Defining the main character of Dragon Quest IX as a hero is a little bit unusual. Not in the storyline sense, because he is absolutely the hero in this regard, but as an actual character in battle he’s essentially the same as the rest of your team; same classes, similar statistics and access to the same skills. Such is the plight of a custom character really, but outside of the eventual access to the Luminary class, your main character is just that, a character. That said, they’re the only one in your control for the first portion of the game, and you’re locked into the Minstrel class for a fairly long period, so what we’re recommending today is your eventual class goals for the hero. These three choices are, in our opinion at least, the best final class choices for the main character.
Armamentalist Class
The Armamentalist is a hugely underrated class in Dragon Quest IX. Sure, it might not be able to sling powerful spells or deal massive physical damage, but it’s powerful in a slightly different way. Some games call these class types ‘supports’, but in a Dragon Quest game we prefer to call them ‘Enablers’. By taking advantage of the skills and spells learned by this class, you’ll be able to influence the entire battle, through either debuffing or inflicting ailments on your opponents, and bolstering your team’s success with powerful statistical buffs.
Why the hero then? And why not just any other character. In truth, the Armamentalist will work with pretty much any party member, but the intrinsic access of the hero to the Egg On ability does lend itself to more of a supportive role, and makes an eventual switch to the Armamentalist feel like a natural progression. The class is also capable of wielding swords, so the skill selection is good, and they can even wield that most powerful of items, the Shield, which makes a world of difference when battling some of the savage late & end game bosses in DQIX.
Hero Benefits
- Features the Fource spells, which add elements to the attacks of an ally, boosting their damage.
- Access to the fantastic Oomph spell, which buffs the attack of an ally.
- Myriad of enemy debuff and ailment spells, including debuffing their agility and inflicting them with sleep or confusion.
- The Fource tree grants some nice all round stat buffs, including +30 to Natural Magical Might and Natural Max HP.
- This is ideal for a ‘supportive’ Hero in the late game of Dragon Quest IX, but one more tailored towards influencing the opponents along with your own party.
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Gladiator Class
Of course, you may prefer your hero to little to no regard for their teammates, opting rather for dealing tremendous amounts of physical damage. If that’s the case then look no further than the Gladiator class. It’s the undisputed leader in terms of physical damage, and one that you’ll likely need to take advantage of when taking on the late and indeed post game of Dragon Quest IX. It does suffer somewhat defensively, especially when compared to the Paladin or base Warrior class, but this can be remedied through equipment and skills, so it shouldn’t become an issue at all.
By making your Hero a Gladiator, you will lose a certain amount of ‘support’ for the party, especially if you’ve been taking advantage of it’s Minstrel and subsequent class skills. Mainly this is because the MP total of the Gladiator is woefully small, but also it’s statistics do not lend itself to casting any sort of spells. All this being the case, you will want to ensure that other party members can cover for both healing and supportive aspects, otherwise you’ll suffer in some longer boss battles. It’s also worth noting that while the unique hero skill, Egg On, can be cast on your own character, you could have another Gladiator use Psyche UP whilst also giving them the benefit of Egg On, leading to a quicker build up of Tension. Regardless of this, some players may just want their hero to be a physical powerhouse, and if that’s you then look no further than the Gladiator.
Hero Benefits
- Most powerful physical attacking class in Dragon Quest IX.
- The above is mainly due to its massive Strength statistic, which is the highest in the game.
- The class is an ideal choice for the Oomph buff, and to take advantage of your strongest weapons and skills.
- This class choice will limit the impact of Egg On somewhat, since you can double up on tension benefits if another Gladiator is the recipient.
- There is little other than massive physical damage to this class, however it’s such a significant jump up from other classes that it cannot be ignored.
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Paladin Class
If supporting or dealing damage isn’t your thing, then perhaps you’ll want to focus on reducing incoming party damage, and if this is the case you need look no further than the Paladin, the defensive master of Dragon Quest IX. Not only is this class capable of reducing incoming damage for the party, but it’s also the absolute pinnacle of damage reduction from a personal perspective, featuring massive amounts of resilience during the levelling process, thanks to its Virtue skill tree. Combine this with judicious levelling of the Shield tree and you’ll have a unit that takes very little damage from all but the hardest of enemies.
Regarding the Hero, you’ll find that this class lends itself very well to your main character. Having picked up some skills and spells during the earlier portion of the game, those that the Paladin offers, such as Kabuff or Magic Barrier, will lend itself to a powerful supporting role. This lands you in a similar position as our first choice, the Armamentalist, but focuses more on the defensive aspects. It’s not all about damage reduction however, because skills like M-Pathy can be used to help those with resource issues, like the Gladiator. Not to mention, some of the late game grotto bosses almost require Paladin skills to defeat, at least without an incredible amount of grinding.
Hero Benefits
- By far the best defensive class in DQIX, and in fact one of the most powerful examples of a party defender in any Dragon Quest game.
- Immense defensive spells, like Kabuff and Magic Barrier, which become essential as the game progresses into the late and post portions.
- Combined with Shield skills, this class is the pinnacle of defence for a single unit, thanks to its sky high Resilience.
- Naturally contributes some healing to the party, though it lacks a multi target option in this regard.
- Regardless of your choice, the increases to Natural Resilience are incredible and a must have for any subsequent class choices, especially when you’re focusing on taking down Legacy bosses.
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Categories: Dragon Quest IX