Paladin

Paladins in Dragon Quest X

The Paladin (パラディン, Paradin) is a defensively-oriented vocation in the Dragon Quest series. Originally, the vocation was depicted as more of a "Holy Karate-ka" rather than the more common, heavily armored knight seen in other media. Starting with IX, the vocation has shifted to better reflect the popular perception.

Description

The Paladin increases Strength, Agility and Wisdom in VI and VII, and possess a low chance of killing the enemy instantly by striking a soft spot. This chance rises when the higher rank the Paladin is, and varies between two titles. In IX and X the Paladin loses its Agility and ability to instantly slay monsters in exchange for a much more durable body, focusing the vocation's skills and spells entirely on defending the party.

Regardless of the game being played, the Paladin is dedicated to taking hits for weakened party members and bearing the brunt of enemy assault. Though this puts them at great risk of being killed in a single turn, doing so keeps the pressure off the rest of the party and allows the healer to focus on maintaining only one ally instead of three for a time.

Appearances

Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation

A character needs to master both the Martial Artist and Priest vocations to become a Paladin.

Rank	Slay Rate
1	1/256
2	1/64
3	1/48
4	1/32
5	1/32
6	1/16
7	1/16
8	1/8

Stat Changes

Statistics	Change
Battles to Master	260
Strength	+15%
Agility	+15%
Resilience	Null
Wisdom	+15%
Style	Null
Max HP	Null
Max MP	Null
Trait	Chance to instantly kill enemies with melee attacks
Mastery Bonus	+20 Max HP

Abilities

Rank	Title	Learns	Battles Needed	Target	Info	MP
1	Bronze Knight	Selflessness	1	One Ally	Step in to take a blow for a party member in peril.	0
2	Iron Knight	Thin Air	25	All enemies	Conjures a vacuum-vortex that tears enemies to shreds.	0
3	Steel Knight	Double Up	50	One enemy	Ditches defence to increase attack an impressive amount.	0
4	Silver Knight	Kaswoosh	80	One group	Slices through a group of enemies with a ferocious whirlwind.	8
5	Gold Knight	Magic Barrier	115	Party	Forms a protective barrier that reduces the efficacy of enemy spells.	3
6	Crystal Knight	Forbearance	155	Party	Stand steadfast in order to protect allies from attack.	0
7	Royal Knight	Kerplunk	200	Party	Sacrifice caster's life to resurrect all other party members.	All
8	Holy Knight	Pearly Gates	260	All enemies	Opens heaven's door to unleash divine judgement on a group of enemies.	20

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past

As before, characters become Paladins by mastering the Priest and Martial Artist vocations, and can go on to become Champions when combined with Gladiators.

Rank	Slay Rate
1	0/256
2	0/256
3	1/32
4	1/32
5	1/32
6	1/32
7	1/32
8	1/16

Stat Changes

Statistics	Change
Battles to Master	240 (PSX)
	201 (3DS)
Strength	+10%
Agility	+15%
Resilience	Null
Wisdom	+15%
Style	Null
Max HP	Null
Max MP	Null
Mastery Bonus	+20 Bonus to HP

PSX Abilities

Rank	Title	Learns	Battles Needed	Target	Info	MP
1	Page	ScapeGoat	1	Self	User will intercept all attacks directed to one ally for one turn	0
2	Squire	Vacuum	20	All Enemies	Causes wind damage to all enemies. Its power grows as the user gains levels	0
3	Knight	Berserker	40	One Enemy	Instantly does a critical hit but lowers the user's defense to zero for the remainder of the turn	0
4	Zealot	Infermost	80	One Group	Causes ~150HP in wind damage to one group of enemies	8
5	Crusader	MagicWall	120	All Allies	Reduces magic damage to all allies	3
6	Templar	Guardian	150	Self	Intercepts all attacks to all allies for one turn	0
7	Holy Knight	Farewell	180	Self	All allies are healed but the caster is killed	All
8	Martyr	MultiCut	240	One Group	Causes ~200HP in wind damage to one group of enemies, does 30% extra damage to undead monsters	20

3DS Abilities

Rank	Title	Learns	Battles Needed	Target	Info	MP
1	Bronze Knight	Selflessness	1	One ally	Shields a chosen ally for one turn.	0
		Stomp		All enemies	Damage all enemies with Woosh damage, has a 1⁄3 chance to fail.	0
2	Iron Knight	Thin Air	19	All enemies	Damage all enemies with Woosh damage for ((Lvl*2)+30), capping at 165.	0
3	Steel Knight	Kasap	39	One group	Reduces defence of a group of enemies.	4
		Double Up		One enemy	Ditches users defence to increase attack, lasts one turn.	0
4	Silver Knight	Kaswoosh	63	One group	Summon a twister that damages an enemy group.	8
		Multiheal		Party	Restore at least 100HP to all party members.	10
5	Gold Knight	Magic Barrier	91	Party	Raises the magic resistance of the whole party.	3
		Forbearance		Party	The user guards all allies from enemy attacks, even attacks that hit multiple party members.	0
6	Crystal Knight	Oomph	115	One ally	Temporarily double an ally's attack.	6
		Kazing		One ally	Resurrect a chosen fallen ally to full health.	15
7	Royal Knight	Kerplunk	151	Party	Sacrifices user to resurrect party.	All MP
		Disruptive Wave		All enemies	Remove all buffs and debuffs from the enemies.	0
8	Holy Knight	Pearly Gates	201	One group	Deals between 180~210 damage	20

Usefulness

The Paladin's innate ability to instantly kill one enemy is low even at rank 8, and will not work on bosses. As for the skills, Kerplunk isn't a useful skill except as a last resort. Forbearance and Selflessness are extremely useful, but extra care must be used when facing enemies that utilize multi-target skills and spells, as the Paladin will take up to four times the damage. Thin Air is a very useful skill as, like Wind Sickles, it grows stronger with higher levels. Pearly Gates is also useful but due to the fact that it only hits one group and it cost 20 MP to cast, you are better off using Thin Air.

