[360/PS3] Dragon's Dogma - Dark Arisen out!

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Thanks for the friend requests guys. Just made my pawn. His name is.... wait for it... wait for it... Ralph Wiggum.      He's an old man mage. Just like me in real life.

[TiLT]

Is there anywhere i can see what time it is?(in the game before you make some smartass comment CK    )

I don't think so, no. I see this as a good thing. You really have to pay attention to the sun. It rises in the east and sets in the west. If you're heading underground or decide to go adventuring on an overcast day, best of luck to you! You'll need it.

It's very immersive this way, which is why I like it. Coming out of a dungeon romp only to discover that the sun has gone down but that there's still a bit of daylight, resulting in a frantic race towards the nearest city, is a great experience.

[Bullwinkle]

Thanks for the friend requests guys. Just made my pawn. His name is.... wait for it... wait for it... Ralph Wiggum.      He's an old man mage. Just like me in real life.

Hey, gang if you pick him, he'll say this:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY_LtUQlHKs

[metallicorphan]

Is there anywhere i can see what time it is?(in the game before you make some smartass comment CK    )

I don't think so, no. I see this as a good thing. You really have to pay attention to the sun. It rises in the east and sets in the west. If you're heading underground or decide to go adventuring on an overcast day, best of luck to you! You'll need it.

It's very immersive this way, which is why I like it. Coming out of a dungeon romp only to discover that the sun has gone down but that there's still a bit of daylight, resulting in a frantic race towards the nearest city, is a great experience.

it's more at night time,i came out of a place called Everfall,and it was night time,but i wanted to go out of the city grounds during the daytime and didn't know whether it was worth going to the Inn to rest until morning ...it could of been something like 4 or 5am, or 11 pm-midnight,i had no idea,couldn't find the moon either(is there one?)

[USMC Kato]

Took down my first Drake at lvl 30 this morning. It was just my pawn and I and took 32 minutes 

And every minute of it was intense.

[Harkonis]

most epic, organic and fun fight I've had in a game.  Feels like what fighting a drake might feel like. 

[Roguetad]

I switched from a Fighter to a Mystic Knight (vocation rank 5 now).  It's an interesting class.  I have a reactive shield spell that will blast back on bad guys if they impact my shield.  I can switch to any of the elements for that reactive blast.  If I time a block well, it will do a major spell effect.  I also have a baseball slugger spell.  It places an orb directly in front of me, and then my guy will literally swing away with his weapon, sending orbs blasting towards enemies like homing missiles. There's an area spell that will blast away monsters damaging them, and another that will suck them in.  I just got the Mystic Knight version of the elemental weapon enchant spell that will buff the entire party.

My pawn (Sorsha - ps3) is a good healer, and I'll usually pick up a Ranger and Fighter to balance out the team.  It's cool seeing players starting to really develop and outfit their main pawns around level 24-25.  I've seen some very well geared pawns (which I've hired).  Maxed out enhancements, expensive armor, etc.

[Harkonis]

you can chain those cannon's btw, the orbs will hit the next orb and so on chaining together and picking up the other elements

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Having fun so far. There's something intensely satisfying with shooting a harpy down out of the air as it's flying towards you. I do have a tendency to get a bit lost during combat, though. There isn't a way to lock on an enemy, is there? I also seem to do a lot of button mashing as a ranger.

A question about vocations: from what I gather I'll be able to change vocations at some point? Am I limited to the vocations that come with being a ranger or is it possible to change professions, as it were, entirely (i.e. from ranger to fighter or mage)?

[Doopri]

ralph it seems to be totally open!  so your ranger can go to whatever strange profession you want.  the only exception is with pawns, who seem to have a more limited selection.  but your actual pc can pick from any of them.

[Harkonis]

pawns can be any class other than hybrids (magick archer, mystic knight, assassin)

[Ralph-Wiggum]

And I'll retain the skills I had in a previous profession (a la Final Fantasy Tactics)? For instance, I'm thinking about switching from Strider to Assassin; should I get all the skills in the Strider vocation that I want before making the switch?

