Ranger
The Ranger (レンジャー, Renjā) is a recurring, nature-themed vocation in the Dragon Quest series. Eschewing the typical Robin Hood designs seen in other games, DQ rangers are modeled after the inhabitants of the great steppes such as the Mongolians and American Indians.
CharacteristicsEdit
The Ranger's statistics vary from game to game, though there is a consistent focus on evasiveness and providing party support. In Dragon Quest VI, the Ranger increases Agility, Wisdom, and gives the party an increased chance to flee from battle at higher ranks, though it decreases several other attributes as well. In Dragon Quest IX, the Ranger is most Deft of all vocations, and serves as a physically oriented jack-of-all-trades by providing buffs, healing, and above-average damage output even from the back row. Though the vocation's only high stat is deftness, their tool-set is broad enough to cover a wide variety of circumstances while providing relief for the party's main healer, and also inflict tremendous damage through the powerful Wolf Whistle skill. Dragon Quest X slightly modifies the Ranger from IX, giving it access to the lightening element via a high-voltage arrow skill.
Thematically, the Ranger's focus on avoiding combat through silently navigating the field and dungeons without detection, having a greater chance to flee from foes, dodging attacks through the use of smoke techniques such as Mist Me, and the ability to summon animals to aid in battle makes them closer to the typical Ninja seen in RPGs more so than the usual forest-dwelling sniper present in other games.
Dragon Quest VI: Realms of RevelationEdit
A character requires mastery of the Merchant, Thief and Monster Master vocations to become a Ranger. Becoming a Ranger allows a character to flee battle more easily at higher ranks. Note that vocation flee rates stack with base encounter flee rates; I.E. being at rank 1 does not cut the base chance in half.
Vocation traitEdit
| Rank | Flee Rate |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1/8 |
| 2 | 1/8 |
| 3 | 3/8 |
| 4 | 3/8 |
| 5 | 5/8 |
| 6 | 5/8 |
| 7 | 5/8 |
| 8 | 8/8 |
Stat ChangesEdit
| Statistics | Change |
| Battles to Master | 199 |
| Strength | -10% |
| Agility | +20% |
| Resilience | -20% |
| Wisdom | +10% |
| Max HP | -10% |
| Max MP | +20% |
| Trait | Increased chance of fleeing the enemy |
| Mastery Bonus | +20 Agility |
- In the SFC and DS versions of 'VI', the Ranger's MP is reduced by 30%
AbilitiesEdit
| Level | Title | Learns | Battles Needed | Target | Info | MP |
| 1 | Woodcutter | Holy Protection | 1 | Party | Generates a holy aura that keeps weaker monsters away. | 4 |
| 2 | Trailblazer | Venom Mist | 20 | One group | Envenomates a group of enemies. | 0 |
| 3 | Gatherer | Safe Passage | 50 | Party | Travel with impunity across terrain that would otherwise cause harm. | 2 |
| 4 | Trapper | Stomp | 80 | All enemies | Creates a violent vibration that shakes up enemies. | 0 |
| 5 | Tracker | Dazzleflash | 110 | Enemy group | Blinds the enemy with a bright flash of light. | 0 |
| 6 | Stalker | Defending Champion | 140 | Self | Greatly reduces the damage inflicted by physical attacks. | 0 |
| 7 | Predator | Pyre o' Fire | 170 | One enemy | A pillar of flame that singes the enemy. | 0 |
| 8 | King of the Hunt | Backdraft | 200 | Self | Whips up a tailwind that reflects an enemy breath attack. | 0 |
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten PastEdit
The Ranger vocation does not appear at all in either version of Dragon Quest VII; due to a localization error, the Armamentalist vocation was dubbed the Ranger in the PSX script.
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry SkiesEdit
The Hero must finish the quest Ranger Changer to unlock this vocation. By talking to a person at the base of the Heights of Loneliness, the player can accept a quest which involves poisoning Hocus Chimeras and then letting them die by poison, nothing else. After doing this 3 times, the ranger vocation is unlocked.
Rangers have the unique skillset Ruggedness, and can also use skill points to learn Axe, Bow, Boomerang, and Fisticuffs skills. Their Coup-de-Grace is "Brownie Boost," which increases attack, defense, and applies Insulate.
