Dragon's Dogma Mini-Guide: 10 Tips For The Newly Arisen

1) No, really... Save often.

2) Be the turtle, not the hare.

Slow and steady wins the race, and nothing speaks to this more than the caution you'll need when traversing the world of Dragon's Dogma. If the enemies within an area or on a quest seem too difficult, especially during nighttime, it's better to tread carefully (while saving after every successful battle) or just to retreat altogether and come back when you and your party are more highly leveled. I usually choose the first option, because there's no reason why you can't retreat and cut your exploration short if things get dicey. It just depends on how challenging you wish the game to be.

Again, Dragon's Dogma is not as punishing as Dark Souls, but given a few careless swipes that leave you open, you can easily end up eating the floor. When you're facing ogres, cyclops, griffins, chimeras, and anything more than fifty times your size, one hit can knock down one-third of your health. Most of the damage is recoverable through healing spells, but they take a while to cast and it can be a quick game over while you're waiting for them.

So if you see yourself getting down to about a quarter or a third of your total health, crunch on some Greenwarish immediately. Remember, you are far more important than your pawns, who can be revived if they ever fall in battle. Your pawns cannot revive you.

3) Explore every nook and cranny!

4) Make Gran Soren your primary goal.

The game doesn't let you know this ahead of time: Gran Soren is not only the capital of Gransys, but also where you can change nearly everything about your character at the barber and the inn. This is already on top of the city's additional notice boards, item shop, and blacksmith. Beyond the initial three classes you can choose from (fighter, strider, and mage), reaching Gran Soren from the starting city of Cassardis will net you six additional options, split into three advanced classes (Warrior, Ranger, Sorcerer) and three hybrid classes (Mystic Knight, Asssassin, Magic Archer).

The advanced classes are essentially more specialized forms of the starting three classes while the hybrid classes combine two of starting classes for a more balanced character. I tend to lean toward the Mystic Knight for knockdown melee against smaller foes and long-ranged magical power against larger foes. But every vocation is powerful in its own right.

That said, you need discipline, earned by defeating enemies, to switch vocations. So remember to save some discipline points for your target class before switching over at the inn in Gran Soren.

5) How do I get to Gran Soren, anyway?

Dragon's Dogma isn't exactly forthcoming when it comes to where you're supposed to go at times. The cut-scenes try to direct you where to schlep your party, but there are so many side quests that it can be difficult to track.

Without spoiling much, the idea is to switch back and forth between the encampment and Cassardis and not to get distracted. The quest involving Quina is worth doing if you can get past all the damn armed bandits, but don't get too sidetracked. Eventually, you'll need to talk to a female soldier in the encampment to initiate the quest to Gran Soren.

But remember not to forget about the quest with Quina; the trek back to Cassardis is long, but you should do it before it's cancelled by accepting the main quest missions that are initiated in the front of the castle gate in Gran Soren.

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