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

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Looking at all the classes, I think Thief is overall the most fun and effective with the fewest issues. I hate that Trickster is such a joke class since it feels like a waste, and there's no Advanced Archer or Thief (Ranger and Assassin?)

Magick Archer and Mystic Spearhand are essentially the advanced versions of the Archer and Thief classes vocations, though even the latter takes longer to unlock than Warrior and Sorcerer, while the former was placed ridiculously late for no apparent reason.

Finished the game after 90 hours and haven't encountered a single instance of dragons plague, only pawns saying about a rumour they heard etc and that's it. Did I miss something again? Why didn't it trigger at all?

Even playing offline I did once hire a pawn with Dragonsplague, and therefore had to brine my entire party just to be sure, but given the randomness and low incidence it might be entirely missable if not playing online and using other players' pawns.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Mystic spearhand is just called magic swordsman in Japanese, its clearly supposed to be mage + fighter. Magic archer is mage + archer, and Trickster is Mage + Thief. Keeping with the motif of hybrids, we're missing fighter + Thief (which was the old Assassin class), fighter+archer and Thief+archer. But it's hard to imagine those would be look much different from Warfarer.

Ranger was the advanced strider, basically getting slower but higher damage longbow attacks. I'd assume Assassin could be repurposed as the advanced Thief but as many have noted Thief is already so good it's hard to see how it would improve.

I also would like to have a healer specialist like a cleric or paladin who gives up the damage spells in exchange for martial abilities plus heals.

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

Archer--
+You can attack things at range
+Not as terrible as the Trickster
-No defensive abilities of note
-Underpowered
-Weak
-Dumb
-Looks stupid
-Virgin

I respectfully disagree. The Archer is as good as your aim. If you can't aim for shit then yes it's worthless. If your aim is on point you're a force to be reckoned with. Comparing it to the Trickster is disgusting. Also no defensive abilities? Did you not use the kick ever?

 

[mediocrepoet]

Mystic spearhand is just called magic swordsman in Japanese, its clearly supposed to be mage + fighter. Magic archer is mage + archer, and Trickster is Mage + Thief. Keeping with the motif of hybrids, we're missing fighter + Thief (which was the old Assassin class), fighter+archer and Thief+archer. But it's hard to imagine those would be look much different from Warfarer.

Ranger was the advanced strider, basically getting slower but higher damage longbow attacks. I'd assume Assassin could be repurposed as the advanced Thief but as many have noted Thief is already so good it's hard to see how it would improve.

I also would like to have a healer specialist like a cleric or paladin who gives up the damage spells in exchange for martial abilities plus heals.

Trickster shows the perils of wishing for advanced vocations for every option, as Thief was so good that adding Mage (reasonably good) caused an integer overflow and created the worst vocation in the game.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Archer--
+You can attack things at range
+Not as terrible as the Trickster
-No defensive abilities of note
-Underpowered
-Weak
-Dumb
-Looks stupid
-Virgin

I respectfully disagree. The Archer is as good as your aim. If you can't aim for shit than yes it's worthless. If your aim is on point you're a force to be reckoned with. Comparing it to this Trickster is disgusting.

Archer's pretty good, especially with the status arrows for setting up elemental combos. I did find that it could've used a bit more oomph for anything armoured or hardy though. It didn't have the power that some of the other classes had to actually make a dent at times.

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

Archer--
+You can attack things at range
+Not as terrible as the Trickster
-No defensive abilities of note
-Underpowered
-Weak
-Dumb
-Looks stupid
-Virgin

I respectfully disagree. The Archer is as good as your aim. If you can't aim for shit than yes it's worthless. If your aim is on point you're a force to be reckoned with. Comparing it to this Trickster is disgusting.

Archer's pretty good, especially with the status arrows for setting up elemental combos. I did find that it could've used a bit more oomph for anything armoured or hardy though. It didn't have the power that some of the other classes had to actually make a dent at times.

