Dragon Quest IX

[Julian]

Ima grind maps for a while until it gets really boring, before I resort to something like that.

Still have the rest of the week, and I want to play DQ9 on the car during the drive back home.

[Doombear]

Probably a good idea Julian, it is a slippery slope... those damn save editors. Just made it to Upover myself, but I will likely head back through Bowhole since I finally found the Liquid Metal Slimes in there. I think my guys are all around level 30-32 right now, and I have done only some sub leveling. Using Gladiator, Paladin, Mage, Warrior atm.

[Yuri-G]

yeah those maps. they would have been cool to get ahold of. there's a big thread on gamefaqs about people from the Twin Cities meeting up to exchange maps, but eh.

[Doombear]

So here is my hypothetical question to you both... say you did go to a map exchange and while you were there picked up a few rare "JP Only" maps that were either obtained by a very nice DQIX Rep bringing the JP version to the meet, OR someone there had use the save editor.

Now, what is the real difference... jump on the save editor, get the map only (don't bother with any of the other addictive and alluring buttons in there) and you have now saved some gas money!

Just curious. Is it because you think that grabbing a map that way will tempt you to add a billion gold or the Uber Sword of Swording?

I guarantee that there were people at our recent Map event at Gamestop that were using flash carts, as a few friends got some pretty ridiculous maps.

[Julian]

I would pretend that the map is legit and thank the person that gave it to me >.>

Or hopefully I'll just find my own decent map =/

idk, game is starting to slow down a bit, but I still have a bit of playing left to do. Once I start cheating, I'm not going to cheat just one thing, and the game will pretty much be over.

One other thing that I'm not so sure about: Is abusing the RNG cheating? ie: that Hoimi table stuff. I don't know. It's incredibly borderline :/

[Yuri-G]

technically the hoimi table isn't cheating, in that you're using a method provided within the game itself to produce a desired result. but it definitely is in the spirit of cheating.

on the flip side, getting the Miyazuki map via save editor is technically cheating, but given the extremely limited availability of the map in the real world, I wouldn't say it fits the spirit of cheating.

however, 2% drops for ultimate gear in any game that's not a MMO can go fuck themselves. if manipulating the loot tables is cheating, then call me THIEF.

hopefully someone gets that reference

[Julian]

Well, yeah, I guess. Like I said, gonna try to get my own slime map for a few days before I say fuck it and just cheat it and move on with the game.

[Yuri-G]

I think it's a lot more fair to yourself to get the map by cheating but grind the normal way. it's a good compromise.

[Julian]

Well, I just started doing grottos, so I don't mind right now. Also have 2 finals this week so wont be playing much, so hopefully wont get too burned out.

[Charismatic]

however, 2% drops for ultimate gear in any game that's not a MMO can go fuck themselves. if manipulating the loot tables is cheating, then call me THIEF.

Off-topic but it's still dumb as hell in a MMO.

[arus2001]

From my attempts to understand Map creation formula, with the quality being tied to your hero's highest job vocation level, getting anything above 50 is a real pain in the ass without access to Metal King Slimes. As is, I've heard they're in the Tower of Nod, but I've yet to actually see one. And unlike Bowhole, I don't think there's an area you can just sit at and watch mobs spawn and run off until an LMS pops.

For now, I have a few quests tied into high-end grottos, the one class unlock among them. I think my highest map is 45, with my hero at 49ish. Sucks beating that L45 map only to get an L34 out of it.

[Julian]

From my attempts to understand Map creation formula, with the quality being tied to your hero's highest job vocation level, getting anything above 50 is a real pain in the ass without access to Metal King Slimes. As is, I've heard they're in the Tower of Nod, but I've yet to actually see one. And unlike Bowhole, I don't think there's an area you can just sit at and watch mobs spawn and run off until an LMS pops.

For now, I have a few quests tied into high-end grottos, the one class unlock among them. I think my highest map is 45, with my hero at 49ish. Sucks beating that L45 map only to get an L34 out of it.

Yeah, this basically. I got a level 50 (with nothing special) map from someone at the event, so I've been getting 30~55ish maps, slowly building up the levels.

Also, go solo to slime hill, easier to level the hero up that way. Except that MLS refused to show up for me, and thunder thrust missed like 10 times in a row..

