Hobbies And Interests
Leveling System
The leveling system in Dragon Quest VIII differs from some other similar games. There is a traditional level-based system. If you earn enough experience points from fights, your level will increase. The character's stats increase and occasionally the character learns a new spell with each level up. In addition, there is a skill system. The character gets skill points at each level up that can be placed into five different skills. These skills grant spells and improve the character's ability with a particular type of weapon. Most of the character's spells are gained through skills, not leveling up.
Choosing Skills
It is possible to level every skill to the maximum of 100 for each character, but this requires farming a rarely dropped item. This can also be achieved near the end of the game. Focusing on two or three skills is the best course of action. The fifth skill for each character (Courage, Humanity, Sex Appeal and Charisma) is the only skill that is always usable regardless of what weapon is equipped. It gives a variety of different spells. This skill is a solid choice to focus on. Every weapon skill, including Fisticuffs, is a viable option. Some have skills that are more useful in certain situations, but you will not cripple a character based on the weapon you decide to focus on.
Random Encounters
Dragon Quest VIII has a very high random encounter rate. Yangus also learns a skill called Whistle when his Humanity skill reaches 4. This skill lets you start a random encounter anytime it is used. The experience gained in each of these random encounters very quickly drops to almost nothing. Leveling the Hero's Courage skill to 28 can save a lot of time and effort. The Hero gains an ability called Holy Protection. When this skill is used from the menu, it stops any random encounter started by an enemy that is a lower level than your party. Keeping this skill active will greatly decrease the time and annoyance that random encounters against weak foes would cause.