StatsEdit
| Attribute | Starting stats | Maximum stats |
|---|---|---|
| Level | 1 | 99 |
| HP | 31 | 510 |
| MP | 14 | 229 |
| Strength | 18 | 305 |
| Agility | 16 | 264 |
| Resilience | 14 | 241 |
| Magical Might | 0 | 0 |
| Magical Mending | 12 | 200 |
| Deftness | 30 | 500 |
| Charm | 4 | 61 |
RuggednessEdit
| Name | Description | Required points | Accolade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soothe Sayer | Calms an enraged enemy | 4 | Backpacker |
| Natural Deftness +10 | Permanently adds 10 to deftness | 10 | Happy Camper |
| Mercy | Gives a weakened enemy a chance to escape | 16 | Outdoorsman/woman |
| Natural Agility +20 | Permanently adds 20 to agility | 22 | Forest Dweller |
| Vanish | Hides party on field; reduces user's chance of being attacked | 32 | Wild Child |
| Natural Resilience +20 | Permanently adds 20 to resilience | 42 | Survivalist |
| Mist Me | Summons fog that thwarts enemy attacks | 55 | Bushcraftsman/woman |
| Natural Deftness +30 | Permanently adds 30 to deftness | 68 | Talented tracker |
| Wolf Whistle | Summons two wolves to attack enemy | 82 | Pathfinder |
| Natural Deftness +60 | Permanently adds 60 to deftness | 100 | King/Queen of the Jungle |
SpellsEdit
| Name | MP | Level | Target | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Safe Passage | 2 | 3 | Party | Travel with impunity across harmful terrain. |
| Squelch | 2 | 4 | One ally | Cures a single ally of the effects of poison. |
| Evac | 3 | 7 | Party | Exit instantly from dungeons, caves, and towers. |
| Heal | 2 | 10 | One ally | Restores at least 30 HP to a single ally. |
| Insulate | 4 | 12 | One ally | Protects a party member from breath-based attacks. |
| Tingle | 2 | 16 | Party | Cures all party members of the effects of paralysis. |
| Cock-a-doodle-doo | 2 | 18 | Party | Awakens any sleeping party members. |
| Midheal | 4 | 22 | One ally | Restores at least 75 HP to a single ally. |
| Zing | 8 | 24 | One ally | Resurrects a fallen ally, but sometimes fails. |
| Insulatle | 8 | 26 | Party | Protects the whole party from breath-based attacks. |
| Moreheal | 8 | 34 | One ally | Restores at least 165 HP to a single ally. |
Revocation AwardEdit
Dragon Quest XEdit
Rangers were added to the game in the version 1.1 update. The stat spread and abilities are similar to the previous game, and the class has the highest deftness by far once again. The biggest difference between IX and X for the ranger is that the tenth game gives them access to the Earth-element traps as their sole offensive spells.
NOTE:The parenthetical translations of the Japanese names are merely placeholders for convenience and are not to be taken as official Square Enix terms
RuggednessEdit
| Japanese name | English name | Description | MP | Required points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| みのがす | Mercy | Spares weaker monsters who flee the battlefield. No experience points or gold is gained, but vamoosing monsters can still drop items. | 2 | 2 |
| 全職業できようさ+20 | Natural deftness +20 | Permanently increases deftness by 20 in all vocations | N/A | 12 |
| てなずける (To tame, to win over, etc) |
N/A | Targeted monster fights on the party's behalf for one minute | 0 | 22 |
| 全職業でみりょく+20 | Natural charm +20 | Permanently increases charm by 20 in all vocations | N/A | 34 |
| メタルトラップ (Metal trap) |
N/A | Sets a trap that prevents enemies from fleeing for 15 seconds Works on all monsters, including Metal slimes |
1 | 46 |
| 全職業できようさ+20 | Natural deftness +20 | Permanently increases deftness by 20 in all vocations Total of +40 |
N/A | 54 |
| まもりのきり | Mist me | Clouds user in mist that voids breath skills for 120 seconds This includes status ailment breath skills |
5 | 68 |
| 全職業でかいふく魔力+20 | Natural magical mending +20 | Permanently increases magical mending by 20 in all vocations | N/A | 78 |
| 全職業できようさ+20 | Natural deftness +20 | Permanently increases deftness by 20 in all vocations Total of +60 |
N/A | 82 |
