In this Dragon’s Dogma 2 Beginner Guide I’ll be covering things that will help you get off to the best possible start. Things like what Pawns to hire, how to manage your equipment weight and Stamina, how to progress Quests that you might be stuck on, tips about Vocation and combat and more. If you’re new to Dragon’s Dogma 2, or you just want to go into the game prepared, this video is for you!

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Ultimate Beginner Guide

Dragon’s Dogma 2 is not for the feint of heart, and it can be extremely challenging until you get the hang of the game’s many systems. We won’t go into the ins and outs of Character Creation in this video, because there is a lot to cover, but I will just suggest to you that you create at least one character that is large so that they can carry many items.

In Dragon’s Dogma 2 players will get to create not only their character, but also their Main Pawn, and ideally one of these characters will be your mule to help lug things along for you. If you want to make a small character, that’s totally fine, but I do recommend then making your Pawn larger to help you carry things. And you are large, then your Pawn need not be, but can be for extra carry Weight if you want.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Beginner Guide – Pawns & Party

Pawns in Dragon’s Dogma 2 are your companions that will travel with you, and make up your party. You can have up to 3 Pawns in your group, one being you Main Pawn, and 2 others you can hire. These can be NPC Pawns created by Capcom or other Main Pawns other players have made, including your Friends’ Pawns, which is what I recommend using. However, you need not use Pawns if you don’t want, and can play solo, granting you about a 20% buff to experience gained when playing alone.

Regardless of that, I highly recommend hiring two other Pawns as soon as you reach the first Riftstone as it will make your life easier in combat, and they also carry things for you. You’ll want to fill out your party with other Vocations (Classes) of Pawns to have the best chance in combat, and you absolutely should have at least 1 Mage in your party so they can heal and buff you in combat. This can be yourself, Main Pawn or another Pawn you hired, but having a Mage can make your life much easier.

I also highly recommend 1 Fighter with the Shield Summons skill to hold aggro of enemies or a Warrior, though it’s not as necessary as Mages. Archers are also good as they can help pick off annoying flying enemies, but I find Thief, while strong when played by players themselves, is not as good on Pawns due to the AI limitations.

And a couple more things about Pawns as well. First, you should try to make your Main Pawn visually appealing if you can. This will increase the chances of players selecting to use it, which will provide you with more Gifts and Rift Crystals when they return from other game worlds.

Secondly, you should try to use your Friends’ Pawns when you can, and vice versa. This will allow you to send items to one other via your Pawns, which acts as a sort of pseudo trade system between game worlds. Additionally, as their Pawn levels up and improves its skills and gear, when you rest at an Inn this will update for you as well in your game world, making them get stronger and stronger.

Thirdly, Pawns sometimes possess Quest information about the Quest you are currently doing, like where to go to. You can see this on the Quest screen, where it will show you which Pawn has knowledge of your current quest. If it’s blue, then it’s your Main Pawn (remember they can gain knowledge while being used in other worlds). If it’s orange then it’s either your first or second hired Pawn, dictated by the number. If there is no icon next to it, then none of your Pawns have information about the Quest. Remember this, because you can higher Pawns with Quest knowledge if you’re stuck

And lastly, Pawns have both Inclinations and Specializations. Inclinations are the general demeanor of the pawn and impacts their voice and their regular lines. I personally prefer Simple (balanced) pawns, and I assign “Calm” to mages to ensure they prioritize staying alive. The kindhearted inclination is popular but I feel overbearing, and straightforward is only advisable if you want your pawn charging off into every possible fight. You can change your pawn’s inclination with incense bought from the Rift store at anytime.

Specializations are more complex as they give your pawn a specific passive set of skills and attitudes. There are six specializations to pick from: Woodland Wordsmith to enable automatic translation to Elvish, Forager to enable highlights of rare materials on map, Logistician to allow your pawn to optimize your loot among your bags, Hawker to have your pawn do some wheeling and dealing, Chirurgeon to make your pawn heal you and others with items, and finally Aphonite to make your pawn shut up. The last one is probably a good choice if they are annoying you, but overall the most popular ones are Logistician and Forager because of their practical applications. Specializations are unlocked by using specific items that you get as you quest and explore the world. You can check the wiki for details if you are looking for a particular one.

