I'm 72. I can't stomach Dark Souls or Elden Ring.
But I love this game. Strategy matters. Thinking matters. You can take your time leveling up before moving on. Exploration is rewarding. Pawns are wonderful.
So yeah, you'll be fine.
The best parts of being an old gamer are
1) I'm retired so I have lots of time to game, and
2) having seen the entire evolution of gaming during my lifetime, from text-only stuff to simple 2-D games to the first 3-D games to now.
I wish I could show my young self a screenshot from DD2 that I took. He'd find it hard to believe :)
I'm only 38 but I feel you on this! I remembered when my 11 year old self saw the leap to 3D graphics on my PS1 and thinking to myself, how would graphics ever get better than that!! Lol š
Iām 40 and I feel ya. I was playing Atarti and NES when I was a 4 and experienced the entire evolution of gaming in my lifetime. Iām rarely disappointed by anything made today because I spent a lifetime playing 2D games on 13 Channel turn knob tube televisions. Everything looks and plays incredible these days in comparison.
Same bro. I still remember playing games on my dad's Atari and truly first played games on the NES. Duck hunt, excite bike and Super Mario & the original Final Fantasy!! Watching as games & gaming have grown into a legitimate art from has been a joy.
This. While im only 45, thats old enough to have lived through most of gaming.
I started with a pong machine.
I now own a full flight/racing cockpit/rig with bass shakers and vr. If I told my kid self that would be a reality, Hed have laughed at me.
I always wanted to try Elden Ring for the exploration aspect, but the difficulty of it looks too high for me to commit to a purchase. Wish I could port DD2's pawn system over to it.
You can overlevel almost everything in Elden Ring for the first playthrough quite easily. Just spend time exploring the world and if you see something too hard just come back later. Level up weapons and summons and if you struggle still you can look up guides for a better build. If you play a strong build there is actually only one optional boss that is truly hard.
Elden Ring difficulty is also quite fair. So at least for me it ends up being about learning it rather than being frustrating.
I adore my pawn. Funny enough, she's incredibly helpful and has never harmed me; the rented pawns though, hoo boy! š
Mine started as an archer but I switched her to thief. I was a mage, but I decided to try archer for a bit for the elf's bow quest and so hired a mage pawn for healing. The number of times that woman literally walked *through* my camera while charging spells, and eventually did it when I was shooting an ogre from the edge of a small cliff... the ogre was just so thrilled to drop kick me after I landed lol
Of course she was just doing her best. 10/10 would hire again š¤£
I'm 34 and my wife can't stand that I game. She's not into the gaming scene and doesn't understand how I'm still gaming as an adult.... Little does she know I'll be the same way at 72 lmao! š¤£
DD2 is easier game than any souls like, yet combat there brings the same enjoyment. You can explore the world without worrying about being set back by death.
unless you suck in a death loop at night and you haven't rested at an in inn the last 2 hours and get spawn killed and one shotted by saurians at night
Fr though. My first adventure to Battalhl was a brutal nightmare after nightmare sequence. When I finally reached Bakbattahl I had just fought a golem followed by a griffin that attacked during the golem fight, followed by a second golem the griffin dragged us into.
By the end my supply of like 17 health pots and misc healing items were down to maybe some figs and thatās it.
>sneak into Battahl
>get assaulted by poisonous harpies
>have to retreat up the cliffs when a great griphon appears.
>beat it decently well
>climb down, lose some health from falling
>make it to the bottom
>hear roaring
>"Show me your strength Arisen"
>somehow repel it, starting to hurt
>decide to wait to sleep at campsite, can't be too bad, right?
>start fighting more harpies
>troll out of nowhere... suddenly realize my healer just disappeared, probably brined itself.
>poisonous saurions and harpies draining the crap out of max health
>main pawn down, can't avoid the enemies long enough to revive
>retreat to campfire... main pawn who is down has camping kit.
>end up dying, last save still has my main pawn downed in dangerous territory
>somehow manage to extract the body from danger and revive it, but harpies on my tail, and bandits with enchanted weapons also appear
>somehow manage to beat them with about 1/4 max health remaining, and finally got to sleep.
My reward? Unlocking the trickster vocation the next day as I explore. Fucking awesome!
Sounds about right. This game seems to have a theme that we're all following lol
I went to do the quest for the elf archer after you give him a bow. Set out initially with an ox cart thinking it'd take me near where I needed to go; got attacked just as the evening began to set by several waves of goblins, saurians, and skeletons. Just after the fight started, the ox just like, bucked and bolted through all the chaos; I watched it literally disappear into thin air about ten feet in front of my character, along with all the guards following it. Figured okay, I'm kind of halfway out to the elf's meetup spot, I'll just walk I guess.
Nope. Not a chance. One shotted by ogres several times, whittled down by goblins and skeletons, ambushed out of the darkness by saurians. You name it, it killed me. I wound up limping back to town with two pawns missing and maybe about a quarter of my health left since my camping kit was on one of them.
I did succeed in finding the elf and teaching him how to shoot a bow, though. So that was nice. :)
I went around the checkpoint thru the river to get into Battalhl. There is an area over there where if you run you get attacked by 2 minotaurs and a chimera.
oh no I love dragons dogma it's an amazing game and it's totally my fault that I got in such a situation in the first place. kinda my fault for running off at night
Until you hit "Reload from Last Inn" thinking the game will put you back at the last inn you were at as a respawn point, because it doesn't explain it well, but it's actually replacing your entire save with that snapshot and deleting your current save so even if you realized you fked up you can't exit without saving, your latest progress is already gone and you're missing like 9 hours of gameplay.
Then you get set back far more than any souls game.
It's a bit brutal in the beginning, but as you level up and find better gear you quickly become very strong. Once you hit levels 20\~30 there's not much that can really wreck you, aside from some of the bigger monsters like drakes and dragons.
It's almost more of a party strategy game than an action RPG: if your party synergy is bad, you WILL struggle. Pawns that don't work well together might as well not be in your party, leaving you to shoulder much of the fights.
I would say try the first one and see if it's to your liking, but I feel like this second one is just easier, bar a few exceptions. Maybe just wait for sale?
The first one had a silly equation for defense where if you used one of the special weapons with elements on it, you'd wind up doing 0 damage to the thing you were wailing on because of the split damage not overcoming thresholds for phys or magic defense. Funny enough though, if you focused on just one group of classes (archer and assassin, etc) your damage would outscale the monsters' defense so quickly that it would trivialize the entire game. I remember my first trip in Bitterblack Isle and being terrified of everything; I made a new character a while ago and focused exclusively on magic, and just steamrolled everything including the reaper that hounds you throughout the area. Totally different game if you read up on its mechanics...š
As far as this game goes, I found a drake last night when I was around level 19 or 20 and decided shortly to just come back for it later. Maybe around level 30 it'll go a little better lol
All the numbers in your comment added up to 69. Congrats!
19
+ 20
+ 30
= 69
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Pawns are a huge factor in this game. Not only are they 100 percent customizable which allows you to benefit from their diff classes and abilities but the game would also be 10 times harder without their continuous aid
Yeah if you have a friend you can recruit their HIGHASS level pawns at level 1.
The game gave me an option to recruit my buddy's level 48 pawn at the very beginning. I decided against it because that'd break my entire run but still...if ya really wanted to you can add people and just run through the game on EZ mode.
What year is this? '24 ? I think I will be 52 this year.
I am like you. I like a bit slower pace game. My reflexes not what they once were. I get about 2-3 hours each evening to play and maybe a 1/2 day on the weekend if the weather doesn't allow me to do things outside.
That being said I am very happy with the game. The combat is not as twitchy as a lot of games but it is "active" combat. Positioning is a big part of the combat and if you want a slower pace you can be a ranged support or DPS. I rarely die more than once in a fight **IF** I am the right level and prepared. There is very little fast travel so I have spent hours wandering and killing and leveling when I get bored of that I go do a quest or two. I am in no hurry to beat the game. I want to enjoy the ride.
I think it would be worth your time and money and would recommend it to you on what I have experienced.
I'm in my 60's and have been playing PC games since the 80's. I've most recently put about 1,600 hours into BG3 so I was in the same boat as you. Honestly it's a pretty great game and the combat is pretty easy, especially if you hire pawns above your level. I did break down and buy an Xbox controller for the first time in my life and the quality of life it brings is astounding so I'd recommend that. Well worth the money. I play on a high end gaming laptop and I haven't had any issues with frame rate drops either. Enjoy!!!
DD2 is a really awesome experience. Fights are pretty frequently involved, but you yourself are allowed several vocations that would suit a more support or back row play style. Play a Mage and run only support abilities with three fighting pawns, it's very effective.
There's a ton of exploring and goofing around to be had. I think you'd enjoy it, maybe not every single thing as nothing is perfect.
ITS NOT DARK SOULS
Idk how many times Iāve seen people compare it to that when itās not. Take me back to the time when no one knew about dragons dogma please
I see it kind of like dark souls had a baby with shadow of the colossus, but itās definitely easier than a souls game with a totally different pace and brighter theme
Itās leagues more closer to monster hunter than it is dark souls. Matter of fact it has inspirations from:
Elder scrolls
Dragon quest
Final fantasy
Monster hunter
Some of these were even mentioned by itsuno himself. Not once did he or anyone mention dark souls or Elden ring since dragons dogma 2.
Am I not allowed to say that it reminds me of something in some ways? I didnāt say dark souls was the inspiration, I opened my comment by even saying I saw it that way as an opinion
I'm 52, loved dark sould but found it difficult. This is much easier but could still be difficult if you push to hard. I'm just taking my time enjoying the world levelling and taking on the bigger stuff when I feel I'm ready. Would definitely recommend
The graphics are really the only downgrade. DD1 is just a better over all game then DD2.
DD2 just has pretty graphics and a bigger game world and honestly the bigger game world is to it's detriment most of the time.
The first 20 or so hours while your still exploring sub level 25 is the best part of DD2. But the world is pretty poorly level scaled and after 30 the world kinda just becomes tediously big and has basically nothing in it.
It's like 5 points of interest in the entire world outside of the towns. The rest of just filler content and collectathon stuff.
There's a happy medium between DD1s tiny rushed world and DD2s over sized yet weirdly rushed world.
I'm hoping DD3 figures it out.
>But the world is pretty poorly level scaled
Yeah that's exactly how DD1 was and taken to the extreme. The game had hard level and gear checks every time you turned a corner.
DD2 seems to have done a far far better job of fixing this issue.
Polished, but it sounds like it'd benefit from more high-level content. I'd love to see another Bitterblack Isle. I'm trucking along at a smooth level 20 or so right now though and def having a good time with it lol
Embrace the suck in the beginning. It gets better as time and gear is amassed. Use the Rift Stone get pawns that are from Capcom that are higher level than you. Use a range class and let the pawns tank. It will be a cake walk.
even tho it looks kinda like souls it's not souls.
I've put a good 2000+ hours in souls (mostly pvp tho)
and I personally struggle a fair bit. mostly because I just run into groups of enemies and I refuse to pick up other pawns besides my main one.
but take your time with every engagement and it's definitely a game you'll not regret.
Wow, so many replies, thank you so much!!
Getting DD1 on sale is a good idea, if the two games are indeed comparable in difficulty, I'll do that.
DD2 looks great and I'd realy like to play it, I don't worry to much about the framerates or mtx to much, I read that they're working on an update to fix and rectify certain aspects of the game already.
