Anyway, now that we've dealt with Cetacea's golden armour, it is time to begin the Great Exploration: We'll be going all over the overworld, starting quests, finishing some of them, and in general getting a grasp on what's going on with the world now.
And we start, of all things, with a visit to this Quest NPC on top of Mount Pang Lai. There is a good reason for this, although I will admit the jump is hilariously jarring. Nice view of Yggdrasil from here, though.
Hugo wants us to find a spectacular view somewhere in Erdrea.
Incidentally, this Quest is actually much different in the vanilla version of DQXI: Hugo starts on top of a different mountain and wants you to scope out a different view.
I much prefer the Definitive version of the Quest.
In the vanilla version, Hugo could be found on the Cobblestone Tor, and wanted you to see the view from atop Insula Algarum.
In the Definitive version, he's on Mount Pang Lai and wants you to see the view from Cobblestone Tor. Combined with the campsite right next to him here, this is so much more convenient.
What I'm doing here is getting this Quest, because Cobblestone is otherwise my first destination and it's good to have an excuse to get to the top of the Tor while I'm there.
While I was up here, I tried the Meteorite Bracer forge. I wound up getting it, for whatever I'm worried about speed control in. Could come in handy.
Right, back to Cobblestone. At last, really: It's been the Last Bastion in Act 2, but without the Fall to require it, it's back to being "just" a ruined village now.
Veronica: You were lucky to grow up in a place like this, Erdward. Everyone here is really lovely. I know it's not looking its best right now, but Cobblestone has a bright future ahead of it. I can just tell.
Erik: Cobblestone was razed to the ground, but at least there weren't any casualties. That's something. Now everyone's busy rebuilding their lives, it's up to us to do all we can to support them.
Jade: I just ran into your old friend Gemma, Erdward. She was asking me all about you. She seemed worried you'd been pushing yourself too hard... You never mentioned you had a beautiful friend like that waiting for you at home. You really are a dark horse, aren't you? Is there anything else you're keeping from us?
Hendrik: The forces of Heliodor did this to Cobblestone, and I take full responsibility. I only wish I could have done more to stop it. Still, what is done is done, and now I must attempt to make amends by helping to rebuild the village. I will not rest until it is back on its feet.
Serena: You don't have to worry, Erdward. It seems none of your fellow villagers were hurt when Cobblestone was destroyed. What's more, it's clear that they're not going to let this defeat them. They'll rebuild Cobblestone brick by brick, I just know they will!
Sylvando: Oh honey, I feel so embarrassed... I thought it would be a nice idea to impress your mother with a spot of fire-breathing, but she wasn't having any of it. She said it was in very poor taste to be messing around with fire after Cobblestone was burnt to the ground. I hadn't even thought of that! I just wanted to put a smile on her face, but all I ended up with was a flea in my ear...
Rab: To think, laddie, ye were a prince, but ye ended up growing up in a little village like this. Then again, if the people of Cobblestone hadn't taken ye in, I might never have met ye again. Aye, I owe them more than I can say. Once this is all over, I'm going to come back here and thank them properly.
Jade going and comparing herself to Gemma, on top of everything else she does to herself.
The people of Cobblestone are preparing for the hard work of rebuilding the place.
Just as long as you have actual places to spend the nights.
I think Cole might be in a better place in regards to his idolisation issues here. Even if it does mean he's not going to bump into Bullseye's owner. Eh, they've got years to bump into one another.
Yeah, I'd never have bothered if I had known. Although... I'd never have met Erik...
Don't worry. Everyone involved in that plan had no idea what went down and no chance to avert the crisis even if they did.
Got it, Brenner!
Gemma, as mentioned, is hanging around with Amber while everything's going on.
She seems confident she can get Cobblestone back together alongside everyone else.
Gemma reckons further assistance will be necessary to get to the end.
And that's where we come in.
Somewhere in the world are some people with the skills necessary to reinforce the rebuilding effort. And Gemma wants us to find them and send them Cobblestone's way.
She's so adorable when she's doing this animation, and I think it's the only time in the game she does.
It's not that complicated, but it doesn't need to be. Now then, who do we need?
Derk, of Heliodor.
Two Octagonian fighters. Of the four required characters, this one is the hardest one- they all need you to do some fighting before they'll come along, and this fight is the most involved.
Noah, last seen in Hotto. He does like to move around, though...
And a cute mascot from Sniflheim. This one could also take some doing, but it's more on your preparations than your execution.
Gemma can handle everything else on her own.
Yes, I used the door like a civilised person. How else would I get in my house?
Amber is happy to allow us to use this place as a free inn whenever we need one.
Now then, the Tor has two things for us to collect, both of which are pretty important.
Veronica: The carving here on Cobblestone Tor looks a lot like Yggdrasil if you look closely. In fact, there are huge images like that all over the world. I wonder how the Ancients managed to create them.
Erik: Come back to see where your adventure started, huh? You've been through a heck of a lot since then, but I guess you're never going to forget where it all began.
Jade: Cobblestone Tor is very impressive, Erdward. The view from the top must be stunning. I bet you feel like you're on top of the world.
Hendrik: It seems that everyone in Cobblestone climbs the Tor when they come of age... The Heliodorian army also has its own rites of passage. I remember having to take on my first dracky. A most frightening experience. I am sure there are similar rituals wherever you go in the world. It is important to mark the moment when one leaves their childhood behind.
