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Like so many other JRPGs,Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Agefeatures a long list of party members who each havetheir own stories, personalities, and combat roles. And while players don’t get to fully customize these roles, they can invest in different skills and weapon types to make each character more effective in different ways.
The trouble is that skill points are a limited resource, and the best skills are all hidden under panels that won’t reveal themselves until the player buys four adjacent panels. On top of that, each character’s full skill tree doesn’t unlock until later in the game. So what’s the best way to optimize each character, and which combination is the most dangerous? Read on to find out.
MP +30
MP +20
HP +30
Magical Mending +20
The Hero
The Hero can use one-handed swords and two-handed greatswords. He also has a Swordmastery skill tree that applies to both weapon types and a Luminary tree that offers stat boost, spells, and other abilities.
Erik
Erik gets three weapon options: swords, knives, and boomerangs. His unique skill tree is Guile, which gives him extra Deftness, Agility, and one of the most useful abilities in the game.
Veronica
Veronica is the combat mage of the group. She can wield heavy wands and whips, both of which are two-handed weapons, and her special tree is called Vim. Vim gives Veronica more Magical Might, more MP, andresistance to elemental damage types.
Serena
Serena is the healer mage. Her weapons of choice are the one-handed wand and the two-handed spear, and her unique tree is Harpistry. Harpistry gives Serena several Hymns that protect the party from elemental damage, and it gives her more MP and more Magical Mending.
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Sylvando
Sylvando is less focused on weapons and more onspecial abilities and pure charm. He can use swords, knives, and whips, and he has three unique skill trees. The first two are Litheness and Showmanship, and the last one to unlock is Chivalry. Litheness mostly provides stat boosts, Showmanship has several special abilities Sylvando can use with any weapon, and Chivalry gives him some defensive abilities.
Jade
Jade uses spears, claws, and her bare fists to fight. This means she’s the only character to get the Fisticuffs skill tree, and her special tree is called Allure. This tree gives Jade extra Charm and several suggestive abilities. In fact,Jade has more Charm than any other character, and in this game Charm is a passive chance to force an enemy to waste a turn.
Rab
Rab’s weapons are heavy wands and claws. He’s a Sage inDragon Questterms, which means he usesboth healing and harmful spells. He’s also the only character who can use the Zam family of darkness spells. His unique skill tree is called Enlightenment, and it mostly gives him extra stat boosts.
Eight
The eighth (spoilers) party memberalso has six skill trees. He can use swords and greatswords, but he’s the only character to get skill trees for axes and shields. His personal skill tree is Heroism, which is joined later by Fraternity. Heroism gives Eight several powerful attack abilities, and Fraternity adds several defensive abilities.
In Summary
For players who preferspecific advice over general strategies, here’s the short version:
As far as the lineup goes, the Hero is good for absorbing damage and one spot should always be filled with Serena or Rab. Other than that, any combination can work.
Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Ageis available now on 3DS, PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.
