User talk:Halibel2015

Hello, Halibel !

I'm very happy for you that you're just starting out this awesome game.

I've been playing DD for two solid years and I've contributed to a lot of the articles and 99% of the videos here.

If you have any questions or just want to talk about Dragon's Dogma, feel free to message me at any time.

I'm happy to help out friendly newcomers.

JonGGonzales1 aka SphericalMass49 (talk) 22:14, February 5, 2016 (UTC)

Hello Halibel,

Having peopel rent your pawn is difficult because there are THOUSANDS of pawns out there.

If you have any friends that play DD, get them to rent your pawns.

In order to earn Rift Crystals quickly, I actually started 4 accounts and custom-built my entire party up to level 200, one at a time.

By hiring my own pawns, I earn a LOT of Rift crystals (more than I'll ever need) and built their bestiary knowledge quickly as well.

You'll find that experienced pawns fight better than new pawns.

There are communities the Gamefaqs board that you can try here :

www.gamefaqs.com/boards/626514-dragons-dogma

Good luck !

- JonGGonzales1 aka SphericalMass49 (talk) 00:02, February 7, 2016 (UTC)

LOL, Halibel. Honestly, How old are you ?

I've been watching you ask all kinds of crazy questions on the Wiki (questions I've never heard anyone ask before).

It's like you've never played an RPG before. It's OK if you haven't, I just rarely see such players.

Every question I've seen you ask is already written in this Wiki, which has been around since 2012.

Any question you have has probably been adressed already if you'd take the time to read the appropriate page.

But here are some answers for you :

1. No, pawns do not leave your party unless they die by falling off a cliff, falling into the Brine, or get hit with Death's scythe attack.

If a pawn's health points fall to 0 during a battle, they will fall "unconscious" and need to be revived by you. If you don't revive them, they'll disappear from your party and you'll have to re-hire them within the Rift Stone.

2. Pawns are free to hire if they are at your level or lower. But pawns that are ata higher level than you cost Rift Crystals to hire. It's a one time fee, unless they die or if you dismiss them from your party.

Pawns never leave on their own.

You can bypass the Rift Crystal cost by "Friending" the owners of high level pawns.

I'd be happy to "friend" you and let you use any of my four level 200 pawns for free, but I'm on XBox and I think you're playing on PC. That means you can't use my pawns, unfortunately.

I don't recommend that you EVER pay Rift Crystals to hire a pawn.

Just level up as fast as you can so you can hire higher level pawns for free.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

-JonGGonzales1 aka SphericalMass49 (talk) 20:24, February 7, 2016 (UTC)

Hi Halibel,

It's great to hear that you're an old school gamer like me.

I'm 40 and I grew up on the Atari 2600 back in the early 80's, LOL.

You seem like a nice guy and all, so I hope my message didn't come across as unfriendly because I like having new people like you here.

For the longest time, the Wiki was only filled with jaded veterans and we had nothing new to talk about.

Welcome to the conversation.

- JonGGonzales1 aka SphericalMass49 (talk) 06:25, February 8, 2016 (UTC)

Hey Halibel,

I've been on this Wiki for more than two years now, and I've contributed quite a bit.

There are many new players here and I'm glad there is renewed interest in my favorite game.

Things are pretty civil here but I'm amazed by the simplistic way most people seem to play the game, with little appreciatiation for the complexities of the combat system.

I try to elevate the strategic conversation by contributing to articles and even making specific VIDEOS to help people, but few players take the time to study the videos I produce or even READ the damn articles I'd spent hours co-writing.

Many contributors like me have figuratively "emptied my brain" trying to think of ANY new ideas that could help newer players and added them to the articles.

Heck, right now I'm filming a video series on the "Perfect Block" page which are only getting about 3 views per day each.

They take a lot of time to film and very few players care enough to master this important technique.

If you can think of any video ideas  that might help you, feel free to drop me a line.

- JonGGonzales1 aka SphericalMass49 (talk) 18:59, February 8, 2016 (UTC)

OK, here are your answers :

1. The book is lying on a rooftop in Cassardis slightly downhil from the church.

2. The Flowers in Bloom quest is totally unimportant, so don't worry about it.

3. When you get a quest, remember that you can read this Wiki before you attempt the quest (if you don't mind spoilers).

4. You can only level up your Arisen and Main Pawn. Hired pawns CANNOT be leveled up.

So whenever you level up, you can enter a Rift Stone and hire different pawns with higher levels that match your Arisen and Main Pawn. Or not. It's up to you.

