Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

[Hero-of-Time]

Story wise, I've just got the last Fygg so I'm guessing I'm pretty close to the end of the main story.

 

I thought that but there was still a long way to go. Im nearing the end myself though, just got the final dungeon to do but im gonna do some levelling up before I tackle the final boss.

 

I spent a couple of hours just killing LMS using the BowHole trick. All my characters went from level 38 to 44/45! I will probably head back there and try to get to level 50 before heading back to the final boss.

 

Here's the trick for those who don't know about it. I imagine most of you do though.

 

 

I tanned all the bosses on the way to the final dungeon thanks to this levelling up method.

 

What I do now is cast Oomph on my Warrior and Martial Artist, have them use abilities that give them at least 2 attacks per turn and then just heal with my Priest and use more status stuff and healing abilities with my Mage. This setup has worked everytime and the bosses haven't came close to killing me.

[Ike]

I thought that but there was still a long way to go. Im nearing the end myself though, just got the final dungeon to do but im gonna do some levelling up before I tackle the final boss.

 

Ah good, good. I thought it felt a bit too soon, I got the last 3 Fyggs in a few hours. Plus I still don't know who the true enemy is.

[Nolan]

Here's the trick for those who don't know about it. I imagine most of you do though.

 

I generally just run around to find them, it seems to work just as well.

 

I unlocked the Sage today, and leveled a few low classes up so that everyone but my mage/thief (I switch them out) have Thunder Thrust. Too bad LMS's aren't giving enough XP now. I'll kill 4-5 before my highest characters level.

[Grazza]

Im still having a problem with the LMS running away before I can get a hit in. Is there anyway to solve this problem with an ability or a spell?

 

The best way, I find (and this is true of Dragon Quest VIII as well), is to have any axe or spear users wear Meteorite Bracers (as others have said - not that I've made one myself yet, as they need a Gold Bar) and have your Mage cast Accelerate as many times as possible (I believe it only has an effect twice in this game, whereas it could be used more times in VIII).

 

As for actually defeating them (which I know you didn't ask about), have your party members use Thunder Thrust (Lightning Thrust in VIII) or Executioner (the axe skill). Of course, this is a problem for those who don't have either skill, but I have defeated many Liquid Metal Slimes with my Hero, such is his Deftness. If the system is the same as VIII, skills like Metal Slash never critical, so you're best off just selecting plain old "Attack". Personally, I value Deftness in gauntlets above everything else, and don't even buy the ones that don't increase that.

 

Here's the trick for those who don't know about it. I imagine most of you do though.

 

Whoah, that's amazing! Thank you. I've fought a lot of Liquid Metal Slimes in there, but only by fighting the other monsters as well.

[spirited away]

Someone sell this to me please. I've heard good things about it, but I've never played a Dragon Quest so I'm unsure if I'll enjoy it.

[Nolan]

I tried what that video shows....does not work for me. It's easier to run around and avoid the other monsters and find the slimes.

 

Metal Slash does crit, but very rarely. I also found that LMS tend to stick around long enough that I could use Metal Slash with one or two characters and regular attacks from the rest and still kill them before they ran. Of course, Thunder Thrust is easier. If you don't have Thunder Thrust, equip the Falcon Blade then do Metal Slash for a possible 4 points of damage (half the LMS HP), or Falcon Slash with Falcon Blade for 4 attacks=4 points of damage and 4 attempts at Crit.

 

Side note, Crits don't always insta kill metal slime enemies, I've seen my mage multiple times Crit and do a single point of Damage...

[Hero-of-Time]

I tried what that video shows....does not work for me. It's easier to run around and avoid the other monsters and find the slimes.

 

Its been working great for me. I've been doing it again while I was on my break at work. It requires very little effort, you just sit there and wait for it to spawn. Its a great techinque if you wanna watch TV/DVDs or just do other stuff while playing.

 

I managed to go up a couple of levels while I was at work, about 3 more levels til I hit 50 then I will have a crack at the last boss. I should give him a tanning as many people on G-Faqs say high 30s-low 40s is high enough for the fight.

[darksnowman]

I managed to find a similar spot one time I thought I'd try to level up against some Metal Slimes in the Quarantomb. I got pretty bored watching the enemies spawn so after a while I ran around... and then after another while I just got out of there. For Liquid Metal Slimes I just ran around in the Bowhole and looked for them, panning the camera to help me see slightly further, just incase one is around. If none appear then I just take a normal battle to reset the enemies and start over. Its never seemed to take that long to get one.

 

For battling them I've no fancy tactics. I go for Metal Slash with my Minstrel and Warrior, Oomph or just defend with my Mage and Flailing Nails with my Martial Artist. Then I watch and pray that a) some of my attacks will land and b) that the Liquid Metal Slime will attack me and not run off.

