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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchBest overall for most campaigns: Monster Wrangler, with Martial Artist close behind for straightforward physical damage and Sage as the strongest all-purpose spell specialist once you can access it. This is an editorial ranking of campaign usefulness—not an official Square Enix tier list or a measured damage chart. It weighs early and midgame contribution, damage or healing, exploration utility, flexibility, and the value of abilities a character can keep after changing vocation. Party makeup, campaign stage, difficulty, and play style can change the order.
How to read this ranking
The remake’s recruitable vocations are Warrior, Martial Artist, Mage, Priest, Merchant, Gadabout, Thief, Sage, and Monster Wrangler; the Hero is the distinct protagonist vocation. Monster Wrangler is new to this remake and available from the outset. Because the remake gives vocations abilities beyond those in earlier versions, older rankings may not reflect this game’s current balance. The remake’s vocation roster and changes are documented in the community reference.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake (NSW) | $39.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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DRAGON QUEST I & II HD-2D Remake (NSW) | $34.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
![DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51xFaQ2AtsL._SL160_.jpg)
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DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code] | $59.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Dragon Quest III 3 HD-2D Remake | $44.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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DRAGON QUEST I & II HD-2D Remake (PS5) | $40.36 | Buy on Amazon |
There are two useful ways to judge a vocation: how well it performs while a character remains in it, and what a character can take away from it by reclassing. The list below ranks broad campaign value, while calling out the distinction where it matters. It does not claim that every party should use the same composition.
The vocations, ranked
1. Monster Wrangler
Monster Wrangler offers an unusual mix of combat contribution and recruitment-linked benefits, and its availability from the start makes it relevant before a party can build around later options. Reviewers have described it as powerful, but that is an assessment rather than a universal or measured tier. Its ceiling is also tied to finding friendly monsters: Square Enix’s May 23, 2025 update notice says Monster Pile-On has reduced power until all friendly monsters have been found, after which it performs a random three to five attacks. The same notice sets Wild Side’s cost at 30 MP. Square Enix’s update notice is the source for those post-update details.
#1 Best Overall
- DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake is a stunning reimagining of the beloved masterpiece and narrative beginning to The Erdrick Trilogy – the first three games of the mainline DRAGON QUEST series. Featuring vibrant HD-2D graphics, new and modernized features, and a refined narrative, players are invited to set out on an epic fantasy adventure to save the world from a dark evil.
- A fully modernized remake of the original: Stunning HD-2D visuals fuse pixel art with 3D graphics, bringing players into the world of DRAGON QUEST III like never before, along with an improved and modernized UI, and other quality of life improvements.
- Traditional DRAGON QUEST style battles: A refined take on the classic turn-based battle system, featuring new animations, additional improvements such as an adjustable battle speed, an auto-battle setting, and more.
- Immersive world: Deep exploration of a vast world map with an abundance of rich and captivating locations to discover, challenging players to overcome many unexpected encounters during the journey.
- Experience a timeless musical score: An immersive, authentic, and diverse musical composition that captures the timeless essence and magic of the DRAGON QUEST universe.
Why it ranks first: it can contribute across a campaign rather than serving only one narrow role, and its recruitment connection gives exploration an additional payoff. Players who do not pursue monster recruitment may value it less.
2. Martial Artist
For a party that needs a physical attacker, Martial Artist is one of the clearest choices. Its high agility and critical-hit potential are described in a fan walkthrough, while Square Enix’s later update confirms that the vocation’s critical-hit rate was increased. That makes it a strong combat pick without requiring it to cover spellcasting or healing. The GameFAQs vocation guide discusses its combat traits; treat its class analysis as secondary guidance, not official balancing data.
Why it ranks second: reliable physical pressure is valuable through much of a campaign, but its narrower role offers less flexibility than the top pick. The May 2025 update also means launch-era comparisons may no longer describe its critical performance accurately.
3. Sage
Sage is a powerful spell-focused vocation and a natural choice when a party wants broad magical capability. Its position is held back by access: it is not simply an at-start option, and getting a character there can involve a detour or a reclassing decision. RPGFan’s review discusses Sage and vocation changes. Read RPGFan’s review for that role context.
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Rank #2
- A fully modernized remake of the originals: Stunning HD-2D visuals fuse pixel art with 3D graphics, along with an improved and modernized UI, and other quality of life improvements make these the best versions of the games yet.
- Traditional DRAGON QUEST style battles: A refined take on the classic turn-based battle system, featuring new animations, additional improvements such as an adjustable battle speed, an auto-battle setting, and more.
- Two legendary adventures, in one package: Experience the epic origins of the DRAGON QUEST series with both DRAGON QUEST I and DRAGON QUEST II. Two games beautifully remade and bundled together in one definitive offering.
- Experience a timeless musical score: An immersive, authentic, and diverse musical composition that captures the timeless essence and magic of the DRAGON QUEST universe.
Why it ranks third: its versatility can be excellent once available, but a ranking of the whole campaign has to account for when the party can use it and what it gives up to reach it.
4. Thief
Thief’s value is not limited to direct combat. A fan walkthrough describes item-finding skills and automatic post-battle stealing, making the vocation useful to players who care about resources and exploration as well as fights. Those specific mechanics are described by a community guide rather than an official source, so they should not be read as a complete measure of the vocation’s value.
Why it ranks fourth: utility outside a single battle role gives Thief durable campaign appeal, though its overall place depends on how much a player values those conveniences compared with raw damage, durability, or spell coverage.
5. Warrior
Warrior’s defining contribution is durability: it gives a party a sturdier physical role. It should not be judged solely by launch-era damage comparisons, because Square Enix’s May 23, 2025 update strengthened Cutting Edge. The official notice lists that change alongside other vocation balance adjustments. See the official update details.
