Dragon Quest X/Wiki

"O people of Tenton, ....... Wake up now!

The power of the Dark Lord has ended your life, but your soul still has a mission to fulfill. You, the people of Tenton, who have lived on an isolated island, do not know the truth. ......

Outside your island is a vast and great motherland called Astoltia, ...... where you humans and many other races in different forms co-exist. ......"

- ???, Dragon Quest X

Dragon Quest X: The Awakening of the Five Tribes Online, translated from「ドラゴンクエストX 眠れる勇者と導きの盟友 オンライン」 in Japanese, is the tenth game in the main Dragon Quest series and is an massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).

This game is only available in Japanese and there are no plans to release the game worldwide. However, it is possible to play outside of Japan and you can follow this guide on how to play.

Overview
Dragon Quest X was launched on August 2, 2012. The game was first released on the Wii, and was later expanded to a number of other platforms. It was released under the catchphrase "Connecting everyone, connecting the world." 「皆をつないで世界がつながる」. Unlike previous Dragon Quest games in the main series, which have a definitive ending to their stories, Dragon Quest X is different as more content is added through regular updates. To get new players used to the game, an offline prologue was added to the game dubbed "The Story of Eterne Village". It was also added, along with the "support buddy" feature that lets you add the characters of other players to your party, so that players can play the game by themselves without being forced to play with others.

The game currently has 5 expansions called "versions" including the base game (version 1). Each expansion requires an additional purchase and costs about 3,800 yen for both the physical and digital copies on Wii U, Windows, PS4 (and PS5) and Switch. This does not apply to the Nintendo 3DS or in-browser versions, as they use streaming services to stream the game instead of requiring a full installation. Instead of buying each expansion separately, you can buy all-in-one packages (AIOP) that either include a range of expansions, such as version 1 to version x (x representing a number larger than 1), or version 1 to the latest expansion. Currenty there are two types of AIOP that cover expansions 1-4 and 1-5 respectively.

In general, you have to buy a subscription ticket to play the game which is a minimum of 1000 yen for 30 days, but there is a feature called "Kids Time" which allows you to play for 2 hours a day without buying a ticket. The 3DS and in-browser versions are more expensive and cost 385 yen for 3 days, 715 yen for 10 days and 1650 yen for 30 days, but you do not need to buy the full game or expansions. With the subscription tickets, not only do the fees vary depending on how many days of membership you select, but they also vary on how many character slots you would like which go from 3 to 5, 5 being the most expensive option. Unlike other versions of the game, the PS4 version forces you to buy a subscription ticket with 5 character slots. If you pay for a subscription ticket on a different platform, you will need to pay for another subscription ticket on that platform even if you already have one on another platform (e.g. if you have a ticket for the Nintendo Switch, you'd also need to buy one for the PS4).

Setting
Dragon Quest X is set in a world called Astoltia, which consists of five continents and one archipelago. In the Mythology quest line and some other quests, the dialogue of the characters includes keywords such as "Guardian of the Starry Sky", "Starflight Express", and "Greygnarl", suggesting that Astoltia and the story is a future version of the Dragon Quest IX world. Furthermore, despite appearances of characters like Treacle from Dragon Quest V appearing, it seems that Astoltia is a different world to the world of the Zenithian Trilogy (Dragon Quest IV, V and VI) as alluded to in the quest The Dream and the Present. To learn more about Dragon Quest X's connection to Dragon Quest VI, see Madame Luca's page.

According to the staff, there are eight myths in the world of Astoltia, which include the stories that relate to other games in the Dragon Quest main series and appearances of characters from other Dragon Quest games, such as Torneko and Meena who appear in Magic Labyrinths. There was also a limited-time quest that took place on April 13th which adds to the fairy world story from Dragon Quest V.

Features
The gameplay of Dragon Quest X was entirely based on that of Dragon Quest IX (DQ9, DQIX), except it was adapted to an online format.