Also, is there a level cap? I've only played for a couple of hours and I'm already level 15. This game gives out levels like there's no tomorrow.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

One more question (for now): My pawn is a mage. When I'm setting his skills, I can set 4 spells/ability as his primary or secondary skills. Does anyone know what it affects when a skill is primary or secondary? I thought it might affect casting frequency, but when his heal spell was secondary, he still seemed to cast it fairly regularly.

[Harkonis]

augments carry over from vocation to vocation.  Other than that core skills if the vocations share the weapon carry over.  There are a couple skills that are shared, those will also carry over, but it's hard to know which ones until you switch. 

You can switch for free to any vocation you've already been though so it's pretty painless.

[CeeKay]

T pities the fool who don't play this game!

[Razgon]

For those of you still in the beginning- There are a few starting quests that leads to a place where bandits are holding the road. IF you having trouble, just go do some other stuff, for instance try going out a bit at nights and gain a few levels. its a VERY hard place to get past but the game doesnt punish you for doing other stuff instead. Just take care you aren't too low level when you get to the capital (I was lvl 14 I think, and a bit overlevelled).

[metallicorphan]

Also, is there a level cap? I've only played for a couple of hours and I'm already level 15. This game gives out levels like there's no tomorrow.

yeah i heard the level cap was 200(not shitting you)

I did a lot yesterday,it was a quest called The Fortress Besieged

Spoiler for Hiden:

I had to travel from Gran Soren,through some Goblin riddled wild to the Ancient Quarry,in there were Bandits,Bats,Rats and Ogre's(which you needed to press a pressure plate so you could open a gate and pass through)when i did eventually pop out on the otherside,i had Lizards that turned invisible,more Goblins and Hobgoblins...and all this before i even got to the fort i was to retake
inside the Fort(Shadow Fort)me and my foolish followers after getting the main gate open,had to fight wave upon wave of Goblins,2 Cyclops(3 if you count the one later on)and then the main goblin guy...this fight lasted for at least a day because it went from dark to light and then dark again
After all that,i had to enter the other part of the fort fight more Goblins and Hobgoblins,another Cyclops and then reach where the Boss Goblin was...who was actually a breath of fresh air after all those Cyclops,to beat the quest

Then i had the unpleasant task of walking back to Gran Soren(i wasn't going to waste my Ferrystone),and i did not want to go through the ancient Quarry again and deal with the Ogre's,so i went round thankfully it was daytime....but it was probably still a mistake,goblins,goblins and more goblins,Bandits,Bandits and more Bandits,it took me a long time but i came out(limped out more like) near the first Encampment,and went there and then to Cassardis where there was an escort quest waiting for me to take a woman to Gran Soren...that's when i used my Ferrystone,and got to Gran Soren in seconds,escorted the lady where she wanted to go and then went to the inn to rest and save...took me about 3-4hrs from when i set off from Gran Soren,LOL


Level 22

[Razgon]

Ferrystones are relatively cheap (20.000), but yeah, they are nice to have.

And wow! You've come a long way in a short time :-D

That quest was brilliant! Loved every moment of it - I do think you missed a small thing though

Spoiler for Hiden:

There are balistas on top of the first building you get to, so you can shoot the Ogres instead of having to fight them.

Also, did you try following the goblin chief at the end? :-)

[metallicorphan]

Ferrystones are relatively cheap (20.000), but yeah, they are nice to have.

And wow! You've come a long way in a short time :-D

That quest was brilliant! Loved every moment of it - I do think you missed a small thing though

Spoiler for Hiden:

There are balistas on top of the first building you get to, so you can shoot the Ogres instead of having to fight them.

Also, did you try following the goblin chief at the end? :-)

DAMN IT AND PISS!!! I didn't even think of that

and no on the last thing,what happens?

TBH,I wasn't expecting that quest to be as hard as it was,but by the time i got there(which was half the battle),i was damned if i was gonna go back

[Razgon]

hehe its quite the epic trek, I agree - I kinda liked it, actually. I like that I don't just press a button and then I'm magically somewhere else. I have to FIGHT to get there :-)

As for the goblin chief - well, he runs off into a small dungeon, thats all. I do believe one gets a quest to go there later one, since I got to a gate that was barred, but the game gave me a 15 point achievement for going down there, which was kinda strangely enough the biggest achievement I have gotten yet. The game is incredibly stingy with the achievements!