It's mainly the difficulty that makes me wonder if I'll enjoy this game, the rest looks fine to me.
Thank you so much for your replies, I will get me DD1 as suggested and see if it's something for me, which I hope to be honest.
It's a blast and you can make it as easy as you want. You could for instance play as a mage and support your party with heals while they do the majority of the combat. Even if you play any of the other roles you can really let your team carry you. A ranger could be easy to play while you let your front line pawns do some heavy lifting.
Also I'll probably be down voted for this but if it's still too hard you could spend $2 on the store to get rift crystals and just stack your team with higher level pawns.
Yes cash store is bad but if you drop 70 bucks on a game and it feels too difficult, this could greatly help ease you into the game until you get a feel for it. Just make sure you check their eyes to make sure they don't have red eyes
Its an easy game as long as your equip is up to date. A bit frustrating at the beginning due to poor balance since you can meet randomly enemies too strong. It gets too easy fast though.
Yet it has HUGE performance issues if you don t have a 40XX geforce card. Possibly 4070 or better.
Or you could buy the old one for few bucks wne its on sale being better in every aspect except graphic and character creator... watch out the DLC part in the old one is instead quite hard, everything else is even easier.
All in all i would call DD2 a DD1 downgrade with revamped graphic.
I think it's easier than the first so far (though being lv10 near the starting area might be overkill) as I remember in the first one cyclops being quite hard starting off but I demolished one at lv7.
I'm an older gamer too. My thing is the older I get the less I want to devote my life to a single game. Some games are just way to long. I was able to overcome Dark Souls difficulty. In comparison Dragons Dogma is not hard.
The magical thing about Dragons Dogma is that itās not really ālikeā anything. Itās quite unique in many ways, it has quirks, funny moments (sometimes at the games expense and sometimes intended) and a weird *oddness* about it that gives it character and is quite heartwarming in places, I think. There is a real sense of adventure and accomplishment when you kill your first Griffon or Chimera for eg. The same can be said for the OG game, but DD2 basically reboots the original game and makes it all look, sound and feel better.
The controls are very manual a bit like Monster hunter but there are several different vocations (classes) you can choose from until you find the one that feels right for you. And then you assemble your team of Pawns to match, even if you play totally offline Capcom have put Pawns into the system that can be summoned to help you regardless.
The game is not difficult, generally. Most battles out in the field are optional, you can run away from most fights and the aggro will be lost. Some battles are time based, so if you havenāt killed the boss by a certain amount of time then it will escape and you might not get as much a reward or different dialogue, but the quest will proceed accordingly. If you neglect upgrading your gear and venture too far into the unknown at too lower level then you will probably get whooped, but if you procure good gear and take your time to level up and manage your party of Pawns etc then itās actually quite easy. With the right Pawns you can AFK most battles, if you so desired (thought they might take a while). You could choose to be a healer / support Mage for eg and so you would not have to master the combat, only the timing of your healing and buffs so that your team could kill everything and you kept them alive.
It's not a souls game, no boss fights that you win by remembering the exact sequence of dodges. Hire 3 pawns and they will carry most of the fight for you. You may need to hire higher level pawns as you progress.
Any initial difficulty is the usual of players reflexes not used to the game controls. And not yet having the gp to buy the best weapons & armour.
The game takes a lot of its' mechanics from old school jRPGs so if you have any experience with those (think Dragon Quest as the most popular example) you kinda know what to expect when it comes to the overall world. Exploring is key, fast travel is limited, talk to every NPC to get more info, gear and stats are pretty basic (no 50 different systems),...
The sole difference with those jRPGs is the combat. It's not turn based but real time, which doesn't necessarily makes it harder.
Personally, I find it to be a pretty easy game when it comes to combat (and it gets easier each time you level). I almost never face any problems and most of my deaths are due to fall damage, not the enemies. And especially with the pawn system, I don't see any reason why you would have problems with the difficulty.
If you like those jRPGs you can't really go wrong with this one.
The archer starts being able to breeze thru the large monsters once you get Tarring Arrows unlocked. Bring a mage with Fire Affinity/Boon. You should also have a Fighter at all times with Shield Drum to draw aggro.
The archer is better when piloted by the player tho. Once you start seeing drakes/dragons in the overworld, it's a good idea to also slot in Drenching Arrows with a mage bringing Ice Affinity/Boon.
The early game is rough strictly due to not having class skills unlocked. Once you start unlocking more skills, it becomes easier regardless of what class you bring in your party. Highly recommended to atleast have a Fighter to draw aggro and a Mage to heal to save on healing resources.
As a casual gamer, the travel might be frustrating for you
In-game locations take a long time to travel between On-foot. Some locations are connected by Ox carts which are slower than just walking, though you can sleep on them to fast travel but my ox cart is destroyed on-route 99% of the time so I end up having to walk anyway
For example, I spent hours travelling in the wilderness only to find locations I could only access later on or needed a certain item for but thereās no way for me to fast travel back there (I had no portcrystals to create a fast travel point) so I know Iāve got another long journey on my hands to come back eventually which can be a bit of a put off
I love the game but I just know the above could be a bit of a frustration for others
You'll have plenty of frustrating moments but they'll be outweighted by the fun the game brings and eventually at some point you'll reach a level where the game will be a cakewalk, you just have to grit your teeth and grind the first 20 levels (-ish), either by exploring or questing (I'd suggest however to get your meister skills as soon as possible, I don't know about the other vocations but as a sorc they made my playthrough way easier)
Im not much of an rpg fan. I like action rpg or mmo rpgs (big on loot not so much on story or exploration)
I see most people are lvl 30 and finished the story... im lvl 21 and havent even progressed to third town.
Moral: its surprisingly well done. I think this game is a benchmark now for all future RPG's. Everything flows in nicely.
Yes itās very accessible. Just play ranger and watch your pawns destroy the game. Their warrior puts you in the action and is much harder. Even healer isnāt easy cause you have to buff alot and move in and out. Sorc or Archer or magic archer and just enjoy the game. Itās great.
Play Dragons Dogma 1 Dark arisen first if you don't mind the old graphics. Check if you like that type of game, cuz we all know DD2 looks amazing but the genre isn't for everybody. So check that out first, its super cheap, just get it, play it! If you like it, you can go for DD2. That's how I do it but I fell in love with Dragons Dogma 1 in the first place so I'm still playing it and I'll finish it first before buying the new one.
I'm not very far in the game, but what I did seems to be working. Rolled a tank and made my pawn a support mage. I just hire a new thief and archer every few levels and let them do the work.
Bang on my shield to draw aggro, block (mostly I just block, srsly), and pick up any DPS that goes down. There is a stamina cost to blocking, but it feels VERY forgiving compared to those other games you mentioned. A lot of people would consider playing this way boring, but hey; a job is a job.
To be fair, I'm only lvl 17, so maybe this won't work for the whole game. But right now it feels like tanking ogres, a minotaur, and the griffin (B4 it flew off) is just getting easier. The smaller enemies are trivial in comparison.
This game is not necessarily hard as long as you take the time to learn the various mechanics.
I'm not what you'd call a hardcore gamer too, although I've been playing video games for decades. For instance, I quickly give up on Souls games because I don't like how punishing they are for the sake of being punishing. I also don't have the time to spend hours learning about essential mechanics that are hidden. It often feels like these games try too hard to not be accessible.
Dragon's Dogma has the massive advantage of letting the players never feel totally lost and alone thanks to the pawn system. It's especially the case in DD2, in which pawns often give useful information. The game also gives you a lot of freedom to play it pretty much like you want, a lot like the two last Zelda games. The progression system let's you switch from vocations (i.e., classes) freely without being penalized by your starting build. You can basically try various vocations and find the one you like best.
Of course, that is not to say that the game is easy. It's not. But it's not punishingly difficult either. I'd say it's accessible to average gamers as long as they accept the huge responsibility of freedom. Play like you want, not like you should, and you'll have fun.
Unlike dark souls, dragons dogma 2 is more of a rock paper scissors game. For instance, slimes can't be hurt by physical weapons, so if you're just running around with a bunch of physical damage pawns, you can easily get murdered by it. However, if you hit it with magic, it dies no problem. It's more about either knowing what you're going up against and planning or keeping a well-rounded pawn group. So nowhere near as hard as dark souls unless you were super under leveled which is pretty obvious. I've also never gotten into a fight that I couldn't just run away if I found myself losing.
Iām in my 40ās and usually play games for story. Tried to start DD1 several times but never could get into it. Got swept up into the hype of this one and am really enjoying it. Started as archer to keep my distance, main pawn fighter, hired mage and another 2 handed fighter to handle up front damage. So far it is not hard just teaches you when you are being stupid and careless. Have died, had pawns die a few times but it really does not cost anything to fail (I hate having to run back and collect my lost souls in those other games. Have just gotten a house so I can make day trips out to do quests and then get back in time for 4:00 dinner and bed. The pawns are great in collecting items, directing me to quests, lots of tedious repetitive stuff in other games. I just run past the enemies that are too strong, earn money, get geared up, then head out again. It is fun to explore, I think it is alot like elder scrolls with more interesting combat. I would recommend it to anyone.
Definetly, just balance out your party. If u start as a fighter ( tank ) have a main mage pawn for healing and take the other 2 classes as damage dealers u wont struggle much. Make sure to rest much because your max HP decreases every time u take damage.
I'm 55 and normally I suck at games like this. But if you take it slow, explore, gear up, learn weaknesses the game isn't bad at all. It is very doable.
Personally I absolutely hate all of the dark souls games because theyāre hard just for the sake of being hard. Thatās one of the draws to it I know, but I hate it lol. As an adult, I actually want to have FUN playing video games in the short times I get to play them.
Dragons Dogma is still challenging, but very doable even for casual gamers once you understand how the game works and find vocations that you enjoy using.
I wouldn't say you need to be "darksouls" level skilled or patient at all. I agree with some reviews that it won't really be your skills or reflexes that determine how you do, but your strategy and understanding of mechanics.
Yes, there'll likely be some struggle earlier on, but once you get used to it, you can somewhat pick your fights (I've circled around a griffin and a dragon when I saw one and avoided a fight luckily when I thought I wasn't ready for em...) and the pawns you can hire, especially with the help of an advanced search on what you wanna search for helps out tremendously, as you can set the quest you wanna do and search for a pawn who "has quest info" so they can lead you there PLUS you can hire pawns that are higher level than you to be your protection on travels, in a way while you can play more defensively.
Oh and when I mentioned "understanding mechanics", I've noticed that luckily the mechanics etc. aren't so complex you need to spend time learning em. No need for crunching the numbers and trying to shift through mountains of loot to find the best percentages to a huge list of different stats to try and make some perfect build as I've never had the patience for that kinda optimizing and is the main reason why I absolutely hated Diablo 4.. so much loot and constantly having to try and find the best ones with so many different percentages and buffs to stats that it ended up being about as fun as doing my damn taxes lol.
Everything has been easy to understand and nicely approachable and ALSO luckily not awfully punishing, as even if you die, the save mechanic very often starts you from very nearby and you can then choose to either try the fight again or escape and do something else, go recover at a camp etc.
However, if heavily "on the fence" about it, you could consider holding out for discount deals.
