Dragon's Dogma 2 Secondary Review from Nihil

[@HHTwice]

You can stack poison on enemies twice to proc an advanced poison like they can do to you making poison actually viable now. The game doesn’t really tell you this explicitly so I can see why you may have missed that.

[@ToliG123]

On big enemies it last hardly even 5 seconds right? I've been hella unimpressed. Maybe I'm just removing the dot by using explosive arrows after? Even if it lasted way longer, I still expect more damage. Especially with how much the game values their existenc. From discipline points on the skill, to actual arrow price.

[@HCSbr]

Yeah, fulminant poison is extremely powerful, I've no idea how Nihil missed this, or maybe he didn't, but still was unimpressed with the effect, Idk. Either way, I feel like a build/setup focused on blighting debilitation is super viable, almost no enemy in the game is immune to it.

[@jimmyjams5038]

Bump

[@HHTwice]

@@ToliG123 I’ve used it on bigger bosses to pretty solid effect, granted it’s not as huge of a burst damage wise as someone like Thief but it’s definitely viable enough to warrant more options. Status effects seem stronger this time around although it seems petrification is a bit underused.

[@kerwynpk]

Fulminant makes those saurian daggers potentially the best early game grab, fire blade + poison busted.

[@MrPistoleroGun]

I don't find it a bad game, but it's defo not what i wanted for a DD2. After playing DDON and DDDA (and DD original when it came out), this game feels lackluster to me. It feels like everything was designed to be "short". Combat feel shorter, progression feels shorter, boss fights feel shorter, upgrading is shorter, the amount of spells you carry is shorter, your stamina is shorter, and so on and so on. I ended up having to not use any upgrade, any augment, no friend pawns, and will probably have to use mods to get more of a DD game feeling than i wished for, and increase all HP and damage enemies do. It also does not help that i feel like every fight is pretty much "walk 100 meter, get 4 goblins, walk 100, get 4 more, walk 100, get 4 saurians, walk 100, ..." and so on. I feel more like playing monster hunter world or even a beat them up like DMC than playing the dragon's dogma games i loved. This game definitely has great additions and nice mechanics, like the camping system i'm very fond of, or the neat little interactions (like mobs hitting the ground, or walls, or even the finishers, and pawn interaction like high fives) But i would rather someone mod all of those into DDON/DDDA than play this game ... I'll probably finish it (aka one NG+), wait for the DLC, finish that, wait for huge mods that change the number of mobs and difficulty, maybe add skills, and THEN i'll probably really play it more ^^" But watching videos about it is fun, and i was waiting for nihil to post since release, glad to hear most of the DD community and content creators are having fun !!!

[@TheLigon27]

I like the campaign system too , tho I do feel it could have easily been better by letting us combine different ingredients to make different meals that would different buff. Also I think more interaction with the pawns , camp would be nice and have an option to past the time like we can at the bar. Sometimes I don’t want to rest a whole day or night.

[@Thunderous333]

I disagree with your opinion on how the gameplay feels like, I've experienced some awesome in-game stories through it. Playing without OP pawns means in the beginning there was definitely stuff you had to retreat from. Late game not so much but I feel that's to be expected. I do agree about shortness though, its a short game all things considered. Tbh maybe that's not a bad things though, DDDA was a good length, but what was in that length wasn't very enticing for large stretches.

[@destruction126]

I think they made some thinks shorter because of how much larger the map is. I do agree though I want more fleshed out battles and you only get that during the first 20ish levels.

[@TheUnseenKrab]

I'm suffering console syndrome 💀

[@HenryAB]

Lackluster, that's the word.

[@agquagwisvquwgavwj]

love the game, but hate how they removed most of the different armor slots, like gloves, boots, undershirt, upgrading cloaks.. ect. Not just because it means less fashion - but also because there’s just not enough to upgrade. I have found that I barely needed to use any of the materials I had been saving and storing all game. It also makes the post game grind so short - upgrade your chest helm legs and weapon and you’re done. It really hurts the longevity of late game progression. Ended up just starting a new save instead of playing ng+ cause there’s almost no point. Was too easy to get everything I needed and have it all upgraded.

[@PeeBox]

pawn & arisen only run for ng+? try that

[@stoneroses8818]

I kinda like it tho, i hate having to micromanage equipments in game. So keeping the main gear into three parts: Head, Torso and Leg is just nice, not complex but not too simple either. I could also experiment with different smithing skills combinations to scratch that upgrading itch. Tho i agree it takes the fun out of the new game+ for people who are after more challenges. Guess we have to save the OP equipment for the expansion if theres any

[@rainofkhandaq6678]

Gloves and boots aren't harming the longevity, so much cap

[@schmicknick]

Nice to gift some of those items to lower lvl pawns, as a person goes...

[@MatthewManney]

​@rainofkhandaq6678 It does when it limits the outfit styles you can have to roleplay different characters. DD2 is a ton of ugly robes, heavy armors, and barbaric crap. They don't crossover at all so everyone uses the same gear.

[@neobahumuth6]

man you have no idea how I appreciate somebody asking for difficulty but not going just for the boring +dmg and HP from enemies, the idea of the slider affecting stuff like fast travel or enemy spawn is idd beautyful and arguably the correct way to implement an interesting difficulty

[@juanisaias8308]

While I agree its rhe most boring option, id argue than damage and HP is the main problem, albeit not the only one. Enemy attacks are just not threatening enough, you can just stay in their face and tank their attacks and not be punished.

[@yamnbam4346]

@@juanisaias8308agree. Ppl treat dmg and hp like it’s the bane of fun, but it’s only boring if it’s the only change made.

[@neobahumuth6]

@@juanisaias8308no need to tune up numbers when you can tune up aggression or spawn. Atm you mostly fight solo big monsters, maaybe sometimes you get a griffin or some other stuff but it's rare. There are plenty of options, like way less camps is another. The game does allow for something interesting rather than just making boring choices

[@juanisaias8308]

@@yamnbam4346 look at 9:21, look at his hp bar. Monsters can be as aggressive as you want, but if they cant do any damage, its like a rabid dog with no teeth.

[@Zero0mtk]

​@@neobahumuth6 Enemy aggression or annoying spawn doesn't matter when they can't scratch you or they die every time you sneeze at them. Enemy stats balancing isn't the most creative way to adjust difficulty, but it is required before we get to your "plenty of options" in case of DD2. Really, did you even watch the last footage of the video? That is what happens when you "tune up numbers" of enemy HP - they remain an interesting threat for longer time. Another thing I'd add btw is speeding up some enemy attack animations. What I noticed is that enemies seem aggressive enough (they decide to attack us often enough - so it may not be needed even), but take too long in their animations that we can kill them/stagger them before it lands.

[@themanofthecrane9754]

One cool thing about poison arrows is the instant knockdown on flying enemies, no more flee dragon’s or griffin

[@dangititsdanger3204]

I had hoped for more randomized encounters while travelling. Give enemy placement more chance and variety while on the roads/travelling. I think this will spice things up to keep the "journey" aspect fresh. Also, transmog lol. Thanks for your review videos!

[@neobahumuth6]

mh they are randomized but not wastly randomized

[@princesszelda8577]

yeah this, and transmog. also remove the camping system. they just have to go all out crazy and make it tough. more builds, more randomizers. with this system, going for a rogue like game or dungeon crawler like diablo will make it solid.

