AWetling,Ogre, andDwarf as rangers inDragon Quest X

TheRanger (レンジャー,Renjā) is a recurring, nature-themed vocation in theDragon Quest series. Eschewing the typical Robin Hood designs seen in other games, DQ rangers are modeled after the inhabitants of the great steppes such as the Mongolians and American Indians.

Characteristics[edit]

The Ranger's statistics vary from game to game, though there is a consistent focus on evasiveness and providing party support. InDragon Quest VI, the Ranger increases Agility, Wisdom, and gives the party an increased chance to flee from battle at higher ranks, though it decreases several other attributes as well. InDragon Quest IX, the Ranger is most Deft of all vocations, and serves as a physically oriented jack-of-all-trades by providing buffs, healing, and above-average damage output even from the back row. Though the vocation's only high stat is deftness, their tool-set is broad enough to cover a wide variety of circumstances while providing relief for the party's main healer, and also inflict tremendous damage through the powerful Wolf Whistle skill.Dragon Quest X slightly modifies the Ranger fromIX, giving it access to the lightening element via a high-voltage arrow skill.

Thematically, the Ranger's focus on avoiding combat through silently navigating the field and dungeons without detection, having a greater chance to flee from foes, dodging attacks through the use of smoke techniques such as Mist Me, and the ability to summon animals to aid in battle makes them closer to the typical Ninja seen in RPGs more so than the usual forest-dwelling sniper present in other games.

Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation[edit]

A character requires mastery of theMerchant,Thief andMonster Master vocations to become a Ranger. Becoming a Ranger allows a character to flee battle more easily at higher ranks. Note that vocation flee rates stack with base encounter flee rates; I.E. being at rank 1 does not cut the base chance in half.

Vocation trait[edit]

Stat Changes[edit]

• In the SFC and DS versions of 'VI', the Ranger's MP isreduced by 30%

Abilities[edit]

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past[edit]

The Ranger vocation does not appear at all in either version ofDragon Quest VII; due to a localization error, theArmamentalist vocation was dubbed the Ranger in the PSX script.

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies[edit]

The Hero must finish the quest Ranger Changer to unlock this vocation. By talking to a person at the base of theHeights of Loneliness, the player can accept a quest which involves poisoningHocus Chimeras and then letting them die by poison, nothing else. After doing this 3 times, the ranger vocation is unlocked.

Rangers have the unique skillsetRuggedness, and can also use skill points to learnAxe,Bow,Boomerang, andFisticuffs skills. TheirCoup-de-Grace is "Brownie Boost," which increases attack, defense, and appliesInsulate.

Stats[edit]

Ruggedness[edit]

Spells[edit]

Revocation Award[edit]

• Medal of Freedom

Dragon Quest X[edit]

Rangers were added to the game in the version 1.1 update. The stat spread and abilities are similar to the previous game, and the class has the highest deftness by far once again. The biggest difference betweenIX andX for the ranger is that the tenth game gives them access to the Earth-element traps as their sole offensive spells.

NOTE:The parenthetical translations of the Japanese names are merely placeholders for convenience and are not to be taken as official Square Enix terms

Ruggedness[edit]

Spells[edit]

Dragon Quest Walk[edit]

Rangers as they appear inWalk

The ranger vocation was added to the game in the January 2020 update. Unlocking it requires that a player reach level 50 in the thief and martial artist vocations, the latter of which due to the monster master not being present in the game. The vocation's weapon choices areBoomerangs,Claws,Knives, andWhips

Trivia[edit]

• The rank accolades for the Japanese version ofVI are taken from the Super Sentai series of tokusatsu television programs, rather than any bushcraft or survivalist terms. They are:

• White ranger (シロレンジャー)
• Yellow ranger (キレンジャー)
• Red ranger (アカレンジャー)
• Blue ranger (アオレンジャー)
• Black ranger (クロレンジャー)
• Power ranger (パワーレンジャー)
• Mega ranger (メガレンジャー)
• King ranger (キングレンジャー)

• Due to their natural deftness and the alterations done to stealing mechanics inDragon Quest IX, a Ranger will typically be better at robbing monsters than a Thief if no stat boosting items are equipped.

See also[edit]

• Fur vest

Gallery[edit]

• 

  TheHero usingBackdraft inVI's official guidebook

• 

  As well as in the V-Jump guidebook

• 

  Concept art for the female Ranger inIX. This outfit would be repurposed forX

• 

  Unused art for the male Ranger inIX

• 

  Human stock art of the Ranger vocation inX

References[edit]