Beginners Guide To Dragon's Dogma

Gameplay

The party will always feature the Player Character(PC) that the player can custom create and will control during play. PC creation occurs after you complete the. "familiarize with controls" prologue mission. There is also a Main Pawn(MP) created after doing some early quests. Both use the same body customization(be sure to check the advanced creation options), and the Pawn will have additional "personality/inclination" questions that determine the pawn’s AI. Over time, the pawn will learn new things and better assist you in your time in Gransys.

There are two other potential party members, called Support(Rental) Pawns. These are either Capcom created pawns wandering the world by default (like Rook) or you can rent other player’s Main Pawns, that have been set as online to be shared with the community. Online copies of pawns update when the player visits an inn and sleeps.

There is an autosave system and the game keeps two saves. The Manual/Autosave is loaded by clicking ‘Retry’ and a less frequent autosave that is created at inns and certain checkpoints are loaded by selecting ‘Retry from Checkpoint’.

There are special items available from the in-game vendor, and requires Rift Crystals(earned thru quests and your MP being rented), located at the Encampment. One class of items are the special hair/skin dyes to be used during character creation. Another item is the Art of Metamorphasis which allows full character creation style customization of the PC and Main Pawn at once, but is a one use item. There is also an infinite use version.

There is also a New Game+ which is sometimes confused with the late game, which can get a little confusing.

Monsters do not level with the player, they have a set strength in any given area. Going into the wrong place at the wrong time can get a player quickly killed.

Monsters, gathering spots, stray bosses and even chests, will respawn given the proper amount of ingame time.

The game features a day/night cycle and the night time is quite dangerous. Besides being very dark, different monsters will come out at night, although certain events and gathering spots are regulated to night-time only. Night is officially 9PM to 3AM in game. One day takes less than an hour of gameplay to pass, although inns/camps can be used to sleep and speed up the time tables.

Fast travel is via a port crystal/ferry stone system and will require you to get to a certain point in game to do.

The above two combined means walking somewhere with dusk approaching, will cause you to make a serious gameplay decision. Tough it out or find a place to rest until dawn?

Equipments

Weapons: Primary(R1) / Secondary(L1) - Two-hander swords/staves/arch staves will take up both slots ( Warrior / Mage / Sorcerer )
Head: Armor
Torso: Clothing / Armor
Arms: Armor
Legs: Clothing / Armor
Accessory: Cape / Jewelry

Clothing/Jewelry type items generally don’t have class restrictions. Weapons are restricted by class and the hand that holds them. Some outfits will take up multiple slots.

Armors are somewhat limited by class, in roughly this pattern:
Heavy: Fighter / Warrior / Mystic Knight
Medium: Strider / Ranger / Assassin
Light: Mage / Sorcerer / Magick Archer

Equipments have 4 levels of upgrading. Level 1 just requires money. Levels 2 and 3 require, money and materials. Level 4 requires you to kill, either, OFFLINE Ur-Dragon(%age to upgrade), ONLINE Ur-Dragon(%age to upgrade), or Grigori(story line dragon, all NON-DragonForged will be DragonForged).

Continued next post....

Items / Gathering

Most flashing/white highlighted objects, when walked over, in the world can be picked up, and some can be gathered/collected from multiple times. This game has a weird pickup system, items that can be picked-up, will show on the right side of the screen. When picked up, the item icon will flash, and then drops down and vanishes from view. Pawns are also able to pick-up items.

Some gathering points include: piles of books, bushes, vines, haystacks, logs, and other objects that can be looted for multiple items. Apples on trees can also be knocked down and picked up. Strange rock faces with crystals sticking out of them can be mined if the player has a pick-axe, high bollide spell, or a warrior. Treasure chests will also contain loot and will respawn over time.

Storage - Inns & Rest Camps will allow the character to store items. Items can be withdrawn at the Gran Soren Inn, Cassardis Inn, or the Encampment Inn. Weapon upgrades will use materials that are in your storage. Item combination can also be done using the storage system.

Game Start-Up

Quote :

On starting new game, not NG+, the Chimera Prologue battle with a set Arisen (Savan & his Pawns) will ensue. This is essentially the tutorial of the game. Nothing done in this part of the game really matters.

After the Prologue, the creation of the Player Character (PC) will begin.

After PC creation, a cut scene, then fight Grigori @ Cassardis, just hurt him a bit, and then after another cut scene, you will be able to choose your basic class, and then start your exploration of Cassardis(starting fishing village). Cassardis has missions, a Notice Board, a basic inn and basic shop, but it will not be the main hub of your game. Alot of items can be found in and around Cassardis(HINT: Check the Roofs & look for the hidden watch tower and cave).