| オオカミアタック | Wolf whistle | Summons a wolf to attack one enemy twice Damage is (deftness x 0.18) +53.5, limit is 500 deftness for 175~185[1] Ignores defence stat, but is effected by defending & defensive skills |
6 | 100 |
| 先制攻撃率アップ (Preemptive strike chance up) |
N/A | Raises the chance to get the drop on enemies | N/A | 110 |
| きようさ+20 | Natural deftness +30 | Increases deftness by 30 while character is a ranger Total of +90 |
N/A | 120 |
| あんこくのきり (Mist of darkness, blackness, gloom, etc) |
N/A | A fog is produced that lowers the strength and attack spell resistance of all enemies in range by one stage Affected enemies are also blinded Duration is 120 seconds |
4 | 130 |
| ジバルンバ | Kacraggle/Ridgeraiser | Unlocks the Kacraggle/Ridgeraiser spell | 16 | 140 |
| フェンリルアタック (Fenrir attack) |
Ruff Rider | Summons a white wolf to attack a random enemy four times Damage is (deftness x 0.32) + 216[2] Unaffected by Dazzle & blinding skills Ignores defence stat, but is effected by defending & defensive skills |
150 | |
| ケルベロスロンド (Cerberus rondo) |
N/A | Summons the hound of Hades to attack one enemy three times, with a chance to Sap the target per strike Damage based on deftness, cap of approximately 320 per strike at 700 Each strike ignores defence stat, but has a 50% chance to miss. |
10 | 180 |
| 紅蓮蝶のきり(Mist of the crimson-lotus butterfly) | N/A | Produces a fog that raises the party's attack by two stages (40%) Voids one enemy breath skill |
8 | 200 |
SpellsEdit
| Name | MP | Level | Target | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evac | 3 | 3 | Party | Exit instantly from dungeons, caves, and towers. |
| Heal | 2 | 6 | One ally | Restores at least 30 HP |
| Cock-a-doodle-doo | 2 | 10 | One ally | Cures Snooze |
| Crag/Rubblerouser | 4 | 12 | Proximity | Sets a seal on the ground that will explode after a duration and hit nearby enemies for 18~24earth damage. |
| ザオ (Zao) |
5 | 15 | One ally | 50% chance to revive party member at 1 HP |
| Insulate | 2 | 19 | One ally | Reduces breath damage by up to 40% for 120 seconds |
| Craggle/Boulderbringer | 8 | 23 | Proximity | Sets a seal on the ground that will explode after a duration and hit nearby enemies for 52~68 earth damage. |
| Midheal | 4 | 25 | One ally | Restores at least 80 HP |
| Dazzle | 3 | 29 | Proximity | Blinds enemies, reducing accuracy |
| Zing | 8 | 38 | One ally | 50% chance to revive party member at half HP |
| Insulatle | 4 | 44 | Party | Reduces breath damage by up to 40% for 120 seconds |
| Moreheal | 10 | 68 | One ally | Restores at least 164 HP |
| Kacrag/Mountainmover | 16 | 69 | Proximity | Sets a seal on the ground that will explode after a duration and hit nearby enemies for 130~150 earth damage. |
| Oomphle | 4 | 72 | One ally | Raises party member's attack by 40% for 120 seconds |
Dragon Quest WalkEdit
The ranger vocation was added to the game in the January 2020 update. Unlocking it requires that a player reach level 50 in the thief and martial artist vocations, the latter of which due to the monster master not being present in the game. The vocation's weapon choices are Boomerangs, Claws, Knives, and Whips
TriviaEdit
- The rank accolades for the Japanese version of VI are taken from the Super Sentai series of tokusatsu television programs, rather than any bushcraft or survivalist terms. They are:
- White ranger (シロレンジャー)
- Yellow ranger (キレンジャー)
- Red ranger (アカレンジャー)
- Blue ranger (アオレンジャー)
- Black ranger (クロレンジャー)
- Power ranger (パワーレンジャー)
- Mega ranger (メガレンジャー)
- King ranger (キングレンジャー)
- Due to their natural deftness and the alterations done to stealing mechanics in Dragon Quest IX, a Ranger will typically be better at robbing monsters than a Thief if no stat boosting items are equipped.
See alsoEdit
GalleryEdit
As well as in the V-Jump guidebook
Concept art for the female Ranger in IX. This outfit would be repurposed for X
Unused art for the male Ranger in IX
Human stock art of the Ranger vocation in X