[Julian]

Repost so I can close the stupid gamefaqs page

Spoiler: show

Before we go over what the names mean, let's cover a few important things. Dragon Quest 9 only recognises maps by two specific things: Quality and a random seed. Quality is a number between 2 and 248 that determines how good a map might be, and the random seed gives one of 32768 maps of that quality. So that means there are over 8 million maps in the entire game. So far, so good.

The quality of a new map is based on the hero's level and the level of the grotto you just completed. The basic formula is in fact as follows:

New Quality = Hero's Maximum Vocation Level + 5*Hero's Maximum Revocation + Level of Previous Grotto

Only the hero's levels count (the rest of your party doesn't), and only your maximum levels/revocation count. So if you're currently an L1 Luminary, but you have L50 in Minstrel, then you count as an L50 character. And if you've used revocation on your Warrior class twice, but your Gladiator class three times, then you count as having used revocation only three times for the purposes of grottos. Note that you can only use revocation on a single class a maximum of 10 times.

And no, getting yourself killed will not increase the quality. It's revocation only.

This quality can also vary by up to 10% in either direction, so a base quality of 100 could actually be anywhere between 90 and 110. And as stated previously, Quality is capped at 2 minimum to 248 maximum.

===

Once we have a Quality for the map, the three primary stats of the map can be generated via the random seed. These are how deep the map is, how strong the monsters on the first floor are, and what boss lurks at the bottom. They are randomly determined based on the quality:

Quality 2- 55: 2-4 Floors, Rank 1-3 Monsters, Boss #1-#3
Quality 56- 60: 4-6 Floors, Rank 2-4 Monsters, Boss #1-#3
Quality 61- 75: 4-6 Floors, Rank 2-4 Monsters, Boss #2-#5
Quality 76- 80: 6-10 Floors, Rank 3-5 Monsters, Boss #2-#5
Quality 81-100: 6-10 Floors, Rank 3-5 Monsters, Boss #3-#7
Quality 101-120: 8-12 Floors, Rank 4-6 Monsters, Boss #4-#7
Quality 121-140: 10-14 Floors, Rank 4-6 Monsters, Boss #5-#9
Quality 141-160: 10-16 Floors, Rank 5-7 Monsters, Boss #6-#9
Quality 161-180: 10-16 Floors, Rank 5-7 Monsters, Boss #7-#10
Quality 181-200: 11-16 Floors, Rank 6-9 Monsters, Boss #8-#12
Quality 201-220: 12-16 Floors, Rank 8-9 Monsters, Boss #1-#12
Quality 221-248: 14-16 Floors, Rank 9 Monsters, Boss #1-#12

Note that the listed number of floors does not include the boss floor, and that for every 4 floors you descend, the Monster Rank increases by 1. So in order to face Rank 12 Monsters, you need a Grotto that starts at Rank 9 monsters and is at least 13 floors deep.

Also, you won't get better maps unless you cross over into the next quality bracket, so you don't need to feel you have to push yourself through the absolute highest level map you have if a slightly easier one would reach into the same bracket.

The game gives you four bits of information about a map to help you figure out what it's like before you enter. These are its Level, Prefix Name, Suffix Name and Environment Name.

Level: A map with 2 Floors (not including boss floor), Rank 1 Monsters on 1F and Boss #1 (Equinox) has a base level of 0. For every extra Floor, increased Monster Rank or increased Boss Rank, an extra 3 levels is added. Finally, a random number from -5 to 5 is added to the level. This means that a map with 10 Floors, Rank 4 Monsters and Boss #7 (Atlas) would be Level 46 to 56.

Prefix: The prefix gives an indication of how strong the regular monsters in the grotto are. This is randomly assigned, so each prefix could be a number of different monster ranks. This is also used to help determine what will be in the treasure chests you find, so it can be pretty important. The prefixes are as follows:
Clay..............Monster Rank 1-2
Rock.............Monster Rank 1-2
Granite.........Monster Rank 1-2
Basalt..........Monster Rank 1-4
Graphite......Monster Rank 1-4
Iron...............Monster Rank 3-4
Copper........Monster Rank 3-8
Bronze.........Monster Rank 3-8
Steel............Monster Rank 5-8
Silver...........Monster Rank 5-8
Gold.............Monster Rank 5-8
Platinum.....Monster Rank 5-9
Ruby............Monster Rank 7-9
Emerald......Monster Rank 7-9
Sapphire.....Monster Rank 7-9
Diamond.....Monster Rank 7-9