JonGGonzales1 aka SphericalMass49 (talk) 04:53, February 9, 2016 (UTC)

Fighting Chimeras and Cyclops in the open world of Gransys is a common random quest you will get A LOT, and you fail it if you run away.

There is no consequence to failing these quests, so don't worry about it.

You will do them repeatedly throughout the game.

Halibel, there are very few mistakes that have any consequnces to the game's storyline and this is not one of them.

I'll tell you an important thing to know about Dragon's Dogma :

YOU WILL REPEAT ALL THESE QUESTS OVER AND OVER AGAIN, CARRYING OVER ALL YOUR LOOT AND WEAPONS FROM ONE NEW GAME INTO THE NEXT.

I've beaten (with the same Arisen) over 30 times on just one of my four accounts/characters, repeating the same quests again and again.

You get to keep EVERYTHING you earn repeatedly, so just enjoy yourself and don't sweat making any mistakes because you'll get to try again in the next playthrough.

It's such a great game that I don't mind playing it over and over.

JonGGonzales1 aka SphericalMass49 (talk) 01:41, February 10, 2016 (UTC)

Halibel, because you are a Fighter I'd recommend that your pawns comprise 1 Mage (to heal you) and 2 Striders (for long range attacks).

Fighters lack any ranged skills, so you'll need TWO bow wielders to deal with floating and flying enemies.

I recommend Strider pawns over Ranger pawns.

Regarding gender : There is no penalty for a character's gender in the game, but a character's height and weight affect how much they can carry and how quickly their stamina depletes.

A large female is the same as a large male in this game.

My party comprises FOUR females (because I prefer staring at girls), and depending on the vocation of the Arisen I'll have at least one Strider and one Sorcerer (which cannot heal and are only good for magic attack spells).

My third pawn is either a Fighter or another Strider.

If my Arisen is a Fighter or Warrior, then you need TWO archers.

But always have at least ONE spellcaster in your party because some enemies are only hurt with magic spells.

- JonGGonzales1 aka SphericalMass49 (talk) 02:25, February 10, 2016 (UTC)

Halibel,

ANY skills or equipment you will EVER earn in this game is NEVER lost unless you start a "New Game".

NEVER do that.

You temporarily lose the ability to use some skills when you switch vocations, but those skills are still there when you switch back to that vocation.

Most skills are vocation-specific, but you never "lose" them permanently.

So yes, Gloria can only heal you while she is a Mage.

If Gloria becomes a Sorcerer she can only cast attack spells, but those spells are mmore powerful than a Mage's spells.

The "Gandalf" hat you're looking for is the Adept's Hat, which is a Bitterblack Level 1 armor so you're not going to have it for a while.

And make sure you replace your pawns every time you go up 2 or so levels so they get more powerful at the same time as your Arisen and Main Pawn.

- JonGGonzales1 aka SphericalMass49 (talk) 03:27, February 10, 2016 (UTC)

Enemies DO NOT level up with you.

The enemies that are giving you a hard time while you are at level 10 will die like bugs when you reach Level 200.

Enemy intelligence, strength, and abilities do not increase as your party gets bettter.

The hardest enemies (and best treasure) are on Bitterblack Isle.

But since they do not get stronger as my skill has improved, I find them all easy to beat now.

You need to grind more so your Arisen and Main Pawn get stronger, just like in any RPG.

Gain levels as fast as you can by beating bigger and stronger enemies which are worth more XP (such as Chimeras, Dragons, Griffins and Cyclops).

- JonGGonzales1 aka SphericalMass49 (talk) 06:13, February 10, 2016 (UTC)

Longest and hardest boss fight ?

Hmmm, I'd say it was beating Mike Tyson on Mike Tyson's Punch Out on the original NES. THAT was REALLY HARD.

For RPG's, I'd say Zeromus in Final Fantasy 4 on the Super NES.

I don't find RPG bosses nearly as hard as action game bosses that require fast reflexes and good hand-eye coordination.

Beating RPG bosses is generally about strategy and physical endurance (like some MMORPG raid battles).

- JonGGonzales1 aka SphericalMass49 (talk) 17:57, February 10, 2016 (UTC)

I know it may sound weird, but I stopped playing Final Fantasy when the series from a party of four to a party of three characters at a time.

In Dragon's Dogma and in Final Fantasy 1-6, you have a party of four and it feels like you're leading a squad.

A party of three just feels like its me and 2 buddies. That's not a proper "team".

It's like calling yourself a gang and it's just you and your best friend, LOL.

