Coup de Grâce

A Coup de Grâce (必殺技, Hissatsuwaza, lit. "Deathblow") is a special battle ability in the Dragon Quest series, introduced in the Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai manga before making its gaming debut in Kenshin Dragon Quest.

Appearances

Main Series Appearances

Dragon Quest VIII

Known as Deathmoves, they are used by Monster Teams in the following conditions:

Name	Description	Monster Team Conditions
Big Banga	Explosion hits all enemies for big damage.	Hori, Nohi, Sugi, Tori
Bolt of Blight		Damon, Othello, Sir Bodless
Dirge	Reduces the defense of all team members and enemies to 0.	Capers, Hoodwink, Nightwing
Elemental Storm	All team members and party members resistance to fire and ice damage increases, and a barrier reflects spells back to their caster.	Blizag Jr., Flameman, Jack Frost, Torchman
Fat Drack	All team members fuse into Gracky, the Great Dracky.	Sippy, Slurpy, Sugi
Good as Gold	Attacks a single foe, and the party receives gold equal to half the damage dealt.	Goldman and Jewelbag
Harrowing Arrow	Hits the entire enemy group with arrows.	Archer, Fletch, Sagittari
Hellfire Hurricane		Barry Wight, Lumpy, Priestley
Jolly Jousters	All team members attack eight enemies at random with each attack dealing 50% less damage than normal.	Deadnoble, Octurion, Orcus
Love Typhoon	A pink whirlwind that hits a group of foes.	Faunus, Hazel, Slimehopper
Magic Burst	Expends all MP to deal a lot of damage.	Hev, Metabble/Metabble, Metaly
Maximaster	All dead team members are brought back to life and all team members are fully healed with their defense increased and all enemies' defense are decreased.	Healer, Curer, and Hev
Metal Panic	All team members attack a single foe, doing 50% more damage than normal.	Cybot, Mechabubo, Nohi, Roborg
Mind Breaker	All team members attack one enemy, making them lose their turn.	Arges, Brontes, Klub Kong, Pa Troll, Skeledoid, Squiggles, Steropes
Multiheal	Restores about 100 HP to the entire team and party.	Curer, Healer, Metaly
Multi Masher	All team members expend all remaining MP to attack 3 to 10 times at random.	Hev, Metabble, Metaly
Omniheal	All team members and the party recover HP.	Metaly, Curer, Healer
Riders' Carnival	All team members attack a single foe, dealing double damage.	Deadnoble, Jockey, Slimehopper
Sapper Slapper	Attacks a single foe and reduces its defence.	Orrid and Spike/Brontes and Steropes
Slime Spank	All team members attack a single foe, doing 50% more damage than usual.	Metaly, and 2 of the infamous Slimes
Stream Killer Attack	All team members attack a single foe, dealing triple the usual damage.	Cybot, Nohi, Roborg
Supersize Slimey	All 3 Slimes merge into Ultrus.	Slime Shady, Smiles, Tori
Tension Boost	All team members and party tension increase by two levels.	Big Al, Hazel, Jewelbag, Trick Bag
The Golemator	All three golems fuse into the mighty Mazin.	Brickman, Goldman, Stoneman
Triple Swords	All team members attack a single foe, doing 50% more damage than normal.	Bones, Capers, Cybot, Dumbking, Foul Fowl, Jockey, Lonely Joe, Nohi, Roborg, Skeledoid, Slimehopper
Typhoeus' Maul	All team members attack a single foe, doing 50% more damage than normal. If the target is of the beast family, damage is doubled.	Bush-W., Hackzilla, Hoodwink, Skeledoid
Zingslinger	All dead team members are returned to life and all team members are completely healed.	Metabble, Curer, Healer

Dragon Quest IX

Each vocation in the game has a different Coup de Grâce with different effects. The ability becomes available during battle randomly when certain conditions are met. When a character is able to use a Coup de Grâce, a notification is given stating:

[party member] is primed to perform a coup de grâce!

The effects of a Coup de Grâce last for only a short period of time. They do not carry over after the battle ends, or if the character dies. If all four party members are primed for a Coup de Grâce, they can together perform a Co-op de Grâce.