Interface
Dragon Quest X uses a third-person camera mechanic similar to Dragon Quest VIII (DQ8, DQVIII) whereby the camera follows the player's character as they move & can be rotated around the character. The main user interface is quite similar to DQ8 and DQ9 with everything displayed on a simplistic interactive window, but the HP and MP are no longer display in window format and have gauges instead. These gauges, along with character portraits and levels of the player's current party, appear in the bottom right of the screen. The top left of the screen displays the name of your current location and the bottom left has a circular minimap that resembles the area in proximity to the player.

The main font for the user interface is "Iwata Medium Bold Round Gothic".

Characters
Just like in DQ9, you can freely decide the appearance of the main character. When you finish the prologue titled "The Story of Eterne Village", you can choose the main character's race from a choice of five races: Elf, Orge, Poppet, Wetling and Dwarf. You can also choose their name, which can be up to 6 characters long. The statistics & growth systems are inherited from DQ9, also adopting the skills and vocation mechanics. By levelling up you gain skill points that can be used to unlock various skills that vary depending on your character's current vocation.

Equipment
DQ9's equipment types have been kept, including headwear, handwear, armour, leg armour, footwear and accessories. But in this game, accessories have been further subdivided into types of accessories ([type] accessories): Face Accessories, Neck Accessories, Hand Accessories, Chest Accessories, Waist Accessory, Card Accessories, Other Accessories, Coats of Arms and Vocation Medals. The traditional weapon and shield equipment types have been changed to "right hand" and "left hand", due to the concept of two-handed weapons being introduced in this game. If you equip a two-handed weapon, you can't equip a shield.

Combat
Like in DQ9, the game uses overworld encounters where touching a monster in the overworld causes you to engage in combat with that monster and possibly additional monsters in the same battle. The battle unfolds directly where you encounter the monster in the overworld, and when it is over the game seamlessly transitions back to moving normally again. This is the first in the main Dragon Quest series to feature real-time combat, with players entering commands at regular intervals to decide their next action.

The game also introduces the real-time battle positions, which allows you to constantly move around and obstruct enemies in battle. When running away, you move outside the marked combat area instead of using command input like in previous games. There are also no enemy groups and enemies are treated indepedently.

Other new features
These are features that are exclusive to Dragon Quest X or were introduced through Dragon Quest X
 * Jump and auto-run functions are available for the first time in the main Dragon Quest series
 * Colored icons are displayed in the item, spell and skill selection windows
 * A weather system was added
 * Rarefied Monsters were introduced
 * Beguilement was added as a status ailment
 * Tips have been added during loading screens

Expansion 1, The Awakening of the Five Tribes
The Awakening of the Five Tribes, 「目覚めし五つの種族」in Japanese and Mezame Shi Itsutsu no Shuzoku in romaji, is the base & first version of Dragon Quest X and is the beginning part to the gameplay narrative after the prologue concludes and the player selects a race. It was released on August 2, 2012 after a beta test.

Versions
Five versions were released as part of this expansion


 * Version 1.1, an untitled version, was released on October 9, 2012.
 * Version 1.2 titled The Princess and the Magic Labyrinth, 「世告げの姫と魔法の迷宮」 in Japanese and Yo Tsuge no Hime to Mahō no Meikyū in romaji. It was released on December 26, 2012.
 * Version 1.3 titled Trembling Flowers for a Mythical King, 「神話の王に震える花」 in Japanese and Shinwa no ō ni Furueru Hana in romaji. It was released on March 5, 2013.
 * Version 1.4 titled The Battle of the Champions of Time, 「時の王者の戦い」 in Japanese and Toki no ōja no Tatakai in romaji. It was released on May 16, 2013.
 * Version 1.5 titled The End of a Myth, and the..., 「神話の終焉、そして…」 in Japanese and Shinwa no Shūen, Soshite… in romaji. It was released on July 25, 2013. It is the final part of the The Awakening of the Five Tribes saga and version 1.

Expansion 2, The Sleeping Hero and the Guided Allies
The Sleeping Hero and the Guided Allies, 「眠れる勇者と導きの盟友」in Japanese and Nemureru Yūsha to Michibiki no Meiyū in romaji, is the second version of Dragon Quest X. It was released on December 2, 2013.

