The Warrior (戦士,Senshi?, lit. lit. Soldier) is a recurring character vocation in the Dragon Quest series that was introduced in Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation. Warriors typically have high HP, Strength, and Resilience, but low Agility, and also possess no magical capability whatsoever.
Warriors specialize in armed combat in battle, being capable of wielding the strongest weapons and wearing the heaviest armor, shields, and helmets available. They boast incredible growths in Strength, Resilience, and maximum HP, but are often the slowest party member in the group: it would be a wise idea to have them equip Agility-boosting accessories whenever available to keep them on par with other party members. Warriors typically share most of their equipment choices with the Hero, as well as having access to some weapons that are unique to them such as heavy axes and hammers. They will sometimes forgo weapon accuracy in favor of wielding weapons that have a higher chance of inflicting critical hits, such as Hela's hammer and the Headsman's axe. Warriors are sometimes troublesome to the party's finances, as it can quickly become expensive to keep them equipped with the newest and best equipment in each town.
The female Warrior has been the victim of censorship in the 21st century due to the increasingly strict regulations of the Japanese CERO ratings board. This practice began in 2012 with the release of Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland 3D where she wore a black top and matching spats under her armour, with black chosen in an attempt to match her male counterpart, and this design was carried forward into 2015 with Dragon Quest of the Stars and into 2022 with the statue depicting her in Dragon Quest Treasures. Her design was altered again in 2024 with the HD-2D release of III, where the black cloth was switched with a light beige to render the changes all but invisible on her sprite. Similar censorship was applied to the summon spirit Kamashki in Dragon Quest X and to Maya Mahabala in the 2023 release of Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince.
Series creator Yuji Horii expressed his frustrations with the harsh restrictions of the CERO age ratings in a September 28, 2024 interview with video game news outlet Denfamico. Long-time series collaborator Kazuhiko Torishima was also present for the interview, who expressed his scorn for the forced compliance with overseas media regulations on top of CERO's influence. The interview is hosted on Denfamico's youtube channel, being the first segment.
Warrior is one of the basic professions available, teaching risky techniques that can backfire on the player in exchange for their utility. It is one of the prerequisites for the Gladiator, along with Martial Artist, and for the Armamentalist vocation along with Mage.
Warrior is once again one of the basic vocations available after the events at Alltrades Abbey. The vocation's repertoire of skills is less dangerous than before, eschewing some of the questionable techniques for those that deal heavy damage to certain types of monsters. Mastering it is a prerequisite to unlock both the Gladiator and Armamentalist vocations. In the 3DS version, the outfit for Warriors is very similar to those seen in IX
Attacks the enemy and has a chance of stealing its item
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Strategy
The Warrior is a useful class to become because of the strength increase that it affords. Among the skills that the warrior learns, Hatchet Man is by far the most useful. Although it misses half the time, when it does connect it will always be a critical hit, making short work of Metal Slimes. The Dragon Slash is also good for dragon bosses that the player encounters.
For hybrid skills, the two most useful ones are Sword Dance, which requires both a mature warrior and a mature Dancer, and Kelpto Clobber, which requires a mature warrior and a mature Thief. Sword Dance attacks four times with 0.75% power, making it useful for boss fights as it will hit for 300% more attack power than normal attacks. It is also the most cost effective skill in the game as it doesn't require any MP to use. Klepto Clobber is useful because it steals from enemies, making it a nice skill to have if the player is looking for a particular item. However, the chance of stealing is rather low.
Regarding evolution, the Warrior can combine the mastered Mage class and become an Armamentalist. The 'mentalist has access to some elemental slashes and the extremely powerful spell Kafrizzle. The Warrior can also combine the mastered Martial Artist class and become a Gladiator. The Gladiator has stronger attacks including Multifists. After the Gladiator class is mastered, the Gladiator can then become a Champion as long as the Paladin class is also mastered. The Champion has several powerful attacks culminating with Blade of Ultimate Power, a must for beating the final bosses in the game.
The Warrior Class is available at the start of the game and has the unique skillset 'Courage'. Warriors can also use skill points to learn Sword, Spear, Knife, and Shield skills. Their Coup-de-Grace is "Critical Claim" an attack that always lands a critical hit.
Warriors are considered the preliminary to Gladiators, and when the two are compared, Warriors aren't as agile or as strong. They also cannot equip heavier armor sets. However, Warriors have the advantage having more HP, Resilience, MP, and are able to wield Shields. They also have options to draw enemy aggro and protect other party members. Thus, parties who need a reliable tank should stick with a Warrior, or at least obtain Omnivocational Shieldmaster to help smooth over the transition to a Gladiator.
The female Warrior from Dragon Quest III has made cameo appearances as an NPC in other games in the series, such as Monsters, VIII, and XI. Male Warriors also appeared as NPCs in XI as well.
Female Warrior, Famicom artwork
Male Warrior, Famicom artwork
Female Warrior, Super Famicom artwork
Male Warrior, Super Famicom artwork
Setting out from Leiamland with Ramia, circa 1996
Female Warrior, Gameboy Color artwork
Male Warrior, Gameboy Color artwork
Dragon Quest Character Figure Collection Roto no Monshou series
Dragon Quest Character Figure Collection Roto no Monshou series
High resilience
DQIII Warrior wearing a gold chain
DQIII Warrior bashing into a wall
Terry as a Warrior equipped with a copper sword and bronze shield, for VI's official guide
Ditto for VI's V-jump guide
Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart
Looking at the Heroine and Princess Gwaelin
Appearance in Stars
The female Warrior's Treasures statue...
...and her counterpart's
