Research: Crafting Systems, DQXI
In Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (1), the crafting system centers around the Fun-Size Forge, a portable blacksmith-like tool that lets you create and upgrade weapons, armor, and accessories. Unlike simpler “click-and-craft” systems, DQXI’s forge uses a puzzle-based minigame in which you must carefully hammer different sections of an item to produce the highest-quality gear possible. Below is an overview of how it works.
Accessing
Accessing the Fun-Size Forge in Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is a key milestone that occurs early in the adventure, when the Hero obtains this portable crafting tool at a campsite. From that moment on, players have the freedom to deploy the forge at any subsequent campsite they visit, allowing them to create new gear or enhance previously obtained equipment whenever they choose. In order to craft, one must collect the appropriate recipes and materials. Recipes are discovered through various means, such as rummaging through treasure chests scattered across the world, perusing bookshelves in towns and libraries, completing certain quests offered by non-player characters, or simply progressing through the main story. Each recipe comes with a list of required items, which are harvested from resource nodes out in the field, looted from monsters that roam the wilds, or purchased from merchants and specialty shops. This system not only encourages exploration and interaction with the environment, but also rewards thoroughness and curiosity. By gathering the necessary resources and learning new recipes, players steadily expand their crafting repertoire, enabling them to forge stronger weapons, sturdier armor, and a variety of useful accessories. This continual evolution of equipment proves invaluable as enemies grow tougher and the world reveals increasingly formidable challenges.
Progression and Benefits
The forging minigame revolves around carefully choosing which item you wish to craft or improve, based on the available recipes and their corresponding Focus Cost. Each recipe outlines the materials required, so once you have everything you need, you begin with a limited pool of Focus Points. Every hammer strike or specialized technique consumes a portion of these points, compelling you to plan each move wisely. As you progress through the game, leveling up and allocating skill points grants access to new techniques, such as Double Whammy for a heavier blow, Lightning Bash for a softer tap, or Quadrasmash for striking multiple squares simultaneously. Each item is visually divided into several sections, represented by bars or squares, which you aim to bring into an ideal “sweet spot” zone. The forge’s temperature decreases with every strike, meaning that initial hits might be powerful but will gradually weaken as the temperature cools, forcing you to time your moves carefully. Balancing strong hits with gentler ones is essential to avoid pushing any section too far beyond its target range. At times, random events may occur—these “tempestuous times” might spontaneously adjust a section’s progress or modify the forge temperature, either helping you reach your goals more easily or complicating your efforts. Ultimately, once you decide you have fine-tuned the sections sufficiently or run out of Focus Points, you finalize the forging process. The closer each bar is to the desired sweet spot, the higher the overall quality of the gear you produce.
Key Ideas
Interactive Puzzle: Instead of automatically crafting items, the Fun-Size Forge has a tactile, skill-based minigame where each strike matters.
Focus & Techniques: Managing your limited Focus Points and using the right hammer techniques at the right time is crucial.
Quality Tiers: Hitting the sweet spots on each segment of the item can yield +1, +2, or +3 quality—meaning bigger stat boosts and more powerful gear.
Ongoing Progression: As the story progresses, you gain more forging skills and higher Focus, enabling you to tackle advanced recipes with more precision.
In essence, DQXI’s Fun-Size Forge transforms crafting from a passive process into a rewarding, puzzle-like challenge. By carefully planning hammer strikes and managing the forge’s temperature, you can boost your weapon and armor stats well beyond what’s sold in shops—making forging a central strategy for anyone aiming to conquer the game’s toughest battles.
(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Quest_XI
Note: the image is from the DQXI Press Kit: https://press.na.square-enix.com/DRAGON-QUEST-XI-Echoes-of-an-Elusive-Age