[@jorgeorellana4838]

I'd love seeing an actual let's play of you going solo, like a full play through. I know that's probably not your style of content but it would be awesome

[@Testiskulls]

Brother have you not seen his DD:DA content lol

[@jorgeorellana4838]

@@Testiskulls yes, I think all of it. He doesn't have any full playthroughs. Like multi part series.

[@destruction126]

@@jorgeorellana4838 he will sometimes do "lvl 10-200 as *blank* vocation" videos. I'm not sure it'll be similar since the lvl cap looks to be infinite in this game?

[@Skalli10]

@@destruction126 Level cap is 999, but you can max out most stats at 200 if you do it right and have the vocation enhancements. Realistically though, nobody will do that. After level 100, leveling is a pain in the ass if you're not going for medusa bow + rings, which in turn, doesn't let you optimally level the vocations.

[@daben7145]

@@jorgeorellana4838 If my memory serves me right, he has exactly these kind of videos on almost every if not every vocation available, just a playthrough in one vocation full game (I think its like 6-8 hours videos or somesuch, havent seen them in a looong time, but they existed if my brain works correct), or going BBI in one vocation, I think even with just the augments these vocations have available. If he likes DD2 enough, I'm sure he'll do these for DD2 as well.

[@UmahBunny]

i wish struggle, and knock back recovery were brought back. those fuctions were vital to the game, i hate taking unavoidable damage

[@omaewarick9356]

I think it is back, just not explicitally there, you can break free from dogs if you spam enough buttons

[@biltre271]

I noticed that too, but I wonder which buttons are actually helping since I kinda just spam them all and hope for the best

[@benjaminfuqua3049]

100% So much of my frustration about how miserable it feels to get stunlocked constantly would be a non-issue if they hadn't taken Instant Reset away from us. Instead we have the passive knockdown resistance stat on gear, and no way to raise it until we unlock Dwarven Smithing halfway through the game. 🙄 Thanks Capcom, this is... great/s

[@KaineReiN]

You can struggle out of grab by mashing specifically the sprint button (left analog stick or circle) I don’t like how the game doesn’t tell you this

[@omegaxtrigun]

@@benjaminfuqua3049They didn’t take instant reset away (at least not for knockdown recovery). Thief has a passive where if you press a button when you hit the ground from being knocked down, you flip back onto your feet.

[@TheMrTC3]

No one seems to bothered by lack up skills compared to first one or the lack of number of skill assignments being cut by 2? So many good skills where cut and vocations being made a one trick pony. Before someone says "oh use Warfarer" having access to 3 assignable skills is trash when one is occupied by the weapon swap. Dont know what person in Capcom made that decision with a smile on their face granted they already gave us less skills to play with and equip overall. I never like the argument/stance of people when having less options is viewed as a good thing. It's almost never a good design choice to take options away from the player. We shouldn't need them to make these type of changes to make a class more "interesting". This is a game about you being the Arisen, an overpowered dragon killing death dealing machine. This alone not having something like everfall or atleast an UR-dragon makes this below base Dragon Dogma. With that said I'll play it but won't play nearly as much as Dark Arisen.

[@TheLigon27]

They could’ve just gave me DD1 with better graphics and world design like DD2 and I would’ve been overly satisfied.

[@zzodysseuszz]

@@TheLigon27 except that contradicts the whole purpose of dd2. Dd2 is supposed to be everything they COULDN’T do for dd1. Not everything and more.

[@TheLigon27]

@@zzodysseuszz i understand they going for a more strategic approach that fine , what I’m saying is I like DD1 more just straightforward action gameplay style. The combat that got so heavily praised along with its outstanding customization options and made me and many others fans of the DD.

[@todd3351]

Lack of skills, only having 4, then some people ignorantly like archer having to use 1 or 2 of the 4 slots for support arrows essentially. I started back on Dark Arisen level 1 hard mode and it feels great.

[@TheMrTC3]

@@todd3351 I did the same and it is great. I will admit the changes to Warrior are an improvement which is what you'd expect everything else to be, an improvement. Everything else but graphics seem to be a downgrade. From armor, vocations, and end game.

[@gregorymasters5805]

They cud have made an actual masterpiece here if they just built upon the original. Instead they gave us a good looking but incomplete game imo.

[@clytcommander1057]

Hopefully we get dlc. I really would like more enemies

[@gregorymasters5805]

@@clytcommander1057 Hopefully we get some giant expansion like Dark Arisen. But id really settle for a patch that gives more xp in ng+ or hard mode.

[@TheLigon27]

I feel this so much, I like DD2 but I wish it was like DD1 in some ways

[@TheSwaylon]

Agreed

[@zzodysseuszz]

@@gregorymasters5805they literally weren’t trying to build upon the original. They were doing all the things they COULDN’T do with the original. Not everything the original did and more.

[@TheLigon27]

I hate DD2 armor system. It just stupid for them to have a in-depth character creator that let us differentiate our appearance only for everyone to basically be wearing the same outfit. On top of that it hurts the loot system as well, with less armor/ pieces in the game exploration loot is limited which makes exploration feel unrewarding somewhat. I like DD2 but it doesn’t feel like too much of a step up from DD1 except only in appearance and open world design.

[@princesszelda8577]

they also removed lolis so that makes DD2 the inferior one automatically.

[@pancakepop680]

@@princesszelda8577 Ew wtf. Your comment must be bait.

[@osirisavra1301]

Blight arrows will always dunk flying monsters and get a free stun. Especially good for drakes

[@Mr.House38]

I enjoy the game for what it is but DDDA is better, for now at least. Let's hope that the dlc will fix what is fixable: mostly difficulty, enemies variety and content.

[@zzodysseuszz]

Dd1 is worse. It just has more options in combat. Something warfarer completely beats dd1 in, everything else is just a matter of an inevitable dlc.

[@Mr.House38]

@@zzodysseuszz This is one of the changes that make dd2 worse. Forcing every class into using one weapon and limiting active skills to four was not a good idea. It's true that Warfarer helps partially with that, but in the end it can use only three skills, which limits the actual options you have by a lot. One more issue I have with the game is armour variety, it pales compared to ddda and it's inferior even to vanilla dd1; and don't let me start on the armor slots reduction, that is one of the dumbest design choices I have ever seen.

[@rockbark2137]

I cant seem to move off of warfare, a mage staff with levin for anodyne and levitate, a magic bow for the rivet shot and frosthunter bolt, and daggers with the igniting blades for the dodge. Three elements plus physical damage types with on demand healing, levitating, dodging and rivet shotting is a solo players dream

[@melee-dexterdexterious2878]

Back in DDDA, MA except for anodyne and frosthunter bolt has it all, magic rebalance gonna cut 10% of enemy magical resistance on every incantation, and since it can stack up to 4 times, players need only to deal with 60% of what is left.. Immolation is a rather brutal skill yet it helps a lot even without enchanted daggers Capcom really pushes warfarer voc and pawn usage to the players imho..

[@Sadistic_77]

I dislike how it sort of emphasises that you should travel with pawns. Because going solo is a nightmare specifically the fact that there is no longer an "escape" function. You can't rapidly twirl your stick to get away from enemies (those damn wolves I swear). The movement is also more relaxed in some form and feels like you aren't fully in control of your character like in DD1 which kinda sucks. It's still a good game though, just nowhere near as good as the original.