This is true against Saurians. I always felt useless whenever we encountered Saurians for some reason. They're like Archer's kryptonite. I think the kick could use a tad bit more knockback, and heavenly shot needs to be far more devastating considering the wind up and cost of stamina. It's kind of like martyr's bolt except it's shit and does nothing.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Archer--
+You can attack things at range
+Not as terrible as the Trickster
-No defensive abilities of note
-Underpowered
-Weak
-Dumb
-Looks stupid
-Virgin

I respectfully disagree. The Archer is as good as your aim. If you can't aim for shit than yes it's worthless. If your aim is on point you're a force to be reckoned with. Comparing it to this Trickster is disgusting.

Archer's pretty good, especially with the status arrows for setting up elemental combos. I did find that it could've used a bit more oomph for anything armoured or hardy though. It didn't have the power that some of the other classes had to actually make a dent at times.

This is true against Saurians. I always felt useless whenever we encountered Saurians for some reason. They're like Archer's kryptonite. I think the kick could use a tad bit more knockback, and heavenly shot needs to be far more devastating considering the wind up and cost of stamina. It's kind of like martyr's bolt except it's shit and does nothing.

Fire elemental shots at their tails. Fire anything at their tails. You pretty much need to pinpoint weak points with archers and they do alright against saurians, some other enemies felt like you were shooting slingshot pellets at a boulder though.

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

Fire elemental shots at their tails. Fire anything at their tails. You pretty much need to pinpoint weak points with archers and they do alright against saurians, some other enemies felt like you were shooting slingshot pellets at a boulder though.

I haven't tested everything on stone saurians (whatever they're called) but arrows seem to do nothing. Even as a Magick Archer I'd have to hang back and let my pawns deal with them.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Fire elemental shots at their tails. Fire anything at their tails. You pretty much need to pinpoint weak points with archers and they do alright against saurians, some other enemies felt like you were shooting slingshot pellets at a boulder though.

I haven't tested everything on stone saurians (whatever they're called) but arrows seem to do nothing. Even as a Magick Archer I'd have to hang back and let my pawns deal with them.

Tails and try and not use physical damage, they're almost immune. They're weak to lightning damage if you have a thunder bow (not sure if there is one, but if there is, use that) or get a mage to use the thunder buff on your weapon.

Oh yeah, also aim for their underbellies. That's really where they get mashed, even if you're using physical. Get a pawn to flip them over.

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

Fire elemental shots at their tails. Fire anything at their tails. You pretty much need to pinpoint weak points with archers and they do alright against saurians, some other enemies felt like you were shooting slingshot pellets at a boulder though.

I haven't tested everything on stone saurians (whatever they're called) but arrows seem to do nothing. Even as a Magick Archer I'd have to hang back and let my pawns deal with them.

Tails and try and not use physical damage, they're almost immune. They're weak to lightning damage if you have a thunder bow (not sure if there is one, but if there is, use that) or get a mage to use the thunder buff on your weapon.

Oh yeah, also aim for their underbellies. That's really where they get mashed, even if you're using physical. Get a pawn to flip them over.

I made my pawn a mage again and gave her mainly elemental buffs for this exact reason, plus the thing that cures debilitatons. Then I woke up, opened the game, and she was a fucking sorceress. I need to lay off the sause.

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

I'm still using all Thief skills for unexpected close encounters but I'm maining the Medusa bow to speed level. It may seem pointless now but in the not-too-distant future I think you're gonna need a high level character. Consider it Batman style prep.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Mystic spearhand is just called magic swordsman in Japanese, its clearly supposed to be mage + fighter. Magic archer is mage + archer, and Trickster is Mage + Thief. Keeping with the motif of hybrids, we're missing fighter + Thief (which was the old Assassin class), fighter+archer and Thief+archer. But it's hard to imagine those would be look much different from Warfarer.

Ranger was the advanced strider, basically getting slower but higher damage longbow attacks. I'd assume Assassin could be repurposed as the advanced Thief but as many have noted Thief is already so good it's hard to see how it would improve.

I also would like to have a healer specialist like a cleric or paladin who gives up the damage spells in exchange for martial abilities plus heals.