- JonGGonzales aka SphericalMass49 (talk) 18:56, February 10, 2016 (UTC)

I guess you've figured out by now that the Fighter's best skill against fast enemies like wolves is Burst Strike, and it works even better when you upgrade the skill.

But yes I want to lead a FELLOWSHIP of people, not just me and two buddies, LOL.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 19:52, February 10, 2016 (UTC)

Halibel,

You should try ALL the vocations to see which one you like.

My three personal favorites to play are Mystic Knight, Strider, and Magic Archer, in that exact order.

Some vocations are easier to play than others, of course, but each one has cool abilities that are unique to that vocation.

For example, the Magic Archer's Ricochet Hunter skill is a blast.

And the Strider's Brain Splitter is amazingly powerful.

The Mystic Knight is pretty much a Fighter with magic and more advanced skills.

My 3 least favorite vocations to play, in order, are : Mage, Warrior, Ranger.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 21:02, February 10, 2016 (UTC)

Halibel,

I actually like the new opening intro song better than the old one.

The Ranger is not a BAD vocation.

I just don't enjoy playing it because you spend the whole game staring at a targeting recticle, as if you're playing a first person shooter like Call of Duty.

I like seeing my female character doing badass things from a third person perspective, not from a first person perspective.

Rangers also have very limited gameplay. The only skill you need as a Ranger Tenfold Flurry.

And that's REALLY boring to me.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 23:14, February 10, 2016 (UTC)

The only other bow vocations are Strider and Assassin, but they have good dagger and sword skills that allows to play in third person instead of staring at the targeting recticle for hours at a time.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 01:11, February 11, 2016 (UTC)

Assassin is fun and all, but none of its skills are particularly powerful.

And the Assassin vocation is not especially skilled at slaying any one particular enemy.

Let's look at the hardest enemies in the game.

Against Death, Daimon, or Cursed Dragons you're MUCH better off with a Strider, Mystic Knight or Magic Archer.

Against Eliminators and Living Armor, the best vocation is Magic Archer.

Against Condemned Gorecyclops, I'd go with a Mystic Knight, Strider or Magic Archer.

But there is NO enemy where you'd necessarily be better off with an Assassin.

They're not bad, but they're especially great either.

When played well, the Strider, Mystic Knight and Magic Archer are GREAT at beating ANYTHING.

All the veteran players I know prefer one of these three vocations if they had to face a tough boss battle.

Ranger + Tenfold Flurry + Blast Arrows is a super powerful noob combo, but veteran players generally choose not to play this way because it's very boring.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 02:34, February 11, 2016 (UTC)

Strider is the easiest to learn of the three vocations I mentioned.

Be patient. You'll get stronger over time.

In particular, the fully upgraded Brain Splitter and Downpour Volley are exceptional skills.

Magic Archer and Mystic Knight take more time to learn, but they're well worth it.

For the Magic Archer, Sixfold Bolt and Ricochet Hunter are must-haves.

And for the Mystic Knight, Full Moon Slash, Abyssal Anguish and Great Cannon are must-have skills.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 03:50, February 11, 2016 (UTC)

When you switch classes, your equipment de-equips and you need to manually put it into storage (since you can't use it).

SphericalMass49 (talk) 23:06, February 11, 2016 (UTC)

In an earlier conversation, I told you that you didn't need to worry about making mistakes or missing quests because you WILL be able to repeat the whole game over and over again (while retaining all you hard earned loot).

Players that make these complaints simply don't know what I'm sharing with you.

I generally hate giving spoilers but in this case I feel that I'm doing you a favor, Halibel.

ALL quests can be repeated endlessly in New Game Plus.

If you "miss" anything, you're always going to have another chance to try again.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 03:31, February 12, 2016 (UTC)

Selene will be at your house AND your Beloved (whomever that is) after you slay The Dragon.

But oddly enough, the most useful Beloved to have in your house is Fournival because he's the only vendor who sells the most important buffs in the game (such as Conqueror's Periapts and Tagilus' Miracles).

The Beloved part of the game doesn't really affect gameplay.

It's really just there to make the story more interesting, adding a "Romantic interest."

SphericalMass49 (talk) 12:10, February 12, 2016 (UTC)

If you want your Main Pawn to be a magic wrecking machine, the level her up as a Sorcerer ALL THE WAY to Level 200 (which is the level cap).

Sorcerers gain more magic attack per level than Mages. You can read the Stat Growths page if you'd want to see for yourself.

But this is important : If you build her up and focus only on her magic attack, SHE WON'T BE USEFUL as any other vocation because her strength will be too low.

