Dragons Dogma 2 Store

Dragon's Dogma 2 Dark Arisen has been released, bringing a brand-new Norgan region along with a major new feature: Relic System.

In Norgan, most drops are no longer specific pieces of equipment tied to fixed locations and drop rates. Instead, enemies and exploration activities yield Spoils, which can contain Relic Weapons, Relic Armor, and other rewards. Let's take a closer look at how this system works.

Relic System

Relic Weapons and Relic Armor do not become usable equipment immediately. You need to visit Jiera, an NPC in Norgandian Settlement, and use Rift Crystals to appraise them. Until the appraisal is complete, you cannot know exactly what equipment a relic will become.

Every relic has a level, which determines the resulting weapon's attack power or the armor's defensive stats. Higher-level relics also have a greater chance of unlocking more additional skill slots.

Each relic level also comes with different rarity tiers, which affect the quality of your potential rewards:

• Base
• Superior
• Singular
• Majestic

If a relic's name includes the prefix Ancient, it generally indicates a higher chance of obtaining high-quality equipment, making it a better candidate for appraisal. However, this does not guarantee the highest possible quality, which is somewhat similar to the system in Diablo 4.

Relic Active and Passive Skills

Relic equipment provides both passive bonuses and active skill enhancements. Armor only grants passive bonuses, while weapons can offer both passive effects and active skill upgrades. Active skill enhancements always improve existing skills available to a particular vocation.

Weapons

These enhancements are rolled randomly during appraisal. A weapon can have up to four special effect slots, and it is possible for all four to be Custom Skill EX enhancements.

Each vocation has approximately five possible active skill upgrade options, with different effects. These typically provide increased damage, additional hits, improved utility, or even entirely new mechanics.

It is worth noting that certain passive effects appear to be exclusive to higher-level relics, although they may simply have a higher chance of appearing on them.

Some exceptionally high-level Relic Weapons can also roll powerful innate elemental properties, adding another layer of strength for players pursuing the perfect endgame weapon.

Armor

Armor passives are generally more straightforward, commonly providing resistance to specific damage types, elemental damage, or status effects.

Some armor pieces can increase Grimoire damage and allow Grimoire enchantments to affect every party member.

Leg armor can also increase jump distance, with some effects activating when there is a tailwind. Additional effects may increase damage dealt while airborne, which can be particularly valuable for certain vocation-specific skills. Other bonuses may also be available, such as enhanced jumping attacks.

Relic Types

The main way to obtain relics is by defeating enemies and exploring Norgan. The developers have also explicitly stated that party composition has a significant impact on the types of relics you find. Weapon relics fall into four categories:

• Long Weaponry: Associated with Warriors, Sorcerers, and Mystic Spearhands.
• Bow Staff: Associated with Archers, Mages, and Magic Archers.
• Light Weaponry: Covers Fighter main-hand weapons, Thief daggers, and Trickster weapons.
• Aegis: Exclusive to Fighter shield relics.

In theory, if your party consists entirely of Archers and Mages, while your Arisen is a Magic Archer, your drop rate for Bow Staff relics should be significantly higher than average. This makes it easier to obtain weapons that your party can actually use.

The second factor is Obelisk. Each vocation's Obelisk can be activated using an Offering Flame, and one available option is Vocation Spoils Spawn Rate Boost.

This boost significantly increases the chance that weapon Spoils will correspond to the selected vocation's relic type. Although it is not entirely clear whether this also affects the appraisal process, appraisals do appear more likely to produce equipment wearable by your own vocation while the boost is active.

How to Get High-Level Relics?

Every enemy in Norgan has a chance to drop relics, and their levels depend on the surrounding region. If you enter an area before the main quest directs you there, enemies will be stronger because they belong to the next tier.

If you enter Norgan before reaching Level 40, the monsters may be too powerful for you to handle. That doesn't mean you can't explore the region early, but it's best to buy Dragon's Dogma 2 gold to upgrade your equipment before heading in, as this will improve your chances of survival while exploring.

Enemies that drop Tier 2 Spoils are considerably harder to defeat than those that only drop Tier 1 rewards. However, if you can locate and defeat them, you can obtain Tier 2 Spoils ahead of the usual progression curve.

Exploration also offers plenty of rewards without necessarily requiring combat. The map contains numerous caves, and piles of items on the ground, along with treasure chests, can provide additional Spoils. Their levels always correspond to the region where they are found.

Similar pickups can also appear throughout the open world, so keep an eye out while traveling. Boss-type enemies, meaning those with dedicated health bars, generally drop Spoils of a slightly higher level or at least a higher rarity.

Bosses usually drop several relics when defeated, making them well worth the effort. If you manage to reach a high-level region and defeat a boss, you can obtain Tier 3 relics early, even if the fight takes a long time. From there, it comes down to RNG and whether you receive the equipment suited to your vocation.

