Im not the most experienced with jrpg's and I've tried to get into this game a couple times now and keep giving up but really want to play it because I love the world, atmosphere, battle system and the graphics. Is this a game that requires you to have a guide with you from start to finish? There's a big lack of QOL and seems really grindy and a big time waster making you level up then run all the way back to town to rest and head back out. Should I just call it quits or does it get a bit easier later on? Im currently at the first boss in the waterfall cave. And I think level 4. The only way to get decent xp is to run all the way to the cave and fight some battles and then treck it all the way back into town and its really time consuming because there's no save or refill hp/mp at a save point. Is the entire game like this or is there's saves before bosses and not relying on inns and health pots to refill health?
The start of the game is the only part that REALLY requires grinding. You'll probably want to grind for cash in the mid game but you'll find enemies that drop a lot of money so it's fairly quick.No guide needed really.Anyway, DQ8 is a game you're not going to enjoy if you don't commit to it. The game forces its slow pacing onto the player in a way that not even the previous DQ games did. If you want to really enjoy this game you need to yield to its rythm, turn off all other distractions, lower your heartbeat, and sync with the low rythm until you're fully immersed and lose track of time. That is DQ8's greatest strength but it takes to a willing player to be in a tune.
also you'll have access to spells later on for easier travel, going out of a cave, warping to towns, and lowering the encounter rate. Make sure you always have a Wing of the Wyvern on you at all times for the time being.
once you get your fourth character, keep raising his bow skill, he'll learn an ability that restores some MP based on the damage it deals, combine that with psyching up and you have a decent way to restore MP outside of towns and use him to heal the rest of your party members
>>12039381You need 66 points for that so it's acquired pretty late. The player is WAY better of focusing on Sword and Staff, you only need 12 points for Drain Magic with the Staff too.
>>12039394cherub's arrow takes 16 skill points I think, I prefer relying on damage rather than an enemy's MP since damage is something I can control more easily
>>12039349>is there's saves before bossesThe DQ games were directed by a gambling addict. You were expected to gamble on your resources being enough to get you all the way to the end of the dungeon. So no.
>>12039406oh 18 actually, yeah I was thinking of the next one at 66... That's actually not too bad if you switch to Sword+Staff as soon as you got the 18 points. You'll miss MP recovery for the Staff which Cherub's Arrow covers anyway.>>12039409Ressource management isn't gambling
>>12039357Great answer
>>12039349>There's a big lack of QOL>Is the entire game like this or is there's saves before bosses and not relying on inns and health pots to refill health?People like you are why DQ games changed the way they did after VIII. Not retro so I won't elaborate but it makes me a little sad that this is what has become of the world. I don't blame you OP, you are the way you are. It just makes me a little sad it has to be this way. Anyways, you weren't meant to go straight to the cave straight out of Farebury which is why the moles, dancing devils, and skippers are kicking your ass. There's a huge world with treasures to find. If you really want a quick "grind" spot, kill the visible Slime Knight right outside the cave over and over again once you're level 3. Make sure to build 50 tension. As for returning to town, if you bothered exploring Farebury you'd have a couple Wings of Wyvern to teleport you. By level 5 or 6 you should have enough gold for a boomerang and that will make the next couple hours trivial. You can't go wrong choosing weapons and skill points unless you spread them too thin. Just stick to 1 or 2 and nothing should be too challenging. >>12039357A guide is just about required if you want to 100% the alchemy recipes but OP can't even make it to Geyser. OP, if you want to use a guide, just do it. The official one can be downloaded below and it doesn't really spoil much.https://www.woodus.com/den/gallery/graphics/dq8ps2/guide/Dragon_Quest_VIII.pdf
The 3DS version is basically the "added QoL" version of it if you want to look into that. There's also PCSX2 cheat codes out there that can double the EXP gain if you want that too.
>>12039349You're supposed to explore the area around the town and collect shit while gaining levels. Then upgrade equipment and go kill the story boss and move to the next town and repeat. It's the patented DQ gameplay loop and since this was the 8th game in the series they assumed you the player knew that. Going straight for the waterfall and getting your ass beat back to town over and over is a noob move.These games are slow, very chill experiences about slowly getting stronger. It's very repetitive outside of the fun story bits to break up the monotony. You have to go in with the right attitude but not everyone gets it.
>>12039409>The DQ games were directed by a gambling addict.This makes an immense amount of sense, in an actually very good way. DQ is extremely good at replicating "gamblers high" in ways I've not seen any other game series do, it's at times laser focused on making it feel incredibly rewarding to "put a stake" on something and see it actually pay off. The casinos in particular are capable of giving you amazing elation when pulling off a big win that I rarely see in other gambling minigames.
>>12039571>if you want to 100% the alchemy recipes I didn't want the "100% alchemy recipes" when I played, I wanted to get the recipees I found by talking to NPCs and experimenting.
>>12039357dhoulmagus fight absolutely requires grinding but outside of that I never had to.
this game gaslighted me into trying the rest of the series. its not worth it, viii is the only one that feels comfy and not a slog to get through. you would think id like xi too but nah its shit.
>>12040505>you would think id like xi too but nah its shityou're just gay
>>12040514>jadecongrats thats the only good part of the game, and even then jessica mogs her.
I've beaten this game 2 times, maybe 3, but that was ages ago. What are considered the best builds now that this game has been completely dissected? PS2 original. What I remember is that Jessica's Twin Dragon Lash was god tier and unusually powerful, and the rest of the skills for the characters were pretty streamlined and didn't stand out that much.
>>12040529Jessica is a boring roastie, Jade absolutely mogs her
>>12040554Rushing for Caduceus is the meta because of infinite free healing. Really the hardest part of the game are the first two bosses and your build doesn't at that part.
>>12040554All I know is that in the original critital hits for Metal Slime hunting is overrated. You're WAY better off using double tension + Falcon Swords on both the Hero and Angelo while only Yangus bets on crits. This changes in the 3DS port due to the extra critting abilities of the new characters however.
>>12040613Oh yeah, the zombie priest kicked my ass back then. The runback was brutal too
>>12039349Just fight the boss you pussy. It's not a hard or complicated game.
>>12040631Yeah, I faintly remember being kinda disappointed with the skills designed for metal slime hunting, mainly because they're so limited in usage. Another thing I remember is being disappointed with thin air. I think it would only be good for Yangus but then he's so slow that by the time he gets it off, most of the enemies will be dead already. Yangus as a whole is too underwhelming after the first 1/4 of the game.
>>12040704>Yangus as a whole is too underwhelming after the first 1/4 of the game.Don't get me started on his useless stealing ability. My biggest disappointment with this game.
