Dragon's Dogma II - "They’re masterworks, all – you can’t go wrong"

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

My point is that the removal of the original layered armor system for the sake of variety, is just pure bullshit. It's a lame excuse for lazyness.

I still don't know what the fuck ya talkin 'bout Willis. You're acting like DD was some super deep RPG that did things no other game has done before. What in the fuck are you talking about?

 

[Stoned Ape]

No, but you could accept them and do them on the side. Now I meet random NPCs on the roads who want to be escorted who-knows-where, and some fuckers I taught the art of the bow or something even pester me at my residence every other night.
I'd take the "kill 10 harpies" message board quests over that any day.
Not to mention the random pawns wanting to join my party every 100 yards.

NPC escort missions show up on your map, if you don't want to be offered them then don't walk over to the NPC. You can reject them even if they offer the quest so you're not forced into taking them anyway.

A fairly recent patch has considerably reduced the frequency of pawns offering their services (which was bullshit beforehand, I agree).

Overall I prefer these short dynamic quests to the message board 'kill 50 skeletons' 'find me a purse/50 bugles/10 fish in a flask' or 'guide me to a healing spring/deserted beach/waterfall/castle half way across the world' that the noticeboards had (WTF did the leader of a small fishing village want to do at a frontier castle anyway?), it makes it feel like there's actually stuff going on in the world other than monsters spawning.

 

[Shinji]

Playing for a second time, I've found two quests that I had missed on my first playthrough.

The first one was delivering a letter to Lord Patrick in the masquerade. Kinda boring and simple.

The other happened when I visited the masquerade and some random dude gifted me some very expensive decorative staff.
After a while the guards announced that a staff was recently stolen and the thief was likely present in the masquerade, requiring them to search every single person on exit.

When they called for me, I just rushed to the back exit that leads to the bordelrie.
Surprisingly, Wilhelmina was there waiting for me and lead me to some safe room to escape the situation.

The quest then ends and I get to keep the staff. Apparenly it can only be sold, nothing special.

I wish the game had more of those small, seemingly random quests.

 

[Anonona]

After a while the guards announced that a staff was recently stolen and the thief was likely present in the masquerade, requiring them to search every single person on exit.

When they called for me, I just rushed to the back exit that leads to the bordelrie.
Surprisingly, Wilhelmina was there waiting for me and lead me to some safe room to escape the situation.

The quest then ends and I get to keep the staff. Apparenly it can only be sold, nothing special.

Didn't know about that one!

 

[DJOGamer PT]

I never posted or even lurked on 4chan /v/ or whatever.

Really?
Then your shitposts were just that generic, damn...

The char creator is more complex than before, but at the same time more restrictive.

You can cry me a river, but no one cares about the removal of lolis

The dagger/bow vocations Strider, Assassin, Archer and Magick Archer, which were the most fun

For (you)
And from a design perpective it makes more sense to separate Strider into 2 distinct playstyles

your saying core skills compensate for that must be a joke

yes, more core skills and the fact that weapon skills are more versatile and functional do make up for the reduction of 6 to 4 skill slots
Mage and Sorc were the only Vocations that unfortunately suffered from this change

the roll core skill we had in DDDA was better than the dash we have now.

You're talking out your ass nigga
Formless Feint travels further, faster and literally makes you invencible
If anything, it's too OP

Even many Augments are worse than before.

Such as?

The layered armor system mattered throughout the game, because you could make so many distinct looking outfits, it was crazy.

Why do you keep insisting on this bullshit?
once you got to mid-high level armor, your underlayer would always be covered
Fashion Dogma was limited to low level gear and slutmaxxing
Really if fashion is your main concern, then the armor variants of DD2, while not ideal, at least mantain a consistent quantity of variation throughout the whole game

Now every second support pawn in the Rift wears that ridiculous corset

DD1 player rift pawns are also mainly sluts, lolis and loli sluts
Nothing changed here, except the removal of lolis which is for the best

You're shilling for the removal of one of Dark Arisen's best systems.

I am not shilling for anything
I am simply contradicting your dumb assertion that undercooked elements like the armor system, were the real strength of DD1
No, the core of the game was the combat and feeling of adventure
Elements which DD2 seems to have focused at the cost of sacrificing of everything else
If this kinda of design approach doesn't appeal you, that's fine
But the end result is that those core elements were substancially improved in DD2
And it's not ideal that some elements outside that core had to be streamlined, so the project could be finished
But hey... ideal projects are a rarity in game dev

Nights feel way more relaxed in that sense, and the few Skeletons, Undead and Phantoms you encounter don't really pose a threat.

