Dragon’s Dogma 2 dumps you into a vast open-world where there’s too much to see and explore — and because we’ve been playing for dozens of hours, there’s a few locations we think you need to check out immediately. There are valuable treasures to loot, useful NPCs to meet, and dragons to kill with almost no effort. Here are eight awesome locations you’ll want to visit sooner rather than later.
Best Locations To Check Out First
Waterfall Cave: A spooky cave located northeast of the Borderwatch Outpost. Beware the Chimera guarding the center of the cave, but on the upper levels you’ll find a mysterious library with one very important spell. The Nation’s Death Knell spell is one of the most powerful in the game, and a required book you’ll need for a quest in the far future.
Vernworth Castle: One of the best locations to scrounge early in the game. Vernworth Castle is packed with chests to open — and valuable gear. Go during the day and you’ll be free to explore. Look behind the throne or in Sven’s Chambers in the upper area. There are multiple instances of Guard Armor and Noble Clothing to find. Noble Clothing is required for future quests, so grab it and store it early.
Diviner’s Salon: A little-visited area of Vernworth, the Diviner’s Salon is a seemingly useless NPC in the Capital city. For 50 g she’ll offer you clues for your priority quest. Some quests get mumbo-jumbo fortunes that don’t help at all. Other quests, she’ll give you exact locations and names to check first. If you’re ever stumped on a quest, it doesn’t hurt to check with the Diviner first.
The Stardrop Inn: In the nearby Merchant Quarter, we’re not actually visiting the Stardrop Inn. Outside the Inn, talk to the NPC named Mildred. She’ll give you her house for a full seven-day trial period. The house has a bed for free rests and a storage chest that’s shared with any inn location. After seven days, Mildred will return home and offer to sell the house for 20,000 g. That sounds like a lot, but the house pays for itself. As you progress the story, friendly NPCs you’ve helped will send you prizes or even stop by your house for quests.
Harve Village: The ruined village of Harve is a seemingly pointless pitstop to the west of Vernworth. You’ll need to go to this village during the main story ‘Monster Culling‘ quest, but you’ll want to stick around. Complete the ‘Scaly Invaders‘ quest that appears on your first visit, then return after a few days. Clear out the village again, then look around. In the Coastal Hut, a house marked on your map on the edge of town, you’ll find a unique NPC. Talk to him to unlock the Mystic Spearhand Advanced Vocation.
The Sacred Arbor: One of the best locations for Archers is located northwest of Vernworth. Before going, talk to the Elf in the Merchant Quarters — standing near the Blacksmith — and complete his quest. This leads to a series of quests that will permanently unlock the Sacred Arbor to outsiders and give you a chance to buy an incredibly powerful spear. Finish the quests right and you’ll even earn the respect of the Archer Maister and get the vocation’s unlockable ability.
Ibrahim’s Scrap Store: Located far west of Vernworth, the city of Checkpoint Rest Town is right on the border with the southern nation. There’s an old bandit named Ibrahim that serves some very important functions. He’ll collect lost items you’ve dropped and create forgeries of items for you. Most forgeries are perfect duplicates, so you can make new weapons, armor sets, or anything. It’s most useful for making copies of keys or solving quests in unique ways. Experiment and you can do some really fun tricks with forgery!
Ancient Battleground: The spooky ruins of a castle are located north of Checkpoint Rest Town, and this is where you can kill your first Dragon. Dragons are powerful opponents that drop Wakestones when they’re killed — and the Ancient Battleground makes killing one easy. This area is also packed with useful gear like the Black Matter Hammer. Delve even deeper and you’ll find major secrets we won’t spoil here.
There’s so much more to explore! But we’re only listed areas in the north of the map. The deserts are also full of mysteries you’ll want to solve — and you’ll definitely want to explore deeper into the Ancient Battleground. That’s a massive surprise hiding in those mountains.
