Highlights

  • Dragon's Dogma 2 will feature time-limited side quests, a rare but immersive feature in today's gaming landscape.
  • With over a thousand characters and a day/night cycle, player choices in Dragon's Dogma 2 can have permanent consequences on the world.
  • Time-dependent quests in the game can result in NPC deaths or negative outcomes, adding depth and urgency to players' decision-making.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 will be picking up the mantle from the first game and putting time limits on some side quests. This is a feature that’s not often seen in gaming today but was fairly common in the past, and it may result in some people doing multiple playthroughs of Dragon’s Dogma 2 just to be able to experience most, if not all, of the quests.

The long-awaited sequel to 2012’s Dragon’s Dogma, the upcoming RPG from Capcom is due to release on March 22 and has already set itself up to be a more serious and perhaps more immersive experience than many games in the genre. There are over a thousand characters occupying the fantasy world and, like Skyrim and other “realistic” roleplaying games, NPCs in Dragon’s Dogma 2 will remain dead if something untoward happens to them. Making death permanent paradoxically is meant to make the world feel more alive, and some players may find themselves fighting to keep favorite NPCs safe.

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The class system in Dragon's Dogma 2 supports even more variety than its predecessor, and should give every player a play style they'll enjoy.

Some Dragon’s Dogma 2 Quests Are Affected by the Passage of Time

Likewise, to help the game world feel more authentic, Dragon’s Dogma 2 will feature a day/night cycle, much like its predecessor. And also like the previous game, certain quests in the sequel will be affected by the passage of time. Redditor Strange_Music shared a screenshot of a warning that appears in the game, alerting players that taking too much time to complete certain quests can “result in unintended consequences.” Unlike the first game, however, these specific quests will be marked with an hourglass icon to indicate their time-limited status.

Another user on Reddit, Direct_Hurry7264, clarified that these special quests are given by some Dragon's Dogma 2 NPCs. They will approach unbidden, requiring the player to drop whatever they’re doing to complete the mission in time. Failing to do so could result in a character’s untimely death, which will be permanent as previously mentioned, or some other possibly negative consequence.

It’s not certain if these time-dependent quests must be accepted or if they will feature the hourglass indicator when presented so that players can make an informed decision. However, the in-game warning says that “taking on multiple quests at once comes with a risk,” implying that there will be a choice. It’s also likely that the wording of said quests will provide a clue that they’ll require timely completion. Nevertheless, even though Dragon's Dogma 2 will require about 40 hours to complete the main story, the entirety of that time will not be spent free roaming with a journal full of unfinished quests. For gamers who like to grab every side quest they come across to complete at their leisure, these particular timed missions will put a damper on that practice.