Triggers

The frequency of a Coup de Grâce occurring is amplified by the following conditions:

Condition	Boost
Critical fan equipped	+6%
Overcritical fan equipped	+7%
Hypercritical fan equipped	+8%
Dire critical fan equipped	+10%
Combat action medal	+3%
Martial artist, Ranger, or Luminary	+3%
1 other party member primed	+0.8%
2 other party members primed	+10%
3 other party members primed	+36%
10% damage taken	+0.75%
20% damage taken	+1.5%
30% damage taken	+3%
40% damage taken	+6%
50% damage taken	+12%
60% damage taken	+24%
70% damage taken	+48%
80% damage taken	+95%

Coups de Grâce

Name	Vocation	Effects
Critical Claim	Warrior	Unleashes an attack that always inflicts a critical hit.
Roaring Tirade	Martial Artist	Similar to War Cry, except it cannot be resisted. Further, it also increases tension by one level.
Choir of Angels	Priest	Heals 40% of allies' HP, and removes all status effects as well.
Rough 'n' Tumble	Minstrel	Evasion and the ability to counterattack go up.
0 Zone	Mage	Reduces MP cost to zero for a short while.
Itemised Kill	Thief	Guaranteed item drop from the enemy it is used on. This may not always work on bosses.
Knight Watch	Paladin	Attacks will do nothing for a few turns on the person who used it (not even Disruptive Wave can get through). All of the opponents are enraged to the person who used it.
Brownie Boost	Ranger	Boosts the user's attack, defense, and breath resistance by one level.
Tension Boost	Gladiator	Boosts tension up to 50 or 100 (maximum).
Voice of Experience	Armamentalist	Increases the amount of EXP you get from the battle if you win by a variable amount (1.1 through 1.9 multiplier)
Spelly Breath	Sage	Recovers a portion of lost MP to the caster.
Disco Tech	Luminary	Causes all enemies to boogie and raises tension by one level. This is functionally identical to Roaring Tirade.

Co-ops de Grâce

If all four party members are primed for a Coup de Grâce, then upon using them they will perform a Co-op de Grâce, selected from a menu. The choices are based on the party's vocations.

Name	Vocations	Effects
Quadraslash	Warrior Ranger	All four party members attack at once.
Omnipotense	Martial Artist Gladiator	Increases all party members' tension by 3-4 levels.
Soul Asylum	Priest Paladin	Renders the entire party invincible for a few turns (similar to Knight's Watch, but for everyone). Unaffected by Disruptive Wave.
Cast Away	Mage Sage	Reduces the party's MP cost to zero for a few turns.
Haulelujah	Armamentalist Thief	Chance to earn extra experience, gold, and items.
Electro Light	Minstrel Luminary	Turns all enemies into metal monsters (cannot be used on bosses).

Dragon Quest X

Name	Vocations	Effects
Critical Claim/Roar of Triumph	Warrior
Rough 'n' Tumble/Trick Zone	Minstrel	/Deals massive damage to enemy while reducing their DEF dependent on the user's charm stat
Roaring Tirade/Destruction Fist	Martial Artist
Saint's Song/Sanctuary Blessing	Priest	Recovers 40-60% HP of all party members, treats various status conditions, and revives the dead./Recovers half of the party's maximum HP and grants them a Grace of the Goddess effect.
Itemised Kill/Phantom Hack	Thief
0 Zone/Frizz Cracker	Mage	Spells and abilities can be used for no MP at all/Fires a non-reflectable magical blast of fire and ice
Spelly Breath/Blessed Light	Sage	/Increases the maximum HP of all allies in range.
Knight Watch/Holy Light Armor	Paladin	/Greatly increases the user's maximum HP while wearing holy light energy
Brownie Boost/Anubis Attack	Ranger	/Summons 3 of the Egyptian God of Death to attack 1 enemy
Tension Boost/Burning Rush	Gladiator	/Attacks all random enemies in range 4 times while raising the user's Tension by 1 level.
Shocking Twist/Silver Screen World	Luminary	Enrages monsters, but paralyzes them when they attack the user./
Hocus Pocus/Surprise Roulette	Gadabout	Applies random effects/
/Lightning Summon	Druid	/Inflicts massive lightning damage to 1 enemy dependent on the user's Magical Might
Wizard's Wheel/Energy Fall	Armamentalist	Gives all allies and the user major MP recovery every 3 seconds for 15 seconds while randomly increasing damage dealt to enemies for 15 seconds./Unleashes a deadly magic blast from all the user's MP
Enhanced Gadget Type 0/Absolute Tray	Item Master
Argami Dance/Gami Score	Dancer	/Sets up a circle that raises the party's Tension
Wild Side/Meteor Claw Fang	Monster Master	Increases the user's ATK and DEF by 2 levels each while reducing the action interval to 0 for 45 seconds/Deals massive damage to 1 enemy
Zodiac Code/Wild Card	Fortune Teller
Death Power Booster/Underworld Feast	Death Master
Secret Method of Renma/Release the Demon Swordsman!	Demon Swordsman	Gives the user a shortened CT activation, action interval and increased movement speed for 1 minute.
Ultra Cannon Holder/Panic Cannon	Pirate	Places an Ultra Cannon on the battlefield for the player to use./