If you want maximum versatility so she can switch to any vocation, build up her magic attack AND strength by leveling her up as a Sorcerer AND Warrior (which gains the most strength for pawns when they level up).

Personally, I choose to have a pawn focus on either pure magic attack OR pure strength.

What level is your Main Pawn now ?

SphericalMass49 (talk) 01:16, February 13, 2016 (UTC)

Some important storyline characters will stay dead if you slay them.

Minor characters will resurrect after 7 days.

Chief Adaro is not a major character, so you might see him alive again walking around Cassardis within 7 game days.

Either way, it's no big deal, LOL.

ALL characters resurrect again when you repeat the story again in New Game Plus.

OK, so you're level 23 now and you want a Healer/Magic attacker.

Then you can just level her up as a pure Mage, but DON'T switch her to anything else except Sorcerer.

Otherwise if you switch her to a melee vocation, you're leveling up her strength (which Mages and Sorcerers don't use at all). It's a kind of a waste of a level up.

Ideally, you should COMMIT to building your Arisen and Main Pawn to one of three builds : pure strength, pure magic, or 50-50 strength and magic.

You don't HAVE to do this to complete the game and have fun, but it's something a veteran might do.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 02:40, February 13, 2016 (UTC)

Yes depending on yours needs you can switch your Main Pawn back and forth between Mage and Sorcerer.

This will keep her stats growing primarily in the magic attack area, which is where you want it.

A high magic attack stat on her will serve you well.

Now it's a different conversation for building your Arisen, in which I recommend you build him/her with 50/50 strength and magic.

For your Arisen, you don't want to focus only on pure strength because you'll be helpless against some enemies in the future who are only hurt by magic (such as Wraiths and Living Armor).

-JonGGonzales1 aka SphericalMass49 (talk) 03:04, February 13, 2016 (UTC)

Halibel,

I don't want to drown you in math and details if it might detract from your fun in simply playing the game.

But here's the info.

For your Arisen, the Assassin vocation is the highest strength build. Sorcerer gain the most magic attack per level.

So for a 50-50 strength-magic build, it would look something like this :

Level 1-10 Fighter, 11-100 Assassin, 101-200 Sorcerer.

Or you can do 11-100 Sorcerer, 101-200 Assassin. It's the same thing.

That's just an approximate formula and you should NOT feel that you're missing out by not obssessing over stats.

You can beat the game with low stats and no pawns.

In my demonstration videos on this Wiki I repeatedly show myself beating the toughest bosses with only crappy Rusted Daggers.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 03:44, February 13, 2016 (UTC)

1. Pawns only use certain items, and they only use them when they REALLY need them.

For example, when they run low on health they'll use the most potent curative that they're carrying to bring their health up to 25% of their maximum health.

This is kind of a good thing, beacause they don't waste your expensive curatives if you get into a battle near a town or inn.

You can't FORCE pawns to use items, so that grey out is normal.

2. There's no really good reason why they care about staying dry.

Besides keeping your lantern alight, it doesn't matter.

A lot of the things they keep saying will continually annoy you and there's no way to make them shut up.

3. Besides the weapons and armor you're wearing here are some things you should carry around at your level :

A lantern, 3 Flasks of oil, several curatives (items that heal you), Ferrystones (to teleport around the map).

That's really it, for now.

Put everything else in storage at an inn.

The more stuff a character carries, they slower they move around.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 07:16, February 13, 2016 (UTC)

Harspud Sauces are really good, and you can buy them in Gran Soren at the shop near the western exit.

Deposit the ore and other stuff I didn't mention.

TRAVEL LIGHT.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 07:21, February 13, 2016 (UTC)

Your wet lanterns only need to be unequipped and re-equipped to relight them.

If that doesn't work, then it's out of oil.

Open your inventory, highlight the lantern, then "Add oil".

You should be carrying Flasks of Oil at all times for when the lantern runs out.

You don't want to wander around in the dark.

Slaying Chimeras can be difficult at Level 25.

Fight defensively and let your pawns do the work.

Keep reviving them if they fall unconscious, until the Chimera is dead.

That's the chickenshit way to win, but it works.

I wrote a lot of the tactical section of the Chimera page if you want to fight more aggresssively.

Read that and get back to me if you're still having trouble.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 04:18, February 14, 2016 (UTC)

You can beat a Chimera at Level 25.

Beating any enemy in Dragon's Dogma is about strategy AND your hand-eye coordination.

Look at EVERYTHING you're bringing to the fight.

Are you bringing enough curatives ?