[@TheLigon27]

agreed and I mainly played with pawns on DD1 but it was nice knowing if I wanted to solo it was a valid option. They really did scale back and removed some great things in DD1.

[@Xivinux]

Sagitate Avalanche is also phenomenal on Magick Archer. If I down a griffin with 4 health bars I can take it down with one of those attacks. Its so OP I don't even need Martyr's bolt. I was waiting for this video thank you for your insight!

[@MagiusNecros]

Goes through walls too and allows you to specifically target weakpoints

[@ToshioThunder]

Ah, is this the new Holy focused bolt?

[@bknight3391]

I completely blasted The Dragon with Sagittate Avalanche... He died so fast that I don't think I actually got to experience the actual fight mechanics.

[@anders8461]

I haven't played DD2 yet but I love how basic attacks can hit multiple weak points and i think you can focus those arrows in one spot too? That sagittate avalance skill feels so great just like Ranger's tenfold arrow back in DDDA

[@MagiusNecros]

@@ToshioThunder Pretty much. Just no Holy element. I think it's just pure magic damage. Definitely staying on my skillset.

[@mokadelic4037]

Actually poison can stack, if you reach a certain treshold it does burst damage, kinda like bleed in Elden Ring

[@Nhillus47]

wha .. thats good to know

[@Linkarcus]

Ranger was my favorite vocation from DD1, and I'm disappointed with Archer in DD2. Its still fun, but i do not like that four skills are now dedicated to the specialty arrows. The arrows were strong in 1, especially blast arrows, but i don't like their solution here. They're not even interesting abilities except the fact you can plant an explosive arrow on enemies. That's neat. I don't find Archer's skills very interesting either. I feel like they weren't very creative with them. Like he said, dodge roll is sorely missed as well.

[@TheLigon27]

I agree , what I really don’t get is why even plant arrows a thing for a class that wants to keep distance? Why would you ever use it when you could just shoot it the enemy anyway?

[@Linkarcus]

@TheLigon27 Yeah, there isn't really a point to that. Especially for a class that's made to be at range, not climbing. I do think it's kind of fun, but its not very efficient.

[@geert574]

archer is useless u need to be MA/'Warfarer, 2 sorcerors and a mage for the bish work. most vocations are useless

[@NotUrStupidName]

Yea bow feels wack, 0 impact, 0 crazy skills, and what a terrible way to implement the different arrows

[@NintenBro_Beatz]

Im super glad that you’re still making videos 💯 Been watching you, going on almost 4 years now

[@Fokkusu]

sleep + hailstone bolt is a good wakeup from magic archer, in case anyone wonders if magic archer really has no wakeup moves for the sleep

[@dmac93065]

Nihil, nice to see your impressions of the game. I have about 170 hours of gameplay now, and DD2 is a mixed bag for me. So many quests have good, bad, and true endings, but you really have to grind to find their true endings. I like being able to upgrade from storage, but why we cannot sell or equip from storage is puzzling. I was apprehensive about the vocations before the game came out, and I'm entrenched on being against the changes made. Mystic knight needed today's hardware to keep up with its damage output, and yet they got rid of the vocation when systems can finally handle it. I loathe the trickster vocation, except its augments. Detection has helped me find a ton of seekers tokens and wakestone shards. If it weren't for Wayfarer, I'm not sure I'd be able to play the game as I don't like any single vocation in this game. Taking pieces and bits from all vocations is how I have to play this game. Hopefully a Dark Arisen level DLC is on the way.

[@Theophonis]

Extremely disappointed how they did armor in this game. Had so much potential. I it still does I guess I really don't see myself buying dlc for this game tho.

[@sebyking1889]

Not an issue for me, just wished there was something like the everfall or bbi, hopefully the dlc can give us something similar

[@waveexistence3512]

I wish the endgame was more like the everfall 💔 And yeah, I am very disappointed with the lack of armor/clothing as well. I’m praying the DLC changes some things for the better and hopefully holds up to BBI.

[@omegaconquest]

Keep up the content man. Genuinely enjoy your videos above any other dogma content creator. Watched your videos since 2018 with many accounts. You've helped me get through tough times in my life and hope you continue to upload. Thanks Nil, glad you like dd2 for the most part.

[@dangergirluk1]

This weekend I watched Amadeus, finally realized where your intro is from, thanks for video :)

[@Jriedem]

I had the same opinion of trickster, but decided to level it anyway. I had WAY more fun with it than I ever would have expected. Bring the party buff ability with you, though.

[@Jaehaeron]

Me too! I started Trickster just to get the Seeker Token finding augment. It slowly grew on me and now I almost always use it. I find watching enemies confusedly dance around to their deaths fun

[@TheDrunkardHu]

Especially when paired with the magic archer's pawn augments.

[@Jriedem]

@@TheDrunkardHu oh definintely. Never killed a drake faster than using Trickster + MA augment + frenzy spell.

[@archt0r11]

how about advanced vocation ? i mean there is fighter then warrior, mage then sorcerer, but thief and archer? i know you can change whatever you want, it's just a bit off.

[@TheLigon27]

Imo I feel this was a “ let cut it and sell it as an expansion” move. Just like trickster not having base vocations it evolve from. Major Companies do this all the time to basically make more money without doing more work. Just my opinion though 🤷‍♂️

[@duragondarko6088]

Nihil, we need your wisdom (and patience with testing) once again, sir. I'm hoping you're tapping into DD2 and testing things out the way you used to do for DDDA. For instance, does the "Ring of Requital" give you a STR bonus for a successful "Counter/Vengeful Slash" ability? It's technically a parry/deflect, no? Is there a way to check/test? And thank you again, good sir. We all appreciate what you've done for this community.

[@R1sikoYT]

this game is a alot of a downgrade than the last game

[@todd3351]

From someone who did so much content on the intricacies of DDDA and its vocations, this take is far from what I expected.

[@TheLigon27]

that game was out for awhile and he had way more time with the game.

[@TheMrTC3]

I think what he was getting at is as much as this guy has played DDDA, he is surprised that he doesn't find this current game extremely shallow compared to that game. It almost as if he is not really being extremely critical for some reason.

[@todd3351]

Precisely. Someone was mentioning that they cant wait to see his in depth vocation guides. .. There is no depth to the classes.

[@zzodysseuszz]

@@todd3351 yeah well he’s one to talk. He completely missed features like the poison stacking. And possibly even more he didn’t catch. If he missed that, how much more depth did he miss?

[@zzodysseuszz]

⁠@@todd3351 on top of this; his take on the warfarer class is braindead. He doesn’t seem to understand the vocations beyond a surface level.

[@hellsong23]

I loved the first game. Not jumped into this one yet but man, whereas I get the changes, I'm not convinced I won't miss what's erm...missing. (if you get me.)

[@TheLigon27]

It’s crazy that while playing DD2 I miss playing DD1 in some regards.

[@hellsong23]

@@TheLigon27 In a way, it's nice that the sequel doesn't replace the first game. I do like it when that happens. Nintendo are very good at that sort of thing.

[@TheLigon27]

@@hellsong23 it’s different from wanting to go back in play for DD1 world or story / characters. This is simply cuz DD1 has some better mechanics. Sequels should always improve and add new mechanics , not downgrade or overly simplify , which is the case with DD2.