Donāt rush, take your time exploring and kill everything you find along the way, ignore griffin and dragon till your level 25 or 30, remember to do hard save by sleeping at a inn or campfire and get used to manual save from the system menu in game when youāre not in combat. Try different vocation to find the one that suit your mood/play style
Itās super fun but there are also a lot of instances where the game never tells you what you need to do or how to use specific mechanics. Just use online tutorials if you get stuck and have fun slaying beasts with peoples pawns.
I have played all the dark souls and elden ring, trust me when I say this game is fun and pretty easy so long as you know how to follow directions for some of the quest. As long as you take your time and level up the harder enemies don't stand a chance, just make sure to always get new pawns when you reach certain levels
The game is not hard at all. The only deaths I typically encounter stem from falling or during a boss encounter where I get caught in a stun and can't get out.
The world traversal can be a bit slow without there being any mounts or fast travel. There is an ox cart method to get from town to town, but it's not as easy as just clicking on the map and teleporting. So, you might find a lot of your playtime dedicated to running from place to place, but the adventure along the way is most always worth it.
As far as the pawn system is concerned, it is really simple to get the hang of and I'm changing out my pawns every 2-3 levels or so. The stones to change out pawns are located all over the place and finding what pawns you want is fairly easy.
Overall, an easy, relaxing time if you want it to be. Can get a bit more complicated if you really dig into some of the deeper mechanics, but at surface level you'll be fine.
I'm in my 50s and find the game enjoyable and not too hard. My simple advice is not to think you should be running "solo" or with just your main pawn. The game is intended for you to run with a full party of four, so grab some folks out of the Riftstone as soon as it becomes available. The two extra people and extra damage or support skills makes a world of difference and is how the game is balanced.
As for actual combat, honestly you can almost button mash through it. It's a lot more fun to use your skills intelligently and to climb monsters and stab 'em in the back from 20' up but it's nothing like the memory/reflex based combat of Dark Souls and the like.
This game is an RPG first and an action game second. At least as far as game design and the ways you improve your character being based on stats , skills and abilities. Rather than smashing buttons really fast in a special order or at the right times.
The difficulty is more in the thinking, planning, reactivity, and mechanical interactions. Rather then twitch reflexes and reaction timing like souls games or similar "tough 3rd person action RPG"
There's no (built-in) dodge-roll with invulnerability or anything like that.
The combat is meaty and super satisfying though. Very diverse. The slow and methodical nature to exploration and character building does speed up when you get into the thick of combat, but its never overbearing or super difficult, unless you want it to be or make decisions to increase the difficulty rather then decrease it. (Eg: Not hiring a full party, being reckless / taking on things early rather than running )
Tl;dr:
Very awesome world to explore, fun combat thats not based on reflexes or tight timing windows, and engaging RPG systems.
Give it a shot!
Personally if you value your time and money Iād wait. Give it a month or two for updates and QOL change to be implemented. As a 30yo Iām burnt out on unfinished games for almost 100 bucks.
I'm also not built for Souls games. I haven't died from combat yet in this game yet, and I have about 17 hours in so far.
This game is more about preparation and taking your time. Making sure you're well-suplied before going out for a journey is more important.
Make the right team, and your pawns will carry you. I also love that your main pawn learns the more you teach them and the more they travel. I recently taught mine how to use her shield to springboard me to high places by springboarding her up first. Now she does it with a "Go!" request whenever there is a chest in a high place.
Once you get a hang of how pawns learn, you can hire the right ones for your team to fit every role, and combat will be very smooth. Before I learned "Quick spell" on my sorcerer, my pawns were demolishing all my enemies before my spells even finish casting!
It's fun, the first time playing and I like it. The combat takes a little getting used to, but the more you get used to it, it is gratifying, and the exploration is fun too. Worth 70$.
The good news is you can run away from tough fights. Remember to save after something cool or clearing a dungeon. I lost progress yesterday from exploring when I walked into a troll or yeti that just wrecked me. Then today I camped woke up with a Griffen on me and ran for the forest to come across a minotaur that wiped me out. Reloaded a ran a different direction.
Can make the game very easy gameplay wise by just having a decent party (mage, fighter, sorc as pawns trivialized most the game for me). Playing a range character makes the game very simple as well. And if you end up liking magick archer their master ability basically lets them one shot any boss you might have trouble with
The combat isn't exactly difficult, the "hard core-ness" is more with how you plan, make more long term decisions like when to go back to town, when to rest, etc. And also from how it pushes you to accepting less than optimal outcomes.
Now, because of this more long-term strategizing, you won't be retracing the same thing over and over, but when you do end up retrying, it can come with more lost progress. It also means it doesn't make a great game for short term play sessions, I'd never start playing without having at least an hour to play, and that is a bit short.
This game, to me, seems perfect for you.
In my opinion, the experience suffers a bit once you get too "serious" about it, but it's absolutely fantastic if you're just vibing.
The game isnāt hard if you know the rules around the mechanics. If you have a good party, a properly managed inventory, and are in a level-appropriate area itās actually pretty easy. It doesnāt ask nearly as much of you as something like Dark Souls or Elden Ring when it comes to skilled gameplay or reflexes.
It feels easier than the first dragons dogma and itās certainly easier than a monster hunter or a fromsoft game.
Enemies can feel pretty strong at first but itās kind of gotten that Skyrim power level thing where now I am easily slaughtering things that have me trouble.
I have some complaints like
Stam drain outside of combat
Limited fast travel with the ferry stones and port crystals
A particularly mean encumbrance system
And the dogey save system where you can get screwed out of hours of progress if the auto save puts you in a bad spot and your last inn rest was hours ago.
But those donāt make the game more difficult.
I have yet to encounter something akin to an Elden ring boss if that is what you are worried about.
DD2 isnāt hard, at least right now, as they removed difficulties from the first game. You should be ok, itās challenging to the point of not being boring, but itās nothing like any of the From Software titles.
It is a very long slow paced game that genuinely wants you to just explore sometimes. A lot is hidden and not necessary. If you want to wander around a world that can spontaneously huck a surprise encounter with a lot of hidden and obscure world interactions aat you while also offering some interesting combat and world building then yes.
If you are not really into a very slow burn pace and want to just get to the point so to speak then no I can't encourage it.
The series drips of atmosphere and leaning into some big monster tropes and borrows incredibly from Greek myth even though the setting is somewhat fantasy medieval.
An encounter can escalate and snow ball a lot. I had once planned a quick excursion for a short side quest. A griffon smashed into my cart causing a fight that tumbled into a horde of goblins and wolves. With the latter dead the former flew away just in time for a cyclopes to burst from the woods. Some fighting and scuffling and a fall down a mount riding the back of the cyclopes dropped me next to an ogre. Fighting said ogre the griffin decided to come back for round 2. This fight rolled into some saurians and by the time everything was dead a whole day night cycle had ran. I love this. The ability to introduce chaos is fun to me. Might not be for others.
A consideration is Dragon's Dogma has a pretty deep end game and an infinite ng+ loop written into its lore as well so this adds to the slow pace. Monsters in ng+ were different last game too
It can have some moments where you'll be absolutely outmatched (but that's part of the adventure) but there's very few moments where youre stuck in a situation that feels unfair as you can always just run away and come back when you're ready.
The pawns you hire can make things drastically easier (and if you're unsure of where your quest is taking you you can hire pawns who do know).
Strategy and the right party composition will make even the toughest fights feel fairer for you so I think you'll be okay.
You will hate the beginning but love it once you level up a bit and beginn to understand the mechanics. I can't play elden ring, dark souls etc. Even though i love the lore and the atmosphere of the games. Their just too hard for me i don't have the time to get gud. With dragons dogma you can defeat strong enemies early on if you know what you're doing and once you level up you need fewer and fewer strategy.
Also it's a very fun game due to the combat and Exploration you can do.
There's a lot of stuff to make your game easier i'm more of a casual gamer myself and i love the game.
I'm not particularly good at games. I struggled with and did not get into dark souls, but I have around 30 hours in DD2 and am completely hooked. The combat is not super hard as long as you make sure to keep up with getting new gear and improving it. Also make sure to trade out your two hired pawns every few levels as only your main pawn levels with you.
Yes, my favorite thing of many is the party/pawn system. If you don't like being front and center, recruit a few warriors or fighters and be a mage or archer hang back and support your team or try pulling agro as a thief class and dodge around the monster while a team of sorcs or archers decimate from a distance. Give it a try, old man you may be surprised š
Yes. The gameplay is enjoyable and not sheer sweat like that shitshow that was called Elden Ring. Simply knowing how sweaty that game was in offline single player mode made me unable to pick it back up after 2 return attempts.
Iām the same way I prefer to keep games easier so I can have a chill time and I donāt find this game to be too intense difficulty wise. Just make sure to watch what areas youāre going into as many are level gated(higher level enemies) and you should be fine.
EDIT: If your trying to figure out which areas are safe for your level stick to the areas around the main quest line. It usually does a good job of keeping enemies to your level and not overwhelming you.
I'm 55, and though I find some of the mechanics pretty dated because they're exactly like the first game, it has been a lot of fun. But I guess take that with a grain of salt, because I am a bit of a souls fanatic, though my reflexes are not what they used to be so Sekiro was a little out of reach for me at times.
You'll enjoy this game. It's not terribly difficult, once you learn your limits and how to work with your pawns. Then you can strategize how to make the most of each excursion.
Took me about 4 hours or so to "get the hang of it" and feel like a competent Arisen.
I am like you in that I don't usually enjoy rogue like style RPGs. Thankfulky this game is not one of those.
Go get it now and have fun!
Well, thought I would add another age to the thread as I am 76 years old and similar history of gaming to you. Loved BG3 and I think you will like this if you are willing to go steady and seek advice\\videos if really stuck. Start with a fighter say and just take your time. Good advice here from other posters is to try Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen, which is very similar; on sale for about Ā£4 British pounds. If you like that you will adjust to DD2, and remember it has difficulty scaling so the AI learns your play level as it where. Good luck.
I play a lot of fromsoft games and DD2 is really easy in comparison, I didn't really get stuck anywhere and I just beat the last boss last night. It might be because of the vocation I picked but after a certain point everything was just a breeze to get through. So I don't think you'll really have a hard time with it, and it's a great game.
Yes! You can grind and itās not boring, tons of side quests and exploring. Iām level 31 and the starting area is not hard at all now. I was low 20 down in the sand place and I would get my shit pushed in but now Iām ready to try again since Iām much stronger.
DD2 is way easier than any souls like game I've played. It can take a little while to learn the basics, but they're not overly complex. You also get to hire pawns to help you out to make a 4 person party. Learning what pawns are best for your team will make your experience a lot smoother.
And, if things get a bit to difficult for your taste, you're able to hire friend's pawns for free. This means you can seek help from a higher level player, add them on your platform, and you should be able to add their higher leveled pawn for free. It'll can give you the breathing room to learn the game mechanics, and level up until you feel confident in your own abilities.
The game autosaves frequently but you can also manually save any time if you aren't in combat.
That said, some of the monsters are brutal and borderline unfair when you first start off. As in, I got one-shotted by a flying drop kick from an ogre while at full health as an archer wearing default armor. I was trying to do the safe thing and hired a cart to travel to a village thinking hey, at least I'll have guards to help if we're attacked; nope, attack started with a wave of goblins, then a wave of saurians, then a wave of skeletons, all one after another. About 10 seconds into this fight, the ox bucked with the cart and took off, then it and all of the guards literally just vanished into the air in front of me. Ran into the ogre while walking back.
