Dragon's Dogma II - My Honest Thoughts

[@ThiefofCrystals]

I really hope I'm not letting anyone down, but I felt it was important to put this video out there. My channel has actually been struggling a lot, and no doubt things will be quieter for me going forward, so while I hate to impose, if you'd like to support the channel via my Patreon (or a paypal donation) it would seriously help me out. No pressure, and thank you all dearly for your support.

[@Fokkusu]

dont worry, you arent leaving people down, at least I can speak for me, your feelings are valid, I just wanna say that I did enjoy most of the things in dogma 2 that you didnt, but that doesnt mean anything other than I'm a masochist, and still I am left wanting, specially story wise as I see gaping holes in the plot and lots of missing content for classes like sorcerer and shit, I hope they fix these things in the dlc and they make things right but I would be näive if I were to believe they would totally fix all these things, at least this game is still fun for me thanks to mods too

[@juicypineapple6995]

3 things! 1: I love your channel and I RESPECT your opinion. 2: I couldn't possibly disagree more. I think Dragon's Dogma 2 has a better, more nuanced story, better and more engaging combat, and it looks absolutely beautiful. 3: I hope you will make that Oblivion playthrough you and I talked about, if you WANT to, and I am still subscribed to you.❤

[@marioman571]

Just keep going, buddy.

[@joncole5433]

I don't know about the others but I felt exactly the same about Dragon's Dogma 2. Dragon's Dogma, was phenomenal. Every area, every Quest, felt like an adventure. It's sequel however, while beautiful, did not feel anywhere as nice. It's a pity.

[@juicypineapple6995]

@@joncole5433 Are you actually kidding? Dragon's Dogma 2 is everything the first game fell short off, and it has a better story.

[@RedStar441]

Tragic irony of the fact that Dragons Dogma released in an unfinished state due to not enough time and too much ambition, only for Dragons Dogma 2 to do it all over again....

[@Retro-Design-4033]

Bro what are you talking about the only thing it had wrong was fps like brah no one's talking about elden ring launch when it had terrible fps when coming out 😂

@@Retro-Design-4033my issue is that the story felt…lacking. There was no actual buildup or anticipation. I was honestly expecting alot more base content including story especially since its been a decade since its prior release.

[@Retro-Design-4033]

DD2 was never intended to be created; Dragon's Dogma initially struggled at the box office, and a sequel was not part of the plan. Fans of Dragon's Dogma need to recognize that this game is a remarkable achievement. Its existence is not solely due to fan demand but rather the vision of the original creator, who felt he had not fully realized his ambitions with the first installment. It was disheartening to see some fans labeling DD2 as pay-to-win, as this claim is misleading. While the game does include microtransactions, they do not compromise the gameplay experience. Many potential players expressed reluctance to purchase the game due to these accusations, which is frustrating because it reflects poorly on the community's understanding. Don't forget this game was never supposed to be made!

[@mathiaschristensen1194]

@@Retro-Design-4033 While some of what you say here is true, does not detract from the games flaws. Capcom is not some double A studio and should be criticized for the lackluster sequel they've put out. Just because it wasn't "supposed to be made" (You got a friend on the inside of capcom telling you this or are you just speculating?), does not mean there aren't valid criticisms aside from bad fps. The game had terrible enemy variety, awful progression, incredibly boring fetch quests, an awfully paced main story, and don't even get me STARTED on the objectively worse end game than what we had in DD1. All this being said you're obviously allowed to love the game, but saying the only thing wrong with it was fps is a wild statement to make.. Like do you have any standards?.....

[@Retro-Design-4033]

@@mathiaschristensen1194 All the points you mentioned are actually present in Dragon's Dogma 1, which is why I'm confused. The animations in this game are incredible, the FPS issues have been fixed, and DLCs are on the way for Dragon's Dogma 2. Also In RPGs, it's common to face the same enemies repeatedly. As for the story, Elden Ring lacks a strong narrative, yet it won Game of the Year. Story isn't everything in a game. Flaws like those in Dragon's Dogma 2 are common in RPGs and shouldn't be a major concern, as other popular games like Skyrim, Witcher, and Assassin's Creed also have similar issues.

[@The_Rift]

Well said man, I think you put words to what many dogma veterans feel about dd2. A bit sad, but true.

[@ThiefofCrystals]

Good to see you here friend, it really is a shame. Onto better things eh? I saw you've provided a guide for setting up DDO - I think that's a super helpful resource, I'll likely end up making use of it myself, so thank you kindly for your efforts! Much respect.

[@The_Rift]

@@ThiefofCrystals cheers man, glad you enjoy. Really appreciate ddon after dd2, you should def check it out

[@The_Rift]

@@ThiefofCrystals cheers man, glad it could be helpful. Yeah you should def check out ddon, it's amazing after dd2.

[@yourhomiechillinvibes]

Like you said, the more you play the more the flaws show.... Just a random side note the unmoored world is probably the best part of the game including the whole depressing atmosphere and soundtrack. The ending with your pawn with high affinity made me finally enjoyed the story and fits well with the depressing destroyed world, since your main pawn has been with you every step of the game, especially when the game tells you how many days you spent with your pawn. It's just so much more disappointing because it makes you realize the incredible potential Dragon's Dogma's 2 release could've been. Quite literally the only thing that could save this game is an INCREDIBLE DLC, and I mean better than BBI since it's 2024....we could do better at this point in games.

[@GoddessCynthia]

that's really interesting. I understand your second point about it being a worse dragon's dogma 1. But in your first point, I guess for me, I was expecting emergent gameplay. I was expecting to have to travel everywhere, and then save my ferrystones for more important missions and time sensitive travel. I love camping, i love exploring with the environments being so fun. I love interacting with beasts in such fun ways. I felt like I was in a simulated world. also dragon's plauge was NOT hard to pick up on, at least for me. I just observed my companion and listened to him. I can't really describe it but DD2 really grasped me in a way DD1 just never did. I couldn't even get through DD1 for years and years, and I think it was bc of the world just wasn't fun to explore, I didn't enjoy looking at it. I got through it once and that was right before DD2 came out, bc I was specifically excited for DD2. I kinda just rushed through DD1 and it didn't really interest me too much. I knew that pretty much exploration reward was useless, but I kept exploring, I knew every line of pawns by the end of my initial playthrough of DD2, but I played it like 3 more times after that. I for sure think DD2 has flaws, but for me it's just. one of my favorite games of all time now and again, it really reached me in a way that DD1 did not.

[@RevaXartist]

i never thought i'd watch a video that covers all of the problems i had with this game down to the fact that a great dlc wont fix the base game unless they overhaul a lot core systems and features which at that point they might as well make a sequel with how much things they'd need to change.

[@MagiusNecros]

DD2 just makes you go back to playing DDDA again. DD2 feels so fake and hollow(much like the lore DD2 presents you with) while DD1 is full of soul and mystery.

[@seldomsadsam]

Looking forward to whatever you do next! Definitely watch your videos for you!

[@cyberninjazero5659]

I feel like I'm the only one who was satisfied with Dragons Dogma 2. It improved classes I wrote off as lame to play in the base game (Magick Archer), and traveling the world just felt a lot better

[@federicocasali1565]

On one hand I agree on the other, I couldn't vibe with DD2's Magick archer, felt too constrained I enjoyed a lot more the basic Archer thanks to the slides and jump kicking, felt a lot more dynamic

[@cyberninjazero5659]

@@federicocasali1565 The base attack of the Magick Archer in 1 just felt so lame that I was really grateful for the multi lock on mechanic

[@collapsiblechair9112]

it was flawed but people expected and imagined the game would have things capcom never promised. I didn't, I expected Dragon's Dogma again and was happy with what I got. The class system tidied the system up and made each distinct from each other. The combat felt weightier and had more variety. Also the pawns were improved 100%.

[@marcusclark1339]

satisfied doesn't make it good

[@federicocasali1565]

@@marcusclark1339 it's all subjective after all, I had plenty of fun during my whole playthrough, now I'm waiting for a dlc/expansion, if we don't get one I'll just play something else, could've been more to begin with (with more dev time) but it doesn't make it bad

[@alsaiduq4363]

Sucks that the game end up a disappointment for you. Honestly, almost everything you complained about (fast travel, dragon plague, how the game throw curve balls to you, etc) are things that actually really like about it. I like that the game is actually against you. It's same reason why i like the pathfinder games. The game ask you to meet in its terms and you have to do it. The rules are there, you just have to play around them. You can't ignore it and do whatever you want like Skyrim. Not because its a game is hard , but it sells the feeling of adventuring. Maybe i talking nonsense but it's same feeling that i got from Pathfinder Kingmaker. A game that will throw bullshit and expects you to understand the rules even before you know it. Trial and error.

