10 Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined beginner’s tips and tricks

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined updates the original seventh game in one of the most classic RPG series by changing some systems, adding small features, and even expanding on parts of its narrative to further develop its world. It feels almost like a brand-new game, with many secrets to uncover and a long, fantastical story to enjoy.

Below, you can check the 10 Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined beginner’s tips we listed that can help you prepare for your journey.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined can be your first Dragon Quest

Long-running game series — especially RPGs — can be quite daunting for new players who want to give them a try but feel overwhelmed by the hundreds of hours it can take to catch up. This is not an issue with Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined.

Although it’s the seventh game in the series and the third version of this specific title (Dragon Quest 7 originally launched for PlayStation in 2000 and a remake was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013), it’s a standalone game with no direct connection to other titles in the series. Because of that, we could even say Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is the best intro to the series.

You can always change the difficulty in the settings

Compared to older Dragon Quest titles, Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is a fair game. There are challenging fights, but none that will force you to grind for hours. At the same time, even the most common enemies will put up a fight, ensuring you never feel overpowered. However, in case you do feel stuck in a fight, you can always change the difficulty level presets to help you out.

Since these settings are applied without having to restart the game, you can access the System menu whenever you want and tweak the Difficulty Level settings. Want to level up faster? Increase the amount of experience you gain. Are you weak compared to the current boss? Reduce the boss’s strength or raise the damage you deal. It’s your game, so you should play it the way you want.

The ‘Restore HP after Battle’ setting is really great

If you’re wondering whether there is a setting you should turn on to improve your experience while keeping it balanced in terms of difficulty, the answer is yes. “Restore HP after Battle” might sound powerful, but it is actually a crucial quality-of-life aspect that many modern RPGs have already implemented.

There are many battles in Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined and long dungeons. Anyone who has played older RPGs understands how anxiety-inducing traversing a castle with 15% of your HP remaining can be. That’s why this setting is a must if you want the best Dragon Quest experience. Having your characters healed after a battle won’t make you stronger than every enemy, but it will allow you to survive long enough to at least reach the next save point.

You can use settings to tweak the visuals, too

One of Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined‘s appeals is its cute, doll-like visuals. Watching the small models running around in diorama-like dungeons is a delight. However, ever so often the camera pulls back, turning the gorgeous models into tiny humanoid figures. This might not bother you, but if it does, know that you can move the camera closer to the characters in the Controls tab in the System menu. Go to Camera Distance and set it to “near” so you can enjoy the beautiful visuals of this game more clearly.

Be a rebel, break things

The rule of thumb that everyone should follow when playing a Dragon Quest game is to be a rebellious hero. Do not leave any jar or barrel unbroken. Forget about any sense of personal space and check the bedrooms in every building. Raid houses and open every wardrobe and drawer you can find. Search all the bookshelves you come across and always keep your eyes out for the treasure chests sellers keep behind their counters. This might sound like you’re pushing the ethical boundaries of being a hero, but you will need money and items to save the world, and obtaining them from jars and wardrobes is the cheapest way to fund your journey.

Compare the past with the present

After completing an island’s quest chain in the past, you will need to visit it in the present to progress the story. When you do, you should explore all the key locations on the island. Not every location will be marked by the quest icon, so taking the time to check them might not feel useful. You’ll have new characters for you to talk to, and you can discover what has changed since you left the past version of the cities and villages. You can also find map pieces and treasures to collect!

Teleport and escape battles whenever you want to

Any Dragon Quest veteran player knows the power of the Zoom spell or the Chimaera Wing item. The latter used to let you teleport out of a dungeon, while the former is an upgraded version of it that also fast-travels you to key locations you’ve previously visited. In Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined, things have changed a bit — but for the better! The Chimaera Wing lost its teleport function, but it now guarantees your escape from battle. Zoom is now the only teleportation method in Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined. However, unlike previous games, you start the game with the spell unlocked, it costs 0 MP, and you don’t need to be outside a building or dungeon to use it.

Consult your tablet list

Nothing makes you scratch your head more than seeing that only one piece is missing to complete a new map tablet. Although Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined does a great job guiding you to where the pieces are located, it’s still possible to miss a few. If this happens, you just need to open the menu and check the Tablet List tab in the Info menu. It not only shows all the pieces you have already obtained, but it will also tell you the location of any pieces you have encountered but haven’t collected.

Image: Square Enix via Polygon

To rank up your vocations, fight weak enemies

The vocation system in Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is divided into three tiers of classes. Unlocking high-tier vocations is only possible after you have mastered low-tier vocations. To level them up quickly, the best strategy is to hunt weak enemies on the map. In Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined, you can recognize them because they run away once they spot you. When you attack them on the map, you can kill an enemy with a single blow, without even starting a turn-based battle. Just hit them while exploring the map, and they will fall.

You receive fewer experience points and only one vocation point for killing enemies in the field. However, in regular turn-based combat, even though you earn seven vocation points, it takes longer to finish the battle since you must wait for every character’s attack animations, as well as the battle’s intros and outros. By hunting weak enemies on the map, if you are in a good grinding spot, you can get up to 20 vocation points in one minute.

Kazing is one of the strongest skills in the game

In Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined, you shouldn’t worry about having a character capable of casting Kafrizz or Kaboom. You want a character who can use Kazing. Unlike the first version of this spell, Zing, which sometimes fails, Kazing always resurrects a character when cast. Dying in battle is terrible and without this spell unlocked, you would need to use a Yggdrasil Leaf to bring a party member back to life. However, Yggdrasil Leaves are rare, and you’ll want to save them for the right moment — like when you run out of MP. While there are other methods to resurrect a character, like the Priest’s special ability, none are as reliable as Kazing.