Serena: ‘Humble folk of Cobblestone, Great Land Spirit's hearth and home...’ That's how it goes, isn't it? I think it's just wonderful how much respect the people of Cobblestone have for the Spirit of the Land.
Sylvando: People around here are very proud of Cobblestone Tor, aren't they? One of the villagers I was chatting to told me it was the world's biggest monolith! I have no idea if that's true or not, but I'm just going to take him at his word. I mean, who am I to argue!?
Rab: I heard all about that wee adventure ye had when ye climbed the Tor for yer coming of age ceremony. Ye saved Gemma's life, from what I'm told. Aye, it sounds like ye were a proper hero. I'm proud of ye laddie!
One of the more quietly cool things about the Great Exploration is that this is an opportunity for everyone to have Party Chat about places they weren't around to talk about in Acts 1 or 2. Veronica, Hendrik and Serena have some cool comments about the Tor.
The green eye effect on malicious enemies just looks creepy on needlers. Not that there's a problem here.
...What do you mean, I haven't set Hendrik to Follow Orders yet?
Ferocious furballs with an uncanny mastery of all things electric. Their dream is to bring all of Erdrea alive with thunder and lightning.
Electric needlers are new to 11, and have some scary tricks for being so cute and early-game-ish. They have a Lightning attack, Multithrust, Special Medicine, Pep, and...
Oh yeah, bombs.
Get to this point of the Tor, and we can find what happened to Derk.
Remember that Hades Condor that tried to knock us off the Tor back in the opening? He's back! Damn you, Calasmos!
Don't worry, help is on the way!
Hades condors possessed by a powerful evil. They're capable of casting Kasizzle, with which they lay waste to everything around them.
Bird family
4500 HP
999 MP
I'd tell you this is a special boss-only version of the malicious Hades condor, but apparently this is legit the only one in the game. Weird, that. At any rate, this guy gets two attacks a turn, Kasizzle, Moreheal and a powerful claw attack. Compare his HP to some Act 2 bosses- Jasper had 3600 HP. Act 3 doesn't mess around.
Also, he's faster than us. Why is he faster than us?
Serena and Hendrik get to work.
And Erik got brought into the party at the last second to save his buddy. I wasn't necessarily planning on using him, which means he may not have the sword skills to make this idea pan out.
At least Kasizzle isn't as scary after a Magic Barrier.
KAFRIZZLE!
Kafrizzle has been surprisingly consistent about involving hauling a giant ball of fire over your head before dropping it on your opponent. It's the reason I always try to make casting offensive magic spells part of my battle strategy: I just love Kafrizzle's charm.
I think the fact I'm using Critical Claim here says plenty about what Erik knows.
Same to you.
Again, same to you.
Yow, that must be a crit.
Right, best to work on that Defence, now Erik is running out of MP for Claims.
Just what I needed.
I have absolutely no idea why Divine Restitution involves Serena turning into an angel before blasting a blast of something in her enemy's face, but I'm not complaining.
Strength up, yes!
Veronica getting all the luck on Kafrizzle Echoes.
Hendrik!
Meanwhile, Erik is using Flame Slash. When his off-hand is doing more damage, perhaps that's an alarming sign.
...I'm slightly confused here. It's been a while since I recorded this, but... who killed the condor? No one's tag is indented (signifying it's their turn), but I don't recall Hendrik having counter-attacks.
Well, that's that. In addition to being a powerful boss for his appearance, he comes with 28000 EXP, enough that multiple characters are seeing level-ups. Perhaps a sign we might be the slightest bit underlevelled compared ot the game's demands, but I wouldn't describe our levels as bad for ending Act 2- that's just the difficulty curve from Act 2 to 3.
And that's Derk better off.
The little things you need to do to help out Cobblestone have additional rewards on top of that, but they're relatively low-key in comparison. Spectralite is a rare alchemy ingredient used in plenty of recipes you're going to want at least one of, but not so rare that it being the sole reward for beating the Hades Condor is entirely fair.
Derk actually plans on staying here until you've pointed him to Cobblestone.
Since we've already talked to Gemma (pretty easy to do on the way to the Tor), he goes straight there.
One down, three to go.
Oh, and here's the text we need to read to confirm we made it to the top of the Tor.
I can't say he's wrong. We had Gemma when we climbed the Tor the first time, which is apparently unusual for Cobblestone, but there were worse ideas.
...I'm sure it'd work with any other kind of companion, but I can't exactly talk when I used Gemma as a comparison.
The mountains here are picturesque, although it's a bit of a shame you can't actually see Heliodor or any actual places we'll explore.
Well, best to finish this up, too. This is a pretty important Quest, after all.
Hugo has to admit Turismo's realisation has merit.
...I think this is denial, but it could easily be as legitimate.
...I hope it's not denial.
Our prize for completing this Quest is the Fantastick, a wand for Serena with a fantastic bonus effect. You want this Wand.
...I think I broke him.
Here's the Fantastick. A pretty solid investment of MaMight, MaMend, and neat, 50% chance of being immune to statuses on spawn. Cool, but important?