That's a problem with the mathematical side of hp and damage values, like the Difficult Tweaks mod proves
Not that nights possess less dangers then they did in DD1

To find something more interesting like a Dullahan or a Wight you have to win the lottery

Yeah, that's kinda the point of rare encounters

I still try to play DD2 solo, and it is possible, but more often than not do I think to myself "fuck this"

That's a (you) problem

And yes, the world looks great and exploration is fun ... But

"Yeah the world design is admittedly better than the original and exploration superior. But despite this, let me tell why the original map is actually better."

they had such a great foundation with Dark Arisen ... and 12 years time

They weren't developing this game for 12 years and DD is not a dungeon-crawler

 

[DJOGamer PT]

all we have now is DD 1,5

That's okay
Really when you think about it and its production, DD1 was more like DD 0.5...

 

[gabel]

The char creator is more complex than before, but at the same time more restrictive.

You can cry me a river, but no one cares about the removal of lolis

You can still make lolis.
The animations and other restrictions are the problem.

But tbh I'm tired of your dishonest arguments consisting of half-truths and proving your lack of knowledge about Dark Arisen.
Enjoy your decline as I do. But at least I'm aware that there actually is decline present here.

 

[Matador]

There is no defense for removing daggers to ranged classes. It´s great they improved warriors, but they should have kept striders as they were. And instead of 4 skills, everyone get 6.

There are some things improved in DD2, but it´s not a clear upgrade over DDDA: worse dungeons, too frequent day encounters, some gimped clases, less equipment elements, worse characters, worse animations, replaced Mystic knight by the boring and worse Mystic Spearhan. Warfarer and Trickster are dissapointing new additions.

And monster variety issue not addressed.

 

[Yosharian]

Honestly if performance was better and they worked on monster variety a bit, I'd be happy. Well, that and a harder difficulty level that includes some monster scaling for NG+.

I don't really care about the other stuff

 

[ERYFKRAD]

There is no defense for removing daggers to ranged classes.

Yes there is, they are ranged classes.

 

[Matador]

There is no defense for removing daggers to ranged classes.

Yes there is, they are ranged classes.

This is not a good argument. Should we remove the shield from the fighter because it has a sword? Or the ranged spells from the Mystic Spearman?

The class redesign is decline, 4 skills instead of 6, and removing tools from fun classes. The fact that Warrior was improved doesn´t mean some of the classes are worse now than in DDDA.

I get people like the game, but being incapable of assuming any negative criticism is going to make next entry worse.

People just swallow any stupid decission due to fanboyism, or screeches retardedly about MTs or irrelevant stuff. Devs have almost no useful feedback to iterate and improve.

 

[Haplo]

I frankly don't remember if the finishers in DDA were as big as they are in DD2?

Because the gameplay as a Fighter, Warrior and Thief frankly revolves around putting enemies in vulnerable state and executing them with finishers. Maybe a bit less so for Warrior, with his mad aoe swings.
Quite fun IMO - and I feel like its maybe a big positive change from DD1?

 

[Anonona]

There are some things improved in DD2, but it´s not a clear upgrade over DDDA: worse dungeons, too frequent day encounters, some gimped clases, less equipment elements, worse characters, worse animations, replaced Mystic knight by the boring and worse Mystic Spearhan. Warfarer and Trickster are dissapointing new additions.

I agree with many of this things except with the gimped classes claims, worse animation and the Spearhand and warfare criticism.

I find the Mystic Spearhand to be equally fun as the MK, it has very interesting mechanics like the abundant animation cancelling, good CC and incredible mobility. I find the animations of the game to be fantastic, but so were the ones in DD1. The new game use the animation blending techniques that they used in DMC5 to make them look more natural, but I also understand that the more concise and precise one of the first game were great, so I would put them in an equal level. Still miss the MK though, I would like it to be added in a DLC or something.

Tricksters was a total disappointment though and I agree with the rest of your criticism.

Should we remove the shield from the fighter because it has a sword? Or the ranged spells from the Mystic Spearman?

