Ranger

Vocation
Ranger
Art for a male ranger in Dragon Quest IX.
Japanese name:	レンジャー (Renjā)
Introduced in:	Dragon Quest VI
Appears in:	Dragon Quest VI Dragon Quest IX Dragon Quest X Dragon Quest of the Stars Dragon Quest Walk Dragon Quest Smash/Grow

The Ranger (レンジャー, Renjā^?) is an advanced vocation in the series. Rangers are swift combatants that possess Agility and utilise various abilities centered around evasiveness and eluding enemy attacks, along with have a strong association with wildlife and the natural world.

Characteristics

The Ranger's attributes vary from game to game, though there is a consistent focus on evasiveness and providing party support. In Dragon Quest VI, the Ranger increases Agility, Wisdom, and gives the party an increased chance to flee from battle at higher ranks, though it decreases Strength, Resilience, and Max HP. In Dragon Quest IX, the Ranger has the most Deftness 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 attribute 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.

Rangers focus on avoiding combat through silently navigating the field and dungeons without detection, having a greater chance to flee from foes, and dodging attacks through the use of abilities such as Mist Me. Starting with Dragon Quest IX, they gained the ability to call from the aid of wolves in battle to perform attacks.

Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation

A character requires mastery of the Merchant, Thief and Monster 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

Rank	Flee Rate
1	1/8
2	1/8
3	3/8
4	3/8
5	5/8
6	5/8
7	5/8
8	8/8

Stat Changes

Statistics	Change
Battles to Master	199
Strength	-10%
Agility	+20%
Resilience	-20%
Wisdom	+10%
Max HP	-10%
Max MP	+20%
Trait	Increased chance of fleeing the enemy
Mastery Bonus	+20 Agility

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

Abilities

Level	Title	Learns	Battles Needed	Target	Info	MP
1	Woodcutter	Holy Protection	1	Party	Generates a holy aura that keeps weaker monsters away.	4
2	Trailblazer	Venom Mist	20	One group	Envenomates a group of enemies.	0
3	Gatherer	Safe Passage	50	Party	Travel with impunity across terrain that would otherwise cause harm.	2
4	Trapper	Stomp	80	All enemies	Creates a violent vibration that shakes up enemies.	0
5	Tracker	Dazzleflash	110	Enemy group	Blinds the enemy with a bright flash of light.	0
6	Stalker	Defending Champion	140	Self	Greatly reduces the damage inflicted by physical attacks.	0
7	Predator	Pyre o' Fire	170	One enemy	A pillar of flame that singes the enemy.	0
8	King of the Hunt	Backdraft	200	Self	Whips up a tailwind that reflects an enemy breath attack.	0

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past

Although the Ranger vocation does not appear in this game, the Armamentalist vocation was originally localised as Ranger in the English version of Dragon Warrior VII on the Sony PlayStation.

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

"A ranger is a wild warrior who lives as one with nature. Only one with a gentle heart can become a ranger."

—Odval

Rangers return to the series for the first time since Dragon Quest VI. The vocation's default design is strongly inspired by the hunters and inhabitants of the plains and steppes, such as Mongolians and American Indians, wielding bows and wearing outfits made of furs and leather. In order to change vocations to a Ranger, the player must first complete Quest #112: Ranger Changer. At the base of the Heights of Loneliness, speak to the ranger Odval, who wants you envenomate three hocus chimaeras with Toxic Dagger and let them die from poison damage alone. After that, return to Odval to complete the quest.

Rangers have the unique skillset Ruggedness, and can also use skill points to learn Axe, Bow, Boomerang, and Fisticuffs skills. Their Coup de Grâce is Brownie Boost, which increases the user's Attack, Defence, and applies Insulate.

Stats

Attribute	Starting stats	Maximum stats
Level	1	99
HP	31	510
MP	14	229
Strength	18	305
Agility	16	264
Resilience	14	241
Magical Might	0	0
Magical Mending	12	200
Deftness	30	500
Charm	4	61

Ruggedness

Name	Description	Required points	Accolade
Soothe Sayer	Calms an enraged enemy	4	Backpacker
Natural Deftness +10	Permanently adds 10 to deftness	10	Happy Camper
Mercy	Gives a weakened enemy a chance to escape	16	Outdoorsman/woman
Natural Agility +20	Permanently adds 20 to agility	22	Forest Dweller
Vanish	Hides party on field; reduces user's chance of being attacked	32	Wild Child
Natural Resilience +20	Permanently adds 20 to resilience	42	Survivalist
Mist Me	Summons fog that thwarts enemy attacks	55	Bushcraftsman/woman
Natural Deftness +30	Permanently adds 30 to deftness	68	Talented tracker
Wolf Whistle	Summons two wolves to attack enemy	82	Pathfinder
Natural Deftness +60	Permanently adds 60 to deftness	100	King/Queen of the Jungle