Say hello to the Fantastick +3. Reforge this, and that's a 100% chance of spawning with complete immunity to almost all statuses and stat drops for a good solid few turns. This isn't a permanent buff, and it can also be removed with Disruptive Wave, so Serena does still benefit from equipment that gives her key status resistances, but any fight Serena is getting involved in is one where she doesn't like being interrupted by status effects, and there's never a downside for having Snap, Crackle, Poof on. I'd almost say that this is Serena's ultimate wand- there are stronger Wands statistically, and even some competitive bonus effects, but even in the endgame, you may just want her to at least hold this wand at the start of a fight to get the spawn effect.
Next on the list, we'll be going to Gallopolis. There isn't anything exciting here, but it will point us in an exciting direction.
Veronica: I heard that Prince Faris and his men are planning on taking on the monsters that are roaming around the kingdom. I know he's not a big wimp like he used to be, but still, I really wonder whether he can handle this.
Erik: This isn't the Gallopolis I remember. All the life seems to have been drained out of the place. Well, I guess I can't blame people for wanting to get away from that thing. If I was in their shoes, I'd probably do the same.
Jade: There are people here who might like to flee, but who can't go and start new lives somewhere else just like that. They are fearful for the future but they have no choice but to go on. We must stand by them and banish evil from the world.
Hendrik: Gallopolis prides itself on the fighting prowess of its desert knights, but even they will struggle to defend the people from the monsters threatening the kingdom. Still, we have no choice but to leave this fight to them. We must focus on dealing with that dark star.
Serena: It seems there's always time for horse racing in Gallopolis, no matter how bad things get! Oh, and it looks like they've added a new even tougher challenge! Perhaps taking part would be a good way to clear your head?
Sylvando: Do you remember, honey? This is where we met for the first time! People will write books about it one day, mark my words! This is always going to be a special place for me, and that's why I'm not going to let it be ruined by that stupid dark star. Come on, darling, we've got work to do!
Rab: It seems the Sultan's got himself pretty het up about this dark star. Well, I cannae blame him, but he needs to stay strong for his people. Still, when all's said and done, he'll always do what's best for his kingdom, I've not got the slightest doubt about that.
First of all, fire ball down here. This Ultimate Key door can be very easy to forget.
I have some concerns.
Technically speaking, I think the people of Gallopolis had a duty to do something about that, although I suspect it's more than their decadence that has stopped them from succeeding.
The Gallopolis Racetrack is still open, and the Sultan is of the position that this will keep people in Gallopolis. Should they be oligated? Eh...
...I've gotta admit, as nice as it is the Sultana appreciates us, it's kinda weird to think of her as potentially having been another parental figure had we still been Drasilian.
We inspired them quite enough the first time around, from the sounds of it.
Faris, of all things, has a Quest (purple dot) for us, and not a pink one.
Faris had to have been good at judging skill, to excel at not being involved in fights back before Act 1.
Faris, of course, goes for the plan that involves a quick resource as a solution. It's a little late to implement better training regimens.
This tree won't give us Pep Pips...
We have to go to the First Forest... but we can't go there on foot.
I love how Faris just casually accepts that of course we have whatever we need to get to that particular location.
...Do try and make sure it's the last time.
Faris, lest we forget, possesses a Drustaniad.
...Why Jasper and Faris?
You're not going to start any fires, are you Faris?
...In this climate, I'd be interested to see how.
The maid is dedicated to staying by the Sultan. I suppose she really does have more to lose trying to find her own path as compared to keeping to this one.
Over here we find a personality-changing book that doesn't seem to come from DQ3. This will be just the tome we need to get Erinn back on her feet and running Quester's Rest back in Tickington. You can find this any time after accepting that quest, I just decided now was the most convenient time for me to collect it. I'll be back eventually.
Act 3 opens up the Platinum Cup, with another pair of rewards for us to add to our collection.
First being... the Forging Hammer? Goddammit, guys, you put up a treasured relic as a racing prize? That desperate to drum up attendance, are we? This is the only way to get the Forging Hammer for yourself in Act 3, although as previously mentioned, this isn't useful for the Fun-Sized Forge.
The Platinum Cup rides anti-clockwise where most races thus far have been clockwise, but this doesn't exactly pose any additional risk on its own.
That's a Key Item acquired.
The Skysteed Sword is the weakest of the five Greatswords stronger than the Sword of Shadows, although considering how "hard" it is to acquire the other four, a Greatsword user will find some good use in this one. 238 Might, 5% Parry at +3, as well as a 10% chance to remove enemy buffs on swing. I prefer my disruptive techniques guaranteed, but hey, Erdward is using Sword Dance anyway...
These guys are really fighting for it, but I grabbed it.
Platinum races, incidentally, give Platinum Ore for participation and Mythril for successive victories.
In Act 3, now that Yggdrasil hasn't fallen on top of the First Forest, there's actually a Whale Way Station associated with the place now available for visit. This place is awesome.
OK, that's not so awesome, but appreciated.
Pastword, too.
The Hidden Valley is the hometown of the DQ4 Hero. It is a very isolationist community for the sole purpose of getting the Hero to live old enough to take down evil- apparently, even in 1990, "Hero's doomed hometown" was a cliche. It is the first doomed hometown of DQ's history, though.
There's the thing Faris wanted.
Monarch Mittens (60% Dazzle and Confuse protection for the girls) and Elfin Charms (50% Snooze, Fizzle, Whack, Turn Skip and MP theft protection for everyone). Elfin Charms require two lumps of orichalcum, an elfin elixir, and three diamends each, though (also three holy waters and an equable emerald), so it's difficult to recommend forging them, despite the fact they're kinda cool.
