Friday, 15 July 2022

DQXIS Act 2 Erdrea: Quests. Quests EVERYWHERE.

While this update is going to mostly be a lot of sidequesting, we are going to get one plot beat started now. I'm not going to make it out of the Snaerfelt, though.

Also, here's the effects of Baumren's Bell. Much like a horse hailer, your mount appears underneath you. Unlike in DQ8, if you dismount Baumren, he's a physical element of the map you can remount without playing the bell again.

This jaunty tune will play while riding Baumren overriding the overworld theme, as it did in DQ8.

It's said that their sweat stains their coats this distinctive colour, marking them out as ideal mates for other jowlers.

Ew. Prowler jowlers appeared in DQ5, and they're basically just here for kicking you hard in the face. Sometimes they kick harder.

Finally, it's time to get into the Snaerfelt!

Cold-hearted creatures said to be the offspring of snowmen and snowladies. This would definitely explain their innate affinity for all things icy.

Blizzybodies were in DQs 4, 5 and 10, and they're basically ice-type flamethrowers: Blizzard breath and Crackle. They also have Whack and Kasnooze at hand, to be extra annoying for a new area.

They can also drop this as their rare drop. The sovereign seal is equivalent in value to the lucky dragon's wing, giving 25-40% resistance to Ice and Dark alike. It's actually pretty good.

Once these single-minded slayers have set their sights on a target, nothing but a confirmed kill will cause them to cease and desist.

The hood family just gets more and more violent with every recolour. Heavy hood was in DQs 3, 8, 10, and the remake of 7, and despite the reputation, all they really have are normal attacks, their pecs, and the ability to call for backup. They also have the ability to flex their muscles for stats, but I'm not exactly clear on how much.

Erdward picked up Kaclang. Fly-By Knight is a funny Pep Power where Hendrik's Kaclanged body is used as a missile, but it's not like that'll make Kaclang any better.

Snorri's cabin has been reoccupied by a Sniflheimer knight. If he's been out here as long as he says, he probably missed Gold Fever.

In the course of dealing with the killing machines, they encountered a Type G0. I think you can see where this is going.

Well, narratively, this guy lost his brother and is terrified of reprisals from the still extant Type G0.

And, naturally, he wants revenge on that subject.

Justice, yes.

Funny we get a quest about revenge in Sniflheim so they can make this joke.

Translation: This is another quest about killing a Rarefied monster.

You can count on me.

As awesome as it is riding a sabrecat, I do need this guy to explore fully.

Sabrecats adapted to snowy climates. They're highly organised hunters, with the cubs pursuing prey until it's tired enough for the adults to pounce.

Silver sabrecats were in DQ10, and I'm told their actual debut was in the now-defunct Dragon Quest of the Stars mobile game. They can crit and also have a battering slam that, while it does do extra damage, drops their defence by two stages after the fact.

Healslimes whose rich red bodies bear testament to their having mastered Fullheal, the ultimate medicinal magic.

You better believe we just now found cureslime. Having a perfect record since DQ3, these upgrade Healslimes come not just with Fullheal, but Remoreheal and Right as Rain. They also have a spinning strike, for some reason, but as usual, Healslimes are not offensive presences. Unless you're Hooly.

Erik prepares Dragon Slash. It's going to be very relevant for a surprisingly high number of upcoming bosses.

The Royal Library is an Act 1 dungeon. I had Hallelujah charged and decided to go get another Skull Ring or two from some Infanticores.

Coming up is a boss that you really want Papilon Masks and Archangel's Boots for.

As you get to the end of the Snaerfelt- well, where the entrance to Arboria is- Hendrik detects an upcoming boss fight.

Yeah, that guy up there.

He moves faster than you think.

This is indeed the black dragon that was frozen in ice and left poking his head out of the lake. I told you they needed a more secure storage unit!

He's not the most impressive of figures, but he can be surprisingly terrifying.

An ancient servant of the Dark One who ran rampant in the snows of Sniflheim until Erdwin, Luminary of Legend, sealed it away in the ice.

Dragon family
4900 HP
999 MP

The auroral serpent is a monster gifted with both War Cry and Burning Breath, and somehow has a mastery over actually landing both those status ailments at the wrong times. He also comes packing the flames of darkness and Kazam for dark damage, and he can just drop his whole body on the party for physical AoE. He may be as generic as they come, but he's not to be underestimated. There's a reason Erdwin didn't finish this guy off.

