Dragon Quest XI: Learn to Beat the Casino and Gear Up for the Battle
The Dragon Quest series of games has been with us for almost as long as gaming itself – in fact, the very first version came out an incredible 35 years ago next month and is considered the first real RPG in today’s sense of the word. Most people agree that Dragon Quest XI is not just the most recent entry in the franchise, it is also the best.
This is one of those games where the real pleasure lies in the journey, and across the years, the different versions of the game have been littered with side missions and minigames that can ultimately give you a valuable edge in battle. One of the favorites in recent versions has been the casino, and anyone who is new to Dragon Quest XI will be pleased to know it is still there – in fact, there are two casinos in Erdrea.
There’s an old saying in the world of casinos that the house always wins. That might be true in Las Vegas or Monte Carlo, but when you venture into the realms of Erdrea, anything is possible. First, we will take a look at the different games that are available to be played. Then, we’ll look at the prizes available in each casino and how to win them.
Traditional casino games
The games themselves will be familiar to anyone who has played real money games, and they work the same way in the mythical land of Erdrea as they do at the traditional online casinos in the UK or AustralianCasinoClub’s new online casinos – and indeed at all points in between. There are three games to choose from:
Slots are the most common sight in any casino, and the ones in Dragon Quest XI provide the most reliable source of tokens for minimum effort. At either casino, you can speak to casino staff to find out which slot game is hot at the moment. The best strategy is to start slow, and then once you’ve accumulated a good quantity of tokens, feed them into the slime slot machines. These periodically trigger metal mode, and that’s when the rewards can really start to pile up.
Poker is a simplified version of the video poker games you encounter at a real casino. Choose which cards to keep and which to discard, and if you end up with a combination shown on the pay table, you will be rewarded accordingly. Poker doesn’t pay out as well as the other games, but it is probably the most fun, so it’s no hardship to play a few hands.
Roulette is a game where the rules need no explanation. As with a real roulette wheel, you can choose to bet on a single number (a straight up), groups of numbers or a specific color. The recommended strategy here is to save your game when you have accumulated significant winnings on other games and then come back and bet heavily on straight ups – it’s the most effective path to the greatest rewards, although it can get repetitive.
Puerto Valor Casino
The first casino you encounter in Dragon Quest XI is the Puerto Valor Casino. This one is also the most straightforward. There are some rewards in the prize list that can make a big difference when you go into battle, and at the top of the list is the Platinum Powersword. Just be aware that you’ll need 100,000 tokens to make it yours.
Other prizes on offer include the White Shield (5,000 tokens), Elevating Vest (10,000 tokens), Platinum Sword (50,000 tokens) and Lightning Lance (75,000 tokens) plus various others. Gameplay at Puerto Valor is uncomplicated, and what you see is what you get. It’s when you gain access to the next casino that things start to get freaky.
Octagonia Casino
Another great cliché is that if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. That’s exactly the case at Octagonia. When you first walk through the doors and start playing, you won’t believe your luck, as it will seem you can’t help winning time and again. Unfortunately, that’s because the casino is overrun with monsters, and although the machines have been rigged in your favor, the prizes you think you win are actually trash.
Take your Love Potion to the VIP Room in order to clear the monsters and return the casino to normal. Once you’ve done so, you can play in the same way as you did at Puerto Valor and accumulate tokens to convert into prizes.
The most valuable prize on offer here is the Gringham Whip, which will set you back 7,500,000 tokens. The many other prizes at Octagonia include the Bow Tie (3,000 tokens), Imp Knife (60,000 tokens), FireBall (80,000 tokens) and the Twinkling Tuxedo (200,000 tokens).