Paladin

From Dragon Quest Wiki
Paladins in Dragon Quest X

The Paladin (パラディン, Paradin) is a defensively-oriented vocation in the Dragon Quest series. Originally, the vocation was depicted as more of a "Holy Karate-ka" rather than the more common, heavily armored knight seen in other media. Starting with IX, the vocation has shifted to better reflect the popular perception.

Description[edit]

The Paladin increases Strength, Agility and Wisdom in VI and VII, and possess a low chance of killing the enemy instantly by striking a soft spot. This chance rises when the higher rank the paladin is, and varies between two titles. In IX, the Paladin loses its Agility and ability to instantly slay monsters in exchange for a much more durable body, focusing the vocation's skills and spells entirely on defending the party.

Regardless of the game being played, the Paladin is dedicated to taking hits for weakened party members and bearing the brunt of enemy assault. Though this puts them at great risk of being killed in a single turn, doing so keeps the pressure off the rest of the party and allows the healer to focus on maintaining only one ally instead of three for a time.

Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation[edit]

A character needs to master both the Martial Artist and Priest vocations to become a Paladin.

Rank Slay Rate
1 1/256
2 1/64
3 1/48
4 1/32
5 1/32
6 1/16
7 1/16
8 1/8

Stat Changes[edit]

Statistics Change
Battles to Master 260
Strength +15%
Agility +15%
Resilience Null
Wisdom +15%
Style Null
Max HP Null
Max MP Null
Trait Chance to instantly kill enemies with melee attacks
Mastery Bonus +20 Max HP

Abilities[edit]

Level Title Learns Battles Needed Target Info MP
1 Bronze Knight Selflessness 1 One Ally Step in to take a blow for a party member in peril. 0
2 Iron Knight Thin Air 25 All enemies Conjures a vacuum-vortex that tears enemies to shreds. 0
3 Steel Knight Double Up 50 One enemy Ditches defence to increase attack an impressive amount. 0
4 Silver Knight Kaswoosh 80 One group Slices through a group of enemies with a ferocious whirlwind. 8
5 Gold Knight Magic Barrier 115 Party Forms a protective barrier that reduces the efficacy of enemy spells. 3
6 Crystal Knight Forbearance 155 Party Stand steadfast in order to protect allies from attack. 0
7 Royal Knight Kerplunk 200 Party Sacrifice caster's life to resurrect all other party members. All
8 Holy Knight Pearly Gates 260 All enemies Opens heaven's door to unleash divine judgement on a group of enemies. 20

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past[edit]

DQVII 3DS Paladin.png

As before, characters become Paladins by mastering the Priest and Martial Artist vocations, and can go on to become Champions when combined with Gladiators.

Rank Slay Rate
1 0/256
2 0/256
3 1/32
4 1/32
5 1/32
6 1/32
7 1/32
8 1/16

Stat Changes[edit]

Statistics Change
Battles to Master 240 (PS1)
201 (3DS)
Strength +10%
Agility +15%
Resilience Null
Wisdom +15%
Style Null
Max HP Null
Max MP Null
Mastery Bonus +20 Bonus to HP

PS1 Abilities[edit]

Level Title Learns Battles Needed Target Info MP
1 Page ScapeGoat 1 Self User will intercept all attacks directed to one ally for one turn 0
2 Squire Vacuum 20 All Enemies Causes wind damage to all enemies. Its power grows as the user gains levels 0
3 Knight Berserker 40 One Enemy Instantly does a critical hit but lowers the user's defense to zero for the remainder of the turn 0
4 Zealot Infermost 80 One Group Causes ~150HP in wind damage to one group of enemies 8
5 Crusader MagicWall 120 All Allies Reduces magic damage to all allies 3
6 Templar Guardian 150 Self Intercepts all attacks to all allies for one turn 0
7 Holy Knight Farewell 180 Self All allies are healed but the caster is killed All
8 Martyr MultiCut 240 One Group Causes ~200HP in wind damage to one group of enemies, does 30% extra damage to undead monsters 20

3DS Abilities[edit]