In regards to career advancement, the Paladin can combine the mastered Gladiator class to become a Godhand and have access to some of the best offensive skills in the game.

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined

Stat Changes

Statistics	Change
Total proficiency points	620
Strength	+8%
Resilience	+24%
Magical might	-15%
Magical mending	+15%
Agility	-29%
Deftness	-15%
Charm	0%
Max HP	+8%
Max MP	+8%

Abilities

Rank	Title	Learns	Proficiency points	Target	Info	MP
1	Bronze Knight	Kabuff	0	All allies	Slightly increases the defence of all party members	6
		Wind Sickles		One foe	Whips up a biting breeze that slices an enemy to shreds	4
2	Iron Knight	Midheal	35	One ally	Restores around 65 HP to a single ally	6
		Squelch		One ally	Cures a single ally of the effects of poison	2
3	Steel Knight	Forbearance	55	All allies	Enables the user to stand in front of their allies and soak up all incoming blows	10
4	Silver Knight	Immense Defence	65	Self	Adopts a stoic stance that can greatly increase the number of blows blocked with the user's shield	3
		Miracle Shield		Self	Allows HP to be restored when blocking enemy attacks	4
5	Gold Knight	Thin Air	85	All foes	Savagely slices all enemies with a vacuum vortex	10
6	Crystal Knight	Multiheal	100	All allies	Restores around 90 HP to all party members	28
		Zing		One ally	Resurrects a fallen ally. Not guaranteed to work	12
7	Royal Knight	Defending Champion	125	Self	Significantly reduces the damage taken by the user from all attacks	8
		Kerplunk		All allies	Sacrifices the caster's life in order to resurrect all their fellow party members with full HP	1
8	Holy Knight	Pearly Gates	155	All foes	Delivers divine retribution to all enemies	24
Let Loose command
Knight Watch				Adopts a knightly stance that reduces damage taken while increasing the likelihood of blocking attacks to its absolute maximum

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

The Paladin vocation is late in the game after completing Quest 106. Paladins have the unique skillset "Virtue", and can also use skill points to learn Hammer, Spear, Wand, and Shield skills. Their Coup de Grâce is "Knight's Watch," which prevents all damage and enrages all enemies.

Many players consider the vocation to be a Goddess-send when facing Legacy Bosses, as the beasts can very easily obliterate an unguarded party even at high levels. Due to elemental resisting equipment now working off of percentages rather than static numbers, it is slightly easier to keep a Paladin alive when he or she bears the brunt of a multi-striking ability.

Stats

Attribute	Starting Stats	Maximum Stats
Level	1	99
HP	36	600
MP	11	175
Strength	21	354
Agility	4	73
Resilience	22	360
Magical Might	0	0
Magical Mending	10	164
Deftness	1	9
Charm	7	116

Virtue

Accolade	Required points	Name	Effects
Slight Knight	4	Pincushion	Defends and adds recoil damage to attacker
Alright Knight	10	Natural Resilience +10	Permanently adds 10 to resilience
Polite Knight	16	H-Pathy	Transfers HP to party member
Light Knight	22	Natural Magical Mending +30	Permanently adds 30 to magical mending
Bright Knight	32	M-Pathy	Transfers MP to party member
White Knight	42	Natural Resilience +30	Permanently adds 30 to resilience
Right Knight	55	Selflessness	Shields any party member in critical condition
Upright Knight	68	Natural Resilience +60	Permanently adds 60 to resilience
Outright Knight	82	Forbearance	Shields all party members
Out of Sight Knight	100	Natural Max HP +80	Permanently adds 80 to max HP

Spells

Name	Level	MP	Description
Buff	2	3	Raises the defence of a single party member.
Heal	7	2	Restores at least 30 HP to a single ally.
Spell Checker	10	3	Protects a single ally from attack spells
Midheal	20	4	Restores at least 75 HP to a single ally.
Kabuff	26	6	Raises the defence of all party members.
Magic Barrier	28	6	Protects the whole party from attack spells.
Kamikazee	33	1
Kerplunk	46	All	Caster dies, but all other party members return to life or full health.

Revocation Award

• Order of Chivalry

Dragon Quest Walk

Paladins were added to the game in a May 2020 update. It requires that a character reach level 50 with the warrior and priest vocations before they can walk the path of knighthood. Paladins are capable of equipping Swords, Axes, Staves, and Spears.

Notable Paladins

• Hendrik

Gallery

• 

  Carver as a paladin in the official guide for VI...

• 

  ...and in the V-Jump guide

• 

  the Hero as a Paladin in VII

• 

  Maribel as a Paladin

• 

  Stock male Paladin in IX

• 

  Stock female Paladin in IX

• 

  The default human woman art of the vocation in X

• 

  Paladins as seen in Walk