Capcom Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

[A user named cat]

Yeah, personally I always do a manual save from the game menu then just turn off system. Another reason this game needs a PC port; easier backing up saves and having multiple slots.

I'm seriously getting tired of Harpies. Not exactly fighting them since they're warhammer fodder but they spam that annoying Harpy song/sample over and over. It's like Chinese water torture to the ears when you keep running into mobs of them. At least Goblins are somewhat funny, calling me a stupid human and bandits have various lines when you're beating them to death.

 

[Whisky]

Yeah, personally I always do a manual save from the game menu then just turn off system. Another reason this game needs a PC port; easier backing up saves and having multiple slots.

I'm seriously getting tired of Harpies. Not exactly fighting them since they're warhammer fodder but they spam that annoying Harpy song/sample over and over. It's like Chinese water torture to the ears when you keep running into mobs of them. At least Goblins are somewhat funny, calling me a stupid human and bandits have various lines when you're beating them to death.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Yeah, fuck harpies. They're the Cliff Racers of the game.

 

[DragoFireheart]

Harpies are annoying... but are also extremely deadly near high cliffs.

It's fairly easy for one to carry you or a pawn and drop them to their death.

 

[SuicideBunny]

i find sirens infinitely more annoying than basic harpies.

 

[A user named cat]

Harpies are annoying... but are also extremely deadly near high cliffs.

It's fairly easy for one to carry you or a pawn and drop them to their death.

Had that exact thing happen to me, made me laugh pretty hard. When my main pawn finally shot her down, it was all too late as I fell to my death along with the harpy.

I don't think I've fought any sirens yet, guess I'm not far enough. Can't wait....

 

[A user named cat]

Damn, I tried taking on that dragon. I'm level 32 and still using warrior. That bastard was impossible. Half the time I was fighting the camera since its sitting in a wooded area, the other half was spent using curatives. My mage pawns were useless and getting killed repeatedly. Only took away three of it's eight life bars before I finally got wiped out.

I think I'll save this for later with a different vocation and skills, slashing that beast with a sword was a nightmare.

 

[Blaine]

Phantasmal
I beat the Drake in Devilfire Grove with a Warrior, but my Warrior was level 40. I only had two pawns with me, and neither was overleveled. What pissed me off the most was that Arc of Deliverance took slightly longer to charge than the amount of time the Drake writhes on the ground in a vulnerable state when stunned. I agree that the narrow FOV and camera angles are a pain in the ass. I spent more time reviving my pawns than actually fighting, because pawns are stupid regardless of vocation/inclination.

I didn't do this (because I didn't have any on me), but you might try stacking Conquerer's Periapts. If you use four in a row, you'll get +80% offense for sixty seconds.

You can also trying renting powerful pawns. Your friends' pawns cost 0 Rift Crystals to rent. Some of my PSN friends from 4chan and GameFAQs have level 180+ pawns. Codexians may find 4chan and GameFAQs distasteful, but I'm only level 50 (now) and I have 650,000 Rift Crystals stored solely from people on my friends list renting my main pawn (and a few strangers, I guess).

I recently switched from Warrior to Assassin and find it superior to Warrior in every way. All you really lose is Arc of Deliverance, and you gain invisibility, ability to use a bow, you can dodge roll, you can jump higher, it's easier to deal with small/quick enemies, you can be much more effective climbing on large enemies....

 

[deuxhero]

If you are on PSN (if you are on the 360, what the hell are you doing. PSN ID is my username) you can send me a friend request and rent my level 50 something Sorcerer (I'm actually much higher, but solo play, even with nerfed autonomy, is pretty fun once you are decently powerful, plus I'd rather not bother trying to close the 50 level gap I got when Autonomy was good).

(that goes for anyone. I can always use the rift crystals. Just alert me so I can accept the request)

 

[Blaine]

If you are on PSN (if you are on the 360, what the hell are you doing. PSN ID is my username) you can send me a friend request and rent my level 50 something Sorcerer (I'm actually much higher, but solo play, even with nerfed autonomy, is pretty fun once you are decently powerful, plus I'd rather not bother trying to close the 50 level gap I got when Autonomy was good).

