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

[Cheesedragon117]

Overall I think an archer pawn is a pretty solid choice, as long as you feed her the special arrows. The elemental weapon/spell effects can be much more potent, if an archer first prepares the enemy with a Deluging or Tarring Arrow, to Freeze/Stun or Torch the enemy. So Archers are nice for elemental combos - and its nice to be able to set up her skill to correspond with my weapon enchantment / elemental Boon used.

The upkeep for Archer pawns can be a bit much in the late game. I wanted mine to use Blighting Shot as her main consumable arrow type, so I spent a whole play session gathering the requisite materials, from the piles of wood, asps and the Battahl harpies. Only came up with around 12 Blighting Arrows by the end of it... Meanwhile you find a stack of 10 Explosive Arrows in every other treasure chest, whether you want them or not.

 

[Haplo]

Haven't paid closer attention to Blighting Arrows (you can also use the skins of Asps - poisonous saurians), but the explosive, tarring and drenching arrows seem plentiful and cheap enough.

 

[Cheesedragon117]

Finally switched back to Fighter after some dissatisfying experiences with the other Vocations. No more buying new gear, no more stat growth manipulation by levelling other Vocations (although Sorcerer was much more fun than I was expecting), I'm just gonna stick with old reliable until I beat the game. The only class that can attack at a decent speed while blocking to avoid getting stunlocked. And the Divine Defense skill fully blocks dragon breath, which I suppose I'll need for Big Red.

Oh yeah, I was passing through Venworth on my way to do something else, the elf guy shows up in front of my house and give me that weird "psychic letter" thing that the Magick Archer woman gave me, and wants me to go on "one last quest" with him. Seriously, dude?! I taught you archery, helped you earn your place in the dumb little village, earned the respect of your father, even saved your little sister. Feels like I've given him everything a man can give another, unless he wants to suck me off or something, which I suppose that's where it was going. I told him to kick rocks, and was pleasantly surprised when the game fully respected my decision. He just leaves and you can't even talk to him again. Finally, a JRPG where my character doesn't act like they have severe fawning/people-pleasing codependency issues, caving in to the demands of anyone that asks anything of them. I already got a whole Portcrystal and the Meister skill out of the affair. The quest chain feels finished to me, so it is.

After that, I managed to inch along and make a little more progress in the Sphinx's quest. I knew about the "easy" solution to the second riddle and decided to go along with it because I really DO love my Main Pawn that much , although her reaction afterward left something to be desired. "Surely not...!?" hurts, even a mindless automata designed to do my bidding doesn't want me . I just want love, baby... The second and third ones practically solve themselves, although the ones after have me wondering if Itsuno actually knows the proper definition of what a "riddle" is. It's supposed to be something you can ruminate on for a few days, and then come up with an answer to. Just telling me to "bring me the thing MOST valuable to you" doesn't really stimulate the imagination, does it? It gives you nothing to work with, as there's no hint built into the grammatical structure of the riddle itself. Was something lost in translation? Or is this supposed to be a game of trial-and-error where I kill myself and load a save until I get it right? I'll give it what I got for these two, but for the second set of riddles, I'll accept the outcome of the quest one way or the other. Half the bullshit in this game isn't even worth my time, much less an item that only exists for idiots that let the Dragonsplague go off in their world.

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

Archer is still DD2's chad character.

 

[Reinhardt]

If the aids won't leave your main pawn, then brine and recover them.

her

him

"our arisen has very interesting tastes"

 

[Haplo]

Killed Medusa, got her bone. Copied at the forger, killed another Fell Lord. Seems like I'm finally ready for the 3rd Dwarven upgrade of my Stalwart sword and Grand Cuirass. And first two Dragon Forgings!
Looking forward to improved damage, armor, knockdown and resistance, as well as (almost) halved weight!

I've grown pretty fond of Full Moon Slash. Works very nicely to thin the annoying enemy mobs. Seems to also deal ok damage to exposed weak spots. With Vengeance Slash and Tusk Toss to unbalance blockers and rocky saurians.
Currently my load out is Full Moon Slash, Vengeance Slash (very, very strong), Airward Slash (also very good - grounds all harpies for a finisher if you time it well, destroys ogres and is generally useful versus many boss type mobs) and Gutting Skewer (satisfying to use versus bosses, also seems to have a better chance to affect them with afflictions when used on a weak spot).

Also yesterday had a first fight with 2 cyclopses at once. Pretty fun.

 

[Stoned Ape]

Killed Medusa, got her bone. Copied at the forger, killed another Fell Lord. Seems like I'm finally ready for the 3rd Dwarven upgrade of my Stalwart sword and Grand Cuirass. And first two Dragon Forgings!
Looking forward to improved damage, armor, knockdown and resistance, as well as (almost) halved weight!