Spells

Name	MP	Level	Target	Description
Safe Passage	2	3	Party	Travel with impunity across harmful terrain.
Squelch	2	4	One ally	Cures a single ally of the effects of poison.
Evac	3	7	Party	Exit instantly from dungeons, caves, and towers.
Heal	2	10	One ally	Restores at least 30 HP to a single ally.
Insulate	4	12	One ally	Protects a party member from breath-based attacks.
Tingle	2	16	Party	Cures all party members of the effects of paralysis.
Cock-a-doodle-doo	2	18	Party	Awakens any sleeping party members.
Midheal	4	22	One ally	Restores at least 75 HP to a single ally.
Zing	8	24	One ally	Resurrects a fallen ally, but sometimes fails.
Insulatle	8	26	Party	Protects the whole party from breath-based attacks.
Moreheal	8	34	One ally	Restores at least 165 HP to a single ally.

Revocation Award

• Medal of Freedom

Dragon Quest X

Rangers were added to the game in the Version 1.1 update. Their attributes and abilities are similar to the previous game, and the vocation has the highest Deftness by far once again. The biggest difference between IX and X for the Ranger is their ability to learn the Crag series of earth-elemental 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

Japanese name	English name	Description	MP	Required points
みのがす (Minogasu)	Mercy	Spares weaker monsters who flee the battlefield. No experience points or gold is gained, but fleeing monsters can still drop items.	2	2
全職業できようさ+20 (Zen shokugyō de Kiyōsa +20)	Natural Deftness +20	Permanently increases Deftness by 20 in all vocations	N/A	12
てなずける (Tenazukeru)	N/A	Targeted monster fights on the party's behalf for one minute	0	22
全職業でみりょく+20 (Zen shokugyō de Miryoku + 20)	Natural Charm +20	Permanently increases Charm by 20 in all vocations	N/A	34
メタルトラップ (Metarutorappu)	N/A	Sets a trap that prevents enemies from fleeing for 15 seconds Works on all monsters, including Metal slimes	1	46
全職業できようさ+20 (Zen shokugyō de Kiyōsa +20)	Natural Deftness +20	Permanently increases Deftness by 20 in all vocations Total of +40	N/A	54
まもりのきり (Mamori no kiri)	Mist Me	Clouds user in mist that voids breath skills for 120 seconds This includes status ailment breath skills	5	68
全職業でかいふく魔力+20 (Zen shokugyō de Kaifuku Maryoku +20)	Natural Magical Mending +20	Permanently increases Magical Mending by 20 in all vocations	N/A	78
全職業できようさ+20 (Zen shokugyō de Kiyōsa +20)	Natural Deftness +20	Permanently increases Deftness by 20 in all vocations Total of +60	N/A	82
オオカミアタック (Ōkamiatakku)	Wolf Whistle	Summons a wolf to attack one enemy twice Damage is (Deftness x 0.18) +53.5, limit is 500 deftness for 175~185 Ignores defence stat, but is effected by defending & defensive skills	6	100
先制攻撃率アップ (Sensei kōgeki-ritsu appu)	N/A	Increases the chance of getting a preemptive strike on the enemy	N/A	110
きようさ+30 (Kiyōsa +30)	Deftness +30	Increases Deftness by 30 as a Ranger Total of +90	N/A	120
あんこくのきり (Ankoku no kiri)	Air Pollution	A fog is produced that lowers the Strength and Magical Might of all enemies in range by one stage, as well as bedazzling them Duration is 120 seconds	4	130
ジバルンバ (Jibarunba)	Kacraggle	Unlocks the Kacraggle/Ridgeraiser spell	16	140
フェンリルアタック (Fenriruatakku)	Ruff Rider	Summons a white wolf to attack a random enemy four times Damage is (Deftness x 0.32) + 216 Unaffected by Dazzle & blinding skills Ignores defence stat, but is effected by defending & defensive skills		150
テンション消費しな1% (Tenshon shōhi-shina 1%)	Maintain Tension 1%	After building up Tension, there is a certain chance the player can perform an action without consuming it.		160
ターン消費しない1.5% (ターン消費しない1.5%)	Free Turn 1.5%	After selecting a command, there is a certain probability that the player will be able to select another command without consuming the turn gauge.		170
ケルベロスロンド (Keruberosurondo)	N/A	Summons the hound of Hades to attack one enemy three times, with a chance to Sap the target per strike Damage based on deftness, cap of approximately 320 per strike at 700 Each strike ignores defence stat, but has a 50% chance to miss.	10	180
特技のダメージ強化+20 (Tokugi no damēji kyōka +20)	Skill Damage +20	Increases the damage inflicted by skills.		190
紅蓮蝶のきり (Guren chō no kiri)	N/A	Produces a fog that raises the party's Attack by two stages (40%) Voids one enemy breath skill	8	200