Level Title Learns Battles Needed Target Info MP
1 Bronze Knight Selflessness 1 One ally Shields a chosen ally for one turn. 0
Stomp All enemies Damage all enemies with Woosh damage, has a 13 chance to fail. 0
2 Iron Knight Thin Air 19 All enemies Damage all enemies with Woosh damage for ((Lvl*2)+30), capping at 165. 0
3 Steel Knight Kasap 39 One group Reduces defence of a group of enemies. 4
Double Up One enemy Ditches users defence to increase attack, lasts one turn. 0
4 Silver Knight Kaswoosh 63 One group Summon a twister that damages an enemy group. 8
Multiheal Party Restore at least 100HP to all party members. 10
5 Gold Knight Magic Barrier 91 Party Raises the magic resistance of the whole party. 3
Forbearance Party The user guards all allies from enemy attacks, even attacks that hit multiple party members. 0
6 Crystal Knight Oomph 115 One ally Temporarily double an ally's attack. 6
Kazing One ally Resurrect a chosen fallen ally to full health. 15
7 Royal Knight Kerplunk 151 Party Sacrifices user to resurrect party. All MP
Disruptive Wave All enemies Remove all buffs and debuffs from the enemies. 0
8 Holy Knight Pearly Gates 201 One group Deals between 180~210 damage 20

Usefulness[edit]

The Paladin's innate ability to instantly kill one enemy is low even at rank 8, and will not work on bosses. As for the skills, Kerplunk isn't a useful skill except as a last resort. Forbearance and Selflessness are extremely useful, but extra care must be used when facing enemies that utilize multi-target skills and spells, as the Paladin will take up to four times the damage. Thin Air is a very useful skill as, like Wind Sickles, it grows stronger with higher levels. Pearly Gates is also useful but due to the fact that it only hits one group and it cost 20 MP to cast, you are better off using Thin Air.

In regards to career advancement, the Paladin can combine the mastered Gladiator class to become a Godhand and have access to some of the best offensive skills in the game.

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies[edit]

DQIX Paladin Male.png
DQIX Paladin Female.png

The Paladin vocation is late in the game after completing Quest 106. Paladins have the unique skillset "Virtue", and can also use skill points to learn Hammer, Spear, Wand, and Shield skills. Their Coup de Grâce is "Knight's Watch," which prevents all damage and enrages all enemies.

Many players consider the vocation to be a Goddess-send when facing Legacy Bosses, as the beasts can very easily obliterate an unguarded party even at high levels. Due to elemental resisting equipment now working off of percentages rather than static numbers, it is slightly easier to keep a Paladin alive when he or she bears the brunt of a multi-striking ability.

Stats[edit]

Attribute Starting Stats Maximum Stats
Level 1 99
HP 36 600
MP 11 175
Strength 21 354
Agility 4 73
Resilience 22 360
Magical Might 0 0
Magical Mending 10 164
Deftness 1 9
Charm 7 116

Virtue[edit]

Accolade Required points Name Effects
Slight Knight 4 Pincushion Defends and adds recoil damage to attacker
Alright Knight 10 Natural Resilience +10 Permanently adds 10 to resilience
Polite Knight 16 H-Pathy Transfers HP to party member
Light Knight 22 Natural Magical Mending +30 Permanently adds 30 to magical mending
Bright Knight 32 M-Pathy Transfers MP to party member
White Knight 42 Natural Resilience +30 Permanently adds 30 to resilience
Right Knight 55 Selflessness Shields any party member in critical condition
Upright Knight 68 Natural Resilience +60 Permanently adds 60 to resilience
Outright Knight 82 Forbearance Shields all party members
Out of Sight Knight 100 Natural Max HP +80 Permanently adds 80 to max HP

Spells[edit]

Name Level MP Description
Buff 2 3 Raises the defence of a single party member.
Heal 7 2 Restores at least 30 HP to a single ally.
Spell Checker 10 3 Protects a single ally from attack spells
Midheal 20 4 Restores at least 75 HP to a single ally.
Kabuff 26 6 Raises the defence of all party members.
Magic Barrier 28 6 Protects the whole party from attack spells.
Kamikazee 33 1
Kerplunk 46 All Caster dies, but all other party members return to life or full health.

Revocation Award[edit]

Dragon Quest Walk[edit]

Paladins were added to the game in a May 2020 update. It requires that a character reach level 50 with the warrior and priest vocations before they can walk the path of knighthood. Paladins are capable of equipping Swords, Axes, Staves, and Spears.

Notable Paladins[edit]

Gallery[edit]