The Temple of Trials is the final dungeon in the the final boss, Zoma. After that, you'll have to tackle a unique set of postgame challenges to even set foot within the Temple of Trials, and the trouble only begins there.

Each different section/room of the Temple of Trials has unique rules and unique win conditions, often requiring quite a bit more than simple battle prowess. You'll want to go into it fully prepared and amply (if not maximally) leveled up, with all the best weapons, armor, and Vocations you've found along your Dragon Quest 3 journey. Even then, you'll find lots of deadly surprises lurking within.

How To Unlock The Temple Of Trials

Finding & Fighting Xenlon

The first step to unlocking the Temple of Trials is to beat the entirety of the main quest, after which you'll want to head through the portal in the Castle of the Dragon Queen. This takes you through a sort of gauntlet in which you relive some of the main dungeons you've already ed through during the story - only this time, they're much harder. Be prepared for tough fights in each one, but take your time; this is a great opportunity to level up your party if they haven't already hit the maximum.

The level cap in Dragon Quest 3 is 99.

At the end of it all, you'll come face to face with the dragon Xenlon, who will challenge you to another battle. The trick is, you'll have to defeat Xenlon in fewer than 35 turns to move onto the next phase. It's important to use strategies and armor that protect against breath attacks here, as Xenlon has quite a few of them. Have the hero focus on using Omniheal while everyone else performs their most powerful attacks or cures status effects as needed.

Eventually, Xenlon will fall, and as a reward for defeating him, he'll grant you a wish. The listed wishes are:

• "Compete in a new Monster Arena"
• "Bring Ortega back to life"
• "Become history's trendiest hero"
• "Obtain a powerful weapon"
• "Obtain a copy of Guns n' Buns"

These are all obviously tempting, but you may have also noticed that there's a blank space under the fifth option; you'll have to choose this one to unlock the Temple of Trials. Don't worry, you can still come back and receive some of the other rewards later; just keep in mind that the maximum number of turns you'll have to defeat Xenlon goes down each successive time you challenge him.

At this point, the Temple of Trials will become available, and all you'll have to do to get started is fly Ramia into the weird, glowing light that suddenly appears in the sky north of Aliahan. This will plop you down immediately inside the final postgame dungeon, where you're free to begin exploring.

How To Complete The Temple Of Trials

Starting Area

As soon as you arrive in the Temple of Trials, look for the friendly Slime whom you can recruit nearby. There are also a few items scattered around the ground here. These include a Dragontail Whip, Dragon Shield, and Dragon Claws - but most importantly, make sure you pick up the War Drum. This item will double your entire party's attack without spending any MP, and it'll come in handy during the battles.

East: Unique Item Trial

Head east from the starting area and into the east-facing portal. Here, you'll have to demonstrate just how much side content you've completed, and how many unique pieces of gear you've collected throughout the game. The table below lists all the gear required, along with an explanation of where to find it.

Simply fork all these things over to your second trial. Don't worry, you'll get them back.

South: Monster Recruitment Trial

Here, you'll meet an NPC who wants to know how many of DQ3's recruitable monsters you've found. You'll need to have found all 110 in order to complete this trial; in case you haven't, head back out to the world map, round up any you've yet to come across, and return to this trial with ease.

West: Money Trial

This is effectively a test of how much money you've accrued. It works just like the previous challenge: you'll have to turn in a certain set of items, but this time, the items aren't unique. Each of them is buyable from an in-game shop; the trick is knowing which one, and having enough money to buy extras if you need them. Here's what you'll need and where to find it.

Of course, that total price assumes you don't have any of these items on hand already, which, if you've been upgrading your armor and accessories regularly, you probably do. In case you don't, though, you'll need to have at least 1,210,200 G in your inventory to buy everything you need.

Northwest: Claw & Boomerang Trial

This is the first of two combat trials. The special rule here is that your characters can only use claw- and boomerang-type weapons during this trial. If they use anything else, they'll be functionally useless in battle, and die as soon as they're hit. You'll want to fill your party with Martial Artists, Thieves, Mages, Merchants, and/or Gadabouts to survive this part.

Do take care in opening chests here, as most of them are Pandora's Boxes. In several rooms near the end, you'll also encounter orange arrows similar to the ones you may have seen in Zoma's Citadel. that the orange arrow always represents the directional control you'll have to press in order to head north; the other controls are rotated accordingly. The final boss here is a group of Pandora's Boxes, which you'll want to use spells that remove enemies from battle entirely to counter their potent healing abilities. With that in mind, and the right party , you should be able to finish this trial relatively easily.

Northeast: Axe & Staff Trial

This trial is not unlike the previous one, only this time, you'll be limited to axes and staves instead of claws and boomerangs. Warriors, Martial Artists, Mages, Priests, and Sages work well here. Further on, you'll encounter a pair of rock-pushing puzzles not unlike the one in Edina. In order to complete the first one:

• Push the right rock up, then to the right.
• Push the left rock up.
• Push the middle rock to the right.
• Push the left rock to the right, then up and into the leftmost slot.
• Push the middle rock all the way to the left, then up. Push it to the right, then up and into the rightmost slot.
• Push the right rock down, then to the left one space, and back up another space. Push it to the left, and then directly upwards into the middle slot.

On the right side of the room, there's a slightly harder puzzle. To complete this one:

• Push the northernmost rock around the hole in the middle and out of the small northeastern alcove. Push it downwards and right until it lands in the highest slot.
• Push the westernmost rock left and up until it's aligned with the main path. Push it one step further than the entrance to the area where the first rock ended up, then travel around and push it rightwards and down until it lands in the bottom slot.
• Push the final rock left, then follow the same method as the previous rock and place it in the middle slot.

If you make a mistake and one of the rocks gets stuck, you can restart this room simply by walking out and back in again. Once you finish the puzzle, the doors at the northern end will swing open, and you'll fight another group of Pandora's Boxes. Use the same method to win here.

Final Trial: The Grand Dragon

With that, you'll be able to take on the final boss of the Temple of Trials, and DQ3's toughest superboss: the Grand Dragon. The strategy here is similar to Xenlon: breath-reducing armor and lots of powerful attacks. Most of the strategy is in the preparation here, but in case you're struggling, check out our Grand Dragon boss guide for more details on how to beat him. Keep in mind that you'll need to beat the Grand Dragon in fewer than 20 turns to claim his prize, the Grand Medal. If you can't do it the first time, you can try again until you get it.

The Grand Medal is basically useless, and only exists to give you bragging rights. But if nothing else, it's a satisfying goal to achieve, and the ultimate goal for all Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake players.