But we're not Erdwin.

We're doing just fine, although no one here has Oomph.

Ha ha, Papillon Masks-

Ow. That's a lot of damage.

Welcome to Act 2 Erik! Combining Divide with a powerful attack like super-effective Dragon Slash or Fatal Flash gives you damage values that make Erdward and Jade jealous. Who cares this is a two turn effect? Erdward's not matching this in two turns with ~544 damage on Sword Dance! (Erik just landed 1368 damage, incidentally.)

Yes, I'm sure that's going to turn the tides.

Wow, roughly equal damage output to Jade without Divide.

That's awkward.

Erik'll be fine.

Annoyingly, I don't even have Zing Stick, so it's back to Zing.

Luckily, Jade got back up. No way am I letting her miss the EXP.

I'm sure you will.

...Actually, how do we seal him back up?


Surprisingly, the Serpent does get off his ace in the hole. Burning Breath.

Boring, but effective.

Before he can land the final blow, though, there's one last ace up our sleeves.

It's about time we got the twins back, wouldn't you say?

(Even if you didn't get it from the silhouette and harp, "May heaven's winds propel thee hence!" is a line Serena will randomly say when using Woosh spells.)

Serena fires off a powerful Kaswoosh and finishes off the beast.

And comes right back down for the Tingle.

Erik's happy to see her again.

And Serena's duty-bound to see us again.

Now then... where have the twins been? Unlike everyone else, there wasn't a Side Story for them.

And it turns out that even Serena isn't entirely sure what she's done. I'm not actually entirely sure where she has been, but one thing's for sure, it's definitely not where we were.

Rab asks about the flying contraption he heard about, although Serena's not heard of it. I'm sure I'd rather get my information from Benedictus anyway.

And with that, we get back the dedicated healer! Rab and Sylvando were fine, but nothing can really replace the classics.

...And absolutely no mention whatsoever, from either side, about where Veronica's gone off to.

Hendrik: Veronica and Serena, the famous twins... When I was on your trail, their names would often appear in my scouts' reports. I pictured them as demons in human form, aiding the Darkspawn in spreading chaos and destruction throughout Erdrea... Can you imagine? Truly, there can be no surer proof of the madness Mordegon wrought in Heliodor than the fact that we would believe two innocent young ladies to be monsters.
Rab: I'll tell ye, laddie, when that auroral serpent had us all frozen on the spot, I thought I was on my way back to the void. Thank heavens Serena showed up when she did, eh?
Sylvando: Honey, did you see that spell Serena used to defeat the dragon? So ferocious! Where did she learn how to do that?
While I was busy getting my parade together, she must have been putting in some hard work of her own...
Jade: It was Erdwin who sealed the auroral serpent away in that fjord, all the way back in the Age of Heroes...
Which means the Luminary of Legend wasn't able to defeat him, but somehow, we did... I must admit, though- for a moment there I didn't think we stood a chance.
Erik: Hey, Erdward- is it just me, or has Serena kind of changed since we last saw her?
She always used to just tag along after her sister, but now she seems a lot more driven. I guess being forced to look out for number one has brought out her inner Veronica.
Serena: I'm ever so glad to have found you alive and well, Erdward. I've been searching for you everywhere! I thought that Father Benedictus might be able to help me find you, but the path to Arboria was blocked by that golden boulder. I've been at rather a loss about what to do ever since...
But now the path is clear! Come on, Erdward- Arboria is right at the top of the mountain trail. Perhaps Veronica will be waiting for us at the top!

Erik and Serena at least mention it in Party Chat.

One thing about Kaswoosh: That's actually something she picks up automatically as a state of "being in Act 2". It's the equivalent of Re-Vamp or Pearly Gates for her. Not that we really used Swoosh anyway.

Serena gets an assortment of new treasures, although I'm not that interested in shoring her up for a bit. There won't be any bosses for a good long while even if we weren't sidequesting.

Also, like Erik and Sylvando, she doesn't come with any Skill expansions. Rest assured she does get some later, like Erik- and thank goodness for that, I'm running out of investments on her!

Mechanical murderers that never stop moving. Once they have identified a target, they will stop at nothing to see it slain.

