Dag is a mercenary and holder of the Vanguard asterisk. He is Selene's partner, and the brawn to her brains. Horten hires Dag and Selene to retrieve the Wind Crystal from Gloria at the beginning of the game. After the party defeats them, Dag and Selene lose their Asterisks and run off.
Over the course of the game, Dag and Selene often appear in sidequests, although they never meet with the party again.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Dag is a tall, broad young man with an exaggerated blonde pompadour and blue eyes. He has a long face with a chiselled jaw. While holding the Vanguard Asterisk, he sports full plate armour with a white skirt-like garment around his waist. The skirt-like garment has long orange tassels at the front, which has black lance-like patterns on it. He also wears a cape made of white and orange tassels with the same black lance-like patterns. A popped, orange collar frames his face.
After losing his Asterisk, Dag wears a long-sleeved white tunic with a popped collar underneath an open brown vest. The vest has blue stitching and a decal of a rooster on the back. His shirt has loose, baggy sleeves that are cinched around his wrists by leather armguards. He wears a brown fannypack around his waist and atop his shirt. His pants are beige and baggy at the ankles, with darker brown flame-like patterns at the hem. His boots are brown and have a notable heel. Initially, he wears a pendant given to him from his mentor, although he loses it after giving it away to a poor father with an ailing son.
Personality[]
A cocky, boisterous man, Dag swaggers about like the rooster on his vest. He tends to rush into situations without thinking, leaving it to Selene to act as the voice of reason. Dag has a temper and shows a willingness to threaten children and old men while on the job. However, outside of the incident in Halcyonia, Dag never threatens or attacks another person again.
After losing his Asterisk, Dag's softer side shows up more. He willingly gives away a pendant given to him by a respected mentor so that a father can afford medicine for his sick son. He demonstrates a talent for mining and blacksmithing, but refuses to stick to the job because of his dedication to Selene. Ultimately, he just wants to make enough money for him and Selene to live comfortably. Although they bicker, Dag deeply cares about Selene. He even marries her at the end of their quest chain.
Story[]
Dag and Selene first appear in Halcyonia, where the mercenary pair have been hired by Horten to steal the Wind Crystal. When Sir Sloan refuses to hand over the Crystal, Dag threatens a young boy and beats up Sir Sloan to force Gloria to comply. After Gloria agrees to accompany them, Dag and Selene take her to an abandoned house north of Halcyonia. They tell Sir Sloan that they will exchange Gloria for the Wind Crystal. At the Outlaw's Hideout, Sir Sloan distracts the mercenaries by throwing down a flash-bang, allowing Seth to free Gloria. Angered by the show of trickery, Dag and Selene challenge the party to a fight. After the party defeats them, the mercenaries lose their Asterisks and leave.
Dag and Selene appear in multiple sidequests after their defeat. They are often in the same area as the party, but never actually meet them despite often being in close proximity. In Savalon, they accept a father's request to find a valuable treasure in an abandoned mansion so that he can get money for his son's medicine. Dag and Selene are unable to complete his request, so Dag gives away his precious pendant to the father to make up for their failure. He tries his hand at blacksmithing in Rimedahl, and mining in Holograd, but refuses to stay despite his obvious talent at both jobs. He accompanies Selene into the Miasma Woods and protects her from the Empuse guarding the honeycap mushrooms. At the end of their quest chain, Dag proposes to Selene, who accepts. They can be found on the beach near Halcyonia afterwards, where Dag is shouting his love to Selene for the world to hear, much to her embarrassment.
Boss Encounters[]
Dag is encountered as a boss twice throughout the game, one being in the Halls of Tribulation. In each encounter, Dag will primarily focus on taunting the party into attacking him while dealing good damage as he does.
First Encounter[]
In the first encounter, you will face Dag and Selene at the same time. Gloria will join your team before the battle starts and you will be introduced to Special Moves. Your first turn MUST be spent using a Special Move as Seth. Who you target is entirely up to you and how confident you are in taking that target down. Selene will spend each of her turns healing or buffing herself and Dag with Benediction, Protect, and Shell, and it can easily get out of control if you are unprepared. Targeting Selene also sounds easy enough, but Dag will typically spend his turns using Enrage, Attack, or other Vanguard skills on your party. If you decided to make other party members Black Mages, this may be difficult. Dag's constant taunts will ensure any taunted Black Mages won't deal much damage (they are forced to use Attack and, in spite of Dag sporting a weakness to Staves and Daggers, they will not deal much damage) and Selene will easily out-heal you. The saving grace is you are supported by Sir Sloan for this battle and can only really lose if you or he cannot use a Phoenix Down or Potion in time.
Strategy[]
You will want at least three Freelancers with access to Treat (meaning Seth or Elvis needs to level up the job at least once) and at least two dedicated Black Mages (Elvis is a good choice here). A good strategy would be to equip your Black Mage(s) with weapons and armor with low Chances of Being Targeted and your Freelancer(s) with higher Chances of Being Targeted and stock up on Potions and swords. From here, you will want to use Treat on your Black Mage(s) whenever they have low MP while they blast Dag with Thunder. If you don't need to use Treat for healing (HP or MP), Default. It may take a while, but Dag will be defeated. If Dag inflicts Enrage on a Black Mage, don't worry too much, as this is why you have two Black Mages. If you do not have two Black Mages or just want to defeat Selene first, target her with your sword-users and Fire magic. She is weak to both, but don't Brave so much you can't do anything. Regardless of who you choose to defeat first, there is a cutscene for both instances. Dag will be very angry if Selene is defeated first and Selene shows genuine concern and rage if Dag is defeated first. (These scenes will also be added to the Travelogue if you see them.) After the cutscene, the remaining Asterisk holder will be much more aggressive. Selene will add Attack to her repertoire, while Dag will typically drop Enrage to use more offensive attacks.
Second Encounter[]
Dag is supported by Selene, of course. Plus Roddy and Lily. This team is well-balanced: Dag the Tank, Selene the Healer, Lily the DPS, and Roddy the Healer and Debuffer. Dag will retain much of his original focus, but has upgraded to match, much like the others in his team. He now uses Neo Cross Slash and other Awakened Vanguard skills, in addition to Enrage and other taunt skills. Like most bosses at this point, doing certain actions will result in Dag gaining BP as a "Counter".
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
A 'dag' is a piece of poop stuck to the wool of a sheep's hindquarters. 'Dag' is also an informal insult in Australia and New Zealand, used affectionately for an eccentric, amusing person who lacks self-awareness.[1]
To 'rampage' is behave in a destructive and violent manner, fitting for his cocky and boisterous demeanor.
Trivia[]
- Dag is the only character with an Australian accent. He uses Australian slang like 'drongo' and mentions gumtrees at one point.