Strategies for the Monster Arena [Dragon Quest VIII/ DQ8]

Guide for the Monster Arena Battle Road. (Monsters and Items will be updated as soon as the DS Version is out)

Monster Arena

monster arena
source: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ekEnPwuDnRU/maxresdefault.jpg

In the Monster Arena, it’s not your characters that will fight but the monsters you’ve trained. Each stage in the Monster Arena has a rank which increases the difficulty as you go along. Each match has a different fee but also a wonderful reward that can help boost your party’s battles as you go along. The best part is, this can help you fight other bosses and also teach strategy when you come across certain monsters.

Rank SS (to be updated)

Reward: Butler Suit

Round 1
Slime Night, saber fox, wander armor

Round 2
Mazin: HP about 750 blow, Rarihoma, is so dance
Reaper attribution: HP about 800 1-2 times action hit, coat of arms attack, contrition
Goldman

Round 3
Jinmenju, Morisatan, Udora

This battle, being of the SS rank, is one of the most complicated. This rank is only available in the DS version. Luck works heavily in this stage. You can use either Killer Machine (Oshio), Octo Sentry, Hell Crusher. If you are going to use the Yggdarasil Leaf many times, cast agility onto your monsters to be able to heal your monsters before they get destroyed.

Rank S

Fee: 1,000G
Reward: Dragon Robe (Armor – Defense +103 – Equip: Jessica, Angelo)
Morrie’s Reward: No entry fees, hero statue
Round One: Goodybag, Mimic King, Mimic
Round Two: Dullahan, Healslime, Gigantes
Final Round: Liquid Metal Slime, Hell Gladiator, Cureslime

Strategy: In the first round you’ll be up against a Goodybag, Mimic King, and Mimic. Take out the Mimic King as he can deal 100 damage and also cast Fuddle. The Mimic attacks twice and can insta-kill with Whack. While the Goodybag can’t be that threatening, the moment it casts Kasap – watch out. The defense drop can be a death sentence for your team in the next round.

For the second round, it’s pure beat down. Take out the Gigantes; it can deal 300-400 damage multiple times. After that, take out the Dullahan to stop it from building tension. When you’re done with those two, take out the Heal Slime. It doesn’t do much save heal for 80 HP.

Morrie’s Team will be the most frustrating team ever faced. The Hell Gladiator attacks twice each turn. Each hit can inflicts Sleep on the target. There are two tanks: The Cure Slime which can heal the Liquid Metal Slime with its metal defense. It also casts Kasizzle quite frequently.

Recommended level for this match is at 45.

Rank A

Fee: 1,000G
Reward: Hero Spear (Spear – Attack +100 – Equip: Hero)
Morrie’s Reward: Unlock Rank S
Round One: Frou-frou, Cyclops, Troll
Round Two: Jumping Jackal x2, Great Sabrecat
Final Round: Zombie Gladiator, Treevil, Bomboulder
Strategy: While Mazin might be a good idea, there’s a bit of a problem. The reason is there’s a loop. Mazin kills the Bomboulder, it gets ressurected by Treevil, and then the Zombie Gladiator hacks the Mazin to pieces.

Using a golem team would be okay but still a bit risky. A good alternative to the golem team is the a combination of Roborg, Cybot, and Nohi. If you decide to go with a rogue team there are several good monsters that you can use. Talos is still as strong as ever. Octurion is the best healer in the game. Pair these two with a strong attacker like Skeledoid or Steropes and you’ll have a kick-butt combination. Winning this rank unlocks the final rank S match.

Rank B

Fee: 700G
Reward: Bardiche of Binding (Scythe – Attack +83 – Equip: Yangus)
Morrie’s Reward: Second monster team
Round One: Dragurn, Tyrantosaurus, Snapdragon
Round Two: Stone Guardian, Boss Troll, Golem
Final Round: Rockbomb, Stone Golem, Living Statue
Strategy: Meet brute force with more brute force. The HP of each of the monsters are at least 400-800 I recommend bringing Roborg, Cybot, and Talos. Whichever team you decide to stick with, I highly suggest that Talos be a part of it. Not only does he do quite a bit of damage, but also his high HP and defense lets him stay in this fight longer than any other monster that you
can recruit at this point.