[@ThiefofCrystals]

See funnily enough I actually quite enjoy the Pathfinder games, although I admit I've only been stumbling my way through my first playthrough of WOTR as of right now. Having played a good bit of Pathfinder tabletop when I was younger, I'm familiar with it being a bit punishing, so when the way I was supposed to be playing started to click and the tides steadily turned it was a really cool feeling. Whatever the case I'm glad you could enjoy DD2, like I say I don't at all think the game is worthless, just not what I was expecting I suppose.

[@mrInhinyero]

Had the same sentiment watching this video. Almost all the things he said are things I actually enjoyed. I had a different problem with DD2 actually and its that after some time it got way too easy. Its like it had all these cool mechanics that I couldn't utilize fully anymore. I think it needs a bitterblack isle treatment

[@leitter832]

Damn, sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t get into Dark Arisen until only a few months before Dragon’s Dogma 2, and when I got into it I didn’t even realize there was a sequel coming out. Your Dark Arisen guides helped me out greatly, and even now I think about going back through to finish up the final DLC boss who I couldn’t beat before 2 came out. I had a bit of a better experience with DD2, but I’m sure part of that was due to the fact that I hadn’t had as much time to grow accustomed to the original game as some DD veterans might have. Overall I greatly enjoyed the new one, but absolutely get and even felt many of the faults you mentioned. Port Crystals and much of the travel felt far worse than before. The fact that the Battahl and the Elven Kingdom didn’t have their own designated town crystal was so confusing to me. Also while their were some story elements and individual quests I liked, overall I think I would agree that DD1’s overall story just felt more satisfying. Gameplay Wise some of the fights definitely felt a bit more like an annoyance than a fun challenge. I ran Mystic Spearhand for the majority of my playthrough and enjoyed it greatly, but I feel like a major draw for me to that class was the OP Bubble ability that prevent much of the combat strain, ragdolling etc. that you mentioned. So while I enjoyed my run, hell even got the Platinum trophy for it completed, between the two games I feel like I’m more likeLy to revisit Dark Arisen before touching DD2 again. In either case, thanks for your guidance in my Dark Arisen travels, and hope to see more from ya soon mate

[@IottiPH]

I honestly don't think the combat is clunkier/heavier than DA. It feels different and more fluid mostly. I think I know why you feel like that? But to me it feels okay and mostly better. BUT the worse part for me is knowing that some of the best parts of the original didn't make to the second and some stuff could be improved. And in combat something that I think that is much worse and I hate, is the ragdoll, which you also talked about. That one is a killer in that regard. Travelling actually better in DD2. The world is bigger, but it's nice going around. The areas are more interesting to travel through and honestly Ferrystones are not THAT hard to come by unless you use it all the time. I was extremely used to Eternal Ferrystones, thinking I would have trouble not having that anymore, but I was super fine. BUT the oxcart ambush issue is really something. I don't know why they didn't put the chance for it to happen to something much lower. It would honestly be fun if they were rare. And the save system dropping your max HP when you died in a fight... never made sense. But the actual problem for me with exploration is that, even though it is much better, there's less incentive to do so. In DDDA you would get great new equipments on the field. In DD2 it's mostly shopping. I feel way less rewarded and THAT'S a problem. In the end I understand how you feel, but I feel for different things. I actually think the game has a great base to be much better, but it is incomplete and some stuff could be refined. I would accept it as different than DA, not having to be better or worse, just a different take to the series. But it needs some improvements.

[@alpha00zero]

Considering the size of the dev team on DD2 being not even close to the original, even less DMC5's size. The original had a proper dev team but its budget got cut short due to being far more ambitious while DD2 got what it needed to be solid but not enough hands on deck to get it past the abysmal optimization, the cut corners and the slow updates. If anything, I will be mad at Capcom for not giving more then the minimum and in fact, DD2 should've been priced like a AA game (so 40-50 bucks). The full price tag, the insane marketing, the hype, it all became very detrimental to DD2 and well... we got what we got sadly. It's not even a good look for the company because their next game, Monster Hunter Wilds, is also a big ambitious open area adventure game. If the RE Engine struggled to do something the size of DD2, how will that game handle it? Oh right... they have a small country size dev team probably. Itsuno got shafted yet again after a fucking decade by a company who only saw his game as testing ground and didn't even give him enough of a crew to allow him to release something well built. Don't get me wrong, I have my own grievances with DD2. Not exactly the same as yours. I want this game to have its redemption, like DD1 did with Dark Arisen. I really hope if they have something big planned as expansion, it helps the game get what it needs to be close to its predecessor. Like even face lift some of the core mechanics such as new combat combos to unlock, new places to visit, new difficulties, etc. I still love DD2 and DD:DA a lot. There's something absolutely unique to both of them that other games just don't have in my opinion. I just wish it didn't get the vitriol it garnered. I think that hurt me more then the in-game problems, like the insane misinformation that happened for about 2 weeks after release. You do you, tho. I'll be looking forward to whatever you have cooked up for the future, Thief!

[@ThiefofCrystals]

I had a feeling this might be the case after seeing some rumors, if that's what went wrong then that's supremely unfortunate, especially when Itsuno had already gone above and beyond for DMC5. It will be easy to look at MH: Wilds and think "why didn't DD2 get this treatment?" but I am of course looking forward to that game too. The thing about a redemption is imo vanilla DD1 was already a good game on its own merit, Dark Arisen simply enhanced it in various regards with a definitive version. And you're definitely on the mark about the misinformation, it was rampant and really hurt the game's chances. Ironically, the same thing almost happened with DMC5, but once the game was proven to be a quality product that quickly fell by the wayside. Thanks for the support friend! I'll keep doing my best for everyone.

[@JovenCesare]

Hello there. Just want to chime in. The original Dragons Dogma had 633 developers working on it, while Dragons Dogma 2 had 1,541 developers working on it. I think you are quoting inaccurate information that had come out when the game was still being finished. During that time, people had only seen one of the three ending credits, and only counted that number. After people found out there were three ending credits, all of the people working on the game were tallied up and it came out to 1,541. The people who made articles on the initial small amount of developers have corrected their articles to include a preface about the mistake. If you look at MobyGames, the amount of devs and all the names of the people that worked on it can be seen there.

[@Eorthstapa]

As someone who has been playing Dragon's Dogma since 2012, I feel most people don't know what the original game was like because they have only played it with the Dark Arisen expansion. The base game of Dragon's Dogma was a very incomplete game, with many issues, and a severe lack of respect for the player at all. There was a singular port crystal, and ferrystones were only "common" due to the one that respawned in Gran Soren every now and then. Dark Arisen honestly saved that game from complete and utter obscurity, and I feel Dragon's Dogma 2 is a much more complete game that was meant to be played a bit slower, but only once. Bitterblack being as successful as it was should have been accounted for, however it is clear it was not the standard. The game has its own issues, but I digress. I have plenty to say myself soon enough.

[@ThiefofCrystals]

I played the original DD a lot prior to Dark Arisen, and I didn't believe the game felt incomplete at all, it just meant there wasn't much challenge once you were getting into the high levels. People seem to forget that Dark Arisen primarily just added Bitterblack Isle (and important functionality like Eternal Ferrystone.) It was a fantastic expansion, but that's largely because it was built on an extremely solid core game. I'd also like to point out I don't believe what you mentioned about port crystals is actually the case, as I recall from my own experience port crystals were as common in the original game as they are in DA and functioned the exact same.

[@Eorthstapa]

@@ThiefofCrystals There was only one port crystal on base Dragon’s Dogma, located at the Bluemoon Tower. You could then purchase more, in NG+, from the Black Cat for the low cost of 200,000 gold. I am very intimately aware of this because I play the original version very often, and can stay refreshed on the performance issues, the barren areas of the map and more. Too many people look back with rose tinted glasses without being objective on the game, but I digress. Bitterblack is often considered the best and only part of the game, wrongly by many, just as it was wrongly stated to min max in Dogma 1. Now the end game of both Dogma 1 and 2 is up to debate, and as someone who speed runs the game often enough, the removal of port crystals after the end of the game makes sense from a narrative perspective, but sucks from a gameplay perspective.

[@Alivair]

You have put into words most of my frustrations with DD2. Stunlocking and getting jumped constantly made me wanna quit so often. Also carts/that railcar thing need to be unbreakable fr

[@davejohn3600]

If you have a thief with plunder, they'll often collect ferrystones from Griffins.

[@evbvini]

i didnt finish the game... play dd2 makes me wanna play dd1 but in a bad way because i do not enjoy playing it and miss the og

[@nyan2317]

Given the initial hype, i had expected everyone to be enjoying DD2. Few months after release, I was pretty surprised by the ratings. At least this clears out why (steam reviews aren't exactly descriptive sometimes). I've been playing DDDA since a couple months back and while I'm on postgame stretch, I enjoyed the vocation guides a lot.

