Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride

[hinode]

Unlike the stat topic for the original, characters are not taken at the same experience levels here. The main is taken at 640K exp, as he is around for the entire game and forced in the party at all times and thus will accrue more exp than anyone else, while the three potential wives are all taken at 400K as whichever one you pick is in the party for a much shorter time comparatively. Everyone else is taken at 540K.

Equipment selections are based on unique/storebought/starting (not really relevant here) choices, with the caveat that all the wive choices are considered a single person for the purpose of determining uniqueness, as they are mutually exclusive. I'm allowing Faerie Foil which is sold in the Faerie world T'n'T map, but not gear from the aftergame T'n'T board. I'm also excluding storebought Mirror Armor for the built-in reflect attribute, even though it's admittedly not as reliable as the FFT version.

Unlike every other DQ game in existance, the Frizz/Sizz/Bang lines of spells do not have common resist levels from equipment. I've thus had to be more precise on element names than usual. Flame and Blizzard refer to the various elemental breaths and related abilities used by various monsters.

One universal accessory deserves note: the Elfin Charm resists all status effects. At least some people allow storebought universal status resist/block accessories these days, so keep this in mind if you do.

This post only contains the game's human PCs plus Saber, who has actual plot relevance and isn't recruited in the usual manner. There's technically one other monster who fits these standards, but nobody uses Dwight so I'm excluding him. Any other recruitable monsters will come in a later post; I'm planning on getting Slime Knight up, at minimum.

Status rates are untested as of right now. Any assistance with either testing accuracy or figuring out what monsters to test on would be greatly appreciated.

Stats

HP: This shouldn't need any explanation.
MP: Ditto.
Strength: Base stat for attack.
Agility: Determines turn order, after factoring in the usual DQ randomness.
Resilience: Base stat for defense.
Wisdom: Monsters need at least 15 to follow orders reliably. Other than that, nobody's really sure what this does. Probably a worthless DL stat.
Luck: Nobody has any clue what this is supposed to do. Probably another worthless DL stat.
Attack: 2 points of this = 1 more damage with physicals.
Defense: 4 points of this = 1 less damage taken from physicals.

And now, for the character roll!


Goku With a Turban

(2011 edit: His canon name is Madason, as per his cameo appearance in DQ6's aftergame. I'm still using Goku With a Turban for this topic)

Dragon Staff [+125 Attack]
Pallium Regale [+90 Defense, -30 Frizz/Sizz/Woosh/Crack/Flame/Blizzard damage]
Sun Crown [+60 Defense, Immune to Kamikazee, Status resist?*]
Silver Shield [+55 Defense, -15 Friz/Sizz/Flame damage]
Circle of Fire [-10 Crack/Bang damage]

Alternate equips:
Dream Blade [+55 Attack, random sleep]
Flame Shield [+40 Defense, -15 Crack/Blizzard damage]

*The in-game description of Sun Crown mentions status resist, but none of the jp sites I've see say anything along those lines and just say that it resists the Kamikazee spell. Considering that the NPC who talks about Sun Crown having that effect is still there, I assume it's a mistake with the in-game description.

Level 39
HP 315
MP 168
Strength 143
Agility 95
Resilience 40
Wisdom 64
Luck 83

Attack 268
Defense 245

Physical: 94 damage
Kaswoosh: 80-180 (130 average) damage, GT (8 MP)
Fullheal: (7 MP)
Buff: +40% Defense, stackable up to +100% (2 MP)
Absorb Magic: Absorb MP of incoming spells (2 MP)
Squelch: Cure POIZN (2 MP)
Zing: 50% chance of reviving target at half HP, periodically makes player tear his/her hair out (10 MP)
Kerplunk: User dies to revive/full heal all allies (All MP)


Bianca

Faerie Foil [+85 Attack]
Angel Leotard [+70 Defense, -25 Crack/Blizzard damage, resist Instant Death]
Wedding Veil [+30 Defense]
Scale Shield [+7 Defense]
Circle of Water [-10 Frizz/Sizz damage]

