Dragon Quest VI



=Alltrades Vocations and You=

Sadly, the Alltrades Abbey isn't available until after you beat Demon Lord Mudo/Murdaw, the first major story boss of the game (you should know this already). HOWEVER, this game uses a new system of changing classes/vocations over DQ3's:


 * Characters keep their levels, base stats, skills+magic, and are able to equip anything they could before changing.

On the flip side: Your active stats are increased and decreased according to the specifications of your new learning experience. Example: Warriors have boosted physical prowess, but their MP and Wisdom is sharply reduced. In order to learn new skills, you must fight battles "that count".

"Battles That Count"
Let me clarify: Within each area there is a game-imposed "effort limit" of sorts. Now, this won't stop a character from leveling up, BUT, once they surpass that limit (say they just hit level 17 and the effort limit is 16), they won't be able to gain anymore skill points from battling in that area.


 * When you reach a new area with a higher limit, that character will once again gain skill points until reaching the new limit, then you find a new area once more, and so on and so forth.


 * There is NO indication of what areas have what effort limit, but you should progress well enough alongside it without worry.


 * If you are kinda worried, check HERE for a list of limit caps, though it is surprisingly lenient.


 * If you want to know how close you are to reaching your next skill level, talk to the fortune teller NPC at Alltrades. She'll tell you how many more battles you need for each character to get a new vocational promotion.

=Mad Skills and the Classes that Learn Them=


 * Note: "SL" is used here as short-hand for "Skill Level". Skills/Spells with a "(!)" are some of the better, if not best, skills/spells you may learn. (?) denotes highly variable quality. The others are still quite useful to know though. And no, I'm not sure why Windup and Powerup do the same thing.

Normal Classes and Notable Skills/Spells
Beastmaster- [SL8] BeDragon spell (Transform into a dragon. Become fire and ice resistant, and randomly do a hard physical strike or breath fire)


 * Required to recuit monsters in 6SFC.

Dancer- [SL5] Hide skill (raises user's evasion of physical attacks), [SL6] Stillness skill (stops enemies from using their dances on you), [SL7] Robmagic Dance skill (drains MP from a foe), [SL8] Death Dance (decent chance to kill all foes (chance is determined individually, not the collectivity of monsters))

Fighter- [SL2] Spin Kick skill (strikes a group, similar to a Whip attack), [SL5] Spirit Punch skill (strike one foe with chance of high damage, but tends to miss), [SL8] Swordline skill (!) (Attacks 4 times on random enemies)

Goof Off- [SL2] Whistle spell (summons an instant random battle), [SL4] Flasher skill (mostly for fun, but females CAN stun enemies with it), [SL5] Rest spell (!) (user regenerates HP and MP, but starts the next battle asleep), [SL7] Repeat skill (?) ("repeats the last action", similar to Mimic of other RPGs, but I can't recall if it uses MP or not)


 * Note: Much like in DQ3, the Goof Off will not always do an intended action while under this class, even when under manual control. Thankfully, they don't take too long to master.

Merchant- [SL1] Identify spell (?) (checks info about an item or piece of gear, not bad if you don't have a walkthrough open every time you play), [SL2] Windup skill (!) (boosts damage dealt by your next physical assault by 50%), [SL7] Caravan spell (?) (summons the last store you were at, not sure if this also works with inns and churches like DQ3)

Priest- [SL2] Antidote spell (cures one ally of poison), [SL3] Upper spell (boost one ally's DEF), [SL4] Numboff spell (cures one ally of paralysis), [SL5] Increase spell (!) (boost ALL allies DEF), [SL7] Healall spell (!) (heal one ally to full HP), [SL8] Vivify spell (50% chance to revive one ally at 50% HP)

Soldier- [SL1] Powerup skill (!) (boosts damage dealt by your next physical assault by 50%), [SL5] First Strike skill (attacks first, but does less damage than normal), [SL7] Double Slash skill (!) (2 hits on one foe, 4 when using Falcon Sword), [SL8] Magiblade skill (!) (50% hit chance, but critical hits when successful (great versus Metal Slime enemies!))

Thief- [SL2] Hawkeye spell (tells where the nearest town is), [SL5] Mapreader spell (tells you what dungeon you're in (good for backtracking to find missed loot)), [SL6] Sneak spell (!) (avoids fights when travelling (lasts a bit longer than Repel, but slightly raises chance of being ambushed)), [SL7] Goldsniff spell (tells how many treasure chests remain unopened), [SL8] Locate spell (!) (causes hidden treasures to shine briefly (great for finding Mini Medals))


 * Note: Thief is the sole class capable of stealing after battles. This is a seperate event from item drops, meaning you can potentially get TWO items from one monster. The rarer, the better.