[@stevewallace1387]

I'm 25hrs in and thinking about quitting out of boredom

[@Trippydrip246]

Fact

[@kwillzmz]

You suck

[@RevaXartist]

Finally finally! someone mentioned the port crystal problem that is one of the most innovative features in the first game and something every open world game needs to have in order to fix repeat playthroughs from becoming stale if games like elden ring had this feature then they would be near perfect. this simple quality of life is what made me beat ddda's main campaign daily for months because i could cut out places i had explored and just play my favorite parts of the main story again when i found out this feature wasn't in 2 i have never been able to beat the game since. i only beat 2 one time because this feature wasn't in it.

[@stevet6975]

Wtf you have to hold to revive? I mean i guess it’s ok if it also revives nearby pawns too

[@usamakhanfit]

Dragons dogma: dark arisen really is the better game.

[@sanskerl6341]

Is sad to get late to this, but I agree with the overall sentiment. I will still play it and enjoy it, but this could have been so much more

[@Biassedbug]

The dragon plague! If your pawn has 100% affinity with you he or she will never kill anyone in the town he or she will recover naturally I tried 4 times!

[@christopherway2546]

Could you imagine if they took DD:DA and gave it the Demon Souls BluePoint treatment? Changed nothing and ran it through UE5. Maybe polish a few things but I think it would be the next Elden Ring. Take the gaming world by storm or maybe I’m delusional. Maybe both.

[@DANCERcow]

I main issues are of animations being too free for and less restricted. I liked the stiff arcade nature of the first game. I hate ragdoll physics in my action games like this! It feels too cheap and the same as every other series now! What made DD 1 special and separated itself was the animation style, controlled animations of different strokes and falls, no ragdolling added weight to the animations, warrior unsheathed over the shoulder like every goddamn game! I miss DD 1 warrior, this genuinely is one of my major grievances! The baseball bat swinging, barely moving forward no weight having ass of warrior in DD 2 unironically makes not want to play as warrior! No light boon and no dark element, a lot of missing skills etc. I like the monsters though.

[@Y4manata]

Dd2 feels more like dd1 reimagined than a 2

[@valdovinosjonathan]

I don’t disagree necessarily because I do love the game. It does feel like the first one where it’s not finished and it will waste your time (1st one fixed the issue with the internal ferry stone) with their travel system. They could have put in more side quest if the port crystal was all you needed to fast travels

[@MatthewManney]

I started having problems when they dropped the trailer, as it became apparent that Capcom's DEI team had their way with the game. It became more apparent with the character creator being released. The male characters looked quite decent, but female were all on the same level as TES Oblivion females. They hardly looked human, unless they were black. The hairstyles as well were all suspiciously off and not so European. After trying them all on a black female character, all my suspicions were confirmed. Then you look at the population of the game, and its disproportionately black and furry. The first game had solid diversity without it being forced by DEI, and it was well done. There were guards, and characters like Mason who felt like they belonged. Another huge issue is the lack of armor layering, which made looting important. Now with a ton of copy paste dungeons, and less loot, exploration feels worthless especially on subsequent playthroughts. The classes were stripped down, especially Fighter. The story was obliterated and endgame may as well not exist. I truly don't like DD2. It's an extreme disappointment, with only a few improvements that don't matter when what makes DDDA great is completely missing. I hate DD2 and everything it stands for. It's another black mans wet dream being able to take over yet another cool culture that wasn't theirs in the first place. Between this and Assassins Creed this is a good time for black gamers if you don't have any respect for the medium. The ugly female thing pisses me off too. So many parameters were gimped purely to limit attractiveness. I really wish Itsuno could have his dream game, because it is the closest thing to my ideal, despite still being far off. It seems so obvious what a medieval rpg aught to be, and we're far from.

[@MatthewManney]

Looking forward to what you play next ToC. For me Crystal Chronicles and DDDA were the closest we'll ever see to my vision. This game was my final hope that DEI couldn't destroy everything, but it has.

[@MatthewManney]

OH AND LET ME MAKE ANY OFF MY PAWNS PLAY CATCH WITH ME FFS!!!! >:(((((

[@Darko807]

Stunlock in combat? Just don't play the game like hack'n'slash and back off and engage tactically unless you are able to not get stunlocked. Griffon destroying the cart? "How was I supposed to know that?" How are you supposed to know that an aggressive monster flies around the same height as the cart patrolling the area in the air? Maybe just don't be laid back on a suicidal level in a monster filled world? I'm not trying to be toxic but the game is very consistent about it's in-build survival/logic thematic But of course if you just run around want to onehit loot and teleport you can't observe the world you're trying to traverse

[@ThiefofCrystals]

With everything this game throws at you (combat encounters in Battahl especially often bleeding together due to overly saturated enemy placement for instance) it doesn't really matter how carefully you want to play, you're getting staggered/stunlocked sooner or later. No amount of 'tactical engagement' will stop a chain of attacks killing you without giving you a chance to act between them. Being potentially (but not very) avoidable doesn't make this a good inclusion. Blocking one attack can easily leave you open to another, and not every class can even play particularly carefully. Thief has Swift Step but numerous attacks from larger monsters just don't really care about it, Archer is basically SOL, if you're playing specifically Mystic Spearhand I could maybe understand this perspective. But it's very easy to say 'just play flawlessly' as though that absolves the game of criticism. There's a very big difference between expecting to one-shot every enemy, and NOT expecting to be one-shot without warning. This game contains a lot of scenarios that you can't actually be expected to prepare for without prior knowledge - this is fine if you're given a chance to properly adapt in the moment (or at least flee) so that you're better prepared next time, but that's very rarely the case. Plenty of games have fleeting instances of this issue, but DD2 has it especially bad (at least when you aren't just slicing through foes like butter.)

[@randyjax09]

As a newcomer to the series, I was shocked by how much wasted potential this game has. Everything is so superficial. I don’t understand why they would half-ass so much of the game.

[@doneor]

Unfortunately, I understand you and have the same feelings and opinion..

[@Atrigraphy]

PC key mapping made it unplayable for me. Still angry I paid for this scam.

[@VTRwalking]

Personally a bit sad you disliked it, but not dissapointed. So don't go apologizing for daring to dislike something *gasp* the audacity! You do you! :D I always saw that DD DA had the inkling to create this attrition but due to limitations of production at the time, they never happened. In DD2 the attrition is there and I genuinely feel that players, in general, are not ready to deal with games pushing back at you as I've been seeing for years people complain about this exact concept in multiple games. The things you mentioned that drove you out, are things that for me are what make these series special and I do genuinely believe that this is still the case. Is it flawless? Nah, I think the game lacks content in the sense that DD 1 (Pre DA specifically) had more going on then most of DD 2. But the issues raised here feel like someone with their own idea of what the game is VS what the creator wanted it to be clashing. (Neither part is wrong, but it is a balancing act that needs to be accounted for before engaging wtih/creating it) I say this because DD 1 has a lot of the blueprints for these EXACT same "issues" but couldn't fully execute on the idea in that moment, but with time (and the negative feedback they got in the original launch) they remedied it in a way that made everything feel more "arcadey" in spirit. Yeah we want you to explore but here, you can now freely teleport whenever you want. Yeah, we want you to pay attention to how quests are solved so you can find different solutions... but all quests have a pretty obvious solutions that you can follow. And that's taking in fact that DD 1 has A LOT of small hidden interactions that honestly how in the fuck was someone supposed to find these naturally? (Looking at Quina in the initial town travelling to the church and having a whole quest that only appears if you help her move there through a quest board generic quest... A Parting Gift questline in case anyone wants to look it up.) In regards to Dragon Plague... I genuinely don't understand how people can miss it. Your pawn, straight up, ignores your commands. They have idle animations where they show how unwell they feel and voice it too. It's hard to get caught "off guard" by it honestly. I never had a pawn even defy me up until my second playthrough, where I promptly threw them off a cliff because that's the best cure for it. (Which I don't really like, hey pawns you're my friend but if you get sick I'm throwing you into the river like... a bit non sensical honestly) So to me, the fear of failing and it's punishment is speaking louder than what the system actually is, as long as you pay attention to your pawns, it's hard to get caught off guard by it. Which honestly? It's just subjective. Kind of makes me wish that they had a toggle for it. Also reminds me of a discussion when Unsighted launched, which I highly recommend you check out! The game is great but the conversation around the game's main mech was very similar to the Dragonsplague. End of the day, not bashing you or anything but I feel that everyone that has issues with how DD 2 executes some (Not all, mind you some stuff I can actually understand) of it's mechanics either came in with a different expectation and when hit with this wall got discouraged or simply were not willing to pay attention. DD 2 wants you to pay attention to it and it punishes you when you don't. DD 1 (And DA by extension) wanted you to pay attention, but let you slide off the hook when things started to get bad. The one thing I will say is worse in DD 2 is combat. It does a lot of things right but the limitation in how much you can do with each class is very obvious when you play both DD DA and 2 back to back, I feel like DA had a lot more room to be creative and find things that worked well, DD2 simply does not have as many options and when they allow you to be creative, it's super limiting (Looking at you Warfarer.). And that's not even mentioning enemy variety, Everfall alone had more creatures than DD2 as a whole imo... which makes the combat issue for me even more glaring. Not really going to get into how easy or hard it is tho because I feel like I'm biased towards harder games so I just hope that a Hard mode actually puts the pressure on like the one in DD DA did. Anyway, great video and I am hoping the best for you! It's fine to lose interest, be dissapointed and to be tired of a game so don't apologize for it. Your channel, your content, your joy, gotta respect it homie! Hope that you can find another game that drives you just as hard as DD DA did and that this low is just another bump on the road.

