Dragon's Dogma 2 is a paradox

[@meejmuas8686]

What they can do to really enhance map traversal is to design the enemies into the environment more. The green goblins actually lay low in green brushes to ambush the player. We need more of this: bandits that setup bear traps leading into ambushes, archer bandits that hide in the trees, bandit checkpoints stopping oxcarts and raids them, werewolves that stalk the player from a distance in the dark. If they add more suspense but immerse them into the environment, it will create a unique experience for the player

[@andycarver3264]

This right here. This needs to be a highlighted comment. The more unique road interactions on top of more diverse and monster dense dungeons would add so much to the games immersion. Then different types of monsters and unique monsters that come in only after NG+ would make this game an easy GOTY.

[@Master_Matoya]

Fr, if I had a penny for every archer bandit/imposter tripping on the ledge because they want to take 3 steps forward to get a shot at me I'd be rich/

[@crazyman2188]

If they added something like that to the dlc I would easily buy that. The traversal and the environments are my favorite things about it. I don't know if this exists but I would love an enemy that requires a certain element combination to severally weaken it so you would have to use either 2 different element buffs/spells or use 2 of those spell tomes.

[@nytrul3159]

I remember one cave I ran into was extremely short, and I was annoyed and disappointed, like "really? is this it?" Then I saw a bunch of rocks, not rly anything special, it blended it in with the environment and I passed by it like 5 times trying to find if this cave had any more. I jokingly hit it and the wall opened up. Let's just say the way I observe cave walls changed after that, and I was pleasantly rewarded for it on subsequent cave ventures.

[@AdhalMK1]

I think the biggest problem with the atory is it just falls apart and feels rushed after the coronation, and the amount of quests drops of a cliff when you git bakbahtal. Vermund felt good and i was finding quests left and right. On my second playthrough i really noticed it.

[@connerjessop8422]

I can’t believe the hydra or the big eye monster from the first game aren’t in the game. Makes me mad knowing they held out on them so they can sell these bosses to us in a dlc.

[@BK-hp8cj]

The hydra was a garbage fight, glad it's not here. Medusa and the end game area bosses are way better.

[@somsiadtomasz]

A Hydra decorated bow with no Hydra in game.. ;/ yeah

[@immersion9880]

Wasn’t big eye from the DD1 dlc? Or am I mistaken

[@connerjessop8422]

@@immersion9880 nah it was in the Everfall

[@somsiadtomasz]

@@immersion9880 he was the source of those tentacles in pawn guild and everfall. First Boss to beat before going deeper. The small tiny ones.. There was also the second even bigger one in DLC

[@Constellasian]

The devs should have made more dungeons with creative designs like a lost city now buried and filled with undead in certain areas. They should have also made exploring these dungeons more rewarding by having powerful and unique gear that you can't buy from vendors. I thought it was sort of dumb that you can buy so many powerful items from vendors. This took away the excitement of finding gear while exploring. Also, randomize the levels of certain monsters such as dragons, and make the higher level versions look different and have different and more powerful attacks. This will add variety to the enemies.

[@robcampion9917]

I think DD2 is a game of moments and I love that about it.

[@crazzy4194]

I’m only 8 hours into the game after finishing ff7 rebirth recently and I am loving it. Climbing onto a cyclops to stab it in the eye and once I kill it and I fall 10 feet, my pawn (who is modeled and named after my best friend) caught me and we bumped arms in celebration. 10/10 moment

[@Nero_PR]

Will you touch on the information about the development team being 1:4 to 1:5 of other Big Capcom games like Monster Hunter, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Street Fighter 6? It puts into perspective what the team achieved with the team size and development cycle.

[@Dragonours]

He mentions it at 19:52

[@Ntx_Italiano]

Yeah the actual rpg elements were lacking to me. Dialogue was non existent, romance too basic, questa boring, and the stealth is comedic. They kinda made it better in areas where they already had a good grasp in the first game, but the parts that were bad in DD are still bad here imo.

[@actualnacho612]

The amount of caves, camps, hidey holes and such makes the enemy density feel tangible and more real and vice versa

[@aersla1731]

It's weird feels like we are just rehashing what had been said about dragons dogma 1. It's hard to not be disappointed when you waited so long for such a hallow sequel. People have already stated that it feels like it was more meant to be for new comers who maybe didn't try dragons dogma 1. I can totally see that, while it slightly improves on some things it also takes steps back in other. It's a strange game, and I would be lying if I said I didn't have fun. It's just the sameo sameo but less and different in some aspects. If I knew what the game was from day one I would have just waited for it to be bundled with a dlc later on. And if anyone happens to read this, and hasn't gotten it yet, just wait til it goes on sale or is bundled with a future dlc.

[@gearardlefore]

I'm a little underwhelmed by the game I actually find it to be very easy with a 4 person party. Level 20 so I'm trying to stick it out but Rise of Ronin is much better IMO.

[@aersla1731]

@@gearardlefore No it is pretty easy, feels like it just gets easier. I without knowing sneaked into the end game area at level 20 and it was fun because it felt like I shouldn't be there. However it also leveled me a lot. So at the end of my first game I was level 50.

[@so_hip_]

As someone who loved the first game I absolutely disagree with you. That’s okay. But I also value the vocations and armor sets, maxing out everything, trophies, and I have spent more than half my time in the unmoored world. I will probably play it to the ground like the first and walk away very satisfied.

[@ElixrfyWrld]

​@@so_hip_I agree with some but they did a clear regression from a lot of the first. while like the op said they didn't necessarily add more depth to existing features just new and different for most. I'm mainly talking about, less consumables and that's really subjective but it's another layer of depth taken away for no reason when they didn't add anything new as far as special consumables besides all heal or maybe 1 more. way less armor I think that was noticeable from the get go for fans of the first. I mean less armor and loot in general. it's weird chests don't respawn like the first for more grind content, but also the loot distribution due to less weapons and armor is just shit compared to the first. all loot is set and permanent so there's no difference in loot between playthroughs. everything else is a clear improvement from the first. also they took away holy and dark affinity enchantments for whatever weird reason when a lot of nighttime enemies are weak to holy magic or some enemies dark but we can't even use those enchants like the first game

[@marcpolain9663]

You clearly didn’t play the first game if you think we waited ten+ years for a sequel. We didn’t even think a sequel was possible based on the first games success. It was a cult hit you sir were not part of that cult, I was and I had an absolute blast with this game.

