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Dragon's Dogma - Personal Starter Guide

Well , I've just completed my first playthrough and slain a couple of Ur-Dragons so I think I can draft a guide for those whom have not got things rolling yet.

Vocations

Essentially the Job System in this game.
There are three basic Vocations , three Advanced Vocations and three Hybrid Vocations which is available only to the Arisen.

Fighter

Pros

o High Melee advantage
o Bears a shield
o Generally high defense , strength and HP growth

Cons

o Helpless against Ranged attacks
o Low growth in Magic Defense and Magick

Strider

Pros

o Melee and Ranged potential
o Capable of fighting on various grounds and scenarios
o Generally focused on Stamina growth
o Generally the best Basic Vocation for grabbing onto the back of foes

Cons

o Does not excel in ranged combat like the Mage nor melee combat like the Fighter
o Moderate growth in various fields

Mage

Pros

o Powerful Magicks and Healing spells
o High Magick and Magick Defense growth

Cons

o Heavily dependant on Magick
o Low HP and Defense growth
o Very vulnerable to physical strikes

Warrior

Pros

o Powerful sweeping moves capable of dealing with mobs
o Significant growth of melee-based stats

Cons

o Slow
o Some strikes leaves you quite vulnerable
o Does not bear a shield
o Weak against fast moving targets

Ranger

Pros

o Powerful ranged attacks
o Shares the same growth potential as the Strider

Cons

o Weaker melee potential compared to the Strider
o Somewhat dependant on Skills

Sorceror

Pros

o Wields extremely powerful Magicks
o SHares the same growth potential as the Mage

Cons

o Does not bear the same diversity of Support Spells like the Mage
o Late bloomer
o Heavily dependant on Magicks

Mystic Knight

Pros

o Utilizes the use of a Mace or a Sword along with a Kite Shield
o Generally moderate Magick Growth and Strength Growth ( Magick Growth is higher )
o An array of useful support and buff skills

Cons

o Rather dependant on Magick to improve attack capabilities
o Slow but balanced Growth

Assassin

Pros

o Utilizes an array of physical weapons
o Utilizes an array of counter-based moves
o Generally high damage

Cons

o Somewhat lower growth in the Defense sector
o Takes a bit of skill to use compared to the other Vocations

Magick Archer

Pros

o Utilizes a unique Magick Bow which locks on to Targets
o Fairly powerful if used well

Cons

o Fairly reliant on Magick Skills and capabilities
o Lock-On can get fairly annoying at times - Manual aiming may be preferable.
o Slower firing rate

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Earning Money

Well , earning money isn't hard in the Second Playthrough but is a considerable feat in your first playthrough in the world of Dragon's Dogma.

Visiting dangerous areas could be well worth the effort as it oft yields potential rewards and materials but if you don't mind taking things slow , killing animals for materials is an alternative.
Generally , I would advise grinding for money around the Northern part of the land - specifically the Tower where you would face a Boss monster as it oft yields an assortment of high-priced equipment.

Though at later part of the game , as more dangerous areas is opened to you , those become a better lair of treasures and riches as a whole but on your Second Playthrough , the Optional Boss is the best target for money as each battle could easily earn you 500,000 Gold even in Offline Mode - 1 Million Gold if your playing on Online Mode and can bear to depart with the Weapons and Armor you found as a reward.

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Growth

It is to be noted that the benefits Leveling up would be adjusted accordingly to the current Vocation of your character.

For example , a Warrior Vocation would yield a higher Strength Growth whilst a Sorceror would yield a higher Magick Growth - the Level Cap of the game is 200 but growth would slow down by the time you've reached Level 100.

Trying to keep things balanced ( As in switching between various Vocations ) would drastically increase your capabilities in various fields but you would deal significantly less damage than characters whom focuses solely on a single field.
Personally , I advise in trying to keep your defenses up by training both your Pawn and your character in various Vocations.

It is to be noted that Hybrid Vocations is only available to the Arisen and they provide a BALANCED GROWTH - it is better to switch back and forth between the Basic and Advanced Vocations for Stats at the earlier part of the game.

If you follow these instructions , you would deal less damage compared to most other players but would have significantly higher overall defense as a whole - both your Pawn and yourself could take quite the beating and a powerful Overall Stat is useful for Hybrid Vocations or have an unexpectedly sturdy Mage with lots of Stamina to use in the party.

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Ultimate Weapons and Armor

The best weapon drops comes from the Optional Boss in the game - which is not available till you've reached near the conclusion of the game or the Second Playthrough - where you can find a Riftstone in Cassardis which leads you to the beast.

The monster drops the best weapons and armor though obtaining them is a considerable feat since the Optional Boss would not fall without a fight - particularly if your playing via Online Connection and the fight would literally take hours.

The rewards , however , are great - you would be gifted powerful Holy Weapons and the Abyssimal Armor set - an armor which bears the highest Defense , Magick Defense and Debilitation resistance in the game but offers no Damage advantage.

It is to be noted that every playthrough , when facing the Second Last Boss , depending on the weapons you use - you would be awarded a powerful weapon of that variety once you have defeated the boss.
It is , however , easily bested by the rewards obtained found by defeating the Optional Boss.

It is to be noted that powerful equipment can also be procured near the conclusion of the game in the Everfall where a Merchant would sell expensive gear - whilst not the best , they would keep you going for a while.

