In other roleplaying games, you enter people's houses and proceed to break the furniture, open up all the containers, and take everything. In Dragon's Dogma, your pawns do all that for you.
It's pretty sweet.
Though, one time I was using a couple large crates to get on a roof, doing some of the surprisingly robust platforming available, when my pawn busted it up right from under me.
The Shadow Fort quest was one of the coolest sequences I've played in an open world RPG.
Soon after getting to the inn at the main city, I picked up a quest to escort a guy somewhere else on the map. I had no idea how far away it was, and it's been a rather epic journey so far. At least I was powerful enough to kill the lizardman that others had warned me about. Now I'm trying to make my way through without pissing off a Chimera or a Giant that I saw in the distance. Fortunately, after a day and night of travel I found a place to rest and buy equipment, so I bought my first upgrades.
Digging down into the menus, I found a screen that told me how long the payers of the pawns I had hired have been playing. Is there any way of seeing that data for myself?
LobsterMonster, I don't grab many things since I"m playing a mage. One time I did grab a zombie-type and hucked him over my shoulder. Since I was near a cliff, I walked over and chucked him to the abyss. Perhaps it depends on how weakened the monster is?
Desperately seeking a new Magick Bow, if anyone has any leads <,<
Found a new vendor with better stuff NW of Gran Soren, but his stuff is mostly fighter/warrior/MK focused.
I still can't settle on a class, though Magick Archer has been treating me well. This is kind of an issue, as you gain stats based on what class you are when you level, so it behooves not switching up constantly like I've been doing.
I finished the escort quest and then realized - Oh crap! I need to walk all the way back to Gran Soren. Along the way though I ran into my first Cyclops. This was the first boss battle where I actually felt in control. It took a while, but we triumphed!
Some random thoughts after playing a few hours today:
If you are slinging spells, it's useful to have another spell-caster in the party who is of higher level. They let you know what type of magic to throw at each type of enemy.
Try combining things! It's a bit trial and error to begin with, but the game keeps track of what you have created. Trust me - you'll be picking up lots of stuff along the way.
Core Skills are very nice! They don't take up a skill slot and they give you new controls. My mage now has a double jump!
Finally, I liked this graphic for explaining the types of vacations.
Anyone know the difference between the mage and the sorceror, other than the sort of stick they carry?
Along the way though I ran into my first Cyclops. This was the first boss battle where I actually felt in control. It took a while, but we triumphed!
I remember that guy! I nearly fell on top of him because I was exploring and came across the ridge above his head. I started plinking with my bow, then eventually slid down the slope to get in some better hits. Certis's pawn grabbed on to his face and hacked off a tusk while I hugged his neck and stabbed him in the back of the head! 
Sorcerers get the highest levels of offensive magick, I think two more of each element and some other weird ones (necromancy, instant-kills). But they have no healing spells.
Soon after getting to the inn at the main city, I picked up a quest to escort a guy somewhere else on the map. I had no idea how far away it was, and it's been a rather epic journey so far. At least I was powerful enough to kill the lizardman that others had warned me about. Now I'm trying to make my way through without pissing off a Chimera or a Giant that I saw in the distance. Fortunately, after a day and night of travel I found a place to rest and buy equipment, so I bought my first upgrades.
You did better than I did, it sounds like. Those lizard men at the river were rather troublesome for me. I eventually had my guys hang back with me and started to spam individual lizard men with arrows, which allowed me to tackle them one at a time (as well as saving between each guy, just in case my Pawns decided running right into the river to aggro the whole group was a good idea). Also discovered that enough attacks from behind will cut the lizard's tail off, which starts to create more damage to the thing.
Once I hit the giant, though, things became troublesome. In particular, the guy I was escorting died. Tackling the giant was just way out of my level range (12 at the time, with the hired Pawns at level 5 because I couldn't find a Rift stone in the city (not that I spent much time exploring)). Plus, there was a group of bandits that always joined in on the fight. I decided to try and go around the giant by tackling the bandits alone, buuuut, well, they were also too strong. I managed to survive, but the guy I was escorting died and I didn't think to reload for some reason.
Is that quest now gone forever?
Also: I'm on PS3, my Arisen is a Strider and my Pawn is a Mage. I typically grab a Fighter and then a second Strider for my quests.
Also also: Downpour volley is, thus far, my favorite bow ability.
