This article describes the encounter mechanics of the Dragon Quest series. An encounter refers to any engagement with an enemy or group of enemies.
Overview[]
The enemies a player can meet varies both on where they are in the game and the terrain they are on. For example, the forest may contain enemies not found in the plains. For games that include travel by ship, enemies encountered while at sea are from an entirely separate set. Some enemies have a very low encounter rate and thus are almost impossible to find; these usually give out large amounts of experience points or some other significant reward, the most obvious example being the metal slime.
Each encounter begin with the line "[monster] draws near!" (...が あらわれた！)
Types[]
Random[]
Random encounters, largely in 2D and 2.5D instalments, occur suddenly when travelling on foot. As indicated, they can occur at any time when walking on the overworld or in a dungeon. In more recent 3D instalments, random encounters also occur while travelling in a vehicle.
Pseudorandom[]
Recent 3D instalments, including the remake of Dragon Quest VII, replace random encounters with pseudorandom encounters. Using this mechanic, enemies can appear on the map or in the field of play at regular intervals. If the enemy is aggressive and catches line-of-sight, or if the player runs into it, a battle will begin. At this time also, the party can attempt to evade battle by running away from the enemy until it disappears. If the party is overpowered for a given enemy, it may run and vanish altogether, with metal slimes again being a good example, owing to this their high evade rate. Even if the player is successful at catching an enemy, various other factors may still provoke it to flee unbidden in the ensuing battle.
Fixed[]
Canniboxes, urnexpecteds, and other hidden monsters, as well as bosses, are subject to fixed encounters. In most cases, the player will be unable to flee, but the encounter will almost always offer a guaranteed reward for the enemy's defeat. Where available, the Peep spell can identify some hidden foes.
Controlling the flow[]
Abilities such as Padfoot enable players to avoid or reduce the probability of encounters if the player does not wish to fight in order to save time or HP. Encounters can be prevented altogether for a short time through use of the holy water item or the spell Holy Protection. In games where it is available, the gospel ring when equipped by a currently active character will eliminate encounters altogether.
Dragon Quest XI adds the ability to initiate pre-emptive strikes. When in range, the player can press the Cross button to strike a roving enemy and start a battle. However, advantage is not always guaranteed.
Similarly, if the player wishes to battle more (perhaps for EXP), s/he might use other abilities to increase the probability of having an encounter, or, such as in the case of Whistle, or the Silver Harp, to cause one immediately. As an opposite of holy water, use of musk or monster munchies will increase the random encounter rate. In Dragon Quest XI, the Crackshot Crossbow will provoke a nearby enemy into attacking.