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Rank #3
- A Nintendo Switch Online membership may be required for online play. Please check the game detail page on Nintendo.com for membership requirements.
- ARMOR PROJECT/BIRD STUDIO/SPIKE CHUNSOFT/SQUARE ENIX SUGIYAMA KOBO (P) SUGIYAMA KOBO
Why it ranks fifth: a durable front-line option can make a party more forgiving, but it is less broadly flexible than vocations that also bring substantial utility or spell options.
6. Priest
Priest fills the party’s healing-oriented role, which can be essential when survival matters more than maximizing damage. Its relative value is highly dependent on party composition: a group short on recovery benefits more than one already well supplied. The available reviews establish the vocation’s role but do not support a precise, current performance comparison against every other class.
Why it ranks sixth: its role is important, but more specialized than the vocations above in a broad campaign-usefulness ranking.
7. Mage
Mage brings offensive spellcasting, making it a different kind of magical specialist from Priest. It can help a party that needs spell damage, though the available class-specific evidence does not establish a universal ordering between Mage and the other support-oriented vocations.
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- Turn-based combat system and characters with multiple vocations
- Stunning HD 2D graphics that bring the world to life like never before
- Explore a big world full of exciting places and unexpected encounters
- Experience a timeless soundtrack and immerse yourself in the magic of the Dragon Quest universe
Why it ranks seventh: its contribution is meaningful when the party needs its particular role, but this ranking favors vocations with broader utility, especially over a full campaign.
8. Merchant
Merchant is part of the remake’s recruitable roster, but the reviewed sources do not offer enough detailed current evidence to make a strong claim about its combat performance or rank it precisely against every other vocation. Its best placement will depend on what a player wants from the party and whether they plan to use it as a temporary step before reclassing.
Why it ranks eighth: the evidence supports a cautious lower placement in a broad all-purpose list, not a claim that Merchant is unusable or objectively inferior in every situation.
9. Gadabout
Gadabout has the weakest case as a conventional direct-combat choice. GameSpot characterizes it as intentionally poor in ordinary fighting, although RPGFan notes that even Gadabout has useful moves. Its importance is strategic as well as immediate: it can be relevant as a route to Sage, so a low ranking for its direct combat role does not make it a pointless vocation.
Best Value
- A fully modernized remake of the originals: Stunning HD-2D visuals fuse pixel art with 3D graphics, along with an improved and modernized UI, and other quality of life improvements make these the best versions of the games yet.
- Traditional DRAGON QUEST style battles: A refined take on the classic turn-based battle system, featuring new animations, additional improvements such as an adjustable battle speed, an auto-battle setting, and more.
- Two legendary adventures, in one package: Experience the epic origins of the DRAGON QUEST series with both DRAGON QUEST I and DRAGON QUEST II. Two games beautifully remade and bundled together in one definitive offering.
- Experience a timeless musical score: An immersive, authentic, and diverse musical composition that captures the timeless essence and magic of the DRAGON QUEST universe.
Why it ranks ninth: its conventional battle contribution is the least dependable fit for a broad campaign ranking, but its value changes if the player is pursuing Sage or specific retained abilities.
Hero: a separate protagonist role
The Hero is not one of the recruitable vocations above, so it is not included in their numbered ranking. Square Enix’s May 2025 notice lists a higher critical-hit rate for Hero and stronger Falcon Slash and Gigaslash. Those changes are another reason to be wary of launch-only class comparisons. The update notice covers the documented changes, but it does not establish whether a later platform-specific patch has superseded them.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When to change vocation—and what carries over
At level 20, a character can change vocation at Alltrades Abbey. Reclassing returns that character to level 1 and keeps half of the original stats, while learned spells and abilities are retained. In other words, changing class trades immediate levels and stats for access to a different role while preserving skills already learned. RPGFan’s review describes this progression system. RPGFan’s review.
- Choose a vocation for its current role when your party needs its contribution now—for example, more physical damage, durability, healing, or spell coverage.
- Choose one as a stepping stone when you want its learned abilities or spells before moving the character into a different vocation.
- Account for the reset before changing: the character returns to level 1, so the new vocation is a progression commitment rather than a free swap.
This distinction is especially important for Gadabout: its direct combat ranking is low, but its route to Sage can make it useful in a plan built around the later vocation. A vocation’s place in the ranking is therefore not a verdict on its value as a temporary skill source.
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What the post-launch balance update changes
Square Enix’s update notice, dated May 23, 2025, lists version 1.1.0.0 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, and version 1.2.0.0 for Steam and Microsoft Store on Windows. Among vocation-related changes, the notice increased critical-hit rates for Hero and Martial Artist, strengthened Hero’s Falcon Slash and Gigaslash, strengthened Warrior’s Cutting Edge, and changed Monster Pile-On and Wild Side as described above. These are the versions listed in that notice, not a confirmation of the latest version available on every platform today; check the game’s displayed version for your platform.
Which vocation should you choose?
- For a strong starting all-rounder: consider Monster Wrangler, especially if you intend to find friendly monsters.
- For physical damage: Martial Artist has the clearest high-damage case in this ranking.
- For broad spell capability later: plan toward Sage, while accounting for its access requirements.
- For party durability: Warrior is the straightforward fit.
- For healing or spell damage: Priest and Mage meet different party needs; the best choice depends on which role is missing.
- For utility or a progression route: Thief and Gadabout can make sense even if their direct combat ranking is not near the top.
The game launched on November 14, 2024, for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, according to GameSpot’s review. GameSpot’s review identifies those platforms and release date.
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