[@deepvibes4871]

Only part I hate is how you can only have 4 special attacks set at 1 time

[@allandm]

I honestly don't understand why we can't have 8 specials? That was very frustrating

[@deepvibes4871]

@@allandm hopefully they fix it in a update but idk

[@stewbaby187]

As far as feel and exploration, DD2 is the Red Dead Redemption 2 of action RPGs.

[@bitmau5]

RIP Total Biscuit

[@25xxfrostxx]

His wife is streaming Final Fantasy 14 now. I miss his reviews and podcasts.

[@auric7482]

I didn’t even know he was sick

[@dankusmemeus7093]

@@auric7482nah I’m pretty sure he’s dead

[@robcampion9917]

@@dankusmemeus7093 Yup and last I heard KZbin wanted to shutdown his channel.

[@lowhighkangLHK]

Just so you know, you CAN cut medusas head off. And use it against the griffon to turn it into stone.

[@Luckyshot511]

I only had one expectation: more and cooler vocations, it was not met

[@RedDeadSakharine]

When you fight the griffon for the sculpter without petrifying him, he'll say he didn't have enough time, and the patron who ordered the sculpture is super disappointed and rants over how bad the sculptor is. Made me feel really bad for not going the extra mile.

[@jonathanbaker4361]

In terms of game play loops and repetitiveness... a wise Philosopher once said, "familiarity breeds contempt." The more you know about something, the less you are interested in it. That's why the "forever game" is a unicorn. At least in terms of freshness. Unless YOU can find contentment in doing something you have already done, over and over again... nothing will ever last. And people under 30, I don't even know if they CAN understand that. When I was in my 20s I felt like I played Vampire the Masquerade table top game forever... I had played it for 6-8 years at most. I am in my 40s now, it was over 20 years ago, and I can barely remember it anymore. But that's OK. Games aren't life's end. They are a passtime. Used to pass time.

[@Gilga66]

as a dd1 player and very hyped for dd2 i was very disappointed in the end. there are 2 main problem in dd2, the first is everything from the performance(and crashes a lot of crashes for me) and "capcom moment" for single player games(already know them from resident evil mtx bs). the second is how dd2 is just dd1 with almost all the same pro and cons, sometime we trade one thing for another like wtf we got new monsters but older ones are removed? we got new classes but lost older ones form the old dd1 disappeared?, then we get into the story and i liked dd1 story so i was ready for a new one... insted i got "almost" the same thing, but this time much worse since i already played dd1 and already know all "plot twists". this is a game for new player to get into dragon's dogma, not much of a sequel for old players, as the title say when you get into the game this is "Dragon's Dogma" not the 2 or the sequel it's jsut Dragon's dogma. another example of trade between dd1 and dd2 is that we got better combat but traded it for a worse music/soundtrack. i'll play again when the game stop crashing every 10-50m and performance in city are no longer powerpoint show, but they got my money... i really wish i had waited and bought it later during the sale. i got dd1 years ago for like under 10 bucks, 4 times the discount and 16 times the value. now i'm paying 70 bucks for 1/4 of a pc port. edit: some english typo fix, there are probably others but this is the best i can do now.

[@LeonserGT]

After 100+ hrs in DD2 (and my DDDA is like ~1000 hrs) - it's safe to say the combat we got is worse. Obviously movement is an integral part of it and since instead of a snappy, responsive, arcadey but precise movement from DDDA we got this slower, heavier, clunkier and jank movement, combat suffered too because of it. Another part of combat problem in DD2 is insane stagger resistance parameters - specifically, basically ALL classes other than warrior get stagger resistance PENALTIES, what the fuck - warrior gets 300 out of the blue, while other classes vary from -50 to -100. So, you are lvl 40 fighter/mystic spearhand/anyone and let a noob goblin near melve hit you once? Now you're stunlocked until the entire combo of that goblin is complete. EVERYTHING fucking staggers you, this is insane, no wonder dwarven smithing is the best + must-have rings for stagger resistance + that stagger resisting augment from sorc. As a result, they made MS shield bubble braindead OP, together with thief's ulty. At least aside from movement, mods already are fixing the rest - whoever is tired of stagger-lock, try "balanced combat" mod on nexus. Absolute blessing.

[@LeonserGT]

I'm also saddened on the music, DDDA had one of the best boss tracks ever and the best music we get in DD2 is usually... just a reprisal from 1 :/

[@CaptainAugust]

​@LeonserGT I feel like I'm going crazy lol no one else can feel how bad the movement feels in this compared to the original. Instead of snappy precise movement we get momentum and auto climbing and stumbling around off balance

[@LeonserGT]

@@CaptainAugust and also ridiculous unwanted sliding, like you climbed some rock one step at a time then one mis-step and you're sliding uncontrollably all the way down - and yes, while it sounds realistic when I describe it that way, its actually really stupid in game, because that can involve a notable platforms that arisen just proceed to jump off for no reason...

[@aersla1731]

Yup, felt like the game issues were overshadowed by technical and microtransaction one. When the discussion should be around the game itself, it's lacking for most dd1 players. At this point the best we can hope for is a DLC. It's such a strange game, it's a mix bag, there's a lot to love but also a lot to hate. And it's hard to recommend at 70 USD feels like it should have been 40 with the amount of content it has.

[@Dreggy990]

game is not perfect, but it left me wanting more which is a good thing. I wanted more giant monsters, more biomes, more towns, more quests, more difficulty. felt like this game got a lot of hate through misinformation like the pay to fast travel with the one port crystal being sold which it came with the deluxe edition anyways. or that you cant change your character without paying. performance I didnt have much issues at all either. love the game planning on doing a second playthrough with just my main pawn and my arisen for a challenge

[@Sam-cy6cd]

I will probably make a second runtrough as well with a mod to increase difficulty

[@Master_Matoya]

Hope they get us the Beholder and the Reaper. Definitely more fantasy trope enemies too, Orcs and the like would be dope.

[@RiderZer0]

The game is for sure very fun. But it is frustrating how little they tried to expand upon what the first game did. I’d argue in many ways it regressed. But I think it did deserve the ratings it got in the 7-8 range. Doesn’t mean it’s a bad game. That being said I played on a beefy PC (3090 and 12900k). If I was struggling to play this on say a 3070 and an i7 I’d be pretty upset too.