[@federicocasali1565]

Thank you for this comment, put a lot of my thoughts into words, in a lot of dd2 videos it's full of people acting like the game is a broken mess without any merit

[@princesszelda8577]

Exactly this. I found it so annoying that the things that most complain about the game are it's core mechanics, it's supposed to be played that way. Like they're expecting it to be a different game, this is Dogma. There's not much fast travel because it's a feature, not because they were stupid to not put it in. They want you to explore, and I can't tell you how much amazing it all was when I just started trying to go to places I can see from far away with how huge and distant everything looked. There are even some complaining on why there are pawns and that pawns ruins the game. Like they're expecting a different game entirely. Also same as you, most of the flaws people complained about are the things I love about the game, so it's all subjective and it's just unfortunate that it DD2 being good as it is, got targeted by brain rot gamer hivemind hating it for the most undeserved reasons. I also feel like most people ruined the game for themselves by having their subconscious expectations affected because they exposed themselves to the npc mob hate train rather than playing it blindly and at face value, forming their own experience and opinion. I also think the comparison to DD1 or DA is a bit of a nostalgia glasses too. Because I've played DD1 when it came out, and then bought dark arisen when it got released, I got addicted to DA halfway through playing it but with DD1 It never really hooked me in for a while. To me DD2 is better, and that's without it's DLC yet. And I say this as a veteran dogma player.

[@onecrazysteinermechwarrior9584]

Appreciate the honesty. The game honestly felt underwhelming at times for me, despite the fun I had with parts of it. I’ve since moved onto other games, most recently SMTV: Vengeance & it will be a while before I return to it. While I did get into this channel for the Dogma content, I’ll stick around to see what you cook up in the future.

[@Gems56]

I like it more then the first game alot of ppl ignore the fact the dlc saved the first game.

[@NightmareOni]

Bit of a story. Back in early 2023 I had a bad seizure and was hospitalised on life support for 2 weeks. On waking up and being in a ward for a month I was extremely bored, so I thought to myself I'll buy Dark Arisen on the switch so I can play it there at least. Then I searched for some cool content about it (Only played the original on release) and came across your channel. Your approach and atmosphere of the content you make was bloody marvellous, I was instantly entertained and you in a way helped me mentally escape from the crap that I had going on at that point. It was fresh, fun, educating and all around, had great vibes. Since then, I have always watched your content, and will continue to do so even when I don't like the subject (I hate DD2 with a passion). Looking forward to your future plans mate!

[@ThiefofCrystals]

This was wonderful to read - not the seizure part, I'm so sorry regarding that - but it's very kind of you to share this and I'm beyond glad I managed to provide some sort of help during difficult times for you. Thank you so much for the encouragement, I'll keep at it and will do my best to keep up the same approach and atmosphere - just better!

[@scottmerric2180]

I wouldn’t say Dogma 2 is a bad game, but “Heartless,” was a very important distinction compared to DDDA. That game still has heart. I’m surprised how bad and hyper specialized the classes are vs DDDA. Assassin, Magic Archer, Mystic knight - the “new” classes are awful.

[@mionmayu6241]

I very sadly agree and it hurts pretty bad as i LOVED the first one so very very much even if it was a bit ass sometimes it was truly special but the second one..and i tried very very hard but its just not.. that fun tbh. It even tends to be annoying on purpose and i dont understand why either.

[@ThiefofCrystals]

Exactly - the annoying on purpose bit really bothers me. Preparation is emphasized to the point of immense tedium, frequently getting entirely in the way of anything resembling a fun experience.

[@HiveFleetKronos40K]

it's the enemy variety that ruins the game for me. like in dd da griffins don't actually spawn until you do a certain quest. you have to go on this long trek and there's so much build up, the griffins making the weather go crazy and you've got a group of soldiers with you and it makes for an epic battle. once you complete that quest griffins will start to spawn in the world, but their spawns are limited. there's only a couple places they spawn and imo that's a good thing, it makes them rare and feel more mythical. in dd2, i've fought tons of griffins by themselves, then i've had griffins join in while im already fighting, ogres, cyclopses, dragons, golems, ect. i once rode a griffin to it's nest and when it was nearly dead another griffin appeared. they're so overused that i got fed up with fighting griffins and would try to avoid fighting them. there are some cool and unique/rare creatures like the sphynx and medusa, but those are very few and far between. i haven't touched the game since the end of march and i dont think i'll play it again for a while. luckily the modding for the game is better than dd da, there's stuff like new vocations and and skills. so ima wait a while until there's more mods and play it again then, or maybe if a dlc comes out and it's good

[@SOUL-KING-93]

It's trash, we know bro.. we know (sad shart) 😢

[@PoetLegion]

It sucks hearing someone else have very much the same sentiments about dragon's dogma too, as I did and even more so to hear that the mediocreness of The Game is affecting your Want To even put in countless hours in order to give us Amazing guides Like You did for the first game but I. Completely understand and honestly, I'm curious as to what your new content's going to be. I can't sit here and say I've been a loyal follower for every one of your videos 'cause I haven't but any time it's been 1 that I thought was interesting or the? The entire dragon stock, my one vocation guide, which I heavily needed.Because I am a very bad at that game.Even though I love it dearly was good to watch and I love your content and I am excited to see what things you'll make in the future

[@bjneal5615]

I don’t feel this is the game they wanted it to be, but I also think it’s beautiful for what it is, and it sounds like you just don’t. I get what they’re going for with most of the mechanics that you complained about, even the story. The game definitely feels different and I was also disappointed for a moment however, I realized that I needed to accept it for what it is, and try to enjoy it from their rather than perpetually comparing it to the original and compounding my disappointment. Once I did that I realized that it’s honestly the best Open-World Action RPG I’ve played outside of Elden Ring in a long time. I wish the DD2 community could see this game for what it is rather than what they wanted it to be, but I think at this point we’re destined for the game to fall from the limelight dishonorably only to be rediscovered years later and proclaimed to be a misunderstood, innovative masterpiece, beyond its time. And with that it’s starting to sound an awful lot like how things went with the original.

[@thechuck141]

The travel is why they will not get my money.

[@lewisred6000]

I didn't need an assassin guide after playing the class for a long time, your videos are simply entertaining. I'm still going to watch whatever you decide to do.

[@LM-vq7ju]

I have only been recommending this game with mods to make fast travel better.

[@TheTyyros]

i never bought the thing, because on release there was a ton of complaints about performance, crashes etc. figured i'd wait till all that kinda stuff got fixed but the longer i went without playing it the more general complaints there were about gameplay, not just performance and framerates, which is a huge disappointment AND NO MYSTIC KNIGHT WHAT THE HELL -10/100

[@XaeeD]

Yeah so I played the game for about 4 or 5 months, and at that point I was really just trying to force myself to enjoy it. I like the game, but I don't love it. It's not a bad game imo, but at the same time, it isn't very good, either. I truly think that DD2 had a lot of potential; it's almost like a puzzle that's missing some pieces, with some elements being misplaced or deformed, and if they'd just taken more time to produce a better version of what was released, I think DD2 could've provided a really decent gaming experience. But it's not there; it doesn't quite hit the mark. I can go into detail and identify these issues (both major, as well as minor ones), but suffice to say that this isn't the sequel I was hoping for, and that's a shame, because I absolutely loved the first game. I stopped playing it recently, and don't really see myself going back to it any time soon. By comparison; I played DD1 since the demo released (on PS3 I believe), and kept going back to it; consistently, all the way up to DD2's release: always having fun with it. That's not happening with this game, and weirdly and maybe sadly enough, I think that when DD2 came out; that marked the end of my DD:DA days as well. The original game is one of my all-time favorite games. Possibly my number one even. Dragon's Dogma 2 ultimately turned out to be a tragic disappointment.

[@pendantblade6361]

Sad to hear, but understandable. I knew the cracks in the game even while playing it. But I'm here for Thief, not for Dogma. Carry on, you crazy man.