Alternate equips:
Cloak of Evasion [+28 Defense, 25% chance of evading attacks)
Flowing Dress [+55 Defense, -25 Frizz/Sizz/Flame damage]

Level 37
HP 207
MP 211
Strength 53
Agility 107
Resilience 65
Wisdom 107
Luck 103

Attack 138
Defense 177

Physical: 29 damage
Kafrizzle: 180-200 (190 average) damage (10 MP)
Kasizzle: 88-112 (100 average) damage, GT (10 MP)
Thwack: Instant death, GT (7 MP)
Dazzle: Reduce accuracy of physical attacks, GT (5 MP)
Snooze: Put to sleep, GT (3 MP)
Bounce: Reflect all spells back to caster (4 MP)
Oomph: Double physical damage for first hit (6 MP)
Kasap: -50% defense, GT (4 MP)


Nera

Faerie Foil [+85 Attack]
Angel Leotard [+70 Defense, -25 Crack/Blizzard damage, resist Instant Death]
Wedding Veil [+30 Defense]
Scale Shield [+7 Defense]
Circle of Water [-10 Frizz/Sizz damage]

Alternate equips:
Cloak of Evasion [+28 Defense, 25% chance of evading attacks)
Flowing Dress [+55 Defense, -25 Frizz/Sizz/Flame damage]

L36
HP 200
MP 219
Strength 43
Agility 122
Resilience 78
Wisdom 132
Luck 82

Attack 128
Defense 190

Physical: 24 damage
Kafrizzle: 180-200 (190 average) damage (10 MP)
Midheal: Heal 75-95 HP (5 MP)
Thwack: Instant death, GT (7 MP)
Dazzle: Reduce accuracy of physical attacks, GT (5 MP)
Snooze: Put to sleep, GT (3 MP)
Bounce: Reflect all spells back to caster (4 MP)
Kaboom: 120-160 (140 average) damage, MT (15 MP)
Oomph: Double physical damage for first hit (6 MP)
Kasap: -50% defense, GT (4 MP)


Debora

Diamond Akillics [+55 Attack, attack twice at 3/4 power]
Angel Leotard [+70 Defense, -25 Crack/Blizzard damage, resist Instant Death]
Wedding Veil [+30 Defense]
Floral Parasol [+8 Defense]
Circle of Water [-10 Frizz/Sizz damage]

Alternate equips:
Faerie Foil [+85 Attack]
Flowing Dress [+55 Defense, -25 Frizz/Sizz/Flame damage]

L37
HP 218
MP 182
Strength 102
Agility 118
Resilience 94
Wisdom 95
Luck 137

Attack 157
Defense 202

Physical: 28 damage, hits twice
(Physical w/ Faerie Foil: 43 damage)
Kasizzle: 88-112 (100 average) damage, GT (10 MP)
Whack: Instant death (4 MP)
Dazzle: Reduce accuracy of physical attacks, GT (5 MP)
Snooze: Put to sleep, GT (3 MP)
Fuddle: Confuses target, GT (5 MP)
Bounce: Reflect all spells back to caster (4 MP)
Oomph: Double physical damage for first hit (6 MP)
Kasap: -50% defense, GT (4 MP)
Thwack: Instant death, GT (7 MP)


(Ugh I need to find better art for the kids)
Parry

Zenithian Sword [+110 Attack]
Zenithian Armor [+85 Defense, -30 Frizz/Sizz/Woosh/Crack/Flame/Blizzard damage]
Zenithian Helm [+50 Defense]
Zenithian Shield [+60 Defense, -15 Flame/Blizzard damage]

Alternate Equips:
Dream Blade [+55 Attack, random sleep]

