just Dragon Quest XI

Have they firmed up the Switch date yet?

Doesn’t appear so. I was under the incorrect impression they were the same date, so I won’t be in on this for a while.

This game is coming out the same day as Destiny 2 Forsaken. I already pre-ordered this so it will probably win out on which one I play first... Excited to play dragon quest on a real console again!

Switch version doesn't even have a release date for Japan. We'll hear more after launch next week, but the Switch version is likely 2019 at the earliest. Don't expect it in the next 6 months in the US though.

Eurogamer didn't seem to like it all that much either. Reads like it's more of DQ with pretty graphics, but nothing new. I'll probably wait for the Switch version as there is just so much to play right now.

I am willing to wait for the Switch version. It is long enough that being able to play away from the TV would be worth it.

Is this going to become the Catch-All thread when DQ XI drops? I was thinking that DQ deserved a spiffy header image and (especially given its sense of humor) a punny title.

Done!

farley3k wrote:

Done!

I suppose this would have been too low brow.
IMAGE(https://proxy.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FpUscQZrdzAs%2Fhqdefault.jpg&f=1)

farley3k wrote:

Done!

Awesome image.

Damnit, I am a big DQ fan. Have I beaten any of them? Nope. I do own most of them...

So much to play. I think I will wait for Switch version as well. If everyones waiting, there could be a chance they won't release that to the States??....

Balthezor wrote:
farley3k wrote:

Done!

Awesome image.

Damnit, I am a big DQ fan. Have I beaten any of them? Nope. I do own most of them...

So much to play. I think I will wait for Switch version as well. If everyones waiting, there could be a chance they won't release that to the States??....

That is a really cool image.

Who all's playing this when it drops?

I pre-ordered for PS4 before the Amazon prime discount went away and it should be release day arrival so I will be playing right away.

Dragon Quest XI Is Full Of Quality Of Life Adjustments

Perhaps the most basic quality of life change is the way Dragon Quest XI lets you deal with enemies in the field and even avoid them, if you do not want to deal with a few random battles. There is the basic means of launching a possible early attack, which has you striking with the sword to trigger a fight. After reaching the desert region, you will get access to a crossbow that allows you to provoke an enemy from afar, allowing you to draw a specific foe to you. When all that gets to be too much trouble, you can always dash to avoid foes or use a bell in the field to summon a horse with a much faster gallop. It really can make traversing the sometimes large spaces between towns or dungeons easier. (Though, you can rely on Zoom once you have acquired the spell and visited towns.)
The camps are another fantastic element. In the field, you might find a campfire. Stopping by it allows you to rest, changing the time of day and restoring characters’ status. The campground also allows you to sometimes buy items from a shopkeeper, which can be helpful if you are running out of healing items or a Chimera’s Wing. There is a goddess statue, so you could save or handle important affairs away from town. These tend to be strategically places, so they often appear in the exact midpoint between important spots. Dragon Quest XI even takes the time to place some ahead of bosses.
Another quality of life element I like a lot is the ability to easily assign and reassign skill points. As I mentioned when I talked about we can 16 comments, I mentioned that every church or goddess statue offers a respec option. These places to stop and take a moment are everywhere. It means you can play around with builds to see what works best with you, without having to worry about being penalized or locked into a certain skillset. Also, since multiple characters share certain weapons, you can have a stockpile of equipment for when you swap. The hero uses greatswords and swords. Erik uses swords and knives. Sylvando uses swords, knives, and whips. Veronika uses whips and heavy wands. Rab uses the same sort of heavy wands as Veronica and claws as Jade. Jade uses claws and spears. Serena uses light wands and spears. The overlap lets you play around.
Another quality of life element I like a lot is the ability to easily assign and reassign skill points. As I mentioned when I talked about we can 16 comments, I mentioned that every church or goddess statue offers a respec option

This is huge, imho. As much as I loved DQ8, I was always second-guessing my skill picks for characters, didn't want to gimp somebody out of a good skill or spell.

Got a call from eb letting me know my copy was in last night but I cant pick it up until Tuesday. Having this for the long weekend would have been amazing. Damn street dates.

