Summary
WhileDragon’s Dogma 2might, at first, seem like a game that’s only about the combat, there’s a lot more to it than it might seem. This game has a lot of hidden mechanics in it, or at the very least mechanics that players don’t figure out on their own (though many are explained in the Tutorials menu).
Some of these mechanics were in bothDragon’s Dogma: Dark ArisenandDragon’s Dogma 2, and some of them are entirely brand new. So, to make sure everyone knows as much about the game as possible, let’s go over some of those hidden mechanics now.
8A Few Different Bridge-Related Tricks
Climbing, Destroying, & Creating Your Own Bridges
There’s actually a lot of tech inDragon’s Dogma 2centered around bridges, oddly enough, examples include:
Of course, the extremely large bridges or the ones made out of stone aren’t applicable for this tech, but just about every other bridge is fair game.
7You Can Play Catch With Your Pawns
It’s Called Pigball or Toss the Pig Depending on Who You Ask
This next mechanic is one that was originally discovered in the first release ofDragon’s Dogmaand has now returned inDragon’s Dogma 2. It involves a little self-titled game called ‘Pigball’ in which the Arisen picks up a nearby pig (alive) and tosses them to any of their Pawns.
Instead of the Pawn getting hit by the pig or simply catching it and putting it down, players can actually get the Pawns to catch the pig and throw it back. They even have unique voice lines about how much fun throwing the pig around is. It can be pretty finicky to get this to work, but it’s an incredibly neat little system nonetheless.
6Some Vocations Have A Ton Of Platforming Tools
In Particular, Concussive Leap is Amazing
Now for the next mechanic on here, it’s not entirely confirmed if this was intentional or not, butcertain Vocations inDD2can use their Skills to make traversal a lot easier, the Thief Vocation being the primary example. With Concussive Leap (or even Concussive Step) Thief players can get across gaps that would normally only be accessible to either Mages, Sorcerers, or a dedicated player holding on to a Harpy.
Combine that with Helm Splitter, another Thief skill that adds a bit more height to the Thief’s jump, and platforming with this Vocation is not only a ton of fun but a test of skill as well. Some other great platforming examples include Levitate from both the Mage and Sorcerer orthe Dragoun’s Stabbe from Mystic Spearhand.
5The Dreaded Dragonsplague Mechanic
You Probably Know About It But Not About The Intricacies of It
At this point, anyone playingDragon’s Dogma 2who browses social media at allprobably knows about Dragonsplague, so it’s not the most ‘hidden’ mechanic anymore. However, as far as the details of Dragonsplague go, those are a bit less well-known. For one, players can easily tell if their Pawn or a hired Pawn has contracted Dragonsplague in a couple of ways:
On top of this, players are also being overly paranoid about this mechanic because it can potentially wipe out a whole town of NPCs if left alone. However, if players wait a week in-game after a town is wiped out by this ‘disease’ then most of the NPCs actually come back to life. Granted, it doesn’t seem to be all of the NPCs, mostly just the merchants, so make sure to use Waking Stones on the remaining deadNPCs that still have Quests to give.
4Vocation Statistical Advantages
Stats Can Be Influenced By Vocations Before You Ever Level Up
As for the next mechanic, just know ahead of time that this one has a very small impact on the game overall. However, it is worth knowing that the player’s choice of starting Vocation has a small effect on their starting stats such as with carrying capacity (the Fighter gives the biggest bonus to this).
Additionally, it’s worth knowing that, when switching Vocations, certain stats get a percentage buff to them and others get a debuff based on the Vocation in question. This change is not permanent but seems to be a way to sort of ‘orient’ the player’s build towards an optimal setup for that Vocation without actually permanently changing any stats.
3Using Forgeries In General
For Meister Questlines Or For A Free Permenant ‘Get Out of Jail’ Tool
The Meister Questline for both the Mage and Sorcererrequires getting certain Grimoires and handing them over to two different NPCs. And, unfortunately, there is some overlap between the books these two NPCs want.
Of course, players can get multiple copies of each book by searching diligently, but it’s much easier to just create copies of all of the books that overlap using the Scrap Shop in the Checkpoint Town (though they do notice the forgeries, it still counts towards the quest). These forgeries are also helpful for a couple of other questlines in the game with the primary example being the Jade Orb, but the lesser-known ones that make a huge difference are the forgery of the Gaol Key that Brant gives the player or making forgeries of the Newt Liqueur to give to Lamond for the Warfarer Vocation.
2EXP Differences In A Full Party
Less Pawns = More EXP
This is another trick that is a holdover from the first game, so the people who played the originalDragon’s Dogmalikely started using this trick from the beginning. Essentially, the more Pawns a player has in the party, the less EXP their Arisen and Main Pawn are getting.
The EXP is spread across everyone in this game, meaning that if players just keep their party to the Arisen and Main Pawn (or even just the Arisen) they’ll notice that they’re gaining levels at a faster rate. And, as a bit of an extra tip for those who have unlocked Warfarer, this Vocation also levels up all the other Vocations alongside it, meaning having less Pawns in the party is even more of a benefit.
1Knocking A Griffin To The Ground While Riding On Top Of It
You Don’t Always Have To Get Taken Back To Its Nest
At this point, it’s very likely that most people who are playingDragon’s Dogma 2know about the factthat they can ride on a Griffin’s backwhen it flies away and use the Griffin as a temporary flying machine.
However, most of the time the Griffin takes the player back to their nest or settles down in a really dangerous area. To avoid this and also get some free damage on the Griffin, go to town on it while it’s flying back to its nest. Use the strongest Skills, stab it in the head, or use any other trick to completely knock the Griffin out of the sky and back onto the ground, and as long as the player was holding on while it fell then they’ll survive the fall easily as well. This can also apply to Drakes as well, it’s just a bit more difficult and a bit less common.
