Dragon's Dogma II (2024)

Playthrough number two officially complete (with a great deal more time spent in the Unmoored World this time around hunting for, and upgrading, rarities). And with that I’ve discovered everything I think that there is to discover and explore in the game. And yet, I don’t want to leave. I still want to spend my game time trekking around the world of Dragon’s Dogma 2. Earlier I said I might start a third playthrough. Dare I?

Just hit the 200 hour mark. How am I not tired of this game? Not even the elements of friction that people complain the most about haven’t yet started to bother me (which is probably because I like this aspects to be truthful). I still get a kick out of walking the entire length of the world. I’ve hoarded so many Ferrystones because I never use them and I keep finding more (especially in the Unmoored World). Lord help me, am I ever going to play another game?

Twilight is quite beautiful in this game. They did a great job capturing the feeling of the setting sun, the warm hues from its light graduating into the cool tones of night. If you look around from various vantage points you can see the lantern light of villages in the distance, torches carried by goblins roaming the hilltops and valleys, the rising flicker of hot ash from campfires and distant lights of the unknown dotting the shore of landmasses across the sea. And then, as twilight falls into the darkness of the night the stars light up the night sky, crickets chirp in your ear and a light breeze rustles through the leaves of a trees around you. It’s serene despite all the hazards that await you around every bend in the road. So you find yourself a campsite, set up your modest tent, cook a bit of meat over the fire and then sit in the company of you party before dozing off by the warm embers of the dying fire.

While I’m still working on my various outfits, I’ve found quite a lot of utility in wearing heavy armour even though I’m predominantly a magic user. Since armour doesn’t bestow offensive stats, there are few reasons to match your gear to your weapon style as a Warfarer. And although I can bubble using the Mystic Spearhand’s Mirror Shelde to prevent knockback while casting, it’s nice to know that I’m reliably sturdy without the bubble. Heavy armour with high knockback resistance lets me use the bubble sparingly as an “oh shit” button when a Dragon casts something like Metereon, instead of leaning on it as part of my ongoing rotation. Soon after I decided to test out the set I’m currently wearing I was casting Augural Flare on a Grim Ogre and didn’t see one of the fully armoured hobgoblins charging me. I didn’t even flinch or lose my incantation when he made contact. And with the Warfarer’s unique augmentations my build treats heavy armour like I’m wearing cloth in terms of encumbrance and stamina use/regeneration. It’s pretty awesome.

It’s a pretty strong sign that you like a game if, even after getting every achievement and investing just shy of 140 hours completing the game once, you immediately start another playthrough. The vocation system is too much fun and the Warfarer vocation’s capacity to mix and match abilities and augments of all the other variations provides a really satisfying way to play with the game’s mechanical depth.

Oh no, I'm essentially done 😭. It feels a bit bittersweet to have reached this moment. I can stick around in the Unmoored World and farm end-game materials, or I can just move on to new game+. Either way I've arrived at the final interaction after nearly a month playing Dragon's Dogma II and it's been a lot of fun. I'm glad I have Indika and Hades II lined up to play next because I'll need some truly engaging games to follow DDII.