Using a bow allows you to damage the Chimera from a safe distance.

Or jump up and grab onto the Chimera, climb up the back and attack the Lion's head with Hundred Kisses.

Avoid standing in front of the Chimera.

Get your hands on some Rusted weapons and enhance them to inflict Torpor to slow down the Chimera.

Get your hands on some Golden Weapons and enhance them to infllict Silence on the spell-casting Goat head.

Bring a Strider pawn with Brain Splitter, a Ranger pawn with Tenfold Flurry, A Fighter pawn with Dragon's Maw, and equip your Mage Main Pawn with Comestion and High Frigor.

Have your Mage Main Pawn eventually learn the Attunement, Articulacy and Acuity augments. These are three MUST-HAVE augments for spell-casters.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 17:01, February 14, 2016 (UTC)

Ogres are equally deadly to both genders, but they target women first.

If your entire party is female, then this won't matter at all.

I'm glad you're reading the Wiki articles.

I've written pretty much all of my knowledge about the game into the articles.

I've co-written this Wiki for over two years now.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 20:39, February 14, 2016 (UTC)

Yes, remember that having a well rounded party is VERY important.

Since you're a fighter with no ranged attacks and your Main Pawn is a Mage or Sorcerer, I would suggest that you hire 2 Strider pawns to help you deal with flying enemies.

If you ever switch your Arisen to a Strider or Assassin, you can hire one other Strider pawn and one Fighter pawn.

You don't need two Fighters in a party.

Warrior pawns are too slow to be useful, and they miss A LOT of attacks.

Warrior pawns are my LEAST favorite pawns.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 23:03, February 14, 2016 (UTC)

If Selene (or any charcter) "dies" during an escort quest, there're perfectly fine and you'll them again.

If YOU kill a major character, they STAY dead until New Game Plus.

So don't DELIBERATELY kill anyone, unless they're literally your enemy.

Exploration is a fun part of any RPG, so yes EXPLORE !

SphericalMass49 (talk) 02:19, February 15, 2016 (UTC)

Selene's not that important anyways, LOL.

Game time does NOT progress when you are in menu screens or are in a conversation with a game character.

If you stand still long enough (unpaused) you will see the sky change from day to night to day.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 02:47, February 15, 2016 (UTC)

It doesn't rain or snow, but the sky does get overcast and cloudy.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 03:48, February 15, 2016 (UTC)

I don't mind answering your questions, Halibel.

I'm happy to share my knowledge with appreciative people.

Now, the best weapons in the game cannot be bought but must be found on Bitterblack Isle (Bitterblack weapons Level 1-3).

But you're not ready for that yet, so let's look at the vendors that you CAN buy weapons from.

Vendor inventories get progressively better as you move along in the story.

Caxton's inventory is pretty good when you deliver the Gold Idol to him during that quest.

Madeline specializes in female only armor, like the Silk Lingerie (my personal favorite).

Montebank's weapons seem cool, but are honestly quite useless.

Reynard is the only person who sells Rusted Weapons (the most important tactical weapons in the game).

The best weapons you can buy are from Barroch on Bitterblack Isle as the story progresses.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 04:17, February 15, 2016 (UTC)

Montebank's weapons at the Black Cat may look cool, but they really not that good in actuality.

Wait until you get to The Dragon and the Everfall to start to get the good stuff.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 05:18, February 15, 2016 (UTC)

There are a TON of escort quests from different characters. Just follow your in-game map to tell you where you need to go.

Most players would agree that Wraiths are the most annoying enemies in the game because they're notoriously hard to kill (with magic) and impossible to kill without magic.

You won't run into them until you get to Bitterblack, but they're like Ghosts or Phantasms, but more annoying.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 14:39, February 15, 2016 (UTC)

Good job, Halibel.

I thought you were engaging the Chimera alone in the forest.

As a general rule in ALL battles you'll have in this game, remember this important strategy :

ALWAYS eliminate the smaller enemies (especially enemy spell casters and archers) BEFORE you tackle the biggest enemy last.

So if you're fighting Wolves, Harpies, a Lich, and a Dragon at the same time, you should focus on slaying the Wolves, then the Harpies, then the Lich, and THEN finally the Dragon last.

This is time-tested and sound military strategy, and it applies to Dragon's Dogma as well.

It's important that you remember this, because there are much harder battles like this ahead of you.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 21:48, February 15, 2016 (UTC)

In New Game Plus, you restart the storyline with the same Arisen, Main Pawn, all your equipment, loot, Gold, Rift Crystals, and so on.

