One of the mechanics for battles in Dragon Quest XI is Pep, which can really help turn the tide of a battle. A character can enter a pep state during battles (seemingly at random, as there is no indication they will), which increases some stats and makes them stronger. The pepped up state will only last for a few turns and you will tell when it’s about to disappear, as the glow around the character’s portrait will start flashing. As you learn abilities on the skill trees, you will gain access to something called Pep Powers. These can range from attacks, as well as buffs, and can be triggered when only a single character is pepped up or when multiple characters are. There are some Pep Powers that are learned as part of the main story.

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You’ll know when a character peps up, because of the animation

Farming Pep Pips/Pops¶

There are two items in the game that allow you to induce the pepped up state for your characters, although they are generally rare until you reach the endgame. Pep Pips allow you to put one character in a pepped up state, while Pep Pops will put your entire active party in the pepped up state. You will some a few in chests or be rewarded with some from quests, but those are limited and you might be wanting some more. There are only two enemies in the game that drop Pep Pips, and only one drops the Pep Pop, although the latter has a more stable way of getting them.

For Pep Pips, you can trade for them at the Octagonia Casino, but they cost 125,000 Tokens for each one. Additionally, you can trade in Mini Medals for them at the Academy after you’ve turned in 110 Mini Medals. Once you do that, Maxime will open up a list for you to exchange Medals, with Pep Pips costing 10 Mini Medals each. As already mentioned, there’s only two enemies that can drop Pep Pips, both of which are found in the Luminary’s Trial - Citadel of Spite. Those are the Vicious Metal King Slime and the Gold Grabber. Note that Vicious Metal King Slimes will only appear alongside other enemies and are never on the actual map, although if you’re level 70+, then you can force encounters anywhere by using the Electro Light Pep Power.

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(1 of 2) You can trade for Pep Pips at the Octagonia Casino

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You can trade for Pep Pips at the Octagonia Casino (left), while you can purchase Pep Pops at Cobblestone (right)

If you’re looking for Pep Pops, then there is only a single enemy that can drop them, which is also found in the Citadel of Spite. This enemy is the Fortune Filcher, but there is a problem with this one, as it is a Rarefied enemy. This means that it’s a little harder to come by, due to you having to fight the Gold Grabbers until one appears alongside it in battle. However, there is a much easier way to get Pep Pops, as you can actually purchase them at some point in the final part of the game. Once you do the event with Cobblestone, head back there and go to the one shop to find that they have the item available, for a whopping 200,000G each. If you need to farm money to buy them, then head on over to the How To Farm Money page.

List of Pep Powers¶

There is a total of 83 different Pep Powers in the game, with your only reward to performing them all being a single Accolade. If you manage to use 25 Pep Powers (even duplicates), then you will unlock the Peppy-Go-Lucky achievement/trophy.

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(1 of 2) Electro Light is one of the best Pep Powers in the game

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Electro Light is one of the best Pep Powers in the game (left), as is Haulellujah for the extra experience and money (right)