Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince lets the monster catcher in you run wild. However, with so many monsters roaming each area of the game, it’s hard to decide which monsters are best for the early game.
Your first half hour of playthrough will likely be packed with silly little slimes and your starter. But you’ll want to start catching and synthesizing newer, more powerful monsters as you progress through the game. In this guide, I’ll rank the best early-game monsters you can scout and synthesize in Dragon Quest Monsters.
5. Cannon Brawler
You won’t take much damage early on, so it’s better to play offensively. Cannon Brawler is a physical powerhouse with a unique trait, Rando-Muster, which occasionally boosts its attacks significantly. Its Bang ability also serves as excellent area-of-effect magic for handling groups of enemies.
4. Garuda
I’ll be perfectly honest: Garuda is not that big of a deal early on. However, its synthesis path leads to the formidable Phoenix, a monster known for increased evasion, self-empowerment, potent healing, and even the chance to act twice in turn. So, I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely keeping this one around.
3. Armored Wartos
The Armored Wartos is a tanky support monster with five stars in defense. It’s incredibly hard to defeat with the Fortifier skill tree. Plus, it has healing abilities, making it a self-healing tank.
2. Raptile
Now that we’ve got a heavy physical DPS out of the way, we’ll need an off DPS to take care of magical damage. This is where Raptile comes in. It’s a magical monster that comes with Flame Breath right from the start, allowing it to hit all enemies from Level 1. Plus, its Freeze Meister trait amps up fire elemental attacks.
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1. Hunter Mech
This powerhouse has exceptional stats for a rank F monster. Hunter Mech, when in large size, can attack twice per turn, making it the equivalent of two small monsters in battle.
Its special trait, Metal Beater, makes it particularly strong, and it deals extra damage against monsters with metal skin. It’s perfect for taking down Metal Slimes if you’re looking to farm experience quickly.Â
