List of character statistics
The following is a list of measurable statistics for playable characters which may be found throughout the Dragon Quest series.
Hit Points
Hit Points (HP) determine how much health a character has remaining. All damage subtracts from this score, and if it reaches 0, the character can no longer participate in battle, and must be revived. HP can be restored via medicinal herbs, healing spells, resting at an inn, etc.
In Dragon Quest III and IV, Resilience directly determines your character's maximum Hit Points. The more a character's Resilience score increases upon leveling, the more Hit Points a character will receive upon the next level increase.
In all other titles, the maximum HP a character has is generally determined by their level and (if applicable) class, with martial artists, warriors, and paladins having the highest on average.
Any character can consume a seed of life to increase their maximum HP.
Magic Points
Magic Points (MP) determine how much mana a character can expend to cast spells. Each spell deducts from this pool at a set rate, and cannot be cast if MP is too low. Some very special spells like Magic Burst will consume all remaining MP when cast. Starting with Dragon Quest VI, skills were introduced that also consumed MP.
In Dragon Quest III, Wisdom directly determines your character's maximum Magic Points, paralleling the Resilience stat.
In other titles, the maximum MP a character has is generally determined by their level and (if applicable) class. Prior to Dragon Quest VI, non-magical characters had no MP pools as they had no use for them, but with the addition of skills, most characters began accumulating an MP pool even if they never learned actual spells.
Any character can consume a seed of magic to increase their maximum MP.
Strength
Strength measures how physically strong a character is, and is added to a character's weapon bonus in determining damage inflicted upon an enemy. In later installments, some skills depend on Strength for determining damage output, ignoring if a weapon is equipped.
Any character can consume a seed of strength to increase this attribute.
Agility
Agility determines a character's priority in turns. Additionally, in Dragon Quest VIII a character's agility will also determine their probability to dodge physical strikes. The game's programming checks the agility stat of the target before an attack is made, and if the stat surpasses a certain value then the programming checks to see if the blow lands:
- 0~249: zero chance aside from equipment bonuses. Note: if a character has raised his or her Fisticuffs level to receive an increase in evasion, the default is raised to 50% before stacking with all other bonuses.
- 250~499: 2% chance.
- 500~749: 5% chance.
- 750~989: 11% chance.
- 999: 25% chance.
As such, the spell acceleratle is vitally important when battling strong foes, even slower ones.
In the NES versions of the first four games, as well as all versions of Dragon Quest III, Agility also contributes to the character's innate defence. If a character has no armour or other defencive gear equipped in these titles, then their defence will be half of their agility.
Any character can consume a seed of agility to increase this attribute.
Resilience
Resilience (also localized as Vitality) measures how durable a character is; it is added to a character's equipment defense totals in determining how much physical damage they may endure.
In the NES titles, Resilience determines a character's potential Hit Points. The maximum Hit Points at any time is between 195~205% of your Resilience score.
Any character can consume a seed of resilience to increase this attribute.
Wisdom
Wisdom (also localized as Intelligence) measures a character's natural cognitive ability.
In the NES titles, Wisdom determines a character's potential Magic Points. Your maximum Magic Points at any time is 195~205% of your Wisdom score. Additionally, the stat determined how quickly a character could learn a new spell in the 8-bit version of Dragon Quest IV. If the character's wisdom was not high enough, learning a spell could be delayed by up to five levels.
In later titles, Wisdom is a curious attribute as it's function has changed greatly throughout the series. For the majority of its appearances, the Wisdom stat has controlled a character's ability to dodge harmful magic (I.E., a stat of 250 will give a character a twenty five percent chance to avoid a debilitating spell such as Snooze). Starting with Dragon Quest VIII, however, Wisdom has begun to effect the potency and power of spells, such as raising Frizz's power from 10~13 to 21~24 at higher values.
Any character can consume a seed of wisdom to increase this attribute.
Luck
In the NES titles, Luck affects your character's chances of being affected by status ailments such as Snooze, Fizzle, and Dazzle.
In later titles, Luck is a demonstration of a character's positive causality, in the frequency of how often they perform Critical Hits.
Style
Style is the predecessor of the Charm attribute to be found in later games, and as such it describes a character's innate charisma and attractiveness. Through the Luminary vocation, Style effects how often a monster may become temporarily enthralled by a character's appearance, stunning them for a short time. Outside of battle, Style determines a character's placement in the contests such as the World Style Ranking in Dragon Quest VI and Dragon Quest VII.
Deftness
Deftness measures the ability of a character to steal an item from an enemy, as well as controlling how frequently a character may perform a critical hit, performing preemptive strikes on enemies, and the ability to escape from battle. It should be noted that the Luck statistic is not present in games that feature Deftness.
Steal rate is calculated as Steal Rate = (Drop Rate * 2)(1 + (Deftness – 51) / 474)
Critical Hit rate is calculated as Deftness/100 + 3% (with weapon skill trait). Wearing the Critical Acclaim will add another 4%.
Any character can consume a seed of deftness to increase this attribute.
Charm
Charm is a measurement of a character's attractiveness. Introduced in Dragon Quest IX, it is added to a character's equipment style rating in determining how often they may enthrall a monster.
Magical Mending
Magical Mending determines how powerful a character's healing spells will be. Introduced in Dragon Quest IX, it is calculated in all healing spells, as well as certain offensive skills such as Solar Flair.
Any character can consume a seed of therapeusis to increase this attribute.
Magical Might
Magical Might determines how powerful a character's attack spells will be. Introduced in Dragon Quest IX, it is calculated in all offensive magical spells, as well as magical skills such as Gigaslash.
Any character can consume a seed of sorcery to increase this attribute.
Attack
Attack is used to determine how hard a character can hit with melee attacks. It is checked against the enemy's Defense in calculation of damage inflicted.
Attack is derived from a character's strength score added to their weapon's attack rating, which is then divided by two, plus bonuses from certain accessories or traits.
Defense
Defense is used to determine how well a character or monster can withstand full contact melee attacks. It is checked against the enemy's Attack in calculation of damage inflicted. It has no effect on magical or breath damage.
In the NES titles, Defense is the sum of half a character's Agility and the sum of their armor's durability.
In other titles, Defense is the sum of a character's resilience and the durability of their armor.
