The Martial Artist (武闘家, Butouka) is a class in the Dragon Quest series. Practitioners of the way of the fist possess high Agility, Strength, and Resilience, but low magical capability.
A fighter well versed in hand-to-hand techniques that turn hands and feet into lethal weapons.
--Description from Dragon Quest VII
Martial artists have a great amount of agility and strength. They can deal devastating amounts of damage from a single strike, and can be equipped with a variety of weapons. However, if equipped with any weapon other than a claw in DQIII, a Martial Artist's abilities will actually decrease as his or her attack power will lower considerably. Compared to other vocations, Martial Artists have a very limited armor selection, particularly when it comes to shields and headwear. This can be a boon to the party's finances as unlike Warriors, it is not necessary to continuously upgrade the Martial Artist's equipment. Most of their armor consists of lightweight vests and other clothing designed for ease of movement.
A pugilist has a higher chance of scoring a critical hit on an enemy than other vocations, with their ratio being dependent on their level instead of staying at a fixed 1⁄64 chance throughout the game. In all versions of III the formula is LvL/256, capping once the martial artist reaches level 64 (25%). For VI and VII the formula is dependent on the character's rank in the vocation, capping at 1⁄8 when the vocation is mastered. Critical hits utilize a character's Deftness in Dragon Quest IX and subsequent titles, with martial artists receiving no special treatment other than a high aptitude for the stat.
Th martial artist is one of the basic classes available. It is one of the prerequisites for the Gladiator vocation (along with Warrior), and for the Paladin vocation (along with Priest).
Vocation trait
As mentioned above, martial artists get higher critical hit rates as their vocation rank rises.
Martial artist is one of the basic classes available at Alltrades Abbey. It is a prerequisite for the Gladiator and Paladin vocations, which in turn are necessary for the Champion advanced vocation.
Vocation trait
The critical hit rate has been changed slightly from VI, but the cap is still 1/8th.
The M.A.'s skill Wind Sickles is worth learning as it grows in strength the higher the level. In terms of development, the M.A. is required in order to become a Gladiator and Paladin. The great thing about Martial Artists is that these two classes combine to make a Godhand. The Godhand is worth investing some time and battles in getting if the player is looking to go to the bonus dungeons.
The M.A.'s hybrid skills are not very exciting except for Jock Dance. However, Roundhouse does the same thing and it doesn't require changing into a Dancer to do so.
The Martial Artist (Monk) vocation is available at the start of the game and has the unique skill set "Focus". Martial Artists can also use skill points to learn Fan, Staff, Claw, and Fisticuffs skills. Their Coup-de-Grace is "Roaring Tirade," which terrorizes all enemies and raises tension by one level.
As mentioned above, a Martial Artist is no more likely to land a critical hit than a character with the same Deftness stat.
Male martial artist, Dragon Quest III Famicom artwork
Female martial artist, Dragon Quest III Famicom artwork
Male martial artist and female martial artist, Dragon Quest III Famicom artwork
Dragon Quest Character Figure Collection Roto no Monshou series
Dragon Quest Character Figure Collection Roto no Monshou series
Dragon Quest III Super Famicom artwork
Strength...
...and agility
Male martial artist, Dragon Quest III Gameboy Color artwork
Being munched on by a Cannibox
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Sparring with Alena