This place is also where any sufficiently valuable treasure from the Fortress of Fear- like the Stardust Sword and Poker- will pop up if you didn't find them there. But the real prize lies elsewhere.
These frustrating little fellows have learned how to confuse their foes, but are also in the habit of annoying their friends by doing it to them too.
Spawny devils are new to DQ11, and know Kaswoosh, Fullheal and Kafuddle. I don't believe confusing each other is part of their battle strategy.
These guys have a really good rare drop.
Bye bye, actual challenging part!
Now there's a weapon.
315 Might at +3, although those bonus effect chances aren't increased with Forging. The Berserker's Blade is the third most powerful Greatsword in the whole game and, considering how one acquires its competition, a worthy candidate of being the Greatsword you use for challenging content.
You're supposed to get one from completing a long sidequest in Act 3, but haha Hallelujah go brr.
Cunning creatures who jiggle their hypnotic hips in order to distract foes before slamming them with some serious spellcraft.
Hooper dupers are also new to DQ11, and they have Kaboom, a Tornado, and the ability to bust out into a mesmerising dance routine. They can be annoying, but they have a good reason to be fought.
Besides, they only have a few casts of this before they're out of MP.
Yoink! Their common drop is a shield called a "devilry drinker", and these things are valuable.
Dangit, Ronnie.
Oh good! That was nice and convenient. Erdward's basically set for life.
The Devilry Drinker gives 10% elemental resistance on top of its high stats, being the best non-ultimate shield one can find- they also have a Use effect, but I forget what it is, only that it makes it annoying to take them away from Erik's inventory in bulk. Grab as many of them as you can, because it's not actually their stats that make them so attractive: These things sell for 30000 Gold. Yes, that is the correct number of zeroes. Sure, grab three for Hendrik, Serena and Sylv, but once you get the actual ultimate shields, these things will give you all the money you could ever want, and more.
Faris shall get his Pepper Tree branch! You're gonna need a lot more than Pep for this.
Although with that said... Pep on that scale?
"One of the pips" Erdward takes four.
Pep Pips appear in one alchemy recipe, but are otherwise intended to Pep Up a single character. If you really need that one Power, sure, but you'll have to know ahead of time you'll want it at hand.
I make no promises.
Skeletal soldiers brought to life by Calamos's malign magic. They have no will of their own, and exist purely to do their master's black bidding.
The calasmonaut, as one might expect from the name, is new to DQ11, but the story doesn't end there: DQ2 also has a third stage to the deadnaut line, only they were called "hargonauts"- this does unfortunately leave DQ2 with the better pun, but still. Calasmonauts are a different colour, and have Kasap, a dance to lower your Attack, and paralysis on their swords.
...However that works.
Veronica really is a delete button.
Although these guys are still way too dangerous.
What do you mean, dead?
They leave a trail of desolation wherever they go with their huge, hideous clubs and bulky bodies, both of which they wave about wildly.
Pruslas is an endgame boss of DQ4 fame, one of the four guardians of the barrier surrounding Psaro the Manslayer's castle. He was the one smart enough to try and trick the Hero- even if his trick was "look over there". He is a regular enemy here, after his appearance in DQ10 as such, and has two attacks a turn, crits, blocks, a slam on the ground, and a scorching breath.
He also has these weird items on his person. Serpent's souls are alchemy ingredients on their own, but they have further value later. You can find serpent's souls as common drops from a fair chunk of enemies scattered across the overworld, but most of them will be these big lizard types.
Next stop, Hotto. Surpisingly, I have good reasons for visiting each area I get to, but it really does feel like I'm going in the Zoom list order. I suspect this is also because of how much stuff there is lying around Erdrea.
Veronica: Everyone here seems very anxious, but then I suppose they are a little too close to the dark star for comfort... Well, it's up to us to do something about it, so these people can relax and get on with their normal lives.
Erik: Do you remember when we met Veronica for the first time? She seemed to think I was a complete idiot. I guess our relationship did kind of get off on the wrong foot... Still, we ended up getting along pretty well.
Jade: When I first came here with Rab, I couldn't get him out of the bathhouse. In the end I had to threaten him with a roundhouse kick to get him to put some clothes on so that we could hit the road.
Hendrik: The swords of Hotto are not like those we use in Heliodor. The blades are curved, with just one sharpened edge... Indeed, there is one legendary blade forged in this village that I have always wanted to wield. Perhaps we will come across it one day...
Serena: Hee hee! This village always reminds me of when I first met you and Erik, Erdward. I'd wandered into that awful labyrinth, and had just lain down for a little nap by that fountain... Then I met you, and everything changed!
Syvlando: I'm not sure if you know them, but there's this brother and sister who live here called Atsuo and Atsuko. I remember when I first met them having the weirdest feeling I knew them from somewhere... I never really worked out what that was all about, but still, since we're here we should say hello to them.
Rab: Ah, good auld Hotto! Come on, laddie, since we're here, we've got to pay a visit to the bathhouse! It'll get rid of all yer aches and pains, I'm telling ye! Last time, I spent so long stewing in there that Jade had to threaten to physically remove me herself!
I love how the game is staying with the story that Serena just took a nap in the Cryptic Crypt.