[@hellsong23]

@@TheLigon27 Yeah, I agree. I've seen some reviews and noticed classes are more limited in playstyle, armour has been 'streamlined' etc etc. I was hoping classes like Warrior and Fighter became a bit more adaptable like striders etc. I dunno, a heavy crossbow or something. But they seem to have gone the other way.

[@benjaminfuqua3049]

Yeah, Warriors are buffed a bit, and feel better to play than in DD1, but they've done their best to nerf the other vocations down to warrior's level, and the end result is a lot of classes feel terrible. Notably the Mage and Sorcerer are pretty bad now. The cast tume for spells got stretched even further, and there's significantly fewer spells, and they look a lot *worse*, which is wild given that they had 12 years to make the spell effects better, or at least keep them the same.

[@drakaryonn]

Nice takes... Long time subscriber here... any plans for posting more solo runs with thief?

[@wolfgangromine8341]

as I played it my opinion settled to being really disappointed. It feels so much like the first game honestly worse in most ways. Less armor, too much enemy density, overworld is bigger but still doesn't have anything of real value to find, most Vocations got completely neutered losing so many skills (sorcerer in particular is terrible now),and the story is worse than the first one and has too many plot holes and doesnt make sense upon scrutiny. I feel after finishing it if I want to play dragon's dogma I'll just boot up the first game it plays almost identical and it's better overall to me.

[@rainofkhandaq6678]

"losing so many skills" What game are you playing? Doesn't sound like dd2

[@benjaminfuqua3049]

Did you play the first one? DD2 has like 65% of the skills from DDDA. It's especially noticable with the Mage and Sorcerer, who use to have way more varied/better spells. Everything's been reduced to crappy AoEs with longer cast times and lower damage & knockdown. Between the lack of Miasma, Comestion, and HFB, Sorcs have no fast casting options anymore, you're stuck with only slow crap, which frequently leaves you screwed over if your pawns go down or fail to keep aggro.

[@mugenrpg690]

​@@rainofkhandaq66786 > 4

[@asdergold1]

​@@rainofkhandaq6678 Mate, do not make me insult your ass for being this asinine.

[@1Strawbs]

Poison being weak is something I gotta disagree on. You can dunk drakes and griffins pretty consistently in my experience. Stopped a drake from getting away with a single arrow. Ogres will kneel when hit with it as well. Underrated imo

[@GetBodiedSon]

I love mystic spearhand but I think it is poorly designed. Mystic spearhand’s damage all comes from its maister skill so far as I can tell, meaning it isn’t very useful in warfarer outside of making cute combos with teleportation. The issue with it’s damage dealing potential being exclusive to the maister skill, is that the maister skill is also the best means of crowd control and also the best way to close distance to an enemy for the vocation. So you end up having one skill that does everything that the separate tools of the vocation also do, but it just does all of them better. It’s an auto-pilot button. To be fair, I think most maister skills are poorly designed from a skill/gameplay/balance perspective, but spearhand certainly shares in that flaw.

[@carlosoliveira2965]

Dragon's Dogma 2 feels more a side upgrade to DDDA, but definitely a upgrade to base Dragon's Dogma which is kinda sad with the possible DLC leaked. So far most Capcom games launched neve had a DLC planned or they're good but not enough and this might be bad to say on the context of the gaming industry but I want more than 1 game expansion, oh how miss when used to get the feeling of a full game and more content to a game, last game I played who provided this feeling was The Witcher 3 with it's amazing expansions

[@TheLigon27]

To me it feels like DD2 was made on the pre conceived idea of selling the finish game in a DLC. That’s just how I feel while playing it.

[@HenryAB]

I respect your opinion, but for me personally this game, apart from the graphics and physics, feels like a downstep from the original game.

[@Ecthelion3918]

I'll never get tired of hearing that Salieri quote in the beginning

[@ohlawd6763]

My only really "big" complaints with the game is that I wish it had more enemy variants and bosses, as well as difficulty scaling based off of which NG+ you are on Overall I really like the game and the combat, but I just wish things put up more of a fight

[@DragonmindLai]

I'd like to see them add loadouts like in MH for different vocations and such

[@Lahdee]

On the topic of enemy variety, I listed all enemies from DD1, DDDA, and DD2 in a spreadsheet out of curiosity and found that DD2 and DD1 had roughly the same amount of enemy types. DD1 had a similar amount of enemy variants as DD2 which only changed when DDDA came and just made more variants of already existing enemies. There were some new enemy types like garm, eliminator, and living armor but overall the minor enemies were either just minor enemy but bigger or yet another different color of said enemy type. DD1 for minor enemy archetypes has goblin, harpy, wolf, ghost, undead, skeleton, vile eye, and bandits/humans DD2 for minor enemy archetypes has goblin, harpy, wolf, ghost, undead, skeleton, slime, and bandits/humans DDDA didn't add any new minor archetypes just new variants and maneater doesn't count it is just a reskin of the tentacle from an Evil Eye. DD1 for major enemies has cyclops, ogre, chimera, griffin, golem, skeleton lord, wight, dragon, hydra, cockatrice(maybe a variant of griffin), and evil eye DD2 has cyclops, ogre, chimera, griffin, golem, skeleton lord, wight, dragon, medusa, minotaur, garm, dullahan DDDA added eliminator, living armor, and garm The enemies we lost were kinda merged or changed. Hydra + cockatrice gave us medusa, living armor became dullahan, and eliminator became minotaur. Warg got upgraded to be an in between for wolf and garm with its own medal so it is technically a boss type I guess. I won't list and compare all the variants but I will say the amounts: minor enemies DD1: 18 DD2: 15 DDDA: 16 major enemies DD1: 6 DD2: 6 DDDA: 11 The 3 extra variants for DD1 vs DD2 was because skeleton types were listed as unique in the DD1 bestiary instead of just skeleton. TLDR: Enemy variety isn't worse but it also isn't better. I can only hope that with DD2 DLC we'll get more enemy types instead of more variants like we did in DDDA.

[@DANCERcow]

Yeah, excluding quest NPC enemies and animals. comparing the vanilla games, dragon's dogma has 50 individual unique enemies not included from the dark arisen rerelease and dogma 2 has 56 individual unique enemies!

[@TheLigon27]

yeah but I feel they should’ve gave us all the old while adding all the new. At less than it would’ve been more instead roughly the same.

[@munt368]

If you use multiple blighting arrows in a row you will apply fulminating poison which does much much more damage over time

[@davidfletcher369]

I solo sorcerer, the key abilities are thundermine and spell hold. It has difficulty against ranged enemies, but is very viable with good spatial awareness. I really hate the auto locking and miss ground targeting for laying traps, but definitely viable.

[@TheLigon27]

might be but it doesn’t change the fact you have way more gameplay options to solo sorcerer with in DD1

[@kevinuribe318]

Honestly gets boring using thundermine but it’s a necessity when wanting to use a longer casting spell when in a group fight. I wish we had more skills from the first.

[@davidfletcher369]

@@TheLigon27 Facts, and I miss the mobility of old focus bolt. Galvanize is neat, but I wouldn't need it if I had more options.

[@davidfletcher369]

@@kevinuribe318 Same.

