Eh, those don't really take more than 3~4 hours. That's pretty much all that remains. If you're on Stronger Monsters, it helps to clear out pretty much everything you can do before that difficult boss. For me it was at around ~30 hours, when I finished Act 1 somewhere between 34 and 35 hours.
Saying that where he's at is on pace for a 60-hour Act 1 is wildly, vastly off base.
I've played Act 1 in the same order both times, but I'm pretty sure you can mix everything up, like do Phnom Nonh, then Sniflheim, Arboria 1st visit, then Lonalulu. The ship seriously blows the game wide open. I always think that Erdrea is a tiny world, but it's huge. I just blow through the game really quick whoops lol
Wow, people weren't kidding about the (spoilers for right after Puerto Valor)
mermaid story, I was not expecting that shift in tone. I'm really surprised by the shades of grey in this game's storytelling. Western RPGs seem to be associated more with ambiguous morality but the way DQ11 handles some scenes is really nuanced in a way I don't expect from video games. I think the last game that impressed me like this was the Witcher 3 with stuff like the Bloody Baron quest.
The mermaid storyline is a great example. The villagers are warm, welcoming, happy-go-lucky islanders... who ruined a man's life over a misunderstanding. Even after you learn the truth about the mermaid's "curse" the islanders are still characterized as carefree and content. It's interesting how the game doesn't at all make a show of pointing at the twist that they've something terrible.
I've noticed stuff like this in a few other scenes as well. I haven't played one in quite awhile so I don't have any particular scenes to point out, but BioWare games seem to always have extremely heavy-handed commentary on class. You'll go to a huge city and there will be a ghetto full of elves or something, and all of the humans who live in the nicer part of town will be overtly racist.
Compare that to Heliodor, where you can easily infer that most people were born into their station in life. The affluent people who live near the castle come from wealthy families, and while there are thieves and other criminals in the area Erik is from there are also shopowners just trying to get by. The affluent people seem generally pleasant. Though some will make comments about the "riff-raff" in the other area they seem happy and friendly for the most part. Clearly the people in the poorer area are victims of injustice and seemingly are neglected by the king, but the game doesn't feel that need to rub your face in that fact.
Then there's great little details where the facade comes apart a bit. There's a house near the castle you can sneak into through the chimney. Examining a bookshelf reveals a note where the owner explains that he keeps his treasure chest on his second-story patio where everyone can see it because he likes that poorer people will wonder what's in it. I can't remember the exact language but it makes the owner sound like a psychopath.
Some people might say there's no commentary in the game and it's meant to be a happy fairy tale throughout, but a lot of these details are fascinating to me. I almost never play games for the story and don't tend to like RPGs in general (for example almost all Final Fantasy games are extremely boring to me). I bought this solely based on Tim Rogers' review and I'm blown away with how much I love it.
Was challenged for the first time in the game so far, Tentacular took me 3 or 4 tries, but I managed to beat him without grinding. I'm perfectly happy with the difficulty being on the easier side, I prefer a bit of a joyride through jrpgs, but it was nice to be on the edge of my seat there a bit.
The last couple bosses have been a little hard for me. I had literally one character left standing at the Octagonia boss (from my initial party, at the time I didn't realize that if you wipe the game automatically swaps in your other party members). I beat the Tentacular my first try but I had three characters left alive out of my whole party and I was rapidly running out of MP for healing spells. I'm a little worried about the next boss and wondering if I should grind a bit. I'd have to double check but IIRC my characters are around level 24.
The prizes aren't really worth it though. I already had my main character specced into broadswords so I got the tokens for it by pressing A while watching TV. It seemed ridiculously powerful when I first got it, and it's still the most powerful weapon I've seen, but after just a few hours I can already buy swords at weapons shops that are pretty close.
So yeah, it's really easy to get tokens, but the payoff isn't worth going out of your way for IMO.
The prizes aren't really worth it though. I already had my main character specced into broadswords so I got the tokens for it by pressing A while watching TV. It seemed ridiculously powerful when I first got it, and it's still the most powerful weapon I've seen, but after just a few hours I can already buy swords at weapons shops that are pretty close.
So yeah, it's really easy to get tokens, but the payoff isn't worth going out of your way for IMO.
I'm not too far into the game though, so that may change later on. The back wall of the casino has slot machines that cost more play that aren't open initially, maybe when those open you also get access to new rewards.
