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

H. P. Lovecraft's Cat

SumDrunkCat
Joined
Feb 7, 2024
Messages
1,284
Captain Brant is actually pretty based. You know a man has seen some shit when he refuses to leave a bar every night until closing time. That's some minimalistic Soulsborne style storytelling right there, mother fucker. Vaati needs to make a lore video about Captain Brant.
 

toro

Arcane
Vatnik
Joined
Apr 14, 2009
Messages
14,106
Just finished it (lvl 52, 47h, true ending).

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My character was a male with a women voice. I don't know why. Probably a bug when I created the character. It annoyed me for the entire playthrough.

Then I fucked up the escort mission for Ulrika therefore the game decided that my most beloved person is the elf and finally the nigger. Pretty gay.

Wilhelmina quest was time sensitive therefore I missed the chance to get raped. Such a bummer.

I never encountered the Medusa but to be honest I didn't search too much for her.

Good parts: The game world is absolutly gorgeous. Exploration and emergent gameplay is top notch. The quest design is weird.

Neutral parts: My character and my pawn had like 4 max vocations. The stats increases after lvl50 seem to be irrelevant.

Bad parts:

I wanted to play Warrior but then I wanted to have the best augments therefore I ended up maximizing Warrior, Thief, Archer and partially the Spearhand.

The thing is: Warrior vocation sucks. The damage output is nowhere near where it should be in order to justify all the positional hassle. When it works is beautiful but it's not often.

In the end I decided to play Thief because the damage output is incredible with the best augments. Thief is practically invicible with Formless Feint. In the end it was the right choice.

The enhacement system is a mess. There are multiple upgrade paths: Vermundian, Elven, Battahli and Dwarven which all require different ingredients.

In the end I was unable to upgrade my weapons because some shit is hard to find. I did not spent one Wyrmslife Crystal in the entire run. Pretty retarded.

Ending spoilers

It's a chore.

Also I've encountered enemies I never seen before: like a Lich or a Headless Knight.

CE73CAB62A278083B9DB1551B1CC9FC89D86A9AE

32EDE9201E1BBD20A8416E3BE1BFBEA761E3B789


Bottom line: The game is fucking insane. It's not perfect but the best parts are well hidden. It reeks of old game design in a good way.

I don't remember an ARPG I've enjoyed more in the last years. DD2 shits all over Elden Ring.

Edit: I remember something funny. I don't know how the AI works or not but at some point I've started killing rabbits for fun. Well, there was one pawn - a mage - which started killing them as well :) It was funny to see random pillars of ice casted just to kill a rabbit.
 
Last edited:

Fink

Novice
Joined
Nov 9, 2023
Messages
97
Complains that you can spam curatives from the menu, something which is essential if you want to play without a Mage, but then says that lack of difficulty is not an issue
To clarify, I wouldn't mind a little more challenge. That remark was directed at those who complain about DD2 'cause it isn't difficult enough, while praising DDDA even though it also isn't all that hard.

Performance is also not an issue? Shitty FPS and frame drops in a fucking action RPG?
I only get mild frame drops while in the centre of Vernworth, where I shop and manage my storage. Never while in the wilds, or during combat. Obviously it's different for you, that sucks. I can only make comments based on my own experience.
 

Yosharian

Arcane
Joined
May 28, 2018
Messages
9,532
Location
Grand Chien
The Forager specialization automatically labels materials on the map that you need for your upgrades. It tells you whether the material is found in the field or on an enemy, and if it's an enemy it tells you the name of the enemy. It's really powerful for seeking upgrades mats.
 

Yosharian

Arcane
Joined
May 28, 2018
Messages
9,532
Location
Grand Chien
Complains that you can spam curatives from the menu, something which is essential if you want to play without a Mage, but then says that lack of difficulty is not an issue
To clarify, I wouldn't mind a little more challenge. That remark was directed at those who complain about DD2 'cause it isn't difficult enough, while praising DDDA even though it also isn't all that hard.

