Determining the very best build for the Hero of Dragon Quest 8 comes with one very significant caveat: He’s by far the best healer in the game. Now, we’re not about to claim that it’s impossible to heal without him, after all characters like Angelo can also do a fine job, but the combination of Omniheal and a 50% MP reduction makes the Hero a far better choice, especially in the late game. All of this being the case, a discussion around builds revolves around what else you want your Hero to do, and how you should best allocate points to achieve this. The following then, are three of our favourite ways to build the Hero of Dragon Quest 8!
Story Support Build
- (Courage) – 90 Points
- (Swords) – 30 Points
- (Boomerangs) – 32 Points
As we noted above, the Hero is by far the best healer available in Dragon quest 8, so this particular build leans into it to support the party. Priority should be given to the Courage tree, because you want to get to Omniheal and the MP reduction as soon as possible, however he’d be rather useless outside of health restoration were it not for attacking options, so we take Swords up to 30 points for Metal Slash, and invest into Boomerangs to assist with taking down groups of enemies. This is the kind of build you’ll want to go with if you’re planning on having other team members prioritise attacking, freeing up the likes of Angelo to take a more aggressive approach without risking the party at the same time.
This build is ideal for completing the story section of Dragon Quest 8. The Hero will take care of everything healing related, be able to contribute with Metal Slime killing in the early and mid sections, and he’ll also be able to deal good damage to groups of enemies. Later sections will see this fall off, and the post game may find it lacking, but if you’re just in it for the story ride, this will suffice.
Build Features
- Naturally, it features huge healing via Omniheal and 50% MP reduction from the Courage tree. This will take care of healing entirely in the vast majority of situations.
- Swords are taken up to Metal Slash, which is very useful against the first two types of Metal Slime.
- Boomerangs are invested in up to Firebird Throw at 32 points. This, combined with the above points, make the Hero a great ‘support’ party member for the main story portion.
- Towards the end of the game, and indeed in the post game portion, you’ll find that this build falls off, so if you’re planning on going deep into the remainder of the game, perhaps choose one of the below two builds.
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All Round Power
- (Courage) – 90 Points
- (Swords) – 66 Points
- (Spears) – 59 Points
Probably our favourite Hero build in DQ8 is this, which we’ve termed ‘All Round Power’. Not only does this have access to the massive heals and MP reduction that our prior did, but it also contributes a great deal more when it comes to damage. By taking swords up to 66 points you’ll have access to the powerful Falcon Strike, which is a good option for single target battles, and it’s buffed by reaching the +25 attack power passive. Similarly, we like to take Spears up to 59 points, because not only does this access Lightning Thrust for farming all types of Metal Slime, but also Clean Sweep, which is a useful group attack for random battles that costs little or nothing, depending on the version you’re playing.
Build Features
- Retains the epic healing power from our first build, meaning full party heals at half the price.
- Swords provide excellent single target damage and some early game Metal Slime killing options.
- Spears will offer late game Metal Slime killing capabilities, whilst also providing some group damage options.
- This is a great all round build for the Hero, and it can transition into our next build, which we consider to be the best all round option for the character.
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Ultimate Hero Build
- (Courage) – 100 Points
- (Swords) – 100 Points
- (Spears) – 59 Points
- (Fisticuffs) – 11 Points
As much as we love the group attack portion of the Boomerang, and indeed the legendary Thin Air attack from the Fisticuffs tree, this particular build is one that we consider to be by far the best for the Hero. Not only are the healing spells retained, which again means full party heals for half the normal price, but maxing Courage and Swords will unlock the Gigagash skill, which is one of the most powerful group attacks in the entire game. We only take 59 points in Spears, which is essentially just for Lightning Thrust to help with killing later Metal Slimes, however it’s technically possible to max these and access Lightning Storm to attack the entire enemy team. Finally, taking 11 points in Fisticuffs will grant access to Defending Champion, because some very late game opponents will require some rounds of defence, and this buffs the damage reduction significantly.
Build Features
- Once again, the Hero retains Omniheal and half MP costs.
- Swords and Courage are both maxed, to access Gigagash, which is a tremendously powerful group attack.
- Spears are retained for the Metal Slime killing Lightning Thrust.
- Fisticuffs get a small 11 point allocation to pick up Defending Champion, which will help your Hero survive some post game content.
- A Hero with this build turns into an all round, super powerful performer, capable of healing the entire team whilst dishing out incredible damage.
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Categories: Dragon Quest VIII