Coup de Grâce

Coup de Grâce (必殺技, Hissatsuwaza), also known as Deathmoves are special battle abilities in the Dragon Quest series.

Appearances

Dragon Quest VIII

Deathmoves can be performed by two or three monsters when certain special teams are formed. They have various effects, ranging from group attacks, to party buffs, and even combining together to form an even more powerful monster. Since monster teams cannot be controlled by the player, it is random if a monster team will perform their deathmove. One drawback is that when a deathmove is performed, that monster will only act once even if they are capable of performing two actions.

Dragon Quest IX

Each vocation has a different Coup de Grâce with different effects. The ability becomes available during battle randomly when certain conditions are met. When a character is able to use a Coup de Grâce, a notification is given saying:

[party member] is primed to perform a coup de grâce!

The effects of Coup de Grâce last for only a short period of time. They do not carry over after the battle ends, or if the character dies. If all four party members are primed for a Coup de Grâce, they can together perform a Co-op de Grâce.

Triggers

The frequency of a Coup de Grâce occurring is amplified by the following conditions:

Condition	Boost
Critical fan equipped	+6%
Overcritical fan equipped	+7%
Hypercritical fan equipped	+8%
Dire critical fan equipped	+10%
Combat action medal	+3%
Martial artist, Ranger, or Luminary	+3%
1 other party member primed	+0.8%
2 other party members primed	+10%
3 other party members primed	+36%
10% damage taken	+0.75%
20% damage taken	+1.5%
30% damage taken	+3%
40% damage taken	+6%
50% damage taken	+12%
60% damage taken	+24%
70% damage taken	+48%
80% damage taken	+95%

List of Coup de Grâce by vocation

Name	Vocation	Effects
Critical Claim	Warrior	This coup de grâce unleashes an attack that always inflicts a Critical Hit.
Roaring Tirade	Martial Artist	Similar to War Cry, except it cannot be resisted. Further, it also increases tension by one level.
Choir of Angels	Priest	Restores 30%~40% of Max HP to allies and cures status effects at once
Rough 'n Tumble	Minstrel	Evasion increases to 50% and the ability to counterattack goes to 25%.
0 Zone	Mage	Reduces MP cost to zero for a short while.
Itemized Kill	Thief	Guaranteed item drop from the enemy it is used on.
Knight Watch	Paladin	Attacks will do nothing for a few turns on the person who used it (not even Disruptive Wave can get through). All of the opponents are enraged to the person who used it.
Brownie Boost	Ranger	Boosts the user's attack, defense, and breath resistance by one level.
Tension Boost	Gladiator	Boosts tension up to 50 or 100 (maximum).
Voice Of Experience	Armamentalist	Increases the amount of EXP you get from the battle if you win by a variable amount (1.1 through 1.6 multiplier)
Spelly Breath	Sage	Recovers 20% of Max MP to the caster.
Disco Tech	Luminary	Causes all enemies to boogie and raises tension by one level. This is functionally identical to Roaring Tirade.

List of Co-op de Grâces

If all four party members are primed for a Coup de Grâce, then upon using them they will perform a Co-op de Grâce, selected from a menu. The available choices for Co-op de Grace are based on the party's current vocations. For example, if the party is made up of only warriors and rangers, only the Quadraslash option is available.

Name	Vocations	Effects
Quadraslash	Warrior Ranger	All four party members attack at once. Damage is sum of allies attack minus enemy defence.
Omnipotense	Martial Artist Gladiator	Increases all party members' tension by 3 levels.
Soul Asylum	Priest Paladin	Renders the entire party invincible for a few turns (similar to Knight's Watch).
Cast Away	Mage Sage	Reduces the party's MP cost to zero for a few turns.
Haulellujah	Armamentalist Thief	Chance to earn extra exp., gold, and items. Exp and gold multiplier is 1.5~3.0
Electro Light	Minstrel Luminary	Turns all enemies into metal monsters.

Dragon Quest Heroes

Each playable character has their own Coup de Grâce, which can be performed when they enter High Tension mode. It will be performed automatically once their tension meter has run out or it can be activated early by pressing the Tension button, which will end High Tension mode early.

Character	Coup de Grâce
Luceus	Gigagash
Aurora	Gigaslash
Doric	Royal Rumble
Isla	Love Gun
Alena	Great Ball of Fire
Kiryl	Kathwack
Terry	Lightning Storm
Jessica	Magic Burst
Yangus	Axes of Evil
Bianca	Ribbon Let Die
Nera	Big Banga
Maya	Puff!
Psaro	Secret of Evolution

Dragon Quest Tact

Coups de Grâce are exclusive to characters belonging to the Hero family. They cannot be used right away in battle, requiring a few turns to charge, and most can only be used once per battle.