Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- #1: Reunion With Rook
- #2: The Jail Skeleton Key
- #3: Old Enemies Return In Jail
- #4: Riding Griffins And Crossing Cyclops
- #5: Reach New Areas With Catapults
- #6: Taking NPCs Where They Need To Go
- #7: The Illegal Liqueur Trade
- #8: Petrify Anything With a Medusa’s Head
- #9: Or Turn The Tables With a Mirror Shield
- #10: More Enhancements Await In New Game+
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is one of the strangest games of 2024 — this open-world RPG is packed with weird features that make it extremely hostile to players, throwing you straight into a dangerous fantasy land and barely explaining some of its core features. There are so many strange details in this game and we want to talk about them all. Here’s everything crazy we’ve discovered so far that you didn’t know you could do — and we didn’t know either until we played the game way too much.
#1: Reunion With Rook
At the start of the game, you’ll meet Rook. This is the first Pawn on your journey and he’ll help you escape the pits of the excavation site. On your way to the starting town of Melve, Rook will die in a cutscene. But as we know, Pawns don’t stay dead. You can actually reacquire this early helper much later in the game at the Riftstone outside the Dragonforged Shrine. The unique Riftstone gives you access to all the Pawns you’ve previously summoned and Rook counts.
There are more unique Riftstones. One in Harve Village only summons Pawns that are the solution to a tricky riddle. There are many more unique Pawns to find, but we’ll have to keep searching. A reunion with Rook was one secret we never expected.
#2: The Jail Skeleton Key
Early in the game, Captain Brant will send you on a main story quest to free an imprisoned Magistrate. He’ll give you a special item called the Gaol Key which you can use to access the dungeon in Vernworth Castle. This key unlocks every door in the jail, but it unlocks way more than that.
The Gaol Key also unlocks all the doors in the Battahl Jail. It even works on other castles with locked cell doors — the submerged castle is one location the Gaol Key will unlock doors. The key works everywhere! And you can copy it at Ibrahim’s Shop in the Checkpoint Rest Town. Make a forgery of the Gaol Key while completing the ‘Caged Magistrate’ quest and you’ll be able to keep the copy permanently for all your prison escape needs.
#3: Old Enemies Return In Jail
Here’s another fun little detail we only just noticed. If you capture a villain and get them arrested during the events of a quest, that character will appear in their local jail. You can break in and talk to them — they’ll have unique dialogue and can even reveal hints for future quests. One of the earliest NPCs you can arrest is Elena at the Gracious Hands. If you get all the evidence to arrest her for experimenting on the Slums, you’ll find her cooling her heels in the dungeon. She’ll even go on a rant about how the poor don’t matter. She can also be used to get clues for later quests.
Another NPC is the would-be assassin of the Empress in Battahl. If you capture the assassin before he strikes, you can pay him in the dungeons to learn more about who hired him and why. There are more interactions just like this, and they’re all worth checking out for inquisitive players.
#4: Riding Griffins And Crossing Cyclops
Giant monsters aren’t just big creatures you hunt. You can also use them to fly to far-away places or cross busted bridges. The giant flying Griffins are perfect for this — mid-battle, they’ll usually fly back to their nests. Instead of chasing them down, you can grab onto their backs and ride them. You’ll want to bring Stamina healing items or you can be thrown off from a hundred yards up. You won’t survive that fall. The Griffin nests are also packed with items to take, so they’re worth tracking down.
And even more rarely, you can knock over a clumsy Cyclops and create a bridge. Knocking over the Cyclops near a crevasse that’s just about their size causes them to grab both sides and balance. You can walk across or attack them to drop them into the briny deep below.
#5: Reach New Areas With Catapults
You probably already know that that giant ballista in towers can be used to shoot down Griffins or Dragons, but you might not know about catapults. Old catapults are located near the Ancient Battleground and they’re actually usable — if you pick up boulders and place them in the catapult sling, they’ll launch and smash giant rock barriers. This is the only way to break through rock barriers, so look for these tools often.
