Although this short update may seem to just be about sidequests, I do actually do some plot at the end. We're mostly just preparing to enter Mordegon's lair.
Let's start off with a round in the Wheel of Harma, and some of the quirky kits I pick to fit. Double-Swords Erdward, Swimsuit Jade, anything for damage up.
The Second Trial is an introduction to the way the rest of the Trials are going to tend to go down. If you wait until the end of Act 2, you'll get to use a party like this, and good thing too, because Hendrik, Sylvando and, at this point in the game, Erik lean more towards liabilities than assets in the Wheel. Suffice it to say none of those three are good choices in a solo round.
Fit To Beat The Band, aka The Big Bad Band, introduces us to, from left to right, Bongo Bango, Magic Marionette, Tap Devil, Pine Needler, Bongo Drongo. The Tap Devil is probably the biggest opponent here- he knows Hustle Dance and can compel you to dance to pass a turn. I imagine the pine needler still has Yggdrasil Leaves, too.
There is one constant in the Wheel: Use your All-Targeting attacks. Gigaslash! Gigaslash!
Quadraslash! Quadraslash! (I think Quad is still more effective than Giga here, although the second hit from Gigaslash Dual-Wielding isn't anything to ignore.)
The mager leaguers are represented by Professaurus, Crack-Billed Platypunk, Hocus Poker. As expected, these guys are good with various spell-casting options.
The crack-bill will also try to seal your Abilites. This is where you should almost definitely put Serena in this spot: Using her Spells gets around this. It's almost not really worth trying to get, say, Jade to push past this and use her own abilities instead of just ignoring it.
This is the part where I admit I'm not sure about the elemental weaknesses these enemies have.
That would be annoying if I was expecting the battle to go on longer than four turns at worst.
Besides, I have Echoes.
Fee Fi Faux Fur pits us against Ursa Panda, Weartiger, Otter Shambles. As much as I hate Otter Shambles, it's definitely the Ursa Panda you're scared of. (And yes, that is faux fur the Ursa Panda is associated with).
Ursa minors that are so obsessed with pandas, they've basically become them. Their unassailable adorableness is their most effective weapon.
If you don't recognise Ursa Panda, don't worry. It's a Rarefied Ursa Minor, and I haven't bumped into one of those yet- nor have I made it my business to headhunt them early. These guys were in DQ10, and out in the wild, they have one major trick- they can play with a big, beautiful ball and beguile.
Pink Typhoon and Pearly Gates are the name of the game.
...Poop.
Thank you Weartiger!
Rab also breaks out the Hardclaws, because this guy is going to be the last one standing.
...Also losing a turn to War Cry, are we?
Right, Pearly Gates it is!
...
Actually, if you notice the background, I haven't lost Jade's turn yet! Perfect timing, Rab.
Finishing the Second Trial gets us Enchanted Shields. These have very minute disadvantages over the Ethereal ones from the Casino, but those ones are strictly superior.
Dragon Dojo Duds are good defence against Fire/Ice, but I think I'd rather what these two already have.
Lightning Conductors are improved Lightning Staves, but are massively outclassed by the current Heavy Wand options. I'm not really sure when you're supposed to be using these ones- maybe if you did this as soon as you got Sylvando?
Rogue's Robes are good for some Deftness, if you want to shore up Erik's Half-Inch. Again, though, I'm not really sure you want to be using an Armour slot for that.
OK, so the Second Trial kinda expects you to maybe try sooner than this.
The Third Trial will be making up for that.
With that said, though, we're being asked to field six people here, which means the game does want you to bring Hendrik, Sylvando and Erik. Mastering the Wheel requires knowing that these characters can help you in the right circumstances, you just have to know what those are.
The kits I went with. Don't mind Hendrik's leave of absence, although did I seriously not find something for Rab to wear in his accessory slot?
The femmes fatales come with Steel Siren, Kisser, Vampire Succubat. In Dragon Quest, femme fatales have one major trick, and that's something you should expect here: Come prepared to dodge Beguilement and Enthrallment. Jade, as a woman, can categorically block the latter, but even she can succumb to the former, as we saw last go round the Wheel.
Jade can blaze past with Pink Tornado.
Automattack is the teamup of Overkilling Machine, Rotten Eggsoskeleton, Killing Machine. This is a battle that promises to hurt like bloody hell- all of these guys get multiple, painful attacks.
