Capcom takes sandpaper to Dragon’s Dogma 2’s friction with a new update, including that Pawn sickness that turns them into nuclear bombs

Dragon’s Dogma 2’s latest Title Update smooths out many of the action RPG’s more abrasive elements.

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Whether you love it or hate it, one thing you can’t deny aboutDragon’s Dogma 2— one of this year’s biggest and most divisive games — is that itstands out. When it launched six months ago in March, many players were caught off-guard by the action RPG’s friction-heavy world structure and gameplay design that stands in stark contrast to the majority of its peers. Conveniences and features like generous fast travel, easily accessible ways to save progress or rest your character, and fluid combat mechanics are the norm in most open-world titles, but Capcom bucked those trends when building the highly anticipated sequel.

Instead, Dragon’s Dogma 2 makes you put in serious effort for just about everything, from spending a hefty amount of coin at an inn or hunting down a campsite to save to playing around a somewhat clunky physics-driven combat system to figuring out complex questlines with only minimal hints in-game. Thereisfast travel, but only a few major settlements have a Portcrystal you can warp to; any others have to be found and placed yourself, and your ability to teleport anywhere is limited by the scarce availability of the Ferrystone consumable.

Some players love this approach, and argue that the challenge of working through these obstacles and limitations is what makes Dragon’s Dogma special. Others, though, are frustrated with how harsh and punishing the game can be, and struggle to enjoy it as a result. I’m in the former camp myself, but if you’ve found yourself in the latter, you’ll likely be happy to hear about a new mode that’s been added in a recent Title Update available to download on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and Windows PC.

This new gameplay option is called Casual Mode, and as you’d expect, it smooths out some of Dragon’s Dogma 2’s particularly abrasive design choices. Inn rests and Ferrystone prices will both be cheaper, for example, and players will also have a greater carry weight limit so it’s harder for them to become overencumbered. Less stamina will be drained when sprinting outside of combat, too, and you won’t start off with reduced max health when you reload a save after dying.

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Casual Mode’sbiggestchange, though, is the effective removal ofDragonsplague— an illness your Pawn followers can catch that eventually transforms them into a shadowy dragon-like beast, resulting in whatever town or city you’re resting in at the time getting nuked. If you fail to notice symptoms of Dragonsplague (glowing red eyes, headaches, disobedience) for several days and don’tthrow infected Pawns into the Brinecure infected Pawns in your party, calamity and mass death will ensue. Casual Mode, however, allows Pawns to “recover from dragonsplague without a ‘devastating calamity’ occurring,” blunting the mechanic completely.

In my playthrough of the game, I didn’t find Dragonsplague to beterriblyhard to spot and deal with, though it’s definitely something players can miss if they don’t take the time to examine their Pawns every so often. Givenhow much fans were panicking about it at launch, I’m not surprised to see it included in Casual Mode’s gameplay adjustments.

If you plan to use it, some important things to know about Casual Mode are that only two of Dragon’s Dogma 2’s achievements will be earnable while it’s active, and you can’t swap back to Normal Mode once you start playing on it in your current playthrough. Youcanswitch to it from Normal Mode at any time, however.

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Some other noteworthy changes from the update include the addition of a Portcrystal to Bakbattahl (finally), major buffs to the Fighter, Warrior, Archer, and Mage vocations, and a ton of bug fixes and performance improvements. For the full patch notes, make sure you read through the section below.

Overall, it was nice of Capcom to update Dragon’s Dogma 2 with this new option to accommodate players who might bounce off of the game without it, though I do hope that future players give Normal Mode a chance. For me, engaging with and overcoming the game’s friction was precisely what made it one of thebest PC gamesI played this year, and I think many would agree if they got over their initial frustrations with Capcom’s design choices.

It’s too early to say what the wider community thinks of Casual Mode, but ironically, many fans on social media are disappointed aharderoption wasn’t added. “I cannot believe they added a casual mode instead of a hard mode,” readsthe top replyto the announcement of the update. And hey, speaking as a FromSoftware junkie, I get it — a good challenge is great fun.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Title Update: Patch notes

Here are the full patch notes for Dragon’s Dogma 2’s latest Title Update, taken directly fromCapcom’s website.

Added Features and Adjustments

Adjustments to Vocations

Modifications and Fixes

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You are the Arisen, the one who holds the loyalty of Pawns and has an intertwined destiny with a powerful dragon. Work with your party to battle through tough enemies, explore distant locations, and grow stronger so you can take down your foes. Notably, with this deal, you can get the Deluxe Edition of Dragon’s Dogma 2 for far less than the Standard Edition’s MSRP, which is fantastic value.

PC — Also at:GMG (Steam)|Deluxe Edition (GMG, Steam)Xbox — Buy at:Amazon|Deluxe Edition (CDKeys, US)|Deluxe Edition (CDKeys, UK)

Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he’s been an avid fan since childhood. He’s been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you’ll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he’s not writing or gaming, there’s a good chance he’s either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once.Follow him on X(Twitter).