I've played Act 1 in the same order both times, but I'm pretty sure you can mix everything up, like do Phnom Nonh, then Sniflheim, Arboria 1st visit, then Lonalulu. The ship seriously blows the game wide open. I always think that Erdrea is a tiny world, but it's huge. I just blow through the game really quick whoops lol
Eh, the rewards are certainly worth it, as long as you don't mind spending the time. The greatsword will last you a good way into Act 2 when forged, and the Mercury Bandanas likewise last a long time with their AGI boost.
If you're having fun, the spear is also a good upgrade, but less worth it, because you'll get the recipe to forge it in an upcoming dungeon.
I am loving THE HECK out of this game. This whole year has been a bit of a JRPG resurgence for me since I played FFXV and FFXII for the first time. I also had a blast with Builders 2 and have enjoyed seeing some enemies from that game realized in 11. I did play DQ9 when it came out, I breezed through most of it, got to the final boss, discovered I was horribly under levelled and thought "well I've seen enough of this game". That was almost a decade ago. But I can't see myself dropping 11. I'm about 32 hours into it. Which I think puts me still in Act 1?
I've tracked down two Falcon Blades and dual wielding for the hero. Damn.
I'm already worrying about what I'll do when this is finished. Is Dragon Quest 3 worth playing on the Switch? Does it feel archaic in comparison to 11? I'm guessing so.
I am loving THE HECK out of this game. This whole year has been a bit of a JRPG resurgence for me since I played FFXV and FFXII for the first time. I also had a blast with Builders 2 and have enjoyed seeing some enemies from that game realized in 11. I did play DQ9 when it came out, I breezed through most of it, got to the final boss, discovered I was horribly under levelled and thought "well I've seen enough of this game". That was almost a decade ago. But I can't see myself dropping 11. I'm about 32 hours into it. Which I think puts me still in Act 1?
I've tracked down two Falcon Blades and dual wielding for the hero. Damn.
I'm already worrying about what I'll do when this is finished. Is Dragon Quest 3 worth playing on the Switch? Does it feel archaic in comparison to 11? I'm guessing so.
I am loving THE HECK out of this game. This whole year has been a bit of a JRPG resurgence for me since I played FFXV and FFXII for the first time. I also had a blast with Builders 2 and have enjoyed seeing some enemies from that game realized in 11. I did play DQ9 when it came out, I breezed through most of it, got to the final boss, discovered I was horribly under levelled and thought "well I've seen enough of this game". That was almost a decade ago. But I can't see myself dropping 11. I'm about 32 hours into it. Which I think puts me still in Act 1?
I've tracked down two Falcon Blades and dual wielding for the hero. Damn.
I'm already worrying about what I'll do when this is finished. Is Dragon Quest 3 worth playing on the Switch? Does it feel archaic in comparison to 11? I'm guessing so.
You have to open the map with Y and then click a. There will be a option to see where are the shiny or sparkling spots on the map. You cannot see them directly on the minimap unfortunately.
I am loving THE HECK out of this game. This whole year has been a bit of a JRPG resurgence for me since I played FFXV and FFXII for the first time. I also had a blast with Builders 2 and have enjoyed seeing some enemies from that game realized in 11. I did play DQ9 when it came out, I breezed through most of it, got to the final boss, discovered I was horribly under levelled and thought "well I've seen enough of this game". That was almost a decade ago. But I can't see myself dropping 11. I'm about 32 hours into it. Which I think puts me still in Act 1?
I've tracked down two Falcon Blades and dual wielding for the hero. Damn.
I'm already worrying about what I'll do when this is finished. Is Dragon Quest 3 worth playing on the Switch? Does it feel archaic in comparison to 11? I'm guessing so.
Amazing game. First JRPG I've been this impressed by since Pokemon Silver on Game Boy (I don't play that many JRPGs I'm sorry ok)
I guess I must be playing it faster than everyone. I did the demo in 7 hours. I'm now 15 hours in and haven't done a sidequest yet. I just watched the cutscene where
Jade catches Hero and they fall in the river.
If that's 15 hours in and I only do the main story, how long should I expect my total playtime to be?
You have to open the map with Y and then click a. There will be a option to see where are the shiny or sparkling spots on the map. You cannot see them directly on the minimap unfortunately.
I'm already worrying about what I'll do when this is finished. Is Dragon Quest 3 worth playing on the Switch? Does it feel archaic in comparison to 11? I'm guessing so.
DQ3 might be archai but is still great, but whatever you do AVOID the Switch/Android versions. If you want an upgrade from the original famicon/NES version, the DQ3 version on SFC/SNES would be the way to go imho.
65 hours in, almost done with the postgame. Just some Switch (and 3DS?) exclusive bosses left. Not really crazy about the additional story content in the Switch version (played first on PC) but the QoL improvements were really nice.
