Dragon Quest XI

[Julius]

A free theme and avatar bundle completely went under the radar when it launched last Wednesday on the PlayStation Store 

Avatars:

Party Time Theme (when in upper menu):

(when in lower menu):

The bundle is available for free here. 

Edited December 18, 2018 by Julius

[drahkon]

Quick update.

Found a casino.

And now the decent into my deep, dark JRPG gambling addiction begins.  

[drahkon]

Well...I spent more time in the casino last night than I want to admit  

I'm now at 25k Tokens. I want that Platinum Greatsword for 100k, though. And more equipment. If I got all I would need 225k tokens (I think). 
Even though I know that at one point in the game (which is probably not too too far away) I will easily acquire better gear, I want the casino prizes now. NOW I SAY!

Anyway, off to work and then on a train ride to my mom's place. I'll probably greet her with "Hi, bye. I have to gamble"  

Edited December 19, 2018 by drahkon

[drahkon]

I need help.  

113k tokens are mine. 

Acquired the Platinum Powersword for the Hero. 172 Attack. Nice  

Anyway...I need a lot more tokens for the other equipment I want, but I'm a little burnt out  Think I'll take up exploration again for a while.

[Grazza]

I'm another one who was taught buffs and debuffs by Dragon Quest.  To be quite honest, I think I had VIII set up so that the computer controlled most of my team the first time.  I saw them casting Kabuff and Accelerate and gradually learnt the value of it.

[drahkon]

23 hours in.

Back to 60k tokens.  I think I spent 5 hours in the casino...

Anyway, completed a couple of side quests, shot down 5 targets with the crossbow in some areas and explored new lands. I've neglected battles, though. I'll definitely have to beat the crap out of some monsters.  

This game, man...so far it's the perfect JRPG. 

[drahkon]

How cool was Vince's little story. Very enjoyable and heartwarming.  

I said it once, I'll say it again: I love the two Draconian Quest modifiers I enabled. Makes for quite the challenging game. Even fights against normal enemies can be tough and require some thinking.

Edit:

Spoiler

Ohhhhhh, Rab is the Hero's grandfather?  

And that scene at the Luminary's parents' grave  

Edit #2: And the ritual  Please stop now...I'm getting teary-eyed.

Edited December 20, 2018 by drahkon

[drahkon]

I grinded exp until 3am last night. Not sure if it's needed but I know there's a boss coming up and maybe it's nice to level up a bit.

Grinding is quite slow now, though. There's only one monster that still gives me exp and there are only two of it in one particular area. Metal Slimes don't appear regularly enough to warrant going after them.

My aim is to get my party to level 30. Gonna me take quite some time  

[Hero-of-Time]

6 minutes ago, drahkon said:

I grinded exp until 3am last night. 

[drahkon]

Well, well, well...looks like I grinded a little too much  

Managed to beat the next boss quite easily and thanks to the Draconian Quest modifier I got no exp for the victory  

[drahkon]

41 hours played, 4 orbs collected.

The last two bosses weren't particularly difficult. I didn't even have to grind more exp   Being overlevelled meant that I pretty much rushed through certain areas without exploring and fighting too too much. Will probably have to do that anyway when going for the Platinum.

My Hero is still rocking the greatsword I got in the casino  But I just found a book teaching me the recipe for it. Looks like I might find stronger equipment soon.

Arrived at an area which has another orb for me in store. Will tackle it tomorrow  

[drahkon]

Ok, so what the actual fuck?  

Spoiler

Mordegon just went nuts. Holy shit, that cutscene was amazing.

I mean, of course the story for our heroes had to turn bad eventually but this was on another level.

The Luminary is longer the Luminary but a fish...

I love this game  

Have to do some socializing now ,though...won't be able to play until tomorrow  

[drahkon]

I passed the 50 hour mark.

After the events of the spoiler from the above post a lot of things have happened.

Spoiler

• Hendrik is now a party member
• Jasper has gone apeshit
• I've rejoined with Sylvando and Rab
• Mordegon destroyed Erdwin's Lantern

Haven't engaged in a lot of battles because...

Spoiler

...I'd like to see all of my comrades again before fighting more  

I'm quite thankful that NieR:Automata hasn't arrived, yet. Gives me more time to focus on Dragon Quest XI.

[Grazza]

On ‎22‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 12:24 AM, drahkon said:

My Hero is still rocking the greatsword I got in the casino  But I just found a book teaching me the recipe for it. Looks like I might find stronger equipment soon.

 

Out of interest, which weapons can the Hero use?  Can you access Greatswords from the beginning, or do you have to go a certain way up a skill tree?

[drahkon]

3 minutes ago, Grazza said:

 

Out of interest, which weapons can the Hero use?  Can you access Greatswords from the beginning, or do you have to go a certain way up a skill tree?

There is a Greatsword path in the skill tree. If I remember correctly you can access it right from the start. You do begin with a normal sword (i.e. one-handed), though.

[Ike]

1 hour ago, Grazza said:

 

Out of interest, which weapons can the Hero use?  Can you access Greatswords from the beginning, or do you have to go a certain way up a skill tree?

Yeah you can use them from the start but you don't let a lot of options equipment wise early game.

[Grazza]

11 minutes ago, Ike said:

Yeah you can use them from the start but you don't let a lot of options equipment wise early game.

 

Can Hero use spears this time?  Or does any weapon have the equivalent of Thunder Thrust/Lightning Thrust?  It'd be odd for me to have the main character without the Metal King Spear.