[@mikeoakeshart3823]

With multi monitor becoming a common thing, maybe game developers should implement the option for player to put gameplay in one screen and UI in the other one.

[@Kharis-]

I like this idea but i would prefer no UI at all.

[@frenchbloo]

Eh, I kind of disagree on the quests. They certainly weren't all created equal. If you compare it to the best of the genre then DD2 is certainly lacking, but a lot of side quests are a VAST improvement on the first game's side quests. Most side quests in DD1 were fetch quests, given by NPCs that very rarely managed to get you invested into their story. Here in this game I remembered side quests characters and actually got invested in their stories. It's far from as good as others have done it, but certainly an improvement for the franchise

[@The_Judge300]

I totally agree. Many of the side quests in DD2 are way better than the side quests in DD1.

[@soldier741r6]

The side quest in DD2 is better, but it's not a good comparison, they are both bad, it's better if just removed half of them, even better if removed those quest had npc tried to have your attention.

[@frenchbloo]

@@soldier741r6 nah, some of these quest lines were very fun. The whole Ulrika romance questline was great fun! Helping Havre rebuild, fighting a pustule dragon, helping the citizens of Melve revolt. Good stuff. Some of the side quests also end up intertwining, a missing kid that was in a lost in an underground library unlocks the possibility to free Waldhar and unlock a few more quests from him. Captain Brandt's quests also connecting with Ulrika, as you start the revolt

[@personalmelon]

@@frenchbloobut even those were extremely short and lacking, out of any rpg some of these side quests are the shortest and least immersive in the genre. I love everything else but Jesus most of the quests are empty.

[@ElixrfyWrld]

​@@personalmelonit's not fair to try and compare a niche franchise to house hold names and what they accomplished. it's a clear improvement from the first and that's all that should matter. a lot of the quest are very obtuse making you talk to random people not even related to hear more dialog or lore on that quest or area that in turn ties into your quest. not every side quest is like this and there is certainly it's fair share of fetch quests but why are people trying to compare like the game tried to beat its competition in terms of quest and story. most definitely wasn't their focus and everything else shines bright because of it

[@wheeloftimem8481]

Nice video. It is indeed frustrating to think about how much greater the game could be, and how much better it would get optimised if the devs got the time they needed.

[@jaynight4154]

They had almost 12 years from the first. How much more time would they need?

[@xXTEACHEYXx]

Your takes on everything are always spot on! Amazing work

[@8wayz2shine]

Your take on quests is rather one-sided - quests do not give only material rewards. They will also raise your affinity with the character(s) which can lead to additional quests, discounts and if high enough - gifts sent to your home. The meisters will also reward you with their Master skill once their Affinity is high enough. You are encouraged to interact with the NPC outside of quests and present them with gifts. Come back every once in a while and see whether they have something new for you. There are usually multiple ways to resolve a quest, including using forgeries of quest items. While this might be not the deepest quest system in the last 30 years, it still does a remarkable job putting the focus on the NPCs and not just the story. You do get to know and care for them.

[@personalmelon]

I disagree, it barely puts focus on the NPCs, it’s something that you come across during the game and never interact with again unless you’re focused on a romance or getting a master skill (which is extremely easy). I like the ideas but this is not executed well.

[@8wayz2shine]

@@personalmelon the game actually makes you interact with NPCs often: - they will come to your home to ask for an escort mission. Or meet you on the roads and request either help culling monsters or to escort them. - they will leave you gifts at your home according to their character and with a small note. - even after you finish a quest, other NPCs will remind you to revisit one or more of the characters involved in the quest for more information. Case in point - Saint of the Slums has an improved ending if you go back to the church and talk to Lottie, then ensure that Radcliff will help them. Another example is once you free the magistrate, he gives you a quest and later more information about the world. - you can visit certain locations to get gossip or relevant information about some quests. The gaol comes to mind - even if you imprison someone, you can talk to them to get more exposition. - there are small touches that help you raise your affinity with NPCs and come back to specific locations. You can buy everyone a round at a tavern - this will more effective during the evening when there are more people there. Do you really need to this? Not really, but this helps improve your ingame score relationships with multiple NPCs and possibly meet new ones. You won't have many cutscenes or deep romance arcs here - most of the interactions will be through the game's mechanics. They do a good job making you meet, learn and care for some of the NPCs in my humble opinion.

[@jax-ew7lw]

The main game in DD1 had less variety to be somewhat fair when it comes to enemy type. Bitterblack isle the repeatable dungeon held most of the variety, once again leaving the final conclusion of this game to dlc.

[@XaadeTheBlade]

I'm confused by the sculptor example. You found a different way to accomplish the quest. There IS a different way. And you got more gold for the effort. However, you could fail so hard at the quest and the sculptor is mocked. Or they're praised. Or they're highly praised. The end scene is different. Just like BG3 there are different ways to obtain the powder to free Nere, but at the end of the quest, you freed Nere and it plays out the same. Yeah, you could just let Nere die by waiting, woo.... Sure, there are 15 different ways you can play out that segment, but there are really only three results. Nere dead, Nere dead after fight, which is the same result really, and Nere alive but.... dead later... which is the same result. --- Honestly, I feel like you're ignoring a lot of what happened to make that point. You made choices, but DD2 doesn't make a huge fanfare that you made a choice.

[@XaadeTheBlade]

"Nothing else like the sphinx" Really? You weren't moved by helping the young poor child? The elf learn how to shoot a bow? Saving that elf's sister? Saving Ulrika? Being a friend to Sven? Did you sleep through the game?

[@personalmelon]

Amazing video. You’re at your best when you don’t pull punches, as usual. Good shit.

[@itsyorpal_bish]

I never played DD1, and kinda expected to not like this game because it looked like Elden Ring in the trailers to me.. but I ended up blown away by it. Also I had zero performance issues on ps5, so I don't get where the complaints about performance on all platforms comes from.

[@bee6035]

From people with performance issues

[@fruitspunch8859]

PC gamers

[@HopiumDev]

The only part that I really really really dislike about the game is that NG+ doesn't actually make enemies harder. So you go into the game with all your equipment and vocation levels etc, and the enemies are the exact same as the base game...