And if you didn’t know about the giant ballista, you need to wait for your Pawns to help you. The giant ballista can only function if three characters are using it at the same time. There are two extra cranks your Pawns can take control of while you’re aiming.
#6: Taking NPCs Where They Need To Go
Sometimes you’ll get quests to escort NPCs to far locations on the map — these Escort Quests are really only for earning friendship points, so you can safely skip them — but sometimes you’ll get real quests where escorting an NPC gets tough. Helping an NPC escape from jail or trying to avoid a monster attack can be particularly challenging. If you want to skip all that, you can portal while carrying an NPC.
When you grab an NPC and throw them over your shoulder, you can still use a Ferrystone. This is crucially important knowledge for solving Sphinx riddles. We had no idea. But NPCs will teleport along with you, as long as you’re carrying them on your shoulder.
#7: The Illegal Liqueur Trade
One of the weirdest secrets in Battahl requires a Beastren. One of the rarest items in the game is Newt Liqueur — an illegal commodity you can only get from a secret seller in the capital of Battahl. Even carrying this stuff around can get you attacked by guards. And the best way to find more is the Black Market.
To access the Black Market, you need to be a Beastren. Luckily there’s a way to disguise yourself — Ibrahim’s Scrap Store in Checkpoint Rest Town sells a mask that will perfectly disguise you. Next, go to Higg’s Tavern Stand in the Residential Quarter. Outside the tavern, look for bails to the left near a wooden enclosure. Pick up a bundle and place it in the enclosure.
The lookout will take you to see the Newt Liqueur vendor. Don’t take off your mask when buying, or the place will get raided by Battahl guards and you’ll get stuck in jail.
#8: Petrify Anything With a Medusa’s Head
The Medusa is a unique monster that spawns in the south of Battahl — you’ll only find her in a spooky ruin in a grassy jungle area to the west, when travelling through the southern canyon. Her cave is marked by stone statues. And true to her legend, the Medusa can petrify you with a stare. Actually getting a good head is the tricky part. Simply killing the Medusa will drop a poor quality head that will turn to dust almost immediately.
To get a Pristine Medusa Head that can petrify enemies, you’ll need to stun the Medusa by attacking the head only. Once she’s on the ground, you can perform a special instakill that severs her head instantly. If she still has two or more health bars left, you’ll earn the best quality head. Equip the head like a lantern and brandish it to petrify literally anything.
#9: Or Turn The Tables With a Mirror Shield
Our favorite secret we’ve found so far is the Daughter of the Evening Shield. By raiding the vault underneath Vernworth Castle, you can acquire a unique mirrored shield. This shield has the power to reflect the petrifying stare of the Medusa back at her, turning her to stone in a few seconds. Turning her to stone unlocks the ‘An Eye for an Eye’ trophy. We just love an ironic defeat that’s straight out of Clash of the Titans.
To get the shield, you’ll need to raid the ruined castle at the Abandoned Battleground to the east of Checkpoint Rest Town. Deep inside the castle you’ll find a chest that contains the vault key. You’ll find the Vernworth Castle Vault down the hall from the Dining Room. It’s easy to miss but worth it — and it’s packed with even more treasure you won’t want to miss.
#10: More Enhancements Await In New Game+
After completing your first run of the story, you can restart with all your gear and your level intact. You can import your previous characters and get started much faster. While almost everything is exactly the same on your second run, there is a major difference — and it’s located at the Bay Wayside Shrine. The Dragonforged on the coast north of Bakbattahl has a bunch of new upgrades for players to use.
By spending Wyrmslife Crystals, you can select new Boons to earn more experience, bond with characters faster, or level up your vocations. You can also reset enhancements on equipment, improve vocations and improve skills. When a skill is improved it costs half the stamina to use in combat, but only one skill can be improved at a time. All of these upgrades make maxing out your character completely so much easier. We had no idea there were any new features in New Game Plus, so this was a big surprise.
And that’s 10 little secrets that are ridiculously easy to miss. We’re sure there are many more tiny details still left to be discovered, and we’ll be back with even more in the future. Here’s to another hundred hours of digging deep into Dragon’s Dogma 2.