Resting and Managing Your Saves in Dragon’s Dogma 2

In Dragon’s Dogma 2 when you load up your game you have the option to load from the last rest at an Inn or your last Save. Dragon’s Dogma 2 autosaves as you make your way through the game world, much like Dark Souls, and it’s not difficult to mess up Quests, which puts you in the position of having no option to reload earlier except for your Last Inn Save.

For this reason, it’s ideal to rest at Inns every so often in case you mess something up and need to reload, so you aren’t losing hours and hours of game time doing it. It does cost gold to rest at Inns, so this really sucks, but you will regret not doing it more than losing some gold.

Additionally, Camping does not count as “Resting at an Inn” so you cannot reload from the last point your Rested at a Camp or on a Bench. Keep these things in mind before undertaking a quest that might fail, or if you don’t know if you’ll like the outcome of one decision or another. Rest at an Inn before completing the quest so you can quickly reload if you don’t like it, and make a different decision.

Camping in Dragon’s Dogma 2

Camping in Dragon’s Dogma 2 lets you Rest while out exploring the hostile wilds of the world. It is invaluable, as it prevents the need from returning all the way to town to heal up or change Skills, and makes a huge difference to the flow of gameplay.

You also gain buffs when you rest and cook food, so make sure that you do so when you can. You usually get meat from animals or animal like enemies, and be sure not to use rotten meat or you’ll get Blighted.

You only need one Camping Supply Kit when exploring, as you will reuse this, and some are better than others, so be on the look out for higher ‘tier” Camping Kits. They are also extremely heavy, so I recommend only taking one, and sticking it on your Main Pawn so you don’t have to carry it.

Camping allows you to also change your skills and the time of day, which is useful if you have a night time quest or you just want it to be daylight again so you can see and not be swarmed by undead. Keep in mind though, that you can be attacked in your sleep, though it is rare.

Managing Equipment Weight in Dragon’s Dogma 2

Managing your Equipment Weight is one of the most important parts of Dragon’s Dogma 2, and players who take this mechanic for granted will likely have a rough time. Being heavier not only slows you down, but makes you burn through Stamina more quickly, making travel and combat more challenging. Luckily there are some ways to deal with it.

Firstly, make sure that you are dumping off materials and excess items into your storage at the Inn or your House whenever you’re in town, particularly at the beginning of the game. This can help you free up weight, so that you don’t get hosed while out exploring.

You can also Combine materials in your inventory as well to help free up space, and often times this can prevent your food from going bad, by making “dry” versions of it through Combining. Check your inventory every so often and see what you can Combine.

I strongly suggest using at least 1 Ring early on that increases your Carry Weight, called the Ring of Accrual. This will also help, and remember the lighter you are, the less Stamina you consume and the faster it recovers!

The Thew Augment from Fighter can also increase your Carry Weight while equipped by 10 kg, which is a lot! So consider spending an hour playing as a Fighter if you’re really struggling with Carry Weight in order to unlock it and then swap back to your Vocation. Augments are useable on any Vocation once purchased.

Lastly, be on the look out for Golden Trove Beetles scattered around the land and use them as you find them, as these permanently increase either your Carry Weight or your Pawn’s by 0.15kg. This might sound like a little but it adds up over time. These are most often on the sides of trees, but they can be found other places as well, and shine brightly in the dark so are easier to spot at night.

How to Tackle Questing in Dragon’s Dogma 2

Quests in Dragon’s Dogma 2 are handled a bit differently than other open world RPGs, and there isn’t really a way to know WHERE to get Quests. Instead, they usually “appear” by someone coming to speak with you, or you happening upon an event, and there is no board to pick them up from or a marker on the map to tell you where to get them. This can be somewhat frustrating when you first begin playing, but the system does work once you get used to it. However, it does pay off to investigate places and speak to interesting-looking NPCs, as sometimes you’ll find quests that way too.