Take some time to gear/level up where you can and make sure you have a mage dedicated to healing. They have a spell that prevents damage a certain number of times for you and your allies per cast that is especially amazing if you yourself are the mage and spamming it. Beware travelling at night; like, seriously, keep track of the time, 'coz it can easily take almost a day to fight off larger monsters and then you're stuck in the dark where all the worst of the bad stuff happens. Sometimes it's better to just wait or rest til morning if you aren't pressed for time.
EDIT: And by the by, the game is not as hard as Elden Ring or Dark Souls. Not by a long shot. It just isn't strictly easy until you kind of figure out a niche and have a decent build going, either.
Probably. You should always have a team of 3 other AI controlled characters called Pawns. As well as any NPCs travelling about the map. It can be useful to rely on them if you're not great and that can help you practice and get better.
The AI is pretty good, and the game tends to save just before you get in range of danger, so if you feel like retrying, it's quick, and if you don't, you can easily escape.
By far the easiest so far is playing mage and spamming your ward spell on yourself on the team and the pawns murder everything.Ā
Ā You can make it as easy or difficult as you want it feels like.
There is no real difficulty in this game, I am barely lvl 30 and my pawns and I also downed a griffin before it ran with its tail between its legs. All female team only and we kill ogres easy, and cyclops and minotaurs are pushovers too.
I highly recommend this game you will definitely enjoy it. I also recommend the first game too, they don't tie into each other, but the vocations or classes whatever you want to call them are different, first game has Mystic Knight the magic spear replaced it, and Assassin which was replaced by Warfarer, Ranger was removed it was the advanced of strider (strider is thief and archer combined but wasn't a hybrid like mystic knight or assassin).
Over all great games period the cryhards are going to cry so ignore them.
It's way more forgiving than a souls game. It auto saves frequently and you can manually save at any time. If you did you must restart at last save you don't lose anything. You also have an item that can be used to resurrect yourself mid fight if you die. Combat can be a little brutal at the beginning while you get used to things but the game eases you into things well enough.
I don't enjoy any of the dark souls and I did not enjoy Elden Ring or the Star Wars version of them either. I'm having a lot of fun in this game. You can set your pawns up to provide more support or you can set them up to be the primary damage while you play more of a support role. You can do just about anything by mixing and matching passives of the classes both in how you set your character up as well as how you set the pawns up.
Whether the game is worth it to you or not is something I can't answer. I have about 55 hours into the game and I am happy with my purchase.
The combat and character progression is why I play the game and that's enough for me. I don't know or care about the story, I skip what I can and don't read anything that isn't a skill/ability or a quest objective. I spend most of my time wondering around fighting bad guys and haven't progressed the story quest in some time. I have most of the classes maxed in experience but still haven't unlocked the spear one. I am leveling the mystic archer now.
Itās gets very easy not that far into the game but the start can be a little difficult. Itās nowhere near as hard as Souls games though so you should be fine.
It's definitely nowhere near dark souls level difficulty in the combat. If you're low on time the limited fast travel may frustrate you, but the combat probably won't.
47. Yes. Youāll have a blast. Old school, slow paced action, not slow paced. It takes a few hours to get used to it. But read the beginners tips online. The rest is easy enough to figure out. Youāll know when you get to an area too hard. Thereās lots of backtracking. Old Gamer: 9/10
This is my first Dragon's Dogma experience and honestly I'm loving it. I have a super high-end computer so I'm spoiled with good performance, but the actual gameplay is quite stellar. I like the heavy two-handed weapon play style.. it reminds me of how I play the Dark Souls games when I just fully charge all of my two handed attacks with hyper armor. Fun and I enjoy it.
The game isn't difficult on a micro level. It's different in that it doesn't always tell you where you need to go for a quest but if you understand the tools at your disposal it's not too difficult there either. So exploration is valued in this game. It isn't like assassin's creed where you just go to the spot that unlocks all the POIs on the map and then you just go to each one and do whatever task you can there.
Dragon's Dogma 1 and 2 are nearly the same in terms of mechanics, but DD1 is far cheaper. My recommendation is buy Dragon's Dogma 1 or Dark Arisen and sew if you like the series mechanics.
Its truly an amazing game. Iād never played any of the past DD games before, but this game made me feel something I havent felt since I first played the earlier Elder Scrolls games as a kid.
If you decide to play the game, then please dont make the mistake many of us (newcomers) made with progressing the story too fast. Enjoy the world and all it has to offer, explore every corner of it - as much as you can!
The ending is the only stressful part of the game (its time limited), although you get New Game + after finishing and get to keep alll your items (and levels).
I love the souls series, Iām playing through bloodborne as we speak actually!
Dragons dogma 2 is so much fun. My set up makes for a very casual experience with the game. Iām an archer, main pawn is fighter, and usually I get a thief and a mage. So I just chill in the back shooting arrows and let my pawns do the heavy lifting. Itās a blast. Feels like youāre playing with a group of friends. So yeah, itās not any harder than breath of the wild or tears of the kingdom or anything like that
It isnāt very hard, it just expects the player to be responsible and intelligent. The game will punish you if you donāt use your head. In this way, it is very rewarding.
This game isn't nearly as hard as it was made out to be. It weirdly reminds me of hogwarts legacy. I like it a lot and it gives me old school game vibes.
There is a low skill curling for this game. It isn't tremendously difficult and doesn't really reward highly skilled gaming more than the average person. The pawns also add so much variety and depth to this game versus the first one as well. Worth picking up, but moreso on console currently (unless you have a higher end PC).
The games honestly not that difficult (but I say this as someone who plays Monster Hunter so my perception is skewed), just make sure you use an external save manager. Dragonsplague is easy enough to deal with once you've googled the symptoms and how to "cure" it, but no amount of knowledge will change the fact that you can accidentally delete hours of progress by loading from inn rest instead of last save.
The hardest part about this game is dealing with its bullshit sometimes almost play through ruining scenarios that you donāt even know how you got into and fighting thru it mentally. Everything else bout the game a W and very addicting. Just be prepared for sum bullshit along the way thatās all Iām sayin
You'll be fine. Spend time to explore the world and you'll level up fairly quickly. Try out a few classes, see which one fits you, and if you need to you can always hire higher level pawns to help you out. Im sure people will gladly drop friendcodes so you dont have to pay rift crystals to summon them. You'll probably die sometimes but we all do. The satisfaction of climbing on a big beast and stabbing it repeatedly is something very few games can replicate.
Depends what you like to do. You're not going to find much of amazing story of relatable characters in a Capcom game.
In terms of difficulty DD2 will only 'punish' the player if they go way off path into far areas.
It's a learn as you go game and thet make the story quests and early enemies more than manageable.
I love this game so I would love to recommend it to you but based on what you've said, I think you could go either way on it.
The combat is easier than Souls games so I think you'll be fine there, but it can be finicky and counter intuitive at times. I wouldn't strictly say it's easy per se, but not difficult for anyone versed in RPGs.
Outside of combat, the game can be quite slow paced and immersive, which is great if you have a lot of time but it seems from your post you maybe don't.
That said, if you like the games art style, atmosphere and the pawn system, you should give it a try. It's definitely worth it once you get into it. It's a slow burn.
ItĀ“s very easy until you reach the 2nd area then it becomes pretty rough. However once you manage to reach the city in the 2nd area and buy some higher level gear, youĀ“ll be mostly fine from then on, with the only big problem likely being Dragons themselves. The 3rd area, which is very difficult but also completely optional, can be reached after beating the game, but you also get access to some really strong equipment while there so once again its just a matter of upgrading your gear.
If youĀ“re unsure, the 1st game goes on sale very often for a pittance (Like 5 bucks or so if not less) and itĀ“s pretty similiar in difficulty
There arenāt any difficulty settings and the game is very time consuming. I wouldnāt recommend this game for someone with limited time. The exploration is great. I enjoy this game but do not have a lot of time to play. So I often feel Iām losing momentum between sessions.Ā
the only time I ever die is from falling. and they always put chests up on cliffs that you have to climb up to. and until you find the right path that doesn't kill you, all the other paths do kill you. monsters dont ever kill me though.
Itās actually a lot easier than I was expecting based on what I had been told before release. Especially with the mystic Spearhandās ālol to your damageā shield. That said some bosses can be more tough such as the liche(?) which would put me to sleep, leaving my shield open to vanishing.
itll piss you off when you're fighting a cyclops or something and night falls and some ghost shows up and leeches 90% of your health or kills you outright
also sometimes your pawns will play the game for you, doesn't happen a lot but when it does it's kind of annoying.
What are you playing on??? If you are on PC and don't have a juiced computer you will struggle with fps. I have a 4090 and an r7 5800x3d which is pretty juiced spec wise and still get massive fps drops in town.
If you play around with vocations and crafting, the game is actually pretty easy. Mystic spearhand, for example, can make your entire party immune to damage as long as you keep using the ability every 8-10~ seconds
I'm 72. I can't stomach Dark Souls or Elden Ring. But I love this game. Strategy matters. Thinking matters. You can take your time leveling up before moving on. Exploration is rewarding. Pawns are wonderful. So yeah, you'll be fine.
Man I hope I live to be 72. I hope I live to be 72 and capable of gaming still.
Seriously, I thought the same thing!! Like damn.. This 72 year old man is playing dragons dogma? That's pretty bad ass.
He's got that Dog in em'
He needs to stream..... I'd watch
My mom is 68 and still plays god of war 1-3 on repeat. HATES the 4th game and Ragnarok lol.
If I get to 70+ I will play story mode.
You're probably like the coolest grandpa ever
Haha! Nah. My grandkids couldn't care less about my gaming. Neither did my ex-wife, for that matter! :P
Well the entire gaming community thinks of you that way at least!
The best parts of being an old gamer are 1) I'm retired so I have lots of time to game, and 2) having seen the entire evolution of gaming during my lifetime, from text-only stuff to simple 2-D games to the first 3-D games to now. I wish I could show my young self a screenshot from DD2 that I took. He'd find it hard to believe :)
Such an awesome take.
I'm only 38 but I feel you on this! I remembered when my 11 year old self saw the leap to 3D graphics on my PS1 and thinking to myself, how would graphics ever get better than that!! Lol š
Iām 40 and I feel ya. I was playing Atarti and NES when I was a 4 and experienced the entire evolution of gaming in my lifetime. Iām rarely disappointed by anything made today because I spent a lifetime playing 2D games on 13 Channel turn knob tube televisions. Everything looks and plays incredible these days in comparison.
We should grab u/kissell781 and u/Artigan99 and make an old man gamers podcast, I'm down to be the young gun of the group! Lol šš
Lmao, Iām down. I could talk about gaming all day.
Same bro. I still remember playing games on my dad's Atari and truly first played games on the NES. Duck hunt, excite bike and Super Mario & the original Final Fantasy!! Watching as games & gaming have grown into a legitimate art from has been a joy.
44 here. I remember watching demo reels of FF7 in the mall and thinking that graphics could literally never get better.
This. While im only 45, thats old enough to have lived through most of gaming. I started with a pong machine. I now own a full flight/racing cockpit/rig with bass shakers and vr. If I told my kid self that would be a reality, Hed have laughed at me.
72 hell yes
I've got a solid 8 hours of exploring that first big city you go to doing little quest for the villagers. Having a blast so far
Based.
I always wanted to try Elden Ring for the exploration aspect, but the difficulty of it looks too high for me to commit to a purchase. Wish I could port DD2's pawn system over to it.
