DQ6 Vocations Grinding Mini-Guide

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DQ6 VOCATIONS grinding mini-guide
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Hello, this guide has for goal to explain how to easily grind vocations in DQ6 in a casual run context (based on SFC version but should be exactly the same on DS as far as I tested).
I'll assume the reader just want to grind vocations in a casual run without wanting to go into speedrun territory or going into "most optimal road for 100% of the game".
My goal is to let the reader have some flexibility in which character does what.
Though some strategy will be close or inspired to what's done in speedrun.

2 points worth mentioning :
- Vocations are more important than your actual level. You can clear the game at relatively low level by using good advanced vocations setup (yes, even Nokturnus 20 Turns)
- The game punishes you for grinding too much prior to Murdaw 2-3 (the boss that unlock the vocation system), so don't forget to abuse Fire Claw on him and avoid grinding too high (the more level under 22 you are, the better)

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General Tips to keep in mind
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Once you have the vocation system unlocked you can already go ham on it asap. If you aren't overleveled already of course (each zone having an hard level cap which prevent character above that level to earn vocation point).
You will level up vocations by spamming fight as fast as possible and clearing them ideally in a 1 turn combat using tactics to avoid manual input to characters and ideally without the enemy taking any action to speed up things (that's why I also keep the agility aspect in mind).

Several things to consider before choosing who goes which class as well as some early grinding consideration:

- Fighter ( Martial Artist ) is an INSANELY good early class because it unlock Spin Kick ability early which is a nice aoe to grind and give you an agility boost while using the class allowing for more outspeed without the downside of HP stats of Dancer
Also, did I forget to say that Fighter allow you to unlock Paladin which will be a core class to grind easily too later because of the Thin Air ability being a really good all-group 0MP attack.

- Priest is also a good class to heal with people on the wagon that won't be doing the fighting. Also Priest is required for both Paladin and Sage (so it doesn't matter if your character is physical or magical oriented since they both benefit from mastering Priest)

- Tanky character like Carver and Amos should be priority to grind with, which make them good candidate for Fighter ( martial artist class ) and then future Paladin.

- Amos can equip Boomerangs which is nice for early grind. Bladed boomerang Amos + Fire Claw Carver can clear in 1 Turn anything in Lucid Grotto by themselves with Attack only.

- You can get a decent group weapon for early, Morning Star, in a chest right before the top of Destiny Drop (before the seed of reason) used mostly on Ashlynn or Nevan to help with foes group you can't 1 Turn with just Carver/Amos.

- You will want to get Whistle (12 fights in Goof-Off vocation) on your first character used for grinding asap (or on your last character in wagon since you can access it with just 1 more input up) to spam fight faster

- DO NOT put in the main team character that don't provide good way to aoe. You are better farming with a reduced party of 1,2 or 3 character instead (also help mitigating damages from aoe)

- Character in Wagon still get vocation points EVEN IF you are in a cave or tower without access to it.

- Meteorite Bracer helps with outspeed too so consider using it when you have access to it.

- Dragon rank 7 or 8 is an insane vocation to have in order to grind fast, allowing easy 1 turn on a lot of enemies even in a zone cap 99! thanks to fire breath at rank 7 and another powerful ice version at rank 8. Allowing you to effectively grind with 2 character instead of 3 for faster clear.

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The Grind Zones
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You want to minimize the amount of EXP gain in order to spam easy fight for longer (at least until you get good aoe like Thin Air /Dragon breath) so use the lowest zone available that is easy to grind.
Avoid using Hero in the team that will grind because you have to manual him, reduce input by putting team in "Do your best"  and Hero in Wagon.
Good zone to use that I recommend because the fight are easy to clean.

Max 15 - Lucid Grotto 2nd floor. In Real World.
Max 21 - Underkeep (Island Cave) Enter inside the cave. In Dream World
Max 22 - Around Ghent in Real World
Max 28 - Hallowed Hollow ( Baptismal Cave) in Real World
Max 31 - Around Sorceria in Dream World
Max 99 - Spiegelspire Tower in Dream World

Full list is there : https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Dragon_Quest_VI:_Realms_of_Revelation/Area_level_caps

I'll talk a bit more about why the Spiegelspire.
It's simple, it's because it is the easiest level 99 cap zone that doesn't have strong enemies resistant to Paladin Thin Air (woosh damages).
The only enemies resistant to Thin Air there are some weak Chimera Bird that still can't survive double Thin Air anyway.
Unlike Foan castle or Felonia ( Decent alternatives but you would absolutely want a maxed Dragon for those zone which is not needed for good grind speed in Spiegelspire )
Also if you have a Dragon vocation character at least rank 7 in your party then Flame breath + 1 Thin Air is enough to deal in one turn all encounters there.

Use the whistle ability on the grass outside the tower at entrance so you can easily backtrack to your wagon for a Tactical Restore in case you still take too much damages.
You will want to be in Fighter class (Paladin works too since you get agi boost) /Meteorite bracer on those who are frontline to grind.
I know it can be a pain to sacrifice someone that won't be gaining vocation just for an agility boost but imo character like Lizzie and Carver can do fine with their Dragon and Paladin vocation respectively also you will want Carver to go into MetalBabble class lategame that also give an agility boost (he is an ideal target).
Though it's obviously not mandatory to get consistent outspeed if you are willing to slow down the process a bit/heal more and want to level everybody vocations.

Lizzie in Fighter class with maxed Dragon vocation is the strongest character to grind with, getting both the strong aoe from dragon and speed boost from Fighter class while being naturally bulky.


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Bonus: Some casual friendly class/recommendation to grind for in a 100% of the game
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Luminary (SuperStar) on Hero ( Dancer + Goof Off) so you can get access to Hustle Dance (an aoe heal stronger than Sage stone for 0 MP) also this class is easy to get and allow Hero to unlock the Hero vocation for Gigaslash and passive HP Regen.

Another Luminary (SuperStar) on Ashlynn or Milly is nice to have for more aoe heal and also it allow them to clear rank 8 of the best dressed contest mini-game easier (Ashlynn can clear it before Milly once you have Sorceria Whip but in a casual run any of them will be able to clear it by the time you get to it with Luminary or Dancer). Though hyperlate, Milly doesn't even need the class bonus to clear rank8.

Surprisingly, Blazemost (strong single target damage spell used in signature Sage setup of DQ3 Xenlon) is NOT a Sage spell in DQ6.
That spell is still the strongest single target damage spell but is locked behind MagicalWarrior ( Wizard + Warrior )
It's a good idea to get MagicWarrior maxed on a future Sage or anybody that you want to focus on dealing magical damages. It can surpass gigaslah damages late game for less mana if used with Echoing Hat.
Also it's worth mentioning that MagicWarrior Magma Blast at rank 7 is a decent aoe to grind with too since it's 0MP.

MetalBabble Carver with Forebearance can be an insane tank

Hero vocation is as strong as it is difficult to unlock, Gigaslash and the passive HP regen making it worth it.

Pierre ( Goowain in EN, the slime knight ) can clear the slime arena with all stars with only Dragon and Priest Maxed and a mix of metal king / mirror gear. even at level in high20's early 30.

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Author: Suppi (@Suppi_LL)
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