Spinoff Appearances

Dragon Quest Heroes

Each playable character has a Coup de Grâce as their strongest move, being the equivalent of the usual "Musou" mechanics.

• Luceus: Gigagash
• Aurora: Gigaslash
• Doric: Royal Rumble
• Isla: Love Gun
• Alena: Great Ball of Fire
• Kiryl: Kathwack
• Maya: Puff!
• Bianca: Ribbon Let Die
• Nera: Big Banga
• Terry: Lightning Storm
• Jessica: Magic Burst
• Yangus: Axes of Evil
• Psaro (originally DLC): Secret of Evolution

Dragon Quest Heroes II

Due to the fact that the in-game manual never adresses the names of the Coups de Grâce, some of these attacks lack an international name, as not even the characters themselves shout their names when they execute them.

• Lazarel: Gigagash
• Teresa: Gigaslash
• Desdemona: Whopper Chop
• Cesar: Blade of Ultimate Power
• Torneko: Ara kure yobi (あらくれ呼び "Arakure Call"), where Torneko plays a trumpet and summons a stampede of burly men. Ara Kure (あらくれ) in japan is the name associated with the burly NPCs with the bull-like masks.
• Maribel: Hellfire
• Ruff: Lambpede
• Carver: Jigoku no ganseki otoshi (地獄の岩石落とし "Hell Rock Drop"), after gathering his energy, Carver rips out of the earth with his hands a massive chunck of rock at least twice his size and chucks it on the battlefield.
• Meena: Tenpenchii (天変地異 "Natural disaster"), where Meena summons with her crystal ball a rain of massive meteors on the battlefield.
• Angelo: Pearly Gates
• Alena: Great Ball of Fire
• Kiryl: Kathwack
• Maya: Puff!
• Terry: Lightning Storm
• Jessica: Magic Burst

Dragon Quest Heroes I·II

• Ragnar: Kyūkyokubakuretsuken (究極爆裂剣, "Ultimate Explosion Sword"), the same Coup the Grâce he previously used in Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road II, but now executed with Healix instead of Healie and with a final extra slash from Ragnar.

Kenshin Dragon Quest

Learning Conditions	Ability
Start of the game	Falcon Slash
Start of the game	Triple Slash
Start of the game	Explosion Slash
Start of the game	Sword Dance
Clear Stage 1	Searing Slash
Exchange 10 Mini medals	Vacuum A7M
Clear Stage 6	Lightning Strike
Defeat Mazin	Hatchet Man
Defeat Knight abhorrent	Pearly Gates
Learned via the Spell of Restoration after the final battle	Gigaslash
Learned via the practice field	Special V Cutter
Learned via the practice field	Mystery W Impact
Learned via the practice field	Secret Dragon Sword
Learned via the practice field	Lightning Storm
Learned via the practice field	Big Banga
Learned via the practice field	Magic Burst