[@anvb5a1]

I'm broke right now, so, i'll get a copy later on. I remember watching your videos of DD1, you were very passionate about it and a great player, so hearing you being "on the fence" about DD2 lowers my expectations a bit, it might be a good thing, less disappointment. I don't listen to other reviews, just people like you, who, i know, "get it", have that passion about capcom's DD1! (that i also have) Do you sometimes play some Monster Hunter? Which one if yes? (i'm personally a huge capcom fan in general, from street fighter 2 when i was 12-13, to nowadays, being a 44 year old gamer) Cheers! Thanks for your videos!

[@frankdahtank354]

Playing DD2 after 250 hours made me really appreciate DDDA even more lol

[@Syahburei]

THE GOAT IS BACKKK

[@ToliG123]

Recently learned you can sell stuff from storage, you just need to have one of that item on you. Such a weird choice... But at least it kinda works. The quality of life stuff is def something I very much hope we get patched in.

[@hellsickcunnt3953]

Really feel like this game went backwards. Hopefully the dlc will bring more replayability

[@denerk8338]

i miss holy enchants, and some ''infinite'' dungeon like BBI monsters variety is one big problems for me(that's just my opinion)

[@kristoff7049]

I Really value your thoughts here. For now I’m going to carry on with DD:DA and wait for the price for DD2 to drop (and maybe additional content to arrive over the next year)

[@pickledbeaker5916]

The Nihil has spoken, the game is now approved

[@MatthewManney]

The ice arrow for magic archer is disgusting as well. The upgraded version will 1 shot charging minatours and staggers like crazy. It also topples better than any archer skill.

[@flaze8240]

Spearhand gameplay is similar to the thief gameplay shown at the end, in my experience. It's a sustained dps that's very dependent on hitting weakspots. I often find that Winding Cut (the rank 4 core skill) outputs more damage than Wild Furie (the Meister Skill), because it's very easy to miss weakspots using the latter. It excels at waiting for bosses to move its weakspot into your spinning blades (cast Mirour Vesture first and start spinning as the boss moves toward you), and is very good at going ham while standings on certain boss' backs, such as the Chimera. Spearhand suffers from a few major issues imo: lack of an efficient burst dps skill (Magike Sperepelote/Speregonne is disappointing), an unreliable Meister skill, and lack of options for elemental damage in solo-play. While I don't have numbers to back up this claim, I feel like its damage would feel much more consistent if DD2 had a duospear for each element, given its split STR/MAG focus. Currently, duospear feels much more suited for Warfarer, where you can combine it with Sorcerer's Flare to stack explosions using Winding Cut. Regardless, I'm having fun with the weapon (80 hours atm) so I'll keep trying to push it to its limit.

[@gregpitta]

I think the team meant that with Warfarer you are free to use any armor piece so people would have more choice on end game fashion. It is clear that the game is just too easy to justify using the best skills and classes.. rather just use what you think it is fun. Thief is the best class statwise, having the highest multipliers for the stats while warfarer doesn't have any. The progression seems clear to increase the difficulty, master your class of choice and others, put your 3 favorite skills on warfarer and set up your fashion. It is different from DD1 as there is an end class, but you get to choose it.

[@TheLigon27]

Having to use one class just to have more of an option to equip different pieces of gear imo just sounds like terrible game design. I really don’t think that was meant to be the case and just an unforeseen side effect.

[@carlosoliveira2965]

Really sad how they simplified some parts of the game like gear and the material you get from enemies, on DDDA a chimera had a material drop for each of it's heads, meaning you had to play your way to get the specific material to upgrade your gear, now o DD2 enemies have basically one material drop.

[@benjaminfuqua3049]

I hate it, unabashedly. It just *feels* so much worse than the last one, and the standout points of impressive spells and good climbing got massively nerfed here. The story is just bad. It drops the ball hard at the coronation, and none the plot points go anywhere. The ending comes out of nowhere, and none of it is developed enough to make me care about what my current objective is. I still have no fucking clue why I'm suppose to take the new godsway to Phaesus. This dude was working against me all through Vermund, and Pathfinder intervenes, literally mind controlling the guy who plans to take the godsway to Phaesus... so that I can be the delivery boy instead? What?!? Why? This is a massive pile of questionable decisions, and not worth half of what they're charging for it.

[@icebox1954]

I'm not sure why but I just don't feel any excitement towards DD2 and I loved DDDA. Especially as a console player it feels like a huge letdown compared to what I was expecting after such a long time. I hope the DLC will be as good as BBI was at least.

[@rainofkhandaq6678]

You'd feel the same way if you had DD2 first. One of those types

[@benjaminfuqua3049]

That seems like a big assumption. There's a lot of differences in direction between DDDA and DD2, and which one I played first isn't what determines which of those appeals to me as a player. Ultimately, DDDA was less inimical to the player, and imo, was significantly more fun to play as a result.

[@princesszelda8577]

to me, its a solid upgrade but the fact that they removed lolis, makes DD1 far more superior. i miss my loli girlfriend pawn

[@icebox1954]

@@princesszelda8577 Most people hated loli pawns but I even made a loli socerer who's the prettiest character I've made yet. The boob slider was a gift from gaming heaven. Stacked loli with long hair and beautiful red eyes. That's the way.

[@princesszelda8577]

@@icebox1954she sounded so pretty. loli haters are annoying af. I really hate that dogma 2 took them away. i was so hyped for that and got really disappointed when i went to the char creator. tbh if they kept it dogma 2 wouldve been 10/10 for me.

[@ElDrHouse2010]

My main problem is that there is no combined classes by default, a Strider, Assassin, Ranger is missing here. 2 weapons 1 class was a superior class system. Whatever, happens. SyntheticMan review is on point about DD2. It's still a fun game but 70 bucks for it? Jeez... I think its worth 50, 60 at most.

[@yamnbam4346]

I haven’t watched one of his reviews in ages. Did he call the game woke by any chance?

[@ElDrHouse2010]

@@yamnbam4346 yes too much beastren and he is right and the world building is badly made, supposedly non beastren aint allowed in the beast capital but its full of humans lol

[@federicocasali1565]

​@@ElDrHouse2010 never said that humans aren't allowed in the capital, just the people of Vermund have to work harder to get a permit,, beastren too but it's easier for them. The lore of the world is pretty thought out, just lots of Hidden details like in the first game

[@TigoODonnell]

@@ElDrHouse2010Synthetic Man beloved in the Great White replacement, I do not think his opinion on anything is valid

[@TheLigon27]

I don’t get how that would cuz for a change in price. I have something I don’t like about the game that they changed or removed, but it still a good game and the price is reasonable.

[@kolbywilliams7234]

So Mystic Spearhand is short on big damage abilities compared to warrior and thief, but it does have a good blend of dph and dps options. I consider it the most versatile vocation. Mystic Speregonne is a nuke that pierces enemies. Hit a weak spot with it and it’s almost always a guaranteed health bar ripped off and even staggers/knock-downs. This combos really well with the stun ability. Dragon’s Feste is like hindsight slash. Very strong if timed correctly with the added benefit of usually getting a quick mount or headshot for even more damage. Mirror Shelde is invincibility for about 7 seconds or so for both you and your pawn. Broken. Dragon’s Foin is burst strike, but with aerial capabilities. Combo this with Feste and you can mount almost any enemy, and even knock liches out of the air. The Meister skill is good but not as broken as others. High dps, very mobile, good tracking, full magick+physical damage. Not bad at all. The core skill that really ramps up the damage is the one that adds magic damage to all of your weapon skills, and it scales with your magic attack stat. That’s when you’ll see much better performance.

