Pep
Pep (ゾーン, Zone) is a mechanic in the Dragon Quest series, introduced in Dragon Quest XI. When a character is pepped up, they will glow blue with power and their attributes will be powered up temporarily. The bonuses and the triggers for Pep are different for each character. When a character is pepped up, there are certain abilities available to them known as Pep Powers. Certain enemies are also able to become pepped up in battle and some even have access to Pep Powers.
Although somewhat similar to Tension from previous games, Pep differs in many ways. For one, it triggers randomly and each character appears to have different triggers for it, such as taking damage in battle, or inflicting damage on enemies. Pep is able to carry over between battles, as well, and a character who is pepped up will stay in the state if the battle ends while they are still pepped up or if they have been switched out of the active battle party. This can be useful for certain quests, which require the player to perform specific Pep Powers on enemies. Pep typically lasts between 6~8 turns in battle and the blue glow behind a character's portrait in battle will begin to flash to indicate that the status will be ending soon.
Pep Bonuses
If a character has unlocked the skill, "Pep-Up Power-Up" on their panels, they will receive an even stronger boost to their attributes while pepped up.
| Character | Attributes Boosted |
|---|---|
| Hero | Strength, Resilience, Critical Hit Rate |
| Erik | Strength, Deftness, Evasion |
| Veronica | Magical Might, Resilience, Magic Critical Hit Rate |
| Serena | Magical Mending, Resilience, Magic Critical Hit Rate |
| Sylvando | Strength, Charm, Evasion |
| Jade | Agility, Charm, Critical Hit Rate |
| Rab | Magical Might, Magical Mending, Magic Critical Hit Rate |
| Hendrik | Strength, Resilience, Critical Hit Rate |
Pep Powers
Being pepped up allows for special combo abilities to be used in battle, each far more than the sum of it's parts. There are some abilities that do not require all participants to be pepped up.
Attack Pep Powers
- Bolder Toss: 221~291 base damage, 733~803 max earth damage to all enemies. Requires the Luminary, Rab, & Hendrick.
- Chop n' Churn: Multiplies the Luminary's attack by 150% to all enemies, wind element. Requires the hero and Serena.
- Fire and Grimstone: decreases enemy resistance to fire, soil, and darkness damage by 25% for 3~4 turns. 12~60 to 436~484 damage after an enemy's action. Requires the Luminary, Erik, & Rab.
- Fiery Fandango: Hero strikes four times randomly at full power with a burning blade. Requires the Luminary and Veronica.
- Gigaburst: 497~557 to 2970~3030 lightning damage to one enemy. Requires the Luminary and any three characters.
- Hit Parade: level dependent, hits random enemies eleven times for 11~33 to 55~77 damage. Requires the Luminary & Sylvando.
- Ice n' Slice: 84~94 base damage, maximum 403~413 ice damage to one group of enemies. Small chance to stun enemies. Requires the Luminary and Veronica.
- Itemized Kill: 120% flame damage from the luminary to one enemy, secures item as well. Requires the Luminary and Erik.
- Kazapple: 527~1986 lightning damage to all enemies. Requires the Luminary and any three companions.
- Love Hurts: 50~70 to 390~410 damage to a group of enemies, chance to paralyses for 1~4 turns. Requires the Luminary and Sylvando.
- Shock Tactics: 70~110 base damage, maximum 210~250 lighting and wind damage to all enemies. Requires the Luminary and Jade.
- Solar Flair: 285~315 to 625~655 light damage to all enemies, chance to increase lightning damage by 25% for 46 turns. If enemy is a zombie then damage is increased by 50%. Requires the Luminary and Rab.
- Sword of Succor: double-damage to one enemy, restores HP & MP by 50% of damage dealt. Requires the Luminary and Veronica.
- Tempered Tantrum: 360% damage dealt to one enemy, requires he Luminary and Sylvando.
- The Real Decoy: 24~32 to 356~364 damage to one enemy. Requires the Luminary and Erik.
- Whacky Sack: 78~98 base damage, max 545~565 darkness damage to one group of enemies. Magical might dependent, Rab and Jade participate.
Healing Pep Powers
- Arboria's Blessing: restores 25% of max HP to party, restores 8% of max HP and MP to party for 5 turns. Requires Veronica and Serena.
- Brownie Boost: raises party's attack by 50%, defence by 100%, and restores HP/MP by 8% for 4~6 turns. Requires the Luminary, Serena, and Jade.
- Shocking Twist: Sylvando will auto-revive when killed, will draw enemy attention to himself, take only half damage, and will always paralyze an enemy who targets him. These effects last for two turns. Requires Sylvando, the Luminary, and Serena.
Support Pep Powers
- 0 Zone: eliminates MP cost for one ally for 3~5 turns, will not work with magic burst or kerplunk. Requires the Luminary and Rab.
- Arise: raises Luminary's attack by 50%, defence by 100%, agility by 40% (dunno why 40 instead of 50), and deftness by 50%. Shield/greatsword guard rate raised to 100%, luminary is also cured of all ailments and pepped up after use. Lasts 4 turns, and requires the Luminary, Sylvando, & Hendrick.
- Blaze of Glory: raises both men's attack by 50%, but lowers defence by 75% for 4~6 turns. Requires the Luminary and Hendrick.
- Care Prayer: raises party's defence by 100% and magical mending by 50% for 4~6 turns, overrides debuffs to get highest value. Requires the Luminary and Serena
- Haulelujah: increases experience and gold by 150%~300%, guarantees enemies will drop rare items, not the common drops. This includes monsters that were killed before using the ability. Needs the Luminary, Jade, and Erik.
- Knight's Mandate: allows Hendrik to use knight watch. Requires the Luminary, Serena, and Hendrick.
- Roaring Tirade: stuns all enemies for one turn, always works unless the monster is immune. Uses the Luminary and Jade.
- Rush of Blood: increases Rab's attack by 50%, defence by 100%, agility by 40%, and deftness by 50%, magical might and mending by 50%, haywire spells by 50%, status ailment resistance up. Rab becomes exhausted after performing this move and is reduced to 1 HP. Requires Rab and Jade.
- The Fight Fantastic: increases party's attack by 50%. Requires the Luminary and Sylvando.
Trivia
The concept of party members combining their powers to pull off advanced moves is reminiscent of the Techs seen in Chrono Trigger, the 1995 Squaresoft RPG that Yuji Horii produced and supervised.
Gallery
The Hero, Jade, and Sylvando getting ready to use a Pep Power together
