Combat in Dragon Quest is straightforward. Press the Attack button to swing your equipped weapon. With no weapon equipped, your attack is a punch. The attack from most weapons is a side-to-side sweep, which increases your chance of damaging multiple enemies. Weapons that are also tools (axes and hammers) deliver a top-down overhead strike. Press L1 to aim upward. Press R1 to aim downward. You can change these buttons in the Settings sub-menu.
To equip or remove a weapon, go to the Equipment sub-menu. If you equip multiple weapons, cycle through them by pressing up and down on the D-pad. Pure weapons are generally better for fighting, although you should opt for whatever weapon has the highest attack power. Tools are much better for tearing down buildings or collecting blocks from the environment.
Status Conditions
There are two types of status conditions: negative and positive. Negative status conditions are inflicted on you primarily by enemies and detract from your ability to function. Positive status conditions are beneficial and come from eating certain food items.
| icon | Negative Status | Description | Cures |
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Poisoned | Take damage over time. | Use antidotal herb. Wait 30 seconds. |
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Paralysis | Unable to move or act. | Use Tingle tablet. Wait 10 seconds (tingleweed) or 30 seconds (monster attack). |
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Sleep | Unable to move or act. | Wait 15 seconds. Take damage from an attack. |
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Confuse | Command inputs for movement are reversed. | Wait 10 seconds. Use Defuddle drops. |
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Slow | Movement speed is decreased. | Wait 20 seconds. |
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No Items | Unable to use items. | Wait 15 seconds (Dragonlord’s double) or 30 seconds (Dragonlord). |
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Cursed | Unable to change equipment. | Use Sheen salts. |
| icon | Positive Status | Description | How Acquired |
|---|---|---|---|
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Attack Power Up | Increased attack power for 180 seconds. | Eat beany bunny burger, bony steak, bunicorn steak, bunny burger, fresh fish feast, or searing steak. |
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Defense Up | Increased defense for 180 seconds. | Eat bouillabaisse, cream of marshroom soup, hell broth, sailor’s stew, or sautéed salmon. |
Spinning slices
Spinning slices are a special attack learned in the first chapter of Story Mode. After you learn spinning slices, press and hold the Attack button to begin charging the technique. To unleash a spinning attack, release the Attack button anytime after the color of the surrounding energy changes. This attack is the same regardless of the selected weapon, and you can switch weapons while charging the attack.
Clearing out a wide area of blocks becomes much quicker after you learn spinning slices. Charge up spinning slices with a hammer or axe equipped, then watch the blocks fly free.
Projectiles
A handful of items you can build are thrown when selected in your inventory and used. You can’t aim these projectiles. When used, they’re thrown directly ahead. Throwing projectiles accurately takes some practice, so don’t become discouraged when you first start using them.
Taking Damage
The most common way of taking damage is from enemy attacks. You also must be careful when moving close to enemies to perform an attack of your own. Touching an enemy, even from behind, will often result in damage.
You also suffer damage from falling from heights of at least five blocks. The amount of damage sustained increases with distance fallen.
Finally, touching hazardous material does damage for as long as you remain in contact with it. Every few seconds, being in poisoned water does a single point of damage, while lava inflicts five points of damage. If you fall in, get out quickly!