[@drakeshotplays]

Not 100 percent true on my NG+ j ran into more Gore minotaur and other strong enemies in Vaermund before even going to Bhattal

[@frozone-yeah]

Hopefully a hard mode being added can fix that as that was also a staple of the first game.

[@HopiumDev]

@@frozone-yeah Yeah, I'm just so surprised it wasn't like that at launch. I was actually flabbergasted lol.

[@frozone-yeah]

@@HopiumDev It’s those blasted Publishers being a big part of the problem wanting to push the game out before the fiscal year was over which was the end of March. If the game had more time to bake it would have been updated with more of those staple features the first game had. I mean no new game at the tittle screen was crazy. Count on Capcom to continue to make amazing games that are often squandered some because of decision making and corporate satisfaction. 🙄 Capcom is one of the better developers certainly, but their publisher side makes it a harder pill to swallow.

[@carlosstruck1996]

@@drakeshotplays what’s your level? I have stronger goblins but not stronger bosses. I’m level 67 or something like that

[@Cl0ne66]

I found that Chimera/Wraith dungeon in the first hour. Made my thief very happy. I did not fight either , but instead ran around them. I went back at around level 25.

[@benbenben123ben]

I like the bass game of Dragon dogma 2. My main gripes are that they didn’t have more vocations, and they had less enemy variety than the first game. Though, I don’t think the first game had much enemy variety until they brought out the dark arisen expansion. I am just happy that they stayed incredibly faithful to the first game. I look forward to new potential DLC.

[@immersion9880]

I think some of you need to remember that if you played DD1 to prepare for DD2, DD1 included the DA dlc. It wasn’t as fleshed out as it is now when it was released.

[@KyloB]

It does have some clunky and weird aspects, but damn this game goes right up there with BG3 and Elden ring for me. 110hrs in so far and I love every second of it.

[@XaadeTheBlade]

In many games I ask if the progression wasn't there, would I enjoy the game. The answer is often... NO. In this game, I go hours without even questing. I will literally just trace a path and walk about killing things and giants, and that's all I need.

[@stoneroses8818]

I think its amazing, when you consider the fact that Itsuno made this game with a small team around 400+ people compared to other Capcom giants such as Street Fighter which had 1500+ people working on them

[@McGriddle69]

I agree with the sentiment that the games I know the LEAST about end up being some of my favorites. The two I can call to mind are helldivers 2 and Kingdom Come Deliverance. The latter becoming one of my favorite games of all time. I knew literally nothing about the game when I picked it up on sale for $7. I just knew it had realistic combat and was very historically accurate and then I loaded into the game and the open world and the charm of it reminded me of oblivion which brought back such a nostalgic feeling in me but then it went above and beyond that.

[@jeremysato8568]

Yea sometimes I feel like there is a lil to much monster in the world. I feel like they could cut back or maybe if you traveled trough and cleared out a certain area. Maybe monsters would respond after a week or so if in game days

[@LifeInFrame]

Check out Drabnir's Grotto Cave if you've only done Waterfall Cave. It's another good one.

[@pod155]

Dragon Dogma 2 is my game of year so far because coming off of Afterbirth, this game was a breath of fresh air.

[@AntwKats]

I Really hope Capcom invest in the DD Team and hire them some writers , imagine an Action RPG like Dragons Dogma , with the naration and story of BG3

[@DJWeapon8]

Dragon Age Inquisition is the closest to this out of the games I've played. Good story. Memorable side characters. Good real time party based combat.

[@imaginalex5850]

It's good, but it is flawed and in comparison to DD1 endgame, it is incomplete. Do NOT let Capcom get away with a half baked product it's rushed.

[@1kbmahan]

Bru ain’t no one care

[@mrzapey6411]

Dd1 didn't have an endgame really on launch though?

[@imaginalex5850]

​@@mrzapey6411 it had the unmoored post game world , quests on the hunting board and even from some npc's to hunt augmented versions of beasts / monsters ( grim ogres, gorechimeras, archhydras, hellhounds, etc) + 3 tiers of gear after the dragon gear, T1 T2 and T3 gear in the everfall infinite dungeon that prepare you to gear yourself to fight the UR DRAGON with Tier 3 armor and weapons. All of it prior to the Dark Arisen DLC, the everfall was the prototype for Dark Arisen. and yes, it was all available at launch.

[@drakeshotplays]

​@@imaginalex5850DD2 has the unmoored world and opens up alot of quests and new stronger enemies everywhere you didnt get the real endgame

[@josephramirez2435]

I 100% disagree the story in dd2 is great and the side quests are some of the best I’ve seen in an rpg there meaningful and some actually contribute to the main story. The combat is great,exploration is great, the classes are great ect. Capcom made a great game

[@danielsimpson5994]

The main quest once reaching Vermund really screeches to a halt for me. Brant is just, like, "Hey, you wanna rule this place? You gotta do a bunch of fetch-quests for me first!".

[@jaytoochill_]

Yup. Just feels like a copy of doing that list of quests for the one guard in the first game. And then once you finish the Brant quests the main story is basically over lol. It races to the finish from there. Finished the game in 20 hours. Now I’m 118 hours in though doing side stuff. But man I hate how the main quest line is

[@XaadeTheBlade]

@@jaytoochill_ I keep saying open world games should not have main quests. Write down a list of how many open world games have good main quests. No, stop throwing branching quests in there, trim it down to the minimum needed to complete main quest. Look at that list compared to how many open world games there are. Now, think of how many good side quests there are in open world games. It's almost every single open world game has a better side quest than the main quest.

[@jaytoochill_]

@@XaadeTheBlade Or maybe instead of not having one altogether, lets up the standards of the main quests to be on par with those great side ones. A game without any sort of main focus driving the story in a direction would be extremely odd. What would it be called? The great miscellaneous adventures lol?