Versions
Four versions were released as part of this expansion


 * Version 2.1 titled The Land of Overlapping Fates, 「重なりし運命の大地」 in Japanese and Kasanari Shi Unmei no Daichi in romaji. It was released on February 27, 2014.
 * Version 2.2 titled The Bond of Courage that Binds, 「紡がれし勇気の絆」 in Japanese and Tsumugare Shi Yūki no Kizuna in romaji. It was released on June 5, 2014.
 * Version 2.3 titled Twin Wings of Hope, 「天翔ける希望の双翼」 in Japanese and Ten Kakeru Kibō no Sōyoku in romaji. It was released on September 11, 2014.
 * Version 2.4 titled The Decisive Battle at the End of Time, 「悠久の果ての決戦」 in Japanese and Yūkyū no Hate no Kessen in romaji. It was released on December 25, 2014. It is the final part of the The Sleeping Hero and the Guided Allies saga and version 2.

Expansion 3, Lore of the Ancient Dragon
Lore of the Ancient Dragon, 「いにしえの竜の伝承」in Japanese and Inishie no Ryū no Denshō in romaji, is the third version of Dragon Quest X. It was released on April 30, 2015.

Versions
Five versions were released as part of this expansion


 * Version 3.1 titled Liberator of the Holy Flame, 「聖炎の解放者」 in Japanese and Tsumugare Shi Yūki no Kizuna in romaji. It was released on August 24, 2015.
 * Version 3.2 titled Beyond Ice and Snow and Grace, 「氷雪と恵みの彼方へ」 in Japanese and Hyōsetsu to Megumi no Kanata e in romaji. It was released on December 24, 2015.
 * Version 3.3 titled A Moonlit Paradise in the Shroud of Darkness, 「闇を抱く月光の楽園」 in Japanese and Yami o Idaku Gekkō no Rakuen in romaji. It was released on May 25, 2016.
 * Version 3.4 titled The Truth in the Depths of the Blue Water, 「真実は蒼き水の深淵に」 in Japanese and Shinjitsu wa Aoki Mizu no Shin'en ni in romaji. It was released on October 6, 2016.
 * Version 3.5 titled Storm-Piercing Void of Guilt, 「嵐穿つ断罪の虚空」 in Japanese and Arashi Ugatsu Danzai no Kokū in romaji. It was released on March 1, 2017.

Expansion 4, The 5000 Year Voyage to a Faraway Hometown
The 5000 Year Voyage to a Faraway Hometown, 「5000年の旅路 遥かなる故郷」in Japanese and 5000 Nen no Tabiji Harukanaru Kokyō in romaji, is the fourth version of Dragon Quest X.

Versions
Five versions were released as part of this expansion


 * Version 4.1 titled Valiant Heroes and Fallen Allies, 「栄光の勇者と消されし盟友」 in Japanese and Eikō no Yūsha to Kesare Shi Meiyū in romaji. It was released on February 21, 2018.
 * Version 4.2 titled The Two Princes of the Red Earth, 「赤き大地の双王子」 in Japanese and Akaki Daichi no sō ōji in romaji. It was released on May 30, 2018.
 * Version 4.3 titled Demon Empire in the Sands, 「砂上の魔神帝国」 in Japanese and Sajō no Majin Teikoku in romaji. It was released on September 6, 2018.
 * Version 4.4 titled The Cradle of Silent Flowers, 「うつろなる花のゆりかご」 in Japanese and Utsuronaru Hana no Yuri Kago in romaji. It was released on December 5, 2018.
 * Version 4.5 titled Journey into the Far Future, 「嵐穿つ断罪の虚空」 in Japanese and Arashi Ugatsu Danzai no Kokū in romaji. It was released on March 20, 2019.

Expansion 5, The Thorn Maiden and the God of Death
The Thorn Maiden and the God of Death, 「いばらの巫女と滅びの神」in Japanese and Ibara no Miko to Horobi no Kami in romaji, is the fifth expansion of Dragon Quest X.