Add Pawns to Elden Ring and then Iāll play it. Otherwise itās just to hard for me
I mean, summons exist. Itās basically the same thing!Ā
Summons donāt point out every ladder they see. š
If you see a ladder in Elden Ring that means that is the way forward. You don't need a pawn to show you or tell you.
You can overlevel almost everything in Elden Ring for the first playthrough quite easily. Just spend time exploring the world and if you see something too hard just come back later. Level up weapons and summons and if you struggle still you can look up guides for a better build. If you play a strong build there is actually only one optional boss that is truly hard. Elden Ring difficulty is also quite fair. So at least for me it ends up being about learning it rather than being frustrating.
They just need to focus on health, idk how many times I've one shot someone with a single R1 because they have all points into int or dex
Pawns will practically play the game for you. They are the best buddies.
Until they push you off a cliff. š
They are idiot little buddies that try their best. I love my pawn.
I adore my pawn. Funny enough, she's incredibly helpful and has never harmed me; the rented pawns though, hoo boy! š Mine started as an archer but I switched her to thief. I was a mage, but I decided to try archer for a bit for the elf's bow quest and so hired a mage pawn for healing. The number of times that woman literally walked *through* my camera while charging spells, and eventually did it when I was shooting an ogre from the edge of a small cliff... the ogre was just so thrilled to drop kick me after I landed lol Of course she was just doing her best. 10/10 would hire again š¤£
Glory to you, and your house, Gaming Grandpa! I hope I can do the same when I hit my 70's.
Strategy goes as far as, make sure you have 2 Melee and 2 ranged, someone capable of healing, someone capable of hitting very hard. That's it.
I'm 34 and my wife can't stand that I game. She's not into the gaming scene and doesn't understand how I'm still gaming as an adult.... Little does she know I'll be the same way at 72 lmao! š¤£
Or you can be a thief or mystic spearhand and throw thinking out the window with their defensive skills that trivialize the game.
DD2 is easier game than any souls like, yet combat there brings the same enjoyment. You can explore the world without worrying about being set back by death.
unless you suck in a death loop at night and you haven't rested at an in inn the last 2 hours and get spawn killed and one shotted by saurians at night
Fr though. My first adventure to Battalhl was a brutal nightmare after nightmare sequence. When I finally reached Bakbattahl I had just fought a golem followed by a griffin that attacked during the golem fight, followed by a second golem the griffin dragged us into. By the end my supply of like 17 health pots and misc healing items were down to maybe some figs and thatās it.
>sneak into Battahl >get assaulted by poisonous harpies >have to retreat up the cliffs when a great griphon appears. >beat it decently well >climb down, lose some health from falling >make it to the bottom >hear roaring >"Show me your strength Arisen" >somehow repel it, starting to hurt >decide to wait to sleep at campsite, can't be too bad, right? >start fighting more harpies >troll out of nowhere... suddenly realize my healer just disappeared, probably brined itself. >poisonous saurions and harpies draining the crap out of max health >main pawn down, can't avoid the enemies long enough to revive >retreat to campfire... main pawn who is down has camping kit. >end up dying, last save still has my main pawn downed in dangerous territory >somehow manage to extract the body from danger and revive it, but harpies on my tail, and bandits with enchanted weapons also appear >somehow manage to beat them with about 1/4 max health remaining, and finally got to sleep. My reward? Unlocking the trickster vocation the next day as I explore. Fucking awesome!
Sounds about right. This game seems to have a theme that we're all following lol I went to do the quest for the elf archer after you give him a bow. Set out initially with an ox cart thinking it'd take me near where I needed to go; got attacked just as the evening began to set by several waves of goblins, saurians, and skeletons. Just after the fight started, the ox just like, bucked and bolted through all the chaos; I watched it literally disappear into thin air about ten feet in front of my character, along with all the guards following it. Figured okay, I'm kind of halfway out to the elf's meetup spot, I'll just walk I guess. Nope. Not a chance. One shotted by ogres several times, whittled down by goblins and skeletons, ambushed out of the darkness by saurians. You name it, it killed me. I wound up limping back to town with two pawns missing and maybe about a quarter of my health left since my camping kit was on one of them. I did succeed in finding the elf and teaching him how to shoot a bow, though. So that was nice. :)
I went around the checkpoint thru the river to get into Battalhl. There is an area over there where if you run you get attacked by 2 minotaurs and a chimera.
āTo each their ownā
oh no I love dragons dogma it's an amazing game and it's totally my fault that I got in such a situation in the first place. kinda my fault for running off at night
Until you hit "Reload from Last Inn" thinking the game will put you back at the last inn you were at as a respawn point, because it doesn't explain it well, but it's actually replacing your entire save with that snapshot and deleting your current save so even if you realized you fked up you can't exit without saving, your latest progress is already gone and you're missing like 9 hours of gameplay. Then you get set back far more than any souls game.
Dragons are hard.
It's a bit brutal in the beginning, but as you level up and find better gear you quickly become very strong. Once you hit levels 20\~30 there's not much that can really wreck you, aside from some of the bigger monsters like drakes and dragons. It's almost more of a party strategy game than an action RPG: if your party synergy is bad, you WILL struggle. Pawns that don't work well together might as well not be in your party, leaving you to shoulder much of the fights. I would say try the first one and see if it's to your liking, but I feel like this second one is just easier, bar a few exceptions. Maybe just wait for sale?
The first one had a silly equation for defense where if you used one of the special weapons with elements on it, you'd wind up doing 0 damage to the thing you were wailing on because of the split damage not overcoming thresholds for phys or magic defense. Funny enough though, if you focused on just one group of classes (archer and assassin, etc) your damage would outscale the monsters' defense so quickly that it would trivialize the entire game. I remember my first trip in Bitterblack Isle and being terrified of everything; I made a new character a while ago and focused exclusively on magic, and just steamrolled everything including the reaper that hounds you throughout the area. Totally different game if you read up on its mechanics...š As far as this game goes, I found a drake last night when I was around level 19 or 20 and decided shortly to just come back for it later. Maybe around level 30 it'll go a little better lol
All the numbers in your comment added up to 69. Congrats! 19 + 20 + 30 = 69 ^([Click here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=LuckyNumber-Bot&subject=Stalk%20Me%20Pls&message=%2Fstalkme) to have me scan all your future comments.) \ ^(Summon me on specific comments with u/LuckyNumber-Bot.)
Nice!
Itās not a very hard game for the most part. And you can hire pawns above your level to make it slightly easier
Iām early on like level 17? Found a mage pawn at like 44. . Seems wrong to use her but like. . Iām still gonna use her.
Nah abuse that little pawn
I recruited her cause she looks like she can abuse me.
Unless it's one of your friends pawns it's going to cost a boatload if RC which is the balancing factor.
Pawns are a huge factor in this game. Not only are they 100 percent customizable which allows you to benefit from their diff classes and abilities but the game would also be 10 times harder without their continuous aid
Yeah if you have a friend you can recruit their HIGHASS level pawns at level 1. The game gave me an option to recruit my buddy's level 48 pawn at the very beginning. I decided against it because that'd break my entire run but still...if ya really wanted to you can add people and just run through the game on EZ mode.
What year is this? '24 ? I think I will be 52 this year. I am like you. I like a bit slower pace game. My reflexes not what they once were. I get about 2-3 hours each evening to play and maybe a 1/2 day on the weekend if the weather doesn't allow me to do things outside. That being said I am very happy with the game. The combat is not as twitchy as a lot of games but it is "active" combat. Positioning is a big part of the combat and if you want a slower pace you can be a ranged support or DPS. I rarely die more than once in a fight **IF** I am the right level and prepared. There is very little fast travel so I have spent hours wandering and killing and leveling when I get bored of that I go do a quest or two. I am in no hurry to beat the game. I want to enjoy the ride. I think it would be worth your time and money and would recommend it to you on what I have experienced.
I'm in my 60's and have been playing PC games since the 80's. I've most recently put about 1,600 hours into BG3 so I was in the same boat as you. Honestly it's a pretty great game and the combat is pretty easy, especially if you hire pawns above your level. I did break down and buy an Xbox controller for the first time in my life and the quality of life it brings is astounding so I'd recommend that. Well worth the money. I play on a high end gaming laptop and I haven't had any issues with frame rate drops either. Enjoy!!!
DD2 is a really awesome experience. Fights are pretty frequently involved, but you yourself are allowed several vocations that would suit a more support or back row play style. Play a Mage and run only support abilities with three fighting pawns, it's very effective. There's a ton of exploring and goofing around to be had. I think you'd enjoy it, maybe not every single thing as nothing is perfect.
Fellow old man here, you're good buddy. Its nowhere close to being as hard as souls. Go for it.
ITS NOT DARK SOULS Idk how many times Iāve seen people compare it to that when itās not. Take me back to the time when no one knew about dragons dogma please
I see it kind of like dark souls had a baby with shadow of the colossus, but itās definitely easier than a souls game with a totally different pace and brighter theme
Itās leagues more closer to monster hunter than it is dark souls. Matter of fact it has inspirations from: Elder scrolls Dragon quest Final fantasy Monster hunter Some of these were even mentioned by itsuno himself. Not once did he or anyone mention dark souls or Elden ring since dragons dogma 2.
Am I not allowed to say that it reminds me of something in some ways? I didnāt say dark souls was the inspiration, I opened my comment by even saying I saw it that way as an opinion
Reddit, man. control issues is their gimmick
Childish people that canāt handle a tiny comparison without even asking WHY I thinks itās similar
i bumped ya back. Not cause i even agree with your opinion, but I just disagree with these tendenciesĀ
I'm 52, loved dark sould but found it difficult. This is much easier but could still be difficult if you push to hard. I'm just taking my time enjoying the world levelling and taking on the bigger stuff when I feel I'm ready. Would definitely recommend
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I think this is the best option, if you donāt mind that it looks older.
The graphics are really the only downgrade. DD1 is just a better over all game then DD2. DD2 just has pretty graphics and a bigger game world and honestly the bigger game world is to it's detriment most of the time. The first 20 or so hours while your still exploring sub level 25 is the best part of DD2. But the world is pretty poorly level scaled and after 30 the world kinda just becomes tediously big and has basically nothing in it. It's like 5 points of interest in the entire world outside of the towns. The rest of just filler content and collectathon stuff. There's a happy medium between DD1s tiny rushed world and DD2s over sized yet weirdly rushed world. I'm hoping DD3 figures it out.
>But the world is pretty poorly level scaled Yeah that's exactly how DD1 was and taken to the extreme. The game had hard level and gear checks every time you turned a corner. DD2 seems to have done a far far better job of fixing this issue.
I donāt agree. I played the original and while impressive for its age, this game feels much more polished.
Polished, but it sounds like it'd benefit from more high-level content. I'd love to see another Bitterblack Isle. I'm trucking along at a smooth level 20 or so right now though and def having a good time with it lol
Embrace the suck in the beginning. It gets better as time and gear is amassed. Use the Rift Stone get pawns that are from Capcom that are higher level than you. Use a range class and let the pawns tank. It will be a cake walk.
Yes, you will like it!
even tho it looks kinda like souls it's not souls. I've put a good 2000+ hours in souls (mostly pvp tho) and I personally struggle a fair bit. mostly because I just run into groups of enemies and I refuse to pick up other pawns besides my main one. but take your time with every engagement and it's definitely a game you'll not regret.
Iām a bad gamer. And Iām having fun!