[@RiderZer0]

@@jaytoochill_wait seriously? I think I’m almost done with his quests and I haven’t even made it to the elves or the beastren lands lol. I thought the main story was going to take me to those places lol

[@jaytoochill_]

@@RiderZer0 sorry for kinda spoiling but yes it will take you there. Once it does it’s basically gonna have you start ending the game if you just stick to the main stuff. None of the queen fake arisen stuff or the hatred of pawns in that place is ever really expanded upon. They could’ve done a lot with those ideas but it’s rushed

[@lowbearful]

the enemy variety is abysmal, it's an archaic design to have so many re-colours of enemies pasted throughout the world - also there's very few exciting pieces of gear to be found exploring, in other open world games you at least get more items that are better than vendor gear when going off the beaten path. the combat at the start is very fun, but by level 30 the enemies just don't scale as a threat and combined with the lack of variety in enemies compounds into a very dull experience where you actively want to avoid combat as it feels like fighting endless trash mobs

[@jonnyvelocity]

Did you play Dragons Dogma?

[@ceno10101]

I can't wait till I am playing something that matches up with the channel. Last thing was Baldur's Gate 3. I still love the energy of the channel though.

[@LegendaryDrops]

Thanks man

[@Sagentemus]

You *CAN* get a preserved, functioning medusa head to use on the griffin by killing the (only) medusa in the game. The problem is that you need a very specific set of things to do it which ends up making it so a lot of people will just think it's a red herring. The game really likes to nudge you in the right direction but then it doesn't really tell you what to do which while refreshing can be really confusing because it's a videogame not reality and I don't know how the rules work in this little universe of yours. Case in point the way to behead the medusa is to strike the head repeatedly with a slashing weapon while she's still on her first/second bar of life. Having a lightning enchantmnet on the weapon "seems" to help. If you do too much damage or use other types of damage then it doesn't work. First time I slashed away at her head till she simly died, then I tried again and told my pawns to "wait" and used a pair of lightning enchanted daggers and when she was around half her second bar of life lost she just instantly died and I was able to loot the "perfectly preserved medusa head" from the ground. They *really* wanted people to just experiment and think for themselves but at times the game feels really overindulgent with its own design especially when coupled with the jankiness of it all.

[@dakotadeering7615]

Medusa respawns after 14 in game days.

[@1621lionheart]

Man, i stumbled into her cave by accident. It's when i leveled my trickster, the medusa just stared into my illusion while my pawn stabbing and slashing her back, we took 0 damage. I didn't get the head, only the bow.

[@christopherr.561]

Will be waiting on buying this one until it is patched up a bit more and it goes on sale. For me, I am just not willing to pay the price they are asking right now. I am excited to give it a try in the future. Glad that overall it seems like a good game and I am sure will just get better over time and when that happens, in conjunction with a sale, I will be a customer.

[@aurondoxon3805]

The biggest let down for me is the weight of the choices in all of the quests. They don't really matter in the long run. Saving a village from monsters will just get you some neat affinity with the locals and a lot of hollow praise, and that's it. Getting a bad outcome for a quest doesn't affect me much. I'm just sad that it happened but I'll just reverse everything in NG+ anyway so nothing matters.

[@travisleonhart3371]

This game needed so much more time and it definitely shows that’s what upsets me with this game I’m sure after they dig another 30 to 50 dollars from a dlc the game will actually be what it should have been at launch outside of the whole story and side quest parts

[@XxXRhythm_MasterXxX]

Lack of enemy variety is what killed it for me

[@YanChose]

If you like 4v1ing a single goblin, 40hrs into the game... it's the perfect game. Climbing on ennemies gets old fast. Mindless button smashing, Grandblue Fantasy style too.

[@cartoonvideos5]

Granblue Fantasy is dogcrap. Broken enemies, bad hitboxes, just lots of artificial difficulty.

[@beartech28]

Man the screen destroying spells of the Sorc are sooooooooooooooo gooood. I love storing the twister, popping it on a boss then long casting a meteor shower... so fun. Also your comment on the hand crafted world..... so good. So many games just copy paste, this games take on the world was something I havnt seen in a while in games. Lack of diversity, could that be their intent, as in, they will give us a couple xPacks?

[@BrandonDenny-we1rw]

The original thumbnail was hilariously accurate tho

[@danb.4420]

Great video. I’m still early in and enjoying it a lot. I have a long way go, but am looking forward to it

[@egordon7543]

The hard pill both lovers and haters need to swallow is it’s just like dd1, a Diamond I’m the rough that will be very divisive, a dlc will come along and add basically everything needed to turn it into a gem that ppl 20 years from now will come back and play, just like dd1, a flawed masterpiece that’s will inevitably be fixed. Would it be nice to not repeat the cycle, yes, but that’s just not the case here. Dlc leaks already are out and it’s seeming just like dd1 a dlc that’ll most likely turn the game up to prime rpg status

[@RageReaver187]

Spoiler alert: I don't know if I'm the minority here; the endgame (unmoored world) is pretty awesome, but what grinds my gears is the time limit on it + not having a save state. You have to avoid sleeping at all cost since this would advance time and destroy the world map slowly. By not being allowed to sleep you don't have a save state (or is this a general problem when in the unmoored world?) and when you die, you just wake up at the very beginning of the unmoored world, losing all of your progress. Which happened to me. This sucks hard imo.

[@tomlennox5555]

The game has hit "mixed" on Steam and few if any games ever recover from that. It's a shame and as a result will never realize its potential.

[@HANNIBAL30ro]

yea it shattered expectations, both good and bad. game is not impressive but its not bad either.

[@eddobh]

Not having another dungeon like that of the chymera is kinda big spoil for me, unfortunately. I've clear it just two sessions ago, and last session was spent mostly exploring the big human City and finishing some quests there. Not gonna lie, the perspective of that dungeon being unique (or of an extremely rare kind) is a bummer. I was looking foward other places like that, as there are quite a few like that in DDDA.

[@Hagosha]

there's definitely some other unique ones, not sure where that idea came from.

[@limeypam]

3 quests are glitched and cannot be completed. I love DD1 and 2 and hoping they fix the glitches

[@somsiadtomasz]

Try a lot of slashing damage on a neck when u next time fight the medusa ;) but yeah it's hard for players to know that it best to go back, change vocation best to a thief and cut off the medusa's head with no using pawns (or only a buff only mage with lightning enchantment) to get the best "head" (the more health she had before cuuting off the head - the more udamaged head u get)

[@jordick8427]

If it wasn't for the shitpoor optimization I would have bought the game already. But now, I'm not sure I'll buy it before -50% sales. I just don't feel comfortable giving Capcom that full asking price and reward them for releasing the game in that incomplete state. If small 2-3 developer indie companies who have no previous knowledge about game development can release their games with the game working flawlessly, there's no excuse why these big AAA companies couldn't do the same.