[metallicorphan]

I am not bad going for achievements at the moment(16/50),i got an achievement just for setting foot into the Ancient Quarry,and i believe it has a few like that


The funny thing is that i was trying to take my time in the game,but i read that more side quests were unlocked when you did a certain thing

Spoiler for Hiden:

meet the Duke

and that's what i was trying to do so i could take my time even more,if that makes sense


My Playtime is 12 hrs

[Harkonis]

once you clear out the quarry, it's clear.  You should've gone back through it 

[metallicorphan]

once you clear out the quarry, it's clear.  You should've gone back through it  

That's just it....i didn't clear it,there are still two massively pissed off ogre's in there,holding a grudge because i tricked them to opening the middle gate for me with the pressure plate...and i may of slept with their mothers as well

oh,and at least i got the other way uncovered...but if Madeline thinks i am escorting her all the way from Gran Turismo to Bloodwater Beech she has another thing coming

[Zinfan]

Gaming Trend casts "forum effect", Zinfan fails on saving throw and must collect Dragons Dogma.

Zinfan see GameStop and uses "charge card attack"!  GameStop counters with "Pre-Order" buff.  Zinfan attack ineffective, GameStop inventory (0) unaffected!

Zinfan tries "Flanking strike" at Walmart!  Walmart casts "memory wipe" on self!  Walmart pawn "never heard of it"!  Zinfan fails

"forum effect" spell wears off, Zinfan returns home and casts "Diabo 3"  spell super effective and lasts 5 hours.

[metallicorphan]

here you go then Zin,this should recast the forum effect

I sent an email to Myto,telling her about the game(she loved Nier,and i think completed it 4 times to get all the endings or how ever many endings there were)

and when explaining the Pawn system,which was harder than i thought it would be(explaining it i mean),i took this picture to help

The Bearded dude is me..er..my character(I have a Conan The Barbarian headband on),the female next to me in the long cloak is my Pawn,the Female Fighter next to my pawn who looks like a female Robin Hood is Maheret who belong's to Doopri and the male Warrior at the back is Kalen who belongs to Kitten0Death(who is 'Louis Cypher' on here)...I only enlisted them to take the picture to explain to Myto,i am going to keep Doopri's pawn as the level is my level and i will re-enlist Kitten0deaths Pawn later on as his pawn is 32 while i am 22,(if i catch up,i have not been playing with over levelled pawns,i have been hiring pawns who are the same level as me)


*I had to adjust the brightness in my Photobucket,because they were hella dark when they got uploaded to my facebook

[Ralph-Wiggum]

For those of you still in the beginning- There are a few starting quests that leads to a place where bandits are holding the road. IF you having trouble, just go do some other stuff, for instance try going out a bit at nights and gain a few levels. its a VERY hard place to get past but the game doesnt punish you for doing other stuff instead.

Yeah, those guys were rocking me when I first tried it (around level 8, I think). I still had a hard time when I went back there around level 13 (and with higher level pawns), but I managed to get by them. Considering my low health after that battle, I'm just glad I didn't have to fight them again on the way back.

Speaking of health, I'm not quite sure about how it works. It seems that after battle if you've been hit your maximum health is reduced (until you rest at an inn)? Or, at the very least, heal spells can't heal you all the way. Is that correct or am I missing something?

[Razgon]

If you eat something that restores health, it goes back up to your maximum. Depending on how much the healing item heals for, of course :-)

[metallicorphan]

Speaking of health, I'm not quite sure about how it works. It seems that after battle if you've been hit your maximum health is reduced (until you rest at an inn)? Or, at the very least, heal spells can't heal you all the way. Is that correct or am I missing something?

