Dragon's Dogma 2: Beginner's Guide

Getting Started in Dragon's Dogma 2

You play the Arisen, a hero chosen by a dragon. The game opens at a mining site, where you are forced to clear rubble alongside Pawns until a figure called the Pathfinder helps you escape and tells you that you are the Arisen. You reach the ruined town of Melve, and soldiers then escort you to the capital, Vernworth. The four starting vocations are Fighter, Archer, Mage and Thief; the others have to be unlocked. Create your Main Pawn with care, because they travel with you throughout the game. You can also recruit two more Pawns that other players created.

Core Mechanics to Master

Large monsters can be grabbed and climbed. In the Fextralife wiki's Griffin entry, for example, you jump to the creature's leg, climb its body and hit it from there, while stamina decides how long you can hold on. Climbing and sprinting both use stamina, so let it recover and try again. Pawns carry their own knowledge of quests and some enemies, and an experienced Pawn may exploit an enemy's weak points, which is a good way to learn them. Some enemies are weak to certain elements, and others resist physical damage.

Choosing a Vocation

Fighter, Archer, Mage and Thief are available from the start. Mystic Spearhand is an Arisen-only hybrid vocation. Reported unlock points are talking to Sigurd in Melve after the Blight Drake attack, or in Harve Village, both in Vermund. Pawns can only be Fighter, Archer, Mage, Thief, Warrior or Sorcerer, so a Main Pawn cannot take the Arisen-only vocations. A Mage with the Kindhearted inclination (the Fextralife wiki describes Kindhearted Pawns as the most obedient, with an emphasis on support) is a common pick for support, but this is a matter of taste rather than a rule.

You change vocation at a Vocation Guild in the larger towns, such as Vernworth, or at the inn in smaller towns such as Melve. Equipment is tied to vocations, so keep the gear for any vocation you may return to. There is no limit on how often you can switch.

Essential Tips

1. Oxcarts run fixed routes by day only and cost gold (the Fextralife wiki gives roughly 100-200 G). Monsters can ambush them, and if the cart is destroyed you continue on foot with no refund. Ferrystones are consumable fast-travel items to discovered Portcrystals and are uncommon, so keep one for emergencies.
2. Camp with a Camping Kit, sold by item vendors. Camping lets you cook, change the time of day and recover health, including the Loss Gauge.
3. Hire Pawns through the Rift. A Pawn that already knows your current quest can guide you to the objective.
4. Carry a lantern and spare oil. Night brings different enemies and sharply reduced visibility.
5. Keep a Wakestone. It revives you after death and can also revive quest-critical NPCs who have died.
6. Save at inns before big choices. Each Arisen has three save slots since update 3.2 (1 September 2026), and each slot holds an Autosave, an Interim Save and a Last Inn Rest Save; loading the inn save no longer deletes the other two (per MP1st). Before that update there was a single slot.

Early Challenge: Griffins

Griffins are among the first large flying monsters you meet, and one can often be seen northeast of Vernworth, past the Great Bridge Passage. They are mostly active in the daytime. When badly hurt, a Griffin tries to flee and hovers above the party, so be ready to jump onto a platform to reach its leg, climb it, or use ranged attacks. Fextralife reports that fire and enchanted weapons work and that poison works too, while Torpor and Blindness do not. Its attacks include Nose Dive, Grab and Trample, and a Griffin has no tail attacks, so approaching from behind is safer. Its drops include Griffin Pinion and Great Griffin Claw.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is there fast travel?
A: Limited. Ferrystones and Portcrystals handle fast travel, and Oxcarts run fixed routes by day. Enemies do not scale, so travelling on foot is also a way to earn materials and experience.

Q: How does multiplayer work?
A: There is no direct co-op. Pawns made by other players join your party, and you can recruit them through the Rift.

Q: How long is the game?
A: Estimates for the main story alone vary from roughly 22 to 40 hours, and completionist runs are commonly given as 100 hours or more. The Unmoored World is a secret endgame area reached by taking the True Ending during the quest Legacy. Its details are spoilers, so they are not covered here.

Q: Is there new content?
A: Yes. The Dark Arisen expansion launched on 9 October 2026 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S at a listed $29.99 for existing owners, and the Switch 2 version combines the base game and expansion in one package (Capcom); RPG Site lists a $49.99 MSRP for the full base-game-plus-expansion bundle. Capcom's announcement does not say whether the other platforms also sell a bundle. It is set in the northern region of Norgan and adds 12 Lost Rites Dungeon Challenges. We have not covered its content in detail.