But before that happens, you're going to fight The Dragon Grigori (one of the game's main bosses).

After you slay The Dragon Grigori, you will be able to buy an item that allows you to edit your character and Main Pawn as many times as you want.

It's called the "Secret of Metamorphosis", which you buy from Jonathan at the Encampment for 10,000 Rift Crystals.

In the Main Menu where you click "Load Game", a new option will appear that says "Edit Character", and you can make as many changes as you want as often as you want.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 01:43, February 16, 2016 (UTC)

Yes, you'll be able to change your gender and (I'm pretty sure) your name.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 03:16, February 16, 2016 (UTC)

There are no "separate" storages in the game.

There is only one storage, and they're all connected.

You can access your master storage from any inn, Barroch, Olra, or at the encampment.

Please look up "Gold idol" in the Wiki and follow the walkthrough to get the Gold Idol.

There is no idol at the Dragonforged's cave.

The idol at Selene's house is bronze.

You can earn the Silver idol by slaying the Hydra at the Frontier Caverns during that specific quest.

If you don't get any idols, don't worry about it.

As I've told you before, the best weapons and armor can be found in the Everfall (Post-Dragon) and on Bitterblack Isle.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 06:52, February 16, 2016 (UTC)

Well, if you read the Walkthrough first you could've gotten the Gold Idol.

Pleasing Symone was the ONLY way to get a Gold Idol to give to Caxton to upgrade his inventory.

But whatever. It's all good. You'll be fine without it.

Whenever you get a new quest, it might be a good idea to at least look at the Wiki to see if the quest is important or if there's anything you might need to know before you begin.

Some quest walkthroughs have warnings to help you avoid mistakes you might regret later.

Or you can just say "To hell with it" and have fun doing things on your own.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 07:39, February 16, 2016 (UTC)

Yeah you shouldn't feel like you MUST check the Wiki for everything because that might take the fun and surprise from your game.

But just be aware that it's there to help you.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 08:20, February 16, 2016 (UTC)

Magick Archer vs Strider, eh ?

Both vocations are great and can handle anything, so it's a matter of personal preference depending upon your play style.

I'd say the Magic Archer is "better" (at killing enemies), but I have more fun with a Strider Arisen.

I have an Arisen that was built as a pure magic attack monster.

I leveled her 1-10 Mage, 11-200 Sorcerer.

With pure magic attack this Arisen is a killer Magic Archer and Sorcerer, but can't be any other vocation because she has no strength.

Her staff and magic bow skills are devastating, so I have her wield only Rusted Daggers to inflict Torpor since her physical attack damage is very low.

A pure magic Arisen is awesome, but you don't want a pure strength Arisen because some enemies are only hurt by magic.

A Strider Arisen would need a 50-50 build, with strength and magic attack built equally.

Level a Strider Arisen something like this : 1-10 Fighter, 11-100 Assassin, 101-200 Sorcerer.

That way, the Strider can use either pure physical strength weapons or magic weapons very well.

You would just switch weapons depending upon which enemy you're fighting.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 01:04, February 17, 2016 (UTC)

You don't have to follow a level plan EXACTLY, but it's a path for you to follow if you want to maximize your stats.

Just look at your strength and magic attack stats as you level up to 200.

Decide what you want your final build outcome to look like and DO THAT.

If you don't want to mess around with fiddling with your stats, then you don't have to.

Just play the vocations you want and let the stats automatically sort themselves out as you level up.

Don't let this stuff give you a headache.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 01:26, February 17, 2016 (UTC)

Enemies that are only vulnerable to magic start to show up on Bitterblack Isle.

You'll probably be around Level 60 or higher by then.

I'd recommend that you be AT LEAST level 60 before you enter Bitterblack.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 01:29, February 17, 2016 (UTC)

Your stats (includin your health) don't fluctuate when you switch vocations.

You stat gains are PERMANENT and you can't gain any more when you hit the level cap 200.

That's why it's a good idea to plan ahead for your stat growth.

And whenever you switch vocations, your augments will stay the same but you have to re-assign your skills and re-equip your weapons and armor.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 02:05, February 17, 2016 (UTC)

As long as your lantern is alight, don't worry about what your pawns say.

Even though I have over 90 million Gold, my Pawns STILL remind me to "save enough for lodging".

Or they'll tell me that "Goblins are weak to Fire!" even though I've slaughtered over 30,000 Goblins by now, LOL.

If you run away from a fight, your pawns will automatically "teleport" by your side (you don't have to pick them up).

