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LTTP: Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen - From Pawn to Pwned

S

SpotAnime

Member
As part of my Backlog Blitz and Three in April challenge, I started playing Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen over the weekend.

And man, am I getting my ass handed to me.

Let me preface:
  • I've never played a Souls game
  • I've never played a Monster Hunter game
  • I've played Morrowind and Oblivion
I list those three genres/franchises because I believe at first glance, DD:DA appears to be a take on the Western RPG like Elder Scrolls, but under the surface is more like Souls and Monster Hunter. And I think that's why I'm having such a hard time with it initially, because I need to approach it a bit differently.

I did some research after playing a few hours, and I read through the OT from a couple of years back as well as a LTTP from last year, but I'm still having some difficulties grasping the game. Some tips I found from elsewhere on the internet are:
  • Switch vocations often, and level up each fully
  • Release pawns after leveling up, and make sure to add pawns based on class/vocation to complement the quest
  • Save often, for example whenever a pawn cautions what may lie ahead (listen for the audible queues)
  • Rest often in inns to recharge health (although leveling up also maxes out stats)
  • Don't charge into battle blindly, as it will generally result in death
  • Take as many notice board quests as possible
Still, even following the above, I'm having trouble with the following:
  • I'm finding I'm generally unprepared defensively or offensively for any quest, because I lack the funds to buy proper weapons or armor
  • Any quest I take on I get killed almost immediately, and therefore I can't earn the proper gold to buy the right equipment (see above). And since it's not a loot drop game, kills in the open world don't usually let me earn enough gold.
  • I don't fully grasp the crafting mechanic - I pick up everything I get from kills, but I have no idea what I should be adding them to, and what makes a good combination of items.
  • In desperation for a good weapon, I find I am enhancing low-stat weapons and feel like it's a waste of resources spent.
  • I'm still trying to get used to the fact there is no fast travel. Not a big deal because the world is huge and beautiful, but I find that in my struggles I have to backtrack to the nearest city and that takes time.
  • Due to the large world, I find that pretty much any quest I take on requires me to traverse so far that I end up encountering it at night, and nighttime encounters are more difficult as I understand.
  • Does anyone find the game to be a bit dark, gamma-wise? I'm playing on the Xbox 360 and found the combination of filters and gamma to make it a bit blurry and hard to find the details. I'm playing on the Xbox 360 with the HD texture pack, though.
  • I was given Rook, a healer, at the start of the game, and I've kept him in my party. Should I release him for a higher level pawn?
Saying all of that, I still am enjoying the challenge of the game and the beauty of the world. Climbing on huge bosses is a rush but a bit frustrating as I can't down any of them in my current state.

My character is Level 14. I started with the Fighter vocation and now have the Mystic Knight hybrid vocation. My main pawn was a Strider and now a Ranger, also level 14.

Any tips for a beginner?
 
B

BadWolf

Member
Consider making your pawn a healer, will be VERY useful at keeping you alive. They will also give you various elemental buffs. Towards the end of the game mine was healing me faster than the boss could take out my character.

You shouldn't switch your vocations often, your stats will be all over the place unless you are following a guide or something and min/maxing. Just stick to a vocation you like and have fun, I stuck to be an Assassin for over 95% of my play time.

Carry plenty of health healing and stamina restoring items. You can heal and restore stamina at any time during battle (just open the item menu) so it's easy to stay filled up.

Levels matter a lot in this game, consider grinding a little if you feel too weak.

Are you selling loot? You get a lot of money from that iirc.
 
Lux R7

Lux R7

Member
one of the best game of my life and reason why i still own my xbox360.
I still play it, i will do it forever.
you gotta love the dogma.

Tips, just take talents that reduce your damage taken. (i don't remember the names, italian version here).
I only play in hard mode and do some crazy challenges, however, i think that if u like a class u aren't forced to change vocation here and there. get good in what u like the most.
 
P

ppor

Member
Get rid of Rook, he's stuck at like level 6.

Take all the easy quests you can, head back to Cassardis (starting town) if you haven't completed everything. Likewise, skip quests if they feel too hard.

Try out the Strider or Ranger, you might find ranged combat easier. I think Mystic Knight is underwhelming at low levels.
 
D

DustyVonEric

Member
One of last gen's best. I got this game about a week before it was announced for Plus, and didn't even care. I was just glad to be playing and that others would soon join me.
 