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Warnings of Leveling Up

It's something I've learnt in my first playthrough - apparently your enemies grows stronger along with you.
Whilst enemies in Gransys itself is far from being trouble , if you enter the Everfall near the conclusion of the game with abnormally high level but poor gear , you would find yourself struggling against certain foes in the area.

So in other words , higher level means better equipment.

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Beastiary

Goblins

o Comes in packs
o Size does matter with goblins - the larger they are , the nastier they are
o Their weak against Fire and Ice damage

Wolves / Direwolves

o Comes in packs
o Fast , nimble and the Direwolves are generally more resistant to damage
o Generally vulnerable to flames

Harpies

o Flightly and prone on swooping down on their targets
o Difficult to kill for Warriors or Fighters
o Dangerous if your by cliffsides
o Theirs songs can lull you to sleep - leaving you vulnerable as a result
o Generally weak against flames

Bandits

o Danger level can differ depending on the area your in
o It is to be noted that they too bears Vocation skills
o Can be tricky to kill if ill-equipped

Undead

o Highly resistant to physical trauma
o Weak against fire damage
o A stout undead will blow up upon being hit with fire damage
o Usually appears at night or in crypts

Skeleton

o Danger level varies just like the Bandit
o Weak against maces and hammers
o It's back is vulnerable
o Usually appears during the night or in crypts

Phantasms

o Quite dangerous and if it possesses you , it could be quite the hassle.
o Invulnerable against physical attacks - magick or enchanted weapons is a must
o Note that all undead creatures are weak against Holy Magick

Cyclops

o One of the weakest Boss figures in the game
o You can strike their feet to knock them down
o You can strike their weapon arm to knock the club out of their hands
o You can clamber on it's back to trick it into removing it's Helmet
o If it is armored or green-skinned , it will be significantly more difficult to kill
o Be wary when fighting against it on cliffsides as it can easily swoop you down the mountain
o It's eye is it's weakness

Ogres

o Their a lot smaller compared to a Cyclops - but also far more lethal
o Extremely hardy and dangerous , it is difficult to kill them at lower levels
o It is best if you clamber onto their back to kill them - but note that they will fight back by flipping over
o They will go after women first
o It's advisable to use Lightning spells to stun it and render it incapable of fighting back
o Make use of any explosive barrels you find

Chimera

o Tough but relatively easy on higher levels
o Dangerous as it is capable of a variety of attacks with three different heads
o The serpent would deal poison damage and defend it's back so kill it first
o It is advisable to kill the Lion with powerful Magicks soon after that since an Enraged Lion is very dangerous
o The Goat uses a variety of elemental Spells but it is best to leave it last despite what the AI says

Griffin

o Capable of flight and is quite dangerous
o It is best to use Magic or a Bow against this foe - aim for the wings should it take flight
o It is prone to escape if you knock out one or two bars of it's health - hit the wings to halt it's escape
o Can be lured down by the sight of corpses

Cockatrice

o A very dangerous foe capable of petrifying your team - which leads to instant death if left untreated
o It's recommended that you stand clear should it start puffing out black clouds
o It's talons yields poison so it is wise stand clear of it's claws
o It's advisable to fight with a bow.

Drake

o A dragon easily found in Devilfire Grove - steer clear if your level is too low
o It's sole weak point is the heart but you can strike the head to break the horns or the wings to break it's flight
o Very dangerous at lower levels
o Shares similar movesets with the other Dragons in the game but pales in comparison to them

Hydra

o A multi-headed snake susceptible to slashing based damage
o Climbing and slashing it is recommended

The Dragon

o Well , it's mainly cutscene based but in actual battles , you have to hit the heart.
o Using Vocations which is capable of swift and efficient attacks would make your life significantly easier

Evil-Eye

o Take out the tentacles first to remove it's barrier
o Strike at the eye as that is it's weakness

Hellhounds

o Similar to Wolve and Direwolves - but their a lot stronger and they breath fire
o A lot larger as a whole - their threat comes not from speed but it's raw firepower

Wraith

o A ghastly apparition which is weak against Holy attacks
o Quite easy to deal with once your used to it's attack patterns
o Note that it mainly uses spells for it's attacks

Succubi

o Similar to the Harpy but it's scream can deal a variety of troublesome Status Ailments
o Generally , you'd use the same combat tactics against them as with a Harpy
o Naturally , it's a lot stronger as a whole

Saurian

o Generally resides near rivers or water sources
o Tough - but the tail is vulnerable and it weakens the moment it's tail is severed
o Susceptible to fire attacks

Geo-Saurian

o A lot tougher than the Saurian
o Striking the tail is a must

Black Chimera

o A lot stronger than the Chimera but the tactics is still the same

Ur-Dragon

o A very powerful foe which can only be damaged by hitting the glowing parts of the beast.
o It is inadvisable to deal with it with non-Holy weapons and weak armor
o It is the strongest foe in the game
o It is advisable to fight it in Offline Mode first - procure the Holy weapons then move on to the Online Mode

???

o Well , I ain't giving out spoilers but either way , this is gonna be an easier battle compared to the Dragon.
o This dude is the last boss
o He mainly uses melee attacks so it's wise not to use a Mage Vocation

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Any questions you have - shoot - can't say I have all the answers though , since I'm still exploring certain areas I've missed out.