Dragon’s Dogma 2: 30 things I wish I had known before the start – Beginner’s Guide

Dragon’s Dogma 2 presents itself in some areas quite old-school and does not explain some important fundamentals as thoroughly as one might be accustomed to from modern role-playing games. In this guide, we summarize all the tips and tricks for getting started that we wish we had known before starting.

What is this article about? We provide you with tips and tricks that should make your start in Dragon’s Dogma 2 easier. The new role-playing game from Capcom tends to barely or not at all explain some important fundamentals.

We focus on insights and observations we made during our own playthrough—often later than we would have liked. So you won’t constantly have the thought: “I wish I had known this at the beginning of the game!”

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Tips for Getting Started in Dragon’s Dogma 2

First, a few simple basics:

• In towns, sprinting does not consume stamina. Just tap the run button to activate the quick step. Tapping again will end the sprint.
• There is a quick-use function for lanterns and consumables like health potions. On the controller, you need to press the left front shoulder button and then trigger the desired action using the D-pad. On PC, you need to press the CTRL key, and then T, B, R, or G, depending on the action.
• Time-critical quests are highlighted in the quest log—the hand icon will switch back and forth to a hourglass icon in such cases.
• Your pawns are quite chatty. Occasionally, they might want to show you something important or lead you to a specific location. Accept the suggestion with the go command, and your companion will run off.
• You need to investigate a room but find nothing? In Dragon’s Dogma 2, there are a whole bunch of secret doors that you can simply push open. So be sure to examine the walls closely.
• Don’t just level the class of your hero that you want to play most of the time. You can learn passive upgrades through other classes that you can also use with your favorite class. You will receive plenty of DP points to pursue additional careers.

The wonderful launch trailer of Dragon’s Dogma 2:

• When you switch your class, for example from thief to archer, you will automatically receive the appropriate equipment for the new career in the class guild. So don’t stock up on weapons and clothes beforehand.
• Always pack some lamp oil so you can use your lantern in caves as well as at night. Pitch dark is exactly that in Dragon’s Dogma 2: pitch dark.
• Also a must for your inventory before venturing into the wilderness: camping gear. However, this is heavy. So spread this across the inventories of your pawns.
• By resting in an inn, you create an alternative save file. This can help if your actual game save leads you into a difficult situation from which you cannot escape. The save game from the inn only helps you if you regularly update it. Otherwise, you might lose several hours of progress.
• Combine your items in inventory and storage as often as possible. This saves carrying weight, and food does not spoil once it has been processed accordingly.
• Also important for your carrying weight: Keep an eye out for gold beetles. For every used gold beetle, you can carry 150 grams more weight. This adds up over time.
• It is worth exploring the world of Dragon’s Dogma 2 with open eyes. Chests, quests, NPCs, and more are hiding everywhere. Areas may also change over time, and you may meet some residents in different places during the day than at night.

Want more than one save file? Here’s how:

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Tips for Fast Travel

• The ox carts offer a solid alternative for fast travel. Just take a nap, and you’ll be at your destination in seconds. At least most of the time. Occasionally, the cart is attacked by monsters and even destroyed. Then you’ll unfortunately have to walk the rest of the way.
• In some settlements, there are target crystals where you can teleport almost anytime using travel stones. Occasionally, you’ll even find target crystals that you can place in the world to create more fast travel points.
• The fast travel via teleportation also works if you need to escort an NPC over a long distance or lead them to a specific location. If in doubt, just lift the mentioned resident onto your shoulders and then use the travel stone.

Trapped in the Dungeon – Here’s How to Escape

• If you are caught in a security area (for example, in parts of Vernworth Castle) or commit a crime in the city (for example, attacking a guard), the guards will overpower you and throw you into the local dungeon.
• What to do if you end up in the dungeon? You can find dungeon keys in the game and use one in such a case to escape. Occasionally, you even receive a dungeon key through a quest.
• In the first city, Vernworth, you can also simply break through the back wall with a heavy attack and escape through the sewers.
• If you end up in the dungeon, your equipment is missing. But don’t worry: once you escape the premises, you automatically get everything back.

Tips for Battles in Dragon’s Dogma 2

• Pack supportive pawns that complement your career roles. For example, the author of these lines plays a thief and has a healer as a main pawn. The other two fighters therefore always take on tank and ranged roles.
• Occasionally, you will have to deal with thieves who can steal from you if your hero is knocked out—such as from the sleep attack of a harpy. As soon as you catch and knock out the thief, the stolen goods will land on the ground. Don’t forget to collect them!
• If you are out at night, you will encounter more and stronger monsters. While this promises better rewards, it can also quickly cost a battered or low-level group their lives. Use campsites or inns to skip the night.
• Regularly swap your supportive pawns to ensure you have high-level fighters by your side. New pawns may also bring new knowledge that can help you in quests and exploring the game world.

More on Dragon’s Dogma 2:

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• Dangerous monsters like griffins, ogres, dragons, or some undead may grant many experience points and valuable resources, but they are also significantly more dangerous than regular enemies. Depending on your group’s status, it may be more strategic to simply walk past the opponent and return stronger later.
• If a pawn is knocked down in battle, you have some time available to run to them and help them back up. Occasionally, one of the remaining pawns will even bring the body of the knocked-out fighter.
• However, there are also deaths that are permanent for the time being—such as when a pawn plummets into deep water. You can revive your main pawn directly at the rift crystal. As far as the supportive pawns are concerned, you can (also at the rift crystal) hire new ones or search for the already known pawns (if you would like to take them with you again).
• You can lift all sorts of objects and throw them at your enemies. This is not only possible with stones and explosive barrels; you can even throw your pawns or stunned enemies at foes.
• Some crafty opponents can be quickly defeated by leading them over the edge of a cliff or into deep water.
• For larger monsters, it also helps to involve some of the NPCs wandering around in the battle. By the way, every creature has weak points where you deal particularly high damage. Parts of the time, you can only access these if you topple the beast or climb on it.
• In some locations like fortifications or towers, there are cannons that you can use to effectively combat flying opponents.

What other beginner tips come to mind when you think back to your first hours with Dragon’s Dogma 2? If you think of useful tricks, we would be happy to add them to our guide.

If you are wondering which class to choose at the beginning, we have a guide for that too:

Dragon’s Dogma 2: These are the best classes / careers for beginners to start