[@YeOldeMachina]

I really enjoyed the 80-90 hours i spent in NG, but i dont see myself playing any more until DLC or a hard mode is introduced. I really had this built up in my head like it was gonna be what DD1 shouldve been, and its not. Thats my own fault, i suppose, but it still feels like an incomplete game to me. Its equal parts amazing and disappointing. Glad youre enjoying it!

[@Michael_Malice_Music]

Will Fighter Warfarer scratch my Mystik Knight itch ?

[@TheHeartThatRunsCold]

Mystick Spearhand is so weak that a week in, there was a mod to buff its kit. Formless feint + Blades of Pyre is sinful, but at the same time, so is the entirety of Thief's kit. That smokebomb + ensnare combo is just chef's kiss.

[@omegaxtrigun]

What? Mystic spearhand is incredibly good lol. Sounds like you dont know how to play it or haven’t gotten all the skills.

[@TheHeartThatRunsCold]

@@omegaxtrigun Good utility, can gimp small monsters pretty easily, good mobility, but when it comes to boss damage... You need augments, or a constant stream of stamina consumables to make that meister skill feel good to use. To me that's not a hallmark of a good vocation. I blame thieves for feeling so good.

[@lampross.6957]

With this game i felt the same level of disappointment as when the TOOL latest album came out. Its not bad but it lacks the soul that made the first one great

[@HCSbr]

Sorcerer is definitely the weakest part about vocations in this game, imo. I'm baffled how they removed almost all fun spells from the first game, including Miasma, Petrification, Lassitude, Exequy, Gicel, Brontide, etc. Plus for some reason you can't free aim spells anymore, so you have even less strategies, especially when playing solo. The best you can do it always carry a crowd control spell, like Hagol or Thundermine, and then rely on Maelstrom/Bolide (Meteoron is an awful name) for damage. Even though Sorcerer can be very strong in DD2 with what's it got, it was a huge missed potential.

[@geert574]

I use 2 sorc pawns all the time stuff dies very fast especially because they spam their shit a lot quicker than in 1. I cant see anything on screen but it works lol

[@KirillT14]

You can use elemental enchantments via tomes for solo warrior/archer/fighter. Great against ghosts and slimes and a decent buff overall.

[@baanfrey]

One thing I didn’t like is that Fighter has a lot less options for sword skills vs DD1. Sword’s Gouge skill got ultra nerfed, it does more or less DPS than Thief’s Scarlet Kisses while needing to take a skill slot. Riotous Fury is the best DPS but is a master skill so it’s a no go for Warfarer. There’s no Windmill or Intimate Strike as alternatives. On the defense side sword only has Hindsight Slash. The counter skill now requires the shield to use. Kinda wish they did a little more for the sword…

[@SparePencils]

You cant even guard cancel hindsight anymore. The more I experiment the more I realize they just didnt bother stopping the other 3 melee classes from stepping on Fighter's toes.

[@omegaxtrigun]

Fighter isn’t designed to not use the shield, so idk why sword having one def skill is an issue to you. You should always have a shield as fighter. Yes, fighter doesnt do as much damage as thief, because fighter is an actual tank.

[@skmkr5222]

What I really dislike about the game is that they removed as much as they added and therefore it feels like DD1 all over again. I really hope we willl get a good DLC but right now I think I'd rather play DD1 over DD2.

[@weapon-7292]

Why tf did they remove the ability to sell a from and buy to storage. Even the whole character screen is a step backwards. Lots of little QOL improvements, this feels more like DD 1.5 instead of DD2. Also I think every class needs some sort of dodge ability or defensive capability that can be quickly used. Combat feels way too slow and its so easy to get stun locked this time round

[@Bourikii2992]

Sell from storage still exists.

[@TheLigon27]

it feels less like action and more strategic this time around. I don’t get why they would change it after DD1 combat was so highly praised.

[@BeSlight9]

Dragons dogma dark Arisen is better long story short 💯

[@atorixy]

Sorcerer gameplay; when that Drake silenced and then started stalking you down, if this weren't an action game, that'd be heart-pounding! XD

[@Volpur]

3:09 why does everyone always say there's no fast travel? Ferrystones and Oxcarts are both forms of fast travel

[@Yaroslav_Torov]

I played solo Sorcerer in DDDA, never used any skill other than Enchanters. Was fun and lots of damage.

[@LumenPsycho]

DD2 has A LOT of problems. I'd wait a few years until they do something about it.

[@LuckyLiarK]

I still dont see the point of mystic spearhand. If I want damage I would go thief, if I want magic I would go magik archer, if I want both melee and magic warfare show far more stragety than spearhand. The only skill I feel busted with this vocation is just the bubble shield, which is the early version of formless feint and can buff pawn while not make you waste time on auto dogge like formless feint. This vocation really feel like just a show maker. Another thing is that I hate how some dragon now run away like gryffin. It's not a monster hunter map, it's an large open world map. The griffin and dragon run away is no fun at all, I dont want to go and find their net by try to cling on them everytime they have sign of going to fly up. Having the fight end like that feel really annoying.

[@Xandorm]

MS has a stunning move, and a core skill that lets you teleport to that stunned target. It's flashy and mobile. with bubble so easy to pop, it seems like a tank for the entire party.

[@zzodysseuszz]

@@Xandorm yeah this op doesn’t understand strategy.

[@LuckyLiarK]

@@Xandorm which is why I mean the only thing busted about that vocation is the bubble. With the bubble my entire team dont care about anything. Heck I even go 3 thief pawn and with MS bubble the dragon just die, I just stand there, buff bubble and do nothing. Without bubble MS lack impact move to make large enemies flinch. I can chill while maintain dps and stamina if I not melee, or if I melee I can find a way to bust damage in short time or tank and trade damage, but not with MS. I try give it more knockdown power, it's less impress than even fighter. I try all in damage upgrade, feel lack luster than thief or even archer. The fully charge magic to stop enemies dont really feel that great against large enemy, I try the instant fully charge skill with healing mage, still dont like it. I dont really like this vocation much at all. Rather run warfare with heavenward sunder, sleeping arrow (that help with flying dragon or gryffin if you able to hit the head), and draw and quarter. MS style is just not feel great for me.