A

Aldia

Banned
When I first played about a year ago it I was kinda impressed and thought it was a good game. Now I can't play it again and I am regretting it.
 
T

TharpDaddy

Member
In Dark Arisen you should end up with portal stones (I forgot the game name for them) which work as a pseudo-fast travel system. It helped a lot, one of the biggest improvements in DA over vanilla DD.
 
P

PositiveYorae

Member
I usually replace my pawns when I out level them by two and hire ones who outlevel me by two. Always have a a healer in your group. If you want to make the game easy, be and assassin and dodge/counter the hell out of the enemies. I haven't tried the magic knight but maybe use the magic rule of always raising your shield?
 
M

MisterTom

Neo Member
You do begin this game underpowered. However there are a few things you can do to make up for it, and more quickly get on your way to becoming properly badass.

Right now you can hunt the bisons outside of Gran Soren for quick gold. They pose no threat and drop beast steaks almost every time which sell for 350 at the weapons/armor man, as well as scraggly meat which sells for around 100 i believe. Hunt them with zero remorse at every chance.

Make your pawn a caster or get a caster pawn who will enchant your blade with fire on your command when you press left on the d pad, as you can do this prior to every battle and it will set you up nicely. also make sure this caster or another is capable of healing you regularly.

Bows are powerful in this game, and provide a serious strategic advantage especially when you are weak early in the game. Learn those bow skills and set them. Get used to using that bow well because being able to hit opponents' weak spots is very important in this game.

While grappling and climbing large enemies, it is possible to leap your way up them instead of slowly scaling them with your hands. It is tricky to do, but worth learning.
 
K

Kyoufu

Member
Buy a ton of empty bottles or whatever they're called then go to the nearest spring and fill em up with Spring Water. With each party member holding 30+ of them you can get through any battle with that amount of healing.
 
M

Mephala

Member
Beginning can be tough. Particularly if you stick with the main quest and end up trying to get through the bandits area. Those archers can pin cushion you if you're a bit under leveled.

Definitely try to get leveled pawns, they do make a difference and player made ones can be even better.

In general I found tanking to be very difficult early on so I recommend you to play a bit more offensively if you can't survive. Pawns can generally take care of themselves unless completely overwhelmed by tougher enemies.

If you find a Healing Spring, stock up on Empty Flasks and uses them here. The healing waters will heal the entire party, this is useful pretty much throughout the game until you get better items or an awesome healing pawn.
Edit. Beaten. :)
 
B

BadWolf

Member
PositiveYorae said:
I usually replace my pawns when I out level them by two and hire ones who outlevel me by two. Always have a a healer in your group. If you want to make the game easy, be and assassin and dodge/counter the hell out of the enemies. I haven't tried the magic knight but maybe use the magic rule of always raising your shield?
Click to expand...

It's also probably worth mentioning that having a lot of high level pawns (with levels higher than your character) reduces the experience points you get after battle. Having weaker pawns on your team gives you an experience bonus iirc.

Solo I think was the fastest way to gain experience? You can throw your pawn off a cliff or something and play solo to gain experience faster till you rest at an inn etc. and your pawn revives. Pawns are meant to stay close to your character's level so after your solo grinding session your pawn will level up super fast to catch up to you.
 
J

Jhoan

Member
I have the 360 version as well but I never really noticed that it was dark and I have the HD Texture Pack too. Try increasing your brightness settings if anything.

That being said, I absolutely LOVE this game so damn much that it was my GOTY last year since I too was LTTP. I was more than half way through my NG+ run before I stopped playing it and have yet to play through the titular Dark Arisen DLC.

To answer a few of your questions and give you advice:

-Get rid of Rook. The encourages you to swap out new Pawns as you level up and experiment with different classes in your party so do swap out Pawns constantly. What kind of pawns do you have? Generally you'll want to have a mixture of a healer/mage class, at least 2 ranged/melee classes, and roll with whatever class you want.
-Fun fact: if you have friends on your list who have played the game, you can use their pawns some of which can be OP and allow to blaze through the first half of the game with ease. You're welcome to add me and use my Pawn. GT: Johan[space]El [space] Fuerte since I can always use more friends on 360 but I don't recommend using them until you're the same level.
-Feel free to go out and explore. Why? Because you get some gear and lots of items that way plus you level up in the process.
-In regards to item crafting, I'll give you one simple combination that I remember: combine 2 Greenwarish to make a Potent Greenwarish.
-There is a fast travel system in the game but you don't get the items that allow you to do so until much later on in the game.
-In regards to side quests: Do the ones that easiest first and sell off any old/weak gear to earn easy money.
-Stick to one class so that you learn the advanced moves/passive abilities. The Sword/Shield class and/or the dagger and Bow class are the best ones to start with in the beginning half. I went with the latter class.
-Empty Flasks are very, very important. If you come across a Healing Spring, use it there and stock up on as much Healing Spring Water as you can.
 
P

PositiveYorae

Member
BadWolf said:
It's also probably worth mentioning that having a lot of high level pawns (with levels higher than your character) reduces the experience points you get after battle. Having weaker pawns on your team gives you an experience bonus iirc.

Solo I think was the fastest way to gain experience? You can throw your pawn off a cliff or something and play solo to gain experience faster till you rest at an inn etc. and your pawn revives. Pawns are meant to stay close to your character's level so after your solo grinding session your pawn will level up super fast to catch up to you.
Click to expand...

Woah didn't know that. But somehow I didn't notice it because I kinda did all the side quest hehe.
 
J

jiggle

Member
SpotAnime said:
Switch vocations often, and level up each fully
Click to expand...

Your vocation affects your permanent stat growth
So it's better to stick with a vocation for certain amount of time

Make sure your pawn has the challenger and or scather trait or it's dead weight

If you want to cheat
Bring 2 lv200 pawns with you into bitterblack isle right away
Have them do all the killing in the first 3 or 4 zones
You will level up fast(even with the XP penalty) and find some great loots in there
 
C

CadetMahoney

Member
SpotAnime said:
From Pawn to Pwned.
Click to expand...

If you're a hardcore gamer the infinite ferry stone will come in handy end game as you go back and forth to/from black cat as you forge items. You get the ferry stone by having a vanilla dragons dogma save file (the first release of dogma) and them importing it into dark arisen. Not that big of a deal if you're not looking to duplicate hardcore though / casual gamer.
 
C

Crankshaft

Member
I put 20 hours into the DD on the PS3 until i realized that my Rogue main pawn that I created was dying over and over and over.

I didn't understand why he would die almost every battle. Then I checked his hit points and he was stuck at 387HP where as my character and the two mage pawns I had hired had WAY more life than that.

I kept looking online for a solution because I didn't want to restart my game but the best anyone would come up with is "oh Rogues are supposed to have low health"

I traded in my PS3 toward a PS4 so if they make a remaster of DD then I will give the game another shot but my main pawn will not be a rogue this time lol.
 
I

IvorB

Member
Ditch Rook and get pawns at your level. Stick to one vocation you like. Go to starting area and do all quests there you might have missed. Save money and visit the weapon retailer in Gran Soren to get something good. They're masterworks all; you can't go wrong.

Edit: Also explore, explore, explore. There are items, weapons and armour to be found pretty much everywhere in the world. You can find some great stuff in a chest in the middle of nowhere.
 
S

SneakyStephan

Banned
There's really only 2 difficulty spikes in the main game (not the expansion)
the bandits at the start near the witches forest and the lizards in the well at the very beginning.

All the minibosses can be killed easily simply by learning their attack patterns and avoiding their attacks (dd is an action game first, you don't need to level up or fill bars to fight any of the enemies) and all the other regular enemies are fodder.

If you're stuck at the bandits (which I assume you are), you don't have to fight them, just run past them, your pawns even tell you as much.

If you get owned by the lizards, your pawns will tell you to cut off their tails first (which weakens them and makes them easy)

Most minibosses and many enemies have such weak spots that you are supposed to exploit, many later enemies also have elemental weaknesses (especially in the expansion) that you are supposed to exploit to kill them.

Some of the vocations will give you bonusses to your str/int which makes you do more damage, some raise your defenses, it doesn't hurt to level up some other vocations to make things easier for you if you want.
It's entirely optional though, but I'd recommend it anyway not for the passives but simply because each and every vocation is brilliantly designed and has an entirely different play style.
It's well worth trying out all of them extensively in your first playthrough because odds are there's 1-2 that ll be your favorites.