[@blackcatnightbane]

I'm not super far in yet still but I was enjoying 2 more than you I think, but definitely it has a lot of things I totally see where you're coming from on. Hearing that the port crystals don't transfer into new game+ is very disappointing, they were a reward for the time exploring and questing put in in the first game. I still haven't even gotten one in 2 so haven't gone to place any, having to redo that again after I have is going to be a pain in the ass. I hope you find something else much more enjoyable for yourself to invest your energy into for upcoming videos!

[@ThiefofCrystals]

Thank you very much! Yeah even though you get to keep the portcrystals themselves, needing to place them again is pretty lame. I do hope you continue enjoying though, I'd prefer as many people have a positive experience as possible!

[@PhilUP]

Personally enjoyed DD2 for what it is and there is some strong points to the game but totally agree with most your points. For hardcore fans that were waiting for a sequel I feel like the expectations weren’t meet. I’m mostly disappointed with the story and enemy variants rather than performance. DD2 looks great but it doesn’t feel/play great. I would rank it below DD:DA and DDO. Also not really a full on disagreement but many are comparing DD2 (the base game) to DD:DA (the whole completed game). I get that most only have played DD:DA but as someone that played the original DD without DA many would feel the same way like they do with DD2. But again not a full diss agreement cause even with the base game DD still does some stuff better than DD2 a the sequel that should’ve exceeded the original. Aside from that for me I’ll critique DD2 more harshly once the game is complete.

[@DRAGONPURPURACRICGCK]

I know the game let me down but your content is actually good. I know it's too soon but, would you consider maybe moving to another game? Black Myth Wukong is coming next month, maybe you could give it a chance.

[@ThiefofCrystals]

Honestly I have no real choice but to pivot elsewhere at this point - that said I'll gladly at least be checking out the game, it looks rad thus far. On that general note I very much have my eye on Phantom Blade: Zero too - thank you very much for the suggestion! I find input like this very valuable.

[@Ugouka12]

Your guides got me back into the first game after putting it down the first time. I appreciated them quite a lot! And I agree with pretty much every point against the sequel here. I was mostly upset with the story and I don't blame you at all for dropping this one. I look forward to seeing where you end up going next!

[@SonySteals]

great video, valid points

[@Alivair]

Honestly I thought you were quitting point would be the trickster vocation guide 😅

[@neutralmob4739]

i hope they add a really good dlc, like dark arisen. (and fxies thing that are bad like when you re-load the game, and loses some max health)

[@Pamjamelia]

I clicked into this video and you started talking and I was like "hang on, do I know this guy...?" And then I remembered you were the one who misread a Ranger augment in DA as Morbius. So, first of all, good to hear from you again! I know I didn't keep up much with your videos, but the DA guides I *did* see from you were loads of fun. Secondly... yeah. It's painful for me to say it too, but Dragon's Dogma 2 was a letdown in so many regards. If this game is Itsuno's true vision, which I doubt, then he is one arrogant twat after that fast travel statement. You don't need to bog the player down with inconveniences and limited fast travel in this specific fashion to incentivise players to spend time in the open world. Good combat and fun exploration are all you need, but this game doesn't even have much of either. You're the first person I've seen to comment, in a video, about how the combat is a downgrade and thank GOODNESS I wasn't just going crazy. The combat really feels worse in every way, and my worries started when hitting a Goblin felt no different to hitting the Medusa at the start. "Oh these hit sounds are soft, but she's probably just really sturdy like the Dragon fight at the start of Dark Arisen." But it just never got better. Getting stunlocked and grabbed is utterly horrendous. The game's built entirely on emergent madness because its foundation is so poor and, frankly, anti-fun. They wanted to keep it an action game but also emphasise the inconveniences of exploration by making combat worse. And I could've forgiven everything wrong with this game if combat was fun, that's what happened with the first game! There's a reason this game had no staying power. It tried to be an immersive sim with regards to its quest design and the loss gauge, and failed because of its lack of meaningful direction. The ragdoll physics were funny for viral clips but they ruined the feel of the entire game in the process by making things weightless and floaty. And I can't say anything that hasn't already been said about the story, if you even wanna call it that. Man. This game makes me so sad.

[@cordisdie5578]

Well it 7 out 10 game at best. BUT to me what important when u feel that the end of game what i remember is unique pawn system I never experience and wow holy suit end game and actually abit of tear to see pawn and credit characters . So if I don't think it 9/10 it is crime

[@YeOldeMachina]

Dd2 is the most disappointed i've ever been with a game. It has the bones to be one of the best games ever made. It's got so much potential. It makes me literally sad

[@LolaliciousSmiley]

I was so excited. I remember looking up videos while I was waiting for the surprise announcement stream, and found Vocation Guide: Strider. Then, yeah, like many I waited and heard more and more disappointment around it. :( I had the most fun with Dragon's Dogma from the time of DD2 announcement to its release.

[@valoche_is_drawing]

I've reached 100 hours in the game. I've finished the game WITH the endgame. The game is good, but not enough. I really like the gameplay, how the class works and the new mechanics in combat. However, once you reach level 50, every fight is a walk in the park. Dragons become jokes. The game needs a hardmode like the first game, it needs a challenge like Bitterblack Ilse. It's ironic how a game where you encounter monsters every 10 meters feels so empty. I have hopes for the game. But with Itsuno leaving Capcom, the future is unknown. I like the game. But not as much as the first one.

[@Spida37]

Find myself wondering what you would make of the game. Know like myself you were a massive fan of the first ones but having reached ng+ on this after 120hrs, those last hours felt more like a chore than fun. Youre supposed to try and help/save people in the unmoored world which i did try but after being jumped by THREE Dullahans on the way to the elves i realised that no-one, literally no npc had ever proved themselves charismatic enough for me to give a rats arse about. Some YT-er said the story was better in DD2 than the first one and im like "What?!?" The whole "youre a big deal person who has amnesia" trope is boring as hell, the first game was so much better, a genuine revenge "i want my heart back you son of a b*tch". Dont apologise for the tone of the video i think youre just saying what a lot of us are thinking. Take care chap and we'll be here wherever you go! 😀

[@renown35nuke70]

lets pray that the dlc saves this game. i felt that the darkl arisen did that for the first game.

[@أنور-ر3ي]

My pawn is level 162😊

[@nicholasireland8394]

When are we gunna get the missing elemental weapons like edens warden and dark carnation, they added a few but its very unbalanced with fire and shock 2h weapons, cold, holy and electric daggers, fire cold and holy 1h, no elemental shields or bows... just want a shock sword.... ancient caddle prod!

[@collapsiblechair9112]

if Dragon's Dogma just consisted of Gransys and condensed everything into that region would've made the game better for me. The new areas add nothing. The story is disappointing but so was the story in the first game. Other than that they mostly improved on the core game. It's just a shame the new areas felt pointless. As to your opinion on the game making things inconvenient i disagree, i never felt inconvenienced, i felt like i was in an adventure one which had consequences. The game though, was a disappointment on reflection but it was never broken. I really enjoyed my two playthroughs. If you dig enough and nit pick any game and it's flaws you can make any game seem shit.

[@Evil-Never-Dies]

Dark Arisen is just amazing. I was late for it but saw it on tons of videos about how it was a sleeper. I got it on sale for like four bucks and I sunk hundreds of hours into it. I was so excited for the sequel but yeah it was a letdown.

[@Sivielfer]

I wouldn't say it's defeatist at all. This made me think better of you. For many of us fans of the original, these somewhat complex feelings of weird disappointment were present when playing the game, and I think it's better, more admirable that you were forthcoming about that rather than continue on as though there was nothing at all amiss just because, for better or for worse, your channel is primarily known for Dragon's Dogma.

[@ThiefofCrystals]

Thank you kindly, that means a whole lot. I'll be sure to keep trying my best!

[@shadowmereplayz2728]

I was over hyped, got the steel book I wanted for months. Got me motivated to complete the entire dragons dogma 1 and dark arison. Got it full platinum and 500hrs in it. When this game came out more I played it more I realize how downgrade it is. Some of the mechanics were cool but it's just a disappointed. If I was a new player I would enjoy it. But since I'm a veteran I'm not enjoying it as much. My issues is you have to unlock skills to use other types of arrows which makes no sense. The goddess of riddle is a pain to do took me after 5 new games i still struggle. The lock stagger is needing a huge nerf even the best defence i stagger to much The health gause needs some work bc you cant heal past the limit of the health loss gauge which im forced to either go back to the inn or waste the stupid all heal elixer. The most dissatisfied thing in the game is the story. It made no sense no contex and the fact the story is too short for the map to be 4x bigger than the original. Im just ganna wait for the dlc to come out. But dont give up your vocation guide. We all enjoyed it. At least do it for us. You give extra fun exaples ro give us a giggle or 2.