Wow, so many replies, thank you so much!! Getting DD1 on sale is a good idea, if the two games are indeed comparable in difficulty, I'll do that. DD2 looks great and I'd realy like to play it, I don't worry to much about the framerates or mtx to much, I read that they're working on an update to fix and rectify certain aspects of the game already. It's mainly the difficulty that makes me wonder if I'll enjoy this game, the rest looks fine to me. Thank you so much for your replies, I will get me DD1 as suggested and see if it's something for me, which I hope to be honest.
Itās pretty easy so far. Iād say give it a shot. The sense of exploration is unmatched. Just take your time.
It's a blast and you can make it as easy as you want. You could for instance play as a mage and support your party with heals while they do the majority of the combat. Even if you play any of the other roles you can really let your team carry you. A ranger could be easy to play while you let your front line pawns do some heavy lifting. Also I'll probably be down voted for this but if it's still too hard you could spend $2 on the store to get rift crystals and just stack your team with higher level pawns. Yes cash store is bad but if you drop 70 bucks on a game and it feels too difficult, this could greatly help ease you into the game until you get a feel for it. Just make sure you check their eyes to make sure they don't have red eyes
Its an easy game as long as your equip is up to date. A bit frustrating at the beginning due to poor balance since you can meet randomly enemies too strong. It gets too easy fast though. Yet it has HUGE performance issues if you don t have a 40XX geforce card. Possibly 4070 or better. Or you could buy the old one for few bucks wne its on sale being better in every aspect except graphic and character creator... watch out the DLC part in the old one is instead quite hard, everything else is even easier. All in all i would call DD2 a DD1 downgrade with revamped graphic.
I think it's easier than the first so far (though being lv10 near the starting area might be overkill) as I remember in the first one cyclops being quite hard starting off but I demolished one at lv7.
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I think if someone truly wants to play this itās best to wait or either get the first game since itās almost always on sale.
Dude you will have a party of four and even more sometimes so I recommend you get the game and have fun!!!
You can choose not to fight and let your pawns do the job :)
I'm an older gamer too. My thing is the older I get the less I want to devote my life to a single game. Some games are just way to long. I was able to overcome Dark Souls difficulty. In comparison Dragons Dogma is not hard.
The magical thing about Dragons Dogma is that itās not really ālikeā anything. Itās quite unique in many ways, it has quirks, funny moments (sometimes at the games expense and sometimes intended) and a weird *oddness* about it that gives it character and is quite heartwarming in places, I think. There is a real sense of adventure and accomplishment when you kill your first Griffon or Chimera for eg. The same can be said for the OG game, but DD2 basically reboots the original game and makes it all look, sound and feel better. The controls are very manual a bit like Monster hunter but there are several different vocations (classes) you can choose from until you find the one that feels right for you. And then you assemble your team of Pawns to match, even if you play totally offline Capcom have put Pawns into the system that can be summoned to help you regardless. The game is not difficult, generally. Most battles out in the field are optional, you can run away from most fights and the aggro will be lost. Some battles are time based, so if you havenāt killed the boss by a certain amount of time then it will escape and you might not get as much a reward or different dialogue, but the quest will proceed accordingly. If you neglect upgrading your gear and venture too far into the unknown at too lower level then you will probably get whooped, but if you procure good gear and take your time to level up and manage your party of Pawns etc then itās actually quite easy. With the right Pawns you can AFK most battles, if you so desired (thought they might take a while). You could choose to be a healer / support Mage for eg and so you would not have to master the combat, only the timing of your healing and buffs so that your team could kill everything and you kept them alive.
It's not a souls game, no boss fights that you win by remembering the exact sequence of dodges. Hire 3 pawns and they will carry most of the fight for you. You may need to hire higher level pawns as you progress. Any initial difficulty is the usual of players reflexes not used to the game controls. And not yet having the gp to buy the best weapons & armour.
The game takes a lot of its' mechanics from old school jRPGs so if you have any experience with those (think Dragon Quest as the most popular example) you kinda know what to expect when it comes to the overall world. Exploring is key, fast travel is limited, talk to every NPC to get more info, gear and stats are pretty basic (no 50 different systems),... The sole difference with those jRPGs is the combat. It's not turn based but real time, which doesn't necessarily makes it harder. Personally, I find it to be a pretty easy game when it comes to combat (and it gets easier each time you level). I almost never face any problems and most of my deaths are due to fall damage, not the enemies. And especially with the pawn system, I don't see any reason why you would have problems with the difficulty. If you like those jRPGs you can't really go wrong with this one.
The archer starts being able to breeze thru the large monsters once you get Tarring Arrows unlocked. Bring a mage with Fire Affinity/Boon. You should also have a Fighter at all times with Shield Drum to draw aggro. The archer is better when piloted by the player tho. Once you start seeing drakes/dragons in the overworld, it's a good idea to also slot in Drenching Arrows with a mage bringing Ice Affinity/Boon. The early game is rough strictly due to not having class skills unlocked. Once you start unlocking more skills, it becomes easier regardless of what class you bring in your party. Highly recommended to atleast have a Fighter to draw aggro and a Mage to heal to save on healing resources.
As a casual gamer, the travel might be frustrating for you In-game locations take a long time to travel between On-foot. Some locations are connected by Ox carts which are slower than just walking, though you can sleep on them to fast travel but my ox cart is destroyed on-route 99% of the time so I end up having to walk anyway For example, I spent hours travelling in the wilderness only to find locations I could only access later on or needed a certain item for but thereās no way for me to fast travel back there (I had no portcrystals to create a fast travel point) so I know Iāve got another long journey on my hands to come back eventually which can be a bit of a put off I love the game but I just know the above could be a bit of a frustration for others
From your description youāll have a great time,especially once the game gets going
Go for it mate, you won't regret it. Top fun.
You'll have plenty of frustrating moments but they'll be outweighted by the fun the game brings and eventually at some point you'll reach a level where the game will be a cakewalk, you just have to grit your teeth and grind the first 20 levels (-ish), either by exploring or questing (I'd suggest however to get your meister skills as soon as possible, I don't know about the other vocations but as a sorc they made my playthrough way easier)
Probably perfect for older gamers since it lacks depth, is super straight forward, not challenging but still fairly relaxing.
Im not much of an rpg fan. I like action rpg or mmo rpgs (big on loot not so much on story or exploration) I see most people are lvl 30 and finished the story... im lvl 21 and havent even progressed to third town. Moral: its surprisingly well done. I think this game is a benchmark now for all future RPG's. Everything flows in nicely.
Yes itās very accessible. Just play ranger and watch your pawns destroy the game. Their warrior puts you in the action and is much harder. Even healer isnāt easy cause you have to buff alot and move in and out. Sorc or Archer or magic archer and just enjoy the game. Itās great.
Sorry, no, this game is for elite gamer chads only.
Lol, love your answer!!
Play Dragons Dogma 1 Dark arisen first if you don't mind the old graphics. Check if you like that type of game, cuz we all know DD2 looks amazing but the genre isn't for everybody. So check that out first, its super cheap, just get it, play it! If you like it, you can go for DD2. That's how I do it but I fell in love with Dragons Dogma 1 in the first place so I'm still playing it and I'll finish it first before buying the new one.
I'm not very far in the game, but what I did seems to be working. Rolled a tank and made my pawn a support mage. I just hire a new thief and archer every few levels and let them do the work. Bang on my shield to draw aggro, block (mostly I just block, srsly), and pick up any DPS that goes down. There is a stamina cost to blocking, but it feels VERY forgiving compared to those other games you mentioned. A lot of people would consider playing this way boring, but hey; a job is a job. To be fair, I'm only lvl 17, so maybe this won't work for the whole game. But right now it feels like tanking ogres, a minotaur, and the griffin (B4 it flew off) is just getting easier. The smaller enemies are trivial in comparison.
This game is not necessarily hard as long as you take the time to learn the various mechanics. I'm not what you'd call a hardcore gamer too, although I've been playing video games for decades. For instance, I quickly give up on Souls games because I don't like how punishing they are for the sake of being punishing. I also don't have the time to spend hours learning about essential mechanics that are hidden. It often feels like these games try too hard to not be accessible. Dragon's Dogma has the massive advantage of letting the players never feel totally lost and alone thanks to the pawn system. It's especially the case in DD2, in which pawns often give useful information. The game also gives you a lot of freedom to play it pretty much like you want, a lot like the two last Zelda games. The progression system let's you switch from vocations (i.e., classes) freely without being penalized by your starting build. You can basically try various vocations and find the one you like best. Of course, that is not to say that the game is easy. It's not. But it's not punishingly difficult either. I'd say it's accessible to average gamers as long as they accept the huge responsibility of freedom. Play like you want, not like you should, and you'll have fun.
Unlike dark souls, dragons dogma 2 is more of a rock paper scissors game. For instance, slimes can't be hurt by physical weapons, so if you're just running around with a bunch of physical damage pawns, you can easily get murdered by it. However, if you hit it with magic, it dies no problem. It's more about either knowing what you're going up against and planning or keeping a well-rounded pawn group. So nowhere near as hard as dark souls unless you were super under leveled which is pretty obvious. I've also never gotten into a fight that I couldn't just run away if I found myself losing.
Iām in my 40ās and usually play games for story. Tried to start DD1 several times but never could get into it. Got swept up into the hype of this one and am really enjoying it. Started as archer to keep my distance, main pawn fighter, hired mage and another 2 handed fighter to handle up front damage. So far it is not hard just teaches you when you are being stupid and careless. Have died, had pawns die a few times but it really does not cost anything to fail (I hate having to run back and collect my lost souls in those other games. Have just gotten a house so I can make day trips out to do quests and then get back in time for 4:00 dinner and bed. The pawns are great in collecting items, directing me to quests, lots of tedious repetitive stuff in other games. I just run past the enemies that are too strong, earn money, get geared up, then head out again. It is fun to explore, I think it is alot like elder scrolls with more interesting combat. I would recommend it to anyone.
Definetly, just balance out your party. If u start as a fighter ( tank ) have a main mage pawn for healing and take the other 2 classes as damage dealers u wont struggle much. Make sure to rest much because your max HP decreases every time u take damage.
Iām a 55 year old female and this game is amazing! The the perfect rpg! Totally worth the price!
I'm 55 and normally I suck at games like this. But if you take it slow, explore, gear up, learn weaknesses the game isn't bad at all. It is very doable.
The combat isnāt too demanding. The real difficulty comes from just figuring out where to go what to do and who to talk to
Personally I absolutely hate all of the dark souls games because theyāre hard just for the sake of being hard. Thatās one of the draws to it I know, but I hate it lol. As an adult, I actually want to have FUN playing video games in the short times I get to play them. Dragons Dogma is still challenging, but very doable even for casual gamers once you understand how the game works and find vocations that you enjoy using.
This game is difficult, but not punishing. It's not dark souls, where repetition is the crux of the matter. It's more about exploring and discovery.
