Dragon Quest VII Reimagined Vocations Guide: Best Classes and Skill Combos

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined holds its job system back for a long time. You'll clear the first several islands, watch Kiefer walk out of the party, and wonder when the classes everyone keeps talking about finally show up. They show up at Alltrades Abbey, and once they do, basically everything about how you build your party changes. Here's how the whole vocation system fits together, which jobs to grab first, and where each character's time is best spent.

How the Vocation System Works and Where to Unlock It

The long road to Alltrades Abbey

Vocations open during the Alltrades Abbey chapter, the eighth story region in the walkthrough order (it follows the Roamer Encampment). That's a decent chunk of game before jobs exist, so don't feel like you've missed something. Kiefer is already gone by this point too - he stays behind with the Roamers, so he never gets to change jobs at all. The vocation game is really about your other five.

The abbey chapter starts with a gag: you talk to the High Priest, pick any vocation you like, and he immediately steals your skills and dumps you in Pilgrim's Perdition. That first pick doesn't matter. What matters is the quest to restore the abbey - you'll crawl the Western Cave and the Dungeon of Descent, meet High Priestess Jacqueline, and fight through the Allblades Arena gauntlet before taking down Cardinal Sin.

Your first real job change lands mid-quest, before that arena gauntlet - the game flat-out suggests picking new jobs and pushing them to three stars before you step into it. After the gauntlet, Jacqueline shows up at an angel statue in the abbey basement and lets you re-class again right before the Cardinal Sin fight. Finish the whole arc (the quest is called Restoring the Abbey) and you get two big rewards in the present day: High Priest Jacqui opens up vocation changes while you're out adventuring, and the Career Sphere lets you swap jobs from anywhere, anytime. No more walking back to the abbey.

Stars, proficiency points, and Let Loose

Every vocation ranks up from one star to eight. You earn proficiency points from fights - that's the game's name for what most players just call skill points - and each star unlocks new skills on that job's list. Five points per battle is the default, seven if you set Proficiency Earned to More in the options. Smacking a weak enemy in the field (a sudden strike) kills it without a battle and pays out a single point instead.

Hit eight stars and the vocation is mastered, permanently, for that character. Mastery is what unlocks the higher tiers of jobs, so a big part of the game is deciding which basics each character should finish first.

Every vocation also has a Let Loose ability, a limit-break style move that fires when a character gets Worked Up during a long fight. Some of these carry real weight: Martial Artist's Critical Stance guarantees a critical hit, Priest's Born Again heals, cures, and revives the whole party at once, and Sage's Twocus Pocus makes every spell cast twice for a while.

Moonlighting: two jobs at once

The system's headline feature is Moonlighting, and it arrives late. Once Aishe (your fourth permanent party member) joins and the story moves on, Jacqui pings your Career Sphere. Go talk to her at the abbey and she flips the switch.

From then on, each character can equip two vocations at once. You get both skill lists in battle, both jobs' stat adjustments stack (a few stats dip a little, so it's a balance call, not a straight upgrade), and both jobs earn proficiency from the same fights. Only the job you set as main contributes its Let Loose. One nice kicker: if one of the two is already mastered, you get bonus points - three extra per battle toward the unmastered one, plus one extra from overworld fights. That's why the endgame grind goes so much faster than the midgame one.

All 26 vocations break down like this:

| Tier | Vocations | How you get them | |---|---|---| | Personal (6) | Fledgling Fisherman (Hero), Heir Apparent (Kiefer), Mini Mayoress (Maribel), Wolf Boy (Ruff), Destiny's Dancer (Aishe), Chevalier (Sir Mervyn) | They come with the character | | Beginner (10) | Warrior, Martial Artist, Mage, Priest, Dancer, Thief, Troubadour, Sailor, Shepherd, Jester | Unlocked when vocations open at Alltrades | | Intermediate (7) | Gladiator, Armamentalist, Sage, Luminary, Pirate, Paladin, Monster Master | Master two beginners (three for Luminary) | | Advanced (3) | Champion, Druid, Hero | Strict mastery combos, see below |

Best Early Vocations for Fast Skill Point Grinding

First picks at the abbey

When Jacqueline first lets you change jobs before the arena gauntlet, the safest spread is the one Game8's walkthrough team recommends: Warrior on the Hero, Mage on Maribel, Priest on Ruff. That covers damage, area damage, and healing for four arena fights back to back, and they suggest pushing each job to three stars before you step in.

For pure grinding speed, a few beginners punch above their weight. Mage is the big one - Bang and friends wipe enemy packs in one turn, and short fights mean more points per minute. Martial Artist is fast and self-sufficient, which makes it great for auto-battle grinding. Priest keeps the chain going without trips back to town, and its Born Again Let Loose is basically a free full-party reset when a fight goes sideways. Warrior just refuses to die, which matters more than you'd think when you're fighting trash mobs on autopilot.