I am a little unsure about that also,i wonder if there are different kinds of damage the enemy can give out,one to knock your health to black bar that can't be replenished by magic and another kind of light damage that knocks it down with a grey bar that can be replenished by magic

Also,keep a look out for healing springs out in the wild they are great they replenish health bars whether they are in the black or not(and saves using food or having to slog back to a town to sleep at an Inn...although there are a few camps out in the wild where you can sleep as well)

Yeah, those guys were rocking me when I first tried it (around level 8, I think). I still had a hard time when I went back there around level 13 (and with higher level pawns), but I managed to get by them. Considering my low health after that battle, I'm just glad I didn't have to fight them again on the way back.

so do the enemy levels adjust to your character each time you enter the same area?..which would be pretty cool,and avoid the Oblivion problem

[Ralph-Wiggum]

augments carry over from vocation to vocation.  Other than that core skills if the vocations share the weapon carry over.  There are a couple skills that are shared, those will also carry over, but it's hard to know which ones until you switch. 

You can switch for free to any vocation you've already been though so it's pretty painless.

So if my eventual goal is to have a guy who can rock with a bow but then deal decent damage with swords, would a path like Strider -> Ranger -> -> Assassin   work well? I'm assuming/hoping that all the bow skills I pick up in the Strider and Ranger vocations will be available as an Assassin.

[USMC Kato]

At first, I wasn't too crazy about Dragons Dogma not having some sort of quick travel. The past few open world games have spoiled me. Then I started to realize that if they did, it would trivialize everything that the world offers. This makes me plan ahead on what supplies I need, or what pawns to bring, and what time of day I need to leave. I think I would have missed out a lot on the game world in terms of huge monsters, loot, and dungeons.

[USMC Kato]

augments carry over from vocation to vocation.  Other than that core skills if the vocations share the weapon carry over.  There are a couple skills that are shared, those will also carry over, but it's hard to know which ones until you switch. 

You can switch for free to any vocation you've already been though so it's pretty painless.

So if my eventual goal is to have a guy who can rock with a bow but then deal decent damage with swords, would a path like Strider -> Ranger -> -> Assassin   work well? I'm assuming/hoping that all the bow skills I pick up in the Strider and Ranger vocations will be available as an Assassin.

That seems like a nice organic path. Just don't be afraid to experiment with the other vocations. Not only do the non-bow & dagger using vocations have nice augments that are useful to have, It's like playing a whole new game when I switched from Fighter, to Mage, and then to a Warrior

[Razgon]

augments carry over from vocation to vocation.  Other than that core skills if the vocations share the weapon carry over.  There are a couple skills that are shared, those will also carry over, but it's hard to know which ones until you switch. 

You can switch for free to any vocation you've already been though so it's pretty painless.

So if my eventual goal is to have a guy who can rock with a bow but then deal decent damage with swords, would a path like Strider -> Ranger -> -> Assassin   work well? I'm assuming/hoping that all the bow skills I pick up in the Strider and Ranger vocations will be available as an Assassin.

a Ranger all maxed out in Vocation is VERY good. I did that, and went Magick Archer afterwards, which is kinda a bummer. I don't like the skills, and it feels like a somewhat slow class to play. It does have one majorly awesome bowskill though - the Flare. It simply looks incredibly great in a battle in pitch dark to fire it against an enemy, who is then brilliantly lighting up the entire battlefield.

That said, I find Rangers to be very very good at bowskills, both against single targets (11 arrows at once to the face!) and against multiple foes.

[Razgon]

btw - does anyone know what Vocation level skillups is based on? Do you have to gain a level before you gain one in Vocation or is it just a  fixed amount of XP?

[TiLT]

so do the enemy levels adjust to your character each time you enter the same area?..which would be pretty cool,and avoid the Oblivion problem

This game avoids the Oblivion problem by not having level scaling in the first place (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Thank god for that! Level scaling is one of the worst things that have happened to modern RPGs. Dragon's Dogma is much more like Gothic in that you'll be seriously challenged from the very beginning and will notice plenty of places you're way too weak to deal with, having to return there later when you've grown stronger. You'll also be able to cut through lower-leveled opponents when your own power grows, which can be satisfying.