Performance is also not an issue? Shitty FPS and frame drops in a fucking action RPG?
I only get mild frame drops while in the centre of Vernworth, where I shop and manage my storage. Never while in the wilds, or during combat. Obviously it's different for you, that sucks. I can only make comments based on my own experience.
I have the second fastest gaming CPU on the market right now, I think you just are used to shitty FPS

Although tbf I'm seeing evidence that the drops aren't as bad on Intel
 

Fink

Novice
Joined
Nov 9, 2023
Messages
97
I have the second fastest gaming CPU on the market right now, I think you just are used to shitty FPS
epic, bro. Hope you didn't pay too much for it. I get between 50-60 FPS in combat. You don't need to be a prick because you have performance issues and I don't
 

Yosharian

Arcane
Joined
May 28, 2018
Messages
9,532
Location
Grand Chien
I'm saying that I don't believe you're not getting perf issues, you just are less sensitive to them
how low does your fps drop to?
Like, 45 in cities, but even in general combat it drops below 70 at times

When you game with a GSync monitor at higher refresh rates, these kinds of drops stick out horribly

With Frame Generation the game is much more pleasant, to the point where I ended up putting up with UI flicker (turned off some of it)

I also don't buy that city frame drops don't matter just because you don't do combat in the city, you spend a decent chunk of time in cities and towns and it's annoying as fuck putting up with constant stutter
 

Fink

Novice
Joined
Nov 9, 2023
Messages
97
Like, 45 in cities, but even in general combat it drops below 70 at times
jesus christ, you're upset it drops to below 70 during combat? I was expecting you to say 30 or something.

how is that even a fucking issue?

I was about to post screenshots with a FPS counter in my game, in-combat, showing 58 FPS, but now I see that you are actually just crazy.
 

H. P. Lovecraft's Cat

SumDrunkCat
Joined
Feb 7, 2024
Messages
1,284
I was never given a chance to do the Eini quest. I visited her place fairly early (before going to the capital) and I'm almost certain she was never there. It was just Trysha and her grandfather. I've returned and it's still just those two. No Eini in sight and I need her to do the Spellbound quest. Btw I'm gonna feed the grandfather to the brine if he doesn't clean up his attitude.
 

H. P. Lovecraft's Cat

SumDrunkCat
Joined
Feb 7, 2024
Messages
1,284
Well when you think 60 FPS is good, of course 58 wouldn't bother you

30 FPS isn't even action gaming at that point, you're just engaging in a point and click adventure
People who grew up with consoles are conditioned for it. I'm not saying it's good, but it doesn't make us cry like you pussies.
 

Fink

Novice
Joined
Nov 9, 2023
Messages
97
So what, you struggle to play this game below 70fps?

At the end of the day DD is a button masher, if you can't handle it at fucking 60fps then you are probs a retard
 

H. P. Lovecraft's Cat

SumDrunkCat
Joined
Feb 7, 2024
Messages
1,284
And Ulrika is such a clingey weirdo. I think that's the reason I found Wilhelmina to be far more attractive. She never groveled at your feet. She was just always kind of "whatever, loser". Those kind of women are more alluring to me.
 

Perkel

Arcane
Joined
Mar 28, 2014
Messages
15,875
Few thoughts:

DD2 is kind of proof that if your game play is good enough you can get away with everything.
Most quest are very simple but you don't care about that. They are just excuse to do SMASH SMASH SMASH.

Another thing is C&C. I already noticed that i failed Melve chick quest line as well as that beast chick quest line (in fact i never saw her because she died). Another one i noticed in your face was when i tried to take dragon statuette and lord Phoebus just died attacked by monsters. I thought this was scripted but no i could use wake stone on him and there was further stuff with him... Using only one save also forces you to stick with choices which is great.

Game really feels like adventure. We always knew here how fast travel destroys adventure but too see again completely unashamed design where fast travel is very limited is pretty great to see and yep adventures feel great.

Almost everything is optional. The main story quests are short but like 90% of game is optional including whole end game which you can miss. I feel that initial impressions people had on its size is the result of that. Especially when you need to talk to people in city again, check on them from time to time etc. Good example of that is whole investigation arc when you investigate Phoebus. Like 90% of that quest line is optional after whorehouse. No wonder people can finish it in less than 40 hours especially when they get normal ending. I have 50h already and i feel like there is another 50 hour content there ready to be explored. I have like half of vocations and the only new vocation unlocked is the new one because i found ladder and i just wanted to go up.