So who actually wants Mage early? Mostly Maribel, whose MP and magic stats are naturally high. The Hero does fine as a Warrior or even a Mage thanks to his balanced stats, and Ruff's attack and agility make Martial Artist feel built for him.

Make the game hand you points faster

Before any grinding, open the Difficulty Level menu and tune it. Combat Speed to Ultra-Fast. Proficiency Earned to More (that's the five-to-seven jump). Damage Dealt to More so fights end in one round. Easy Going difficulty makes monsters squishy and pays 1.5x EXP - nice if you want levels too, though you can also dial Experience Earned down separately if you'd rather not outlevel the story. Set the combat style to Fight Wisely or Don't Use MP, turn auto-battle on, and set Worked Up to manual (Tab toggles it) so your crew saves their Let Loose instead of wasting it on slimes.

One ability changes everything: Ruff's Whistle forces a battle instantly, no waiting for spawns to wander back. Between that and auto-battle, a trash fight with an area attacker takes maybe fifteen seconds.

Loops that actually work

Right after you get the Career Sphere, grind the Tunnel to the Abbey. The enemies are easy, and your guest character Zev brings an area attack that clears fights while your freshly re-classed party is still weak. It also feeds you straight into the arena gauntlet, so the time isn't wasted story-wise.

Later, two loops stand out. On the boat, the Estard Seas are full of weak enemies that die in seconds, and players testing it at level 20 ranked a vocation up roughly every minute and a half that way. Around level 27 or 28, the Hardlypool Region becomes a sudden strike paradise - one-shot the field packs, pop back into town to reset the spawns, repeat. Each sudden strike is only one point, but the sheer density makes up for it. Once Moonlighting is on, every one of those clears moves two jobs at once.

Want the math on what "mastered" costs? The Dragon Quest Wiki pins Monster Master at 520 total proficiency points (25 for the second star, then 40, 45, 65, 85, 110, and 150 for the rest). At seven points a fight, that's about 75 battles. Multiply that across the jobs needed for an advanced vocation and you can see why the +3 Moonlighting bonus matters.

Advanced and Hybrid Classes Worth Mastering

The intermediate seven

Each intermediate job unlocks the moment a character finishes its required beginners. Here's the full map:

| Vocation | Requires mastering | What you get | |---|---|---| | Gladiator | Warrior + Martial Artist | Huge physical damage, gives up defense for it | | Armamentalist | Warrior + Mage | Elemental physical attacks, fire and ice spells, Oomph and Bounce | | Sage | Mage + Priest | Top-tier damage spells plus healing, resurrection, and buffs | | Luminary | Dancer + Troubadour + Jester | Party buffs, healing, and late-game damage | | Pirate | Thief + Sailor | Group-hitting physical attacks, great in dungeons | | Paladin | Martial Artist + Priest | A real tank - Multiheal, Zing, and skills that draw enemy attacks | | Monster Master | Thief + Shepherd | Dark Zam spells plus monster summons |

Game8's tier list puts Gladiator, Sage, and Paladin in S tier alongside the advanced jobs, and that tracks with how the community talks about them. Armamentalist, Pirate, and Monster Master sit a tier below - strong, just not as consistent. Luminary's value scales with your party: buffs like Hustle Dance and Pass the Torch make your best damage dealer dramatically better, but the class can't carry fights alone.

Monster Master deserves a special mention because it's new-ish - Reimagined rebuilt the old Monster Masher into this (some guides still call it Monster Wrangler, same thing). It trades the old breath-attack hodgepodge for the Zam spell line and summons that join the fight, ending with Summon Dragon at eight stars. Its Let Loose, Positive Reinforcement, makes the good monsters answer the call more often, which fixes the summon RNG that holds the class back.

The big three at the top

The advanced vocations have the strictest requirements in the game:

• Champion - Gladiator and Paladin both mastered. The best pure physical job in the game. Its Divide Let Loose spawns two copies of the user and triples attack effects, which is exactly as silly as it sounds.
• Druid - any two of Sage, Luminary, or Pirate mastered. The best caster. You get Omniheal (full party heal), an MP-recovery skill, and That Special Summon, which drops a strong spirit on the field every turn for four turns.
• Hero - any three intermediate jobs mastered, your choice which. A genuine all-rounder with guaranteed-revival Kazing, the Gigagash nuke, and Mark of the Hero as its Let Loose.

All three rank S tier basically everywhere, and for good reason - they're what the whole mastery pyramid is building toward.

Combos worth building around

A few skill pairings do way more than their parts. Light of the Hero costs 0 MP, immobilizes an enemy, and lowers its lightning resistance - follow it with Gigagash or Kazap and most bosses just fall over. Paladin's Forbearance (take every hit aimed at your allies) plus Miracle Shield (heal on blocks) turns one character into a wall the other three hide behind. Armamentalist's Oomph on your hardest hitter, or Kasap on a boss's defense, is worth more than another attack that turn. And Luminary's Showtime makes the rest of the party get Worked Up faster, which means more Let Loose across the board.