In the original Dragon's Dogma, there is a tripartite class division, where each basic vocation has an advanced version and there are three hybrid vocations; in Dragon's Dogma 2 there's a quadrapartite distinction, as a result of Strider being split into the Archer and Thief vocations. Unlike the Mystic Knight and Magick Archer vocations in the original game, the DD2 Mystic Spearhand and Magick Archer do not have the option of switching to a mage's staff and casting spells; although they have abilities that cause magic damage, rather than physical damage, neither one is mechanically at all similar to a Mage or Sorcerer, but they are similar in function to the Thief and Archer vocations.

Warfarer is the one hybrid vocation that permits the player-character to combine any of the other vocations, while Trickster is a bizarre experiment that failed. People allowed themselves to be fooled by the color scheme for the vocation badges, especially for the three vocations where the badges are split vertically into two different colors. Note that the Trickster badge is purple/pink, even though neither color exists in the other vocation badges. Perhaps Capcom originally intended to develop a series of proper hybrid vocations, but they don't actually exist in the game even partially, except for the universal Warfarer hybrid.

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

Capcom just assumed only fags would want to play as Trickster. Those terrible homophobes.

 

[Cheesedragon117]

Thief (Green) is the only starting class without a hybrid vocation. Maybe if we're lucky, Capcom will give us a DLC/Rerelease with a Green/Yellow hybrid vocation that is essentially a souped-up version of the Strider from the previous game.

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

Thief (Green) is the only starting class without a hybrid vocation. Maybe if we're lucky, Capcom will give us a DLC/Rerelease with a Green/Yellow hybrid vocation that is essentially a souped-up version of the Strider from the previous game.

Wtf are ya talkin about? All 4 starting vocations aren't hybrids.

 

[Cheesedragon117]

Thief (Green) is the only starting class without a hybrid vocation. Maybe if we're lucky, Capcom will give us a DLC/Rerelease with a Green/Yellow hybrid vocation that is essentially a souped-up version of the Strider from the previous game.

Wtf are ya talkin about? All 4 starting vocations aren't hybrids.

I'm talking about the colors of the vocation badges. Spearhand is Red/Blue. Magick Archer is Blue/Yellow. However there's no Green/Another Color to represent a Thief hybrid.

I think a Green/Yellow hybrid is most needed, but sadly now that there are four basic vocations instead of three, I highly doubt they will make a hybrid for every possible color combination. I'm excluding the Trickster's two colors from this, obviously, since I don't think they were really intended to represent anything.

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

I still have no idea what you're talking about. All vocations become hybrids once you get Warfarer. Nobody gives a fuck about Trickster. It's garbage.

 

[Stoned Ape]

Fire elemental shots at their tails. Fire anything at their tails. You pretty much need to pinpoint weak points with archers and they do alright against saurians, some other enemies felt like you were shooting slingshot pellets at a boulder though.

I haven't tested everything on stone saurians (whatever they're called) but arrows seem to do nothing. Even as a Magick Archer I'd have to hang back and let my pawns deal with them.

Use Sagittate Avalanche on their tails, if you have the right augments (weak spot bonus, vulnerability extra damage, magick enhance) it normally one shot kills them when having ice enhancement on your ice arrows (or launches them into the air to land with belly exposed to kill with one additional full rivet shot)

 

[abija]

Archer--
+You can attack things at range
+Not as terrible as the Trickster
-No defensive abilities of note
-Underpowered
-Weak
-Dumb
-Looks stupid
-Virgin

I respectfully disagree. The Archer is as good as your aim. If you can't aim for shit then yes it's worthless. If your aim is on point you're a force to be reckoned with. Comparing it to the Trickster is disgusting. Also no defensive abilities? Did you not use the kick ever?

Archer is weak even having godlike aim (in this game easily accomplished by using a mouse). You're only a forced to be reckoned with if you haven't played classes that actually do damage.

 

[Zariusz]

The most fun i had with archer was kicking my enemies of the cliffs, really there should be hand to hand vocation so we could larps as ogres drop kicking everyone.

