Challenge Pack: A Trial for Adventurers

Challenge Pack: A Trial for Adventurers was a free DLC pack containing Speedrun Mode and Hard Mode and was available as downloadable content items only for Dragon's Dogma. It was released on December 4, 2012.

'''The DLC is no longer available to download from the XBOX LIVE marketplace or the PSN Store due to the fact that the DLC can corrupt any Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen save-game when installed. Please see Notes section below for more information.'''



Description
''Seasoned Arisens! Experience the next level of adventure with two new modes: Speedrun Mode and Hard Mode.''

Content
This pack adds two new modes to the game and adds an "Extra" option in the Main Menu screen.

Speedrun Mode can be selected only by selecting "Extras" in the first menu screen and then selecting "Speedrun Mode".

Hard Mode can be selected in two ways:
 * By starting a new game by selecting "New Game" from the main menu and selecting Hard Mode. Please note that this will remove any active play-through ! The storyline will restart from the beginning, just as with New Game Plus.
 * By loading an active game and selecting Hard Mode from the options menu. Please note that this will quit the active play-through and start a new game. Items, Levels and such are carried over effectively creating a form of New Game Plus. Note that all other benefits of New Game+ are not generated if the player has not qualified for them. (i.e. finishing post game main quest). It may be advisable to finish the current playthrough (face the Seneschal) before initiating Hard Mode so that the player's current efforts and time are not put to waste.

Speedrun Mode
Overview

Speed Run Mode is one of the two feature modes available.

In Speed Run Mode, players race against the clock to get the fastest time possible to beat the game. There is no extra reward for breaking the record time. The player is apparently awarded the two outfits for simply completing Speed Run Mode (facing the Seneschal), regardless of their final completion time.



Beating speed mode under a certain (undetermined) time limit earns two rewards, a Forest Tunic Set and a Set of Caretaker's Garb (pictured above). The player is apparently awarded the two outfits for simply completing Speed Run Mode (facing the Seneschal), regardless of their final completion time.
 * The player cannot save during Speed Run Mode. Speed Run Mode must be completed in a single session, although the game may be paused.
 * All accumulated inventory from the main game is available, including items, Gold, Ferrystones, Portcrystals, etc.
 * The Arisen and Main Pawn's level, stats, and skills are carried over from the main game.
 * There is a timer on the right side of the screen that counts up when the player is in control of the Arisen. The timer stops during pauses, cutscenes, when the player is in the inventory menu, and in the Rift Stone.
 * The player cannot access online pawns, only the prebuilt offline Capcom pawns may be hired.
 * Difficulty is set to normal and cannot be changed for the duration of the Speed Run.Selene.jpg
 * It is advisable to turn off tutorials in the start menu as they will all reset in Speed Run Mode. The tutorials interfere with the playing process.
 * Speed Run is completed in a self-contained world. None of the items the player obtains or uses during Speed Run Mode is carried back to the Main Game when Speed Run is completed.  No experience points, discipline points, levels gained, or Gold earned during Speed Run will be brought back over to the Main Game either. Any Gold spent during Speed Run is not deducted from the player's Main Game Gold.
 * Once the Speed Run is complete, the Main Game save file will be overwritten to grant the rewards (a Forest Tunic Set and a Set of Caretaker's Garb). A Hard Mode save file will be overwritten with a Normal mode save file, so the player will need to manually restart in Hard Mode if the Hard dificulty is desired.


 * Shortest time completed: 16m : 04s
 * Longest time completed: 120m : 00s (with the 2 outfits still awarded) (Verify)

Speed Run Mode Rewards Speed Run Mode grants the following rewards upon completion:
 * Forest Tunic Set (female outfit)
 * Set of Caretaker's Garb (male outfit)