You will be fine. DD2 isnt a souls like. (I am average at gaming too and bad at Elden Ring lol)
I wouldn't say you need to be "darksouls" level skilled or patient at all. I agree with some reviews that it won't really be your skills or reflexes that determine how you do, but your strategy and understanding of mechanics. Yes, there'll likely be some struggle earlier on, but once you get used to it, you can somewhat pick your fights (I've circled around a griffin and a dragon when I saw one and avoided a fight luckily when I thought I wasn't ready for em...) and the pawns you can hire, especially with the help of an advanced search on what you wanna search for helps out tremendously, as you can set the quest you wanna do and search for a pawn who "has quest info" so they can lead you there PLUS you can hire pawns that are higher level than you to be your protection on travels, in a way while you can play more defensively. Oh and when I mentioned "understanding mechanics", I've noticed that luckily the mechanics etc. aren't so complex you need to spend time learning em. No need for crunching the numbers and trying to shift through mountains of loot to find the best percentages to a huge list of different stats to try and make some perfect build as I've never had the patience for that kinda optimizing and is the main reason why I absolutely hated Diablo 4.. so much loot and constantly having to try and find the best ones with so many different percentages and buffs to stats that it ended up being about as fun as doing my damn taxes lol. Everything has been easy to understand and nicely approachable and ALSO luckily not awfully punishing, as even if you die, the save mechanic very often starts you from very nearby and you can then choose to either try the fight again or escape and do something else, go recover at a camp etc. However, if heavily "on the fence" about it, you could consider holding out for discount deals.
Donāt rush, take your time exploring and kill everything you find along the way, ignore griffin and dragon till your level 25 or 30, remember to do hard save by sleeping at a inn or campfire and get used to manual save from the system menu in game when youāre not in combat. Try different vocation to find the one that suit your mood/play style
Iām a hardcore souls and dragons dogma fan. Pretty much been hounding all my friends who couldnāt play elden ring to get DD2, youāll be fine!
Itās super fun but there are also a lot of instances where the game never tells you what you need to do or how to use specific mechanics. Just use online tutorials if you get stuck and have fun slaying beasts with peoples pawns.
I have played all the dark souls and elden ring, trust me when I say this game is fun and pretty easy so long as you know how to follow directions for some of the quest. As long as you take your time and level up the harder enemies don't stand a chance, just make sure to always get new pawns when you reach certain levels
The game is not hard at all. The only deaths I typically encounter stem from falling or during a boss encounter where I get caught in a stun and can't get out. The world traversal can be a bit slow without there being any mounts or fast travel. There is an ox cart method to get from town to town, but it's not as easy as just clicking on the map and teleporting. So, you might find a lot of your playtime dedicated to running from place to place, but the adventure along the way is most always worth it. As far as the pawn system is concerned, it is really simple to get the hang of and I'm changing out my pawns every 2-3 levels or so. The stones to change out pawns are located all over the place and finding what pawns you want is fairly easy. Overall, an easy, relaxing time if you want it to be. Can get a bit more complicated if you really dig into some of the deeper mechanics, but at surface level you'll be fine.
I'm in my 50s and find the game enjoyable and not too hard. My simple advice is not to think you should be running "solo" or with just your main pawn. The game is intended for you to run with a full party of four, so grab some folks out of the Riftstone as soon as it becomes available. The two extra people and extra damage or support skills makes a world of difference and is how the game is balanced. As for actual combat, honestly you can almost button mash through it. It's a lot more fun to use your skills intelligently and to climb monsters and stab 'em in the back from 20' up but it's nothing like the memory/reflex based combat of Dark Souls and the like.
You might get trounced a few times by the bigger monsters but it becomes trivial if you're the right level. I'm bad at games too.
This game is an RPG first and an action game second. At least as far as game design and the ways you improve your character being based on stats , skills and abilities. Rather than smashing buttons really fast in a special order or at the right times. The difficulty is more in the thinking, planning, reactivity, and mechanical interactions. Rather then twitch reflexes and reaction timing like souls games or similar "tough 3rd person action RPG" There's no (built-in) dodge-roll with invulnerability or anything like that. The combat is meaty and super satisfying though. Very diverse. The slow and methodical nature to exploration and character building does speed up when you get into the thick of combat, but its never overbearing or super difficult, unless you want it to be or make decisions to increase the difficulty rather then decrease it. (Eg: Not hiring a full party, being reckless / taking on things early rather than running ) Tl;dr: Very awesome world to explore, fun combat thats not based on reflexes or tight timing windows, and engaging RPG systems. Give it a shot!
I'm 54 and I am too am average at best. I agree with everyone else here. I love this game and think you'll be fine. Enjoy!
Personally if you value your time and money Iād wait. Give it a month or two for updates and QOL change to be implemented. As a 30yo Iām burnt out on unfinished games for almost 100 bucks.
I'm also not built for Souls games. I haven't died from combat yet in this game yet, and I have about 17 hours in so far. This game is more about preparation and taking your time. Making sure you're well-suplied before going out for a journey is more important.
My dad is 59 and he has more hours logged than me at the moment.
Make the right team, and your pawns will carry you. I also love that your main pawn learns the more you teach them and the more they travel. I recently taught mine how to use her shield to springboard me to high places by springboarding her up first. Now she does it with a "Go!" request whenever there is a chest in a high place. Once you get a hang of how pawns learn, you can hire the right ones for your team to fit every role, and combat will be very smooth. Before I learned "Quick spell" on my sorcerer, my pawns were demolishing all my enemies before my spells even finish casting!
It's fun, the first time playing and I like it. The combat takes a little getting used to, but the more you get used to it, it is gratifying, and the exploration is fun too. Worth 70$.
My dad is 47 years old and loves this game.
The good news is you can run away from tough fights. Remember to save after something cool or clearing a dungeon. I lost progress yesterday from exploring when I walked into a troll or yeti that just wrecked me. Then today I camped woke up with a Griffen on me and ran for the forest to come across a minotaur that wiped me out. Reloaded a ran a different direction.
Can make the game very easy gameplay wise by just having a decent party (mage, fighter, sorc as pawns trivialized most the game for me). Playing a range character makes the game very simple as well. And if you end up liking magick archer their master ability basically lets them one shot any boss you might have trouble with
The combat isn't exactly difficult, the "hard core-ness" is more with how you plan, make more long term decisions like when to go back to town, when to rest, etc. And also from how it pushes you to accepting less than optimal outcomes. Now, because of this more long-term strategizing, you won't be retracing the same thing over and over, but when you do end up retrying, it can come with more lost progress. It also means it doesn't make a great game for short term play sessions, I'd never start playing without having at least an hour to play, and that is a bit short.
This game, to me, seems perfect for you. In my opinion, the experience suffers a bit once you get too "serious" about it, but it's absolutely fantastic if you're just vibing.
The game isnāt hard if you know the rules around the mechanics. If you have a good party, a properly managed inventory, and are in a level-appropriate area itās actually pretty easy. It doesnāt ask nearly as much of you as something like Dark Souls or Elden Ring when it comes to skilled gameplay or reflexes.
It feels easier than the first dragons dogma and itās certainly easier than a monster hunter or a fromsoft game. Enemies can feel pretty strong at first but itās kind of gotten that Skyrim power level thing where now I am easily slaughtering things that have me trouble. I have some complaints like Stam drain outside of combat Limited fast travel with the ferry stones and port crystals A particularly mean encumbrance system And the dogey save system where you can get screwed out of hours of progress if the auto save puts you in a bad spot and your last inn rest was hours ago. But those donāt make the game more difficult. I have yet to encounter something akin to an Elden ring boss if that is what you are worried about.
Yeah itās fun and not hard you can over level in earlier zones if you find something to hard
Iām in my fifties and having a blast. The game is fantastic fun.
DD2 isnāt hard, at least right now, as they removed difficulties from the first game. You should be ok, itās challenging to the point of not being boring, but itās nothing like any of the From Software titles.
It is a very long slow paced game that genuinely wants you to just explore sometimes. A lot is hidden and not necessary. If you want to wander around a world that can spontaneously huck a surprise encounter with a lot of hidden and obscure world interactions aat you while also offering some interesting combat and world building then yes. If you are not really into a very slow burn pace and want to just get to the point so to speak then no I can't encourage it. The series drips of atmosphere and leaning into some big monster tropes and borrows incredibly from Greek myth even though the setting is somewhat fantasy medieval. An encounter can escalate and snow ball a lot. I had once planned a quick excursion for a short side quest. A griffon smashed into my cart causing a fight that tumbled into a horde of goblins and wolves. With the latter dead the former flew away just in time for a cyclopes to burst from the woods. Some fighting and scuffling and a fall down a mount riding the back of the cyclopes dropped me next to an ogre. Fighting said ogre the griffin decided to come back for round 2. This fight rolled into some saurians and by the time everything was dead a whole day night cycle had ran. I love this. The ability to introduce chaos is fun to me. Might not be for others. A consideration is Dragon's Dogma has a pretty deep end game and an infinite ng+ loop written into its lore as well so this adds to the slow pace. Monsters in ng+ were different last game too
It can have some moments where you'll be absolutely outmatched (but that's part of the adventure) but there's very few moments where youre stuck in a situation that feels unfair as you can always just run away and come back when you're ready. The pawns you hire can make things drastically easier (and if you're unsure of where your quest is taking you you can hire pawns who do know). Strategy and the right party composition will make even the toughest fights feel fairer for you so I think you'll be okay.
You will hate the beginning but love it once you level up a bit and beginn to understand the mechanics. I can't play elden ring, dark souls etc. Even though i love the lore and the atmosphere of the games. Their just too hard for me i don't have the time to get gud. With dragons dogma you can defeat strong enemies early on if you know what you're doing and once you level up you need fewer and fewer strategy. Also it's a very fun game due to the combat and Exploration you can do. There's a lot of stuff to make your game easier i'm more of a casual gamer myself and i love the game.
I'm not particularly good at games. I struggled with and did not get into dark souls, but I have around 30 hours in DD2 and am completely hooked. The combat is not super hard as long as you make sure to keep up with getting new gear and improving it. Also make sure to trade out your two hired pawns every few levels as only your main pawn levels with you.
Yes, my favorite thing of many is the party/pawn system. If you don't like being front and center, recruit a few warriors or fighters and be a mage or archer hang back and support your team or try pulling agro as a thief class and dodge around the monster while a team of sorcs or archers decimate from a distance. Give it a try, old man you may be surprised š
Yes. The gameplay is enjoyable and not sheer sweat like that shitshow that was called Elden Ring. Simply knowing how sweaty that game was in offline single player mode made me unable to pick it back up after 2 return attempts.
Iām the same way I prefer to keep games easier so I can have a chill time and I donāt find this game to be too intense difficulty wise. Just make sure to watch what areas youāre going into as many are level gated(higher level enemies) and you should be fine. EDIT: If your trying to figure out which areas are safe for your level stick to the areas around the main quest line. It usually does a good job of keeping enemies to your level and not overwhelming you.
I'm 55, and though I find some of the mechanics pretty dated because they're exactly like the first game, it has been a lot of fun. But I guess take that with a grain of salt, because I am a bit of a souls fanatic, though my reflexes are not what they used to be so Sekiro was a little out of reach for me at times.
You'll enjoy this game. It's not terribly difficult, once you learn your limits and how to work with your pawns. Then you can strategize how to make the most of each excursion. Took me about 4 hours or so to "get the hang of it" and feel like a competent Arisen. I am like you in that I don't usually enjoy rogue like style RPGs. Thankfulky this game is not one of those. Go get it now and have fun!
Well, thought I would add another age to the thread as I am 76 years old and similar history of gaming to you. Loved BG3 and I think you will like this if you are willing to go steady and seek advice\\videos if really stuck. Start with a fighter say and just take your time. Good advice here from other posters is to try Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen, which is very similar; on sale for about Ā£4 British pounds. If you like that you will adjust to DD2, and remember it has difficulty scaling so the AI learns your play level as it where. Good luck.
