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 Dragon Quest IX. Each vocation 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 (超必殺技一覧).

Dragon Quest IX

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	This coup de grâce 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.
Haulellujah	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	Warrior
Rough 'n' Tumble	Minstrel
Roaring Tirade	Martial Artist
Saint's Song	Priest	Recovers 40-60% HP of all party members, treats various conditions, and revives the dead.
Itemised Kill	Thief
0 Zone	Mage
Spelly Breath	Sage
	Paladin
	Ranger
	Gladiator
Shocking Twist	Luminary	Enrages monsters, but paralyzes them when they attack the user.
Hocus Pocus	Gadabout	Applies random effects
	Druid
Magic Roulette	Armamentalist
Enhanced Gadget Type 0	Item Master
Argami Dance	Dancer
	Monster Master
Death Power Booster	Death Master

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 sword arcanes
3. Avan spear arcanes
4. Bloody-Scraid^*
5. Grand Cruss^*
6. Refractor fist
7. Giga Brake^*
8. Hyper demonic exploding flame champion
9. Kaiser Phoenix^*
10. Calamity Wall^*
11. Beast King congenial attack
12. Beast King palm fury
13. Beaut Deastringer^*
14. Demon puppet grab
15. Demonic crusher
16. Cornered Mouse rolling fist
17. Cornered Mouse spinning attack
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. Fierce tiger 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^*

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.