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More than two years after Capcom released Dragon\u2019s Dogma 2<\/em>, major updates are coming to the action-adventure role-playing game, including a new expansion, Dark Arisen<\/em>. Before that add-on comes to Dragon\u2019s Dogma 2<\/em> in October, the team is releasing game-changing updates that impact fast-travel and the game\u2019s infamous Dragonsplague system.<\/p>\n A pair of free updates for Dragon\u2019s Dogma 2<\/em> will change some controversial elements of the base game. One of those updates has already been released, and it added the option to use unlimited fast-travel, thanks to the addition of the Eternal Ferrystone item. The developers also added more Portcrystals to the game, letting players fast travel to additional locations.<\/p>\n For impatient gamers, the Eternal Ferrystone is a huge, time-saving boon. But its addition also diminished the on-foot exploration that was inherent to the Dragon\u2019s Dogma 2<\/em> experience, for better or worse.<\/p>\n In August, Capcom will make two other major changes to Dragon\u2019s Dogma 2<\/em>, adding multiple save slots and changing the Dragonsplague illness that could lead to either hilarious moments or a game-ruining calamity.<\/p>\n Ahead of Dragon\u2019s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen<\/em>\u2019s release, and in-between the game\u2019s major updates, Polygon spoke with game director Kento Kinoshita and producer Naoto Oyama about what\u2019s changing and why.<\/p>\n Image: Capcom<\/p>\n Getting around Dragon\u2019s Dogma 2<\/em>\u2019s vast kingdoms of Vermund and Battahl is work. You\u2019re either hoofing it on foot, taking risky public transportation, or using the game\u2019s limited fast travel option. At least, that\u2019s how it was in the original game. With this summer\u2019s game updates and the Dark Arisen<\/em> expansion, Capcom is making it much easier to explore Dragon\u2019s Dogma 2<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe understand that some people like the friction, but some people will take it as kind of an inconvenience,\u201d producer Naoto Oyama told me. \u201cWhen we launched the base game, we focused on delivering a realistic adventure experience \u2014 and we also consider that as a major appeal of the game as well, but we\u2019re also considering the kind of modern standard for adventure game or RPG games.\u201d<\/p>\n Related<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\tDragon’s Dogma 2 receives update that addresses the most annoying part of the game<\/p>\n<\/h5>\n Finally, you can teleport all over the map at will<\/p>\n Oyama said that the addition of the Eternal Ferrystone \u2014 which was added in the original Dragon\u2019s Dogma<\/em>\u2019s own Dark Arisen<\/em> expansion \u2014 was the result of feedback from players who wanted to play the game more casually.<\/p>\n \u201cBut this is just added as an option,\u201d Oyama said. \u201cWe\u2019re not rebalancing the whole game. You can also choose to walk around without using a Ferrystone if you want to. Ultimately, we just added it as an option. The appeal of the base game is still intact.\u201d<\/p>\n Capcom already added some concessions for casual players back in 2024, but the game\u2019s latest changes take that approach a little further.<\/p>\n Image: Capcom<\/p>\n Dragon\u2019s Dogma 2<\/em>\u2019s Dragonsplague sickness could spread among the hirable pawns in the game and ultimately wreak havoc on the world. Infected pawns show signs of sickness, become aggressive and disobedient, and their eyes glow red. Eventually, when the player rests at an inn, the pawn transforms into a shadowy dragon that can wipe out whole towns full of merchants and quest-givers.<\/p>\n The effect was dramatic and, as long as it didn\u2019t happen to you, fascinating and sometimes funny to watch play out. Dragonsplague also seemed like a net negative for most players, but with a new update, Capcom is hoping to better present the positive aspects of the illness, Kinoshita said.<\/p>\n \u201cPlayers could tell [their pawns were infected] if they were really careful in observing them and kind of preventing devastating outcomes,\u201d Kinoshita said. \u201cIt was true that it was unclear whether the pawns had caught Dragonsplague or not. It lacked positive ways to cure the Dragonsplague \u2014 you had to lose your pawns.\u201d<\/p>\n With the game\u2019s August update, players will be able to instantly cure Dragonsplague using an in-game item \u2014 they won\u2019t have to, say, throw a sick pawn into a river and drown it. The game will also communicate the advantages of Dragonsplague, which makes pawns stronger, and be explicitly clear when an infection is about to result in a game-changing calamity.<\/p>\n \u201cSo players can now enjoy a kind of risk\/reward dynamic in a much clearer way, deciding whether to leave an afflicted pawn as is to prioritize combat advantage or determine the best timing to heal them.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite these changes, Kinoshita said, the developers do not feel like they are \u201csanding off the edges\u201d of Dragon\u2019s Dogma 2<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to clarify that we\u2019re not easing the penalty [of Dragonsplague] at all. We just made it more clear that your pawn is afflicted by Dragonsplague, and we made the advantages clearer. When we released the base game, the disadvantage just stood out so much.\u201d<\/p>\n Image: Capcom<\/p>\n There\u2019s little doubt that Capcom has softened the difficulty and inconvenience of Dragon\u2019s Dogma 2<\/em> since launch, which may be for the best as players now face new challenges in Dark Arisen<\/em>. Players will also have multiple save slots, so the new conveniences will make second or third playthroughs much more enjoyable.<\/p>\n But what about a hard mode, something players have been requesting for two years now? The Dragon\u2019s Dogma 2<\/em> dev team says they\u2019re considering it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are aware of feedback from users that they want hard mode in the game,\u201d Oyama said. \u201cWe are currently considering the addition of the hard mode right now, but as for details, including when we can release it and what kind of mode it will become, that kind of update will be shared down the road. We hope that people will stay tuned for more information.\u201d<\/p>\n Dragon\u2019s Dogma 2<\/em> is currently available on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. The Dragon\u2019s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen<\/em> expansion arrives on Oct. 9, which will also mark the arrival of a Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" More than two years after Capcom released Dragon\u2019s Dogma 2, major updates are coming to the action-adventure role-playing game, including a new expansion, Dark Arisen. Before that add-on comes to Dragon\u2019s Dogma 2 in October, the team is releasing game-changing updates that impact fast-travel and the game\u2019s infamous Dragonsplague system. A pair of free updates<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10075,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[8347,159,3929,1859,361],"class_list":{"0":"post-10074","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pc-gaming","8":"tag-arisen","9":"tag-big","10":"tag-brings","11":"tag-dark","12":"tag-rpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beteja.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n Gameplay friction and Ferrystones
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\n Dragonsplague changes
\n <\/h2>\n\n The harder side of Dragon\u2019s Dogma 2
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