[@exersist44]

Despite its issues, the Greatsword combat in this game is uncontested, nothing comes even close

[@dennisclancy9439]

Monster Hunter

[@steffithemad8327]

Rubbish! Thief is king. Then Sorcerer. Then Fall Damage because nothing kills better than Fall Damage, just ask the porns, oops, I mean pawns.

[@detrickz1295]

Yeah, Warrior is absolutely amazing in this game. Favorite class so far.

[@Solare1]

I didn't like warrior in ddda but in dd2 it's so good

[@exersist44]

@@steffithemad8327 I meant specifically against other games with greatswords not against the other vocations

[@Oni-_-Elite]

I've put over 100 hours into the game and actually scheduled a vacation around it, I love it its an amazing game but it takes too many unnecessary L's I only hope instead of just waiting for dlc, in future patches we get some fixes and more enemy varieties and additional skills to flesh out the exploration and combat as well as just more stuff to do in the game to add more rpg elements like fishing or games, ghost stories with your pawns around the campfire ect

[@demiandevile2731]

Dragons Dogma 2 is the kind of game: wait and buy it in 3 or 5 years at a discount, at a time the mid Hardware is where the top end hardware now is. I can't afford a modern High end PC and compare to the consoles my low mid PC is stronger than them so I should get a comparable experience, but unfortunately I don't. At least in some cases, Elden Ring, Armored Core 6 and others run totally smooth at max settings but Star War Survivor... or other releases are so extrem unoptimized, they just throw DLSS at it to make it barely playable max settings - if you have the lates high end graphic card, if not - bad luck. And NVidia make a real A-hole move to lock DLSS3 to the RTX4000 series, I hope FSR3 will get better than DLSS just to force NVidia to be a little more consumer friendly.

[@ekcman]

22:06 3A/4A studios still need to make games that deliver on player expectations; however, they will have a wider margin or tolerance due to the size of their player/fan base. The narrower scope and smaller player base make AA and Indie studios align their game with the expectations "easier".

[@Oozaru85]

The game is okay. Story-wise it can't compete with games like Mass Effect or Dragon Age or BG3, tho. And if Dragon Age Dreadwolf releases this year, it's probs gonna crash DD2 in everything but the combat and pawn system and snatch Goty from it.

[@DJWeapon8]

I'll be honest. The pawn system is overrated to hell. Compared to DA Inquisition's party members, the only unique thing about them is that you can custom create your waifu/hasubando/montrosity. Even being able to share them online is more of a QoL gimmick for expediency. One can just as easily bring up a guide for skills and equipment for Inquisition's companions. Hell. Inquisiton lets us have more active skills than Dogma 2. Four more to be exact and allows you to swap out skills when outside combat. Lastly, you can switch between party members for even greater versatility and active skill variety for a possible total of *32 active skills.* So even a minor-but-logical sequel upgrade for the combat in Dreadwolf would spell doom for Dragon's Dogma 2.

[@Oozaru85]

@@DJWeapon8 No, the pawn system is unique and more useful than DA's companion system gameplay-wise l. Not in a "bond with your companions" aspect. But pawns learn during their journey. They learn how to best fight certain enemies or how to solve quests or where useful objects can be found in the world. Yes, the fact their skills are limited the same way the players are, is kinda dumb. But its cool to be able to use pawns of other players who have more experience in the game and can help you beat it more effectively. DA has a different combat system, so they made companions fit that system. Same with DD. I just wish we could actually bond with our pawn, with special dialogue or special moments and cutscenes during the game. This would've made the special pawn scene at the end of the true ending even more impactful.

[@DJWeapon8]

@@Oozaru85 • _Pawns learn how best to fight enemies._ Interesting only in the very early game. Once you're "on par" levelled and have similarly levelled pawns (which you will become by simply travelling normally and fighting enemies along the way), you annihilate anything dumb enough to approach so fast, combat becomes an effortless, mind numbing chore. • _How to solve quests._ Interesting on paper. But in practice? Pawn AI and hints are robotic and not really helpful. Exacerbated by quest design that wants to present itself as an immersive sim but without the detailed mechanics and cohesive writing of an actual immersive sim. Resulting in quests that abruptly and illogically conclude at best, or outright halt progress and not explain why it halted and how to fix it at worst. • _Point out where useful objects can be found in the world._ Again. Sounds interesting on paper. But in practice is more of an annoyance due to said pawn hints being robotic and inaccurate. Shops sell all you need including the best weapons and armor, and loot gathered from exploring the overworld and dungeons is made up of low tier loot or vendor trash. Very, *very, **_very rarely ever worth the effort._*

[@DJWeapon8]

@@Oozaru85 I'm actually writing a lore overhaul for my version of Dragon's Dogma. In my version, we (the player Arisen) can only have one Pawn. The other 2 possible party members are real in-universe people who you can hire or ask to join from a whole cast of companion characters. This is so that well written and in depth party banter becomes possible. Since the other 2 members of your party have actual personalities with their own thoughts and opinions. Visiting new locations, meeting new characters, taking on new quests, and completing quests would then open up party banter where the 2 other members would voice their opinions and where we the player Arisen can respond. How we respond not only affects how the 2 members view and act towards us, _but also develop the Pawn's personality and character as well._

[@DesolateControl]

In case you didn't realize, pay attention to a lot of the quests and you'll start to realize that a lot of them have these disjointed voice acting or writing. That just doesn't quite make sense. Like you can understand the concept being portrayed but they're not being written like a human would write them a lot of times almost as if AI made it. Also look at a lot of the voice acting. It's very weird in certain cases on how jolly some the voice actors are, even though the thing they're talking about is very depressing and or sad or something that should make them angry, but it doesn't. Main quests typically don't suffer from this issue, but look at the side quests look at the one the quests where you're saving a merchant and you have a sell sword that helps you out. His whole speeched wait talks. The way everything is written is very off-putting compared to what a huge what would seem like a human would write then the then the slum quests to unlock the archive's the little girl there very odd writing, very weird writing. Very weird voice acting as well. Then that look at the son of the woman that you're looking for doppelganger for his whole quest line suffers from similar issues as well. All in all, there's a lot of destroying this. There's a lot of weird voice acting and a lot of quests suffer from just almost as if they don't connect. Like if if you have someone that makes a quest they make a quest and they'll make a series of quests and they kind of interconnect with each other. But if you tell AI to make a quest and a series of quests, they typically don't connect. Well, it's almost as if the AI forgets that this part of the quest mattered or that part of quest mattered it forgets what makes quest a important quest b or why quest a was important for quest d. It just there's a lot of disconnectedness when it comes to all the quests

[@XaadeTheBlade]

DD1 is exactly the same here. Soulless voice acting. But while DD2 is jarring, DD1 is downright creepy pasta.