I've grown pretty fond of Full Moon Slash. Works very nicely to thin the annoying enemy mobs. Seems to also deal ok damage to exposed weak spots. With Vengeance Slash and Tusk Toss to unbalance blockers and rocky saurians.
Currently my load out is Full Moon Slash, Vengeance Slash (very, very strong), Airward Slash (also very good - grounds all harpies for a finisher if you time it well, destroys ogres and is generally useful versus many boss type mobs) and Gutting Skewer (satisfying to use versus bosses, also seems to have a better chance to affect them with afflictions when used on a weak spot).

Also yesterday had a first fight with 2 cyclopses at once. Pretty fun.

It might be a good idea to try unlocking and ranking up Warfarer and then just selecting the Fighter skills you already use in order to unlock the Dynamism augment

Spoiler

(it's basically Leg Strength from DDDA)

 

[Haplo]

Thank you for the suggestion. Guess its good. Would also eventually let me access Sorc Stability and Archer Stamina bonus (maybe, not sure if the latter is worth it).

Edit: With a Warfarer, do you need to switch your weapon before using a skill from a different class/weapon, or will activating, say, a Heavenward Sunder automatically switch to a greatsword/hammer? And possibly return to the weapon you were using before using that skill?

 

[Stoned Ape]

Thank you for the suggestion. Guess its good. Would also eventually let me access Sorc Stability and Archer Stamina bonus (maybe, not sure if the latter is worth it).

Edit: With a Warfarer, do you need to switch your weapon before using a skill from a different class/weapon, or will activating, say, a Heavenward Sunder automatically switch to a greatsword/hammer? And possibly return to the weapon you were using before using that skill?

You basically get a weaponset switch button (as the meister skill) that fills a skill slot. You can have a bunch of different weapons equipped and if you have any skills assigned that match the weapon you have selected then you can activate them. If the weapon you have selected doesn't have any matching skills, then those skill slots aren't useable.

The other thing about it is that only the heaviest weapon set you have equipped counts towards your encumbrance.

The best use of the Rearmament from my perspective was either to equip 2 weapons (+ a staff) and have 2 active abilities from 1 weapon and one from another or to have 3 active skills from one weapon and the other be a bow with no active skills just for quickly clearing mobs and harpies.

I generally just used Warfarer to unlock the magical+trickster augments as I had no interest in playing them, and being able to wear any armour from any vocation in any combination while having all 4 skills from one weapon active and a staff to stitch to in my inventory if I found a place I wanted to levitate to.

 

[Cheesedragon117]

W-what the?!?! Did I just BRINE THE DRAGON?! Did I just cause the Eclipse from Berserk? Everything is red! WHERE'S THE WATER?? Why can't I camp anywhere?! Phaseus is alive? He is my ally now? Okay!! The crazy Sovran ghost wants to help me now?? Wait, ALL the meisters were former Arisen? Did they know this guy? Why are Ferrystones dropping like crazy now? Why did the hooded ghost girl just want me to beat the game without making a fuss? Is this game really trying to wax philosophical about the concept of video game stories and narrative relevance?!

WHAT IS GOING ON AHHHHHHH

 

[Cheesedragon117]

Since you guys can only rate, I guess I'll double post.

Wow, somehow they made the already irritating save system even more irritating for the endgame. All I did was fall of the broken bridge leading up to Bakbattahl while i was fighting one of the pus dragons, (since bosses now fall like rain the moment you step out of a settlement) a Griffon and a whole squad of Knackers rolled up at that exact same moment. The mage pawn I was getting attached to went down, so i decided to die and try to start that encounter over. Nope, gotta do the whole day over. That's a full 40-50 minutes of menuing, selling off some stuff (including my camping kit, an unexpected emotional moment when I realized I didn't need it anymore.), and completing the last two Bakbattahl quests (evacuation and the purgeoner) down the drain. Good to see the game not laying up on introducing new ways to waste the player's time. In that, at least it is consistent.

 

[Stoned Ape]

Since you guys can only rate, I guess I'll double post.

Wow, somehow they made the already irritating save system even more irritating for the endgame. All I did was fall of the broken bridge leading up to Bakbattahl while i was fighting one of the pus dragons, (since bosses now fall like rain the moment you step out of a settlement) a Griffon and a whole squad of Knackers rolled up at that exact same moment. The mage pawn I was getting attached to went down, so i decided to die and try to start that encounter over. Nope, gotta do the whole day over. That's a full 40-50 minutes of menuing, selling off some stuff (including my camping kit, an unexpected emotional moment when I realized I didn't need it anymore.), and completing the last two Bakbattahl quests (evacuation and the purgeoner) down the drain. Good to see the game not laying up on introducing new ways to waste the player's time. In that, at least it is consistent.

The Unmoored World basically resets to the beginning or your last rest if you die. It raises the stakes a bit knowing you can lose progress, which is not that bad considering the game was fairly easy towards the end (apart from the odd pile-on encounter or Dullahan (if you're playing a Warrior)).

It's slightly less of a time-waste than Elden Ring making you refight some of the bosses again and again for ages to learn their patterns so you can phase through their attacks with i-frame rolling.

