Installation
Things you can try:
- Make sure the shortcut you’re using to launch the game is updated to the new path. Generate a new shortcut or update the old one.
If you’re located outside of the US or Japan, your VPN must be enabled during play. The exception is during patching/downloading the game - your VPN does not need to be on during those times.
DQX’s servers are hosted in Tokyo, Japan, so you’ll experience some slowness due to physical distance. The launcher no longer throttles download speeds, but distance-related slowness is expected.
When purchasing expansions physically, the game ships with a DVD-ROM containing the installers. When purchasing digitally, the third party you bought from should provide a download link.
If you can’t obtain the expansions, join the
Dragon Quest X Worldwide Discord
and type !installer in any channel to get access to a community-shared mediafire link with the expansion installers.
Generally this is a connection issue. If the download is interrupted, you don’t need to re-download the entire game. The patcher will pick up where it left off (starting at 0% but with a smaller differential). Keep restarting the patcher until it completes.
If there’s a specific error message, check the remaining FAQs, Google the error code, or ask in the Discord for help.
Both DQX and dqxclarity can run on Steam Deck/Linux, but no official support is provided. The developer has chosen not to chase the many WINE issues involved. Join the "DQX on Steam Deck/Linux/WINE" thread in the Discord for community help.
Free VPNs people have used successfully:
Paid VPNs for better stability:
When connecting, use a server in either the United States or Japan - these are the only two locations where DQX works without a VPN.
C:\Program Files (x86)\SquareEnix\DRAGON QUEST X
General DQX
There’s a 99% chance you’re using a VPN and the server location is inconsistent, causing DQX to flag your login as suspicious.
Fix: sign your DQX account up for multi-factor authentication (MFA / OTP). dqxabbey has a guide on how to set this up.
DQX is trying to render Japanese characters, but your computer doesn’t have the Japanese font installed. The question marks are actually prompts like “Do you want to exit?” - unintelligible but not harmful.
If you want to fix it:
- Install Locale Emulator (discontinued but still works).
- (Not recommended) Change your computer’s region to Japanese in Windows settings.
Several possible causes:
- Graphics driver is out of date
- dqxclarity generated an error or wrote to incorrect memory
- General game integrity issues (a reinstall may fix this)
Try rebooting your computer to see if the error goes away.
This is likely due to an old or corrupt dat mod. Click Patch Game Files in the Game tab to download the latest dat mod files.
Tooling
dqxclarity uses the Python programming language internally. It is required and will not work without it.
No. dqxclarity is strictly PC only.
As of January 2025:
- All files found in the game files are either hand-translated or machine-translated.
- All of the main story has been hand-translated by various contributors.
- Most gaidens (stories supporting the main story) are machine-translated.
- All menus, spells, skills, items, housing, monster/NPC names have been hand-translated.
- Server-side text is machine-translated on-the-fly as you encounter it in game.
The project contributors mainly consist of:
- Serany - main developer
- Shobu - main translator
Additional contributions come from various members of the DQX community on translation efforts.
dqxclarity has several free translation options built in. Translation quality isn’t as good as a paid API, but it’s serviceable enough if you can’t or don’t want to sign up for a paid service.
Short answer: probably not. What dqxclarity does is technically against the ToS, but many overseas players have used it for years and we’ve heard of no one receiving a ban or even a warning. That doesn’t mean it can’t happen, so there’s always an inherent (but likely very small) risk.
Everything dqxclarity does is client-side - only you see it. However, there are 2 specific instances where others can tell:
- Crafting a 3-star item
- Catching a King-sized fish
Both of these broadcast a message to nearby players that will appear in English instead of Japanese. It’s not prohibited, but if you’re paranoid, do these in secluded spots like your home or a My Town.
This is expected behavior, not a bug. dqxclarity doesn’t have access to server-side text in advance, so it sends newly encountered text to a translation service (DeepL, Google, etc.) and waits for the response. The pause is the round-trip time for that request. Length varies by API service.
There isn’t a fix - it’s just something you get used to.