Killing machines are an iconic DQ monster that surprisingly doesn't have a perfect record- 2, 5, 8-10, and the remake of 7. One thing that does stick around is that these enemies are Dangerous, with a capital D. Two attacks a turn each, a laser beam, a multi-purpose robo-slice, Kacrackle Slash, and the ability to just deflect your attacks sometimes on top of it all. There's a reason I gave them a wide berth before fighting the Serpent.

By the way, here's his old hole.

I went smashing Machines for a while, but all I got was this for Sylv. I'll come back for Type G0 in a bit, I just wanted to focus on some other sidequests first. And also filling the beastiary elsewhere in Sniflheim.

Any hit from these tyrants of troll-kind counts as critical, causing them to be feared and obeyed even by their own kind.

The boss troll first appeared as a boss in DQ3, although it was demoted to regular encounter in that game. It appeared subsequently in DQs 6 and 8-10. Unlike its description's claims, it can land normal attacks as well as crits.

Bulky, brutish demons able to flatten their foes into the dirt with their colossal clubs.

Night clubbers are recolours of one of DQ4's bosses, Baalzack- spelled thusly- and appeared in 4 and 10. They can crit, swing their tail around, and launch a scorching fire breath. That club also works for defence, too.

At any rate, the mention of Night Clubbers directs my attention over to the other sidequests I intend to get started on.

Remember Lonalulu? There's no Town Story here this time. This place is just for Side Quests, and the occasional choice item in the shop.

Right at the start, there's a kid standing at the entrance of the village... with an actual mermaid on his hands.

Although the adults remain quite insistent on keeping to that particular status quo.

The mermaid has fallen ill to... something.

Fortunately, this kid has a conscience and volunteers to lend a hand. Insomuch as he has any capacity to do so.

Fortunately, he did get enough of a chat with the mermaid to tell us what to look for.

Oh, this can only end excellently.

An idea on how badly the mermaid's throat is. Other bad throats in the series have resulted in no talking, but this mermaid's well enough to at least squeak out a few words.

The next quest is this guy, just inside the village.

He's noticed the fishing haul is still doing pretty bad, and resolves to make a sacrifice to the gods... forgetting that he still doesn't have anything to sacrifice.

He does have an idea for something to cook up from the monsters that one can find at sea.

By the way, yes, when they say "tentacular", they mean "that enemy we fought as a boss back in Act 1."

...I doubt you could do this sidequest then. I mean, you don't even have it open yet.

You, uh... need to cook the tentacular first. Tempered Tantrum is a one person Pep Power that Erdward can perform if Sylvando is in the party, combining the abilities Flame Slash and Hot Lick. That's important to remember- yeah, we've got those Skills long-since memorised, but we do still need to know them to get Tempered Tantrum to work.

The third Quest is over at the bar, with this old man.

He's reminiscing about his time as a traveller.

And his Quest is far less... helpful, one could say?

Already I am getting highly concerned.

Yes, the innuendo is entirely intentional.

"I have absolutely no idea how to perform this attack, but I'm going to do it anyway and see what happens!" This feels like the setup to an entirely different kind of fate I want no business being a part of.

Apparently, an NPC with this model being an absolute creeper about Jade is a once-an-Act business. Buff-Buff, as seen previously, is the combination of Erdward's Unbridled Blade and Jade's Puff-Puff, requiring both characters to have a Pep charge.

"Maika'i pomaika'i" seems to actually be a Hawaiian expression of good luck. Or, well, something more like "strong fortune". I'm less sure if it's actually what Hawaiians say when they want to express the sentiment.

While we're here, we also had some business with the crazy cannon lady. At night time, she hangs around her house.

I'd tell you to go ahead, but I'm not entirely sure where one spanks a turtle. They don't have much of buttocks the way humans do.

...I'd say "you do know this'll ruin it", but it's going on a pedestal anyway.

Present for Nautica acquired.

Kainui's still hanging around around Saikiki, as it happens.

...You're just now finding out about that? Where were you when that was happening, anyway?

Although, considering the fishing is at a premium right now, maybe this is just errant Act 1 text.

The world's falling apart all around us, but when I'm alone, the only thing I can think about is that mermaid... My tutu must have had the same problem- that's why he spent all that time painting pictures of her- he just wanted to see her again... I know how he felt now. He wasn't cursed, he... He was in love...