[@dl-vb4vm]

I am really really upset they destroyed magic users, 4 skill slots really capcom, mages and sorcerers spells have been nerfed from the first game maelstrom and meteor like they are so watered down when I used them it made me rage so I had to stop playing, theres so many other things that are wrong and I agree with everything you said. I really really love the original but it makes me have a headache thinking I spent 60 pounds thinking it was going to be good, serves me right for pre ordering lmao.

[@SaberRexZealot]

Maybe if Square-Enix didn’t poach DD’s combat designer for FF16 things would be a little better. But that game also had problems.

[@ThiefofCrystals]

Yeah, I really liked FF16 a good deal, but I feel the wings of combat got clipped a bit purely due to the nature of skills having cooldowns, thus limiting combos and impacting your options. There's still a whole lot of good stuff there though, I'd even consider making content for the game if I came to master it a bit more. Even then, doesn't HAVE to be guides, I could always simply make a video about the game itself.

[@jackburton6462]

It is sad. I bought it and uninstalled within 3 weeks. There is nothing fun about this game. Id go far enough to say Worst game of the year. They pretty much made game to make our lives hard and at no way enjoyable. Capcom suc

[@francisgoin3112]

The visuals for that fight are an assault to the eyes. Dragon flaps wings = dust storm blinding all visuals. Dragon shoots purple lighting = dust storm blinding all visuals. Dragon breathes fire or stomps the ground = ... you get the idea. How do you properly navigate a fight when the visuals look like they're against you? I only recently got DDDA; I've used a few "tricks and tips" from players with video guides, such as you've provided, but I genuinely enjoy the game. I play on the Switch, and a lot of companies are refusing to port their games (despite being cross platform everywhere else), so they've lost a potential customer. Even so, DD2 doesn't interest me.

[@lamya44]

Thank you for your honesty. I had so much confidence in the game and then... well. You win some you lose some, I guess. Can't wait for your next ideas and videos :)

[@MartyBlossom1]

I enjoyed the survival/ fast travel elements and navigating the world, camping and letting the pawns meme off - ever wary of the dragon's plague that the pawns discussed so constantly. However the world never feels alive, really lacking environment and enemy variety. Both the character level up and narrative progression is so poorly paced. Such a shame because the core experience of the exploring and combat is there, but the main and side quests don't flow naturally or reward in any significant way. How this part was somehow worse than the first game is still baffling to me months on.

[@Homophonic]

Hey why not make ddon content?

[@ThiefofCrystals]

I'd say it's definitely an option on the table, but I fear it might be a lot of work for content that not many are asking for? Dragon's Dogma is a pretty niche series as is, and I'd argue DDO is likely the most niche entry overall. Still, it was very fun to play, so maybe I'll at least take a look back at it y'know?

[@Homophonic]

@@ThiefofCrystals yee yk they just introduced the whole of season one quest content so maybe it's appealing enough to make content on, anyways gl

[@ThiefofCrystals]

@@Homophonic Maybe! Thanks for the suggestion, I'll definitely keep that one in mind!

[@MrMonklad]

My biggest issue with DD2 is the momentum based movement, its the worst part of the game for me, why didn't they make it as snappy as DD1:DA. "Realistic" movement is a detriment to Action RPG's and that really impacts the fast-paced action the genre is supposed to have. Someone needs to make a mod for the pc version that removes the momentum and it would play way better.

[@KiyouNagaSan]

Sharing my thought on certain youtuber video and they bashed me because i said the game is not really enjoyable for casual player, and i get where that youtuber and their viewer came from ( that youtuber play a lot of souls like game ), so they said it was meant to be a hard game and they said the game not meant for me. I mean hard and enjoyable can be together as one, but just hard and punishing ? NO, it will be just another dark souls copy Anyway thank you for sharing your thoughts, but you don't really need to apologized for say you don't like a thing. Looking forward for your next content.

[@ThiefofCrystals]

I agree that challenge and enjoyment can - and SHOULD - go hand in hand. It's why I always recommend that if newcomers to DMC are struggling to enjoy the game due to the challenge, that they simply bump the difficulty down and enjoy the game first and foremost. That's how I got into the series, playing on Human as a teenager. I'm now capable of clearing Dante Must Die, and have even taken on Hell or Hell (never got far there though lmao) I don't agree with telling someone that 'the game isn't meant for you' because I feel games can be enjoyed by anyone under the right circumstances. They maybe should have made more of an effort to provide suggestions to help out (making use of summons in DS, ect.) but yeah. Thanks so much for the support!

[@MountTheRainbows]

I had chalked it up to my favorite class, Mystic Knight, not being there, but you just summed it up perfectly. Looking forward to the different content. You should do a speed run of DD1 if you haven't yet!! I haven't done one in a bit, so I'm probably not in the top ten anymore, (Still best time on a Nintendo Switch tho 😎) but it would be cool to see you on the leaderboard for that board!

[@ThiefofCrystals]

Eyyy that's so cool! I've actually considered this before, might have to give it a whirl and see how far I can get! Is your name the same on the leaderboards as it is here?

[@omegaxtrigun]

Fair points for the most part. I disagree on travel though. Comparing DA to this game is kind of disingenuous. DA gave you infinite ferrystone and added more port crystals earlier in the game. Before that, fast travel was scarce the same as it is in DD2 but with nearly no camps and no ox carts. It’s pretty evident that they only did that in DA so people could get characters ready for BBI faster. Travel in DA is a huge pain early game, then you get a port crystal or two and it becomes almost irrelevant, and the danger of nighttime becomes nearly nonexistent. It undermined a lot of the danger the world was clearly intended to have. And ya sometimes the game throws you in bad situations in DD2, but the point is that no matter how much you plan or know, sometimes you get a curve ball and have to adapt. Those ambushes and such are what put you in tense situations that lead to emergent gameplay and memorable moments. No outing is ever supposed to go utterly perfect. Because that would be boring. That’s not the game trying to screw you over. It’s the game keeping things interesting.

[@atab555]

I’ve gone back the the first and am loving it. Didn’t finish the second one (yet?) but have enjoyed your content and insight. I have a request of you since I value your heart regarding this game. What would dragons dogma 2 look like if you made it? From the plot to the vocations…NPCs… all of it.

[@ThiefofCrystals]

