Hero (Dragon Quest VIII)

Hero
Dragon Quest VIII
Japanese name	主人公
Romaji	Shujinkō
Title	Captain of the Guard
Class	Hero
Race	Half-human, half-Dragovian
Age	20

The Hero of Dragon Quest VIII was a low-ranking royal guardsmen in Trodain Castle. He was one of the small band who survived Dhoulmagus' deadly attack, along with his current traveling companions Trode, Medea and Munchie, the faithful mouse who lives in the Hero's bag.

The Hero is a versatile character, as equally proficient in armed combat as he is in using healing spells and support magic. His preferred weapons are swords, spears and boomerangs.

Appearance and Personality

Like all Dragon Quest heroes, the Hero is perpetually silent throughout the game. He is half-human and half-Dragovian. His father is Eltrio, an Argonian prince who is the elder brother of the Argonian king of the kingdom of Argonia, Clavius. His mother is Xia, a Dragovian girl.

In contrast to heroes of other games, this Hero dresses very casually, a consequence of his lowborn upbringing as opposed to being royalty or some kind of chosen one. He also does not appear to wear any kind of armour (irrespective of whatever he may actually have equipped). His red bandana has become one of his iconic features. Dragon Quest VIII has a character's in-game appearance change based on their weapon and shield, a first for the series.

Munchie

The Hero carries around his pet, Munchie, wherever he goes. A highly intelligent Pig-Rat. Munchie is capable of entering small spaces and exploring areas the party would otherwise have no access to, if you give Munchie cheese items he gains special abilities. Munchie rides in a pocket of the Hero's coat most of the time. Munchie will show true significance after the game.

Abilities

Sword

Name	MP	Points	Target	Tension	Info	Oomph
Attack +5	NaN	4	NaN	no	Increase the sword attack +5.	no
Dragon Slash	0	9	one	no	Inflicts 150% damage on dragons (otherwise normal damage).	no
Flame Slash	0	18	one	yes	Inflicts 150% damage (reduced if enemy is resistant to fire).	yes
Attack +10	NaN	22	NaN	no	Increase the sword attack +10.	no
Metal Slash	0	30	one	yes	Inflicts 1-2 damage on metal monsters.	no
Attack +15	NaN	40	NaN	no	Increase the boomerang attack +15.	no
Critical Hit %	NaN	40	NaN	no	Increase the critical hit % with the sword.	no
Falcon Slash	0	52	one	yes	2 slashes per attach each ~75%.	yes
Attack +26	NaN	66	NaN	no	Increase the sword attack +26.	no
Miracle Slash	4	82	one	yes	Inflicts 125% damage and restores your HP by 50% of damage.	yes
Gigaslash	20	100	group	yes	Inflicts up to 239 damage to each member of a group.	yes
Gigagash	20	100*	group	yes	Inflicts up to 331 damage to each member of a group.	no

• Requires 100 points in both swords and courage

Boomerang

Name	MP	Points	Target	Tension	Info	Oomph
Crosscutter Throw	2	6	all	yes	The first enemy is hit twice.	yes
Attack +5	no	12	auto	no	Increase the boomerang attack +5.	no
Power Throw	4	18	all	yes	Slightly less damage but damage is shared out equally.	yes
Attack +10	no	25	auto	no	Increase the boomerang attack +10.	no
Firebird Throw	6	32	all	yes	36-44 damage to all enemies.	no
Attack +15	no	40	auto	no	Increase the boomerang attack +15.	no
Super Throw	4	52	all	yes	More powerful version on 'Power Throw' Damage approx: 150%.	yes
Attack +20	no	66	auto	no	Increase the boomerang attack +20.	no
Starburst Throw	8	82	all	yes	76-84 damage to all enemies.	no
Gigathrow	15	100	one	yes	Inflicts up to 284 damage to a single enemy.	no

Spear

Name	MP	Points	Target	Tension	Info	Oomph
Attack +5	0	3	auto	no	Increase the spear attack +5.	no
Mercurial Thrust	0	7	one	yes	The Hero is first to attack Damage approx: 80%.	yes
Thunder Thrust	3	12	one	yes	A hit highly likley to be a critacal hit.	no
Attack +10	no	18	auto	no	Increase the spear attack +10.	no
Multithrust	4	25	1-4	yes	3-4 thrusts per attack at approx: 50% damage each.	yes
Critical Hit %	no	40	auto	no	Increase the critical hit % with the spear.	no
Clean Sweep	0	45	group	yes	Initial damage approx: 80% decreases from left to right.	yes
Lightning Thrust	0	59	one	no	More powerful version of Thunder Thrust (all hits critical).	no
Attack +25	no	77	auto	no	Increase the spear attack +25.	no
Lightning Storm	25	100	all	yes	Inflicts 190-220 damage on all enemies.	no