Suffix: The suffix gives an indication of which boss awaits you at the bottom. However, since each adjective can cover a number of different bosses, it can only be used as a very rough guide: it's easier to just use the Quality data to determine what boss you should be getting. The suffixes are as follows:
Joy, Bliss, Glee...................Bosses #1-#3
Doubt, Woe, Dolour............Bosses #1-#6
Regret, Bane, Fear.............Bosses #4-#9
Dread, Hurt, Gloom............Bosses #7-#12
Doom, Evil, Ruin, Death....Bosses #10-#12

Environment: The final piece of information is the actual place name. This has two pieces of information to be gleaned: how deep the grotto is, and what type of landscape you'll find inside the grotto. There are 5 different environs: Caves, Ruins, Ice, Water and Fire. Each environ have their own monsters. The environ names are split into 8 ranks, which are as follows:
Rank 1 Environs (2-7 Floors): Tunnel (ruins), Cave (everything else)
Rank 2 Environs (2-11 Floors): Crevasse (ice), Marshe (water), Mine (everything else)
Rank 3 Environs (4-13 Floors): Icepit (ice), Lake (water), Crater (fire), Lair (everything else)
Rank 4 Environs (6-15 Floors): Snowhall (ice), Moor (water), Dungeon (fire), Path (everything else)
Rank 5 Environs (8-15 Floors): Crypt (all environs)
Rank 6 Environs (10-16 Floors): Ruins (ruins), Tundra (ice), Waterway (water), Nest (everything else)
Rank 7 Environs (12-16 Floors): World (all environs)
Rank 8 Environs (14-16 Floors): Abyss (cave), Maze (ruins), Glacier (ice), Chasm (water), Void (fire)


Grotto Chests
With the exception of the first two floors of a Grotto, every floor will have between 1 and 3 blue chests. The number of chests found is completely random and based only on the map's random seed: nothing else affects it.

Each chest will have a set rank which is based off the Monster Rank of the floor you find the chest on. The range of ranks a chest may have are as follows:

Monster Rank 1: Chest Rank 1 to 2
Monster Rank 2: Chest Rank 1 to 2
Monster Rank 3: Chest Rank 1 to 3
Monster Rank 4: Chest Rank 1 to 4
Monster Rank 5: Chest Rank 2 to 5
Monster Rank 6: Chest Rank 2 to 6
Monster Rank 7: Chest Rank 3 to 7
Monster Rank 8: Chest Rank 3 to 8
Monster Rank 9: Chest Rank 4 to 9
Monster Rank 10: Chest Rank 5 to 9
Monster Rank 11: Chest Rank 1 to 10
Monster Rank 12: Chest Rank 4 to 10

Again, which rank a specific chest will be is randomly determined within the range, but is based on the map's random seed so that it will always be the same rank between visits.

Finally, when you open a chest, you will receive a random item from a list based on that chest's rank. This is not the same between visits, so you are encouraged to revisit grottos in order to hunt down rarer items from the same lists. What follows is the item lists for each rank and their individual chances. All chances in each list should add up to 100%.

Rank 1 Chests
10% each: 125 gold, Gleeban Groat, Medicinal Herb, Evac-u-bell, Holy Water, Chimaeara Wing
8% each: Strong Medicine, Antidotal Herb, Moonwort Bulb
5% each: Magic Water, Oaken Club
2% each: Pop Socks, Silver Bracelets, Bunny Tail

Rank 2 Chests
10% each: 268 gold, Superior Medicine, Strong Antidote, Angel Bell, Fisticup, Iron Nails
8% each: Gleeban Groat, Lava Lump, Royal Soil, Rockbomb Shard
2% each: Iron Mask, Silver Platter, Gold Bracer, Gold Ring

Rank 3 Chests
10% chance of Cannibox ambush
10% each: 450 gold, Toad Oil, Mini Medal, Gleeban Groat, Fisticup, Iron Ore, Corundum, Resurrock
5% each: Gleeban Guinea
2% each: Strength Ring, Agility Ring
1% each: Slime Shield

