Pep

Pep (ゾーン, Zone, Pep^?) is a battle mechanic in the Dragon Quest series, introduced in Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. When a character is pepped up, they will glow blue with power and their attributes will be powered up temporarily. The bonuses and the triggers for Pep are different for each character. When a character is pepped up, there are certain abilities available to them known as Pep Powers. Certain enemies are also able to become pepped up in battle and some even have access to their own Pep Powers.

The Hero from Dragon Quest XI becoming pepped up in battle.

Although somewhat similar to Tension from previous games, Pep differs in many ways. For one, it triggers randomly and each character appears to have different triggers for it, such as taking damage in battle, or inflicting damage on enemies. Pep is able to carry over between battles, as well, and a character who is pepped up will stay in the state if the battle ends while they are still pepped up or if they have been switched out of the active battle party. This can be useful for certain quests, which require the player to perform specific Pep Powers on enemies. Pep typically lasts between 6~8 turns in battle and the blue glow behind a character's portrait in battle will begin to flash to indicate that the status will be ending soon.

Pep Bonuses

If a character has unlocked the skill, "Pep-Up Power-Up" on their panels, they will receive an even stronger boost to their attributes while pepped up.

Character	Attributes Boosted
Hero	Strength +20% (40%), Resilience +20% (40%), Critical Hit Rate
Erik	Strength +20% (40%), Deftness +100% (150%), Evasion +100% (150%)
Veronica	Magical Might +20% (40%), Resilience +40% (60%), Magic Critical Hit Rate
Serena	Magical Mending +20% (40%), Resilience +40% (60%), Magic Critical Hit Rate
Sylvando	Strength +20% (40%), Charm +100% (150%), Evasion + 100% (150%)
Jade	Agility +100% (150%), Charm +100% (150%), Critical Hit Rate
Rab	Magical Might +20% (40%), Magical Mending +20% (40%), Magic Critical Hit Rate
Hendrik	Agility +100% (150%), Resilience +20% (40%), Critical Hit Rate

Pep Powers

Main article: Pep Power

Trivia

The concept of party members combining their powers to pull off advanced moves is reminiscent of the Techs seen in Chrono Trigger, the 1995 Squaresoft RPG that Yuji Horii produced and supervised.

Gallery

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  The Hero, Jade, and Sylvando getting ready to use a Pep Power together.