Tension
Tension is a status effect in the Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King.
It was introduced in Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King and surrounds the user in an aura of malice, multiplying their strength for the next attack.
Previous Incarnations
In previous Dragon Quest games, there were skills that can increase damage on the next attack such as Focus Strength. These skills would only affect the user for one turn, and could not stack with successive uses.
What is Tension?
Tension is a state of building up power to unleash in a future action. In Dragon Quest VIII, every party member has an battle option called Psyche Up found at the bottom right of the battle menu. This allows the player to take a turn to build up tension. The more times tension is built, the more powerful the next action will be. Tension applies to attacks and magic, but has no affect on skills that do no damage, nor is it depleted when using such skills, such as the Underpants Dance.
Once an action affected by tension (such as attacking or casting a spell) is performed, tension is returned to the normal level. There are four levels of tension, with each stage giving a specific damage multiplier bonus:
| Tension Level | Damage Multiplier |
|---|---|
| 0 | x1 |
| 5 | x1.7 |
| 20 | x3 |
| 50 | x5 |
| 100 | x7.5 |
Damage Calculation Example:
Assume Angelo is in a state of 50 Tension and uses the Multiheal spell which normally would heal 100 HP to everyone.
100 x 5 = 500
Therefore he would restore 500 HP to everyone.
Enemy Tension
Some enemies also have the ability to build tension, making them tougher in battle. Fortunately, monster tension is less effective than a human character's:
| Tension Level | Damage Multiplier |
|---|---|
| 0 | x1 |
| 5 | x1.5 |
| 20 | x2.5 |
| 50 | x3.5 |
| 100 | x5 |
Super High Tension
Using Psych Up normally, a party member can reach 50 tension without difficulty. However, there is only a 1/3 chance to increase from 50 to 100 Tension, wasting the turn if the transition is not made. Fortunately that party member will not lose the Tension already accumulated. When a character reaches 100 Tension, their polygon model will change to reflect their anger.
In DQ8 100 tension can be reached after 50 tension has been reached about 10 times. Every character is guaranteed to reach 100 tension for the first time. Afterwards it is a 1/3 chance to increase from 50 to 100. Moves that increase tension by 2 levels such as Morrie's GRANDE GUSTO and the Monster Team move Tension Boost always increase tension to 100 if a character is at 20 or more Tension.Being in a state of super high tension also grants both party members and monsters a 30% damage reduction.
In DQ9 100 tension grants immunity to all status effects including stun moves and the sleep resistance piercing Lullab-Eye.
Other Ways of Building Tension
Besides Psych Up, there are other ways of building Tension. In Dragon Quest VIII, the Timbrel of Tension boosted everyone's Tension levels by one. A player could also make Highly-strung cheese with alchemy, boosting everyone's tension levels by one. In the 3DS Version Morrie's Intensso can increase an ally's tension by up to 2 levels and his GRANDE GUSTO will increase his own by 2.
In Dragon Quest IX, the Hero has the ability Egg On, building another party member's tension level by one. The ability Feel the Burn, obtained by maxing out the Gladiator's "Guts" skill, raises tension whenever the character is hit while in effect.
Restrictions
There are limits to Tension. Tension does not carry over after battle ends, with one exception: in Dragon Quest IX, the the Martial Artist's Manual allows it to be retained as long as it is in the character's inventory.
Tension is lost if a character is put to sleep, paralyzed, cursed, disabled by something like War Cry, dispelled by Disruptive Wave, or defeated in battle.
Trivia
- In the PS2 version of DQ8, when The Hero's Tension is maxed, his appearance changes drastically. His bandana flies off and his hair spikes up, making him resemble Super Saiyan Son Goku of Dragon Ball Z fame. This little feature was added to the Western release of the game, as a shoutout to fans of Toriyama's work.
See also
- Pep, the mechanic which replaces Tension in Dragon Quest XI.