The power of Relic Weapons in Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen can ultimately surpass the equipment available near the end of the base game. When their randomly rolled additional effects are taken into account, some relics can even outperform base-game items. You can start exploring Norgan for relic equipment at around Level 40.

Dragon's Dogma 1 stands alone in the genre of fantasy RPGs set in a different world. Compared to RPGs like The Elder Scrolls and The Witcher series, which boast strong storylines but average combat, Dragon's Dogma series is the other extreme.

Dragon's Dogma 2, created by star developer Hideaki Itsuno, received mixed reviews upon its 2024 release. It features both brilliant design elements and some truly disappointing ones (such as teleportation and save mode). Itsuno has stated that he will not be producing DLC for Dragon's Dogma 2, and with his resignation, this may be the final Dragon's Dogma game. So, is this game, with its many regrets, still worth playing?

Graphics

The overall lighting and shadows, especially the support for ray tracing, are quite impressive. Dragon's Dogma 2's character modeling and face-shaping system are clearly an experiment in Monster Hunter Wilds, but the results are still excellent. You can easily create the look you want, such as Geralt or Daenerys Targaryen.

However, there are issues with the strangely low-resolution textures of some items up close, and the default water effects are poor. Overall, however, it's still of high quality.

Music And Voice Acting

The overall music is average, and the boss battle music merely serves to remind you that this fight is different from a typical one, but it's nothing particularly memorable.

However, the voice acting, especially Japanese voice acting, is excellent. The voice acting for the various Pawn inclinations is richly detailed, and each voice acting brings a unique and engaging experience.

Quests And Story

Main Quests

The main story is surprisingly short, consisting of only three chapters. The main storyline is very linear and simple, and if you focus on it, you can probably complete the game in 10 hours. As for the main story, it might be a bit confusing if you haven't played the original, but overall, it stays true to the classic JRPG framework. While the true ending is well-designed, it's also quite difficult to trigger.

Side Quests

The side quests are thoughtfully designed, and the rewards aren't simple Dragon's Dogma 2 gold, but a variety of valuable items, including clothing and even houses. Almost all of them have both good and bad endings, and the designer's original intention was that you shouldn't just complete the good ending on your first playthrough, because your pawn even provides conversation comments based on each bad ending. The game encourages you to find your desired ending through exploration and reflection on your quest choices in each playthrough.

Pawn System

Pawn Dialogue System

Pawn system is arguably the most interesting aspect of Dragon's Dogma 2. First, let's talk about the pawn's dialogue system. Many players feel their Pawn seems clueless, with only a few lines of dialogue, likely because they haven't really listened to their Pawn's dialogue.

A pawn's dialogue is determined by the mission, progress, environment, player sentiment, and their inclinations. Even teaming up with pawns of varying inclinations and experience can lead to different interactions.

For example, a straightforward pawn will slack off in combat, but a calm follower on your team will order it to stand up and fight. Pawns with different tendencies will behave differently in combat, and visiting special landmarks, starting and completing missions, and followers with different personalities may trigger unique voice lines, providing subtle reminders.

Of course, you can romance pawns in this game. There's a hidden relationship statistic: haircuts +50, conversations +2, clapping +5, changing clothes +5, and hot springs +10. Once you reach 620, a follower will defend you and occasionally blush. If you visit more mature settings, your romantically linked pawn will even show jealousy. It's highly recommended to try it out!

Pawn Combat System

Then there's the pawn combat system. Granted, pawns can't directly optimize spell-casting like players do; they're generic combat AIs that unleash whatever skills are available. However, the strategic possibilities of follower combinations are the core gameplay of the game. After all, on a team, your own combat power isn't necessarily decisive. It can be said that the core of Dragon's Dogma 2's combat lies in pawn coordination.

Finally, the pawn rental system is worth mentioning; it's quite engaging. Every player hopes to have their pawns recruited and liked by other players. Furthermore, rented pawns can bring Dragons Dogma 2 gold back, while seeing the various unique pawns created by other players is a real pleasure.

Combat

The early and mid-game battles are appropriately challenging and engaging, allowing you to think about follower coordination, skill allocation, and resource allocation. However, the later stages are far too easy, and the difficulty doesn't increase as you progress through the game. This completely undermines the game's once promising follower coordination system.

The combat in Dragon's Dogma series has always been a strong point, and Dragon's Dogma II certainly hasn't regressed. However, compared to the agile player and minions, the bosses are a bit too easy. All their movements are predictable, and there are no varied attack tempos like those of the bosses in Elden Ring. As long as you are not greedy for more DPS, you can almost take down any boss without taking damage.

Anyone who has played Dragon's Dogma II will feel pity for it. It's a game with great potential. Given more time for optimization and polish, it could definitely become a game like The Elder Scrolls V. While it's not perfect, if you enjoy combat and follower system, Dragon's Dogma II will definitely appeal to you, even in 2025.