[Qantaga]

I've been having a wonderful time with this game over the past week. I hit level 30 last night as I took down a griffin. It was an awesome fight and I would have died for sure at one point in the fight when the griffin took me airborne and dropped me, but my pawn caught me before I hit the ground. I think I actually stood up and cheered.
 
I love the pawn system. I've spent more discipline points and gold on my pawn (Briseyu - Warrior) than I have on my character (Sorceror).

[metallicorphan]

augments carry over from vocation to vocation.  Other than that core skills if the vocations share the weapon carry over.  There are a couple skills that are shared, those will also carry over, but it's hard to know which ones until you switch. 

You can switch for free to any vocation you've already been though so it's pretty painless.

So if my eventual goal is to have a guy who can rock with a bow but then deal decent damage with swords, would a path like Strider -> Ranger -> -> Assassin   work well? I'm assuming/hoping that all the bow skills I pick up in the Strider and Ranger vocations will be available as an Assassin.

Oh,i just went from Strider to Assassin because i wanted the Bow and Sword......does it matter?

[The Grue]

So if my eventual goal is to have a guy who can rock with a bow but then deal decent damage with swords, would a path like Strider -> Ranger -> -> Assassin   work well? I'm assuming/hoping that all the bow skills I pick up in the Strider and Ranger vocations will be available as an Assassin.

Rangers use long bows and Striders do not, so you wouldn't be able to carry the Strider bow skills to Ranger or back.  Not sure which bow the Assassin can use.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Damn. I really like my cloudshot skill. 

[Roguetad]

I was working on the Troublesome Tome quest last night, which started by having me head South to investigate some bandits.  After my party rolled through a small group of bandits on the road, my quest marker changed to a location far to the NW.  This began one of the most epic gaming journeys I've ever experienced.  Here are some of the highlights:

- I left the capital first thing in the morning, but by the time we made it deep into the woods, night had fallen.  Out came the lanterns.  

- Fighting packs of dire wolves, my party clustering together closely, fighting back to back as they charge in.  The whole team shouting and helping each other.  

- Ambushed by goblins and a cyclops at night.  Long, difficult fight.  Had to revive a few of the party.  Everyone fought hard.  Health bars were at 50% for the pawns.  As we're looting after our triumph over the cyclops, a pack of dire wolves attacked.  Back to back, fighting to survive again.

- The trail began to wind around a steep drop off.  I thought I could trailblaze a path through the woods directly to another section of the main trail to the NW.  It's the dead of night, very dark, even with 4 lanterns out.  We're hurting for supplies, and have exhausted most of our curatives. I hear a yell from my hired warrior, "Chimera!"  So much for my shortcut.  15 minutes later, we prevailed, barely.  I felt like a combat medic running from pawn to pawn, keeping them in the fight...while trying to keep the group weapon enchant up, and lending a hand fighting the beast.

- I took my haggared party back the way we came, and stuck to the trail as it wound around and along a cliff wall.  The trail curved West now, with a high drop off on one side...it turned into a cliff trail.  Standing between my beaten and bruised party and where we needed to go was an armored cyclops.  No way around.  We have to fight it on the cliff path.  It's still dark.  The cyclops charges us before I'm done casting enchants.  He knocks one of my pawns right off the cliff.  We're down to 3.  I climb up his back and smash the back of his helmet over and over with my mace.  His helmet drops to the ground.  Minor victory.  As we're fighting for 10-15 more minutes, with the fight close to going either way, dawn breaks.  The sun starts to rise over the forest.  If we weren't in the fight of our lives, it would be pretty.

- Triumphant, my reduced party continues on the cliff trail.  A small fortress can be seen.  We've made it.  I put my lantern away, and head towards the fort.  My pawns have about 25% health at full, and I'm at half.  

After all of that, we failed to retrieve what we came for.  To say more would be to spoil it.  The journey back was much easier.  It was weird walking through the same areas during the day.  I took my party back to the capital, released my pawns from service (because we outleveled them)...thanking their creators.  

That was just an example of one side quest.            

[Bullwinkle]

Has anyone tried this "Different Sky" DLC?  Is it worth it?