[@micahmartin7759]

Spearhand’s highest damage comes from Wild Furie. It’s not absolutely busted damage like what Martyr’s Bolt can do, but it’s one of the best damage abilities in the game, assuming you can successfully target an enemy’s weak point with it or use it against a group of enemies unhindered. With how stamina-heavy it is, it can be a risk to use, but if paired with a pawn that uses the Mage Maister skill regularly, spamming it repeatedly against a downed large enemy can result in really high amounts of damage. As some others have pointed out, it also has the stun, which can be used as an AOE stun as well and has the follow-up dash move to close the distance, which can then be followed up with a critical hit attack. The stun ability makes it easy to pull off criticals in general. Mirour Shelde makes the party invulnerable temporarily. Dragoun’s Foin is a gap closer that has decent knockdown, so can be used to knock a stumbling enemy the rest of the way down, as well as giving you a fairly high degree of mobility. Skiedragon’s Feste makes it easy to mount many of the larger enemies in the game without having to jump on them from a higher position or climbing them first. Devout Offringe has surprisingly decent knockdown and damage. Seching Storm gives them a low effort ranged attack (needs higher damage though, IMO). Unto Heven deletes enemies from a fight or else does high damage to enemies that aren’t sent flying (not the most useful skill, but can be fun and hilarious). Magike Speregonne is a high risk, high reward ranged magical attack that can do insanely high damage, especially if you take advantage of a pawn casting the Mage Maister skill to pump more stamina than usual into the shot. The Ravinour’s Hond skill doesn’t really bear mentioning unfortunately, that much I’ll concede; it’s pretty useless. All this together gives the Spearhand a bit of everything with crazy CC and support abilities, ranged options, and high damage attacks when used properly. I’ve found that deleting bosses and groups of enemies with the Spearhand requires mastery of its skill set. It won’t be able to compete with the raw damage some of the other vocations can dish out in many cases (certainly not vs Martyr’s Bolt), but it brings other stuff to the table besides raw damage. I’ll still admit that the bubble shield is basically the best ability it has to offer over the other vocations. But that alone makes fighting almost any boss a cakewalk if you manage your stamina appropriately. Again, it’s not better than just one-shotting a boss with Martyr’s Bolt and ending the fight before it starts. But I like to be more involved in fights than just pressing one button to win at the cost of some of my health. I also like that getting the most out of the Spearhand requires a degree of mastery from it. The biggest downside to it is that it definitely seems geared towards team play vs playing solo. It’s not impossible to still do well solo, but it definitely benefits from running with a specific party setup, notably having a mage with the maister skill, like I’ve already mentioned, and a warrior for greater consistency in knocking down enemies. If you bring a sorcerer, the bubble shield gives them all the protection they could ever need to use the highest level spells they have without getting interrupted, so if you wanted, you could play a Spearhand as that kind of team-support role and let them deal all the damage. I haven’t tried this yet, but I suspect having an archer as a fourth party member could also be good for reliable ranged support, and extra knockdown capabilities with the right skills. But a mage with Celestial Paean and a warrior with good knockdown skills are definitely the best compliments to a more involved Spearhand playstyle.

[@KurodoDragon]

Spearhand's maister skill plus that stamina drain skill to spam the maister skill is where all the damage comes from

[@firstswordcorvus7368]

I enjoy mystic spear hand, it has both offensive and defensive options and it's both melee and ranged. From what I've seen and experienced, if you can get the lesser dragon in Melve to at least low HP you can get a really strong weapon for it that's good even post Grigori. Dwarven forged is from what I've seen the best for split damage weapons. To get the dwarven forged option you have to unlock magic archer and speak to that dwarf later to get that unique enhancement. All mystic spear hand weapons appear to be split damage. Mystic spear hand can solo, but I agree it's a pretty showy vocation. Trickster is pure support and it's only usable in a party, saw a couple people trying to solo with it it's pure suffering cause it can't damage anything. Except for tiny chunks when enemy is lying down. If you try to solo with it you're only going to get xp and discipline if you stand near NPCs and wandering pawns killing things, which takes too long and it doesn't happen very often. My most hated skill from Trickster you have to climb on a boss for to attach your decoy. And it's supposed to trick small enemies to attack the boss, which it does. But the main problem is that there's rarely any small enemies around the bosses. Guessing you like Garm no longer able to blind us? Seems they left out that debuff

[@Austenite75]

So no trickster schamtics then?

[@FatherMulk]

I like DD2 more than DA, but the one issue I have with the game is how you have to start handicapping yourself around level 35-40 to keep the game remotely challenging.

[@myrddinemrys919]

I am currently level 84 and have had lots of different pawns through the game. Though I agree it’s sad to see some of the armor options toned down, I completely disagree about everyone wearing the same armor. Currently in the rift checking pawns and every single one has varied sets (even among the same classes) with different accessories. It has been that way the whole game for me.

[@noiremalam]

Great review man, when you say you like archer, i thought i was alone like archer. In fact not a lot of content creator like archer and cover that vocation.

[@m.c.i.d23]

Solo in this game is very frustrating if you don't just cheese enemies. Boss enemies are fine but one stray hit and its stunlock city

[@TheSwaylon]

Been waiting so long for your take on dd2 and I also agree 💯

[@uberfiend2544]

This game has no reply value. The inventory system is crude. Once again the thief/assassin is broken. Story is still questionable and the auto target/spawn trap enemies are BS. There's more too... The box art is a deep fake. Game feels like monster hunter on PSP. The fact that people who like you stand in front of your door waiting for you to escort them halfway across the map only to give you like 120 RC is wild. The no tell no show gets old fast. The auto saved when they know they presented a poor interpretation of what they want you to do, is honestly amazing. Love it😩. The 9999 battal inn is just dirty. Someone has to have sat down and inserted that, the same person probably who made the inventory system. Stealing into the castle was cute the first 2 times... But if I wanted to play thief I'd boot up my PS4. Trickster was the most deceptive new job class boost I've ever seen.

[@BangsarRia]

My Sorcerer Pawn only needs to cast one spell (usually Meteoron) to finish off any Boss. She wears two speed casting Rings. I would mostly keep the Boss's attention while she charged up. But then I hired a good Fighter tank, and he and I kill Bosses so fast the Sorc just stands around gabbing. I carry two stacks of Roborants and debilitation cure potions so don't really need a Mage. But of course I have one because the buffs are cool and the most fun in the game is the Pawn interactions.

[@Boesc1]

Hope to see new DD2 schematic videos for fighter, warrior, thief, and archer

[@yoomazir]

Like someone said, DD2 is a sidegrade. EDIT: That being said, we're comparing a complete version of a game, with expansion included, against a vanilla version of another game, which has yet to receive it's own expansion.

[@kerwynpk]

A proper BBI style expansion _could_ send this game to the moon with DD1, but it would have to include an awful lot

[@gameaddict1074]

If you exclude Bitterblack Isle, I'd say you could still compare the two games and reach a similar conclusion.

[@TheUnseenKrab]

Dark Arisen spoiled me eternal ferrystone was qol experience.

[@TheLigon27]

I’m sorry but I don’t get how you trying to justify a game being compared with a game that releases a decade ago that literally the same game. If anything it just baffling how could they miss the mark when they had already a sold foundation to build off. Saying we should wait tell the game gets an expansion before casting judgement just goes to show how bad they failed. Not saying DD2 is a bad game but it definitely over simplified to the point it feels like a downgrade in some aspects.

[@thant0s]

No idea why people are having trouble with solo Sorcerer unless they refuse to use Flare. There's no stacking limit for Flares other than your Stamina, and if placed in the same spot, all attacks made near them will charge all Flares. Further, Flare detonations proceed to charge *other* Flares in proximity to the blast. Thundermine covers your rear with really high KB and lets you cast, Frigor crushes Golem sigils and snipes problem mobs with high KB (even worth it against Ice resistant enemies as the physics might help that much more), and Salamander hits REALLY hard (seriously, it's gross what it does to Minotaurs / Goreminotaurs). I personally don't even bother with Meteoron and Maelstrom as they're more of a meme this time around because of the unavoidable cast time, unless you do clever things like Spellstore them ahead of a fight and use your Stamina to set up the release (which also absolutely trivializes Drakes and the like). Things get even nuttier if you go Warfarer Sorcerer, or Warfarer Sorcerer/Mage if you're permitting yourself that freedom. You've got the power you need, you just need to keep up with your equipment.