[@choulchoul9119]

Funnily enough, thats what i loved about dd1 and dd2, how weird and uncanny the characters are. And to me, it's because these people are landlocked in a never ending cycle, constantly being reborn. I mean, like the old crazy dude says, if you try to sail out, the brine will eat your boat and spit you back onto land, making leaving or discovering new things/new technology impossible, so everyone is stuck in this weird dream like medieval fantasy setting that can never change or grow, only go through the same never ending cycle for eternity, and the only one who takes control of their fate is the Arisen, the only person in this cycle that has the will to fight it. So everyone else is just repeating their cycles. It reminds me of the dialogue and feel of Silent Hill 2, where everyone is just acting "off" but it makes sense in the setting. idk if this will help you or anyone else on seeing the quests and npcs differently, but the context of this world makes their behaviour make sense to me, and its incredibly charming imho

[@RezaQin]

Borderlands 2 and especially Dead Space 2 (the literal best sequel to a game, ever) absolutely lived up to my expectations.

[@nateinky01]

I wonder if some of the issues from the quest layout is a western player on an eastern game?

[@DDSix66]

The hell, you can definitely cut off medusa heads, the first one I fought that's what I did, their heads decay over time and lose power

[@dankusmemeus7093]

The missions in this games feel like mmorpg missions and that’s not a good thing. Like oh find the assassin, you found him the end. The meat is the exploration and combat for sure

[@chefnstrike]

I’m very much loving DD2. I’m hoping for dragons age later this year.

[@jerrypetrov6594]

I really enjoy it but it’s definitely lacking in some areas. If they put in extra resources to make a 3rd one and release it as a finished product it could be an all timer.

[@JesserDaddy]

The game has its flaws but i think your critique of it is a bit harsh. Im probably around 50 hours in.. level 40 somethin and i cant wait to get home to play it. I also dont get to play it every day. I dont get to “live” in video games. I have a career, kids, pets, vacations, life events to plan and still have found a way to play this excessively. If you want a game you can spend all of your waking hours in delivering a fresh experience every day, theres maybe 1 or 2 that have ever been made. In all of game history. This game is the best game i have played in awhile and the best rpg in this genre i have played since skyrim. And it just came out. Its had 1 update

[@SquidGains]

I enjoyed it quite a bit, had some disappointments but overall was happy I played. Around the 60 hour mark when I'd explored everything I've switched games until dlc or hard mode drops. I think his review here was fair tbh.

[@personalmelon]

I disagree I think nearly every single thing he said had reasoning, you’d be telling him to hold back and I have to say f that.

[@colelider5480]

I really like the game. I just wish there were more weapons. I want to play how I want to. Not get stuck with the best daggers in the game and that's it. Maybe I like using poison or fire sometimes.

[@XplsiveBeanr117]

Ive seen you change the thumbnail like 3 times for this video leg boy😂❤

[@JeremyZuzek]

been wanting to buy a game for so long.. i usually buy 1 a year after heavy research I don't have much time, and after years of buying and returning multiple games a year i stopped. This year is difficult. Last year was easy BG3. I really want to get dragons dogma but I just can't pull the trigger. Pretty sure ill end up with Unicorn Overlord. wish they would put in on pc tho. i did the trial and it was so fun.

[@RezaQin]

I'll think about it when we get more than 3 or 4 big monsters to fight, MTX notwithstanding. Glad I bought Stellar Blade instead.

[@Ntx_Italiano]

I feel like the parts that were good about DD1 mostly improved(except new game plus and endgame), while the parts that were bad mostly stayed bad or got worse( quests, npcs, dialogue, enemy variation)

[@XaadeTheBlade]

You think the quests are worse? The dialogue is worse? O_O Are we playing different games? DD2 is stiff in quests and NPCs and dialogue, but it's vastly improved from DD1. Go back and play DD1. Everyone speaks soulessly in DD1. There's barely any actual "quests" at all.

[@Ntx_Italiano]

@@XaadeTheBlade I didn’t word it well, that’s my fault. I meant that quests and npcs stayed bad, while better were still bad. Enemy variation I think got a little worse though.

[@tomgreene5388]

i really hope the dlc is a good one and expands on all the things the game needs. if they can add good enemy variety, some more combat skills, and few badass areas to explore, this game will become a 10 out of 10.

[@kencwl]

This is the problem. they know DD fans will continue to support & willing to buy dlc if they just cut contents from base game and release dlc with more variety monsters etc to milk player money. I finished DD2 and love the game so far, if you ask me whether I should i buy the dlc. the answer is NO. All this AAA games and cooperate greed make me sick. Learn from BG3, full price and full game, no expansion, no dlc, this is what good game suppose to be and it deserved to be Goty. Sorry to say this won't be 10/10. probably 6-7/10 and not a goty material, maybe contender. And don't get me wrong, I love DD2.

[@Tangeffect]

Mix DD 2's Combat, with Elden Rings Map, Lore, enemy variety, and weapons.The Witcher's Side quests and story, and ToTK's Traversal and sandbox nature, and you will have the best game that was ever made. WHY WONT THEY JUST LISTEN. I know its possible, if someone could just design it and put it together!

[@maikbaumann1250]

10:37 i means yes fair point but at least npc mentions you used one and is in aw. or another example yesterday i used a unmaking arrow on a certain giant leading to a entire new cutscene in the endgame.

[@marcpolain9663]

I loved the first one and I loved this one. Anyone saying it’s a step down didn’t play the first game, they just read about it. It has flaws but they didn’t outweigh the positives for me.

[@Kozmo-Kamuy]

You forgot the headless horseman

[@ivanesparza9246]

They definitely sold a half baked product and took out some things to use them for DLC, sucks but whatever. I’m gonna buy it like an idiot, buttttt i’m keeping my rating low

[@mephiston7253]

I've played 105hours and am in ng+ and have seen 5 dulluhans while traveling at night.