If your pawn is a much lower level than your Arisen, it will level up SUPER quickly. I'm talking a handful of kills per level, depending on what you're fighting of course.

You'll want to do this ASAP, as the quantity of Rift Crystals you get is partly dependent on your pawn's level.

 

[CrimsonAngel]

I the mystic knight is growing on me after i figured out that both cannon and sigil both take on what ever element you buff your self. That is not all if you put down a cannon or 2 in the area of effect of the sigil then every time the sigil proc's the cannon's fire. IF you do it right it will tear the health of most things i have run into. I am doing Bitter black and PD at the moment exploring.

 

[A user named cat]

Blaine thanks for the tips. I'll switch to assassin after maxing out warrior for the augments, will be nice having the ability for ranged attacks. I don't care much for the charged swings, I think I'll miss Corona Slash more than anything since it's so useful when surrounded by mobs. Guess I'll try this dragon again later after levelling up some more. I was planning on using mystic knight but the skills don't seem too interesting.

 

[DragoFireheart]

I recently switched from Warrior to Assassin and find it superior to Warrior in every way. All you really lose is Arc of Deliverance, and you gain invisibility, ability to use a bow, you can dodge roll, you can jump higher, it's easier to deal with small/quick enemies, you can be much more effective climbing on large enemies....

Congratulations: you have discovered the overpowered hybrid classes!

 

[DragoFireheart]

I was planning on using mystic knight but the skills don't seem too interesting.

 

[Blaine]

Congratulations: you have discovered the overpowered hybrid classes!

I wouldn't necessarily call Assassin overpowered, if it's leveled as an Assassin for a significant period of time and using the nerfed Assassin augments. Leveling as a Warrior for 45 levels, I had 810 more HP and 45 more Defense (in lieu of 765 Stamina and 45 Attack), granting far more survivability. I also have Fighter and Warrior augments to use. I can even tank using sword and shield. Still, Assassin's a very good class, especially with a healthy mix of growths—a bunch of Warrior and Fighter thrown in, mainly. What Fighter's missing are some core skills that augment its tanking ability, say by reducing incoming physical/magical damage by 20%-30%, or "draw in/push out enemies" crowd control abilities. The class needs some kind of advantage other than Arc of Deliverance and a taunt. 3 Defense growth per level and Bastion (flat +50 Defense augment) are NOT enough to really make it a truly fantastic tank as the game goes on.

Oh shit, I just thought of an important tip for Phantasmal. You may need better gear. For the weapon:

Spoiler

Explore Soulflayer Canyon, specifically the Leaper's Ledge portion. The chests there contain numerous strong weapons (along with a bit of armor), such as Triple Tooth for Warriors. Sleeping for about seven days will reset the chests.

For the armor:

Spoiler

Try the Ancient Quarry. The Guts armor is good, and he sells even better stuff as the game progresses.

 

[DragoFireheart]

Congratulations: you have discovered the overpowered hybrid classes!

I wouldn't necessarily call Assassin overpowered, if it's leveled as an Assassin for a significant period of time and using the nerfed Assassin augments. Leveling as a Warrior for 45 levels, I had 810 more HP and 45 more Defense (in lieu of 765 Stamina and 45 Attack), granting far more survivability. I also have Fighter and Warrior augments to use. I can even tank using sword and shield. Still, Assassin's a very good class, especially with a healthy mix of growths—a bunch of Warrior and Fighter thrown in, mainly. What Fighter's missing are some core skills that augment its tanking ability, say by reducing incoming physical/magical damage by 20%-30%, or "draw in/push out enemies" crowd control abilities. The class needs some kind of advantage other than Arc of Deliverance and a taunt. 3 Defense growth per level and Bastion (flat +50 Defense augment) are NOT enough to really make it a truly fantastic tank as the game goes on.