Sylv is talking about meeting Atsuo and Atsuko in Act 3- it's an "Act 2 vibes" moment, even though we did just walk into town.
Three pink dots, that's a lot of Interesting Stuff.
And here's the purple dot.
He's just looking for a key item he reckons is lying in hiding somewhere nearby. Of all things, this is a pretty normal quest one wouldn't be surprised to find in Acts 1 or 2.
Heh, "Legendary treasure of legend". Sounds like Po has wandered all the way from China.
I'm sure I could think of things, but I can't point to what.
...I don't think I ever noticed this was an element of the Quest. This is the journal I showed "early" in Act 2- it's in Miko's room, and tells you the Bloodstone is over in Mount Huji's secret entrance. You don't have to read this journal to spawn it, and the Hotto area is pretty small, all things considered, so it's not much of a surprise I completely missed the fact they're pointing at a clue.
Hotto’s fortune grew.
Great piles of shining treasure,
Tall as Mount Huji.
Our stores overflowed,
The glimmer lit the night sky,
The surplus was moved.
Great treasures, Bloodstone,
Look down upon the peak’s fire,
Reached by the back path…
(As a reminder, this wasn't Miko, but one of her ancestors. I don't recall if the nature of this ancient treasure is ever used as a backstory element of Hotto.)
Goddammit, Noah, pay your damn tab. But yeah, for once, Noah has moved on from Hotto. It says a lot about how long he's spent here that the game gives you the clue telling you where to find Noah in Hotto's tavern.
On the other hand, I don't really think a Gondolian NPC could deliver the clue, so the tavern it is.
Atsuo and Atsuko are playing a different game to their Act 1 selves- possibly a reference to their bear trap in Act 2? Without Miko running human sacrifices, these two aren't important characters... at all. Sylvando's Party Chat is the extent of recognising them as anything other than random children. And frankly, good for them. Would Atsuo make a good leader still? Possibly. But let him qualify for it when he's had an actual education.
Speaking of, where is Miko? She's gone up to the mountains to be elusive on her own. This is where the fact that Act 2 takes place "many months after" Act 1 becomes relevant: Act 3 takes place immediately after Act 1. Miko is off in the mountains looking after Ryu-as-Tatsunaga, and has not failed to fix this problem enough to get desperate enough for the human sacrifice method. If we can help her with that now, she'll never get that desperate.
And the third pink dot is over here. As far as elements of the worldbuiling go, this is the most minor of the three Hotto quests, but it will be just as important in the end.
This man would like to forge a legendary sword known as the Sword of Kings.
He just needs a lump of orichalcum.
He'll gladly buy it from us, as it happens. You'll want to make this sale.
He won't forge it immediately, we'll have to come back for it.
The construction of the "Sword of Kings" here parallels an identical moment from DQ3- in order to craft Erdrick's ultimate weapon, you have to find a lump of orichalcum (the only one of its kind in that game, since it predates any form of alchemy system) and sell it to a Jipang blacksmith who fled to Kol. Why do we want a Sword of Kings? Good question, but clearly we do.
When monsters once tried to take over the world, these steely stallions were always first into the fray, leading the charge every chance they got.
Eurgh, these things still give me flashbacks. Equinox was a postgame boss in DQ9- the easiest of the ten bosses you can find at the end of a grotto. The problem? You could get your first treasure map halfway through the main story. Equinox will wipe the floor with you if you fight him then. In this game, they have Lightning Storm, Dark Breath, and too little HP to really count as a threat. Catharsis.
These ruthless rulers of the grublin kingdom are fiercely territorial, sending trespassers on their turf to an early grave with Thwack.
Horknight watchmen are the last of DQ11's new horknights- we can find the grublins that ride them in Heliodor. They have Multithrusts, counter-attacks, paralysing stingers, boosting their Atk/Agility, and yes, the Thwack spell. They have Night Sticks as a common drop, and this is one of those rare alchemy ingredients you can't buy.
They also have their own powerful rare drop.
The barbarous pole, as one might expect from my eagerness to acquire it, is to Jade as the Berserker's Blade is to Erdward. There are three spears other than the ultimate that beat this one in raw power, but the Oomph (that might be a typo, I tend to notice Jade only gets a free +1 Atk compared to Erdward's +2) and Sap effects make this a worthwhile choice. You can only get these as drops.
While I'm getting all this SP from Hallelujah-ing things, Erdward picks up Pep Up. Since most Pep Powers include him, this can clean up your Pep grinding, depending on what you need to use.
Woosh Bang Wallop is the last Flourish you can get, I believe, and it is... I guess if you're finishing up and want to cool down as well as make progress, it's a good choice, but how often is that situation going to come up?
The barbarous pole forge went just fine.
Inspired by the Dark One, these demonic drummers composed a blistering beat with which to welcome the end of the world.
Bingo bango bongoes are new to DQ11, and they march to the beat of pepping up everyone, lowering your defences, envenomating, paralysing or killing you, Pepping everything up, and summoning either more of themselves or some enemies called archbashops. Those guys are also found normally in Heliodor.
Right, so what can we grab in Mount Huji?
(Well, aside from, in the outside area, Barbatos on the overworld? We've already seen them back in Act 2, but if you want to get their drops, this is the time to do it. I choose to pass.)
Veronica: Ugh, can't we go somewhere a bit cooler? I'm dying here...