This seems more appropriate. Although, looking around at datamined text about Act 2 Lonalulu, I think the monster Kainui was talking about was Alizarin, rather than the original tentacular.

Sensitive monsters with insanely acute hearing who will mercilessly silence anyone making a noise with a barrage of brutal spells.

Regular gryphons have finally made an appearance. They were in DQs 6, 8, and 10 and know the spells Fizzle and Bounce, because they apparently don't like magic. Not sure about their own magic, though.

Our first stop is Insula Incognita.

It's filled with all sorts of big bad brutes, and as it happens, when the old man says he wants you to head here to bash a night clubber, he means here.

So here it shall be.

A party consisting of people other than Erdward and Jade do the actual bashing, though.

Buff-Buff has to be the finishing blow.

I'm not sure I needed to do that to become more of a man, but whatever you say, as long as you give me that quest reward.

When mermaids meet with truly tragic ends, the crushing weight of their bitterness causes them to be reborn as steel sirens.

Steel sirens are new to DQ11, and can mesmerise, trap you in their cages, or launch a freezing blizzard.

Oh yeah, those Vicious Otter Shambles are somehow the worst thing on the ocean. They've got even worse thanks to Mordegon.

And yeah, here's our old friend Tentacular, a regular encounter. You might want to look for him on the eastern outer ocean. I always have trouble finding him.

By the way, he can regenerate his tentacles.

That's the Kanaloamari down. One more to go.

...And this is when I realise Sylv didn't need Pep himself to use Tempered Tantrum. Not sure what I'll be using that on instead, though.

Over here, on Insula Occidentalis, the surly seaman we encountered earlier is the destination for the other Nautican quest. This business of being a Nautican while also being a human is something I'm not quite sure on, but apparently it's a valid question.

The Sealicitor is not this guy, although the two are indeed acquainted.

At least he died painlessly. Still, shame to see him gone.

Although the two were friends, this guy doesn't think too deeply about allowing some random stranger to rifle through his stuff. Legal cases, too, this is probably really bad news.

I'm sure the lawyer still in practice is going to appreciate these, at least.

That's how it looks when you get caught in a cage. You're in a special kind of inaction state, and multi-targeting spells won't work on you. I think when it comes to the Iron Maiden family, you must kill the creature to be freed.

Insula Algarum, incidentally, is where we might look when tasked with locating the dulcet dulse. I can see why the Nauticans might want it on hand.

He's happy to supply us, free of charge. Although at this point, payment isn't exactly of object. I can't help but feel peculiar about the fact most sidequests will waive pricing when the matter is relevant. Better than the alternative, I guess.

New to Insula Algarum are dragon riders, and with that revelation comes a whole host of new treasures and sparkly spots.

Including some in very precarious spots!

One of the annoying grey tockles has been placed on this precarious cliff, too. There's a sparkly spot on this island, and the path leading to him is certainly serendipitous, but if you're flying around, it might be easy to overlook this guy.

He's actually perfectly visible in these screenshots, just next to the dragon's left wing.

The Ruby Path of Doom is one of DQ9's many Grottoes, a complicated and psuedorandomly generated system of caves that allows DQ9 to be more like an MMO once the credits have rolled. Grottoes can be identified by the name- your Grotto has the title "[Mineral] [Biome] of [Mood] Level [1-99]", found in one of 150 different locations across the world. And I think there's more variation than just that! This Ruby Path of Doom is level 89, I believe.

Incidentally, if I was actually engaging with Tickington during Act 2, this Pastword is one of the most profitable. Not only is the ability to claim Benevolessence now open, but upon completing this Pastword, it's possible to fight some lategame enemies as soon as recruiting Sylvando and getting the Salty Stallion. Wait long enough to get Jade and Erik for Hallelujah- or just get insanely lucky- and there are some really valuable rare drops among them- look for the Godsteed's Meteorite Bracer and the Master Moosifer's Frostfire Fingers. Or just, you know, fight Metal King Slimes for EXP.

More treasures. I'm not sure what an "agate" of evolution is, but it's a key ingredient in plenty of lategame recipes, so you want as many as you can get your hands on, and more.

The failed experiments of wizards who imbue icy masses with the spark of life. The resulting creatures are completely uncontrollable, causing them to be abandoned by their creators.