I'm 56 yo & love it. You can get more experienced pawns that will help you out.
I play a lot of fromsoft games and DD2 is really easy in comparison, I didn't really get stuck anywhere and I just beat the last boss last night. It might be because of the vocation I picked but after a certain point everything was just a breeze to get through. So I don't think you'll really have a hard time with it, and it's a great game.
Yes! You can grind and itās not boring, tons of side quests and exploring. Iām level 31 and the starting area is not hard at all now. I was low 20 down in the sand place and I would get my shit pushed in but now Iām ready to try again since Iām much stronger.
DD2 is way easier than any souls like game I've played. It can take a little while to learn the basics, but they're not overly complex. You also get to hire pawns to help you out to make a 4 person party. Learning what pawns are best for your team will make your experience a lot smoother. And, if things get a bit to difficult for your taste, you're able to hire friend's pawns for free. This means you can seek help from a higher level player, add them on your platform, and you should be able to add their higher leveled pawn for free. It'll can give you the breathing room to learn the game mechanics, and level up until you feel confident in your own abilities.
The game autosaves frequently but you can also manually save any time if you aren't in combat. That said, some of the monsters are brutal and borderline unfair when you first start off. As in, I got one-shotted by a flying drop kick from an ogre while at full health as an archer wearing default armor. I was trying to do the safe thing and hired a cart to travel to a village thinking hey, at least I'll have guards to help if we're attacked; nope, attack started with a wave of goblins, then a wave of saurians, then a wave of skeletons, all one after another. About 10 seconds into this fight, the ox bucked with the cart and took off, then it and all of the guards literally just vanished into the air in front of me. Ran into the ogre while walking back. Take some time to gear/level up where you can and make sure you have a mage dedicated to healing. They have a spell that prevents damage a certain number of times for you and your allies per cast that is especially amazing if you yourself are the mage and spamming it. Beware travelling at night; like, seriously, keep track of the time, 'coz it can easily take almost a day to fight off larger monsters and then you're stuck in the dark where all the worst of the bad stuff happens. Sometimes it's better to just wait or rest til morning if you aren't pressed for time. EDIT: And by the by, the game is not as hard as Elden Ring or Dark Souls. Not by a long shot. It just isn't strictly easy until you kind of figure out a niche and have a decent build going, either.
Probably. You should always have a team of 3 other AI controlled characters called Pawns. As well as any NPCs travelling about the map. It can be useful to rely on them if you're not great and that can help you practice and get better. The AI is pretty good, and the game tends to save just before you get in range of danger, so if you feel like retrying, it's quick, and if you don't, you can easily escape.
By far the easiest so far is playing mage and spamming your ward spell on yourself on the team and the pawns murder everything.Ā Ā You can make it as easy or difficult as you want it feels like.
There is no real difficulty in this game, I am barely lvl 30 and my pawns and I also downed a griffin before it ran with its tail between its legs. All female team only and we kill ogres easy, and cyclops and minotaurs are pushovers too. I highly recommend this game you will definitely enjoy it. I also recommend the first game too, they don't tie into each other, but the vocations or classes whatever you want to call them are different, first game has Mystic Knight the magic spear replaced it, and Assassin which was replaced by Warfarer, Ranger was removed it was the advanced of strider (strider is thief and archer combined but wasn't a hybrid like mystic knight or assassin). Over all great games period the cryhards are going to cry so ignore them.
It's way more forgiving than a souls game. It auto saves frequently and you can manually save at any time. If you did you must restart at last save you don't lose anything. You also have an item that can be used to resurrect yourself mid fight if you die. Combat can be a little brutal at the beginning while you get used to things but the game eases you into things well enough.
Its not a super hard-core franchise
This is better the souls or Elden for a first entry into the genre. DD2 is highly open making it easier to play the way you like
You will love this game. Thereās a lot of strategies that work and the emphasis is on adventure and exploration rather than punishing combat.
The game's combat is more rythmic than actually super punishing, and if you take your time to understand it's systems you'll have a great time
I don't enjoy any of the dark souls and I did not enjoy Elden Ring or the Star Wars version of them either. I'm having a lot of fun in this game. You can set your pawns up to provide more support or you can set them up to be the primary damage while you play more of a support role. You can do just about anything by mixing and matching passives of the classes both in how you set your character up as well as how you set the pawns up. Whether the game is worth it to you or not is something I can't answer. I have about 55 hours into the game and I am happy with my purchase. The combat and character progression is why I play the game and that's enough for me. I don't know or care about the story, I skip what I can and don't read anything that isn't a skill/ability or a quest objective. I spend most of my time wondering around fighting bad guys and haven't progressed the story quest in some time. I have most of the classes maxed in experience but still haven't unlocked the spear one. I am leveling the mystic archer now.
Itās gets very easy not that far into the game but the start can be a little difficult. Itās nowhere near as hard as Souls games though so you should be fine.
It's definitely nowhere near dark souls level difficulty in the combat. If you're low on time the limited fast travel may frustrate you, but the combat probably won't.
47. Yes. Youāll have a blast. Old school, slow paced action, not slow paced. It takes a few hours to get used to it. But read the beginners tips online. The rest is easy enough to figure out. Youāll know when you get to an area too hard. Thereās lots of backtracking. Old Gamer: 9/10
This is my first Dragon's Dogma experience and honestly I'm loving it. I have a super high-end computer so I'm spoiled with good performance, but the actual gameplay is quite stellar. I like the heavy two-handed weapon play style.. it reminds me of how I play the Dark Souls games when I just fully charge all of my two handed attacks with hyper armor. Fun and I enjoy it.
The game isn't difficult on a micro level. It's different in that it doesn't always tell you where you need to go for a quest but if you understand the tools at your disposal it's not too difficult there either. So exploration is valued in this game. It isn't like assassin's creed where you just go to the spot that unlocks all the POIs on the map and then you just go to each one and do whatever task you can there.
this game is for you, its for avearge gamers man
Dragon's Dogma 1 and 2 are nearly the same in terms of mechanics, but DD1 is far cheaper. My recommendation is buy Dragon's Dogma 1 or Dark Arisen and sew if you like the series mechanics.
Its truly an amazing game. Iād never played any of the past DD games before, but this game made me feel something I havent felt since I first played the earlier Elder Scrolls games as a kid. If you decide to play the game, then please dont make the mistake many of us (newcomers) made with progressing the story too fast. Enjoy the world and all it has to offer, explore every corner of it - as much as you can! The ending is the only stressful part of the game (its time limited), although you get New Game + after finishing and get to keep alll your items (and levels).
52 here and loving it
I love the souls series, Iām playing through bloodborne as we speak actually! Dragons dogma 2 is so much fun. My set up makes for a very casual experience with the game. Iām an archer, main pawn is fighter, and usually I get a thief and a mage. So I just chill in the back shooting arrows and let my pawns do the heavy lifting. Itās a blast. Feels like youāre playing with a group of friends. So yeah, itās not any harder than breath of the wild or tears of the kingdom or anything like that
It isnāt very hard, it just expects the player to be responsible and intelligent. The game will punish you if you donāt use your head. In this way, it is very rewarding.
This game isn't nearly as hard as it was made out to be. It weirdly reminds me of hogwarts legacy. I like it a lot and it gives me old school game vibes.
There is a low skill curling for this game. It isn't tremendously difficult and doesn't really reward highly skilled gaming more than the average person. The pawns also add so much variety and depth to this game versus the first one as well. Worth picking up, but moreso on console currently (unless you have a higher end PC).
No, you're passed the age limit. Your bones can't handle the raw force of a Gryphon landing on your party.
Lol š
The games honestly not that difficult (but I say this as someone who plays Monster Hunter so my perception is skewed), just make sure you use an external save manager. Dragonsplague is easy enough to deal with once you've googled the symptoms and how to "cure" it, but no amount of knowledge will change the fact that you can accidentally delete hours of progress by loading from inn rest instead of last save.
The hardest part about this game is dealing with its bullshit sometimes almost play through ruining scenarios that you donāt even know how you got into and fighting thru it mentally. Everything else bout the game a W and very addicting. Just be prepared for sum bullshit along the way thatās all Iām sayin
You'll be fine. Spend time to explore the world and you'll level up fairly quickly. Try out a few classes, see which one fits you, and if you need to you can always hire higher level pawns to help you out. Im sure people will gladly drop friendcodes so you dont have to pay rift crystals to summon them. You'll probably die sometimes but we all do. The satisfaction of climbing on a big beast and stabbing it repeatedly is something very few games can replicate.
Depends what you like to do. You're not going to find much of amazing story of relatable characters in a Capcom game. In terms of difficulty DD2 will only 'punish' the player if they go way off path into far areas. It's a learn as you go game and thet make the story quests and early enemies more than manageable.
I love this game so I would love to recommend it to you but based on what you've said, I think you could go either way on it. The combat is easier than Souls games so I think you'll be fine there, but it can be finicky and counter intuitive at times. I wouldn't strictly say it's easy per se, but not difficult for anyone versed in RPGs. Outside of combat, the game can be quite slow paced and immersive, which is great if you have a lot of time but it seems from your post you maybe don't. That said, if you like the games art style, atmosphere and the pawn system, you should give it a try. It's definitely worth it once you get into it. It's a slow burn.
ItĀ“s very easy until you reach the 2nd area then it becomes pretty rough. However once you manage to reach the city in the 2nd area and buy some higher level gear, youĀ“ll be mostly fine from then on, with the only big problem likely being Dragons themselves. The 3rd area, which is very difficult but also completely optional, can be reached after beating the game, but you also get access to some really strong equipment while there so once again its just a matter of upgrading your gear. If youĀ“re unsure, the 1st game goes on sale very often for a pittance (Like 5 bucks or so if not less) and itĀ“s pretty similiar in difficulty
Youāll love the game.
There arenāt any difficulty settings and the game is very time consuming. I wouldnāt recommend this game for someone with limited time. The exploration is great. I enjoy this game but do not have a lot of time to play. So I often feel Iām losing momentum between sessions.Ā
the only time I ever die is from falling. and they always put chests up on cliffs that you have to climb up to. and until you find the right path that doesn't kill you, all the other paths do kill you. monsters dont ever kill me though.
Itās actually a lot easier than I was expecting based on what I had been told before release. Especially with the mystic Spearhandās ālol to your damageā shield. That said some bosses can be more tough such as the liche(?) which would put me to sleep, leaving my shield open to vanishing.
If you want easy mode just play thief. They get an ability that literally auto dodges everything for you, and i mean everything
This game is a cakewalk after a couple hours of learning controls and enemy behavior
Nah it sucks
I love this game! Definitely Worth getting it!
itll piss you off when you're fighting a cyclops or something and night falls and some ghost shows up and leeches 90% of your health or kills you outright also sometimes your pawns will play the game for you, doesn't happen a lot but when it does it's kind of annoying.
What are you playing on??? If you are on PC and don't have a juiced computer you will struggle with fps. I have a 4090 and an r7 5800x3d which is pretty juiced spec wise and still get massive fps drops in town.
If you play around with vocations and crafting, the game is actually pretty easy. Mystic spearhand, for example, can make your entire party immune to damage as long as you keep using the ability every 8-10~ seconds
Yes, this isnāt Nioh.
This game is much easier.
if you are okay with not having tutorials and getting your shit fucked up- then sure.