Dragon Quest IX: Vocation unlocks, skill points and cross-training
Find advanced-class quests and understand what transfers when changing vocation.
Edition covered
Guides cover Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies on Nintendo DS, using English item and quest names. Pictures come from Nintendo’s original Japanese release and therefore show Japanese interface text. Core offline play is the focus; discontinued official online services are distinguished from local wireless features.
Unlock vocation changes through Alltrades
Resolve the Alltrades Abbey story, including the Tower of Trades, to regain access to vocation changes. Switching to an unused vocation starts that vocation at level one. Returning to a previous vocation restores its stored level; the change does not delete the levels earned there.
| System | Behavior | Planning consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Vocation level | Stored separately for each class | A new class begins at level one. |
| Learned spells | Tied to the current vocation | Former Priest spells do not all follow a Warrior. |
| Unspent skill points | Remain with the character | Spend them toward an available tree. |
| Skill-tree abilities and bonuses | Many transfer across vocations | Cross-training can strengthen the final build. |
| Equipment access | Follows current class and learned permissions | Reequip after every change. |
Keep skills separate from spells
Skill points and many learned skill-tree abilities carry across vocations, while level-learned spells are tied to the current vocation. A former Priest does not automatically keep every healing spell as a Warrior. Weapon skills also need their equipment requirements unless the appropriate universal-use unlock has been obtained.
Unlock advanced vocations with their quests
The six additional vocations have specific quest gates. Gladiator and Armamentalist begin at Alltrades, Paladin at Gleeba, Ranger near the Heights of Loneliness, and Sage much later at Gittingham Palace. Luminary is a postgame unlock, so it cannot be an ordinary early-story plan.
| Vocation | Quest | Starting location |
|---|---|---|
| Gladiator | 103: Gladiator Graduator | Alltrades Abbey. |
| Paladin | 106: Taking Soul Control | Gleeba palace rooftop. |
| Armamentalist | 109: Elementary Training | Alltrades Abbey. |
| Ranger | 112: Ranger Changer | Heights of Loneliness. |
| Sage | 115: Sages in the Pages | Gittingham Palace bookshelf. |
| Luminary | 118: A Star is Born | Gleeba after the main story. |
Use cross-training without weakening all four members
A new vocation’s level-one stats make difficult areas risky. Change one or two characters while the others support them, then spend earned skill points toward transferable benefits. Save a strong current party setup before rebuilding everyone at once.
Changing vocation preserves old levels but does not preserve every old spell.
References
| Reference | Website |
|---|---|
| Nintendo: Dragon Quest IX overview | www.nintendo.co.jp |
| Dragon’s Den: vocations and unlock quests | www.woodus.com |
| DQIX Wiki: skill and vocation mechanics | dqix.wikidot.com |
| Dragon Quest Wiki: item alchemy recipes | dragon-quest.org |