Dragon Quest Tact

Hero	Ability/Spell	MP Cost	Turns needed	Description
Ragnar McRyan	Phoenix Dance	48	3	Deals 70% potency physical damage to 1 enemy 4 times
Alena	Great Ball of Fire	60	3	Deals 350% potency Frizz-type damage to 1 enemy.
Kiryl	Über Maulstrom	74	3	Deals 300% damage to all enemies in area of effect, and knocks them back 2 spaces.
Bianca	Zenithian Strike	60	3	Deals 420% physical damage to the ??? monster family, 350% potency to all other monster families.
Nera	Big Banga	137	4	Deals major Bang-type spell damage to all enemies in area of effect.
Debora	Livid Mode	48	2	Heals a major amount of HP, greatly raises Move and ATK, and reduces damage by 40% for 1 turn.
Prince Princeton	Cannock Clash	57	2	Deals 360% Sizz damage to one enemy.
Princess Princessa	Moonbrooke Prayer	56	2	Greatly recovers an ally's HP while increasing said ally's attack, defense, wisdom, and spell resistance for 3 turns.
Maribel	Infernal Flames	137	4	Deals major Frizz spell damage to all enemies in area of effect.
Ruff	Ruff Rider	57	2	Deals 360% Woosh type damage to one enemy.
Kiefer	Searing Sunder	52	3	Deals 90% Frizz type damage to one enemy while rarely lowering their defence
Terry	Secret Lightning Storm	96	3	Deals 350% Zap type physical damage to all enemies within range
Ashlynn	Magic Burst	All	5	Expends all MP to unleash a devastating magic explosion.
Carver	Über Knuckle Sandwich	65	3	Damages all enemies in range while moving them 3 squares back.
Yangus	Über Parallax	72	3	Inflicts 380% damage to all enemies in range while potentially paralyzing them
Jessica	Multi Masher	All	5	Expends all MP to unleash a really devastating magic explosion
Angelo	Heaven's Rain	105	4	Inflicts 205% damage on all enemies in range twice and recovers 20% of Angelo's HP
Dai	Avan Strash	72	2	Deals major Zap type damage to all enemies in range
Popp	Donk	146	3	Causes a large amount of spell damage to all enemies in range, while potentially binding them.
Maam	Magic Bullet Gun Hellburst	0	2	Deals major Sizz spell damage to 1 enemy
Hyunckel	Farewell Bloody Scryde	80	3	Deals 380% physical Zam damage to all enemies in range while rarely greatly lowering their DEF for 3 turns.
Santa Alena	Über Extra Large Holiday Present	105	3	Summons a large Christmas present that crushes all enemies in range while greatly lowering their AGL for 3 turns.
Erik	Criminal Genius	48	2	Triples physical damage and effects for 1 turn
Veronica	Awakening Magic Seal	48	2	Doubles the user's spell power for 2 turns
Jade	Pink Tornado	105	3	Deals 380% Woosh damage to all enemies in range while potentially mesmerizing them.
Young Terry	Great Trelixir	88	3	Greatly recovers HP and MP of all allies in range.
Anlucia	Twin Lightning Edge	70	2	Inflicts 240% physical Zap damage twice on one enemy.
Mjoll	Heavenly Flurry	68	2	Inflicts 70% physical damage to one enemy 6 times, while rarely lowering their DEF for 3 turns.
Hussar	Battle-Hardened Slash	78	3	Inflicts 400% physical damage on all enemies in range.
Erdrick	Giga Crosscut	120	3	Inflicts 300% physical Zap damage on all enemies in purple range, and inflicts 300% physical Zap damage on all enemies in orange range.
Beach Goddess Jessica	Super Sexy Beam	109	3	Deals major marital damage to all enemies in range while often charming them.
Mont Leonis	King Leonis	105	3	Deals physical damage to all enemies in area of effect, often confuses
Halloween Veronica	Trick and Treat!	199	3	Deals major spell damage to all enemies in range while rarely inflicting sleep, paralysis, curse, stun, confusion, poison, blind, charm, spell seal, physical seal, breath seal, and/or bind
Starry Knight Ashlynn	Shooting Star	70	2	Deals 120% physical damage to 1 enemy 4 times while recovering 100% of her own HP
Maya	Puff!	137	2	Transforms into a dragon and recovers a large amount of HP, while granting her different abilities for 3 turns.
Meena	Wheel of Fortune	116	2	Greatly recovers a major amount of her HP, while showing the true power of her cards for 3 turns.
Solo	Big Banga Slash	120	3	Deals 400% physical Frizz damage to 1 enemy within the purple square while dealing 220% physical Frizz damage to all enemies on orange squares.
Dragon Knight Dai	Avan-Strash X	120	3	Deals 300% physical Zap damage to one enemy within the purple range with a high probability of lowering Zap resistance and deals 300% physical Zap damage to all enemies within the orange area while moving him up to 3 squares with a high chance to lower Zap resistance.
Mage Popp	Frizz Cracker	140	2	Deals major spell damage to all enemies in range. Ignores damage reduction to all enemies and various effects such as Metal Body, Kaclang, and Spell RES.