Wizard- [SL4] Defence spell (lowers an enemy group's DEF), [SL5] Boom spell (decent neutral spell damage to all foes), [SL8] Firevolt spell (above average fire spell damage to a group) and Bounce spell (!) (target reflects spells back to sender (not to the caster of Bounce, but back to the subsequent casters attacking or healing the ally with Bounce on) for a few turns)

Special Classes and Notable Skills/Spells
Hybrid (an ally must master the two noted classes to use the noted class)

Battlemaster (Soldier+Fighter)- [SL2] Zombiecut skill (extra damage to undead), [SL3] Hide skill (raises user's evasion of physical attacks), [SL5] Jump Kick skill (!) (pierces guarding AND does extra damage to bird-ish foes), [SL6] Dragoncut skill (extra damage to lizardly foes), [SL7] Rockslide skill (throws boulders at all (?) foes, doing above average physical damage), [SL8] Metalcut skill (always damage Metal Slime foes slightly when it hits, rarely misses)

Magic Knight (Soldier+Wizard)- [SL2] Bikill spell (!) (DOUBLES an ally's Attack stat!), [SL3] Electric Slash (hits a group with a physical lightning strike, most enemies have no resistances to lightning) [SL4] Reflect spell (!) (casts Bounce on the entire party, great against magic-spamming enemies and bosses!), [SL8] Blazemost spell (!) (strongest fire spell against a single foe, outclassed later by Lightning spells, but still much cheaper than using those)

Paladin (Fighter+Priest)- [SL1] Defend skill (!) (personally cover one ally from all offensive assaults that turn, very nice if the Paladin has boosted resistances), [SL2] Vacuum Blade skill (!) (hits all enemies for damage roughly equal to a normal attack, but doesn't lower per foe hit!), [SL3] Berserk (raises own Attack, but lowers own DEF, best used if a caster can't use Bikill), [SL5] Magiward spell (!) (reduces spell damage taken by party, beats Reflect when you need to heal with Healus), [SL6] Protect skill (!) (personally cover ALL allies from all offensive assaults that turn, but monitor your HP!)

Ranger (Thief+Merchant+Beastmaster)- [SL1] Repel spell (!) (avoids fights when travelling, best used when travelling, and if you want/need to fight use Whistle), [SL2] Toxic Breath skill (damages all foes and poisons them, damage increases proportional to user's level), [SL3] Stepguard spell (!) (avoid taking injury from damaging floor surfaces, beats spamming Heal any day), [SL8] Air Wall skill (!) (reflects breath attacks back to sender, not bad since the breather can usually take damage from their own breath, if only slightly)

Sage (Wizard+Priest)- [SL1] Absorb spell (caster heals the MP required from a spell used on them, both offensive and beneficial), [SL2] Barrier skill (!) (reduces damage party takes from fire and ice spells and breath alike), [SL3] Bikill spell (!) (DOUBLES an ally's Attack stat!), [SL5] Healus spell (!) (casts a slightly stronger Healmore on all allies, a must have for late-game), [SL6] Revive spell (!) (always revives an ally with full HP) and Snowstorm spell (great ice spell damage against groups), [SL7] Magiward spell (!) (reduces spell damage taken by party, beats Reflect when you need to heal with Healus), [SL8] Explodet spell (Great neutral spell damage against all enemies)

Superstar (Dancer+Goof Off)- [SL2] Ironize spell (!) (turns party invincible for a while, great for studying enemies and bosses to form a strategy) [SL3] Bolt skill (Decent lightning spell damage to one enemy, most enemies have no resistances to lightning), [SL5] Eerie Light (?) (reduces the power of enemies' spells; good, but seems to vary in degrees of effectiveness against bosses), [SL6] Hustle Dance (!) (Multiheal at no cost! Use it in easy battles to get your party back at maximum HP with little, if any, risk.), [SL8] Life Song skill (?) (revives all allies for 20 MP, though I'm not sure if this uses Vivify like DQ7 or Revive fo bring back your allies' HP)

"Secret" (Special requirements to use)

Hero (Master Battlemaster, Ranger, Sage and Superstar to use (The Main Character only has to have one of these mastered to become a Hero))- [SL2] Nullify skill (!) (remove all helpful magic boosts from all enemies!), [SL5] Meditate skill (!) (user heals a high amount of their own MP for VERY cheap), [SL6] Gigaslash skill (!) (VERY high raw damage on one enemy, but costs a heavy 20 MP), [SL7] GigaSpark skill (!) (Hits all enemies with VERY poweful lightning, even beating out explosion spells!), [SL8] Megazap spell (?) (Causes extreme damage to one enemy, but costs everyone 10 MP and their respective turns to use; it's pretty situational, since you can eventually get strong enough to cause more damage all together, instead of collectively like this spell requires)