[Ike]

3 hours ago, Grazza said:

 

Can Hero use spears this time?  Or does any weapon have the equivalent of Thunder Thrust/Lightning Thrust?  It'd be odd for me to have the main character without the Metal King Spear.

Hero is Swords & Greatsword only.

[drahkon]

Well, well, well...having some trouble with a certain boss fight:

Spoiler

Jinxed Jade and immediately after that Booga...

Jade isn't too difficult but she is annoying as hell. I usually have to spend most of my party members' MP which sucks for the fight against Booga...

Have been quite unlucky so far...at least two party members are always unable to do anything during the fights. 

Edit: Nothing a little grinding can't solve.  
It was still a tough fight...had to use two Sage's Elixirs to regain some MP...

Edited December 24, 2018 by drahkon

[drahkon]

I may have spent 8 hours playing this game on Christmas Eve...  

Spoiler

I was a little disappointed to see pretty much every location you've visited before being "recycled" for Act 2, but the more I play the less bothered I am. While the main plot point is pretty much just a "you're the destined hero, go destroy the big evil"-affair, what really carries the game is all the little stories about cities, people and especially your party members.

I also usually hate it when the party gets separated in JRPGs but Dragon Quest XI manages to make it fun and interesting.

Right now I'm trying to find out what happened to Erik and it will probably be something sad  

Almost 60 hours in, here are my thoughts so far:

• Plot - wonderfully simple regarding the "main story", perfectly detailed (i.e. not too full of information but still lots to take in) when it comes to the world's inhabitants and history
• Graphics - beautiful
• Sound - all the Dragon Quest sound effects are there and it is glorious; voice acting is great, too
• Music - the songs in the game are lovely, but a little more variety would've been great
• Gameplay - perfect; might be the best JRPG I have ever played; the Draconian Quest modifiers are amazing; at least the two I have activated (Stronger Enemies and No EXP from Weak Enemies) - who knows, maybe someday I will beat the game with all modifiers turned on

All in all: definitely a candidate for my top 5 list of favourite games ever, and I haven't even finished the main story, yet.

PS: I'm afraid of what will happen when I set foot in the casino again...  

Edited December 25, 2018 by drahkon

[drahkon]

Ehh...

Spoiler

Veronica?  

Why is this game so sad at times...

Fuck man...I did not expect that.

Edit:

Spoiler

This has been an emotional roller coaster...

First I had tears in my eyes because of Verocina having passed away and now I'm smiling because I can fly.

What a wonderful game this is.

 

Edited December 25, 2018 by drahkon

[drahkon]

Made a lot of progress today with the main story.
I'm at what I assume is the final dungeon and I've reached the obligatory "door to the final boss fights"  But I will not enter anytime soon because I have neglected exploration and side-quests for a long time now.

I also tried the EXP farming method for the first time but it didn't work. Got no experience whatsoever and here's why (spoilers, just in case)

Spoiler

Apparently, if you summon metal slimes with the particular Pep Power and kill them you don't get any EXP unless you've killed a monster that would give you EXP before using Electro Light.  

With the Reduced Experience from Easy Fights Draconian Modifier it is much more annoying to set up the farming method since you can't abuse weak enemies. 

Looks like the post game (assuming there is one - well, I'm pretty sure there is one) will take a long time to complete  

Well...first things first: Side-quests and crafting.  

 

Have I already mentioned that I love this game?

[drahkon]

Good God in heaven, the final boss (or rather the second to last boss, I assume) is kicking my ass...his attacks are devastating. Sometimes he wipes 2-3 party members with his first two moves.  

Draconian Quest is no fucking joke. I'm now in the process of farming Skull Rings which reduce Darkness attacks by 50% when upgraded to +3. Need 6 more for my battle party. Equipping two of them on each character should negate all Darkness based attacks. If not...fuck my life then  

I'm already thinking about what I want to do when I beat the boss and complete the story (at least pre-post-game). I want to finish all of the post-game with the current modifiers, but I'm actually more interested in starting the game again with all Draconian Quest modifiers activated. If I do then I will definitely not go for the post-game with my current save file (I mean, why would I want to do it twice ) but rather disable them in order to make getting the Platinum easier.

Maybe I'll even try a 6 Draconian Quest modifier main character only run, if that's even possible  

[drahkon]

And it is done.  

Final boss has been slain with two Draconian Quest modifiers active.  

Upgrading gear and equipping two Skull Rings +3 on every character who was in battle made a huge difference. Being immune to Darkness attacks was crucial. But I have to say I played pretty well during the final fights. I used buffs, debuffs, heals and attacks at the right time. Quite happy with myself  

 

What's next for me then?

Three save files:

1. New game with all 6 Draconian Quest modifiers active
2. Current save with the two modifiers active
3. Platinum save file, i.e. current save with the two modifiers deactivated

Will probably focus on number 2 first. Depending on how easy it is to reach max level (setting up the EXP farming method is a little more annoying on "hard mode") I might actually go for a two-Draconian-Quest-modifier-Platinum run  If it's too annoying I'll use the Platinum save file.

Perfect timing. My mate is coming over with his Switch and Smash Bros. Ultimate. Gonna be nice to take a break from Dragon Quest XI  

 

Still: What an amazing game. Now the post-game awaits.  

[Hero-of-Time]

The post game in this is really just the final chapter of the game. It's a very strange setup but it does mean you've still got a lot of game left to play.