Ok, this game... this game is f*cking awesome. It's like a nearly-perfect blend of Monster Hunter and Dark Souls.
So, so many little touches that I've already run across - too numerous to list. The only thing that disappoints me is the knowledge that this game isn't going to sell nearly as well as it should.
This and Crusader Kings II will both be serious contenders for my top game of 2012.
Yeah, Sorcerers are pretty damn powerful once you get them out of their awkward lower ranks. Ultimately they get access to a third tier of elemental attacks that essentially one hit kill everything in range that isn't a boss monster, and often take out an entire bar or more on bosses depending on their elemental affinities. They do have long cast times, but you get ways of dealing with that as the game progresses. It's also the class that builds your magic attack stat the best, so it's a good choice for leveling a magic focused character (i.e., if you notice you are about to level and are near the inn it's not a bad idea to change classes for a little while).
The group I've been rolling with for quite a while (since the early 20s when I finally switch my pawn from mage to sorcerer):
Strider/Ranger (usually me, occasionally a pawn recently though)
Warrior/Fighter (usually a Warrior, since they tear sh*t up and can still take a beating)
Mage (a foreign pawn with healing skills -- High Halidom and High Anodyne, basically)
Sorcerer (my pawn, specced for murder and buffing)
Now that I have both Strider and Ranger maxed, I've been dabbling a bit. The Ranger is an absolute murderous beast at range, but having had fun with the Strider's melee skills (the Leaping Stone -> Skull Splitter combo is particularly satisfying) I tried the Assassin for a bit. Surprisingly, at least at early ranks the Assassin's melee is a bit dull (at least the dagger skills are -- I haven't tried the one hander stuff yet), so I switched to Warrior for a while to get some of their later augments which should be quite useful when I go back to Strider/Ranger/Assassin.
I do wish pawns could be the hybrid classes. Particularly, I think it would be fun to have the Mystic Knight as a tank/enchanter so my Sorcerer could carry more attack skills and less enchantments, but I don't like playing that kind of character myself -- not to mention that the way I've build my stats wouldn't be conducive to it either. Similarly, my stats totally aren't set up very well for Mystic Archer, but I'd love to play around with having one in my group.
Anyway, my biggest problem right now is that I think I've over leveled a bit. I'm now in my mid 40s and judging by the gear I'm seeing on pawns I'm hiring, I'm probably at least a tier or two of gear behind in my shops (or I haven't found a few key merchants). Well, that or maybe I screwed up more than I think on a particular quest related to merchants.
Spoilers with regards to merchants:
So the merchants I've found are as follows:
- The smithy in the town square, who stocks a range of gear
- The scrivener (the Black Cat?), who stocks golden weapons and misc crap
- The misc gear shop run by the lady you escort to the fort early in the game, who stocks magic gear and some other odds and ends
- The wandering merchant who is sometimes in town and sometimes at the camp near the Shadow Fort, who stocks rarer materials and an odd collection of mostly light armor
- The merchant who sets up in the mines once you do the quest to clear it out, who stocks mostly fighter and warrior stuff
- The merchant at the Great Wall, who also stocks mostly fighter and warrior gearAnyway, I'm hoping to find at least one more store that stocks light armor and/or mage gear since I primarily need light armor and my pawn needs mage gear.
I'm hoping that maybe the female bandit clan will run a shop once I get more friendly with them. Anyone found any other shops anywhere?
Also, I know that the stores seem to get new stock every two or three main story quests I do, but there was also a quest to give the two main shops (the smithy and the lady from the escort quest) special idols that would improve their stock, but I had already botched the chance to get them the best idol so I'm afraid I might be missing out on some useful stuff as a result of that. I got a silver idol for the smithy and a bronze for the magic shop, but I had already screwed up the quest for the gold idol (which is so easy to screw up that I wonder if they don't really intend for you to get it until a second time through on new game+).
Kind of considering nailing down my favorite class and starting over. There are quite a few things I've missed or messed up, and I'd like to build my guy (and Pawn), stat-wise, toward what he'll be eventually.
I was heading down this long spiral staircase into the bowels of the earth when a giant charged at me. I jumped at him and clung to his back, but the stairway was narrow and he ended up running off the edge. I rode him all the way to the floor. He died on impact. I did not.
That's pretty great.
