Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen brings major changes to gameplay, loot and more

Capcom has revealed new details for Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen. In a recent interview with Automaton, director Kento Kinoshita and producer Naoto Oyama outlined the scale of the DLC, confirming a massive new region to explore, expanded progression systems and dozens of hours of fresh content.

The expansion centres on Norgan, a significantly larger area than Bitterblack Isle from the original Dark Arisen expansion in Dragon's Dogma 1. Players are recommended to reach level 40 before taking on the new DLC content, which runs for around 15–20 hours, but early dungeons in the region will be accessible from level 20. Norgan will also introduce new enemy types that Capcom has yet to reveal, alongside harsher environmental conditions such as stronger blizzards at higher elevations.

Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen adds 12 new dungeons, plus a set of replayable “Lost Rites” dungeons, giving players new ways to obtain powerful gear. Progression in the DLC revolves around collecting Relics, which can be used to unlock new skills. The loot chase has also changed here, with new equipment in Norgan dropping with randomly assigned skills, so you'll need to do some farming to find your ideal armour and weapon sets.

Combat and build variety are also being expanded. Each vocation will receive new skills, and the skill loadout has been increased from four slots to six. Capcom has also rebalanced enemy encounter rates, addressing one of the most common complaints from the base game.

A number of quality‑of‑life improvements are included too, such as Eternal Ferrystones and other traversal updates designed to make it easier for new players to get around. Transmog is also being added, allowing players to freely change their appearance without affecting stats. Capcom says a Hard Mode is under consideration for those that prefer an increased challenge.

For existing players, Dark Arisen will be available as a standalone purchase, while newcomers to the game will be able to pick up the Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen Edition, which bundles the base game and expansion together.

KitGuru says: I've held off on Dragon's Dogma 2 since launch because I had a good feeling that an expansion like this would be coming. I'm excited to finally be able to jump in once this drops in October. 

Become a Patron!