Snowgres are new to DQ11, and have plenty of attacks to deal with. In addition to their waves of water, the stomp, and Forbearance, they can also turn people into snowmen and emit blinding lights.

While I'm stopping in Gondolia to finish this Quest, I went to look for Benigno and Placido. After Alizarin, they have quite the good news to share.

Turns out some of the Nauticans who washed up in Gondolia liked it here so much they're planning on staying.

And these two have found a merman boy to play with. This always warms my heart.

He may or may not be a kid, but he's still as eloquent as any other merman. I wonder how old he really is.

There's even a fisherman here. I wonder if he still obeys the rule about asking permission to nibble on a fish. I'm not sure how well that rule will survive to human society.

I dunno, I kinda find it charming Placido's mother's biggest concern is trying to feed a merman. Considering the whole "mermen don't eat fish without asking" thing, that is a big deal to worry about, but there's also the question of what foods he is physically capable of eating.


Oh, that's going to go over well- apparently this Nautican has made a convincing counter-argument to the nature of the Signor Universo contest. Having not seen one run, I'll take his word for it.

Because I'll be honest, Signor Universo didn't feel like the do-or-die competition that this argument would deconstruct. I presume something more helpful was before the "So you see".

As much as he loves to lecture, he doesn't actually lecture in our direction.

Anyway, we came back here to show this to this guy.

Thankfully, he won't take it back, so we can keep that.

Just seeing the sage's stone was enough for him.

This recipe book gives you three very disparate recipes:

  • Fizzle Foil: A powerful yet plain Sword.
  • Mythril Helm: A helmet good for only Defence, worn by Erdward, Hendrik, Sylvando and Serena.
  • Dancer's Mail: A tough bit of armour that also gives +4% evasion, for Erik, Sylvando and Jade.

This is when I like to make that Fizzle Foil Conchella wants to see, rather than buying my own.

Signor Universo, a merman? Well, it is Signor "Universo"...

This was kind of embarassing, but there's a Sidequest way back in Warrior's Rest that I never picked up.

He's gone and lost his music, and he's lost the motivation to continue. Oh, I can tell you all about that feeling...

This sidequest is really easy and really profitable.

All we have to do is go to that hut Jade washed us up at back in Act 1 Dundrasil.

(Fizzle Foil recipe ingredients.)

Also while I'm talking about things I forgot to do in Zwaardsrust, the wheat field in the south-east area has the gravestone Rose wants us to visit.

The mini medal hunter's real treasure is the fields of Zwaardsrust that they called home.

I wonder if that one mini medal hiding in a field is also Maxie's doing.

...The lass has a point.

Told you it was easy.

So much for composer's ennui. Although I guess retrieving his stuff fixed that right up.

...It might also have been the song we picked up. How coincidental!

Although the guy doesn't seem to realise we are in fact the Luminary he's looking for.

I'll have to defer that duty to Erik.

Thanks for the bonuses.

The Scholar's Cap is good for Rab, the twins and Sylvando, the Thinking Cap requires Erdward, Hendrik, Sylvando and Serena, but both give MaMight and MaMend. The Guru's Gloves are a step up on Enchantress's Gloves that anyone can wear. But the Sage's Staff is a real prize. In addition to being a weapon, one can also Use this as an item to cast the Insulatle buff.

Jade will be handling it, since "buffs she can apply" are at a premium.

Oh, I also grabbed one of these while I was running around every which way.

I've gotta be honest, I kinda like the bikini on Jade. Never liked bikinis much, but it works for Jade. I think it's the skirt. Although what Jade has to do with "sorcery" is beyond me.

Yeah, uh, this is not armour. This is a valuable prize beyond just being a costume, though.

Customised killing machines with ritzy red chassis. Their blades and bows have been improved, and their cruelty has also been increased.

Finally found a Type G0, although this certainly isn't a monster you want to cross carelessly. Type G0 gets three attacks to the turn, and comes with an attack that lowers your own Attack power, Kacrackle Slash, and a spinning slice. It can also Pep up, because it wasn't terrifying enough already. They were in DQ10, and apparently DQ of the Stars gave them the name "Type G".

Go right for the gut and never let up.

As annoying as this is.

The common drop you can loot from them are Chronocrystals. Chronocrystals are rare alchemy ingredients used in endgame recipes, although they're not exactly in high demand. There's 13 recipes total that demand them, although a good chunk of them I might never wind up cooking.