Changed my mind on restarting, just gonna wing it and focus on Mystic Knight (I've come around on it, LOTS of versatility). Apparently there's a NG+ anyway.
I highly suggest taking some time to explore around. The intro part kinda propels you forward, but you can go at your pace. For instance, I made my way back to the encampment and I found a notice board quest that would have been giving me credit for killing all those lizardmen. Grrr! Also, upgrade your pawns regularlly. My epic journey across the countryside was helped immensely by the level 12 pawn I got from Fredrick_S. Later, when I found a riftstone, I dismissed him, and hired him back as a level 18 pawn.
I was heading down this long spiral staircase into the bowels of the earth when a giant charged at me. I jumped at him and clung to his back, but the stairway was narrow and he ended up running off the edge. I rode him all the way to the floor. He died on impact. I did not. :D
Nice! The first time I met that guy he stomped us, and my save was at the beginning of the dungeon. I learned then - save early, save often. Then, we attacked him again, and I think he stumbled off the edge, because he suddenly disappeared. I wasn't too disappointed.
That escort mission.. man.. by the time I got close to the end of it, it was dark and there were so many
bandits
that the guy I was escorting took a dirt nap. Pondered if I should reload, but I decided that this was the way the story went, so just pushed on.
Btw.. the lizard men that people seem to have trouble with. Here's what I do:
Let one of your pawns draw its aggro, then run behind them and chop their tails off. Once their tails are off, you can kill them easily.
It was actually my pawn who taught me that after coming back from an adventure somewhere else. This game is amazingly cool.
Aristophan... been using your pawn to great effect in my last few adventures. I believe I sent it back with a bucket. Because.. you know.. you can put things in the bucket? 
Oh, I believe I also gave it a hood. Was curious if that hood showed up in your game?
Also switched to Magic Archer instead of strider. Really powerful and fun class. The homing arrows make short work of most bad guys + not having to manage arrow inventory is really nice.
That was one issue of mine. The tail-chopping seemed to vary in effectiveness. Sometimes the tail chopped off immediately, sometimes it took a lot of work.
Man, somebody rented my pawn, and sent it back with all kinds of kitted-out gear (much nicer than I had, but not super-powered by any stretch). I wish I could figure out who did that so I could send them a thank you!
However, I plan to pass forward the favor now that I know you can equip pawns and return them with the gear you gave them.
Puffin came back last night wearing nothing but a skirt. I didn't ask.
Since I think zeroKFE is the only one further than me, I suppose this is a question for you.
I've ran long and far and come across
Bluemoon
Tower. I ran around the place, got as many treasures as I could, but my progress is stopped at the top of some stairs by one grate that is "blocked by something" and another solid door that is "shut tight." Any way around that, or do I need to progress the main story before advancing?
Fredrick_S, I'll see if I got anything tonight. Last night when I synced at an inn, my pawn had 2300 RC - a gold mine!
Last night, I also had my most frustrating quest so far. You had to chase down someone in the starting town at night. At least they gave you infinite stamina, but it still took me 3 or 4 tries. Not very epic 
Ok, I got a new escort quest to the Shadow Keep (or something like that). Old guy who can't fight? No problem - I've been there before. I killed a Chimera there for Pete's sake. Wait - why the hell are the bandits stomping me this time? I even went and made nice with the bandit guy there, but they are still hostile. This game is not letting me coast (so far).
In other news, Tom Chick posted his non-review review. Good read.
Finally, ccesarano I gave your pawn an ingonito mask. I didn't want to cover his face, but it was just so cool having a gimp by my side.
I set out for the big city last night, and en route came across a cyclops. Despite three attempts - including one battle that lasted from dusk to dawn, with my arrows backlit by the rising sun, making for a particularly cinematic effect - I could not best him. Ironically, just before meeting one-eye, I was concerned that the game was too easy.
Loving the experience more every time I play. Sleeper hit of 2012, this.
I set out for the big city last night, and en route came across a cyclops. Despite three attempts - including one battle that lasted from dusk to dawn, with my arrows backlit by the rising sun, making for a particularly cinematic effect - I could not best him.
I don't know if battle strategies are considered spoilers, but
any lightning based attacks are pretty essential in taking down Cyclopes.
Ok, I got a new escort quest to the Shadow Keep (or something like that). Old guy who can't fight? No problem - I've been there before. I killed a Chimera there for Pete's sake. Wait - why the hell are the bandits stomping me this time? I even went and made nice with the bandit guy there, but they are still hostile. This game is not letting me coast (so far).
