Fall damage in Dragon's Dogma 2 is pretty brutal, much more so than it was in the first game. Overall this game is pretty rough when it comes to difficulty, but this sequel has even fewer options players can use to mitigate fall damage overall. This can make climbing even a small hill pretty scary because getting down from it can actually be a death sentence if you're not careful. And, this isn't even getting into the major risk that is platforming with specific Vocations like Mage, Sorcerer, or Thief.

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So, before too many people cause their Arisen to become nothing more than a bloody puddle on the ground, let's go over exactly how people can mitigate or avoid fall damage entirety in Dragon's Dogma 2.

First Method

Let Your Pawns Catch You In Their Arms

This is the primary 'new' method for avoiding fall damage in Dragon's Dogma 2 and it's a fantastic one. Well, to be more specific, this mechanic did actually exist in the first Dragon's Dogma game too, but the frequency at which it occurred was exponentially less. Additionally, it seemed like your character's size compared to your Pawn's size also played a part in it, while in DD2 there aren't nearly as many restrictions to this mechanic. To elaborate on what exactly this method is a bit more, if you fall directly onto one of your Pawns, regardless of the height, they can catch you and negate all fall damage entirely.

There's already been a bit of misinformation about this method, as some people seem to think that your Arisen's size or the Pawn's size matters for them catching you, as it seems like it did in the first game, but thankfully it doesn't seem to in DD2. Thankfully, Pawns also seem to try and position themselves to catch you a lot more in this game, though that doesn't mean they'll do it every time. Try to rely on this mechanic too much, and you'll very likely fall to your demise while the oddly calm Pawn you were expecting to catch you just stares off into the distance over your dead body.

Second Method

The Fighter Vocation's Steeled Foundation

The second method for avoiding or mitigating fall damage is only available if you have the Fighter Vocation equipped. After just a few levels in the Fighter Vocation, you'll unlock the ability to purchase the Core Skill called Steeled Foundation. This Core Skill gives Fighters the innate ability to moderately reduce fall damage by holding the block input while they're falling. If done correctly, you'll end up landing on your shield, using it as a 'cushion' of sorts as if you're the metaphorical Captain America of this medieval fantasy world.

While this doesn't completely negate fall damage (you'll still take quite a bit of damage, or die, from big falls), it does make jumping off small cliffs or even rooftops a lot less deadly, and it reduces the amount of time it takes to get up and get moving again as well.

Third Method

Just Ride A Large Monster Safely Down To The Ground

This last method is incredibly difficult to reliably test, and it seems to be a bit sporadic with how it works based on the actual monster itself, so take it with a grain of salt. This last method involves knocking any monster the Arisen can actually climb onto off of a cliff and then 'riding' the monster down.

So, knock the monster off balance, push them, and then quickly grab on before they topple off. If done correctly and you're not on the side landing face down, this should negate the fall damage. However, 99 percent of the time players won't be able to pull this off intentionally and it'll just happen to them during the chaos of a frantic battle. In general, this method most commonly comes in handy when on the back of a Griffin that's flying back to its nest. If you decide you don't want to go all the way back to its nest, you can try and attack the Griffin while on its back enough to knock it out of the sky. Then, as it starts to fall, grab onto its back again, and most of the time you should survive with no damage taken when this massive winged beast hits the ground.

Methods That Don't Work

Even If It 'Feels' Like They Should

Finally, let's briefly go over a few of the things that you might assume would work or that worked in Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen, but don't work anymore. First off is the Levitate ability Mages and Sorcerers get in Dragon's Dogma 2. While this is great for platforming, crossing gaps, or keeping out of reach of smaller enemies while fighting it does nothing for fall damage. This may surprise some of you, as you might've thought that something like an ability to float in mid-air would be great for negating fall damage. Sadly, it just doesn't work that way in this game nor did it work like this in the first game.

Second is the Thief Vocation's Helm Splitter Skill. In the first Dragon's Dogma game, this Skill did negate all fall damage, whether Capcom intended for it to or not. And, it looked absolutely ridiculous when the Arisen would jump off a cliff, do 100+ front flips, and then land on the ground completely unharmed. Sadly, in DD2 this is no longer the case, and Thieves will now splat on the ground at the end of their Helm Splitter animation just like anyone else.

Dragon's Dogma 2

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

March 22, 2024

Developer(s)

Capcom

Genre(s)

Action RPG

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