Erik: Gah, I'm covered in sweat! I was raised in a cold climate, man. I'm not built for places like this.
Jade: We need to be careful, Erdward. This heat will sap our energy. We shouldn't stay here too long.
Hendrik: Urgh! This heat is something else! It feels like my axe could melt. And that would be a terrible... axe-ident. ...I'm sorry. I wish I had never said that. This relentless heat appears to have relieved me of my senses.
Serena: The people of Hotto worship the spirit that they believe dwells within Mount Huji. We have many similar beliefs in spirits and sacred places in Arboria. I understand how important the mountain must be to those who live nearby.
Sylvando: Urgh, it's so hot! My outfit's drenched in sweat, and it's seriously compromising my style! Let's stop by the bathhouse later- I need to freshen up and restore some of my self-respect!
Rab: Can we take a wee breather, laddie? My knees aren't enjoying these mountain paths. In my youth I would've climbed a mountain like this without breaking a sweat, but it seems those days are long gone.
It can't be that bad, can it?
The treasure chest containing the Bloodstone is up here, where we saw Tatsunaga for the first time in Act 2.
Giants among jowlers gifted with god-like strength. It's said they're destined to save their kind in a time of great crisis.
Fouler jowlers are new to DQ11, and they can kick up a storm, let out a ferocious roar, call for help from some King Cureslimes, and also happen to know the Kazam spell.
They are one of the few enemies that drop the rare, unbuyable Red Wood alchemy ingredient. You want as many of these as you can get.
Oh hey, Hardy Hands. They still give EXP contemporary to when we found them in Act 2, but that's still perfectly plenty for now.
Dang Thwack.
Miko is resting with her son Tatsunaga where we fought him.
We know this from Act 2, but there's no reason for Miko to know that.
To help Miko accomplish this, we need to find an item called "lumen essence". This will take a bit, but on the scale Tatsunaga is worried about, it's fine.
Aw...
I had a Hallelujah charged (you can also find Hooper Dupers outside Hotto), and the last Hallelujah point I'm interested in is over in Sniflheim's Whale Way station. If you have a Hallelujah charged and have no idea what you want to use it on, this place is almost always a good choice.
Ice-cold collosi who go to great lengths to keep their cool composure, since if they were to get fired-up, the heat would melt their bodies.
Say hello to the glacial golem, an enemy from DQ10. All they've got going for them in battle is gathering all their strength and Forbearance, but they have some good loot. As a common drop, you've got Chronocrystals which are nice, yeah...
And in your rare slot, you have kaleidocloths. There are a lot of rare alchemy ingredients to keep an eye out for, but kaleidocloths are the rarest of the lot. You'll need 9 of these to forge every costume, and they're also key ingredients in some of the best regular armour recipes in the game, and the only major source of them in the game directly are the glacial golems. You're expected to source them elsewhere, but really, this is a lot more convenient.
There's also this in an Ultimate Key plinth up here. This teaches the Supreme Sage's Staff, which is a recipe you're required to know for a Tickington Quest, as well as the Scholar's Specs, Minister's Mitts and Ruby of Protection, classic accessories that just fall by the wayside in this game. You can make them, but I'd save your ingredients.
Right, here's your Bloodstone.
Imagine getting this request from your dead grandfather.
Now imagine pawning the job off on some other guy.
Well, no complaints from me.
Uber Agates of Evolution are a rare alchemy ingredient used in a lot of recipes more advanced than the ones regular Agates are used for, that's saying something. While Agates of Evolution come from DQ9, the Uber ones are apparently new to 11.
While we're back here, the Sword of Kings has also now been Forged (all it takes is resetting the map). This quest is a DQ3 reference, and one thing the game has done in service of that is use the same prices for the Orichalcum and Sword as DQ3 used- 22500 and 35000 respectively. Neat touch.
The Sword of Kings itself is a one-handed sword that can be Used to land Wind damage on a group (the same effect this sword had in the original DQ3), but it is weaker than the Super Sword of Light and overall doesn't seem all that worth it. Trust me, you'll want this in the back of your inventory somewhere.
Next stop, the Cryptic Crypt. I wasn't entirely thinking of it, but there's actually a really good reward in here, too.
Legendary mechanical murderbots whose ferocity is so unstoppably severe that some say they are possessed by deities of destruction.
That is, if you can get past the uberkilling machines in the back rooms. These things come from DQs 6, 10, and the remake of 7, and, well, they do exactly what you expect them to.
Uberkill you. Robochop, Rain of Pain, blocking your attacks, reflecting your magic spells, two attacks a turn... yeah, if you're in a fight with these things, it might be a better idea to cut your losses. Apparently they even have a variant of Kazing on them. If you're foolhardy enough to press on, they can drop Uber Falcon Blades.
...Let's try to ignore this guy as we claim those four treasures...
The only free Metal King Jacket in the game. Good for 118 Defence, 10% Evasion, 10% elemental resistance, and good for everybody. Would I put a Metal King Jacket on everybody? No, there's better armours in the end, but whoever you pick is going to appreciate it while you're working up to those.
As if I didn't get enough from the uberkilling machines...
This gives you the Field Marshal's Finery and Footwear, the "upgraded versions" of Hendrik's General attire. The Finery is now good for 40% Dark resist (up from 25%) and is a good choice for Hendrik's ultimate armour in and of itself. The Footwear gives 80% Turn Skip protection (up from 40%).
