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InDragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, recruiting a Sage is a great addition to any party. The Sage class can learn every Pilgrim and Magic User spell. On top of that, the Sage has pretty decent attack stats and has access to a good variety of equipment.
The class is similar to the Hero in terms of versatility, but unlike the Hero, the Sage excels in magic and is mid-tier in physical attributes. A class this powerful isn’t readily available, and there are two ways to gain access to the Sage. We will discuss the more involved manner first.
Review: Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
Is HD-2D the key to revitalize Dragon Quest III or should it have stayed in the past?
Alltrades Abbey
After the player has received permission to pass through Nordy’s Grotto, if they continue to travel northeast of Baharata, they will come to Alltrades Abbey. This is where players can change the class of any party member except the Hero, provided they have reached level 20. Changing classes will send the character back to level 1, but they will maintain any abilities they have earned with their previous class and all their attributes will be cut in half, making them much more powerful than a typical level 1 character.
Changing classes can be strategically done to make incredibly powerful characters. One example of how this can be advantageous is that Warriors have low agility and Martial Artists don’t get access to the most powerful gear. Start a game with a Martial Artist, raise them to the appropriate level, go to Alltrades Abbey and you can switch them to a Warrior who can wear the most powerful armor and still be light on their feet.
Tower of Transcendence
As stated, the Sage isn’t readily available. In order to get the Sage, the player needs to find the Words of Wisdom item, which is located to the north in the Tower of Transcendance. There are some powerful monsters in the tower, such as Ethereal Serpents, but there are also metal slimes which are great for quickly leveling up any characters who have recently switched vocations. The layout of the Tower of Transcendence looks pretty strange, but getting to the Words of Wisdom isn’t the most difficult task. When entering the tower, go all the way to the left and take the upper staircase to the next floor. There is a tightrope, walk across that and go down the stairs.
At the bottom of the stairs is a teleporter. Go through that and the party will be in a room with three staircases. Take the middle staircase, and on the next floor take the bottom staircase up to another floor. Continue going left and there is another tightrope with a red flag on it, walk toward the flag and jump off the rope near the flag (or continue crossing the rope, grab the treasure, and backtrack to the red flag and jump). The party will land in an area that looks like it has seen better days. Walk to the right and jump down from the ledge. There is a treasure box here that contains the Words of Wisdom.
Return To Alltrades Abbey
Now that the Words of Wisdom are acquired, it’s time to go back to Alltrades Abbey and talk to the man in red who changes vocations. Choose wisely, as the Words of Wisdom can only be used once, so only one party member can become a sage at this time. During this playthrough, we switched out the Magic User, as it has the weakest physical attributes but very high Wisdom stat, MP and an arsenal of spells that would make the Sage formidable even at level 1.
The other way to unlock a Sage is to recruit a Gadabout from Patty’s in Aliahan. Gadabouts are the most useless class in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, but once they hit level 20 they can freely become a Sage. In theory, and I have personally done this in previous versions of Dragon Quest III, one could make a party with three Gadabouts and change them all into Sages at Alltrades Abbey.
The downside to this approach is that the Sages are likely to have incredibly high Luck stats but are lacking in the other attributes that are more beneficial to them. Playing through the first part of Dragon Quest III with three Gadabouts is much more difficult than with a properly balanced party, but can be done for people who either want the three Sages payoff or just a more challenging experience. For those who want multiple Sages without having to suffer Gadabouts, there is a way to get a second Words of Wisdom later in the game, and that is below the spoiler tag.
End Game Spoilers
The Spoiler Sage
Nearing the end of the game, when it’s time to face the true final boss (before post game anyway), there is a second Words of Wisdom. When the party enters the Dark World, there is a town called Rimuldar. There is a house in this town, and there is a Words of Wisdom tucked away in a dresser. If you play Dragon Quest games the way I do, which is checking every pot, bucket, barrel, dresser, hanging bag and any other searchable item, you’ll likely stumble across it by accident. But if that isn’t your style, go to the house in Rimuldar, check the dresser, get the Words of Wisdom and decide who should be Sage number two.
At this stage in the game, whoever becomes the Sage is probably above level 40. Going down to level one isn’t as bad as it sounds, as the character will have acces to good equipment, their attributes will be much higher than a standard level 1 character, and all their spells and abilities will be maintained. It also helps that with the increased amount of experience points earned at this part of the game, the Sage won’t be too far behind in levels for very long. After getting the second Sage, my party made the trek to the final dungeon with the Sage at level one, and made it above level 30 for the final confrontation, with the rest of the party members being in the low to mid 40s.
Even Bigger Spoiler Sage
Once a character becomes a Sage and then changes to another class, they will maintain all their spells but won’t be able to switch back to being a Sage. At this point, the amount of Words of Wisdom in the world have been exhausted, so in order to become a Sage again one must suffer a Gadabout until level 20. But as this game is full of surprises, there is yet another way.
After restoring light to the Dark World, there is challenging post-game content. Return to the Castle of the Dragon Queen, and take the portal to Heaven. This will bring the player to a place called ???, which is a floating island with a cave in the middle. The cave is a grueling journey, with many large maps that are familiar places, taken from previous dungeons, such as the Pyramid, Orochi’s Lair and Maw of the Necrogrond. The monsters here are no joke either, many of which take multiple actions per turn and are capable of paralyzing party members or casting Thwack. Once the player makes it through here, they will arrive at the Cloudsgate Citadel. This is a stop to take a brief respite, before climbing Citadel Tower.
At the top of the Citadel is the dragon Xenlon, who is the most powerful monster the player has faced so far. Defeating Xenlon in a few turns will grant the player a wish, of which Xenlon offers a few choices. After Xenlon is defeated, the party will teleport back to the Castle of the Dragon Queen, but thanks to Zoom, they only need to climb the Citadel Tower and not go through ??? again. The first time beating Xenlon needs to be done in under 35 turns, but subsequent battles must be won in under 25, and then under 15. Keep fighting Xenlon until all wishes are granted. After the last wish is granted, return to fight Xenlon again and the player will have two wishes to choose: a copy of Guns ‘n’ Buns and a copy of More Guns ‘n’ Buns. Choose More Guns ‘n’ Buns.
At this point in the game, the player really doesn’t need to make anyone a Sage, because if they can beat Xenlon that many times, they’ve basically conquered Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. But if they want to, the option is there, as More Guns n' Buns sits in the Important Item bag, and it lets the player switch a character to a Sage as many times as they want.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Modernizes the Classic Without Sacrificing Charm
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is coming out soon and these are early impressions of what we might expect to see.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake is a stunning reimagining of the beloved masterpiece and narrative beginning to The Erdrick Trilogy.Story:Years ago, the great hero Ortega bid farewell to his wife and child as he set off on a quest to defeat the villainous Archfiend, Baramos. Ortega failed his quest, and Baramos still threatens the world. Now, on their sixteenth birthday, Ortega’s only child is summoned by the king of Aliahan and entrusted with a mission of the highest import: to take on Ortega’s quest, vanquish Baramos, and save the world.A fully modernized remake of the original:Stunning HD-2D visuals fuse pixel art with 3D graphics, bringing players into the world of DRAGON QUEST III like never before, along with an improved and modernized UI, and other quality of life improvements.Traditional DRAGON QUEST style battles:A refined take on the classic turn-based battle system, featuring new animations, additional improvements such as an adjustable battle speed, an auto-battle setting, and more.Immersive world:Deep exploration of a vast world map with an abundance of rich and captivating locations to discover, challenging players to overcome many unexpected encounters during the journey.