Storywise it is very interesting. It is not the best story around but it interesting to follow and fun. I read that it is "confusing" to some people but i feel like they were rushing through story and didn't understand what was happening because they did 0 side content which explain a lot about plot. Like mentioned Phoebus and his goals.

The combat is easily the best combat in ARPG bar none. Elden Ring who ? I played most of my time with Warrior and they did excellent job to create class that has more weight and tactics behind it than in any other game. There were so many moments that i just basked in glory of my radioactive thermonuclear overhead smash or yeeting groups of mobs that I can't count. And it feels good everytime you do it. Moreover once you learn to play it "epic moments" is the name of the game. There were so many times I countered huge hits literally sending ogre or cyclop away into rocks etc. IT feels better than even monster hunter GS which is like top top top tier heavy weapon in gaming.

IDK why people say DD2 is smaller or even in size but it never feels like this. DD2 has just different design due to landscape they choose it's more corridor like between areas but all of them have ton of side avenues and hidden areas/pathways. DD1 world was dreadfully boring where here it seems that world was designed in specific way to funnel you into fun stuff.

I'm yet to finish game but i already know i will be doing second playthrough instantly. For now 9.5/10. Whatever it will get 10/10 it will rely on second playthrough and reactivity. If there are whole questlines missed because some person died or i did something differently then 10/10 without issue for me.

Performance in horrendous but thanks to mods game now runs fast and beautiful. That being said pray for people with anything worse than top end rig. Playing DD2 with 30fps is just a crime. Capcom should have waited with release and make sure it was optimized well.

I feel this game will get huge following that will play it rigorously for decade+. DD1 was kind of in that territory but it had some issues + pc release loooong after consoles.
 

Yosharian

Arcane
Joined
May 28, 2018
Messages
9,532
Location
Grand Chien
So what, you struggle to play this game below 70fps?

At the end of the day DD is a button masher, if you can't handle it at fucking 60fps then you are probs a retard
I never said I struggled, I said that the experience is not enjoyable

If you've never experienced combat-focused games above 120 FPS with a GSync monitor then you wouldn't know what you're missing

And it's worth pointing out that this is with a top of the line CPU, those with medium or low end rigs are suffering much worse than me

Point is, the performance is not a 'non-issue' as you claimed it is
 

Tyranicon

A Memory of Eternity
Developer
Joined
Oct 7, 2019
Messages
6,089
So I ignored yet another pawn I had recruited that kept sitting down, as apparently it's a harmless relaxation animation.
She's just told me to fuck off and her eyes have gone red..so I chucked her in the brine.
#neverrelaxaroundpawns
#brineisyourfriend
#killallsittingpawns
#hashtag
So is this a paranoia simulator?
 

H. P. Lovecraft's Cat

SumDrunkCat
Joined
Feb 7, 2024
Messages
1,284
I never said I struggled, I said that the experience is not enjoyable

If you've never experienced combat-focused games above 120 FPS with a GSync monitor then you wouldn't know what you're missing

And it's worth pointing out that this is with a top of the line CPU, those with medium or low end rigs are suffering much worse than me

Point is, the performance is not a 'non-issue' as you claimed it is
Oh fuck off
 

Spike

Educated
Joined
Apr 6, 2023
Messages
612
Fellow autistic dexers, after much painful inner reflection, my autism has been settled. After creating a beastren fighter, I am going to make a new character: male human fighter. My first playthrough will be with him (Tormund) and will go Fighter > Warrior. After this, on my 2nd playthrough, I will pick up the current save file I have with my beastren (Guinan) who will go Fighter > Warrior(?) > Warfarer (and probably most vocations before that). It is perfect. I have it. I will commence play at once, upon Lent's glorious ending and Eastertide's beginnings, my dear brothers in extreme aspergers.

