Statistics & Formulas

Dragon Quest has four primary stats and two derived stats. Primary stats grow when you level up; derived stats are calculated from your primaries plus equipment. Here's how it all works.

Primary Stats

These four stats increase automatically as you gain levels. The rate they grow depends on your character's name (more on that below).

• Strength (STR) — Determines your base attack power. Higher Strength = more damage per hit.
• Agility (AGI) — Determines your base defense and affects turn order. Higher Agility = take less damage and act first more often.
• HP — Your health pool. When it hits zero, you die.
• MP — Your magic pool. Casting spells drains MP. When it's empty, no more magic.

Derived Stats

Attack and Defense are calculated from your primary stats plus equipment bonuses.

Attack Power = Strength + Weapon Attack

Defense Power = (Agility ÷ 2) + Armor Defense + Shield Defense

This means Agility is half as effective as armor for defense. A +10 armor piece gives the same defense as +20 Agility. Prioritize equipment upgrades over grinding for Agility.

Name-Based Growth

Your character's name affects which stats grow faster. The game uses the first four characters of your name to calculate a "growth type" value from 0-15. Different values favor different stat combinations.

The calculation works by converting each letter to a number (A=10, B=11... F=15, numbers are their face value), adding them together, then taking the remainder when divided by 16. Most players don't bother with this — just use "!" or "L" and move on.

Practical Advice

Stat optimization barely matters for a casual playthrough. The difference between a good name and a bad one might save you a level or two of grinding. If you're doing a speedrun, it matters. Otherwise, name your character whatever you want.

What actually matters:

• Keep your equipment upgraded — it's more impactful than stat growth
• Don't skip levels — you need the HP and MP to survive
• Level 13 for Return, level 17 for Healmore, level 19 for Hurtmore — these are the important milestones