 

[Cheesedragon117]

After having tried Archer for the Elf guy's quest, I will say I was pleasantly surprised. For some reason, I assumed you would have to manually aim every shot. I didn't know there was just a "shoot" button, it makes taking out trash mobs from a distance simple work. Very quickly became the vocation I dread random encounters with the least. They're over so fast. And ending unwanted ogre/cyclops encounters isn't that much harder, just aim for the head and empty a few quivers into it. Definitely going to the vocation I use to get from place-to-place in low level areas.

An interesting discovery that came with this is finding out how to make the Arisen pass out from exhaustion. Just equip the bow that drops from Medusas (the one that's heavier than most Warrior weapons and increases stamina costs.), run your Stamina down to around 10%, then use a skill. Going too far into "Stamina debt" to perform an action actually has consequences.

Yep, this is our hero, ladies and gentlemen, the guy that passes out from shooting a bow too hard. I guess type 2 diabetes was harder to diagnose in medieval times...

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Thief (Green) is the only starting class without a hybrid vocation. Maybe if we're lucky, Capcom will give us a DLC/Rerelease with a Green/Yellow hybrid vocation that is essentially a souped-up version of the Strider from the previous game.

Wtf are ya talkin about? All 4 starting vocations aren't hybrids.

I'm talking about the colors of the vocation badges. Spearhand is Red/Blue. Magick Archer is Blue/Yellow. However there's no Green/Another Color to represent a Thief hybrid.

I think a Green/Yellow hybrid is most needed, but sadly now that there are four basic vocations instead of three, I highly doubt they will make a hybrid for every possible color combination. I'm excluding the Trickster's two colors from this, obviously, since I don't think they were really intended to represent anything.

That's an intersection point, I hadn't considered the badge colors, but you're probably right.

 

[Stoned Ape]

Finished!

Overall, a great game. I think I prefer it to the original, going to reinstall DDDA for a fresh playthrough before going New Game+ on this to make sure.

My beloved was Sara the blacksmith. Probably because I had to keep carrying the lazy **** back to work because she kept skiving off around town and I needed my stuff upgrading!

Top 3 Friends:
1) Sara the Lazy Skiver
2) Gay Elf's Fairly Hot Sister
3) The Forger

Unmoored World Locations

So, it's pretty obvious that the Seashore Shrine is Gran Soren.

I think the undersea Vernworth Southern Runs that gets the red column is the remains of the central part of the Bluemoon Tower.

Harve Elder's Home and nearby tunnel could be the location of the Dragonforged's shrine?

The Volcanic Island Encampment could be the DD Encampment and the excavation site could be Cassardis? Maybe the Moonglint Tower was where Selene's house would have been?

Border Checkpoint Town could be the bottom part of the Great Wall?

I think Bakbattahl Temple could be around where the Watergod's Alter was, and the Spellgate could be where the Mountain Waycastle was?

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

Archer is weak even having godlike aim (in this game easily accomplished by using a mouse). You're only a forced to be reckoned with if you haven't played classes that actually do damage.

I don't know what to tell ya. I'll have most mobs wiped out before my pawns even get a chance to take a swing. You're mistaking not being OP for being useless. Not having an awesome button like Skull Splitter that makes health bars instantly disappear doesn't = weak.

And buffing it could be a slippery slope. Buff it too much and it would destroy most of the other classes. Like I said earlier heavenly shot needs beefed up and the kick needs more knockback/knockdown power and it's good to go.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Finished!

Overall, a great game. I think I prefer it to the original, going to reinstall DDDA for a fresh playthrough before going New Game+ on this to make sure.

My beloved was Sara the blacksmith. Probably because I had to keep carrying the lazy **** back to work because she kept skiving off around town and I needed my stuff upgrading!

Top 3 Friends:
1) Sara the Lazy Skiver
2) Gay Elf's Fairly Hot Sister
3) The Forger

Level 110? Holy hell.
Were you farming mobs or just exploring?

I generally agree with your take aways, but surprised about your top 3 list.

Mine were:

1) Ulrika
2) Lamond
3) Old bag magick archer elf