Martial Artist Maam	Refractor Fist	74	3	Inflicts 500% physical damage to 1 enemy while potentially disabling HP Recovery for 3 turns.
Dark Armour Spear Hyunckel	Grand Cross	0	3	Deals major physical damage to 1 enemy on the purple square and all other enemies on orange squares.
Anlucia the Lightning Luminary	Sunderbolt Flash	120	3	Deals 400% physical Zap damage to all enemies on the purple squares and 200% physical Zap damage to all enemies on the orange squares.
Illusia	Shining Shroud	68	3	Recovers a large amount of HP and a moderate amount of MP for 1 ally, while reducing the damage they take for 3 turns by 20%.
Hero	Extreme Exhalation	107	3	Inflicts massive Woosh breath damage to one enemy on the purple square and same aforementioned Woosh breath damage to all enemies on the orange squares.
Pankraz	Immutable Stance	35	2	Takes damage meant for any adjacent allies while reducing damage taken by 50% for 1 turn
Parry	Zenithian Kazap	145	2	Inflicts a major amount of non-reflectable Zap spell damage dependent on ATK to all enemies in range, while removing their buffs.
Madchen	Madchen Cannon	138	2	Inflicts a major amount of non-reflectable spell damage to all enemies in range.
Scion of Erdrick	Light of Alefgard	120	3	Inflicts 650% non-reflective physical Zap damage to one enemy and increases the user's Tension for 1 turn
Princess Gwaelin	Gwaelin's Love	85	3	Greatly restores 1 ally's HP while putting them in an Auto Revive state
Young Erik	Earth Breaker	165	2	Deals heavy physical damage to all enemies within range, and creates a square that greatly reduces their move for 2 turns.
Young Mia	Romance Snipe Shot	100	2	Deals major physical damage to 1 enemy twice.
Nagene	Necrodea Style Sword Technique: Absolute	105	2	Deals 400% physical damage to all enemies in range while rarely bounding and stunning them. Can only be used if HP is below 50% and Blood Pact Recipient trait is activated.
Illusia, Goddess of Creation	Dawn of Genesis	110	3	Deals 500% physical Bang damage to all enemies in range and creates a barrier that reflects physical attacks.
Milly	Icy World	80	3	Deals heavy Crack spell damage to 1 enemy in the purple square, while occasionally lowering Crack Resistance for 3 turns and deals large Crack spell damage to all enemies in the orange squares for the same effect.
Nevan	Ghent Tribe's Secret Art	120	2	Revives 1 ally with all HP while increasing said ally's ATK, DEF, WIS, and AGL for 3 turns, and reduces damage taken by 20%.
Rek	Meteoric Rise	120	3	Deals massive unavoidable physical Bang damage to all enemies in range while being put into a cool state.
Auster	The Greater Leveller	145	2	Deals major non-reflectable spell damage to all enemies depending on their ATK, while removing most buffs.
Sir Mervyn	Legendary Hero	60	2	Makes the user a legend for 3 turns.
Aishe	Shinnetsu Kagura	74	2	Randomly inflicts 52% physical Sizz damage to all enemies in range 10 times, while rarely lowering their DEF and Physical Res for 3 turns.
Maribel (Druid)	Anchor of Heaven and Earth	52	2	Increases Maribel's spell power and recovery power by 1.5x for 3 turns and increases spell boost for 2 turns.
Serena	Thundering Storm Melody	112	3	Deals major Woosh spell damage to 1 enemy on the purple square and major Woosh spell damage to all enemies on the orange squares, while occasionally lowering their Woosh resistance for 3 turns.
Sylvando	Finger of Justice	139	3	Deals heavy physical damage to all enemies within range and greatly increases his physical and recovery power for 3 turns.
Luminary	Pep Power: Frizz Cracker	145	Pep	Deals a large amount of spell damage to all enemies within range and ignores some damage reductions. Can only be used during the Pep state.
Luminary	Pep Power: Chop 'n' Churn	118	Pep	Deals 280% physical Woosh damage to all enemies in purple squares and 280% physical Woosh damage to all enemies in the orange squares. Can only be used when Pepped Up.
Calasmos	Final Flame	150	NA	Deals a major amount of non-reflectable physical Frizz damage to all enemies in range.
Sea Empress Jade	Pirates Scramble	109	2	Deals heavy physical Frizz damage to one enemy 3 times, ignoring some damage reduction (usable times: 3).
Corsair Erik	Critical Claim	88	2	Deals a critical hit of 260% physical damage to 1 enemy.
Borya	Bor Colossus	143	3	Deals large Crack spell damage twice to all enemies within range, while having a high chance of lowering their Crack resistance.
Lin	Daybreaker	100		Deals 200% guaranteed hit non-reflectable physical Woosh damage to 1 enemy 3 times, while increasing the damage dealt from her skills for 3 turns.

