Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World Shows Combat, Monster Raising
Square Enix released new details and images for Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World. The new update covers the game’s combat, where players battle using a team of monster allies, as well as its monster-raising elements. The latest entry in the Dragon Quest Monsters spin-off series to Dragon Quest, the game is planned to release for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2 on December 3, 2026.
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World stars Bianca and Nera from Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride. The duo meet by chance, with both searching for a way to cure the illnesses of their fathers and resolve to work together. Their adventure sees them becoming monster wranglers who rely on allied monsters that they have captured, bred, and raised to battle.
Players can bring a party of up to four active monsters, with up to four more acting as reserves that can freely swap in at any time. Monsters can be given direct orders, or be allowed to act on their own according to a basic strategy. Monsters have their own sets of spells and abilities, allowing them to take on roles such as attacker or healer, as well as a unique set of traits that can provide special effects during battle. Bianca and Nera also have their own special power, the Wrangler’s Spirit, which can be used once per battle. Bianca’s power heals HP and boosts attack power, while Nera’s restores MP and raises defense.
The game features over 500 available monsters. Monsters are divided into eight families such as slimes or dragons; are given a rank from G to X; are sized small or large; and have their own personality type. Large-sized monsters will use up two party slots instead of one, but have more Traits and can use more actions per turn, while personality impacts a monster’s growth rate and upper limits. Players can recruit new monsters by encountering them in battle, with defeated monsters potentially asking to join the team. Players can increase the chances of recruiting a monster by using certain items or the Show of Force ability. Monsters accumulate experience from battle and gain Talent Point when they level up, which can be used to learn new abilities or boost their attributes.
Synthesis allows players to combine two monsters into a new one. Monsters need to reach level 10 before they can be used for synthesis; both original monsters will disappear, leaving behind a new monster that has more potential power and can inherit both original monsters’ talents. Certain talents can evolve if maxed before the monster is synthesised, while certain monsters are only available through synthesis. The game will introduce a variety of new monsters, including Slime Balls, Bamboo Badboy, and Groovy Grouse.
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