The game doesn't let them get too far away from you.

And if you exit and re-enter an area that has a loading screen, they will also magically reload right by your side.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 13:46, February 17, 2016 (UTC)

And you don't need to carry 16 flasks of oil, just 3-5 is enough.

Don't carry too much stuff because it makes your characters move slower.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 13:48, February 17, 2016 (UTC)

This might be an appropriate time to introduce you to another strategic concept of Dragon's Dogma.

This lesson is called "Pawn inclinations", and it's a very important subject because it determines how useful your pawns are in battle.

While there is a "Pawn inclination" page on the Wiki, let me try to simply it for you.

If a pawn has an aggressive inclination like Scather, they'll charge into battle without your permission.

If a pawn has a team oriented inclination like Mitigator or Challenger, they'll go after enemy archers and spell casters first.

A Guardian pawn will always stay close to you to protect you, and a Acquisitor pawn will go after treasure chests and loot while ignoring combat.

You can adjust your Main Pawn's inclination (not Hired Pawns) by buying potions from Jonathan near the Encampment Rift Stone.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 23:09, February 17, 2016 (UTC)

Don't be afraid to tackle any of the quests.

When you get to where I am, you'll wish there were MORE quests. And much harder.

And by the way, I just posted the Wyrmhunt quest video walkthroughs on those Wiki pages.

So check out hose videos before you start the other 2 Wymhunt quests.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 00:09, February 18, 2016 (UTC)

I don't know if you've found it yet, but the Catacombs are my favorite "scary" dungeon in this game.

There are some genuinely dark and scary areas of Bitterblack Isle that always make me hesitate before I go in.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 01:27, February 18, 2016 (UTC)

Normal arrows are infinite, and magic arrows from a magic bow are infinite.

But there are special arrows like Blast Arrows, Blinder Arrows and Silencer Arrows that you can buy that have a limited number of uses.

Pawns can use them too, but other than Blast Arrows I don't use these special arrows.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 05:28, February 18, 2016 (UTC)

Just a quick note, Halibel.

There are 3 MUST HAVE augments for Mages and Sorcerers :

1. Attunement (increases magic attack)

2. Acuity (increases magic attack)

3. Articulacy (increases spell casting speed)

Get them and equip them onto your Main Pawn as soon as you can.

It's tempting to give your Sorcerer really big spells that take a LOOOONG tiem to cast.

But I recommend equipping your Sorcerer quick-casting spells like what Mages use instead.

Maelstrom and Bolide may look awesome, but they're useless if your pawn can't cast them in a heated battle.

I'm currently playing my Assassin Arisen as well, filming Chimera and Griffin slaying videos.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 06:20, February 18, 2016 (UTC)

No, you don't need ANY of those things.

Open your inventory menu screen.

1. Curatives (bring as many as you need)

2. Tools (you only need a lantern, flasks of oil, and Ferrystones

3. Materials (this is just loot, you NEVER need to have anything in here so deposit them whenver you can)

4. Special (these are quest items, which are things you need only for specific quests)

5. Other (you only need Wakestones here)

6-12. Equipment (just bring what you're wearing, as well as some extra specialty weapons (we'll talk about this another time)

SphericalMass49 (talk) 06:58, February 18, 2016 (UTC)

Good morning, Halibel.

Magic items like Wakestones, Ferrystones and Portcrystals can be forged, but they won't function properly.

It's funny that Montebank can forge FOOD and other organic items, but not magic items.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 15:03, February 18, 2016 (UTC)

Yes you can sell the fake Wakestone.

It's a good idea to forge quest items and materials before you hand them over.

Some items are hard to find, so don't let any materials in your inventory go to zero.

Duplicate any item before you get rid of it, whether it's a material for enhancing or a quest item.

IMPORTANT TIP : Whenever possible, give a FORGED item to complete a quest and keep the original.

The only exception to this is the Gold Idol.

When you play the game again in New Game Plus, you'll make the game a LOT easier if you have duplicate items from the previous playthrough.

You'll be glad you did.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 20:24, February 18, 2016 (UTC)

1. There is almost NOTHING to be gained by giving Reynard the Journal entry pages, so I never do it.

I don't recommend that you do it either.

It's useful to have Reynard available during Fournival's trial and to buy Rusted Weapons.

Reynard will disappear from your current playthrough if you finish that quest. So don't.

2. You can only get arrested for violent actions within the city, not outside.

So slay all the guards OUTSIDE the city you want. There are no negative consequences for that.

After you fight The Dragon Grigori you'll be able to misbehave inside the city all you like.