I personally really loved sorcerer ,asssassin and warrior the most.

Every time you swap vocations the combat changes so much that it's like an entirely new game.
 
C

Creaking

He touched the black heart of a mod
jiggle said:
Your vocation affects your permanent stat growth
So it's better to stick with a vocation for certain amount of time
Click to expand...

Past a certain point, do stats even matter that much? I played through maxing out all the vocations and never had issues with the allocation of my stats.
 
C

CadetMahoney

Member
Crankshaft said:
I traded in my PS3 toward a PS4 so if they make a remaster of DD then I will give the game another shot but my main pawn will not be a rogue this time lol.
Click to expand...

They have "dragons dogma online" coming out late 2015 (maybe) which has all the same equipment/weapons/items etc. as Dragons Dogma DA. so you will get another chance to play it more since it's coming to PS4 (and PS3/PC).

It's free-to-play though so to farm all the equipment you will have to pay real money to get them faster instead of grinding.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/124429-dragons-dogma-online/71292706

There are so many ways they can monetize this game. Like paying to trade with other ppl and paying even more to trade in bulk so you don't have to rest, log out and shit. :) Thanks obama.
 
Damerman

Damerman

Member
i still haven't played Dark Arisen, in hopes that this gets a remaster, either on PC or 8thgen consoles, preferably PC. Capcom is just evil to their core.
 
C

Creaking

He touched the black heart of a mod
The Smoking Bun said:
This game has an excellent parkour mechanic.... weird I rarely find it mentioned anywhere
Click to expand...

It's pretty basic run + jump (or double jump/levitate) --> auto-grab/climb-ledges-that-are-flat-enough system, but it does work well. Moreover, the area designs allow you to make excellent use of it. I love that they tucked away stashes of goods in places that most players wouldn't think to attempt reaching. Even in the prologue dungeon, there's a ton of hidden loot; it's one of the things that got me excited about the game back when I first played the demo.
 
S

SpotAnime

Member
SneakyStephan said:
There's really only 2 difficulty spikes in the main game (not the expansion)
the bandits at the start near the witches forest and the lizards in the well at the very beginning.

If you're stuck at the bandits (which I assume you are), you don't have to fight them, just run past them, your pawns even tell you as much.
Click to expand...

Yup, I got stuck there alright. Picked up a quest from the notice board in Gran Soren, to head out that direction. Was killed multiple times, until I took the offensive of attacking and then running for cover, rinse and repeat. Finally worked. But then I ran into a ban of bandits and a Cyclops, so I avoided that, headed southwest and ran into a dragon and some Ogre Kings and got my ass handed to me. Still can't find where the quest is, though. I should go back to the starter city and do the notice board quests there instead, since it sounds like they are for lower levels?

Oh, and I started to do the
Lure of the Abyss quest in the Pawn Guild, but ran into that Ogre and kept getting killed, so I backtracked to do some notice board quests. Funny, but the first time I tried the Abyss quest I climbed the Ogre, and he tried to shake me off by jumping, and he jumped right off the ledge to his death. I made it to the bottom unharmed by riding him all the way down, then proceeded to get instakilled by the tentacles.

Jipan said:
-Fun fact: if you have friends on your list who have played the game, you can use their pawns some of which can be OP and allow to blaze through the first half of the game with ease. You're welcome to add me and use my Pawn. GT: Johan[space]El [space] Fuerte since I can always use more friends on 360 but I don't recommend using them until you're the same level.
Click to expand...

Friend request sent!

The Smoking Bun said:
This game has an excellent parkour mechanic.... weird I rarely find it mentioned anywhere
Click to expand...

I noticed that but am not taking full advantage of it, simply because I'm not used to having it in a game of this type. But that jump button does so much, such as climbing ledges.
 
S

Sojourner

Neo Member
Ignore the crafting system, it's pretty much worthless. Just sell everything that doesn't heal you. But do pick up everything. Your pawns are great pack mules.

Don't enhance equipment, just buy new stuff.

Get rid of Rook. Hire pawns when you out level them by two or three. Don't bother hiring over leveled pawns.

Don't take escort quests. They just make the game tedious.

Toss out any notions of this game being like Souls or Monster Hunter. It's not. Not even a little. Think of this as a Devil May Cry game.

Do save often because walking sucks. Like after every encounter.