Oooh, that's a big question, but a good one! Let's see - to start with, I’d want the classic vocations present as well as all of the DDO vocations included, with the classic vocations taking influence from those DDO counterparts (Striders swinging around like spiderman with their grappling hooks, Warriors being wild, ect.) and of course I’d want all-new vocations too. The combat I’d want akin to DDO (but better) where it effectively builds on the combat of the original, allowing you to do even crazier things and creating genuine synergy between skills. A certain mechanic I’ll mention further in lets the combat basically become DMC with increased speed letting you chain various skills and spells ect., and I’d really love to see dragon riding of some sort in a DD game but I can’t quite think of a way to incorporate it with this particular vision - maybe DD3 lol. NPC’s I’d be fine with functioning effectively how they did in the first game, with the same or more personality to them. They serve to flesh out the new setting and maybe some are scholars of the rift that can aid you in regards to that. Knights sent to deal with frenzied monsters, thieves watching things unfold from the shadows, perhaps a collective of people from all walks who are invested in tackling the unique problems unfolding in this game. Of course some potential romantic interests, ideally with more substantial plotlines there. I’d REALLY like to have the additional pawn slots allow for players to join your game instead (even making sense with the ‘Riftwalker’ lore I’m about to get into) and maybe even up the party size to 5 to allow for 4-player co-op. Forgive me because this turned into a full-on fanfic, but as for the plot it wouldn't be a messy rehash. Since the first game wrapped up its story fairly well, I'd perhaps suggest a prequel, but that could limit the scope in its own way. So sure, we'll have it take place in an alternate dimension for the sake of keeping the first game's story sacred. But maybe you're given the chance to explore the regions of the mainland - Hearthstone, Auldring, Meloire, and Voldoa. You begin the game as an amnesiac (I know, cliche) with the curious ability to traverse the rift. Maybe people call you 'Riftwalker' or something. This comes into play in the midst of a blight gripping the land, with the rift itself opening up and releasing frenzied monsters (akin to those seen in Bitterblack) across the land. Diving into this pocket of the rift in a desperate attempt to seal it, you succeed, but in the process cross paths with a nightmarish dragon who claims your heart and challenges you to take it back. Thus, you're spat back out into the world, newly Arisen. You set out into the world to fight back against this blight, alongside your own pawn. Gradually, over the course of the game, it becomes clear why you possess both unmatched volition and the abilities of oblivion in tandem. Your memories return, and you recall fighting alongside someone in a playable battle against a Dragon. Not just any Dragon - DD1 Grigori. The 'someone' you're fighting alongside is the DD1 Arisen (if you have DD:DA data on the system, it loads in that Arisen's equivalent appearance and vocation) and you're left with the revelation that you're playing as the pawn of DD1, imbued with the Arisen's will. After the events of the first game, you decided to comb the depths of the rift in search of a way to find the Arisen again, but doing so in your new state twisted your form into something new as a result of oblivion's chaotic influence. Hence, the character creation process. It also robbed you of your memories, and as you tried to return to your world, you found yourself in an entirely new reflection of it. Thus began your journey in DD2. By fighting back against the blight, you seal each tear in the rift by absorbing the excess oblivion into your own being. Once you do so enough, you unlock a new ability - which I'll refer to as 'Dragon Trigger' - allowing you to temporarily gain draconic traits (wings, the burning red eyes, ect.) to enhance your combat abilities. Magic is instant and more powerful, your melee attacks blindingly fast and strong. After you absorb even more oblivion you can (akin to Sin Devil Trigger in DMC5) hold the transformation button to then access a second form, which involves full transformation into a dragon, turning the game into something akin to Drakengard for a short while - or maybe it manifests as a wide-scale super attack. Finally, you face the dragon that stole your heart, teeming with oblivion. It reveals itself to be the first of the dragons; the Ur-Dragon, a being of incomparable volition chosen by the Great Will to endure the flood of oblivion that threatens to tear apart not just this world, but every world across the multiverse. But time has left the Ur-Dragon incapable of bearing much more, and it’s revealed that the events of the game are a direct result of his volition waning. Seeking a suitable replacement, you were a perfect choice, but first the strength of your will must be tested. Cue awesome dragon battle, ending with you going full Dragon Trigger for a dragon vs dragon fight. Deciding that saving one world isn’t enough, the Riftwalker/Arisen resolves to find a way to undo oblivion itself. With the Ur-Dragon defeated, oblivion takes hold completely, leaving the world in a crumbling state much like the post-game of DD1. With reality warping so severely, a rift portal manifests on the moon itself, which you fly into using your dragon form. This gateway leads to the heavenly chamber of the Great Will, inaccessible until it was finally breached by such an immense concentration of uncontrolled oblivion. The Great Will speaks to you as a chorus of disembodied voices, akin to the Seneschal, and explains the need for the cycle, that it was the only means of staying the tide of oblivion across all worlds, until you appeared. The Great Will notes that your Arisen’s unprecedented actions granted you, a being born of the rift, a singularly resolute will, and thus you could be the key to solving everything. But to prove that will is your own, to prove the cycle must be broken, you must overcome one final trial by defeating the Great Will itself. As a demonstration of the Great Will's power, it manifests the avatar of infinite will to face you - the Arisen, as in DD1 Arisen. The only being to successfully break their world’s cycle, their volition matched only by yours as their pawn - and now, your own pawn too. But as such, you're fully aware that what stands before you isn't truly them, just a mimicry piloted by the Great Will. What follows is the most intense fight in the series, with DD1 Arisen/Great Will effectively being the Vergil of the game, fighting with the full power of every DD1 vocation. Once defeated, the Great Will offers you their power, which you absorb to enact your plan to stop the threat of oblivion. Having gained full control over the rift, something even the Great Will lacked, the protagonist reaches out across the multiverse to cleanse every world of oblivion, absorbing it into themselves and using the rift to seal it all away into a realm resembling their very own Bitterblack Isle. With their soul acting as both an eternal battery of volition - like DD1 Arisen before them - and a prison for oblivion, pawns are still ‘born’ of the rift, but can freely choose where they wish to go, decide their purpose for themselves. But the protagonist is forever bound here, damned to solitude as they force their own pawn out of the realm, wishing for them to live their own life freely. With a sad smile, they take a seat on a very familiar throne, adopting the same pose Daimon once did as we’re given a shot of a long, empty hall, before massive doors seal it shut. As your pawn plummets through the rift, their form starts to shift with swirling darkness just as it did for the protagonist prior to the events of the game. Eventually they’re left a featureless humanoid shape, glowing as they take on a new appearance. The final shot reveals the dimension they’re bound for; DD1 Cassardis. Cut to black. In a post-credits scene, the last notes of Eternal Return play for one last big reveal; the protagonists actions have removed the need for DD1 Arisen's sacrifice, and their soul has returned to the world. A glow appears in the waters of Cassardis before the Arisen emerges from them, then turns to gaze at the sky above, just as they did in the opening cutscene of the first game. A determined smile comes to their face, with the implication being that they intend to find a way to free their pawn/DD2 Arisen for Dragon's Dogma 3. A rift portal opens up behind them, from which the featureless pawn collapses - the player character of the next game.

[@upslide5073]

When a fan of DD1 criticise DD2 im grateful. DD1 is still a better game I have three characters atm on xbox and loving it. Better atmosphere, combat, fashion, world and caves dungeons buildings. DD2 is just awful.

[@inkmage4084]

The game is massively disappointing sad to say. Hopefully, they fix a lot if they do DLC, but I really wish they took a lot from the MMO, and mixed it with what made the first game so great.

[@nicholaslowry2366]

Dd2 feels kind of like dark souls 2. Still a good game in its own right, but ultimately a failure of a sequel. Too much of the core feel of the game has changed for me to really enjoy it as much as the first.

[@ThiefofCrystals]

Ironically enough, I actually enjoyed Dark Souls 2 lmao! But I think this is honestly a really apt comparison, I feel like I'm in a similar position as the souls fans who loathed DS2, like I'm on the other side of the fence now like 'oh is this how it felt?' And if the direction and following reception of Dark Souls 3 is anything to go by then I can only hope that's how Dragon's Dogma 3 turns out. Good to see you again friend, hope you're well!

[@jdellabeat6245]

Tough break Sad to see it happen, but it does occasionally happen. Time and sitting with your thoughts on such matters does wonder the mind. But, I'll always be locked in when you upload stuff. Keep up the good work

[@DonutSwordsman]

I feel it. I ALWAYS wanted a sequel, but for some reason capcom really dropped the ball on dev time etc compared to other releases...

[@FlameLord050]

Dam sad to see it go but understandable. Anyways can you do final fantasy 14 content lol.

[@ThiefofCrystals]

If I did, what would you like to see from me?

[@FlameLord050]

@ThiefofCrystals well that's the thing I have no clue. I just got to heavensward so I am still fairly new. But your content is very enjoyable so I am sure it would be entertaining.

[@ThiefofCrystals]

@@FlameLord050 I appreciate that a lot! I'll give this some thought then - I hope you continue to enjoy the game! Lots of fun stuff in store there!

[@Manlyman47]

Dragons Dogma 2 is the most dissapointed I have been with a game since FFXIII. I have grown to loathe this game.

[@ThiefofCrystals]

As someone who was also VERY disappointed with FFXIII, this cuts deep, hang in there friend

[@kevinoneil5120]

I'm grateful for your honest review! I tried really hard to get into the first game but I just couldn't get drawn in... sounds like the issues I had with the first are alive and well within the second, on top of the additional issues you mentioned. Ah well, back to waiting for that Soul Calibur 2 remaster!

[@JaneMurray-i7j]

Davis Susan White Amy Johnson Helen

[@rushadow3229]

sooo... you gonna buy Dogma 3 when it releases ? Jokes aside i genuinely dont think dogma 3 is gonna exist after this whole mess seemsthey released dogma 2 just for the cash grab induced through player nostalgia and hype over a long anticipated title after this mess i dont know if people will want a third game

[@alsaiduq4363]

The game is selling well, so it's very possible to have a third game.

[@ThiefofCrystals]

So yeah apparently it sold well, and Capcom maybe mentioned wanting to keep going with the series, so we could feasibly see DD3 and if we do I will absolutely be checking it out (if with tempered expectations.) Hopefully, a third instalment has the chance to learn from this game and improve on the aspects I disliked.

[@YourFriendlyGymRat]

@@ThiefofCrystals if they didn't learn with DDDA, I hardly doubt they learn with DD2, capcom don't give a fuck bout this franchise and honestly I won't play another sequel made by itsuno this dude is an incompetent.

[@PrimalDirective]

@@YourFriendlyGymRat then you can blame your god, Kento Kinoshita who was behind the BBI sections of DD1 DLC for DD2, as he was deeply involved in DD2. I'm sure working through covid AND having to use a completely new engine greatly hampered what they could add to the game before being forced to release it.

[@YourFriendlyGymRat]

@@PrimalDirective The game was rushed period, they should've released DD2 at least at the beginning of 2025

[@Toygains]

The entire franchise is propped up by fairly interesting combat. Thats it. Everything else is awful.

[@younesakdah1803]

This game is ultra, mega ass. Couldn't learn anything from its 10 year Old predecessor.