Level 38
HP 263
MP 154
Strength 114
Agility 90
Resilience 46
Wisdom 69
Luck 68

Attack 224
Defense 241

Physical: 74 damage
Kazap: 175-225 (200 average) damage, GT (15 MP)
Sizzle: 30-42 (36 average) damage, GT (6 MP)
Fullheal: (7 MP)
Fizzle: Prevent spellcasting (3 MP)
Kabuff: +20% Defense, stackable up to +100%, MT (3 MP)
Insulate: Halve Flame/Blizzard-elemental damage (3 MP)
Multiheal: Heal 75-95 HP, MT (18 MP)
Kazing: Revive target at full HP (20 MP)
Tingle: Remove paralysis from allies, MT (2 MP)


Madchen

Faerie Foil [+85 Attack]
Angel Leotard [+70 Defense, -25 Crack/Blizzard damage, resist Instant Death]
Hermes' Hat [+28 Defense]
Silver Shield [+55 Defense, -15 Friz/Sizz/Flame damage]

Alternate equips:
Poison Needle [1 damage, chance of ID]
Cloak of Evasion [+28 Defense, 25% chance of evading attacks)
Flowing Dress [+55 Defense, -25 Frizz/Sizz/Flame damage]

Level 38
HP 230
MP 212
Strength 48
Agility 124
Resilience 69
Wisdom 123
Luck 118

Attack 133
Defense 222

Physical: 26 damage
Kaboom: 120-160 (140 average) damage, MT (15 MP)
Kacrackle: 80-104 (92 average) damage, MT (12 MP)
Puff!: Become uncontrollable, using Vicious Flame (65-85 MT Flame damage) every turn and becoming immune to Flame damage (18 MP)
Dazzle: Reduce accuracy of physical attacks, GT (5 MP)
Snooze: Put to sleep, GT (3 MP)
Bounce: Reflect all spells back to caster (4 MP)
Oomph: Double physical damage for first hit (6 MP)
Kasap: -50% defense, GT (4 MP)


Saber

Icicle Dirk [+70 Attack]
Flowing Dress [+55 Defense, -25 Frizz/Sizz/Flame damage]
Great Helm [+45 Defense]

Level 37
HP 313
MP 0
Strength 134
Agility 106
Resilience 63
Wisdom 45
Luck 57

Attack 204
Defense 163

Physical: 62 damage
Lightning: 50-70 damage (60 average), Bang elemental, MT
Disruptive Wave: Dispel all stat modifers and buffs, MT
Focus Strength: Next attack does 2-2.5x damage
War Cry: Make targets lose next turn, MT


Sancho

Great Bow [+110 Attack]
Magic Armor [+60 Defense, -10 Frizz/Sizz/Woosh/Crack damage]
Great Helm [+45 Defense]
Tempest Shield [+35 Defense, -10 Flame/Blizzard damage]

Level 40
HP 385
MP 71
Strength 128
Agility 42
Resilience 29
Wisdom 39
Luck 70

Attack 238
Defense 169

Physical: 79
Whack: Instant Death (4 MP)
Fuddle: Confuse target, GT (5 MP)
Snooze: Put to sleep, GT (5 MP)
Drain Magic: Steal MP
Kabuff: +20% Defense, stackable up to +100%, MT (3 MP)
Kamikaze: User dies to inflict massive damage on enemies, MT (1 MP)


Tuppence

Blizzard Blade [+105 Attack]
Flame Armour [+70 Defense, -15 Crack/Blizzard damage]
Great Helm [+45 Defense]
Flame Shield [+40 Defense, -15 Crack/Blizzard damage]

Level 38
HP 314
MP 0
Strength 144
Agility 75
Resilience 40
Wisdom 74
Luck 39

Attack 249
Defense 195

Physical: 84 damage


Averages

HP
Sancho (385) > Goku with a turban (315) > Tuppence (314) > Saber (313) > Parry (263) > Madchen (230) > Debora (218) > Bianca (207) > Nera (200)
Average: 271.67

Agility
Madchen (124) > Nera (122) > Debora (118) > Bianca (107) > Saber (106) > Goku with a turban (95) > Parry (90) > Tuppence (75) > Sancho (42)
Average: 97.67
SD: 26.30