Oh wow, extra prize. I imagine it was just another chronocrystal, though. The rare drop is a Monarchic Mark, which is the ultimate accessory slot for MaMight and MaMend.

And for killing one, we get their sprocket.

We can turn that one in too.



The Sniflheimer's happy to see his brother avenged, but with the sprocket in hand, he's wondering if perhaps he's gone a smidge too far.

Type G0s are unthinking killing machines. Literally. A revenge-crazed human isn't much better in pratice.

The soldier decides that the true revenge is a life well lived, and sets off back home.

Metal Slime Armour is another of those prizes that's really good, although it comes much later than the Shield.

It's good for 15% Elemental Resist, high Defence, and can be worn by Erdward, Hendrik, Sylvando, Erik and Jade. The Metal Slime stuff is surprisingly light for its value.

Over in Sniflheim, we have a diploma to return, yet somehow I doubt it's this child.

Fortunately, we've found ourselves a relative. Better than nothing.

Oh wow, your parents actually told you what "going to the World Tree" means at this age?

...I suppose it's probably a little more pertinent after the Fall...

Zwaardsrust's destruction comes up surprisingly often in sidequests, for how little it affects the main plot. You'd think one of these might've been Dundrasil instead, but they seem to prefer that remain in the family.

Not sure what happened to the child in between, although I'm sure leaving Zwaardsrust and settling into Sniflheim was burden enough. No way they could afford L'Academie.

I'm sure you'll do fine.

...The spirit is there, although I'm sure this is going to end comically. Wonder what would find that letter, though.

All right, back to L'Academie, we've got Quests to hand in.

Madame Augustine seems to have been prepared for that outcome.

Liliane was going to survive Zwaardsrust, but the aftermath... yeah, that's not exactly easy living.

Hopefully this won't bother the school much. Or Augustine will wait a little bit longer before handing in her resignation.

The Glittering Gear one can expect are the Twinkling Tuxedos and Shimmering Dresses that reflect magic spells. Kinda surprised to get recipes for Casino prizes so soon, but hey, we got the Platinum stuff in Act 1.

Made sure it was night, so I could turn in the Quest to the ghost girl.

These ghosts seem to be the "unfinished business? Pass on once you're done" kind.

I'd rather not. I'm far too young to die "soon". Although considering the scrapes I get into...

The Chronocrystal isn't much of a reward now. And I wouldn't really say it's much of a reward later, either. Still, +1.

She explained the joke and I still don't get it. Maybe it's a pun that works in Japanese but the translators got really stuck on.

At least we "solved" the riddles. In other words, checked GameFAQs. I have no idea who did do this quest legitimately.

5 Mini Medals is an excellent reward, or at least it would be if there was a prize worth getting. If you're diligent about Medals, you get the 60 prize as soon as you get back here for Act 2, and only the 65 prize is available during Act 2 itself- well, unless you're willing to backtrack out of the final dungeon. If you're further behind, maybe this is more immediately useful, but anything getting us closer to the ultimate prizes is all right with me.

Incidentally, the 65 prize happens to be the baby form of the ultimate Knife, the Deft Dagger. If you bought a Fizzle Foil, you could've got this before the Gringham Whip, but I prefer the other way around. The Deft Dagger doesn't have a particularly great bonus effect. While wielding one, you get a +3% chance of getting the ambush on random encounters. This chance doesn't go up that high until near the end of the chain, and even if you want that particular bonus effect, the Deft Dagger is outclassed. I usually consider other Knives to be my end goal on Knife builds.

It's a little confusing, but when you turn in the dulcet dulse, you have to give it to the mermaid directly.

Either way, it would've gone to the mermaid, it's just weird flagging.

...I'd contradict you, but half the rest of the village wants to kill you and the other half wants you to go to the other side of the known world.

I'm more than happy to praise this kid for shaking off the prejudices of his older brethren, but I'd point out that the mermaid's pretty voices was part of their version of the story... ah, hell with it.

...Why do you have globs of molten metal slime? Why do you have multiple globs of molten metal slime?

...This can only end in comedy. Get me the popcorn.

Hopefully this one goes much better.

I'd comment on not wanting your reward, but, uh...

I'm not sure what use the Lonaluluans have for a Pentarang. This deals 20% extra damage to demons and has a 3% chance of scoring Confusion on any target it hits. It's a pretty good boomerang for Act 2, if Erik is using them.