Spells

Name	MP	Level	Target	Description
Evac	3	3	Party	Exit instantly from dungeons, caves, and towers.
Heal	2	6	One ally	Restores at least 30 HP
Cock-a-doodle-doo	2	10	One ally	Cures Snooze
Crag/Rubblerouser	4	12	Proximity	Sets a seal on the ground that will explode after a duration and hit nearby enemies for 18~24earth damage.
ザオ (Zao)	5	15	One ally	50% chance to revive party member at 1 HP
Insulate	2	19	One ally	Reduces breath damage by up to 40% for 120 seconds
Craggle/Boulderbringer	8	23	Proximity	Sets a seal on the ground that will explode after a duration and hit nearby enemies for 52~68 earth damage.
Midheal	4	25	One ally	Restores at least 80 HP
Dazzle	3	29	Proximity	Blinds enemies, reducing accuracy
Zing	8	38	One ally	50% chance to revive party member at half HP
Insulatle	4	44	Party	Reduces breath damage by up to 40% for 120 seconds
Moreheal	10	68	One ally	Restores at least 164 HP
Kacrag/Mountainmover	16	69	Proximity	Sets a seal on the ground that will explode after a duration and hit nearby enemies for 130~150 earth damage.
Oomphle	4	72	One ally	Raises party member's attack by 40% for 120 seconds

Dragon Quest of the Stars

Ranger is one of the basic vocations in the game. Leveling up to level 50 is a requirement for the specialist vocations Superstar and Astronomer.

Dragon Quest Walk

Rangers as they appear in Walk

The Ranger vocation was added to the game in the January 2020 update. It requires that a character reach Level 50 as a Martial Artist and Thief vocations first. They specialise mainly in equipping blue-coloured Monster Hearts and have a dual-coloured red and blue slot. Their preferred weapons are Knives, Claws, Whips, and Boomerangs. Their special vocation ability Shadowbind occasionally stuns enemies when attacking. Reaching Level 70 as a Ranger is one of the requirements to become a Ninja or Druid.

Dragon Quest Smash/Grow

Ranger is the third advanced vocation in the game, added to the game on August 4th, 2026. It requires that a character reach Level 50 as both a Martial Artist and a Thief. They specialise in equipping red and blue-coloured Memories and their preferred weapons are Claws, Whips, and Boomerangs. Their Vocation Traits are "Ranger Blade", which throws a dagger at the nearest enemy when moving and charges the Coup de Grâce gauge a small amount, and "Fleet Feet", which increases the party's movement speed slightly. Their two vocational Blessings are "Fenrir's Hunt", which increases the damage of final normal attacks and Coups de Grâce, increasing further with the amount of status ailments inflicted, and "Shadowbind", which rarely inflicts shadowbind on final normal attacks.

Level	Boon
Level 5	Strength +10 Increases the character's strength.
Level 10	Physical Damage +5% Increases physical damage.
Level 15	Magical Might +10 Increases the character's magical might.
Level 20	Magical Damage +5% Increases magical damage.
Level 25	(Hero) Strength +10 Increases the character's strength on all vocations.
Level 30	Coup de Grâce Physical Damage +5% Increases Coup de Grâce physical damage.
Level 35	Coup de Grâce Magical Damage +5% Increases Coup de Grâce magical damage.
Level 40	Magical Defence +10 Increases the character's magical defence.
Level 45	Normal Attack Speed +3% Increases the character's normal attack speed.
Level 50	(Hero) Normal Attack Speed +1% Increases the character's normal attack speed on all vocations.
Level 55	Strength +10 Increases the character's strength.

Trivia

• The rank accolades for the Japanese version of Dragon Quest VI are taken from the Super Sentai series of tokusatsu television programs. They are:

• White Ranger (シロレンジャー, Shirorenjā^?)
• Yellow Ranger (キレンジャー, Kirenjā^?)
• Red Ranger (アカレンジャー, Akarenjā^?)
• Blue Ranger (アオレンジャー, Aorenjā^?)
• Black Ranger (クロレンジャー, Kurorenjā^?)
• Power Ranger (パワーレンジャー, Pawārenjā^?)
• Mega Ranger (メガレンジャー, Megarenjā^?)
• King Ranger (キングレンジャー, Kingurenjā^?)

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

Gallery

• 
  The Hero using Backdraft in VI's official guidebook
• 
  As well as in the V-Jump guidebook
• 
  Concept art for the female Ranger in IX. This outfit would be repurposed for X
• 
  Unused art for the male Ranger in IX
• 
  Human stock art of the Ranger vocation in X
• 
  A Wetling, Ogre, and Dwarf as rangers in Dragon Quest X
• 
  Rangers seen in Dragon Quest Smash/Grow