Malf on 3/10/2013 at 13:44
Resurrecting this thread to see if any of youse who have played it or are currently playing it want to share pawns.
Waiting for a "Bargain Bucket" discount paid off, as it's currently free on PlayStation+ in its "Dark Arisen" form, which means the rather hefty expansion is included.
I'm currently in the mid-forties as a Ranger with a Warrior pawn, and am getting some of that Mid-game Doldrums feel that Phatose & henke outlined above.
There has been one crucial mechanical fix since henke & Phatose played it by the looks of things; portal stones are a LOT cheaper now, being only 2,000g a pop as opposed to 20,000g. I've also happened across 4 of the big stones in my travels, the permanent ones that can be placed like anchors, so it makes fast travel much more viable. Plonk one of those down and it stays in place permanently; you use one of the small stones when teleporting to it, but with good placement, you can travel most places in the world a lot quicker. If you're unhappy with its initial placement, you can pick it back up and place it somewhere else.
Saying that, I've only just twigged properly how they work, so the game still isn't good at explaining its core concepts.
If anyone's playing or has played this on PS3, add Mungrul to your friends list and we can cross-pollinate pawns. Fnar.
Malf on 22/10/2013 at 13:31
A bit on Dark Arisen and how it improves the main game:
Dark Arisen takes place on Bitterblack isle and is a meaty dungeon crawl that rewards spelunkers with more gear, upgrade options and enemies.
Gameplay is a bit more thoughtful, requiring you to mix up your party to allow for a balanced set of skills and damage types. Certain enemies are immune to magic, others to physical damage, etc.
There's one particular boss that appears at random and has to be killed over the course of multiple encounters, which is a pretty cool idea. It retains damage done between fights, so you don't have to start from the beginning every time. That one took me a while to figure out.
Physical vocations are easier to play in Bitterblack, with my favourite being Strider. Ranger and Assassin are just as viable. Warrior, Fighter and Mystic Knight are good, but crippled by the lack of ranged attacks. Magick Archer is good, but is ineffectual against enemies immune to magic. Haven't tried Mage, but I'd imagine it suffers from the same problems as Sorceror. Sorceror just takes too long to cast anything useful and lacks any means of non-magic attack.
However, for exploring and getting to some of the more hard-to-reach chests, staff-wielders have a huge advantage over classes that can't use them: Levitate. EVERYWHERE in Bitterblack is easily accessible with Levitate.
Double Vault for Striders, Assassins and Rangers is not quite as good, but you can still get to the same places with a bit of skill.
But Warriors and Fighters will be missing out on a buttload of loot due to limited movement options.
driver on 28/10/2013 at 22:51
DD has been hovering on the edge of my awareness for a while, the only thing that's put me off is the henchmen. I'm not too keen on party based RPGs (With a few exceptions). Are the henchmen essential, or can you play without them?
Malf on 29/10/2013 at 06:56
Technically, yes, but it would make things very difficult against certain monsters. You'd also probably be limiting the class you could play and you'd have to carry all sorts of equipment to cope with all scenarios.
I think most people playing Dragon's Dogma will probably want to change class at least once, and I know I've tried them all on my character.
Also, while their barks can get annoying and repetitive, it's VERY hard to imagine playing the game without them once you understand how they work. They're not like traditional party members from other RPGs. More like automated weapon platforms, like drones in side-scrolling shooters. They just happen to be very customisable.
henke on 29/10/2013 at 09:11
Yeah you can simply not hire a second a third pawn and then kill your main pawn and not revive him and you'll be on your own. It's apparently doable, I've seen youtube videos of people playing like that. You should defenitely try playing the game with pawns first tho. You'll miss the goofy bastards once they're gone. ;)
henke on 28/1/2015 at 11:36
(
http://www.polygon.com/2015/1/27/7922575/dragons-dogma-online-ps3-ps4-pc-capcom) Dragon's Dogma Online just got announced. It'll be a F2P title for PC, PS3 & PS4. Not exactly what I was hoping for in a Dragon's Dogma sequel, tho I will say that the inclusion of multiplayer makes sense. It's due out later this year, and I'll probably play it for an hour or two before it starts wanting my money in exchange for fun.
Malf on 28/1/2015 at 12:16
Oh.
That's a shame :(
Dragon's Dogma ended up being one of my favourite games of last generation, and there's still some stuff I want to go back and do. I've already opined elsewhere how Witcher 3's boss battles look dull and uninspiring thanks to Dragon's Dogma spoiling me with its absolutely fabulous ones. Not half bad for a PS+ freebie.
To turn it into yet another F2P MMO, probably monetised out the ying-yang, signals the death knell of the IP for me.
henke on 29/1/2015 at 15:01
[video=youtube;BHA-wb44MQ4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHA-wb44MQ4&x-yt-ts=1422503916&x-yt-cl=85027636[/video]
Trailer. Yup.