The fourth cell apparently had nothing in the vanilla version, since it's a Tockle here. Annoyingly, in the "invisible shade of grey".
Despite the fact you can visit the Cryptic Crypt before getting this guy, I don't think "Cryptic Crypt" is on your list of Pastwords.
Whealbrook is the village in which the DQ5 Hero was raised after he left his birth home of Gotha for... unelaborated on reasons. It was a small, peaceful little village, and it goes a surprisingly long time before ultimately getting destroyed, due to the structure of DQ5's narrative. It also gets rebuilt towards the end of the game, since so much real time is passing over the story.
Whealbrook also happens to be one of the more important Pastwords in the game from a utility standpoint, and as soon as I realise I have it, I jump right in.
Time to say hi to Cobblestone's ancestor.
Veronica: Hm... Towns don't seem to vary very much from one world to the next, do they? I suppose it makes sense, though. I mean, they're all built by people, and people everywhere just want to be comfortable.
Erik: You know that river that runs through the middle of town, Erdward? I'm kind of interested to know where it leads...
Jade: There is something very refined about the people who have a cellar in their home. They seem a cut above the other townspeople. If anything, they remind me of my father and some of my older royal relatives. I wonder what their story might be?
Hendrik: The tockles of Tickington informed me that curious things have been known to happen in this town. Mysterious scrawls in the inn's guestbook, chopping boards falling from shelves... Not the most serious of incidents, I grant you, but perhaps worthy of investigation nonetheless.
Serena: What a wonderful church! The people of this town must take spiritual matters very seriously indeed.
Sylvando: I wonder what kind of adventures this world's hero got up to around here? I mean, it must have been something pretty exciting, otherwise they wouldn't have bothered keeping a record of it in that dusty old book!
Rab: I'll never get used to those teleportals, laddie. If it were up to me, I wouldnae set foot in one again- unless it led to the backstage area at the Ogler's Digest awards, of course.
Hendrik is describing the events of the second major event to occur in Whealbrook during DQ5: A faerie plays these pranks on the village in a bid for attention, since Faerie Lea is in peril and needs assistance. The DQ5 Hero, the only kid in the village, is the one who notices her and accepts the answer.
It is vaguely implied that this Pastword is occurring while the DQ5 Hero is off doing that.
...There are better places to take a nap than the ground, you guys know.
The Town Story that happens before the Faerie Lea one involves Pankraz and his son staying over in Roundbeck, and in the middle of the night, his son sneaks away with Bianca in order to free the ghosts of Uptaten Towers from undead monsters terrorising the place. If, at any point, you need to stay the night at an inn (to heal or visit shops open only during the day), Pankraz will delay his journey home because he caught a cold from the sick innkeeper and needs to recover.
Seems he brought that cold back to Whealbrook with him.
Nothing but some barrels, some hair Saber shedded, and a staircase made of honey that only Veronica can see.
Pankraz acknowledges the Roundbeck cold. To be honest, there isn't really much choice but to take at least one nap before finishing Uptaten- this is roughly the point in the game you need to train the DQ5 Hero from "near liability unto himself" to "mostly a match for basic random encounters", and that requires grinding the money for a boomerang at minimum.
...
Perhaps we shouldn't help out-
For some reason, resting in an inn in Faerie Lea sends you back to your bedroom. If they can ignore that bit, he'll be fine.
Sancho is a friend of Pankraz's from his royal days, and has diligently maintained his role as a staunch ally throughout the six years since Pankraz left Gotha. He will not be present for Pankraz's death and, between everything that happens to the DQ5 Hero, takes on the role of raising his kids while he is not available. Sancho becomes a party member in the end, although admittedly not a particularly good one.
He is also very Spanish, in a way no one else from Gotha is. I'm told it might be a Don Quixote reference.
It'll be fine! Still unpleasant, though.
Fortunately, we have directions.
...Dangit, not technically directions.
The "Sinndicate" is an organisation about innkeeping that happens mostly off-screen in DQ9, but if you ever wondered how DQ Inns got run, they're your answer.
Possibly it's Honey from Faerie Lea.
"They usually have all kinds of things in stock there" refers to Sellma and her little DQVC shop from DQIX.
While we're here, we can also fix up Erinn's confidence issues. In the vanilla game (I say this, but it might be a DLC quest), you went to find her a letter from her mother and a warm jumper.
This isn't actually a DQ3 personality book, and it has content to read!
Excellent King advice, and somehow excellent Innkeper advice too. In case you were wondering who to hire as the next King.
I think her mother's letter was much more inspiring.
DQ9 doesn't have as convenient of a script dump, as far as I can find, but I did find some screenshots from when I did the quest myself.
...This was back in 2018? OK, that's when I first played DQ9, but...
That's the Quest for this Pastword done.
Speaking from the perspective of the DQ9 Hero, you can never go wrong with putting a smile on people's faces.
Besides, Erinn was the best character in DQ9.
Erinn was always more focused on her job than her heritage- that's part of why she's so good at being an innkeeper in the first place.
And sure enough, the two people currently staying at the inn seem overjoyed to have happy Erinn back.
All right, time to talk to Sellma.
(Although Patty appears in three DQs predating this one, DQ5's DS port is the only game released before this one that addresses her as Patty and not as her more literal-to-JP name Ruida. The decision to name this character Sellma is definitely a Simpsons reference, but I'm less sure whether Patty's modern name was chosen specifically for this joke or it was happenstance.)
