5 Dragon Quest heroes with the most overwhelming power (& 5 who are as weak as an NPC)

Dragon Quest, perhaps one of the most popular gaming franchises in Japanese history, has had a collection of heroes to save the world. There have been 11 main entries into the series, with one of them (DQX) being an MMO.

Not every hero is made equal though. Some of the heroes have felt like they could stop any evil threat all by themselves, and others are just bland, weak, or otherwise underwhelming.

Even the weakest of the heroes are worth knowing about, and while their power ranges have varied wildly, each hero has a unique look and combat size. From the Descant of Erdrick to the Luminary, here are the best of the best when it comes to various heroes.

Just because a hero is listed as weak, it does not make them bad or make their adventures less than the other protagonists.

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The 5 most powerful Dragon Quest heroes of all

5) Auster (DQVII)

Auster, also known as Arus in the manga, is the main character of Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past. A PlayStation RPG, it was also the first Dragon Quest game to come to the West since DQV. What makes Auster stand out though?

He can wield basically any weapon or armor in the game and has average, but good stats. Auster can do anything but is the best in the Hero role. “The Great Leveller” is also one of the strongest attacks in Dragon Quest period, dealing tons of damage to all foes. It’s not flawless though, as it does remove party buffs.

While DQVII is not the writer’s favorite game in the franchise, he does respect the strength Auster wields.

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4) Nine (DQIX)

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies was a first for the franchise, in that it allowed the player to customize the look of the main protagonist. Thanks to the power of vocation/job switching, Nine can be one of the most powerful heroes in the entire franchise. Unlike Dragon Quest III, the hero isn’t a specific job, so they can be whatever they want.

Nine, who can be male or female, has access to incredible skills and weapons. By combining the Falcon Sword and Falcon Slash, he can strike four times, devastating many foes in one blast of melee offense. Nine’s stats will vary thanks to vocation changing, but they will be potent at the end of the game.

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3) Solo (DQIV)

Another hero that can be male or female. Solo is much stronger than the heroes of the first three games, which is a good thing. The first three heroes were okay, but they did not stand out in a meaningful way.

Solo also has access to perhaps the greatest hero ability in the entire Dragon Quest franchise: Gigasword. With solid spells and stats at their disposal, Solo was just one of the reasons why Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen was well-received upon release. At level 99, the hero can have over 200 strength and resilience, and the other stats are equally high.

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2) Eight (DQVIII)

Eight has the best stats of any of the various Dragon Quest heroes, hands down. Couple that with immunity to curses and a resistance to zap spells/abilities, Eight is no joke. He has a wide assortment of weapons and armor to gird himself in, but that is not really what makes him so great.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King featured the Tension system, where characters could boost their “tension” rating to 100. This could transform characters, giving them a purple aura, and essentially, they would go Super Sayajin. This increases the potential damage output for the character, giving him more than virtually any other hero.

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1) Luminary (DQXI)

Eight and Luminary are pretty close when it comes to power, but Luminary edges him out. He has a much deeper set of skills and weapons to use, and through skill seeds, it is not hard for him to completely fill out that rich tapestry of skill trees. His magic is strong, and his physical prowess is second to none.

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age also has a system similar to the Tension system, Pep. He can also simply Pep himself up at will with one of his skills, meaning as long as he has MP, he can boost his damage, resilience, and critical rate.

With incredible stats and amazing weapons like the Brilliant Blade, no other hero is a match. The Luminary has no weaknesses, and is without a doubt the strongest of the Dragon Quest heroes.

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The weakest of the Dragon Quest heroes

5) Descendant of Erdrick (DQI)

The hero that started it all, in Dragon Quest. One thing that did work in his favor is that the Descendant’s stats were dependent on what name he was given at the start of the game. This means he can be a caster, have high strength, agility, whatever the player wants. But he has to battle against incredibly powerful foes and do it alone.

Saving the world on his own against the Dragon Lord is an impressive feat, but his journey was a stressful and frustrating one. The lack of mana restoration made his adventures quite difficult, other than returning to the castle or to an inn. His stats aren’t great, but his journey was.

It's also worth noting the Descendant had a "bad" ending where he joined the Dragon Lord. This creates a timeline for the DQ Builders franchise.

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4) Abel (DQV)

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride was among the most unique entries in the franchise. It also works against him, since his adventure technically has three different heroes. The son of Pankraz, Abel has great strength and HP, and decent spells, his resilience suffers, and that’s no good.

It’s just unfortunate that Abel had to share the spotlight with his father and another hero later down the line - his son. Abel is good, but he does not do a whole lot to stand out from the other heroes in the franchise, unfortunately.

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3) Arus/Irin (DQIII)

Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation was the first game in the series to let the player choose a gender for the hero. As the son of a legendary warrior, Ortega, it’s up to the hero to take up the blade and defeat a great evil.

While DQIII is this writer’s favorite game in the series, the hero is remarkably weak. They learn both offensive and support spells, but they learn them much slower than regular casters.

Their stats are mediocre since, unlike their comrades, they cannot change vocations. On top of that, they gain exp slower than any other party member. While it is a terrific game, the hero is just lackluster.

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2) Reck (DQVI)

The Japanese version of Reck was decent, but still not great. However, when he came to North America, he was nerfed into the ground in in Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation. Originally, Reck had immunity to party removal abilities, and 25% resistance to Zap spells. However, that did not last for other releases of the game.

Even with this, his stats were mediocre at best. He had several useful skills, and it was easy for him to achieve the hero class, but even with all of these factors, he just doesn’t make a dent in many of his fellow protagonists.

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1) Roland (DQII)

Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line shook the franchise up in a major way: three party members! However, to balance having party members, something had to change. Roland had atrocious stats compared to the rest of the heroes, and he’s also the only hero to not be able to cast any spells.

His ultimate weapon (Sword of Ruin) is weak compared to other final swords, and he does not bring anything special to the table. While DQII is not a bad game, it’s incredibly difficult thanks to the hero being weak, and the addition of multi-enemy parties.

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All of these games feature incredible stories, difficult challenges, and powerful weapons and armor to unlock. While Dragon Quest is a legendary franchise, some of the heroes just don’t match up to their contemporaries.

Disclaimer: The article reflects the opinions of the writer.