At the town gate, which is the exit to Cassardis, a cut-scene will ensue, and Rook, your first noobie pawn will appear. He’s a tutorial type pawn, not the main pawn, this you will create after a bit.

Along the path to the Encampment there will be goblins attacking a man(Reynard). If the player rescues him, be sure to talk to him afterwards for your reward. Many events of the game will work this way, with no indication he/she has something to talk to you about.

Rook’s ‘quest’ will take the player to the Rift Stone at the Encampment. Try to leave the Encampment to trigger a cut scene. Follow the soldiers and finish off a large creature(Cyclops). Return to the Rift Stone, and now you can create your Main Pawn. A full party of pawns can then be recruited from in game, or by entering the Rift Stone. If you want high level pawns, you need alot of RC(Rift Crystals, earned in game) or friend the pawns owner.

To trigger the cut scene that leads to the quest that will take the player to Gran Soren, talk to Mercedes and agree to stay the night at the Encampment.

The game fully becomes open world once the player reaches the inn in Gran Soren. Class change and item storage are located at this Inn, along with the nearby main shops and services of the game. Your Pawn Guild is also located here.

Continued next post...

Stats by level 10 for PC

Fighter(10): HP 720 : Stamina 720 : Strength 116 : Magick 78 Defense 107 M-Def 78
Strider(10): HP 655 : Stamina 765 : Strength 97 : Magick 97 Defense 97 M-Def 88
Mage(10): HP 608 : Stamina 720 : Strength 78 : Magick 116 Defense 87 M-Def 107

Stat Gains for PC, from level 100 Up

Fighter
HP +15 Stam +5 Str +1 Def +3

Strider
HP +5 Stam +15 Str +1 Mgk +1 Def +1 MD +1

Mage
HP +10 Stam +10 Mgk +2 MD +2

Warrior
HP +5 Stam +15 Str +2 Def +2

Ranger
HP +5 Stam +15 Str +2 Def +1 MD +1

Sorcerer
HP +10 Stam +10 Mgk +3 MD +1

Assassin
HP +5 Stam +15 Str +3 Def +1

Mystic Knight
HP +15 Stam +5 Str +1 Mgk +1 Def +1 MD +1

Magick Archer
HP +10 Stam +10 Mgk +1 MD +3

Continued next post...

Pawn Inclinations:

Scather: Tends to burn through tougher enemies. A good tank trait, as they'll get tougher enemies' attention.

Medicant: Pays extra attention to health and stamina values. Will be the first to use recovery items. If you want a mage to heal you during battle, they'll need this trait (all pawns with High/Anodyne will heal you outside of battle).

Mitigator: Aims to reduce enemy numbers by taking down weakest first. A good damage dealer trait to have.
Challenger Focuses on ranged and casting enemies. Probably the best trait for a ranger-type pawn.

Utilitarian: Gives allies advantages. Physical pawns will hold down or scale enemies more often, mages will favor buffing spells, and buff the entire party instead of just the Arisen.

Guardian: Puts protecting the Arisen above all else. Okay for fighter types that you want to stay near you. Not so much for mages.

Nexus: Puts protecting other pawns above all else. Again, good for fighter types, but not as much mages.

Pioneer: Explores for hidden nooks and crannies, tends to lead the way, walking slightly ahead of the Arisen. Generally not very useful in this writer's opinion.

Acquisitor: Picks up items more often. I found this more useful than it sounds, as it gets tiring after a while looting everything yourself and then offloading items to pawns when your own inventory gets too full.


Continued next post...

Last few tips for beginners:

To change Pawn Inclinations, you can:

A) Use a "Knowledge" chair, answer the questions as you want
B) Save up RC and goto Encampment, near the Rift Stone, and buy potions from the vendor. To do this properly you will need to buy:

Nuetralizer and drink it first....
Buy "1" of the Inclination you want to be in the secondary slot...Drink it...
Now buy "2" of what you want as primary...Drink both...

Voila, you've reset your Inclinations.

If your on your first play thru, you will want to keep "1" of every equip you find, as, once you get 350 pieces you will earn a TROPHY.

If your not going to run thru multiple play thru's(NG+), you will want to hoard the items you gather so you can upgrade your gear. The higher the upgrade, the easier, better %age chance on the Drake, Wyrm, Wyvern, or either Ur-Dragon increases...

Remember, you can have a 4 player team. You the PC, your own created Pawn, and "2" Pawn hires.

Lighter you are, the faster you move...So limit what you carry or dipserse it across your team.

Carry a couple Ferry Stones, and Skeleton Keys at all times...

Always carry "1" Wakestone, not Wakestone Shards...

Remember to save frequently, as you may advance to fast and run into a mob/boss that will own you.

Lastly, don't stress, play for fun, and enjoy the game.