If you’re on a Quest but can’t figure out what to do next or where to go you have a few options. You can change Quests and see if progressing another Quest will trigger a happening that progresses your original Quest. Or you can try resting at an Inn to see if passing time makes things more clear, or you can simply Fast Travel using the Oxcart to another location and them come back again later. You can also use a Pawn that has Quest information and use the “Go” Command to see if it will lead you where you need to go (you can recruit one if none of your Pawns have information). And if all else fails there is always the Wiki to help you out…

Many Quests are not intended to be “ridden”, meaning that you are supposed to do many Quests simultaneously, instead of starting and completing one quest before going on to the next. And, remember that some quests have time elements involved and if you take too long to complete them you might get less than desirable results, so pay attention to what Quests you pick up and what is instructed else you may make a mistake. On this note, you will come across escort quests that are often used to maximize affinity with an NPC. When these quests appear bear in mind that you can quicktravel, take an oxcart, rest at an inn, and even pick up and carry the NPC as you go. If all fails, use a wakestone on them.

Oxcarts can also be used to get you where you need to go if Quests are far away, and remember that you usually end up in the middle between two towns if you’re attacked when using an Oxcart, and you can plan for this to get you where you need to go as well if your Quest is closer to the middle area than near a town.

And lastly, but this is probably the MOST important tip in the quest section: there is a Quest with Glyndwr in Vernworth that can only be done if you’re the Archer Vocation, and I highly recommend to everyone to do it sooner rather than later as it triggers many other Quests, so make sure you swap to Archer vocation to do this Quest early on in the game and then swap back afterwards. This quest unlocks another quest called “A Trial of Archery” that rewards you a Portcrystal. That’s invaluable for the whole game so do not miss it!

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Vocation Advice

There are no bad choices when it comes to Vocation in Dragon’s Dogma 2, and you can change your Vocation at any time at the Vocation Guild for no cost. You even keep your progress towards next Vocation Rank when swapping, and you will pick up right where you left off if you swap back with no penalty. You’ll gain progress towards your Vocation Rank by defeating enemies while playing as any equipped Vocation, and this will unlock more Skills and Augments for you to choose from. Note that Discipline earned from defeating enemies can be used on any Vocation Skills, not just the Vocation you earned them with.

You can also change Skills and Augments at the Vocation Guild, just like you can at Camps, however you cannot change Vocations at Camps so you must do this in town. So make sure you are the Vocation you want to be before heading out.

As you progress through the game more Vocations will become available to you, with Sorcerer and Warrior being relatively early on in Vernworth, and Mystic Spearhand not much further after that. Trickster is much further on in the game than these ones, and Magick Archer and Warfarer are even further, being relatively close to the end of the game. If you want exact location on how to acquire them you can check this out on the Wiki, but I wanted to refrain from exact details here for spoiler purposes. I just wanted to give you a general idea of how long it would take to acquire them.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Equipment Tips

Finding and equipping the right gear is a huge part of Dragon’s Dogma 2, and it can often determine the success or failure of looming encounters before they have even begun. So make sure you are checking merchants in town for the best possible gear for you and your Pawn, so that you are more likely to succeed. Additionally, I don’t recommend outfitting your 2 hired Pawns because this gear will vanish if you change them to other Pawns, which is kind of wasted.

You can find decent gear in Vernworth, and even better gear in the Checkpoint Rest Town, so you might want to save up for what’s there or head over there to see what is in stock sooner rather than later. You can do this easily via Oxcart in Vernworth. Additionally, Sacred Arbor is a great place for Mage, Sorcerer and Magick Archer gear, so you might want to head there if you are playing any of those Vocations as they also have the best upgrades for your Magick equipment.

Remember that gear can be upgraded in Dragon’s Dogma 2, and you can do this at the Blacksmith rather easily. The first upgrade is just gold, so I highly recommend doing this on all weapons, since gold is not hard to come by, but subsequent upgrades will require materials that drop from enemies, not unlike Monster Hunter. So make sure you save these upgrade materials in your storage at the Inn or in your home, so that you can upgrade when needed. NEVER SELL THEM.