You see, my dilemma was thus: as excited as I was to play my based Not-Guin character, it felt wrong to play with a super buff hulking beast guy on my virgin playthrough (please be gentle, Itsuno). The appeal as playing MALE HUMAN FIGHTER every time is that you are just some guy. You are not super strong or magic-gifted, or etc. You are like medieval fantasy Bruce Wayne minus the wealth. You are Nameless from Gothic. Maybe you have some muscle, but you are not this hulking presence of otherworldly strength. So the fun is overcoming as a MALE HUMAN FIGHTER, as a man. Gary Gygax was infinitely monocled for this understanding. Try as I might, as exciting as the novelty was of playing as a beast race (couldn't care less about doing so in Elder Scrolls), I could not shake this feeling of playing this game the same as I do in every game. I really do make these MALE HUMAN FIGHTERS as a sort of image after myself I think, as a sort of a projection of myself into this world, to overcome. Yet, if I was to do a 2nd playthrough with Beastren, what would that be like? I want to play Fighter/Warrior NOW. But, it just doesn't seem fitting to have a Guin homage character be anything BUT a fighter/warrior character on my second playthrough. I also wanted to play the other classes, especially Mystic Spearhand. I literally paused my beastren character and just had Guinan staring off into nothing, standing still in a stream in the very first area of the game, contemplating if I should continue, reasoning that if I was to make a new character, it must be now, since the journey will be long. I ended up falling asleep, was this burden so heavy on my heart. I also second-guessed my pawn character (smoking hot human female mage). I was wondering if I should have a super squad of all beastren, as a sort of fulfilment of head-canon prophecy of this beastren whose people hated him and his pawns to be the Arisen and save all. On the other hand, having a main pawn be a human would also contribute to this in a sense and heighten the discrimination in its own way (there is that weird so-called Arisen, our own race, with his human pawn, what an outcast!). I weighed my options and sensibilities. Guinan was cool because, being a beastren Arisen, he is sort of an underdog among his people in his own right, since they hate Arisen/pawns. And he could overcome muh waycism and all that from the world that hates beastren. He is like a double-outcast. There is also the religious aspect, as his people are weird flame-worshipping pagans, and he could sort of be a paladin type. I also gave him huge beastren arms and he looks hella sick. But something was off, brothers. It felt "wrong" or "not yet/quite right" to go down this path at this time. This inner turmoil was compounded by the gravity of my choice: am I really going to delete this save file and re-roll another human? And then the news that multiple save slots dropped and I rejoiced. But all was still not squared. In my desperation, I fell to the temptation of googling. I came upon two articles: one of which articulated reasons to go with human or beastren from roleplay perspectives (it mentioned the paladin thing for beastren). And another, forgive me brothers and may glorious Elah in His infinite love have mercy on my soul, from PC Gamer, exhorting to play Warfarer on a 2nd playthrough. And this is when it hit me, like when God in His majesty created light and the world no longer had the creeping of darkness over it, or when Jesus Christ in a beam of light converted Saul into Paul: the Warfarer would be the perfect way to roleplay with a beastren, from one who is already beefy and mighty and strong, though an outcast, who will become the Beastren Arisen, who will retain the raw masculinity of a warrior-type class with armor like that, while simultaneously being a beastly jacked jack of all trades as the chosen Arisen, while still fitting into the Conan-esque archetype (Battahl seems similar to Cimmeria) of this Barbarian/Warrior hero. All of this culminating in the wicked sweet name of "Warfarer". The ultimate chosen warrior-hero. And his people's lure to magic would make sense when I make him learn Sorcerer skills and etc, to be used alongside various melee moves as Warfarer. A hero that learned all these different ways of war/warfare. An already-physically strong beast-man, tall, with long reach, who would perfect his melee prowess and branch out to incorporate and cultivate all other skills from all vocations. And, this being on the second-playthrough (as the article recommends), I can have my "brave rando who tames the world around him and ascends to his destiny" MALE HUMAN FIGHTER story as well, as I learn the game's systems, and vocations, and skills over the course of an entire playthrough. Then, on 2nd playthrough, as this game has deep combat and tons of options, I will play the Warfarer after having spent a playthrough familiarizing myself with a number of vocations already in the playthrough before. Like the beastren, I will already be "strong myself" by this time and have an edge over this world. And I will get to see the minor alternate story beats and get to see and experience everything the game has. I will get to experience and roleplay both scenarios, while keeping things exciting and fresh from a raw gameplay perspective. How fittingly diegetic! I have found it, brothers. The perfect answer to my autistic meltdown dilemma.
 

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