Dragon Quest Champions

Skill/Spell	Description
Gyrfalcon Slash	Inflicts 50% non-elemental slash damage to 1 enemy 4 times
Rush Thrust
Hardclaw	Inflicts 60% non-elemental slash damage to 1 enemy 3 times
Firebird Throw	Inflicts 35% physical Frizz damage to all random enemies 7 times
Multifists	Deals 60% non-elemental physical damage to all random enemies 4 times
Sleep Attack	Deals 60% non-elemental physical damage to all random enemies 4 times while potentially putting them to sleep

Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai

In Volume publications, the term is used for filler pages on special techniques, sometime with an English spelling which is indicated bellow:

1. Avan-Strash^*
2. Avan Style Sword Techniques (Earth Slash, Wave Slash, Air Slash)
3. Avan Style Spear Techniques (Earth Strike, Wave Strike, Air Strike)
4. Bloody-Scraid^*
5. Grand Cruss^*
6. Refractor Fist
7. Giga Brake^*
8. Ultra Combustion Slash
9. Kaizer Phoenix^*
10. Calamity Wall^*
11. Beast King Anguish Blast
12. Beast King Indomitable Blast
13. Byut Deathstringer^*
14. Dark Puppetry Aura Hand
15. Dark Puppetry Aura Decimation Field
16. Rattus Fastus Fist
17. Rattus Rocket Ram
18. Heat Knuckle^*
19. Twin Sword Pinning^*
20. Needle Thousand^*
21. Thousand Ball^*
22. Castling^*
23. Lighting Bastar^*
24. Hell's Claw
25. Hell's Chain
26. Northern Granblade^*
27. Tiger Shatter Fist
28. Avan Strash X^*
29. Giga-Strash^*
30. Crossed celestial emperor sword
31. Haken Distall^*
32. Phantom Razor^*
33. Deastringer Blade^*
34. Demonic finishing palm
35. Burning Cremation^*
36. Earth Dragon Rising Fist
37. Phoenix Wing^*
38. Calamity End^*

Furthermore, in the story, Five Finger Flares and the Crest Beam are also described as Coups de Grâce.

Similar Mechanics

• Co-op de Grâce
• Pep Power

Etymology

Coup-de-grâce is taken directly from the French for "Blow of Grace" or "Blow of Mercy". In modern English usage, it describes an action taken toward a decisive end.

Other languages

Other languages
French	Unknown
German	Todestrick (VIII) Todesstoß (IX) Spezialangriff (IS)
Spanish	Golpe de Gracia
Italian	Unknown
Dutch	Unknown
Norwegian	Unknown
Greek	Unknown
Portuguese	Unknown
Russian	Unknown
Chinese	Unknown
Korean	Unknown