 

[Cheesedragon117]

After doing the Battahl purgeoner quest 2 more times over I realized that doing it before everyone has evacuated kills a lot of people, including the Empress because of the monster spawns. Another hour gone. This game is making me way more paranoid about losing progress then I ever was previously. I might just rush down to the Volcanic Island and finish it if it gets to be too much.

Decided to change it up and go and see what the purgeoner outside of Vernworth was all about, found a Dullahan on the way there. Not what I was expecting given all the horror stories I've heard, I couldn't even tell what he was doing half the time because of all the teleporting and my Pawn's spells covering up his animations. Went down way faster than I was expecting. I do like that he uses some of the same moves as the player, including his own twisted version of Vengeful Slash if you're too careless about attacking him from the front. Hunkering down seemed to protect me from the scream attack, Divine Defense is proving to be an MVP of this playthrough.

It's also pretty funny that the achievement for killing him calls him a "headless horseman", even with no horses anywhere to be found in the world of DD. What, is he a Horseless Headless Horseman like the Halloween boss from Team Fortress 2?

 

[mediocrepoet]

It's also pretty funny that the achievement for killing him calls him a "headless horseman", even with no horses anywhere to be found in the world of DD. What, is he a Horseless Headless Horseman like the Halloween boss from Team Fortress 2?

He's a horseless headman. The translator has dyslexia. Be kind.

 

[Stoned Ape]

Decided to change it up and go and see what the purgeoner outside of Vernworth was all about, found a Dullahan on the way there. Not what I was expecting given all the horror stories I've heard, I couldn't even tell what he was doing half the time because of all the teleporting and my Pawn's spells covering up his animations. Went down way faster than I was expecting. I do like that he uses some of the same moves as the player, including his own twisted version of Vengeful Slash if you're too careless about attacking him from the front. Hunkering down seemed to protect me from the scream attack, Divine Defense is proving to be an MVP of this playthrough.

Dullahan difficulty depends a lot on which vocation you use, they're pretty much Warrior bane because they avoid/teleport away from just about every attack that has an initiation time so you're only left with basic moves + Tidal Fury (the counter).

 

[Haplo]

Supposedly a well timed Windstorm Slash stunlocks enemies for the duration of its attacks. Wonder if that would work against them.
Of course the timing on it seems weird.

 

[Stoned Ape]

Supposedly a well timed Windstorm Slash stunlocks enemies for the duration of its attacks. Wonder if that would work against them.
Of course the timing on it seems weird.

That might work but I didn't have it among my active skills during post game, I'll try it out next time!

The main issue is the Dullhan's teleportation and counters. Additionally, I commonly ended up fighting them on uneven/broken terrain with a group of either skeleton sorcerers or Wargs supporting them.

Most of the time I ended up relying on jumping heavies to do most of the work in getting close and then hope I could get a few light attacks in before they ported off somewhere.

 

[Alienman]

It's also pretty funny that the achievement for killing him calls him a "headless horseman", even with no horses anywhere to be found in the world of DD. What, is he a Horseless Headless Horseman like the Halloween boss from Team Fortress 2?

He's a horseless headman. The translator has dyslexia. Be kind.

Maybe he beheaded all the horses.

 

[mediocrepoet]

It's also pretty funny that the achievement for killing him calls him a "headless horseman", even with no horses anywhere to be found in the world of DD. What, is he a Horseless Headless Horseman like the Halloween boss from Team Fortress 2?

He's a horseless headman. The translator has dyslexia. Be kind.

Maybe he beheaded all the horses.

So a headless horse man?

How deep does this rabbit hole go?!

 

[Fedora Master]

I haven't touched this is weeks.
50 hour game, cool beans

 

[deuxhero]

2 months later, the game is still broken. It's about to fall out of the top 200 and has only 4.5x the players of the original.

 

[mediocrepoet]

2 months later, the game is still broken. It's about to fall out of the top 200 and has only 4.5x the players of the original.

Are you trying to tell me that people finish single player games and then move on instead of putting them on repeat forever? Madness!

 

[Klysandral]

2 months later, the game is still broken. It's about to fall out of the top 200 and has only 4.5x the players of the original.

Are you trying to tell me that people finish single player games and then move on instead of putting them on repeat forever? Madness!

It indicates that DD2 has poor "legs" (in terms of long term sales). Persona 3 Reloaded, which had a much smaller peak (45K vs. 230K) and launched 2 months earlier, has a similar number of concurrent players as DD2.

 

[toro]

2 months later, the game is still broken. It's about to fall out of the top 200 and has only 4.5x the players of the original.

Are you trying to tell me that people finish single player games and then move on instead of putting them on repeat forever? Madness!

It indicates that DD2 has poor "legs" (in terms of long term sales). Persona 3 Reloaded, which had a much smaller peak (45K vs. 230K) and launched 2 months earlier, has a similar number of concurrent players as DD2.

It has poor legs because there is no end game content but on long term it all depends on the DLC's quality.

 

[Bendu]

I did two full playthroughs and I just don't see why I should play this again right now. I think one mistake is that you can actually play all vocations in one single playthrough. There is nothing left I could try. Maybe a playthrough without pawns, but that would be in the long run too boring I think.