Not really the same case. in DDDA, 4 classes had daggers and two had shortbows. The yellow classes suffered from being both too samey and way to versatile, while blue and red vocations had to deal with their weaknesses. Hell, Assassin even had shield and sword from fighter. Assassin had literally not unique weapon, it was just a different flavour of strider or fighter in DD1. Giving each vocation their unique weapons helps making each one more unique and to define their gameplay better. Also their skill selections allow them to deal with things like flying threats better while not encroaching on the other vocations specialties

The class redesign is decline, 4 skills instead of 6, and removing tools from fun classes. The fact that Warrior was improved doesn´t mean some of the classes are worse now than in DDDA.

I will argue that most classes are actually better, even with 4 skills. I find there are more viable skills and their design are more well though out. Fighter skill selection is fantastic, being able of going full defensive support, offensive or a mix between, as well as focusing on single target damage or crowd control. Warrior needs no explaination, Thief is a combination of Strider and Assassin with some very neat support skills like the wires and the plunder skill, which is pretty damn good. Archer elemental arrows, while in a way a nerf from DDDA arrows, are still incredible powerful and can combo with the magic vocations through the use of oil or water arrows. The only ones I'll argue are worse are Mage and Sorcerer, still strong, Mage even more so than in DDDA, but the spell selection isn't as fun and the 4 skill slot does hurt them, as their Core Skills are about Stamina management, which is a great addition, but doesn't really compensate for having less spells.

There is also the fact than some of the old skills are now Core Skills like Thousand Kisses and Tusk Toss, meaning that at minimum you will always have 5 skills. And you can combine this with the Warfarer vocation. While it is true that you can only use 3 skills, the fact that each weapon has a core skill means that just by equipping a second set of weapon you have access to that Core Skill, plus the rest of the moveset and their unique action, increasing the number of actions you can perform in combat and your options drastically. There is also the fact that by equipping certain weapons you can then take out of certain skills because they cover the role of that skill.

For example, if you play an Arisen with SnS, Bow and Daggers, you can now choose not to use Cloudward Slash, as you can use the Bow to attack high targets, and even remove Gouging Strikes, as they can now use the jump Heavy Attacks of the Dagger to cling on enemies and Thousand Kisses for damage, both on the ground and while climbing. You can also even perform certain combos that would be impossible alone like using water arrows and lightning spells by yourself, or go without healer by taking a magic staff. The game provides tool to have even more flexibility than the first game vocations if you want to while still allowing each vocation to retain their identities and unique gameplay styles

And monster variety issue not addressed.

This, plust the lack of difficulty and interesting locales are what really hurt the game IMO. As it stands, I consider DDDA to be superior to DD2. DD2 to me is one of my favourite games, but also probably one of the greatest dissapointments I ever had. I expected for it to build upon the foundations of DDDA, but instead I agree it does feel like DD 1.5 with some upgrades and downgrades.

 

[Matador]

This, plust the lack of difficulty and interesting locales are what really hurt the game IMO. As it stands, I consider DDDA to be superior to DD2. DD2 to me is one of my favourite games, but also probably one of the greatest dissapointments I ever had. I expected for it to build upon the foundations of DDDA, but instead I agree it does feel like DD 1.5 with some upgrades and downgrades.

Agreed mostly with your post. Hope the inevitable expansion address some of the issues in addition to give us a proper mega dungeon

 

[DJOGamer PT]

But tbh I'm tired of your dishonest arguments consisting of half-truths and proving your lack of knowledge about Dark Arisen.

I accept your surrender

 

[DJOGamer PT]

worse animations

This discussion is devolving to the point of absurdity just for the sake of contrarianism

The new game use the animation blending techniques that they used in DMC5 to make them look more natural

It's not just that
Like with DMC5, because of the disparity between the high fidelity realistic visuals and the extraordinary impossible action the characters must perform - animations are something that could've very easily fell on the depths of the Uncanny Valley
And the fact that not only they didn't but also look stylish and impactful, is a testament to the quality of the animation work on display
Even with DD1 as a reference point, this is still an insane amount of work from the animators part

Pure artistry

replaced Mystic knight by the boring and worse Mystic Spearhan

Which vocation someone finds more fun to play is relative
But design-wise MS is superior to MK
MK is a rehash of an existing vocation with op magic bullshit covering up Figther's deliberate limitations
MS on the other hand is an unique playstyle with distinct strengths and weaknesses

There is no defense for removing daggers to ranged classes.

Yes there is, they are ranged classes.

This is not a good argument.

It is because Strider was divided into 2 distinct gameplay styles

The yellow classes suffered from being both too samey and way to versatile

To this I'll add that it also makes the choice of party composition more thoughtful and expands possibilities

I get people like the game, but being incapable of assuming any negative criticism is going to make next entry worse.

