Highlights

  • Dragon's Dogma 2 elevates its open-world experience with a vast, rewarding world requiring exploration on foot.
  • Limitations on fast travel, deceptive oxcarts, and strict fall damage mechanics encourage thorough exploration.
  • Capcom's strategic design choices in Dragon's Dogma 2 emphasize the value of fully immersing in its expansive world.

Capcom's Dragon's Dogma 2 takes the open world of its predecessor and not only increases it in size but also maintains the same sense of discovery that came with it. The first game was praised for the way it handled its open world, and now Dragon's Dogma 2 has upped the ante with an even more rewarding world full of secrets and valuable items to uncover. However, despite the considerable size of Dragon's Dogma 2's world, it doesn't want its players to take any measures to cut corners; it wants to be explored.

At the end of the day, Dragon's Dogma 2's open world is meant to be explored on foot. There are no mounts, there are few traversal skills only accessible by certain vocations, fast travel requires the use of a very rare resource, and the game guarantees its players are punished for attempting shortcuts at any time — even those it readily provides. This is all a part of Capcom's plan, of course, to show off the fantastical open world of Dragon's Dogma 2 and ensure not one inch of it is taken for granted. Dragon's Dogma 2's recent microtransaction debacle aside, its system for cracking down on those who would prefer to disregard its open world as opposed to making it an essential and enjoyable part of their journey is highly effective.

Player riding a Griffin in Dragon's Dogma 2
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Simply by mistaking the Warfarer vocation's name for something else, the need for a Wayfarer class in Dragon's Dogma 2 becomes all the clearer.

Dragon's Dogma 2's Shortcuts Aren't Without Punishment

Dragon's Dogma 2's Fast Travel Is Costly

Ahead of Dragon's Dogma 2's release, Capcom disclosed that its decision to limit fast travel was to encourage exploration, and it certainly does that. A debate has surrounded this decision and whether Capcom ultimately went this route to encourage players to spend real money on its microtransactions, but since the purchasable Ferrystones that Dragon's Dogma 2's fast travel requires are entirely obtainable in-game, there remains an argument in support of both sides.

Nevertheless, Ferrystones are rare and expensive in-game, which speaks to Dragon's Dogma 2 's desire to place limitations on those who would attempt to ignore the beauty of its world.

Dragon's Dogma 2's Oxcarts Are Often Misleading

One of Dragon's Dogma 2's more ironic statements is that oxcarts are a safe way to get around in its world. For the most part, that can't be further from the truth. Oxcarts can certainly prove useful for quickly getting from one point to another, as players simply need to pay the driver 100 gold and then jump in the cart and doze off until they arrive.

That said, more often than not, what might have been a relaxing oxcart ride from one location to the next is interrupted by an unexpected monster attack. For some reason, Dragon's Dogma 2's monsters are attracted to oxcarts and will very frequently ambush them during their travels.

Dragon's Dogma 2's Fall Damage Is Unforgiving

Fall damage is another mechanic in Dragon's Dogma 2 that has been known to discourage players from attempting shortcuts. Many other modern open-world RPGs allow players to leap from great heights to reach the ground below, but not Dragon's Dogma 2.

Here, if players attempt to jump from a height that is even the slightest bit too much, they will instantly kill their character and be forced to reload their game using Dragon's Dogma 2's infamous save system. Platforming isn't meant to be a mechanic in Dragon's Dogma 2, so players shouldn't attempt it. It's always more worth it to take the long way around, no matter how tedious.

Dragon's Dogma 2's World is Worth Exploring at a Snail's Pace

Dragon's Dogma 2's open world is vast and beautiful, filled with plenty of secrets, valuable treasures, and satisfying monster encounters. As such, it makes use of every opportunity it has to ensure it captures and retains its players' attention, whether it be by limiting fast travel, making oxcart rides more dangerous, or simply through its touchy fall damage mechanics. Thankfully, exploring its open world on foot is often a worthwhile endeavor.