In Dragon Quest Treasures a new treasure hunting RPG spun off from Dragon Quest XI, siblings Erik and Mia find themselves whisked away to the continent of Draconia where they must collect seven Dragonstones and find some time to do a little looting along the way. Today, in a new blog post, we learn a bit more about the core gameplay loop you’ll encounter in Treasures.

From their base, Erik and Mia can plan which islands to raid and what treasures they may go after. Once settled, you’ll ride a train to that location along with the monsters you’ve befriended to begin the hunt. Out in the field, there are ascending levels of treasure rarity, with silver chests bestowing bric-a-brac, gold chests holding vaunted treasure, and even more valuable rewards than that.

The monsters you bring along will also help, growing more agitated as you approach the treasure’s location. You’ll even have an ability to see through their eyes to canvas a larger area.

Only when you bring your loot back to your base is it evaluated for its worth, so you’ll want to bring it back in the best condition you can. A record is stored of the items you collect as well as their best condition.

We also get a look at pre-order bonuses and the boxart that will accompany the physical version of the game set to release on December 9th for Nintendo Switch.

Welcome to Draconia… and its many treasures

“The floating continent of Draconia, where our adventure takes place, is formed from the ancient bodies of two legendary golden dragons. It comprises several islands. It’s home to the seven legendary Dragonstones – special artifacts sought after by all treasure hunters worth their salt. Each of the Dragonstones is shaped like a part of a dragon’s body.

You won’t find any Dragonstones on the island where your base is located. You’ll need to travel to the other five islands to find them, using hints to help you close in on their hiding places. Of course, Dragonstones aren’t the only valuable items in Draconia. Far from it, in fact…

As you explore the islands of Draconia, you’ll find many items. These are classified as “treasures” or “bric-a-brac” depending on their rarity. Extremely rare pieces are considered “iconic!” Iconic treasures are far from easy to acquire – and their value reflects this! Getting hold of iconic treasures is essential if you’re to become the world’s greatest treasure hunter.

Treasures can be placed in many different subcategories, including weapons, armor and items. You may even recognize some of them as being very important indeed… Iconic treasures tend to get eye-poppingly high valuations!

You may be wondering: how do we find all this wonderful loot?

The process of finding treasure can be broadly organized into four steps…”

Step 1: Choose an island to start your journey

“The first step in any expedition is to choose the island on which it will take place. Check out the destinations list from the station at your base and select an island on which to go hunting for treasure!

Erik and Mia’s mysterious accomplices, Purrsula and Porcus, will provide a “Treasure Forecast” for each island that tells you what kind of goodies you can expect to find there.

In addition to the treasure forecast, Purrsula and Porcus will show you the Golden Ratio for that island. This tells you your current party’s suitability for finding treasure there.

The higher the Golden Ratio, the easier it will be for you to find treasure, so be sure to keep this in mind when selecting an island to visit.

Once you’ve selected a destination, it’s time to hop on the train – with your trusty monster companions by your side, of course!”

Step 2: Finding materials and bric-a-brac

“Once you arrive on your destination island, the treasure hunt really begins! To start with, try walking around with your monsters in tow – they’ll let you know if they sense any treasure. If you see your monster pals getting excited, you know there’s something of interest hidden nearby!

There are lots of foraging spots on each island. Useful materials can be found in clumps of vegetation, conspicuous mineral deposits, and other similar locations. These speech bubbles mean that your companion monsters have detected treasure nearby.

A silver treasure chest icon indicates that bric-a-brac has been detected, while a gold treasure chest icon indicates that treasure is in the vicinity. Bric-a-brac has a silvery glow and is relatively easy to find. Its location will be shown on the map when you get close enough to it. Any treasure you dig up will be carried by your monsters. The number of treasure chests that can be carried varies from monster to monster.”

Step 3: Finding rare treasure

“Real treasure is harder to find than bric-a-brac, and often hidden in rather inaccessible locations. In order to track it down, you may need to use the Fortune Finder, a special power that’s only available to Erik and Mia.

The Dragon Daggers, which Erik and Mia stumble across at the start of their adventure, allow our heroes to use the Fortune Finder. Using the Fortune Finder when there’s treasure nearby will activate Treasure Visions, allowing you to see the treasure’s exact location through the eyes of your monster companions.

Treasure Visions vary depending on the monster that’s providing them. Compare the visions from all three of your companions and scour the nearby terrain to work out the location of the hidden loot!

Here are some examples: Here is a Muddy Hand’s Treasure Vision… …and a Hades Condor’s… …and finally, a Restless Armour’s.

Once you’ve worked out where it’s hidden, the treasure is yours!”

Step 4: Appraising Treasure

“Once you’ve found some loot, take the train back to your base and have your finds appraised. Alternatively, you can use an item known as a chimaera wing to instantly return to base from any island, with all your treasure intact. They’re very precious items indeed, and nigh-on indispensable for any serious treasure hunter!

Appraisal takes place as soon as you return home and reveals the name, appearance and value of your treasures. A treasure’s value depends on its condition, be it “mint”, “fine”, “fair”, or something else.

Always try to find treasure in the best condition possible! If you bring back a piece of treasure that you’ve already got in your collection, the item in the best condition will be kept while any others will be discarded.

Bringing a lot of treasure back for appraisal at once might provide a bonus to its valuation!”

Pre-order Bonuses and Packshot

Those who pre-order either a physical or digital version of the game will receive the following in-game bonuses:

• 5 Chimaera Wings – Returns players to base immediately without losing any treasure
• 15 Better Buddy Bullets – Increases the likelihood of a monster wanting to join the player’s gang
• 5 Fullheal Pellets – Fully restores the HP of a single ally