 

 

Since maxing out my Martial Artists claw skill, I've started putting skill points into the bottom slot and have unlocked War Cry. Having that means I can finally try out the quest I accepted from Brusque Lee ages ago. The thing is I can't find any Scarewolves! The bestiary says they are around Bloomingdale and the Lonely Coast. I've ran round there, during both day and night, and haven't seen any. Anyone got any tips or know anywhere else they spawn?

 

Someone sell this to me please. I've heard good things about it, but I've never played a Dragon Quest so I'm unsure if I'll enjoy it.

 

If you like RPGs then you'll love this. If you don't really like RPGs but approach this with an open mind, you'll also get tons of enjoyment out of it.

[killer kirby]

People should try to use martial artists right away in the game and gain Psych up. Twas what I did too all the characters right away

[LegendDK]

Hey gais. I get my ass kicked by that Leutenant Hootingham-Gore at the entrance of Gittingham Pallace.

 

My party: Minstrel lv. 32, Thief lv. 32, Priest lv. 30, Martial Artist lv. 31.

 

Everytime i'm kind of getting him, he beats me. He seems to get faster and his magic often goes haywire. I don't know what i'm doing wrong. How do i beat him?

Edited August 4, 2010 by LegendDK

[D_prOdigy]

Encountered a curious enemy in a grotto today.

 

Gem Jamborees. They're basically 3 gold/orange slimes stacked up on top of each other (a la Metal Medleys), but they run away seemingly even faster than Liquid Metal Slimes. The thing is, though, I don't know why. I killed one and got very little experience. It dropped about 1000 gold, but that's not that fabulous, is it? So I'm wondering what's so special about them. Maybe they carry something wonderful that you can steal, but I'll have to use Eye for Trouble to be sure...

 

[Nolan]

DO NOT QUOTE THIS POST, SPOILERIFIC SPOILER BOX WILL BE REVEALED

 

To be continued? Wow, I'm guessing this is why there are DLC quests with 'Story' tagged on.

 

Also, if you have finished too, Quest 39 at Porth Llafan is definitely where you should be aiming next.

 

Just beat it myself, in regards to the ending.

 

Perhaps in addition to quests marked Story Dragon Quest X on the Wii could be a direct sequel, there is DS-Wii connectivity after all. Wouldn't that be interesting.

 

[darksnowman]

Ok, I just did some running around in the Bowhole hunting some LMS. I had an average run of it and gained a few levels. The amount that ran from me though, gah! I tried out the trick H-o-T posted and it seemed to take ages for an LMS to spawn while I waited. Its probably just as slow paced when I'm running around but actively looking for them keeps me a wee bit more engaged with the game.

 

Hey gais. I get my ass kicked by that Leutenant Hootingham-Gore at the entrance of Gittingham Pallace.

 

My party: Minstrel lv. 32, Thief lv. 32, Priest lv. 30, Martial Artist lv. 31.

 

Everytime i'm kind of getting him, he beats me. He seems to get faster and his magic often goes haywire. I don't know what i'm doing wrong. How do i beat him?

 

I haven't got that far but my levels are already above yours. I think thats gonna be my next story point. Maybe others that have done it will be able to offer some specific tactics but maybe you should consider a quick bit of levelling up and upgrading your gear? Hit up B2F/ B3F of the Bowhole and kill some Liquid Metal Slimes.

 

Otherwise, buff up, use any debuffs, Psyche Up/ Egg On your Martial Artist to 100 tension and go for it! Not sure what the thief is capable of- you could give them some healing herbs to use on everyone as needed?

[Hero-of-Time]

The last boss is beaten! Totally destroyed it with my team of lvl 50s but once again DQ throws the last dungeon at you with no save points before the boss, annoying as hell. It wasn't a problem as I did it on my first go but if you failed I imagine you would have to go through the massive final dungeon all over again.

 

I thought having to fight the previous bosses was unnecessary due to them being alot weaker than before. It kind of felt they put them in for padding.

 

The last boss himself wasn't a problem except when he paralyzed nearly all of my team but even then he was still a pushover.

 

The revelation of the last boss was a bit meh, I mean all the way through the game you don't really get any clues as to who the main bad guy is and then they just throw it at you near the end. It felt like Final Fantasy IX all over again and I always hated that about it.

 

 

Overall I enjoyed the game, best DQ I have played so far, but I still prefer the FF series over DQ as they seem to be more story driven, which is what I like about RPGs. I still think the best RPG I have played on the DS is TWEWY though.

[Grazza]

I managed to go up a couple of levels while I was at work, about 3 more levels til I hit 50 then I will have a crack at the last boss. I should give him a tanning as many people on G-Faqs say high 30s-low 40s is high enough for the fight.

 

I would say that 40-50 is the "correct" Level for finishing every Dragon Quest game I've played (and there's no shame being more towards 50).

 

Hey gais. I get my ass kicked by that Leutenant Hootingham-Gore at the entrance of Gittingham Pallace.