Bastion does NOT increase defense by 50.

ex: On hardmode, I fight dragon. without any defense mods, 1700hp and roughly 400 or so defense, him grabbing me and smashing me kills me.
With Bastion and Fortitude (MK skill), I survive with 30 or so hps. The defense boost seems much larger than the wiki claims.

another ex: I fight a goblin without either mod. I take 30 damage per hit. With both, I take 1.

 

[Blaine]

Bastion does NOT increase defense by 50.

Well, a fellow on GameFAQs had this to say:

I actually did tests on a level 200 pawn with Bastion versus a level 200 pawn without Bastion. Identical stats and all armor was removed.

The pawn with Bastion consistently took 60 less damage. For instance, a bow attack that did 142 damage to the non-Bastion pawn did 82 damage to the Bastion pawn. A dagger attack that did 84 damage to the non-Bastion pawn did 24 damage to the non-Bastion pawn.

Any attack that did less than 60 damage to the non-Bastion pawn was reduced to 1 damage to the Bastion pawn.

So perhaps it's 60 rather than 50. Offense versus Defense seems to be straightforwardly subtractive in this game, which readily explains why, instead of dying to that dragon attack, you'd survive with some HP, and why a goblin that would otherwise do 30 damage does 1 instead. 30 - 60 (Bastion) = 1 (minimum of 1 damage). It may not have mattered whether you also had Fortitude equipped.

That's a mistake Capcom made, in my opinion, making Defense subtractive. It punishes dagger users and also multi-hit abilities that reduce the damage of each hit, but perform more hits.

 

[DragoFireheart]

I dunno, I think the calculations is different on hard mode. I always end up with far more than the defense I gain. I could be wrong though.

 

[deuxhero]

If you are on PSN (if you are on the 360, what the hell are you doing. PSN ID is my username) you can send me a friend request and rent my level 50 something Sorcerer (I'm actually much higher, but solo play, even with nerfed autonomy, is pretty fun once you are decently powerful, plus I'd rather not bother trying to close the 50 level gap I got when Autonomy was good).

If your pawn is a much lower level than your Arisen, it will level up SUPER quickly. I'm talking a handful of kills per level, depending on what you're fighting of course.

You'll want to do this ASAP, as the quantity of Rift Crystals you get is partly dependent on your pawn's level.

I know it levels up quickly (that's why it is 50 something and not 49. I'm also restricting it because rents drop off a cliff once you hit level 100 because you can search for exact level).

I'm pretty sure rift crystals are purely a factor of experience "gained" by the pawn, with higher level pawns just getting more because they fight higher exp foes.

 

[DragoFireheart]

Congratulations: you have discovered the overpowered hybrid classes!

I wouldn't necessarily call Assassin overpowered, if it's leveled as an Assassin for a significant period of time and using the nerfed Assassin augments. Leveling as a Warrior for 45 levels, I had 810 more HP and 45 more Defense (in lieu of 765 Stamina and 45 Attack), granting far more survivability. I also have Fighter and Warrior augments to use. I can even tank using sword and shield. Still, Assassin's a very good class, especially with a healthy mix of growths—a bunch of Warrior and Fighter thrown in, mainly. What Fighter's missing are some core skills that augment its tanking ability, say by reducing incoming physical/magical damage by 20%-30%, or "draw in/push out enemies" crowd control abilities. The class needs some kind of advantage other than Arc of Deliverance and a taunt. 3 Defense growth per level and Bastion (flat +50 Defense augment) are NOT enough to really make it a truly fantastic tank as the game goes on.

Why are you leveling fighter/warrior for tanking? Level Mystic Knight for tanking so your magic defense isn't complete shit.

 

[Blaine]

I'm pretty sure rift crystals are purely a factor of experience "gained" by the pawn, with higher level pawns just getting more because they fight higher exp foes.

There are two factors: The XP gained by the player who's renting your pawn, and the level of your pawn. The higher the renter's level, and the higher your pawn's level, the more RC you'll receive for X minutes of that player fighting enemies. A level 200 player renting a level 200 pawn will yield maximum RC gain. I've had my pawn rented for extensive periods of time and received something like 120,000 RC, while a level 200 player whose pawn was rented for a shorter period of time can receive something like 400,000-500,000 RC.

Why are you leveling fighter/warrior for tanking? Level Mystic Knight for tanking so your magic defense isn't complete shit.

Warrior was billed as a strong tank by the game documentation/Wikia, though it's only decent later on, and has terrible magic defense of course. Fortunately, there are far more sources of physical damage in this game than magical—and due to the way magic works (long cast/charge times, large amounts of damage) and the way defense is calculated (straight subtraction), having an extra 100-200 magic defense is arguably no more effective than having an extra 500-1,000 HP (Warrior gains 10 more HP than Mystic Knight per level). You'll just need somewhat more curatives on hand. Also, Mystic Knight's offense growth is pretty terrible; many people recommend leveling up as a Sorcerer for a long while.

Besides which, at this juncture I see little point in "tanking" at all. One way or another, the Arisen must carry the majority of the weight in battle. The most dangerous enemies can't be kept (much) from murdering your pawns by use of taunts and tanking strategies, but killing them a lot faster certainly helps.

 

[DragoFireheart]

Also, Mystic Knight's offense growth is pretty terrible; many people recommend leveling up as a Sorcerer for a long while.

Those people are wrong. The MK strength growth is bad, but so is the Sorcerers. The 2 extra magic per level doesn't offset turning into a class cannon.

 

[sser]

Man... the one problem I have with this game is that I'll go explore some far-reaching place, only to be met by locked doors and impassable areas. It's like a really elongated, elaborate "the princess is in another castle" routine no matter where I go.

Also, I don't even know what the main quest is, so that's probably a problem. I'm like level 30 now and the only real "boss" I've fought so far was the hydra at the start. I ran into the dude who hilariously drew a big stick figure on the side of the mountain.

 

[A user named cat]

Yeah I have no idea either. The only story seems to be "Must fight dragon, he terk mah job heart" but I honestly don't care. Going out, looking for trouble and doing random quests has been fun enough. I guess that can be attributed to decent world design and a sense of danger that's rare to find in most open world turds. At least when the sun goes down. I'm almost enjoying this as much as Gothic 1/2, as it's giving off a similar vibe and experience especially while exploring.

Would be nice if people didn't troll me by renting out my pawn and sending it back with a rock as a gift. Cheap assholes.

 

[Blaine]

Yeah, I did some free-for-all exploring for a while, but the YOU MUST DO SOME SORT OF QUEST TO PROCEED bullshit eventually sent me back to doing quests.

Would be nice if people didn't troll me by renting out my pawn and sending it back with a rock as a gift. Cheap assholes.

My first rent, at level 18, I was gifted a Portcrystal, a dragonforged Dragon's Rancor (strongest shortbow pre-NG+), and a non-upgraded Heaven's Key (holy element daggers, reward for slaying "secret boss" type deal).

That... might be why I think Assassin's even more awesome than it actually is.

 

[deuxhero]

Yeah I have no idea either. The only story seems to be "Must fight dragon, he terk mah job heart" but I honestly don't care. Going out, looking for trouble and doing random quests has been fun enough. I guess that can be attributed to decent world design and a sense of danger that's rare to find in most open world turds. At least when the sun goes down. I'm almost enjoying this as much as Gothic 1/2, as it's giving off a similar vibe and experience especially while exploring.

Would be nice if people didn't troll me by renting out my pawn and sending it back with a rock as a gift. Cheap assholes.

Rocks as gifts are typically the result of someone trying to abuse save restores actually (it turns everything you gift into a rock for a while) or computer generated pity rents (you'll know them when your pawn returns from helping someone but no online ID is listed).