the summit of the mountain.
Hendrik: It would appear that some who train here go to extraordinary lengths to make their circumstances as harsh as possible. Perhaps that is what the hermit had in mind when he set out for the summit of the mountain...
I don't think it bothers him, no.
I talked to this monk earlier, and showed his dialogue, too, but now he is prepared to offer a Quest for us to complete.
The teaching was:
Whether one emerges from battle in triumph or defeat depends not on one's skill with a sword or one's magical might, but upon one's will to win. No matter how powerful one's opponent, one must clear one's mind of all doubt, and devode oneself entirely to overcoming the challenge they present.
And I do not fear doing so again to save my grandpa.
Blaze of Glory is an Erdward/Hendrik Pep Power with no prerequisites. Without a fifth party member, getting the pep will be the tricky part.
I can see what you're going for here. Interesting, interesting.
Kids, it's always the kids.
I think this is referring to Rab.
How about "the Luminary isn't the Darkspawn"? Hendrik here can vouch for it.
...Didn't sound like it to me.
Huh. I wonder what this does.
Hendrik gets Resilience and... Agility? Wasn't expcting that. Not sure what it does for him, but the Resilience is appreciated.
Got that relatively painlessly. The worst part is when Erdward Peps Up as soon as Hendrik Peps Down.
Fortunately, using Kabuff to keep my HP up as I tried to get Pep to trigger means we don't have Defence penalties now. Blaze of Glory gives you -2 Defence, not setting your Defence to -2.
All right, time for the final bit of Mount Pang Lai to climb... not that there's much here.
This is where we can encounter tantamounts and black dragons as regular encounters. The latter are still pretty scary for such, though, so it pays to give them a berth where desirable.
There's also one of these at the even of the river. It's only worth +4 MP unforged.
And so we have reached the summit of Mount Pang Lai. That wasn't so bad.
High Lama: We have not seen the hermit on our journey yet. This can only mean that he is at the top of the mountain. Surely we shall find him soon.
Hendrik: These conditions are harsh indeed. The air is thin, and it is bitterly cold. No ordinary person could survive here for any length of time. What would this hermit be doing here?
And up ahead, there's our hermit.
Erdward's the only one about to get into some fighting, and I kit him out to prepare. Bit of a weird build, but you're going to want a pretty defensive Erdward.
There's also a campsite up here. I'd like to say this is valuable, but sadly, I don't think it is.
This is a nice equip for Rab. Well, if we had Rab.
Now then, time for a bit of a hubbub as we look at the emancipated hermit we came to find.
Thick, bushy moustache... red, bulbous nose... and a distinctive red fez... I think I know him too.
Oh yeah, can't forget a copy of that.
...Hendrik, is there something you have to tell us?
What I'm more concerned about is why Rab is carrying around a mint magazine to the top of a treacherous mountain. I think the idea is he found this in the Royal Library and hasn't had the chance to put it down somewhere safe. Because, quite frankly, where is "safe"?
Back to Hendrik, while he keeps his dignity, the man has his own... tendencies. While Rab has some weakness to entrancement, Hendrik has a very strong weakness indeed.
Hendrik looks closer at the hermit, and notices something else identifying on his person.
Comment on the lost fat and everything else if you will, I'm mostly curious where Rab's legs came from. Compared to what he looks like normally, those legs this hermit has are much too long.
The High Lama goes in to check up on him.
...How do you know that? The High Lama said he was the one who was punished the most- although this is still true regardless.
We wrote the hermit off as dead before checking for a pulse?
Well, that's just grand.
...I'd say I trust you, but really, I don't. For grandpa, though?
We're literally "Just Visiting" the afterlife here.
...Might as well. It's either this or hope Serena pops up somewhere nearby.
Hendrik: There is no time for hesitation. Your grandfather will surely perish if you do nothing. You must allow the High Lama to perform the rite so that you can bring Lord Robert back to the world of the living.
We can have a look at Rab, and also get a clearer shot of his iconic backpack in the corner.
I think this was supposed to be your time to re-equip, but I came prepared.
The High Lama performs the same animation the three Angri-Lans did when they assaulted us outside Angri La itself. I wonder if this is what they were trying to do.
Hendrik, as we start fading out, starts losing his faith that this is going somewhere.
Next time: Training montage.
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