The Mage would do with a Tricky Turban!
And give the priest a Holy hat!
Get all magic armour! They can be upgraded via Alchemy!
Gleeba - Dragon Quest IX
Using an enchanted stone, you can change the magic armour into Enchanted Armour which is stronger...
Then using an ethereal stone you can change them into Ethereal armour.
Or I could buy better armour, which is much easier.
True, but when you manage to get the best weapons without, you can't upgrade them without alchemy at all!