In the first match both the Dragurn and Tyrantosaurus have quite a bit of HP, and the Snapdragon can attack twice each round for loads of damage. For the second match, there are three enemies with both loads of HP and defense. When you get to the Final Round, the Stone Golem will use tension (sometimes twice) to deal severe damage to a party member. Hopefully Talos will take the brunt of the attack while the other members of the team take the golem down. Winning this rank earns you a second monster team, giving you in effect another three monsters that you can have in reserve. Better yet, clearing rank B makes the final (and strongest) monsters available to recruit in the field.

Rank C

Fee: 500G
Reward: Saint’s Ashes (Item – Used to remove curses in alchemy)
Morrie’s Reward: None
Round One: See Urchin x2, Siren
Round Two: Mecha-mynah, Hunter Mech, Clockwork Cuckoo
Final Round: Fencing Fox, Bone Baron, Phantom Fencer
Strategy: This is a battle of brute force. Bring Roborg, Cybot, and maybe Talos to make a clean sweep out of these guys. The Brownies may build tension but they only have small HP. Since they’re low HP, they’ll be easy to kill especially with Roborg, Cybot, and Talos.

Rank D

Fee: 400G
Reward: Mighty Armlet (Accessory – Attack +15 – Equip: All)
Morrie’s Reward: Three additional reserve monster slots
Round One: Night Fox, Night Emperor, Night Sneaker
Round Two: Skeleton, Walking Corpse, Mummy
Final Round: Brownie x2, Hood
Strategy: The main thing to worry about here is that in the final round the Brownies will raise their tension before they attack, which will most likely kill your weakened team members. Fortunately, they don’t have much HP so strong attacks should take them out before they take you out. Winnning this match in the Monster Arena means getting three more slots and more monsters to add into the roster.

Rank E

Fee: 300G
Reward: Ring of Clarity (Accessory – Resist Confusion – Equip: All)
Morrie’s Reward: Call Team ability for hero
Round One: Jailcat x2, Terror Tabby
Round Two: Hipster, Minidemon, Witch
Final Round: Magic Marionette, Tap Devil, Volpone
Strategy: Now that you’ve cleared rank F there are new monsters to recruit in the field. Among them is Capers, a strong attacker that complements an offensive team well. Curer also becomes available, but you’re probably not going to be able to recruit it until later in the game. If you do you’ll add a powerful healer to the team. When you reach Orkutsk make sure to recruit Roborg ASAP to add a powerful attacker to your group. Winning this rank gives the hero the Call Team ability, which allows him to summon his monster team to fight in place of the party once per battle for a short time.

Rank F

Fee: 200G
Reward: Bunny Suit (Armor – Defense +38 – Equip: Jessica)
Morrie’s Reward: Option to fight against your team
Round One: Khalamari Kid x2, King Kelp
Round Two: Dingaling x2, Jargon
Final Round: Dancing Devil, Wailin’ Weed, Redtail Hipster
Strategy: The same team that you used in Rank G can take you through this rank as well. The main thing to worry about is the Redtail Hipster in the final round. It has an AoE that doesmajor damage. Winning this rank allows you to fight against your own team in the arena, and causes new monsters to appear on the field for you to recruit.

Rank G

Fee: 100G
Reward: Strength Ring (Accessory – Attack +5 – Equip: All)
Morrie’s Reward: Three additional reserve monster slots
Round One: She-slime x2, Slime Knight
Round Two: Frogface x2, Treeface
Final Round: Hammerhood, Gorerilla, Bullfinch
Strategy: The lowest rank. Focus on getting strong attackers like Hackzilla, Potbelly, and Snap Case. Brickman is a good choice as well due to his strong defense. If you get Brickman, don’t release him and keep him in reserve. He’ll play a big role later in the arena. While it’s good to have a healer in the team, it’s best to get full offensive. After winning, you not only get the Strength Ring but also an additional three slots for monsters.

Reference:

Nii, B. (2006, January 16). Monster Arena FAQ. Retrieved from Game Faqs: http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps2/583527-dragon-quest-viii-journey-of-the-cursed-king/faqs/40172

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