Just beat Sniflheim's boss. Even with the best-suited gear for my main party, it still was a difficult fight.
A quick thought: Rab's Multiheal is a total scam. Sylvando can do better with just 12 MP while Rab needs 36 MP. Also, Hustle Dance is totally required on Draconian mode.
Sylvando has really grown on me after using him.
DQ3 might be archai but is still great, but whatever you do AVOID the Switch/Android versions. If you want an upgrade from the original famicon/NES version, the DQ3 version on SFC/SNES would be the way to go imho.
DQ3 might be archai but is still great, but whatever you do AVOID the Switch/Android versions. If you want an upgrade from the original famicon/NES version, the DQ3 version on SFC/SNES would be the way to go imho.
Not sure if I would recommend 3 for people who liked 11, even though I like 3 more. If old school RPGs are up your alley, then yes, but the way the story is told is very different because of the lack of actual characters in the party.
Just reached Gondolia. It is kind of shame 2D-version does not have quick teleport to campsites, but the world is much smaller so it is compensated by that. Also, no horse racing in 2D-mode. I really wanted to try that :/
Just reached Gondolia. It is kind of shame 2D-version does not have quick teleport to campsites, but the world is much smaller so it is compensated by that. Also, no horse racing in 2D-mode. I really wanted to try that :/
Is it worth it grinding in the cassino for the 100k greatsword before the higher stakes poker tables and slots are unlocked? I've made 25k so far in the poker table.
Is it worth it grinding in the cassino for the 100k greatsword before the higher stakes poker tables and slots are unlocked? I've made 25k so far in the poker table.
It'll make your hero pretty OP for the next 10-15 hours depending upon the order you do some stuff. I was at the 35 hour mark when I found the same weapon in question naturally.
Is it worth it grinding in the cassino for the 100k greatsword before the higher stakes poker tables and slots are unlocked? I've made 25k so far in the poker table.
It's worth it if you have the time, but it's not required by any means, especially if you aren't doing draconian.
Regular slots (the 10-base machines) are way more consistent/efficient than poker, IMO. You can literally just press A for a couple hours betting 90 and make 100k+ — guaranteed, with virtually no risk, due to the way Metal Mode favors the player — rather than the constant input / risk assessment required for poker.
Just beat Sniflheim's boss. Even with the best-suited gear for my main party, it still was a difficult fight.
A quick thought: Rab's Multiheal is a total scam. Sylvando can do better with just 12 MP while Rab needs 36 MP. Also, Hustle Dance is totally required on Draconian mode.
Sylvando has really grown on me after using him.
I think the Switch version of DW3 is quite good. It's a shame that the enemies don't have animations but that's been the case for almost every version of DQ3 released in the post 20 years. The new entry portraits may be an acquired taste but they don't clash nearly as much as they do in the Switch version of DQ1.
Plus the localization is far better than you get in the fan patch for the SNES version or the localization from the GBC.
I have no hesitation recommending the Switch/Mobile versions of DQ3 for anyone who wants to play it now.
Curious difference between 2D mode and 3D mode. In 2D mode items dropped by monster go into a characters inventory whereas in 3D they go into the item bag.
Just finished a Tockington quest and Jade now has four pages of items.
Curious difference between 2D mode and 3D mode. In 2D mode items dropped by monster go into a characters inventory whereas in 3D they go into the item bag.
Just finished a Tockington quest and Jade now has four pages of items.
Is it worth it grinding in the cassino for the 100k greatsword before the higher stakes poker tables and slots are unlocked? I've made 25k so far in the poker table.
The nice thing about doing the casino early is that you can build up a huge number of tokens early on so that when the casino gets new stock in (or the second one opens up) you don't need to really do much grinding anymore, you'll still have all the tokens you won early on.
Actually if I'm not mistaken the main story requires you to win a few thousand tokens at one point. It's made easier if you already have a few hundred thousand from early in the game.
Just bought this with a voucher from work - hoping there's enough space on my Switch for it to have downloaded by the time I get home. Looking forward to jumping back in, the demo was excellent.
It was one of the single coin standard slot machines. I have no idea what's going on in that slime quest machine. Built up enough to switch to the 10s and was still winning regularly. It's just boring to hit A so much.
It was one of the single coin standard slot machines. I have no idea what's going on in that slime quest machine. Built up enough to switch to the 10s and was still winning regularly. It's just boring to hit A so much.
You know damn well there's somebody out there that has beaten the whole thing on one token. "You can control when it stops!" It spins so fucking fast!!