They're all also weak to Lightning. Use Gigaslash.
The Lantern Festival shows off the five colours of lampling DQXI brought to the table: Lava, Luminous, Vanilla, Leafy, Lurid.
Lamplings are almost categorically weak to Kacrack, so you should bring Serena or Rab and spam that. I recommend Serena, although Rab works well. The lava lampling will try calling for Slick Slimes, and this'll cover you on that too.
Erik was just here with Boomerang support- aim for the Lampling that took 1XX damage in the above screenshot, because clearly one of them is less weak to Kacrack than the others.
The Dark Destroyers show the combination of Headless Hunter x2, Badonis. Yay, group target for Hendrik! No, Hendrik is here to deal with Badonis.
Both of these enemies are new, but I'll let them get their time to shine when they're supposed to appear.
Seeing Serena set to "hit the Lamplings with Kacrack" might seem a little strange, considering this fight is harder, but Pearly Gates is just as good on the Undead that the Headless Hunters are, and Serena's plan for them is less certain. Yeah, Boom might help, but Serena doesn't learn Kaboom until level 54, and until then, well... Pearly Gates is a sturdier move.
Ah, perfect timing- oh wait, Hendrik doesn't get a Strength bonus.
The Paralysis from Parallax helps. Although I will say that's some bad damage. Shame about losing that Atk from the Headless Hunters.
Yeesh. You may want to Double Up here.
Pearly Gates doing its thing over there, though.
Rab's turn to pick up after Hendrik.
Right, so the reward for clearing the Third Trial at all is a costume set for Rab. These two armour pieces were the ultimate equips for the DQ5 Hero, and also reappearing in some later DQs as nostalgia armour pieces, like they are here. DQs 9 and the remake of 7 had both, but 8 only had the Sun Crown- and even then, it expected you to Alchemise it.
We also won the rest of the weapons, and trust me, you want to get the Third Trial complete.
That's also as far as the Wheel of Harma goes. Without Pang, the High Lama can't set us up with anything more challenging. Which is just as well.
The Bonbon Baton, at +3, has an 8% chance of whatever you casted costing 0 MP. Handy in a pinch, and worth considering using for that bonus, especially in boss fights. The extra MaMight of a Staff isn't helpful if Serena's on healing duty.
The Beastmaster Claws are the baby form of the Ultimate Claws. They turn into dragon-effective claws later, but right now, they're actually kind of pathetic. If you have +3 Crimson Claws, those are better in every way.
Now this is a weapon. The Bright Staff is the baby form of the ultimate Heavy Wand, and 20% chance to drop beneficial effects with a whack is... OK, if I'm worried about it, I'm using Wyrm Whip or Rake 'n' Break, but once it's an ultimate weapon, I will tell you that does go to 100%.
...Although it is weaker than Sacrosanct +3. Huh. Trust me, you'll be glad it's there later.
Materials needed for Rab's new set. The Sun Crown blocks Snooze/Fuddle by 50%, Pallium Regale blocks Elemental Damage by 10%. Fittingly, DQV also had similar effects, although not quite the same- the Sun Crown was actually kinda disappointing for bonus effects (it only blocks Kamikazee.)
Here's how it looks on the old king.
Erdward, in the course of... actually, what is he doing? I imagine it's recerts. Anyway, he's gone and picked up Omniheal- if we really need healing, Erdward can put down the offensive presence and show off a little of this.
We're going to fight a boss pretty soon, and he loves paralysis and turn skip! Here's how I'm handling that here.
We could fly up to the Fortress of Fear as soon as we got Cetacea, but it's not been until now we can actually secure a landing.
Dragon Quest always favours the simple solution.
Cut the barrier in half and watch it dissolve trying to stabilise anew.
Tweren't nothin.
...And save all the people Mordegon's stranglehold on Yggdrasil is tormenting, including everyone who's dead?
Yes, we'll get to you eventually.
Hendrik: All victories on the battlefield are the result of meticulous preparation. We should check that our weapons and supplies are in order before venturing any further.
Rab: So we've entered the domain of the Lord of Shadows, and there isn't a single guard to greet us!? It's an insult, that's what it is! But no matter. The fiend will have plenty of time to regret his decisions... in hell!
Sylvando: No! Make it stop! This place is an insult to good taste! Just when I thought the Lord of Shadows couldn't stoop any lower...