Dragon (Have the Book of Dragons in a character's items (received from a few prizes during the game and/or the shop in Deathcod))- [SL7] Scorching Breath skill (!) (Massive fire damage to all enemies, though its power is respective to the user's level) [SL8] Crystal Breath skill (Massive ice damage to all enemies, though its power is respective to the user's level)

Metal Babble (Have the Book of Babbles in a character's items. One found post-game in a certain area shown in the ending. You can get more if you beat MOTHERFUCKING DARK DREAM/NOKTURNUS. Good fucking luck.)- [SL6] Madante spell (!) (dumps all of your MP to do 2x (3x in the SFC game) that amount spent in direct damage to all enemies, insanely effective if you have multiple Elfin Elixirs on hand) [SL7] Gigaspark spell (!) skill (Hits all enemies with VERY poweful lightning, even beating out explosion spells!) [SL8] Big Bang skill (!) (attacks all enemies with colossal damage, this skill is exclusive to the Metal Babble, but very worth learning).

=Recommended Class Paths and Why=

You can play however you want, but this is mostly to relieve potential stress and explanations on why it will do so.

Protagonist
Mage > Cleric > Sage > (? >) Hero

Carver/Hassan
...

Milly/Muriel
...

Ashlynn/Barbara
...

Nevan/Chamoro
...

Amos
...

Terry
...

Lizzie
...

=Monster Buddies=

DS
Note 1: Lizzie the Hackasaurus is a special monster that can only be recruited by revisiting a Arkbolt prison with Terry in your active, on-screen party. As long as you have Terry with you, just talk to her and she'll join. She gets really good skills, has really good resistances, is able to equip a variety of gear, and has great stats. Above all that, though, is that she starts out pre-equipped with the Dragon Vocation and can change vocations as well. Definitely have her in your wagon, if not your main party. She also has party chat, which is cool. Here is her maximum level, her best skills/spells, and the (non-skill) levels each are learned:

Note 2: All Monster Buddies besides Lizzie sadly have somewhat restrictive equipment sets. However, like her, they also have some natural resistances to spells and elements. Their stats aren't too shabby either! They also learn a few spells and skills naturally, regardless of class, so don't waste effort, for example, making Healie into a Priest and leveling up his skill points. This makes them pretty good substitutes for your human allies, although that's entirely up to you. I wouldn't personally replace members until beating the game once, just because they don't party chat and only repeat a few lines.

Since you could only recruit 18 monsters anyways, the recruitment by Beastmasters is pretty much ditched (and contrary to popular belief, they have NOT been made into a FF-style Blue Mage class either). To make up for this, "Slime Buddies" have been introduced. Each one has their own little story and sidequest to recruit them. The ones that have appeared before have the same stats and skills as before, but a few have been altered slightly, and will be noted. Regardless, here they are and here's how to recruit them:

Note 3: After winning the top cup at Slimopolis, you can recruit Goober, a normal blue slime, by talking to "Sledge", the slimopolis owner. Goober doesn't have hardly any resistances, but he gets pretty strong, levels up VERY quickly, and starts with some decent spells. At Level 45, bring Goober back to "Sledge", who gave Rookie to you to begin with, and he will learn C-C-C-Cold Breath, which is better than his final skill at level 90. Here is his maximum level, his best skills/spells, and the (non-skill) levels each are learned:


 * ??. Lizzie (99); Best Skills: Falcon Slash @ L1, Hatchet Man @ L9, Metal Slash @ L20, Kazing @ L25, Scorch @ L30 (also learns with Dragon Vocation)

Slime Knight (Pierre) Requires the Magic Key

Healer (Hoimin) Requires the Flying Bed (Behind the Weapon/Armor shop in Dream world Clear Vale)

King Slime (Kings) Beat Rank 7 of the Style Contest (At the bar in the Style Contest building)

Slime (Rookie) Defeat Rank H of the Slime Arena (Same as the SFC version)

Metal Babble (Hagurin) Requires at least 20 people in your Surechigai List (In the Surechigai Dungeon) (Note: Surechigai is roughly "Tag Mode" or "Canvassing" except this time you have a dungeon instead of an Inn)

The following are New Slime that could not previously be recruited. As such, I -will- go into detail about these fresh faces:

Spotted Slime (Buchisuke) Finish Castle Grace quest? (Located in the Real World Grace Castle [somewhere]

??. Buchisuke (99); Recruit Rate: N/A; Best Skills: Repeat @ L9, Whistle @ L11, Rest @ L15, Berserk @ L17

Curer (Behoman) Requires at least 10 people in your Surechigai List. (In the Surechigai Dungeon)

??. Behoman (99); Recruit Rate: N/A; Best Skills: Fullheal/Healall @ L1 (has it when he joins), KaZing/Revive @ L17, Multiheal/Healus @ L20, Omniheal/Healusall @ L50 (Yes, 50.)