Speed Run Mode Tips

The tips below provide suggestions to complete the speed run in under an hour. Major spoilers are displayed in the content : 
 * The fastest documented time is 16 minutes and 4 seconds . For more information and a video of this record Speedrun, please refer to Dragon's Dogma Speedrun Route 2.0 blog page.
 * Make sure everything is prepared in the main save file, anything that is currently in the save file will be transferred to the speed mode as is, except the current inventory, that will be treated as a normal New Game Plus and will be needed to pick up from the storage.
 * Before beginning, it would be very useful to have these items in inventory (but not required) : 21 Wakestones, 11 Ferrystones, a Wyrmking's Ring Forgery, 5 Altar Slates (pre-duplicated from Montebank if the player chooses the Watergod's Altar quest instead of A Fortress Besieged), approximately 20 Conqueror's Periapts (to help quickly end the 9 mandatory battles), and 1 Skeleton Key (getting thrown into jail in Gran Soren is a shortcut to visit Aldous).
 * Before beginning, make sure Portcrystals are placed in all the key story locations. For this Speedrun place them at Hillfigure Knoll (for The Cypher quest), The Shadow Fort (if the player chooses A Fortress Besieged instead of the Watergod's Altar quest), the Bluemoon Tower (in case the player is unable to kill the Griffin during the first encounter), the Windbluff Tower (for Pride Before a Fall), the southern Waycastle (for Honor and Treachery), and the Greatwall Encampment (for Deny Salvation).
 * Recommended vocation : Strider
 * Useful augments : Athleticism, Clout, Vehemence, Eminence
 * Useful skills : Mad Dash, Brain Splitter, Instant Reset, Fivefold Flurry
 * Be rude ! Affinity does not matter here, so ignore most NPC's like Reynard, Aelinore, Madeleine, etc. The player only needs to (proactively seek to) speak with twelve different characters for the Speedrun : Ecbal (at the encampment, to retrieve equipment), Mercedes (for quest progression), Asalam (at the Gran Soren Inn), Ser Camillus (guarding the Pawn Guild), Barnaby (at the Pawn Guild), Ser Maximilian (for the Wyrm Hunt quests), The Dragonforged, Ser Robert or Haslett (at either The Shadow Fort or Watergod's Altar), Aldous (for the Royal Orders quests), Ser Georg (to begin the Griffin hunt), the Duke, and Quince (to hand over the 20 Wakestones).
 * Be wasteful ! Items used and Gold spent during the Speedrun will NOT be deducted from the main save file's REAL inventory. No data is carried back over to the New Game Plus or Hard Mode except the two reward outfits and the personal time of Speedrun completion.  So feel free to burn through expensive Blast Arrows, Vivifying Incense, Tagilus's Miracles, Kept Sour Ambrosial Meats or whatever is needed.
 * Be a coward ! Only nine battles are mandatory, so run past all enemies. The player must only slay 1 Cyclops, 1 Hydra, 1 Griffin, 1 Cockatrice, 1 Chimera, 2 Wights, 1 Gorechimera, The Dragon, and the Seneschal.  The Gorechimera may be lured onto the pressure plates in the Greatwall battle prior to facing The Dragon, bypassing the need to slay it (and thereby saving time).
 * Begin the game, following as normal. Make sure you kick the ox to make it move as fast as you can; a cheap way to do this is kick it while facing it, so you get knocked over it, then make your pawns heal you and get the ox healed in the process to ensure a smooth ride.
 * On your first visit to The Everfall for the quest, grab a wakestone and jump from the top, die and use a Wakestone. It saves about 3 minutes instead of running down through the Pawn Guild.
 * During the Wyrmhunt quests, pick "Decipher a text" (The Cypher, the first quest on the list) and "Rout a monster infestation" (A Fortress Besieged, the second quest on the list). Immediately teleport directly to Hillfigure Knoll and speak to The Dragonforged to easily complete the first quest. Then immediately teleport to The Shadow Fort to begin A Fortress Besieged (the second quest).  Simply run underground, ignore ALL the enemies, grab the lever in the middle "jail" section of the fort, run back up the staircase & open the main gate, and then DO NOTHING ELSE to help the Gran Soren soldiers. Simply wait until Ser Robert (the Fort captain) is slain by the Goblins, the quest will fail & you're outta there. Report back to Ser Maximilian in Gran Soren.  Skip the other two Wyrmhunt quests.
 * In Griffin's Bane it is possible to kill the griffin before it flies off, however its a bit tricky. Setting its wings on fire seems to help matters a lot as it can't fly off fast.
 * Sleep through Trials and Tribulations. Make sure the Maker's Finger is obtained prior to that; it would be optimum to possess it from the start to save time.
 * The Wyrmking's Ring quest can be bypassed completely by having an original or forged copy of it in the inventory and giving it right away.
 * The Pride Before a Fall duel can be cut short by entering the building during the duel, saving time.
 * If possible, using the Maker's Finger on The Dragon shaves a lot of time when you enter the second stage, just after he chases you through a long corridor but before he flies off. It can also be used earlier, when he presents you with the choice between him and your beloved.
 * During Post-Game, teleport to the city, grab 20 Wakestones, ignore anything else and just go right to the final quest. Unfortunately there isn't much you can rush here; the fights will drag on till the scripted dialog is finished even if you take away all the HP. The walking through section can be sped up a bit by using the dagger dash, as it doesn't seem to be affected by the walking slowdown you receive.
 * Large Mushrooms are your best friend; buy lots and lots as they are pretty light weight for their stamina restoration and cheap. Sprint should be active at all times for optimum speed.
 * Pick pawns very carefully, as they are limited to the offline ones. Picking a mage with holy and/or fire will help to speed up the game process.
 * About 20 ferrystones should be purchased before hand.
 * Make sure to have a couple Secret Softeners for the Cockatrice fight, as waiting to get petrified and using a Wakestone consumes about one minute.
 * Attention to small things should be given. A lot of small mistakes will stack up to several minutes in the long run.