[@Gmantis294]

Same amount of hours and I think I found 2 rare giant wargs, and like 2 or 3 skeleton lords which was cool but Game needs more variety

[@Chicobean727]

Its not perfect but it had such potential to be a masterpiece. A little more love for the endgame like a hard mode and a couple new bosses for new game+ and it woulda been uncontested GOTY.

[@drakeshotplays]

My new game plus had all of that j mean goblins will never be hard but in Vaermund I was running into harder versions of Minotaur and orher bosses plus i noticed my city gets attacked way more in NG plus everytime im messing with my vocation or organizing my storage there would be monster attacks

[@AlkisGD]

(Ultra / Very ) Hard Mode, Stable 60fps, and +4 skill slots would make this my GOTY.

[@mancado22]

The root of all these problems are public traded companies. If companies were private and got their loans through other method, it would be much better for the whole industry. The profits at any cost if a plague that only serves the investors and the CEOs, nobody else.

[@mrrobluxo2369]

I disagree with some of ur points. Dark Arisen was DLC that was essentially a directors cut. The original dragons dogma was extremely divisive. People loved the combat but hated just about everything else lmaooo. The everfall was considered by many to be the worst part of the game idk why people all of a sudden praise it. People hated the ending as they felt it was anti climactic. People hated how the pawns never shut up. People hated huge aspects of the game that are praised now. In fact many people hated the endgame of Dragons Dogma 1 as they said it felt unfinished lol. Also u talk about AAA gaming like u know what goes on behind the scenes I hate to break it you but u don’t. Gamers nowadays love to think they know what’s best for gaming but they really don’t. Also u talk about things like stocks like it pertains to how people felt towards the game but that’s only a smidgen of it. Idk why gamers care about sales and stocks. Things like replayability are depending on the player. This is the problem with unrealistic expectations. Nothing wrong with them but sometimes they need to be tempered. Good video though

[@gazirelseiryuu7229]

Nah, my most anticipated game for 2024 would be EDF6, been waiting 2 years for it at this point

[@forsaken650]

The fact that they were selling convenience and shortcuts, is a sleazy move. You can have your opinion on it, but you can't force others to support what they don't agree with. Micro transactions do not belong in single player story mode games.

[@The_Judge300]

The reality is that those microtransactions were pure unneeded garbage that only idiots would buy. And that makes it even worse in my opinion. Them being so stupid having them, giving them a lot of stick for their greed. If they had sold things that had value as microtransactions, then I would at least understand why they did it. There is not one single item in the microtransactions that has any value at all. I have gotten plenty of them in game and most of it is deep in my chest and not used. I have even given out some of them as pawn rewards for players that decide to use my pawn.

[@DubbleLime]

My brother in christ it's a video game.

[@danielmata610]

I loved Baldurs gate 3 and i enjoyed it very much but I had to overlook the turn base. I hate turn base! Dragons dogma combat is freaking amazing! The ideal dream game for me would be a baldurs gate 3 with real time combat like dragons dogma 2.

[@causewaybob3651]

DDDA felt like game that could have used another 2 years of development DD2 feels like is could have maybe used 6-8 months it is truly a series of almost you almost most had it I really hope we get dlc

[@chrisgee8441]

I’m at 30 hours and haven’t finished culling monsters yet. My only complaint is about frame rate. I didn’t care for the story of the first, and I can’t imagine this one will be any worse. I also keep hearing about bad end game, but the everfall was over in like 2 - 3 hours. So if this unmoored world thing lasts longer than that… it’ll be an upgrade. Am I crazy or is this the EXACT thing that happened to DD1?! Everyone super disappointed about the “lost potential”, meanwhile a small player base is head banging to flying free every morning. I guess I’m cool with this? The real DD1 experience all over again. My roommate telling me Skyrim is better. Cool man.

[@XaadeTheBlade]

Skyrim is more fleshed out. It's not "better". DD2 is a combat game, with quests and lore and NPCs tacked on. Skyrim is a lore and world sim, with combat and quests tacked on.

[@urhryuleong4839]

Just Do what you like to do, don’t be swayed by personal greed

[@beefwellington7854]

As great as the game is and likely will become with DLC, I can only imagine how great it COULD have been if Capcom wasn’t wack. Upon beating it, I was left with the same hollow feeling as I had upon beating Cyberpunk 2077.

[@RyanBeTheName]

I can definitely dragons dogma feels like it was made for me

[@ianfischer1678]

Ita a fun game but kinda annoyed because the pawns wouldn't shut up it's like 'master I can't help with this task' 5 minutes later 'master I still can't help with the task'

[@Willtopia]

There is not a lot of replayability, it was a fun experience but I don't expect to play more than my actual 90 hours, I don't feel I have something more to experience, while I have played way more of BG3 before exhausting the content.

[@FrozenAXL]

Great review. Enemy variety, Not too many interesting locations (too many caves and nothing else), no interesting quests, combat gets too easy too fast and in general not to many surprises like the Sphinx. Don't get me wrong, I am in love with this game to death, but, taking the fact the first game was highly rushed, with no serious budget and not given priority, I was expecting the second to not have less at least. After the dark and great BBI from the first, I was expecting more like this dungeon types and story-telling style in DD2 because BBI showed me they can... and, with all due respect, it's not something that feels like a resource heavy thing to do. I wonder if you're right about this game yet again given relatively low resources, but If it is true that's truly a shame... Open world games are THE HARDEST to make from scratch IMO. Not only is it probably resource heavy on the technical side, but because the market is so flooded with those and gamers are fatigued at this point, making one that's engaging is a HARD assignment. So, if they really, yet again, been constrained with lower resources, that's a shame because it is a gem that could have been way more. However, we must be honest with ourselves, and it could be just the creative limitations of the team itself, because, things like quality writing and quests comes from a creative mind first.

[@aurondoxon3805]

Monster variety in this game is lacking, most of the time is the same type of monster but in a different skin. They fight the same way as their close variants. The only difference is the status inflictions they may have. It'll be nice to see different dragons having their own unique spells and weaknesses, so fighting one takes a bit more strategy. Once you fought that specific monster, all its relatives are dealt with the same way, like every damn harpy variant lol.