Just don't kill anyone important like Arsmith, Fournival or Montebank. = )

SphericalMass49 (talk) 10:27, February 19, 2016 (UTC)

Oh no, you won't see the cult leader Elysion again.

Assuming you slew him in the Catacombs, he STAYS dead.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 03:10, February 20, 2016 (UTC)

In order, the best bows before Bitterblack are the Hunter's Bow, Pleached Limbs and then the Stalwart Bow.

Your pawns seem useless now because they haven't been observing you long enough.

By the time you get to Level 200, your pawns will do most of the work for you.

Sometimes I just stand around and watch them take care of all the enemies.

So giving Pawns good weapons and gear is DEFINITELY worth it later in the game, but the Arisen should always get the best equipment first.

Pawns learn how to fight by watching your gameplay. Pawns get better when YOU get better.

So get better !

SphericalMass49 (talk) 04:50, February 20, 2016 (UTC)

Good morning, Halibel.

You can only customize you and adjust your Main Pawn's "settings" (inclinations, augments, and so on).

So you can't enhance the equipment of Hired Pawns, only your Main Pawn.

Don't change the equipment of Hired Pawns unless you intend to give it to the owner as a gift.

Are these pawns online or offline ?

The offline pawns are pre-made by Capcom.

And you didn't screw up witth the Skeleton quest.

Dungeons throughout the game re-spawn every 5 days and Skeletons can be easily found by walking around at night.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 14:37, February 20, 2016 (UTC)

Thankfully you can't ever lose any of your stuff in DD unless you discard it, gift it, start a new game (not New Game Plus), or if your file gets corrupted.

The offline pawns were made by the Capcom game designers, so technically yes, someone made them.

Your beloved won't leave your house until you start a New Game Plus, in which case the story and quests are completely reset (not your stuff). So yes, you lose this Beloved and can get another one or the same one again.

And one last lesson today. It's a good idea to place some Portcrystals at the far reaches of the Gransys map so that you can reduce your travel times with Ferrystones.

While you're at these distant locations, put a Portcrystal down.

Even in New Game Plus, your Portcrystals stay in place where you left them from the last playthrough.

- JonGGonzales1 aka SphericalMass49 (talk) 02:37, February 21, 2016 (UTC)

Halibel, make sure you click the "Leave message" button near the top on my Talk page so that I'm notified that you've left me a message.

1. You only get one chance to do each escort quest per playthrough.

The NPC will eventually respawn, but the escort quest won't come back onto a Notice board.

2. Here a combat tip for you, and it applies to almost EVERY enemy in the game :

Enemies generally go after the last character that attacked them.

So if a Chimera is hounding you and ignoring your pawns, STOP attacking the Chimera.

When a pawn strikes it, the Chimera will usually turn its attention to whomever last attacked it.

3. The stone monster will the purple glowing discs is a Golem.

You have to destroy the 5 glowing discs to slay it.

Get used to looking up at the top of the screen to see the enemy's health bar.

If you strike it, the health bar SHOULD go down.

If the health bar isn't going down, you're doing something wrong.

If you strike ANY part of the Golem that isn't one of the glowing discs, you're not going to damage it AT ALL.

There are other monsters like this (such as the Ur-Dragon), so get used to looking at the enemy's health bar from time to time to make sure that what you're doing is working.

In fact, there are still A LOT of new monsters you haven't seen yet, but I don't want you to worry about them until you need to.

I'll coach you through those battles when the time comes.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 04:48, February 21, 2016 (UTC)

You can't run inside the castle. You can only walk or jog around.

And you can't be inside the castle at night, unless you're on the quest where the Princess invites you to her room (seriously).

SphericalMass49 (talk) 00:29, February 22, 2016 (UTC)

OK good questions,

1. Being thrown in jail is just an annoyance, but it doesn't afffect the story or your romances at all.

2. The Fournival trial is very important and has a time limit, so finish Trials and Tribulations first.

Make sure Fournival is found INNOCENT because he's the only vendor who sells potions that can DOUBLE your strength. I'll explain that later.

Don't sleep at an inn until you're handed in all the evidence, because sleeping at an inn skips ahead one day.

Find Reynard and buy his fake petitions for an Innocent verdict.

Read the Trials and Tribulations page to be sure you get this quest right.

Good luck !

SphericalMass49 (talk) 01:06, February 22, 2016 (UTC)

3. And by the way, Selene's quest won't disappear for a long time yet.

SphericalMass49 (talk) 01:06, February 22, 2016 (UTC)