Running Man wrote:
Another quality of life element I like a lot is the ability to easily assign and reassign skill points. As I mentioned when I talked about we can 16 comments, I mentioned that every church or goddess statue offers a respec option

This is huge, imho. As much as I loved DQ8, I was always second-guessing my skill picks for characters, didn't want to gimp somebody out of a good skill or spell.

Being that skills are on a grid I think it's more intuitive than blindly assigning skill points to things like Humanity, etc.

This one snuck up on me a bit seeing as how I'm still playing VIII on 3DS.

I got a shipping notification... I wonder if it'll show early.

Potentially bad news for the pc crowd, I took the day off next Wednesday to play DQ11 all day so the release will likely be unplayable til after that.

On the off chance it's playable on PC next week, greenmangaming is offering 25% off preorder. Wish I'd seen that.

Apparently Gamestops in the Raleigh, NC area were calling people to come pick up their copies last night.

RELEASE DAY SHIPPING, YOU HAVE FAILED ME (it didn't, really).

How To Get Veronica’s Cat Costume In Dragon Quest XI

There are a lot of costumes in Dragon Quest IX: Echoes of an Elusive Age, and Veronica has one of the better ones. You can dress her up as a cat. It is pretty good. But, getting the cat suit is not as simple as finding a recipe to craft it at the Fun-size Forge, completing a sidequest, or buying it at a shop. It actually involves a bit of back-and-forth in a lakeside town.

Game's live on PC, took about 15 minutes to update afterward.

Picked my copy up before work, cant wait! I've managed to keep almost totally in the dark about this release been to long since we've had a proper dragon quest release.

Knock on wood but I'm about 90 minutes in, playing on a 2015 PC and it's been fine so far. Playing at 1920x1080 via Steam Link, very little stuttering.

So how is everyone liking it so far?

I'm blown away it's been everything I wanted and I've barely scratched the surface. Though it is my favorite series so I'm an easy sell.

I've been playing with the increased monster difficulty on draconian settings and its felt spot on for difficulty compared to old games. I always enjoy grinding and getting all the equipment available to me before moving on to a new area and this seems to force that play style. Some of the other options for draconian settings seem a bit harsh but I'm glad they are there for future replays.

I'm playing on an OG ps4 and its been a really smooth experience. I'm about 4 hours in and just saw the late title card so I'm a little slow playing this but I love to explore.

I'm about 75 minutes in, also on a PS4, and it's been very smooth so far. I especially love some of the quality of life improvements: a dash button, the horse, a map that tells you where you can find resource collection spots, and markers for quest-givers. I like that the game nudges you in the direction of some key bits of content, but that there still seems to be plenty to explore if you want to run around, talk with everyone, and stray from the beaten path. Also, the setting is beautiful.

When I first heard that there were multiple difficulty settings, I figured I would play on Dragovian, as I've played most other games in the series and am pretty familiar with how DQ works. Then I saw some of the challenges, like "no buying things" and "no armor," and laughed. No thanks! "Harder enemies" was tempting, though, and I'm interested to hear that you've found this to be spot on. I'd love to hear how other people have found that setting. I probably won't try it right away, as I don't want to turn the beginning of the game into a grind-fest, but may try it later.

Early on the difficulty seems pretty good. I'm wondering how it will be later once enemies status effect skills or full party hits come into play. Curious as well for anyone that may be further ahead using this difficulty.

I've had things like a stump chump use a herb every time I hit him early on making me just have to wait until he hit me so I could get two hits in a row. Or a bodkin archer summon a buddy out about 9 times in a row. At least the option can be turned off if it gets to hard but it's been pretty fun for now. And with my second party member joining we have a few new verbs in fights that help.

LastSurprise wrote:

I probably won't try it right away, as I don't want to turn the beginning of the game into a grind-fest, but may try it later.

You can only turn the settings on when you start a game and if/when you turn the setting off it remains off the rest of the game.

So, good luck to those who want to play without armor. That sounds ... painful to me.

11 Tips For Dragon Quest XI