Look, just pay up and leave me alone.

...I don't remember this from the Sudo Nim books?

He grew up.

The Venus' Tear is the last of the trio of accessories with the lucky dragon's wing and sovereign seal, giving 25-40% resistance to Lightning and Wind elemental damage. Gotta say, kinda the worst one.

Venus' Tear is capitalised because this was previously a plot coupon in DQ8: It was a valuable treasure that Red coveted, and Yangus volunteers to steal it from a dangerous labyrinth in order to buy back the horse and wagon that was stolen from the party and eventually sold to her. It was not an accessory at all in that game, being later demoted to such by DQ9.

Back to Nautica at last, and a few more turn-ins...

Somehow, I get the feeling he doesn't believe us on this one. To be fair, it's not like this cannon was ever loaded with live ammunition.

I don't feel flattered, but it's not like this isn't true.

The Secrets of the Sunken Spirit is a recipe for full fathom forks, a spear that has a 10% chance of beguiling nature monsters and is weaker than the Paladin's Lance we have already.

...Surely your college should have been teaching you the legal cases that are in this book? I'm no lawyer, but I've watched enough Legal Eagle to get the impression that law school, and lawyering in general, is a lot of reading casebooks.

The legal precedent we're using to save our doomed guilty client... is the fact that sharks don't like eating fish who've already been nibbled.

I would like to remind the court that the weapons and armour shop in Nautica is run by a shark.

(Incidentally, "Res ipsa loquitur", legally, seems to mean "it is OK to say a defendent is negligent if the injury could only have happened if the defendant was negligent, eg leaving a scalpel inside a surgical patient's body". While it is relevant to this case, it is not an argument the defence should be making...)

I get the sneaking suspicion that this would not be a good legal defence in a real court of law. Or in any half-decent court of public opinion. Which means a lot of places probably do believe you could get away with that reasoning.

I'd laugh if they still got the guilty verdict anyway.

At least that nets us a sovereign seal. Can never go wrong with that.

Went to Octagonia, checked the Casino, and oh wow, the Jackpot bunny seems to be on my side! Let's see if we can't finagle success here, too...

One common superstition in the DQ11 community is that betting on the squares 12 and 14 when the jackpot bunny is on your side is a surefire way to get the jackpot. Not immediately, but reasonably soon.

Shrugs.

There's also the suggestion that one just bet on everything and try to win through brute force.

...

...

...I cannot believe the 12-14 method worked. I think I did this as a last hurrah before giving up. One of these days, I'll find the actual code that gets this to work.

A Jackpot gives you a million tokens. So don't bother betting high, that's just going to lose you more in the end.

I can see that, game.

I feel like, if you're giving an green Accolade for a Quest objective, maybe it shouldn't have been a Quest objective?

Richie is suitably impressed. I'm just... still shaking my head at the 12-14 thing.

At least we got what we came for.

The Vest for Success is a male version of the Uniforme de L'Academie. Same relative pros and cons, but with only three women in the party, this can give you that extra edge.

I don't think we ever spot this, although I admittedly haven't had much chance to check.

I wonder what ours are going to look like. I feel like Veronica's statue is going to aggravate the real deal no matter what they do.

These stairs never open. At least the guy up front is honest about it.

Dragon Quest is an RPG, and RPGs have sidequests. Despite that, however, Dragon Quest is a relative newcomer to the scene. Explicit Quests like these ones were introduced in DQ9, which was a game that was a bit of an out-of-genre experience for DQ, and DQ11 is the first game to really experiment with them in a classical DQ formula experience. And for the most part, they're a colourful addition to the world, expanding on some of the lore for the Town Stories while not outstaying their welcome or forcing the player to go out of their way to act. In Act 2, though, partially due to the novel way the plot unfolds, the sidequests started tripping over themselves. Here, there is a very clear and explicit difference between exploring the Towns and doing the Quests. Part of that is because the game sends you all over Erdrea to find prizes in all sorts of interesting places, but the nature of Quests usually force you to come right back. At the very least, this is a good way of filling out the content on Act 2 to try and make it feel like it's not passing by as quickly as it probably is.

Next time, we head to Arboria, but we're nowhere near done with Act 2 this time...

No comments:

Post a Comment