Rank 4 Chests
5% chance of Mimic ambush
15% each: Manky Mud, Nectar, Magic Water
12% each: 670 gold, Mini Medal
10% each: Gleeban Guinea
5% each: Flintstone, Mirrorstone
2% each: Sorcerer's Stone
1% each: Fuddle Bow, Glombolero, Saint's Ashes, Malicite

Rank 5 Chests
5% chance of Mimic ambush
15% each: Panacea, Magic Water, Narspicious
12% each: Mini Medal
10% each: Hephaestus' Flame, Finessence, Aggressence
1% each: Brouhaha Boomstick, Thug's Mug, Maid's Mop, Muscle Belt, Maid Outfit, Dangerous Bustier, Toughie Trousers, Thug Boots
Rank 6 Chests
10% chance of Mimic ambush
15% each: Gleeban Guinea, Hephaestus' Flame, Mystifying Mixture
10% each: Mini Medal, Astral Plume, Mythril Ore
6% each: Densinium
1% each: Hela's Hammer, Demon Whip, Oh-no Bow, Hades' Helm, Riotous Wristbands, Fingerless Gloves, Veteran's Gloves, Blessed Boots, Skull Ring

Rank 7 Chests
10% chance of Mimic ambush
15% each: 880 gold, Mini Medal
10% each: Sage's Elixir, Saint's Ashes, Densinium, Lucida Shard
6% each: Perfect Panacea
2% each: Unhappy Hat, Depressing Shoes
1% each: Ruinous Shield, Skull Helm, Veteran's Armour, Divine Dress, Matador's Gloves, Trinity Tights, Veteran's Boots, Combat Boots, Spellspadrilles, She-mage Shoes

Rank 8 Chests
5% chance of Pandora's Box ambush
15% each: 1500 gold, Mini Medal, Gleeban Gold Piece
13% each: Mythril Ore, Enchanted Stone
10% each: Sage's Elixir
5% each: Gold Bar
1% each: Pruning Knife, Hero Spear, Heavy Hatchet, Megaton Hammer, Beast Claws, Wizardly Whip, Attribeauty, Pentarang, Wyrmwand

Rank 9 Chests
10% chance of Pandora's Box ambush
15% each: Mini Medal
10% each: 3000 gold, Gleeban Gold Piece, Sage's Elixir, Astral Plume, Ethereal Stone, Reckless Necklace
8% each: Orichalcum
1% each: Metal Slime Sword, Metal Slime Spear, Metal Slime Shield, Metal Slime Helm, Metal Slime Armour, Metal Slime Gauntlets, Metal Slime Sollerets

Rank 10 Chests
15% chance of Pandora's Box ambush
15% each: Sage's Elixir
10% each: Gleeban Gold Piece, Evac-u-bell, Sainted Soma, Reset Stone
8% each: Yggdrasil Leaf
5% each: Gold Bar, Orichalcum
1% each: Stardust Sword, Deft Dagger, Poker, Bad Axe, Groundbreaker, Knockout Rod, Dragonlord Claws, Gringham Whip, Angel's Bow, Critical Fan, Meteorang, Bright Staff

[Marcicus]

Asking this question for a friend, but does anyone know where you can get the Wear with all award accessory? I think it lets you wear clothes of the opposite sex.

[Charismatic]

Oh boy, that will open some doors I don't wish to see opened

[Marcicus]

also..the more and more I keep playing this, the less and less I feel that Paladin is useful. Does this change post game?

[Towowo]

Forbearence, This ability imo alone makes Paladin useful and Magic Mirror. Takes in magic attacks and a damage soaker.

[Rokku]

Asking this question for a friend, but does anyone know where you can get the Wear with all award accessory? I think it lets you wear clothes of the opposite sex.

Get Minstrel to 99, revocation back to level 1. Same thing for all the other job based accessories.

[Julian]

I got my first map with metal king slimes yesterday :D

they're not very common though

also, reminder, best buy event today!

[Rokku]

Wife and I need 2 and 3 more tags for a fully upgraded inn now, respectively. Honestly the Best Buy event ended up going a lot better than the GS one, huge turnout at one of the Best Buys near us, and we ended up getting 4 of the King Slime "It's a slime party!" shirts.

I want to go to the next one, if for no reason other than picking up the third shirt that they're going to be giving out + the last unobtainable boss map, but the mall they're doing it at is a little over two hours away from us in each direction.