[@MA-go7ee]

I simply disagree with the ethos behind your critique - which is that games should be convenient. The idea behind a lot of DD2s systems is that an adventure should be dangerous and unpredictable. It shouldn't be a theme park whose world bends over backwards to give the player a fun time. I've realised that many people like don't want an adventure, and that's okay. But you should know that these artistic choices are appreciated by some.

[@ShxpxRok]

I have like 500+ hrs in the game at this point NG+ is not worth doing. I really liked the combat personally Minus the stun mechanic. You can really tell that they cut a lot of content and when that was the issue with the 1st game that was a bit better gameplay wise (after patches) it makes you wonder why didn't they use the old game as the base line for content here. I mean if you are just retreding the same story the same content why cut out Hydra? why cut out hard mode? the extra weapons? is this so you can resell the content at low effort?? if capcom releases a DLC what will they add beholders? the weapons they gave us in the 1st games DLC? They could have given us something a lot better something new but they choose not to so that they could make the quarter. and brag about how successful the game is and how they paid their share holders. It's just so very disappointing.

[@kingwick]

Womp womp.

[@VaporWalrus]

thanks, won't be wasting my money on this trash heap.

[@blueazul5778]

Right the game sucks

[@stephanwalz5108]

I can't agree at all to your opinion, sorry. I don't see, what is so bad about DD 2. The oxcarts? It was advertised from the beginning, that you won't have the opportunity to fast travel any time you want, except you have the recourses. But your review is only a few days old (at July the 31st). Oxcarts are much more frequent on the roads now, as there were before. And you don't need to ride an oxcart from its starting point. You can join it any time on raods. You can then even join at night... Just climb up and sit and the caochman will tell you where it goes and what it costs. (max 200g) Traveling on foot is as important as in the first game! The ways are longer, but you have much more to explore, and that's THE WHOLE PURPOSE of this game, besides the combat. DON'T RUISH. Especially not the quests. There is a reason, why most quests are chains and say "come back in a few days": the Quests, especially the side-quest are NOT supposed to be rusehed! And thet's the problem of players nowadays... they just can't play with the way as the goal... The main story is ok. It's not very good, but that is true for the first game, too. Btw: you can get an augment, which has the function to get less ambushed, when oxcart-riding or camping. (you need to level up the trickster for that...) And that you need a camping kit, was also anounced long before release. LISTEN to your pawns and always have a full party. The pawns will mention the camping kit at the very first hour, you play the game and take the first few quests, as soon as you come to the camp-site there. There is even a camping kit placed near that camping side... so where is the damn problem about that? If you give the kit to your main pawn, you won't loose it, even if you loose your pawn and rehire it later. (that isn't the case, if you give it to a hireling... all carried stuff by a hireling is moved to your storage, if you loose it in any way, be it death, dismiss. or exchange.) The pawns are much more useful - especially out of combat - than in the first game. The inclinations are much simpler, and I think that's quite good. Have a quest, where you don't know what to do? Just select it as main and hire a pawn with questknolge and it will lead you to your goal. In some occasions, you still need to think, however. You still need to ask townforlk. In most cases, you just need to approach and they will talk to you on their own. But it also doesn't hurt, if you talk to them yourself. The quest about Rodge is the best example for that. And if your REALY don't know, what to do, you can also ask an oracle. "wasting time"? Yes, the game wastes your time. But all games waste your time! But keep in mind NOTHING in this game is without a purpose, even not the reloading mechanic after dieing.. You will losse even more gauge, if you die and relaod directly. Just consder it a jump back in time. but with a cost. Then it even makes sense, that "it isn't possible for a mortal being, to kill an arisen." BTW: this isn't possible like that in unmoored world... you can only use a wakestone or reload from the last rest, which is only possible at inns/home there. (not at campsites anymore.) But, you can prevent the punishment for dieing: just leave to the main menu and load from there (Afaik, this isn't possible in unmoored world, even, though). OR always have a wakestone withe you and use it, if you die. Then you wil have FULL health again. I just don't understand it, why a lot of lovers of the first game hate DD 2 so much. Perhaps I played the first game in an other way, than most players? (I walk as often as I can there, just to kill trash. Because I want the DP, so I just don't have any problems with walking, Because I know it is worth it in the end, even more in DD 2... As I said, NOTHING is without purpose...) Eventually, your pawns will know the area as the back of their hand, and can lead you to new campsites, dungeons, monster-raids or treasure chests. If they talk about that they know the area very well, talk to them. You wll have a new option: "I need guidance" select it and you will get some options, where the pawn can lead you to.

[@ThiefofCrystals]

The issue with the 'don't rush' solution is that the exploration needs to be rewarding to accommodate that and it isn't. Within the first couple days of playing I felt like I'd seen everything there was to see in this game and it's quite rare that you're rewarded with anything that outclasses what you can simply buy instead. It doesn't really matter where I can or can't find an Oxcart when the process of using them is inconvenient regardless. The question needs to be "what does this ADD to the game" because otherwise these are just inconveniences being thrown at the player for no reason. The first game allowed me to travel freely, and that made travel a lot more enjoyable (I still had to explore a location before I could fast-travel there - which works well as its own reward.) The first game allowed me to check what I needed to do with the press of a button, which is a standard in games for a reason. Forcing the player to wait for a quest to progress is simply wasting their time, yes - the first game did do this once within the main questline, but it was for the sake of placing a time limit on gathering what you needed and it was a simple matter to rapidly sleep through it all. This should not have been double-downed on. Sorry but imo there's no excuse for the loss gauge to function as it does. "A jump back in time, but with a cost?" So literally reloading our saves is something we need to answer for now? That's not fun, it will never be fun. "Always have a wakestone?" I had maybe six or seven across my entire gameplay and I'm not about to drop money on the microtransactions. There's a gulf of difference between killing time with a game because it's so much fun, and a game simply forcing you to waste your time and there is a lot of unnecessary stuff in place that serves only this purpose. I'm glad you were able to find the joy in this but this does nothing to change my own perspective.

[@stephanwalz5108]

@@ThiefofCrystals As I said: the way is the goal for exploring. You will get awarded eventually. Becaus if you go explore without a goal, just because you want to satisfy your curiosity, you will kill a lot of trash on that way. That gives you a lot of DP... Just don't expect high rewards, and perhaps that's the problem... expecting high rewards. I must admit, they're not that satisfying. But i you go exploring none the less without expecting things, you will in a lot of ferrystones and also a lot of wakestone(shards). BUT: you can also hunt wakestones and seeker-tokesn, or example. You'll get an item, which shows the shards explicitly. And the trickster hast the augment "detection" with which wakestone(shard)s and seeker tokens start to blink and play sounds. Even out of chests. BTW: DD (DA) also had interrupted questchains. No, not main quests... SIDE quests. The big difference here is: the game didn't TELL you that. But a few examples: Starting with searching for Quina, leading to a story about Selene. If you don't search for Quina before going to the pre-dragon Everfall the first time, you wont't get the story about Selene, and get locked out of a certain area. Another example: after leaving the Dukes castle, you get a camera-change and focus on Elenor. If you ignore this, you won't get into the haunted mence eventually... but you can't go to those areas immadiatly after starting those quests. You need to first go on with the main story. In the second game, you just need to play on a few days time. So, can you please tell me, what's the big difference here and why this is "wasted time" in the second game, but not in the first? About the lost gauge for direct loading: Yes, this is a questionable design. But, as I said, you can circumvent this. Just leave the main menu and reload from there. This is exactly the same save as directly reloading. The difference is, you won't get the additional lost gauge... I don't know: did you play elden ring or any of the original souls games, or games with exactly the souls-mechanic, like "the surge"-series?`And if you did that, did you like those games? if the answer is "yes" I even more don't understand, why you have such a problem with the penalty in DD 2 for dieing and not using a wakestone... DD has its flaws. This is true for both games. DD 2 was a chore at the beginning, especially the management for buying and selling. This is much better now. And you also will get enough portcrystals eventually. Just do some sidequests. (the elf-chain will get you one, and you can get two for the sphinx-riddles if you know what to do. You will get another through the main quest. and another is buyable at the dragon forged. I think, that's more than enough portcrystals. Ferrystones are expensive at first, but also infinite. Sure, shops may have only 3 at once. But they will replinish once a week. I've still the opinion that the game only wastes your time, if you let it do that.

[@tickleishpickle9269]

hmmm...dragons plague ...kills npc's at a crazy high rate .....wasnt there something about this game being so broken the developers told everyone to kill off all the npc's in the world to play the game ? .....hmmmm i wonder XD naaaa just a coincidence! right ? right ? right guys ?

[@omegaxtrigun]

Uh no they didnt tell players to do that. Some people made jokes about doing that to help with performance.

[@federicocasali1565]

Developers never said that, just a joke in the community in the first few weeks of release when dragon's plague seemed like a bigger deal than it actually is, since npcs respawn after a while