In Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, you can find many different friendly monsters to recruit for the Monster Arena. Finding the best team early on, however, might prove to be a challenge. Even so, there are still some fairly useful monsters that should help you finish the battles without breaking too much of a sweat. You can have up to three monsters on your team at once, so keep that in mind as you think about the best ones to pick.

Party Combos in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake are important, even when it’s a monster party. However, early in the game, you will likely just be looking for monsters of any sort to recruit. Having a Monster Wrangler or items that help you conceal your presence will work best for tracking these friendly monsters down and recruiting them. If you do not have either of those two things, the monsters will likely try to run.

10 Slime

The First Friendly Monster You Will Have

While it may look quite weak, the fact is that the Slime is the first and easiest monster to recruit in the game. It is also possible to get a second one very quickly after the first by using a Chimaera Wing to go back home. That means you will have the increased stats and a second one available right away.

While they may not take you especially far, you can get through the first two ranks of the Monster Arena with just the two Slimes and the Healslime, which can also be found easily and early. That means a large amount of extra cash as the party heads into the next section of the game, which may well make a difference, as you can buy new equipment for your party and resurrect anyone that needs it.

9 Raven Lunatic

Staying Even With Your Opponents

Like the Slime, the Raven Lunatic is just an early-game friendly monster that can be relatively useful until you find something you like better. It is also a monster that will show up in the lower-rank battles in the Monster Arena quite a lot, so you will be on par with your enemies. This is not necessarily good or bad, but it will keep you on track, and you should still win your battles as long as the Raven is not alone.

There is another Raven possible to find in the early game, making your Raven slightly better than your enemies’ Ravens. The more monsters you are able to find and rescue, the bigger the advantage you will have in the early hours of the game, and that advantage will continue to carry over as you head into the mid-to-late game.

8 Prestidigitator

Making An Annoying Enemy Your Friend

The Prestidigitator is an enemy that can make your head spin a bit early in the game if you aren’t careful. It is also a hard enemy to flee from, and Prestidigitators can take quite a few hits and use magic attacks of their own. The friendly monster can be found along the way to the first main objective after leaving Romaria, so it can be acquired fairly easily without encountering tough enemies along the way.

Something to keep in mind is that any monster that is annoying as an enemy will also likely to be annoying to fight in the Monster Arena. This may not always seem to be the case, but it's often true. There can be exceptions, as Healslimes don’t tend to pose much threat in the wild, but it is something to think about when considering who to put on a team.

7 Spiked Hare

A Dangerous Bunny To Face

Two Spiked Hares appear fairly early on in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, but one of them can be a bit tricky to get to. This is where that Monster Wrangler class will come in handy. Make sure one is in your party to keep the friendly monsters from escaping. The Spiked Hare is not as useful as some of the other monsters on this list, but it is a decent attacker and one that can be found early.

Once you have both of them, the Spiked Hare does become more valuable and can be a decent choice for Rank F in the Monster Arena. However you choose to form your party, just ensure you have one strong attacker, like the Spiked Hare, to fight the monsters while the stronger healers keep them alive.

6 Cumaulus

A Cloud That Spews Fire Instead Of Water

These cloud-like friendly monsters may not look like much, but they can offer a strong offense. There are several that can be found throughout the game, and you should be able to recruit at least one in the Norvik Area before you reach Ibis, which is where the second big Monster Arena awaits.

They may not have much else, but they can offer a strong offensive fire-breathing attack, which is what matters as long as there's a healer to keep them alive. Being found so early on is also a bonus, as you won't have to worry about finding a different strong attacker until later if you don't want to. However, there are slightly stronger options that you can have multiples of later in this list, so keep that in mind when seeking them out.

5 Restless Armor

A Damage Dealing Tank To Stay Alive

If you want a strong attacker with higher stats, Restless Armor is the way to go. You should pair it with a Bubble Slime, as that is one way to make it a lot stronger. That way, you can keep it fully healed while dishing out the damage. This one is quite tank-like as well, making it helpful for keeping on the board.

Additionally, the Restless Armor has some good skills that will be useful in battle, and throughout the game, you will be able to recruit a lot of them. Arthur is the first one you will come across near Asham, but you can get a second one as soon as you find Alltrades Abbey. There are others later on, which will only make the stats get higher and higher.

4 Antgobbler

While not quite at the top of the list, Antgobbler is also well worth his place in the party. You can find two fairly early on, Antony and Gobblebert, before reaching Chapter 4, and being able to buff up those stats that quickly is important. It will help you get through the early stages of the Monster Arena while you search for more powerful monsters.

The second Antgobbler can be found in the Underground Cave near Norvik.

The main thing about the Antgobbler is that they have the ability to clear status ailments. This is from an ability called Sobering Slap, which will help you mitigate any annoying attacks that come at the party from less friendly monsters.

3 Bubble Slime

A Little Guy With A Lot Of Healing Potential

You can find a Bubble Slime early on in Chapter 2 on the 2nd floor of Skyfell Tower. It will be a strong healer in the early game, but it is a little less versatile than the Healslime. It will be able to withstand a lot of damage and keep healing, and while the Healslime has a better healing ability that can affect the whole party, the Bubble Slime can heal a single party member more than the other.

You can find a second Bubble Slim upon reaching Ibis Castle, but this will be further into the mid-game and may not be as useful once you have gotten that far. While that may be the case, you cannot do much better early on than to have at least one of these guys in your party.

2 Catula

Vampire Cats That Are Strong Magic Dealers

You can find these vampire cats around in the later early-game, with one hanging around near the Tower of Transcendence, where you can get The Sage class in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake. This is a helpful party member to have, and one who can do some damage-dealing with spells.

Having an early party member capable of casting spells is always helpful, particularly when you get to some of the ranked battles past the initial ones in Romaria. While better monsters will likely show up by the time the late-game rolls around, this one is worth including if you want to win some mid-game battles.

1 Healslime

Strong Early Game Finishers

The Healslimes will be a very important part of early-game fights in the Monster Arena. While other better healers will come along later, these little guys will help on the way to achieving victory early on by keeping the Monster party healthy. Without them, it is going to be much harder to keep the party alive.

You can find a Healslime named Healie fairly early on in Khoryv. Additionally, there are more Healslimes available early on and Healie can continue to be a favorite party member deep into the mid-game. Healslimes can also double as attackers, so they can do a lot of work for you and continue to be useful even if you have a better healer in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake.