Dragon's Dogma II - "They’re masterworks, all – you can’t go wrong"

[Carceri]

flew out over the river between elf-land and Vermont before it launched repeated spells at me then landed in the middle of the river and brined itself for some reason

Seeing how weak his magic is there was no other option left other than honorable sudoku.

 

[Utgard-Loki]

dwarven smithing by an empowered sassy black woman. god damn i am sick of this retard world.

 

[Reinhardt]

THE RAGE OF THE DWARVES IS TONIGHT!

 

[mediocrepoet]

Drakes finally stopped running away after I reached a certain point in the main story.

Plot Point

Sunken Castle emerged from beneath the waves

No, they'll still run away after that if you let them. I think there are a few factors about why and when they run, but not 100% sure. Either way, I killed some before that point and have had them fly away after that point, including with the injuries you've mentioned. Sometimes I think it has to do with time of day changing, you can most notably see that happen with undead enemies and it's the same as DD1 that way.

 

[Carceri]

Alright, so I have finished the endgame quests, and I'm at the stage where there's not much left to do but go to NG+. Right now, I don't see any reason to do so; it feels redundant. I have uncovered and explored the entire map, at least, as far as I can tell. Maybe I missed a hole or two, but that doesn't matter. I had fun, and I genuinely enjoyed the exploration, it's a decent game on its own, but I feel that it is disappointing as a sequel in this current state. Movement, animations, climbing mechanics, weapon skills, vocations, item system, pawn AI, interface functionality, KB and mouse control scheme, and camera are somehow worse than in the original game. It even lacks some quality of life features that used to be there. The game is clearly rushed and unfinished, but hey, this is Itsuno's vision, the game he always wanted to make, right?
I liked the 'limited' travel, camping, the emergent gameplay scenarios... well, pretty much everything related to adventuring. I think they really nailed this aspect, and it left me wishing for an even bigger world. A shame the game doesn't have a megadungeon or something to grind in the endgame. I know they talked about some sort of tower with many floors that they had planned for the first game iirc. I guess I'm just surprised the sequel doesn't have anything to contribute to its longevity in vanilla form. Who knows, maybe Capcom will get its shit together for the expansion. Wishful thinking, I know.


I have some questions about the endgame, I'll use the spoiler:

Spoiler

I have evacuated all the settlements and got the achievement for finishing all the trials in the unmoored world. I have also explored quite a lot. I have dragon forged several endgame weapons and many armor sets. I think I only rested for 3-4 days. There is only the last red beam left to interact with. Is there anything left to do? Also, does NG+ change anything that would warrant another playthrough?

 

[Oracscube]

 

[mediocrepoet]

Minor location spoilers in this review, but nothing crazy. I disagree with his issue on the time system, but otherwise his criticisms are on point and I generally agree though I like DD2 more than him and he's not played DD1.

 

[somerandomdude]

Classes feel overall worse in DD2 vs DD1, with the exception of Warrior. Warrior plays sort of like a greatsword user in Monster Hunter World with the shoulder tackle, and some of the charge attacks, it felt good to play, and was intuitive for me.

Level 32 atm, I fought my way down to Bhattal & Volcanic island before progressing the story to those areas. I did that because I was bored, the game wasn't challenging, and I wanted to get into tougher areas ASAP. Now I'm too bored with the game to even bother finishing the main story.

I wish there was a way to disable exp gains, because enemies give way too much exp, I'd prefer to just cap my levels so I can actually explore and fight stuff without boosting my levels too much.

I hear the level cap is 999? That's completely fucking retarded, there's nothing in the game that could possibly justify that. I felt that even 200 was overkill for the 1st game. Max level should have been maybe 50 in this.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Why don't elves teach mystic archer??

Archer feels weak without a melee weapon. Why do half the skills require consumables? Even the thief can drop bombs for free.

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

Why don't elves teach mystic archer??

Archer feels weak without a melee weapon. Why do half the skills require consumables? Even the thief can drop bombs for free.

It's not weak if you're using manual aim to hit weakpoints. It lacks a "nuke" that can one-shot monsters like some other classes but it can still drop shit pretty fast. When I was an archer I used that thief augment that makes it less likely for enemies to target you. Just hang back and snipe shit.

 

[Stoned Ape]

For me Warfarer is probably the most fun class in the game because I can choose Warrior but wear the Landsknecht gear (that Warriors can't usually wear) and then pick the 2 skills that I like from Warrior for hurting big enemies (Heavenward Sunder and Diluvian Strike) while also letting me choose Magick Archer to slaughter wolves and harpies (both of which really piss me off when I'm playing Warrior). The last skill I pick is either a third Warrior skill (usually Inspirit to self-cleanse of debuffs) or a single Magick Archer skill (usually either the fire cruise missile or the iceburg launcher because they're the ones I think are funniest to use).

I think there are a bunch of classes that are definitely stronger (Mystic Spearhand, Thief, Magick Archer, Sorcerer at least) but nothing more enjoyable to play.

 

[Terenty]

I wish there was a way to disable exp gains, because enemies give way too much exp, I'd prefer to just cap my levels so I can actually explore and fight stuff without boosting my levels too much.

Are you on PC? I've been playing with a custom difficulty mod from the start and its been great difficulty wise.

Mobs deal 2x damage, me and my pawns deal 0.8x. Stagger for enemies smth around 0.3x and half Exp and DCP gain.

The difficulty curve has felt pretty balanced and I'm almost at the end I think. It really feels like it's supposed to be played like that, dunno why they fucked the balance so bad

 

[Reinhardt]

Stagger for enemies smth around 0.3x

that's one thing i wouldn't do. what's the point of playing warrior, for example, if it's just same shitty hit once and run as light armor pigdogs? it's not dd at all.

 

[mediocrepoet]

For me Warfarer is probably the most fun class in the game because I can choose Warrior but wear the Landsknecht gear (that Warriors can't usually wear) and then pick the 2 skills that I like from Warrior for hurting big enemies (Heavenward Sunder and Diluvian Strike) while also letting me choose Magick Archer to slaughter wolves and harpies (both of which really piss me off when I'm playing Warrior). The last skill I pick is either a third Warrior skill (usually Inspirit to self-cleanse of debuffs) or a single Magick Archer skill (usually either the fire cruise missile or the iceburg launcher because they're the ones I think are funniest to use).

I think there are a bunch of classes that are definitely stronger (Mystic Spearhand, Thief, Magick Archer, Sorcerer at least) but nothing more enjoyable to play.

100%, and since you take whatever class's unique ability for the weapon set you choose + their core skills, you have a wider variety of options from that alone. I've been running thief stuff and sometimes swapping the third ability out for something else depending on my mood or what I'm doing, but can still equip things like a two hander for high knockdown hits or a staff/archstaff to levitate, etc.

One thing I might play around with is using some of the trickster stuff alongside another class's abilities, because I suspect it will make things a lot more interesting and viable. Might still be a lot of busywork for nothing, but who knows.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

 

[DJOGamer PT]

First Boss Rush mod

A mod that enables immediate re-levitation

Finally a mod that allows the user to control the respawn timer for regular enemy mobs and bosses (apparently the timer is 3 days for both)

This is one's a modder's resource, it implements a Direct2D scripting API on REFramework

Also we've got some of the first engine lighting mods, for now being simple things like changing colorgrading and upping Ray Tracing Resolution:
Quality RayTracing
Colorgrading Adjustments
Vibrant LUT


Yo, Stoned Ape
What do you think of the modifications for this Vocation re-balancing mod (only changes Figther, Warrior and Mystic Spearhand for now)?

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

For me Warfarer is probably the most fun class in the game because I can choose Warrior but wear the Landsknecht gear (that Warriors can't usually wear) and then pick the 2 skills that I like from Warrior for hurting big enemies (Heavenward Sunder and Diluvian Strike) while also letting me choose Magick Archer to slaughter wolves and harpies (both of which really piss me off when I'm playing Warrior). The last skill I pick is either a third Warrior skill (usually Inspirit to self-cleanse of debuffs) or a single Magick Archer skill (usually either the fire cruise missile or the iceburg launcher because they're the ones I think are funniest to use).

I think there are a bunch of classes that are definitely stronger (Mystic Spearhand, Thief, Magick Archer, Sorcerer at least) but nothing more enjoyable to play.

100%, and since you take whatever class's unique ability for the weapon set you choose + their core skills, you have a wider variety of options from that alone. I've been running thief stuff and sometimes swapping the third ability out for something else depending on my mood or what I'm doing, but can still equip things like a two hander for high knockdown hits or a staff/archstaff to levitate, etc.

One thing I might play around with is using some of the trickster stuff alongside another class's abilities, because I suspect it will make things a lot more interesting and viable. Might still be a lot of busywork for nothing, but who knows.

I read somewhere in this thread that vocations level up at 10% the speed when using warfarer. Is this true? If so I'm gonna need to level up a melee class individually. Trying to decide if I want thief or warrior skills.

 

[mediocrepoet]

For me Warfarer is probably the most fun class in the game because I can choose Warrior but wear the Landsknecht gear (that Warriors can't usually wear) and then pick the 2 skills that I like from Warrior for hurting big enemies (Heavenward Sunder and Diluvian Strike) while also letting me choose Magick Archer to slaughter wolves and harpies (both of which really piss me off when I'm playing Warrior). The last skill I pick is either a third Warrior skill (usually Inspirit to self-cleanse of debuffs) or a single Magick Archer skill (usually either the fire cruise missile or the iceburg launcher because they're the ones I think are funniest to use).

I think there are a bunch of classes that are definitely stronger (Mystic Spearhand, Thief, Magick Archer, Sorcerer at least) but nothing more enjoyable to play.

100%, and since you take whatever class's unique ability for the weapon set you choose + their core skills, you have a wider variety of options from that alone. I've been running thief stuff and sometimes swapping the third ability out for something else depending on my mood or what I'm doing, but can still equip things like a two hander for high knockdown hits or a staff/archstaff to levitate, etc.

One thing I might play around with is using some of the trickster stuff alongside another class's abilities, because I suspect it will make things a lot more interesting and viable. Might still be a lot of busywork for nothing, but who knows.

I read somewhere in this thread that vocations level up at 10% the speed when using warfarer. Is this true? If so I'm gonna need to level up a melee class individually. Trying to decide if I want thief or warrior skills.

I believe so, but I'm not 100% certain because by the time I found it, I'd maxed everything except Magick Archer, so I just did them each individually. I'm very close to finishing the game and have completed all side quests and most random other crap (have something like 210/220 seeker tokens). When I play it again, I'll likely start a completely blank save file, possibly on another account and bee-line the vocations and use warfarer far earlier and spend more time as other vocations.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Omg I just killed my entire party by destroying a bridge. There is an argument to be made for the archer's accuracy.

More like an argument against.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Omg I just killed my entire party by destroying a bridge. There is an argument to be made for the archer's accuracy.

More like an argument against.

Seriously, you should do it like a man and accidentally(?) cleave through both bridge moorings along with a few goblins and wipe out your useless pawns. Greatswords... the most unstoppable force there is.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Omg I just killed my entire party by destroying a bridge. There is an argument to be made for the archer's accuracy.

More like an argument against.

Seriously, you should do it like a man and accidentally(?) cleave through both bridge moorings along with a few goblins and wipe out your useless pawns. Greatswords... the most unstoppable force there is.

Oh please, I shouldercheck them ogres and cyclopes so hard they fall.

 

[Cheesedragon117]

I just tried Warrior after thinking i was going to go Fighter the whole playthrough. Surprisingly versatile, and not at all what I expected. You have a wider range of different attack speeds than MH Greatsword, so you don't have to stand there and take it if you don't want to. That being said, you are almost invincible if you have a Mage dropping Anodyne on you every few seconds. Not only do you take no damage while attacking, just having the sword in your hands gives you a lot of super armor.

A far more relaxed take on MH's style of slow, methodical weapons. And the skills! God, they did everything they could to make you feel like Guts from Berserk.

By the way, if you are having trouble timing Chain of Blows, try pressing the X/Square button right before short pause when landing a strike ends. The game tricks you into thinking you've got the timing down when swinging at the air. But when you actually hit something, the hit-stop from landing the strike completely changes the timing.

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

Big monsters are starting to spawn in more locations at a more frequent rate for me. They're also appearing in cities more often. Just had an Ogre spawn right outside of Vernworth and as I entered Vernworth a Drake and Goblins spawned. Is this because I'm nearing endgame or is it an adaptive difficulty thing?

Omg I just killed my entire party by destroying a bridge. There is an argument to be made for the archer's accuracy.

More like an argument against.

I was using magick archer and one of the homing arrows destroyed the bridge. If I was a regular archer that never would have happened was my point.

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

Protip: do NOT use Martyr's Bolt when you're in the middle of Battahl. I currently have 1 hp, no camping gear, and no ferrystones LMAO. Pretty much fucked. In my defence I didn't mean to use it. Just hit the wrong button and didn't realize it AND THEN menu healed myself like a dumbass when I should have just let myself die.

Edit

Made it back to town and restored my hp. It took about an hour of trial and error bullshit.

 

[Stoned Ape]

Yo, Stoned Ape
What do you think of the modifications for this Vocation re-balancing mod (only changes Figther, Warrior and Mystic Spearhand for now)?

From the details the modder provided, it seems those mods generally reduce the charge times for a lot of abilities to make the transition between animations smoother.

On one hand, I can see that would change the flow of combat in a way some players would enjoy, but on the other hand it would also make the game even easier. In particular Spearhand does not need buffing and cutting the charge time on the bolt by 50% looks like it would further break an already exceedingly powerful class.

To be honest, I really don't know how I'd change Spearhand. It relies on its shield to survive, on the other hand being able to keep it up at all times makes any fight I've had using it virtually impossible to lose. Maybe increase the stamina consumption by around 35% so you have to use consumables or Thof to regen it? It's not an ideal solution but I also think cutting the duration the shield is up for or increasing the activation time is inelegant. Although it would increase the difficulty it would also make playing the vocation considerably more frustrating and increase the percentage of the time spent just refreshing the shield so you'd do relatively little else.