Jade: There's something so arrogant about building a castle in the sky. The Lord of Shadows must see himself as some kind of god...
Erik: Well, it's been one heck of a journey, but we've still got one last thing to do. And you know what that is, don't you? Make the Lord of Shadows wish he'd never been born. Come on, Erdward! Let's do this!
Serena: The sense of evil that emanates from the place is almost overwhelming. There's no doubt about it- the Lord of Shadows is here.
Yeesh, Rab. That's a temper the likes of which I've never seen.
All right. So what do they have to start us off with?
Well, that was fast.
This is where Indignus lives in the vanilla game. Doesn't even get his own Town to terrorise. The fact he looks like Nokturnus is all the real credit he gets as a Sentinel. Erik's Side Story gave him so much, but that's largely because he doesn't get much at all.
He's a literal speedhump.
One of the Spectral Sentinels, and the gatekeeper of the Fortress of Fear. His loyalty to the Lord of Shadows is absolute, and he would give up his life for his master in an instant.
Dragon family
3600 HP
999 MP
Indignus may look like Nokturnus, but he's a pale imitation at best. A pale imitation of Nokturnus is still terrifying. His attacks include Falcon Slash, Inferno Slash, Gigathrow, Devil Finesse and Kacrack. Gigathrow's the paralysing trick to watch for- surprising, since it's a boomerang skill the DQ8 Hero first learned. Erik's never getting it, though.
These little portraits are only in the Switch version, and so they get the chance to mention the Side Story.
I swear to Yggdrasil, I'd laugh if this is why my past self brought Hendrik instead of Jade. Serena needs all the turns she can get.
Erik is going to take on Indignus, to pay him back for the Rock of Wrong.
Since we're using a Sword for now, Greatsword Guard is no longer at hand. But we can use Sword Dance, and that's still Erdward's main damage dealing attack.
Erdward goes right in. Wow, that feels so much less powerful after what we're used to with the Lord's Sword.
Erik's taking the first Oomphle, though.
OW! Just unload everything on Serena, why don't you?
Take that for that one!
Hendrik is also on Sap duty.
All right, let's not get her killed again...
That will do.
Erdward can play healer. It'll use up a lot of his MP, but it can be done.
Erik and Hendrik going for the single hits. Apparently I was feeling tense. I suppose I should mention, because once again I didn't get the Orb Power, but Indignus can use the power of the Orb in Blazing Blue Blast- it's actually a weaker Disruptive Wave, in that it'll remove all your buffs but let you keep your Pep. A real Disruptive Wave can take out Pep.
...Wait a second, what the hell, Hendrik took less damage from a crit than Serena did from a normal hit? The Defence buff might explain it, but I thought crits pierced Defence. Maybe that's just ours, I think I remember something about enemy crits behaving differently.
See ya!
It's the power of a man who found forgiveness.
...Yeesh, Erik was doing how much damage?
I'm sure that's true.
And the Blue Orb of Sniflheim is back in our hands. As someone who later became an opponent of Erik, him getting the Orb of his homeland is surprisingly clever.
Well, we can brush that off.
That, on the other hand, remains to be seen...
Hendrik: Indignus was a formidable foe. We did well not to underestimate the Spectral Sentinels. Now just one remains- and no matter who stands in our path, we will dispense with them in the same way. We are here for Mordegon. Anything else is a distraction.
Rab: The Lord of Shadows has pulled out all the stops, eh? I wasnae expecting one of the Spectral Sentinels to be here to welcome us. Well, I've no doubt we're in for more nasty surprises. Let's keep our wits about us, laddie!
Sylvando: Ugh, this place is the pits! It's dark, it stinks, and the interior decor is a disgrace! Come on, we need to defeat the Lord of Shadows- it's time to let in some fresh air!
Jade: Whenever I think about facing Mordegon, my body starts to shiver... Oh, don't get the wrong idea! I'm not scared- I'm excited! I just can't wait to make him pay for what he's done!
Erik: Mordegon's pathetic. He sends his minions to do his dirty work while he just sits back and watches. Well, he's going to get a rude awakening when we catch up with him. We're a lot tougher than we were last time we met.
Serena: Are you alright, Erdward? This place is crawling with monsters, so we all need to take care not to overdo it.
There's also a helpful little pause station outside, if you ever need it. There'll be shortcuts to make coming back here potentially worth it.
Next time: Mordegon's going down, down, down.
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