Recommended Vocation Paths for Each Party Member

Characters can technically wear anything, but their base stats point pretty hard at certain lanes. Here's the consensus path for each one, stitched together from Game8's per-character guide and the community builds floating around.

The Hero

Start Warrior (or Mage if you want him casting early - his stats allow it). Move into Gladiator for raw damage or Armamentalist for a hybrid lane. Endgame, the Hero vocation itself is the pick: it fits his balanced stats, and he's the one who can equip the Hero-only gear. Champion is the alternate route if you'd rather keep him physical, and Moonlighting him as Hero plus Armamentalist gives you a toolkit with no real gaps.

Maribel

Mage into Sage into Druid, pretty much the canonical run. Her MP and magic stats sit among the best in the party, so feeding them into Sage (heals plus big damage spells) and then Druid (Omniheal, summons) turns her into the person who ends fights and un-wipes the party in the same turn. Mastering Mage first, then Priest via Moonlighting, is the fast way to check both Sage boxes at once.

Ruff

Martial Artist early - his attack and agility make him act first and hit like a truck. Gladiator is the natural next step. For the endgame, Game8's pick is actually the Hero vocation, since his offense and speed squeeze a ton out of it. The fun route is Monster Master (Thief plus Shepherd) with Pirate Moonlit behind it, if you want him herding monsters instead. Either way, he's the one carrying Whistle, so he's your grind engine no matter what class he wears.

Sir Mervyn

Warrior first, matching his HP and defense. Paladin after that - he's the character the class was basically drawn for, and a tank with Multiheal and Zing holds the line through the whole back half. Finish with Champion (Gladiator plus Paladin mastered) and Moonlight him with Paladin or Priest so the big body still throws heals. Game8's team specifically flags the Priest pairing, and it's hard to argue - a Champion who can also revive people covers two party slots at once.

Aishe

Her default lane runs Dancer early (her Charm makes buffs and debuffs land more often), then Luminary once Dancer, Troubadour, and Jester are all mastered. It's the slowest intermediate grind in the game since it needs three basics, so start her basics the day she joins. Endgame, Game8 likes Druid for her magic stats; pairing Luminary with Druid via Moonlighting gets you a support who buffs, full-heals, and still deals real damage.

Party shape

Whoever you flex where, aim for one tank (Mervyn), one dedicated healer-caster (Maribel or Aishe), two damage dealers (Hero and Ruff), and let the fourth slot flex. That shape survives the spirit awakenings and the Cathedral of Blight better than four damage dealers ever will.

Skill Sets Worth Keeping After You Change Jobs

The bad news first

In the base game, changing jobs does not carry skills over. Swap out of a vocation and you lose access to its kit until you swap back - all of it, including spells you loved. The intermediate jobs don't inherit their prerequisites' skills either, so a fresh Gladiator doesn't quietly keep Warrior's tools. (PC players can change this with the Classic Vocations mod on Nexus, which makes intermediate jobs keep prerequisite skills like the 3DS version did. Console players are living with the base rules.)

That's the design tension Moonlighting exists to solve, and why your second job slot is really the thing to think about.

What actually sticks

Three things survive every job change. Your stars and mastery in each vocation are permanent per character, so an eight-star Warrior is eight stars forever. Every tier unlock you've earned stays earned. And the Career Sphere itself keeps working, so switching back to any old job is free and instant - you rejoin at the rank you left, with every skill you'd already learned right there on the menu.

Kits worth keeping in reach

Since you only get one second slot, spend it on kits with tools nobody else replicates. Here's the classic example, Paladin's full ladder:

| Stars | Skills | |---|---| | 1 | Kabuff, Wind Sickles | | 2 | Squelch, Midheal (~65 HP) | | 3 | Forbearance | | 4 | Immense Defense, Miracle Shield | | 5 | Thin Air | | 6 | Multiheal (~90 HP to all), Zing | | 7 | Defending Champion, Kerplunk | | 8 | Pearly Gates |

That list is why Paladins show up as someone's second job long after they've mastered Champion - Forbearance for protecting the party, Multiheal for group healing, Defending Champion for eating boss ultimates, and Kerplunk as a suicide-revive for total disasters. Same logic elsewhere: keep Sage in reach for Twocus Pocus doubling your best spells, Luminary for Hustle Dance and Pass the Torch feeding your carry extra turns, Druid for Omniheal when boss damage outpaces Multiheal, and the Hero vocation for Kazing, because Zing's coin flip will eventually fail you at the worst possible moment.

Monster Master's Summon Dragon is another one worth a slot in the long game - with a Dragonlord Heart equipped, it can even summon the Dragonlord himself.

The habit that pays off: before you move a character off a job, look at the two or three skills you actually used from it. If that list is long, the job has earned a Moonlighting slot. Your Champion keeping Paladin Moonlit has Defending Champion and Multiheal one menu away, and in the endgame stretches that's usually the difference between a wipe and a win.