Bandits (and harpies, and goblins, and wolves) come in different strengths, you can tell by the amount of experience you get from them. Ones close to Gran Soren give 99, ones up by the Greatwall give 400, further out are 600. Not entirely sure if large monsters operate the same, but I've definitely had some chimera fights that I dominated, like killed within a minute or two. I think that was more because my sorcerer was really PISSED.
Finally, ccesarano I gave your pawn an ingonito mask. I didn't want to cover his face, but it was just so cool having a gimp by my side. :)
I haven't been able to sit down and play for a few days now. That's going to be...interesting. Tall and buff looking mage wearing a gimp mask...frightening.
I'm going to have to add you folks to my PS3 friend list. I'm so used to the platform being a single player haven.
Also: even though I don't hate EA as much as others, I enjoyed that non-review review. Surprisingly short for a Tom Chick article, too.
Tower.
A story quest will take you there.
Time saving spoiler
Once you do the event at the top, you will find an item called a port crystal that lets you set up a second destination for your ferry stones. I would recommend setting it up just outside the Bluemoon Tower on your way out (you can't set them inside dungeons) for two reasons:
1. That place does indeed include a large amount of very nice loot (be sure to jump out onto the the outer structures if you haven't already, as there are a few hard to find chests out there). And, as do all chests, these ones will reset themselves after a few days, so the next time you are low on funds grab two ferry stones and go stock up.
2. Another quest will have you go back there and it is nice to not have to make the full journey more times than you have to.
Is there anywhere I can find a list of who is playing on the 360? I took Zero and Certis' Pawns out with me my first time. Interestingly it didn't cost me anything to take them with me. I'm Sir Rockford on 360, if anyone wants to add me.
Is there anywhere I can find a list of who is playing on the 360? I took Zero and Certis' Pawns out with me my first time. Interestingly it didn't cost me anything to take them with me. I'm Sir Rockford on 360, if anyone wants to add me.
I'm not sure since I've been ahead of everyone on my friends list, but I think you might not have to pay to use a friend's pawn, regardless of their level.
Maybe someone else can confirm?
Is there anywhere I can find a list of who is playing on the 360? I took Zero and Certis' Pawns out with me my first time. Interestingly it didn't cost me anything to take them with me. I'm Sir Rockford on 360, if anyone wants to add me.
I'll have to try to remember and see if you're on my 360 friends list; if not, I'll add ya.
Arisen's Log, May 31, Year of the Dragon
My latest experiment was a success. Fresh off my accomplishment of dressing my main pawn in a dress, I headed north to find a good locale. I had told my pawns that I was pursuing a quest, and they helpfully gave me suggestions. They defended me well when we were ambushed by bandits ... again. Finally we found the mostly abandoned stronghold. We climbed up the several fights of steps and arrived at a small landing about 40 feet from the ground. Now the moment of truth - which pawn should I pick? I finally settled on the big guy with the mask. I hefted him over my shoulder. So far so good. I walked to the edge, and threw him off. Down he fell to the ground. And then - "Help me Arisen!". Success! No matter what I do, these pawns are loyal to the end. I even found some good loot on the way down to revive him!
I had a few tactics scrolls sitting around that I couldn't use, so I sent them to folks who looked around the right level to be able to use them. If you can't, though, maybe pass them along, eh?
Also, I've picked up a few levels and some better gear for my pawn, so if you've been using her you might want to resummon her from the rift.
So I fought the dragon.
Surprise, the game isn't over yet! Quite to the contrary, sh*t seems to have just gotten real.
Added Aristophan and Frederik_S, but haven't used their pawns yet. I was delighted to find my Pawn returned to me without a gimp mask. He's also been used surprisingly frequently. I hadn't played since Sunday or Monday, and when I signed on I got about 10,000 in Rift Crystals.
The accompanying Pawns have finally stopped Leroy Jenkinsing all over the place. That was inconvenient.
So going to nab the Witch's Brew at Witchwood I noticed a fort in the distance. "Nifty!" I said, and started walking that way.
And then noticed how many bandits were scattered across the open plain.
"Maybe after a few quests" I said to myself.
I love that this game has challenges right there, where you can go at any time, and then you can die because you're just not ready.
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