DQVC being run by the Sinndicate is something I think comes up in DQ9 itself. I'm not in much of a habit of talking to Sellma, since she stopped working when the DS servers shut down in 2014.
The DQVC sold, while not strictly speaking "everything", practically enough of it was "everything". It had a limited selection each particular day, though.
...Bit of a costly ask, but we technically have an infinite source of that, she's welcome to it.
We've got to leave and come back for the remedy, slightly annoyingly.
Since we're leaving the Altar of the Starry Skies after having finished all three Pastword Quests, we get the statue for the DQ9 Hero while we're at it. This Celestrian's design could be chosen by the player from all manner of preset designs (10 different hairstyles, 10 different faces, a few colour wheels, a height option, and even gender), but this design is what they use when they have to stick him in a spinoff or the boxart or something.
I mean, part of the fun of playing DQ9 is using your own designs rather than sticking to the game's, but the base design has a certain charm to it. The DQ9 Hero sticks to the spirit of the Celestrian mission, and despite clearly being "default" designs, these aesthetics manage to communicate that in and of themselves.
No skin off my nose, but I feel like this is the only Tickington quest that charges money. Just an observation.
Took an Yggdrasil Dew and 2500 Gold.
...No, I'm not asking you pay me back!
...Considering how much dew is in a vial, are you sure there's enough?
Thankfully, that's multiple chunks of platinum ore, but it's still a pretty terrible reward. I don't think we're using platinum in recipes anymore.
I don't imagine you can visit too easily.
All the settlements and parts of the village the game doesn't want you exploring are still blocked off, though.
Pankraz is grateful for the help.
...
And now we get to one of DQ's more... heartbreaking moments.
Coburg is where Pankraz dies. He has been summoned to babysit the elder prince, and the mother of the younger prince plans an assassination attempt involving selling him to monsters. Pankraz and the DQV Hero try to put a stop to it and wind up bumping into monsters too strong for them.
DQV includes a cute moment where you can time travel back to this part of the story, and if you choose to talk to Pankraz, you can try, in vain, to tell him not to go to Coburg. He does at least promise to consider the warning, though...
Excuse me, sir? At this point in the story, the DQV Hero is, without question, six years old! I may be 16, but "not much older than six"? He may be growing up fast, but still!
Of course I'll visit Gemma and Amber, though.
That's also our Altar of the Heavenly Bride finished up. We're on a roll!
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The DQ5 Hero is nigh-consistently the only player character to be portrayed using a staff instead of a sword. In gameplay, he is able to use plenty of the game's swords, but the choice to make him a staff-user is highly symbolic of the fact he is not a Hero in the in-universe sense of the term- were we to use DQ11's terminology (as the DQ staff seem to be interested in trying, with DQ Tact and Anlucia), we would say that this man is not the Luminary, although he is still a lower-case h "hero" in the literary sense. That reputation did wind up costing him the position of the fourth Hero to be represented in Smash, however- there is no more fitting choice in terms of series representation and popularity, but Sakurai and the DQ team couldn't see him as a sword-using clone of the Luminary, so they gave the spot to Four. Honestly, worth it.
The real reward for solving Whealbrook's problems is the grand opening of the Sinndicate's shop for the Luminary of DQ11.
She has four items, as is usual for her.
And those are some exorbitant prices. These three costumes are all recolours of costumes from the base game- Serena's Dancer costume, Veronica's Kitty costume, and...
The school uniform for all three girls I'll take two!
...What do you mean, Devilry Drinkers only sell for 15000G in Tickington? Strange.
You get an accolade for three, six and ten altars fully cleared. Kinda weird, but I'll take it.
Oh yeah, and this is what you need for the Supreme Sage's Staff. Nothing special, but make a +3 one.
The Field Marshal's gear needs Serpent's Skin (you can get these from Malicious Black Dragons, Dread Dragons, and Malicious Blue Dragons, for the sources I think will be relatively easy) and Night Sticks (you're basically stuck with the Horknight Watchmen if you want to use Half Inch, unless you want to go to Insula Incognita for Malicious Brownies). So I won't get them yet.
Proof of concept: These things are supposed to sell for 30000 and it works just fine over in Hotto's shop.
Right, now gimme two of those. I also buy everything else for the costumes- they count to the achievements.
The recoloured Kitty/Dancer costumes. I don't know the Black Cat numbers off hand, since I always think of it as a costume first, but the basic Kitty armour gave Ice/Dark resists- that wouldn't be half bad for Ronnie in and of itself.
And, of course, our legendary Academie uniformes. I've gotta say, I was rather smitten with the blue uniforms, but the white really makes them pop. Also adds some colour (ironically) to crowd scenes with all three of them in the same gear- the blue can get kinda drab.
The real purpose of the Chic Uniformes is, of course, to increase the defensive power of Jade and Veronica while they're upping our item drop rate. That effect is even more powerful now that enemies have multiple amazing drops, and mid-Act 1 armour isn't cutting it anymore. Thankfully, despite being "new to Definitive" armours, these can be reforged to +3.
Veronica also gets the Supreme Sage's Staff? The "ultimate" weapons drop off so fast...
Next time: We do something a long time coming for Sylvando and Hendrik.
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