You can also upgrade your weapons and armor in different styles, which changes what is improved about the weapon. There are 4 different styles in Dragon’s Dogma 2, which Blacksmiths in certain locations upgrading in specific styles. Vernworth provides the Vermundian Style, which is a good start for any player, but more specialized equipment might benefit from upgrading elsewhere. You can find full lists of upgrades, where to find them, the materials and effects for all weapons and armor on the wiki.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Combat Basics

Dragon’s Dogma doesn’t have complicated combat, and you essentially have 4 Skills, plus basic and heavy attack on most Vocations. However, most Skills use Stamina as their resource, even Mages and Sorcerers, so managing your Stamina is important to everyone, and you shouldn’t over extend your Skill usage via constant spam unless the fight is going to end quickly. Additionally, if you run out of Stamina in combat you are vulnerable for many seconds, which is not a good place to be.

You can give commands to your Pawns in Combat, and they can help you if you do run out of Stamina, so make sure to use the “Help” Command if needed. This can also apply if you need healing or have been knocked down or put to sleep, etc. You can also use the Help command to have your Mage top you up outside of combat. Note that you can use consumable items to heal directly from your inventory if you need to, there are no “quick items” in Dragon’s Dogma 2.

However, you cannot heal back completely missing health, only the grey bar portion of your health. In order to get back the missing part you must rest, and this is the game’s way of making you rest somewhat often, making Inns and Camps more valuable.

You can also direct your Pawns to Wait if you don’t want them to get into something they shouldn’t or you can command them to “Go” if you want them to head into combat, which is particularly good for Fighters, Warriors and Thiefs, and Mystic Spearhands.

Death and Wakestones

Sometimes you die in combat, or to gravity…and you have the option to reload your last save, your last Inn rest. Your last Inn rest may be an hour or more back, so that might not be a good option, so it is likely you will just reload your last save. However, this depletes your max health each time you do this, so eventually you might be in a very bad situation if you keep trying to defeat something that you cannot, and you might be forced to make Camp or Rest at an Inn. So be mindful of your max health, and make good decisions on when to double down on combat, or maybe it’s time to retreat and regroup before trying again.

However, if you have a Wakestone you can use this to revive at full health, back in the fray. These are very valuable though, and very rare, so you should not use them unless absolutely necessary. For example, if you’re close to defeating a monster you’re not sure you can do again easily.

Wakestones can also be used to raise the dead at local morgues if you made a mistake and killed someone you shouldn’t have, or if they might be needed for a quest. As you progress the game, you will find an item called the Dragon’s Gaze which will mark nearby Wakestone Shards on your map, helping you to find them more easily, so make sure to use it regularly once you acquire it.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Fast Travel

And this brings me to my final section, Fast Travel. There are two ways to Fast Travel in Dragon’s Dogma 2, and the first is via Oxcart. These can take you to distant locations, and are useful for saving time if you need to go really far away. However, sometimes you will be attacked and your Oxcart destroyed so they aren’t always reliable. Regardless, it’s still beats running the whole distance on foot, and sometimes you can use this to end up in the middle of a route, which might be exactly where you need to go.

The second method is via Ferrystones, which are a limited resource that will port you to any location that has a Portcrystal from wherever you are. They are consumed on use, and very few places have Portcrystals at the beginning of the game. However, as you progress you will find some (including the one I mentioned before from “The Trial of Archery”) that you can place in locations of your choosing. Note that you can pick up Portcrystals and move them, so they are not permanent if you decide you should put them somewhere else later on.

Vendors will restock their Ferrystones periodically so it’s worth checking them when in town in case you need a few more, though they are not cheap at 10000 gold a pop. Still the gold is more than worth it if it saves you 30 or more minutes of walking.

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That wraps up our Dragon’s Dogma 2 Beginner Guide, and I hope you found this useful. If you want to read more about Dragon’s Dogma 2 we have a Review and also a Wiki for the game, with some helpful information.