A fighter's main stat is strength. A mystic knight's main stat is magic. By switching from one to the other, you are essentially regressing in levels a bit. Stick to a vocation until you have learned everything it had to offer.
 
I

itzknickknac

Member
The beginning of the game WILL be difficult. Try ganging on one enemy at a time, no 1v1's. I think once you're in your 20's, it'll start to ease up. Renew your pawns often, I'd say every 3 levels; try messing w different class pawns. Save often, like every 2 waves of enemies. Don't think of this game as Souls/MH/Elder Scrolls, but it's not your average hack and slash game either. It's been a while since I played but I recommend these.
 
R

RyanardoDaVinci

Member
SpotAnime said:
...Still can't find where the quest is, though. I should go back to the starter city and do the notice board quests there instead, since it sounds like they are for lower levels?
Click to expand...

Press start and go to the quest menu, in there you will be able to set your current quest, which marks exactly where you need to go.
 
T

TheBryanJZX90

Member
BadWolf said:
Solo I think was the fastest way to gain experience? You can throw your pawn off a cliff or something and play solo to gain experience faster till you rest at an inn etc. and your pawn revives. Pawns are meant to stay close to your character's level so after your solo grinding session your pawn will level up super fast to catch up to you.
Click to expand...

Playing solo is excellent advice not only for the boost in XP earned, but because it will make you a better player as well. My first time with the demo I wasn't that impressed, everything seemed too chaotic and I couldn't get a handle on what was going on. After chucking my pawns off a cliff, it was much easier to learn how to fight and what skills to use when. Do a little intense training session on your lonesome and you'll benefit from it.
 
K

Kyoufu

Member
Raptomex said:
I always bring a pawn with healing magic. Always.
Click to expand...

I thought they were useless tbh. They can only heal bleed damage whereas Spring Water heals all. Instead a damage dealing pawn will be better.

All that needs to be done is keeping ample stock of Spring Water to get through the game somewhat comfortably.

Using your friends' high level pawns will help too.
 
S

SneakyStephan

Banned
SpotAnime said:
Yup, I got stuck there alright. Picked up a quest from the notice board in Gran Soren, to head out that direction. Was killed multiple times, until I took the offensive of attacking and then running for cover, rinse and repeat. Finally worked. But then I ran into a ban of bandits and a Cyclops, so I avoided that, headed southwest and ran into a dragon and some Ogre Kings and got my ass handed to me. Still can't find where the quest is, though. I should go back to the starter city and do the notice board quests there instead, since it sounds like they are for lower levels?

Oh, and I started to do the
Lure of the Abyss quest in the Pawn Guild, but ran into that Ogre and kept getting killed, so I backtracked to do some notice board quests. Funny, but the first time I tried the Abyss quest I climbed the Ogre, and he tried to shake me off by jumping, and he jumped right off the ledge to his death. I made it to the bottom unharmed by riding him all the way down, then proceeded to get instakilled by the tentacles.
Click to expand...



The minibosses like cyclopses etc just require some practice.
As I said you learn their attack patterns and go from there, it's no different than any traditional action combat game (dmc, bayonetta or even zelda)


The dragon -drake, actually- is way way beyond the starting area and the witchwood, you're already in gran soren then and the game doesn't even tell you to go there until you're quite a way through the story line (ofc nothing stops you from exploring there yourself^^)
It's the game's first exposure to drakes and it's supposed to be quite a formidable bossfight, my first fight with one took like 25 minutes.


You should do the starting area sidequests first to get a hang of the game.
Don't worry about the 'kill 10 of x or y monster' board quests btw those are optional and you'll complete them automatically just by playing the game.

Once you do the gryffin quest at the bluemoon tower (that quest is an awesome adventure btw) you should have a hang of the game mechanics, it's also the point where DD becomes the RPG of the decade for most people who play the game.

Gear should come as you complete story and sidequests, don't worry about it.

You're going to have a field day with the expansion (dark arisen, bitterblack isle) if you think the game is hard now^^ It'll up the ante to 11, give you minibosses that demolish you and seem impossible at first, and by the end of the game you'll be fighting 4-6 at once and wreck their shit because by then you become very good at the game^^
 
Machine

Machine

Member
I got 1000/1000 on the vanilla game. I really need to pull Dark Arisen out of my backlog and give it a go.
 
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