Were one phrase capable of describing Yangus, it would have to be the ‘lovable rogue’. From the very beginning of Dragon Quest 8 he is your bro, and he never so much as considers turning his back on you, mainly thanks to you saving his life on a perilous bridge. In battle too he is just as impressive, ably aiding you with oodles of physical damage, the occasional supporting heal and the ability to steal plenty of loot! Unlike the Hero however, his personal skill – Humanity – doesn’t offer anything close to a marquee ability, so the following three builds are free to focus on bringing the best out of his weapon choices.
Balanced Yangus
- (Humanity) – 42 Points
- (Fisticuffs) – 42 Points
- (Axes) – 66 Points
Generally speaking, Yangus is considered an almost purely damage based party member in Dragon Quest 8. This doesn’t mean that he cannot offer support however, but in the main you’ll be looking to him to supply as much physical damage as possible through his diverse and powerful selection of weapons. Thankfully he’s also quite bulky, and will be able to stand up to a significant amount of damage and keep on performing.
For our balanced build we like to grab his supportive elements quite early, by investing a little into the Humanity skills. By doing this you will be able to grab an early heal, which is very beneficial in the beginning of the game, before pushing onto 42 points evenly spread across this and Fisticuffs. This will mean that Yangus will access Knuckle Sandwich quite quickly, which is an excellent single target attack, Thin Air a little later, which is the de facto random battle removing ability, and Kabuff, which is a fantastic party defence buff. Once these have been used to traverse the early and mid game, Axes can then be focused on, specifically for their ability to defeat Metal Slimes with the Executioner skill, though they also have the excellent Helm Splitter ability early on, which is great for taking down bosses.
Build Features
- Investing some points into Humanity early will allow Yangus to assist with healing, and Whistle is more useful than you might think, especially when you’re hunting for specific Alchemy ingredients.
- Fisticuffs are taken for their excellent all round damage skills. Knuckle Sandwich will do well versus single targets and Thin Air is a fantastic way to quickly defeat random battles.
- Axes should be very lightly invested into at first, perhaps just picking up Helm Splitter for reducing defences, but focused later on to assist with Metal Slime killing.
- This is a nice, all round build for Yangus that will ensure he is powerful and useful for the duration of the story.
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Yangus The Thief
- (Humanity) – 42 Points
- (Scythes) – 70 Points
- (Axes) – 66 Points
Regarding our next build, you’ll likely first note that we retain our points in Humanity, and you may also note that this is a trend that continues below. Well, Yangus has some very good abilities in the Humanity section, but this unfortunately does not really continue further than 42 points, so they’re better spent elsewhere. Specifically in this case, they’re better invested in Scythes, at least they are if you have ambitions of gathering plenty of pilfered loot!
Before digging into this further however, we should note that Dragon Quest 8 is significantly flawed when it comes to loot. Drop rates, upon which the steal rate is based, are much lower than they should be, and whilst we could write countless paragraphs about this subject in particular, the main point is that stealing items isn’t quite as good as other DQ titles. Temper this knowledge however, with the fact that it’s much better than simply waiting for the items to drop in DQ8 specifically, so whilst it kind of evens itself out, don’t expect loot to simply rain from the sky with this build.
Anyway, focusing on Scythes with Yangus is essentially the ‘stealing’ build. You could argue that another character is better at this, but they join a lot later than our yellow haired lad and you’ll miss out on a great deal should you choose to wait. Investing 70 will get you access to the best possible steal for Yangus, and a fair few attacking skills to boot. There’s no Metal ability sadly, so we still move into Axes in the late game, but it’s worth noting that some late game Scythes are ridiculously powerful, and there is a very good reason to keep investing in them with some extra points…
Build Features
- Investing 70 points into Scythes will grant access to the best loot stealing ability that Yangus can learn, though thanks to the rate being based on initial drop rates, don’t go expecting a ton of loot.
- We still invest enough in Humanity to keep our Yangus supportive during the early and mid game. Kabuff is very useful after all, and having another healer in the very early portion is a boon.
- Technically you can invest into the Scythes further than 70, however unless you’re planning on making it to level 54+, the Axe will be more worthwhile, and it will also give you Metal Slime killing options.
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Ultimate Yangus Build
- (Humanity) – 42 Points
- (Axes) – 82 Points
- (Fisticuffs) – 77 Points
- (Scythes) – 100 Points
In many ways, the ultimate Yangus build is one that simply combines his previously identified benefits, albeit with a few nice additions. Also, in line with our previous information, Humanity does not move further than 42 points. It’s really not worth going for anything further than Kabuff, especially when his alternative skills have attractive options towards their later levels.
What we’re doing here then, is powering up his best offensive options, to the point where going further is no longer worthwhile. With Axes you’ll note only reach Executioner for Metal Slimes, but also additional attack power at 82. Similarly, Fisticuffs will gather up Helm Splitter, Knuckle Sandwich and Thin Air, but also grab level 77 for that attack power buff. Generally speaking, these will help Yangus deal as much damage as possible and give you plenty of options.
The final choice is one that must be highlighted alone. At first glance it may not make a great deal of sense to maximise Scythes; they’re just another option that seems tilted in favour of stealing added effects, right? Well, should you manage to level Yangus to 55, his maxed Scythe skill, Big Banga, will have its effect changed. Not only will the animation change, but the damage output will more than double, and it hits every single opponent! This pushes his performance very high in battle, and whilst it’s not necessarily massive in terms of single target damage, you’ll never have to worry about a random battle ever again.
Build Features
- The Ultimate Yangus build retains his supportive abilities from the Humanity tree. Having an early heal and another source for the Kabuff spell is priceless.
- Axes will provide single target damage, the ability to farm Metal Slimes and they’re levelled enough to reach the highest attack power boost.
- Fisticuffs bring the epic random battle removing Thin Air, whilst also offering early game power through Knuckle Sandwich. These too gain their highest attack power bonus by levelling them to this point.
- Scythes are the hidden secret of Yangus, because levelling them to 100 points and reaching level 55 will hugely power up their highest skill, Big Banga. It’s not unusual to see this do 400+ points of damage to every single target. As a bonus, they’re good for stealing items too!
- If you’re wondering where Clubs are, they do not offer enough. Technically you can gather more money whilst using them, but the difference is negligible until quite late on, and you’ll miss too many essential skills elsewhere.
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Categories: Dragon Quest VIII