[@davidgannon-g4t]

The enemy region difference thing is more like the difference between gransys and bitterblack ilse i think? My main issue is the brine. 60 percent of the map is unusable cos of brine which means devs r 2 lazy t make underwater dungeons monsters and combat as well as boat fights like ac odyssey. Due to such a large amount of the map being unusable the map may b smaller than original. I preferred the original dragon forging system especially the expansions silver and gold forging it allowed for any gear t b useful in end game. The min maxing may have become more demanding now. Im unsure exactly how t get maximum atm but i think it goes like. Complete 1st playthru with warrior or sorcerer depending on ur endgame playstyle. This must b done as low lvl as possible. Then in ng+ find dragon forged immediately and purchase main class stat lvl boost. This can be done as early as lvl 20 roughly but it requires skill and or the use of carry pawns which r pawns of lvl 50 or higher and avoiding all encounters. The goal is to apply the stat buff to the maximum amount of stat boosting lvling possible to increase ur main stat higher. There may b a need to save before each lvl increase incase the stat gain is meager or nothing and switch class to mystic spearhand as this class gives second highest boost to both str and mag. Then to switch back to main class for the next level gain. If this switch is required the dragon forged buff will need to b switched back and forth accordingly. In some ways the original character creation system was better regarding hand and foot size options as well as length. I miss many of the class skills from the original and i would have preferred an elven race and background or a half orc race or even a half ogre or oni style race to beastren. Despite the legal conflict the original game was heavilly influenced by berserk so the world and characters should reflect that. I dont recall a single beastren character in berserk. Honestly i would just prefer to play the original game but with unreal engine 5 graphic overhaul. The magic looks good certain monsters are done very well. The ragdolling is a bit dull maybe give the model a slow mo running man animation when they are launched or a tuck and roll animation or an attempt t grab tree banches or cliff faces where possible. But my biggest issue by far is the brine it litterally says were to lazy to give our customers a real game. Also more gear. More weapons i really want a no dachi. More attack animations would b nice there is a scene in berserk where guts is training after the zodd fight why cant my warrior move like that.

[@Ragnarok_1218]

I wish there wer more monsters weapons and knight armors for endgame. Heres hopeing we get some free title updates that add more stuff.

[@therealdonaldtrumpjr]

The only review on this that matters, this guy is a subject matter expert

[@Hades7-f3e]

ya some weaker classes get also a boost now like sorcerer (ok ya about silence is deadly for them but strider sure is op still as usual and i like that and i think because of goblins they have more some stuff on them to increase defense like cyclops with their shield parts on the leg i think maybe Trickster woudld be just a Pawn thing maybe what i most appreciate that inclinations for Pawns works best now

[@CobaltWaltz]

Everyone's going to wear the same end game gear, but this time they made sure of it. Makes no sense. With the huge numbers between starting gear and endgame gear the choice is removed in the eyes of most.

[@vinniamsterdam700]

In DD DA i always went with sorcerer ir MK, but here i enjoy archer and fighter the most. Hate that i cant bloody see how something looks, that i have ti take it all out of my storage box into my inventory to make a fashion choice and then put it all back again. Now i simply sell most of the equipment. I always go for fashion and will never put a helmet on one of my characters.

[@benelemenope1625]

left bumper while in the menu gives you a preview

[@vinniamsterdam700]

@@benelemenope1625 thanks, completly missed that.

[@TheLigon27]

my thing is how come we can zoom in and out on our character or pawns in DD1 while viewing equipment and stats but in DD2 you can’t. Just more QoL that was left out

[@nightsage217]

Might be simplified too much. I like sorcerer has quicker spell casting and galvanise. The designers probably tried the vocation and think its painful to wait forever, both casting and stamina usage. They bother to keep bollide and maelstorm, I suspect those 2 spells are the most popular choices among players. They cannibalise some aspect of mystic knight and give them to sorcerer. Sorcerer has some sort of ruinic sigil and a sticky cannon that bind to a single target. Since there isn't bitterblack isle or equivalent, I can see why they just cut the spell slots down to 4. I like sorcerer in this version? but only because I like both sorcerer and mystic knight. I do see missing miasma is painful departure, but it seems the designers want sorcerer to be on the front action abit more. They should embrace more spells. this is barebone front line sorcerer. Also more fashion gears. Everyone knows fashion is the true end game. >:o it's common sense. I still can't believe pointy sorcery hat is rare.

[@AdamZydel]

Thx your thoughts 😊

[@TheDrunkardHu]

I just booted up the game and when I went to load my last save, the progress bar filled, and it stayed on the loading screen. After attempting to load last save multiple times, I went to try and load my Inn save... Same thing. Pretty sure I just lost over 200 hrs. Make sure you're backing up those saves fellas. Even rotational backups, and probably testing them occasionally.

[@TheDrunkardHu]

I just wanted to give a quick update: Today I went to load my save again in order to grab a screen shot for context in a report I was going to leave in the Steam discussions section, and it suddenly loaded in no time at all... Unfortunately, I lost a few hrs of progress by trying to load the Inn save during my previous troubleshooting... Completely bizarre.

[@VB-92]

Haven't gotten to the volcano yet, hope it won't be too brutal with the damage sponginess vs early weapons. I like the idea of taking a basic sword and leveling it so high that I can use it to kill a dragon, you know, without dying of old age before it happens. By the way, how would you say pawns are in DD2 compared to DD1? Better, the same, worse? They still seem to have their enemy knowledge levels but now they're hidden, aside from the mini-boss/boss badges, if they actually serve the same function. They still don't seem to use all their skills unless you create specific loadouts for them, and other times they seem to get confused by certain loadouts, opting to spam certain things even if it's not optimal. So yea, hard for me to say, so far, if they're better, the same, or worse.

[@eldonhill4840]

The maister skill for Mystic Spearhand is actually pretty strong, and it also has a core skill that’s roughly equivalent to Scarlet Kisses. You’re right that a lot of the attacks are just flashy though. The class isn’t as strong as something like Thief, but I think that’s an intentional tradeoff for Spearhand’s mobility/evasion capabilities and its ability to do both either physical or magic damage as needed (by using the heavy attack or certain skills). The mobility is really fun between the Forbeding Bolt teleport, Foin, Feste, and the Feste cancel technique.

[@daben7145]

Not sure if I'm weird, but I'm not tooo much of a fan of the maister skills tbh, I played a lot of warfarer to get vocations up I dont wanna play (mainly sorc, mage and trickster), but I didnt miss the MA nor the thief ultimate skills. Formless faint is a similar cheese to martyr bolt in my opinion, and sure combining it with blades of pyre is strong, but it was no fun to play at all for me. Similar to the fighter maister skill, it looks fancy and I need to test more how much damage and stagger it actually provides, maybe its better than I think, but I didnt use it a lot when playing fighter, between cloudward slash, hindsight sweep, vengeful slash, gutting skewer and my beloved tusk toss I didnt feel the need for this long animation skill, but I'll test it more for sure before ruling it out completely. Made playing warfarer for me very enjoyable and I didnt feel like I gave up something important. I didnt play much warrior, mystic spearhand, trickster, sorc and archer yet tho, might be different for these classes when playing warfarer.

[@KarlosTabarnak]

yoo the intro from warheart by children of bodom.., You're a connoisseur.