Fisticuffs

Name	MP	Points	Target	Tension	Info	Oomph
Attack +5	no	4	auto	no	Increase the fisticuffs attack +5	no
Defending Champion	0	11	self	yes	More powerful defending action (damage reduced by 90%).	no
Stone's Throw	0	17	group	yes	8-20 damage on a group of enemies.	no
Knuckle Sandwich	2	24	one	no	Inflicts 150% points of damage.	yes
Attack +20	no	33	auto	no	Increase the fisticuffs attack +20	no
Thin Air	2	42	all	yes	Inflicts up to 132 points of damage on all enemies.	no
Critical Hit %	no	52	auto	no	Increase the critical hit % with the fisticuffs.	no
Multifists	0	70	1-4	yes	4 blows per attack each at approx: 33%.	yes
Boulder Toss	4	82	all	yes	Inflicts 72-104 damage on all enemies.	no
Attack +50	no	100	auto	no	Increase the fisticuffs attack +50.	no

Courage

Name	MP	Points	Target	Tension	Info	Oomph
Zoom	1	8	party	no	Teleports player to entrance of known location (outdoors only).	no
Tingle	2	16	party	no	Cures party of sleep and paralyed status changes.	no
Fizzle	4	28	no	no	Random battles against weak monsters are avoided.	no
Holy Protection	3	40	group	no	Prevents enemy group from using magic.	no
Zap	6	48	all	yes	Inflicts up to 88 damage on all enemies.	no
MP Used 3/4	no	56	auto	no	Reduces the MP cost to 3/4.	no
Kamikazee	1	70	all	no	The Hero sacrifises himself to deal high damage to all enemies.	no
Omniheal	36	82	party	no	Restores full HP to all party members.	no
MP Used 1/2	no	90	auto	no	Reduces the MP cost to 1/2.	no
Kazap	15	100	group	yes	Inflicts up to 220 damage on a group of monsters.	no
Gigagash	20	100*	group	yes	Inflicts up to 331 damage to each member of a group.	no

• Requires 100 points in both swords and courage

Magic

Name	MP	Level	Target	Tension	Info
Heal	2	3	one	yes	Restores 30-40 HP to one character.
Squelch	2	4	one	no	Cures one character of poison and envenomated status changes.
Evac	2	6	party	no	Teleports player back to dungeon enterance (Dungeons only).
Sizz	4	11	group	yes	Inflicts up to 35 fire damage on each member of a group.
Midheal	3	18	one	yes	Restores 75-90 HP to one character.
Sizzle	6	20	group	yes	Inflicts up to 62 fire damage on each member of a group.
Fullheal	6	27	one	no	Restores all HP to one character.
Zing	8	29	one	no	Revives a dead character with 50% of HP (50% success rate).
Kassizle	10	32	group	yes	Inflicts up to 170 fire damage on each member of a group.
Dragon Soul	64	65	one	yes	Inflicts more than 400 damage to one enemy.

Skill Tips

Swords pay off if you are in pursuit of metal monsters, with Metal Slash (30 points) being particularly useful. If you accumulate 100 points in swords and courage you learn the almighty gigagash, although this takes quite some time to acheive.

Spears are ideal for hunters of metal monsters in particular, with Thunder Thrust (12 points) and Lightning Thrust (59 points). The Multithrust (25 points) is also worth a try against single enemies.

Boomerangs are a real boon in the beggining of the game because they attack all enemies. Later, however, this skill becomes less useful (over 40 points: Attack + 15), so it is advisable to switch to developing to differents skills.

Fisticuffs is largely ineffectual to the other skills, although some actions are worth a try like Thin Air (42 points). The Hero can only make a real impression when he learns Attack + 50 (100 points).

Courage is extreamly useful as a means of learning traits that reduse MP consumption (at 56 and 90 points). Don't ignore the advanced attacks either (Zap, 48 points and Kazap at 100 points), or the Omniheal spell at 82 points.

Suggested Strategies: Learn Courage up to 8 points (Zoom) initially, then learn Boomerangs up to 40 points (Attack + 15) followed by courage up to 100. Next, increase your Swords skill to 66 (Attack + 25) or Spears up to 59 (Critical Hit %).

Another option would be to forgo Boomerangs alltogether and start by dividing points equally between Swords and Courage (up to Swords 66), then switching to Spears and Courage.

However, since you come across some extreamly effective spears in the oppening stages of the game, you may prefer to concentrate on mastering spears from the outset.

Gallery

• Dq8-Hero Concept art.jpg

  Hero's concept art

• 

  Hero's transformation