A Message From Dragon's Dogma 2 to It's Players

The release of Dragon's Dogma 2 was anticipated by many gamers as the return of a once-thought-forgotten classic franchise. While the game received positive reviews and reception from critics, the general opinion of the fans was anything but, resulting in a less-than-stellar start to this long-awaited sequel: the addition of seeming microtransactions garnered much distaste from fans, resulting in mixed reviews on Steam, in addition to poorly optimised performance causing drops in frame-rate for many eager to explore the world. The final nail in the coffin was the inability of gamers to start a new save if they were unhappy with how things went the first time around. Seeing this reaction, the Dragon's Dogma 2 team has released a message to their fanbase on Steam.

The first issues tackled by the message were the bugs and crashes found in the game, along with adding an option to restart the game after beginning a save. While no specific bugs or crashes are mentioned, the message assures that the team is tackling them in priority order, with fixes coming in following patches. The option to start a new game in the Steam version is being looked into, though no promises are made on its implementation. The team promises to announce more details soon.

The hot topic in the gaming world at the moment is the paid DLC offered for the game, with many feeling cheated, as items such as the Art of Metamorphosis (required to alter the look of your Arisen or Main Pawn), are locked behind a paywall. The Dragon's Dogma 2 team has clarified this, presenting a list of items included in the DLC, which are also available within the game, possible to be found as loot, bought with Rift Crystals, or received as quest rewards:

• The Art of Metamorphosis - single-use item for editing Arisen or Main Pawn
• Ambivalent Rift Incense - an item used to change Pawn Inclinations
• A Portcrystal  - a placeable item used as an anchor for fast-traveling
• Wakestones - items used to bring the Arisen, or someone else, back from the dead
• Rift Crystals - special in-game currency that can be earned from chests, finding Rift Stones, and having your Pawn be recruited by other players
• A Makeshift Gaol Key - an item that can be used to escape gaol (jail)
• Harpysnare Smoke Beacons - an item used to lure those pesky harpies to the ground

Friends or Frames? That is the question

The final issue referenced in the message is the Frame Rate issue seen in highly populated areas in the game, noticed by many gamers. The team explained that this is caused by the game calculating the impact of each character's physical presence in various areas. As the number of characters increases, so does the CPU load required, causing a drop in frames. Humorously, after hearing this tidbit, some players have made the radical decision to cull larger populated areas in order to lessen the load and avoid any frame issues going forward. The team advised that settings reducing GPU load may mitigate the issue somewhat and that they are aware of the issue, working hard to improve performance in the future.