Marine Slime (Marrin/Marilyn) Have Behoman in your party.

??. Marrin/Marilyn (99); Recruit Rate: N/A ; Best Skills: Kabuff/Increase @ L1 (has it when she joins), Blizzard Breath @ L33

??. Goober (99); Best Skills: Frizzle, Sizzle, AND Kabuff @ L20 (start), Crystal Breath @ L45, Scorching Breath @ L90 (Yes, it's seriously Level 90)

SFC
If you want to recruit monsters, you must have a Beastmaster in your active party. There's only 18 "non-special" monsters to recruit and they have widely varying recruit chances (Metal Babbles have a 0.4% chance of joining. 1/256 for fuck's sake!). Unlike DQ5 or DQ5DS, they don't seem to get easier to recruit each battle either. Outside of Dragon's and Metal Babble's unique skills, you can learn anything monsters learn through Dharma (and later special books for Dragon and Metal Babble). Anyways, here are the other monsters, their maximum levels general rating of how hard they are to recruit, their best skills/spells, and the (non-skill) levels each are learned:

01. Bomb Crag (30); Recruit Rate: Average; Best Skills: Magma @ L15, Meditate @ L30

02. Boss Troll (99); Recruit Rate: Average; Best Skils: Tremor @ L15, Protect @ L20, Rockslide @ L30

03. Dark Horn (99); Recruit Rate: Average; Best Skills: Stop Spell @ L5, Power Up @ L10

04. Furrat (99); Recruit Rate: Easy; Best Skills: Firebane @ L18, Bounce @ L20, Absorb @ L25, Firevolt @ L30

05. Healer (99); Recruit Rate: Easy; Best Skills: Healall @ L15, Healus @ L18, Healusall @ L23

06. Killer Machine 2 (66); Recruit Rate: Hard; Best Skills: Spinning Sword @ L4

07. King Slime (99); Recruit Rate: Average; Best Skills: Wind Up @ L5, Revive @ L15

08. Lamp Demon (99); Recruit Rate: Hard; Best Skills: Increase AND Bikill @ L10, Barrier @ L12, Healusall @ L18, Air Wall @ L23

09. Lesser Demon (99); Recruit Rate: Easy; Best Skills: Defense AND Eerie Light @ L5, Bolt @ L15

10. Lipps (50); Recruit Rate: Easy; Best Skills: Dark Lick @ L7

11. Metal Babble (16); Recruit Rate: VERY HARD; Best Skills: Madante @ L7, Big Bang @ L14

12. Mud Doll (99); Recruit Rate: Easy; Best Skills: Increase @ L13, Hide @ L20

13. Rotting Corpse (50); Recruit Rate: Easy; Best Skills: Toxic Breath @ L10, Defense @ L13, Death Dance @ L25

14. (Non-"Rookie") Slime (99); Recruit Rate: VERY EASY; Best Skills: Scorching Breath @ L90 (Yes, it's seriously Level 90)

15. Slime Knight (99); Recruit Rate: Easy; Best Skills: Increase @ L8, Power Up @ L13, Hide @ L18, Double Slash @ L25

16. Super Tensk (99); Recruit Rate: Easy; Best Skills: Death Dance @ L15, Stillness @ L20, Life Song @ L27

17. Wind Mage (30); Recruit Rate: Hard; Best Skills: Firebane @ L20, Infermost @ L25

18. Wyvern (30); Recruit Rate: Average; Best Skills: Healall @ L20, Blizzard Breath @ L30

=Skill/Spell Names and Explanations=

uhhh- duhhh

DS-SFC Naming Differences
=Websites of Interest= RPG Shrines' DQ6 Page - Will become a bit outdated when the DS version gets translated, but still totally great as a base support. Not quite as cool as the DQ7 one, but still damn good.

DQ6DSJPCM (extended) - An extended version of the GODTIER commercials of the for the DS game. FUCK YEAH. Translation. Parodies: 1 2