Defense
Goku with a turban (245) > Parry (241) > Madchen (222) > Debora (200) > Tuppence (195) > Nera (190) > Bianca (177) > Sancho (169) > Saber (163)
Average: 200.44

Damage
Parry (200) > Bianca = Nera (190) > Madchen (140) > Goku with a turban (130) > Deborah (100) > Tuppence (84) > Sancho (79) > Saber (62)
Average: 130.56
Kill Point (using Avgx2.5): 327

[hinode]

PC Monsters

Randomization in the stat growth formula means I can't pull stats for every monster from a chart anymore. Still, I have a levelled Slime Knight that I can post. I'm open to requests on adding a few more recruitables, but only if they're something easy to get (i.e. Slime, Golem, Dwight).


Goodian (Slime Knight)

Takes 33% damage from Frizz, Sizz, Bang, Zap, and Flame

Blizzard Blade [+105 Attack]
Flame Armour [+70 Defense, -15 Crack/Blizzard damage]
Great Helm [+45 Defense]
Silver Shield [+55 Defense, -15 Friz/Sizz/Flame damage]

Alternate equips:
Demon Spear [+99 Attack, chance of ID]
Flame Shield [+40 Defense, -15 Crack/Blizzard damage]

Level 38
HP 305
MP 110
Strength 116
Agility 100
Resilience 59
Wisdom 61
Luck 68

Attack 221
Defense 229

Physical: 70 damage
Boom: 52-68 damage (60 average), MT (8 MP)
Fullheal: (7 MP)
Drain Magic: Steal MP

Bosses


Bishop Ladja 1

3800 HP
285 Attack
260 Defense
90 Agility

Attack 1-2 times

Physical: ~90 damage
Blistering Flames: 65-85 damage (75 average), MT
Kafrizzle: 92-128 damage (110 average)
Bounce: Reflect magic back for next 6 turns

I don't believe he can double up on Kafrizzle, although I'll admit to not testing him super-extensively so I could be wrong.

I forgot to write down my PC stats at this point, so I'll grab them from OK's topic on the original game. They look good enough at a glance.

Average Level: 33
Average HP: 225
Average Agility: 83
Average Damage: 120

All bosses from hereon out in this topic are in the final dungeon, so just refer to the listed PC averages in the first post. Also, you get the wagon for these boss fights, which means 8 PCs you can swap between freely, all of whom much be defeated to get a gameover. How to factor this into boss scaling is up to you.


Bishop Ladja 2

4000 HP
305 Attack
245 Defense
75 Agility

Attack 1-2 times

Physical: 90 damage
Blistering flames: 65-85 damage (75 average), MT
Burning Breath: Paralyze target, MT
C-c-cold Breath: 120-140 damage (130 average), MT
Kafrizzle: 92-128 damage (110 average)

I've seen him double up with both his physical and Kafrizzle, but not C-c-cold Breath. Burning Breath went 3/8 for paralysis against me, but I had Elfin Charms equipped so that result is meaningless even before factoring in the low sample size.


Grandmaster Nimzo 1

2500 HP
240 Attack
230 Defense
80 Agility

Physical: 70 damage
C-c-cold Breath: 120-140 damage (130 average), MT
Kafrizzle: 92-128 damage (110 average)
Disruptive Wave: Dispel, MT
Summon 2 Killing Machines or Wrecktors

Always uses C-c-cold Breath on odd turns, one of the other moves on even turns


Nimzo 2

7000 HP (2500 + 2000 + 2500 over three phazes)
~230 Defense
~75 Agility
Attack 1-2 times

He very rarely actually attacked twice in-game against me. Due to his strict AI pattern (listed below), he can not double up on any single move.

Scorch: 150-170 damage (160 average), MT
Disruptive Wave: Dispel, MT
Kasap: -50(?)% Defense, MT*
Bounce: Reflect magic back for the next 6 turns
Kaboom: 72-88 damage (80 average), MT
Kafrizzle: 92-128 damage (110 average)
Meditate: 500 HP healing

*I'm not 100% sure the enemy version of Kasap is identical to the PC version. Confirmation of this would be appreciated.