This game as been receiving nothing but negative criticism since it came out
I can't remember the last time a good game has been this piled on

And in regards to fair criticism, that's what thread mostly been
Almost everyone here that played DD2 has already posted extensive criticism towards it and expressed aspects they wish to see in the DLC

 

[Anonona]

This game as been receiving nothing but negative criticism since it came out
I can't remember the last time a good game has been this piled on

It is pretty strange. Like, I know DD2 is very flawed and DD1 was niche already, and it does deserve a certain amount of shit, but the amount of hate it received is really something else.

Problems like the performance issues and gameplay flaws are understandable, but the MTX's shit with the review bombing that ensued and the amount of misinformation that even still you can find in some places is staggering. Don't get me wrong, MTXs in any form are shit, but is just how strange it is that this was the hill people decided to die on and once the controversy was over they continue paying for shit that is much worse.

DD1 had pretty much the same MTXs (and did receive some flak for it when it launched) and still was one of the less abussive MTX of Capcom's games of the time (Asura's Wrath comes to mind). You had shit like tons of emotes and clothes in MH, plus their modus operandi of releasing a base game without G rank and then selling the expansion for almost 40$, yet everyone is creaming their pants waiting for MH Wilds. All the recent RE games having similar MTX like DD2 but also content that was clearly supposed to be in the game at launch like Ada's campaign in REmake4 and clothes for the characters. Hell, even DMC5, which was so celebrated on release had technically speaking worse MTX as some variants of certain weapons with different moves and unique devil breakers had you paying extra, and I don't remember people complaining about that. Or the SF6 DLCs like costumes that are ridiculously expensive (for example, if you wanted all the TMNT DLC's content, you had to pay up to 100$). And while they were criticized for all of those, it wasn't even close to the same amount of shit DD2 got.

All of those became mainstream darlings and yet, for some reason, everyone went ballistic at DD2 despite having the most inconsequential of MTX compared to all of these. I just find it strange as to why it even happened.
That without mentioning people complaining about the game being repetitive and having few types of enemies (which are valid complains, don't get me wrong) and then buying games like Ghost of Tsushima with it's checklist design, basic combat and almost non existant enemy variety and yet it becoming like the most sold PS5 port in Steam, with a 90% approval on Steam as of writing this post, while DD2 still sits at a 60%.

 

[Shinji]

I don't usually kill birds in this game, but for some reason I felt like shooting down some crows in the Volcanic region.

It's funny that one of them dropped a Jasper and another 10G.
Love little details like this.

 

[gabel]

I'll leave yo decline-enabling retards to your own devices.
We'll talk again if the expansions turns out to be a pile of shit and nothing like BBI.

 

[Anonona]

I'll leave yo decline-enabling retards to your own devices.

But by buying the game, haven't you also enabled the decline?

 

[DJOGamer PT]

All of those became mainstream darlings and yet, for some reason, everyone went ballistic at DD2 despite having the most inconsequential of MTX compared to all of these. I just find it strange as to why it even happened.

My personal theory, is that since DD is a single-player RPG, most people judged the game by that market's standards
I would go further in this speculation and also say, that I think the expectations for DD2 among the general audience was for it to be like a mix of Witcher 3 with Elden Ring

 

[DJOGamer PT]

expansions turns out to be a pile of shit and nothing like BBI.

Dragon's Dogma is not a dungeon-crawler focused series
If the expansion comes out, it's more likely it's going to be a new map, rather than a single mega dungeon (though it would be cool if could have both)

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Apparently there was a new update last friday
Besides cleaning up some bugs and graphical glitches, they've increased storage space from 1000 items to 3000 and they've finally added DLSS for PC.

 

[Haplo]

Is that DLSS worth anything?
I've bought 4060 mainly motivated by poor perfomance of DD2 on my trusty 970Ti. But when I tried that supersampling I was rather disgusted and turned it off ASAP. Everything became blurry AF.
Game became ugly, with blurry textures.

Is there some magic setting I'm missing?

 

[deuxhero]

Apparently there was a new update last friday
Besides cleaning up some bugs and graphical glitches, they've increased storage space from 1000 items to 3000 and they've finally added DLSS for PC.

CPU 100% spikes because of shit DRM - Not fixed
Character creation being intentionally gimped for sake of trannies - not fixed