Hard Mode
Overview

Hard Mode is the other feature mode available.

Switching modes from Easy/Normal will restart the game from the beginning of the story, but with all current progress (levels & equipment) intact. This is to prevent players from nearly completing the game in Easy/Normal mode, then switching to Hard mode at the final battles against The Dragon and Seneschal. To get the Hard mode rewards, the ENTIRE storyline must be completed entirely in Hard mode.

However, if a player attempts Hard mode and wishes to switch back to Easy/Normal mid-game, the storyline will continue at that same point (no restart back to the beginning of the story). The player cannot switch back to Hard mode without restarting from the beginning. Changing to Hard mode will ALWAYS restart from the story beginning, with current levels & equipment intact.

In Hard Mode, players take more damage and add an increase in stamina usage, hence the name Hard Mode. Pawns are unaffected by increases in damage and take damage and stamina drain as they would in Normal Mode.
 * All New Game Plus data from Easy/Normal Mode is safely transferred to begin a new game in Hard Mode. All accumulated inventory, equipment, levels, experience, Gold, Rift Crystals, and skills of the Arisen and Main Pawn are retained.
 * Gold drop rates are significantly increased in the open world and dungeons of Gransys (Bitterblack Isle gold drops appear unchanged from Normal Mode). Even basic enemies like Goblins, Bandits, Undead, Saurians and Wolves will randomly drop one or two Giant Coin Pouches worth 10,000 Gold each.  This is mostly noticeable when travelling the open world at night where there are higher big Gold drop chances.  Slaying mundane creatures like Rabbits, Rats, Oxen, Deer Spiders and Boars will NOT drop Gold.
 * Random Rift Crystal drops (even with the Fortune augment) seem to be nullified in favor of Gold drops instead.
 * Experience gain is increased x 1.7 times that of Normal Mode for slain enemies (Goblins = 110 XP, Rabbits = 17 XP, Saurians = 691 XP, etc). Quest experience point rewards are the same as Normal Mode.
 * Discipline point gain (for vocation leveling) is increased by 2x (double that of Normal Mode). The amount of discipline points earned depends on the number of pawns in the party, pawn levels and/or items that boosts discipline points gains such as the Ring of Perseverance and Asura Armor.012831.jpg
 * Damage sustained by the Arisen and pawns is approximately double that of Normal Mode.
 * Stamina drain from skill usage and spellcasting is approximately double that of Normal Mode. Stamina drain from running is slightly increased as well.
 * Enemy stagger and knockdown resistance is dramatically increased.
 * Enemy health is unchanged.
 * Enemy intelligence and behavior (A.I.) is unchanged.
 * There are no difficulty differences for either the online or offline Ur-Dragon. Entering the Chamber will make the difficulty normal mode, netting the same rewards as Normal and Easy mode.  Difficulty then reverts to the player's selected setting upon leaving the Chamber of Lament.

Hard Mode Tips

 * Stamina exhaustion can be a problem due to the higher rate of Stamina drain in Hard Mode. The augments Athleticism, Proficiency (for skill use), Conservation (for spellcasting), and Arm-Strength can be indispensible.
 * Carry at least 5 Stamina curatives at all times (like Large Mushrooms, Kept Ambrosial Meat, Kept Giant Fish, Mushroom Potage or Staminal Drench) to avoid being left vulnerable from stamina exhaustion.
 * If possible, wearing Lv.3 Bitterblack gauntlets with the bonus "Restores stamina when you deliver the killing blow to an enemy" will help address stamina loss.
 * To save additional stamina, use continuous dodge rolls to travel short distances instead of running. Spamming the dodge roll will cover the same distance at the same speed as running, but with zero stamina loss.
 * Dying can be a problem due to the higher rate of damage sustained in Hard Mode. The augments Sanctuary and Predation can save a lot of Wakestones.
 * Carry at least 5 major health curatives at all times (like Wakestones, Lordly Tonic, Vivifying Incense, Auspicious Incense, or Kingwarish) and save the game frequently !
 * If possible, wear Lv.3 Bitterblack leg armor with the bonus "Increases maximum item carrying capacity" to help carry the extra curatives necessary for survival.
 * Exercise skill discipline ! Skill-spamming is foolhardy in Hard Mode. Before using a skill, be sure not to miss ! For example with Fivefold Flurry / Tenfold Flurry, stand still and be sure to fire accurately as stamina will exhaust twice as quickly as Normal Mode.
 * Employ more blocks and dodge rolls in Hard Mode, as even regular Chimeras can be surprisingly powerful.

=== Hard Mode Rewards === Hard Mode grants the following rewards upon completion: 
 * Abyssinal Outfit
 * Rewarded after completing the quest; The Final Battle
 * Set of Duke's Clothing
 * Rewarded after completing the quest; The Great Hereafter