According to this jp website (machine translation here), his AI follows a strict pattern as thus below:

Phase 1: Physical or Scorch -> Disruptive Wave or Kaboom -> Kasap or Bounce -> repeat
Phase 2: Physical or Scorch -> Disruptive Wave or Meditation -> Kafrizzle or Kasap -> repeat
Phase 3: Scorch or -> Disruptive Wave or Kaboom -> Kasap or Kafrizzle -> repeat

Nimzo only used Meditate once against me. I dunno if I was just lucky there or there's some additional restriction I'm not aware of.

Not sure what the missing move is. Neph said that the Japanese characters meant "Regret", which doesn't correspond to any move I'm aware of. Might be an automatic crit move, but not sure. If anyone here gets to Nimzo and is willing to check this out, I'd be really thankful.

Also, any suggestions on good Chess Grandmaster images to use would be appreciated. <_< >_>

[hinode]

Ladja and Nimzo up, although the latter is still incomplete. Don't intend on getting any other boss at the moment, though if I get really bored I might change my mind just to continue the chess motif with the images.

[Pyro]

Comment on Angel Leotard's ID resistance:

Thwack on people without ID res: 10/12.

Thwack on Madchen wearing Angel Leotard: 0/10

Looks like immunity.

[alanna82]

I've seen Nimzo use meditate more than once.

Those pictures rock! LOL at Tuppence.

[Bardiche]

If you allow item-casting, it should be noted that Parry can use the Zenithian Sword to invoke Dispel on a single enemy, and the Zenithian Shield to cast Bounce on himself. Bounce also reflects allied magic, so he can't exactly heal himself after using it, but it can still be useful against dedicated Mages, e.g. VP Magicians.

[hinode]

Bounce reflects all spells back at the caster in DQ games. Self-targetted spells ignore Bounce, for reasons that should be self-evident if you think about it for a while.

Itemcasts are universal as they are in every other DQ game, which is why I don't allow them personally. If you do, the only other relevant itemcasts are Fizzle from the Staff of Antimagic (Madchen's starting weapon) and Snooze from the Dream Blade (storebought) - and both Goku with a turban and Parry can afford to sacrifice damage for another status option, and it's faster than the random-sleep effect. Incidentally, I need to remember to edit Dream Blade onto their alternate equip list.

[Pyro]

Faerie Foil casts Buff as an itemcast, too. And Madchen's Stolos' Staff itemcasts a spell that removes status effects. Which I guess is actually useful for her if it removes silence.

[SnowFire]

Status comments for wife / Madchen's Snooze & Dazzle (apparently females in the heroic line enjoy status): I did a quick & dirty status check on monsters near the front of Mt. Zugzwang.  Unsurprisingly, looks like monsters have different levels of resistance to it, but I have no clue what algorithm it is.

vs. Pazuzus & Gigantes, they seem to have "poor" status resistance, and Dazzle will hit them ~70% of the time or so (VERY ROUGH GUESS), and Snooze ~50% of the time.  Since the spell hits an entire group and your characters seem to semi-intelligently not poke sleeping characters (maybe?), this is actually rather good in-game.

vs. Hyperameons, it's much worse, now it's like a ~30% hit rate (8/30 on Sleep, 7/16 on Dazzle or so).

A sleeping character will sometimes not wake up in the same turn they're hit, but they usually seem to.  Waking up is still a turn skip so Sleep -> thwack -> Sleep would still theoretically lock a monster out of ever getting turns assuming Sleep never misses.

Dazzle seems to reduce accuracy to ~30% or so (very roughly, could easily be 20%, could easily be 40%).

Not that fantastic IMHO except against poor MDef duelers, but then FF4 status that gets outright immuned (rather than resisted, like in DQ5) by tons of enemies in the final dungeon gets hype, so YMMV.  Most useful for Nera since she at least has some healing to use after inflicting the turn 2 / turn 3 status, although she probably guns straight for Thwack anyway.