Strategies to Defeat Cardinal Sin in Dragon Quest VII Reimagined

If you have been navigating through Dragon Quest VII Reimagined with relative ease, brace yourself for a significant challenge at Alltrades Abbey. Your encounter with Cardinal Sin, who has deceitfully taken the place of the true High Priestess, marks your first serious combat trial. This pivotal moment requires you to fully grasp the intricacies of the Vocation System

After liberating High Priestess Jacqueline from the Pit of Silence, she grants you the opportunity to change your Vocations at Alltrades Abbey. Initially, I relied on the basic starter vocations for this battle, but this approach proved to be a disadvantage.

Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to prepare for the impending showdown, focusing on the abilities and spells you’ll need to vanquish this challenging adversary swiftly.

Preparation: Optimal Vocations for the Encounter

Character stats for a level 19 Troubadour showing abilities like 'Encore.' — Recommended vocations for the Cardinal Sin battle

To effectively confront Cardinal Sin, you must select and elevate specific vocations. If you’re facing the encounter on the Monster Strength: Strong setting, ensuring your new jobs are at least Level 5 is essential.

Hero (Troubadour): Vital for group healing and providing buffs to your party.
Maribel (Mage): Crucial for applying important debuffs such as Blunt and Sap.
Ruff (Martial Artist or Warrior): Acts as your primary physical damage dealer. I opted for Martial Artist due to Ruff’s agility and character design, but either choice is viable.

Why This Party Arrangement Is Effective

The Troubadour: Their access to Soothing Song allows for critical group healing. Moreover, Song of Awakening boosts Magic Might, which intensifies Jacqueline’s (the NPC ally) attacks with Crackle. Equally significant, Hymn of Fire provides Fire Resistance, essential for surviving Cardinal Sin’s Fire Slash and Sizzle.
The Mage: By reaching Level 5, Maribel can deploy spells like Blunt (to reduce attack power) and Sap (to diminish defense).She also acquires Magic Drain, an incredibly useful ability in this confrontation, as it depletes Cardinal Sin’s MP, hindering his use of high-level spells.

Step-By-Step Combat Strategy

Ruff executes 'Flying Knee' on an enemy during the fight. — The Cardinal Sin battle tests your understanding of game mechanics and your patience.

Step 1: Begin your assault with the Troubadour casting Hymn of Fire to mitigate fire damage. Follow this up with Maribel using Blunt, and then Sap until both Attack and Defense have been decreased twice. Without reducing the Cardinal’s offensive capability, he can easily overpower a vulnerable Mage with a single Fire Slash.

Step 2: With the Cardinal debuffed, have Maribel use Magic Drain, while the Hero employs Song of Awakening to enhance Jacqueline. Meanwhile, let Ruff concentrate on buffing his Attack and executing physical moves like the Martial Artist’s Flying Knee.

Step 3: As the fight progresses, the Cardinal will intensify his offense, enhancing his Magical Might and Mending, and most critically, begin healing himself based on the damage he inflicts on your team. During this phase, maintain your offensive tactics to counteract his healing while prioritizing healing and debuffing, all the while keeping Fire Resistance active with Hymn of Fire.

Step 4: When the Cardinal settles down, managing his aggressive tactics becomes less challenging. If your debuffing efforts have proven successful, shift your focus towards offense. Maribel can unleash her spells if you activate The Mage’s Rage vocation perk, ensuring all her spells achieve critical hits for several turns. This can maximize damage output even against the Cardinal’s elemental resistances.

Don’t panic if a character falls and you lack means to revive them. Jacqueline is a formidable ally, capable of healing and reviving the party when she becomes energized, which will generally happen twice during this encounter.

Fighting on the Monster Strength: Strong setting will demand endurance. Always prioritize debuffing and healing over raw damage output. By playing cautiously and maintaining your buffs, you will emerge victorious over Cardinal Sin, reclaim control of the Abbey, and be granted the opportunity to explore the deeper mechanics of the Vocation system.

This concludes the guide.

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