Versions
Five versions were released as part of this expansion


 * Version 5.1 titled The War of the Worlds, 「魔界大戦」 in Japanese and Makai Taisen in romaji. It was released on January 29, 2020.
 * Version 5.2 titled The Crowning of the King, 「王の戴冠」 in Japanese and ō no Taikan in romaji. It was released on June 3, 2020.
 * Version 5.3 titled Resurrection of the Hero, 「勇者復活」 in Japanese and Yūsha Fukkatsu in romaji. It was released on March 20, 2020.
 * Version 5.4 titled Divine Awakening, 「嵐穿つ断罪の虚空」 in Japanese and Kami no Kakusei in romaji. It was released on December 23, 2020.
 * Version 5.5 titled Roots of Darkness, 「闇の根源」 in Japanese and Yami no Kongen in romaji. It was released on March 31st, 2021. It is the latest version of Dragon Quest X.

Versions
Dragon Quest X has been made available on 9 different platforms since its original release on the Wii in 2012.

Table with list all versions of the game

Development
The project for Dragon Quest X (DQ10, DQX) started when Dragon Quest VIII, which was released in 2004, was still in development, and this game was originally supposed to be Dragon Quest IX. However, a separate project for the Nintendo DS (codenamed "Shenron") was started and was given the numbering of DQ9, so this game was renumbered to DQ10. From then on, the development of these two games was carried out in parallel with one another, and the gameplay of DQ10 was created based on DQ9 (released in 2009). In order for them to understand what a Japanese-style MMORPG feels like, all of the DQ10 development staff played the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI, which was created by the former company Square before they merged into Enix to form Square Enix, with the overall objective of "reaching the Grand Duchy of Jeuno" which is similar to the DQ10 objective of trying to regain your human form. DQ10 is also based on FF11 in some other ways too.

The creator of the Dragon Quest series, Yuji Horii, has prioritised the inclusion of human emotion into the series, and in the past has used it in the dialogue and in the AI battle system that doesn't quite work the way you want it to. The goal of this game was to make it feel like interacting with real people and not a artificial intelligence, and after more than twenty years, Yuji Horii's dream of creating an online Dragon Quest game has finally come true.

Yuji Horii was not directly involved in the production of this game, but rather acted as the general director, checking the creation of the game. Prior to DQ10, the Dragon Quest series games were developed by other studios, but this game was developed by Square Enix in-house. In the early stages of the game's development, Akihiro Hino participated in a staff training camp with the DQ10 staff and Level-5 was involved in the development of DQ8.

The first media announcement was made on December 10, 2008, when Yuji Horii announced the release date of DQ9 and then said "I think it's time to start thinking about the next new thing. This time we made a handheld game, so I think the Wii would be good for the next Dragon Quest game". At the end of June 2010, Square Enix was recruiting for Dragon Quest scenario staff, and it is assumable that this is the staff for this game. The official announcement was then made on the 5th of September 2011 ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Dragon Quest series. It was announced that the game would have a subtitle, a title logo, would be an MMORPG, and that it would be released for the Wii as well as for the, then unreleased, Wii U. The Wii version of the game was announced on 26 April 2012 and, after the beta test had started on 2 August 2011, was released and launched without delay.

Update Development
During Version 1, a major update was released about every 10 weeks, but from Version 2 onwards, it was announced that major updates would be released about every 12 weeks, with the reason being "to deliver something more playable and polished". The reason for the extra two weeks was that one week will be used for testing.

During Version 3, the longest interval between updates was more than 20 weeks, due to the development of DQ11 and other projects. And in Version 4, in order to shorten the release interval of the main storyline, update intervals were extended to approximately every 13 weeks. Version 5 and upcoming versions have longer update intervals due to the amount of work put into upcoming expansions.

Reception
Dragon Quest X's first week of sales were lower than those of previous Dragon Quest games at 420,000 copies, but it was well ahead of the 64,000 copies sold of Final Fantasy XI which was another MMO by Square Enix.