 

My party: Minstrel lv. 32, Thief lv. 32, Priest lv. 30, Martial Artist lv. 31.

 

Welcome! As darksnowman says, your levels are low for that part of the game (very, very low, I'd say). I haven't even got to that bit, but I found my party members were approximately Level 40 at this bit:

 

Greynarl. It felt right too, as my Mage learnt a powerful ice spell.

 

 

The last boss is beaten! Totally destroyed it with my team of lvl 50s but once again DQ throws the last dungeon at you with no save points before the boss, annoying as hell.

 

Funnily enough, that isn't the case with VIII (not exactly).

 

Overall I enjoyed the game, best DQ I have played so far, but I still prefer the FF series over DQ as they seem to be more story driven, which is what I like about RPGs. I still think the best RPG I have played on the DS is TWEWY though.

 

If it's not too much trouble, would you rank the DQ games you've played, please?

[Debug Mode]

Hey gais. I get my ass kicked by that Leutenant Hootingham-Gore at the entrance of Gittingham Pallace.

 

My party: Minstrel lv. 32, Thief lv. 32, Priest lv. 30, Martial Artist lv. 31.

 

Everytime i'm kind of getting him, he beats me. He seems to get faster and his magic often goes haywire. I don't know what i'm doing wrong. How do i beat him?

 

Roughly the same levels I had except your Martial Artist was a mage for me, I levelled up to 35 or so and beat him. I finished the game at around level 40~42 too.

[Hero-of-Time]

If it's not too much trouble, would you rank the DQ games you've played, please?

 

No problem.

 

1. DQIX- My thoughts about this are in this topic.

 

2. DQIV- With IV it was more traditional and even though it started off slow I really liked how everything came together at the end.

 

3. DQV- With DQV I really liked the story but the Pokemon aspect of the game really didn't agree with me.

 

I actually have DQVIII still sealed waiting to be played. I bought it last July, I think it was, but I sold my PS2 a while after. I didn't sell it as I figured if I didn't get around to playing it I knew I would probably get a fair bit for it on ebay as its the original release not the platinum version. The series now has a place in my gaming heart so once I get around to picking up another PS2 I will be giving the game a go.

[killer kirby]

I actually have DQVIII still sealed waiting to be played. I bought it last July, I think it was, but I sold my PS2 a while after. I didn't sell it as I figured if I didn't get around to playing it I knew I would probably get a fair bit for it on ebay as its the original release not the platinum version. The series now has a place in my gaming heart so once I get around to picking up another PS2 I will be giving the game a go.

 

Should have played DQVIII first, now everything will feel slow too you

 

 

But from the sounds of it you still have a fuck load to do in DQIX still

[darksnowman]

I took the plunge last night and changed a vocation! I was gonna go looking for Scarewolves again to do that quest but noticed another quest to unlock the Paladin class. Since I now had the skill needed to attempt the quest I went and did it! Afterwards, I switched my Mage over to a Paladin and have been putting her skill points into spears. I noticed that I have the Gladiator open too so I'm gonna start thinking about switching my Minstrel or Warrior to that.

[Grazza]

1. DQIX- My thoughts about this are in this topic.

 

2. DQIV- With IV it was more traditional and even though it started off slow I really liked how everything came together at the end.

 

3. DQV- With DQV I really liked the story but the Pokemon aspect of the game really didn't agree with me.

 

Thanks for that. Personally, I would say Dragon Quest VIII is in a league above them all, IX is in a league above the others and IV and V are in the same league, but I prefer V because of the music, monster-collecting gameplay and romantic story.

[S.C.G]

So I finally finished the main story last night...

 

It was a satisfying enough final battle/ending but I wish they'd found a way to incorporate save points in the last dungeon but it matters not really, just meant I had to use 'Evac' a good few times, once I'd learnt the layout it was easy enough to find my way back and keep working my way a little bit further up each time anyway.

 

I know there's plenty to do still even now... especially now because more quests open up and I'm sure I'll complete them but in my own time, I may even decide to start playing DQVIII and just pick up DQIX as and when I feel like it.

 

[Nolan]

After fighting the first Gittish boss again, you can unlock a shorter route up. After that it's a pretty quick trip in and out.

 

I was pretty high leveled, I stomped the second two Gitts then beat the final guys all in one go.

 

 

Hey, Angelo is visiting this week. He gave me some Templar Togs.

[ReZourceman]

I've now got a full party and have grineded a tiny bit. What level should I plan for before going to the Wight/Knight?

[Nolan]

Immediately? That was 80 hours ago I don't really remember exactly. I do remember I was maybe around 9-12 and beat him with just my hero. So with a full party of decent levels shouldn't be too much of an issue.

[Grazza]

Yeah, I'm afraid I can't remember what level I was. What I do remember, is that it was too hard for just me, but if you take a Priest and have him focus on healing, you should be alright.

 

By the way, Rez, what classes did you pick?