Norgan isn’t the most welcoming of places, but you’re going to find that it grows on you pretty quickly once you engage with it on its terms.
Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen has cast a spell on us during our time in Norgan, and we’ve managed to face down many a formidable foe and lived to tell the tale. Heck, we’ve faced some of them in large groups, with the resulting battles leaving us desperate for the comfort of an inn and a good night’s rest
However, the expansion can crush your morale and perhaps force you to revisit more of the base game to grind out a few levels before returning to Norgan. However, we’re here to tell you that’s the wrong approach. We’ve put together a few handy tips to make surviving the harsh weather and harsher opposition a little easier, and get you started on a journey that’s well worth the effort. Let’s go!
1. Dive In At Level 40
Yes, you’re going to get absolutely wrecked, but be a little clever about your first bit of loot, and you’ll soon have enough to begin surviving a few fights, and the XP flows like water in Norgan. Those first few fights you take on with whatever gear you’ve got from the base game are meant to tell you that your loadout isn’t going to cut it and push you into engaging with the new Relic system.
That’s where the fun begins!
2. Farm Out Gear And Levels With Abandon
We’d recommend venturing out from the region’s starting village in small bursts, charting routes across the map to get to nearby points of interest with the sole purpose of getting the smithy up and running, as well as grabbing all the cool loot you can for your Arisen and Pawns.
We got at least 25 levels just playing the expansion, with exploring Norgan being a major part of the time we spent with it. We also saw significant bumps to our gear and weapon stats thanks to the Relic system, so getting upgrades becomes easier but never fully in your favor.
3. Max Out Your Vocations
For both Arisen and Main Pawn, max out the Vocation you’ve chosen and unlock all skills. This allows you to use all gear since many pieces come with upgrades to specific skills, or perhaps with buffs against specific enemy types. If you’re planning on doing this for multiple Vocations, the Warfarer is a great idea since it earns Discipline Points across the board.
Mix and match, and since you can’t upgrade Norgan gear, constantly switching out for better-quality pieces is how you stay viable in a region where the threat constantly escalates, needing you to keep up as much as you can.
4. Don’t Get Too Attached To Gear
Unlike the base game, gear in Dark Arisen keeps coming to you instead of you having to hunt it down. As such, it’s a good idea not to get too attached to a specific piece and to keep switching them out as soon as you see something with higher stats or perhaps equivalent ones but with more desirable skills you can use.
Since you’re switching out, constantly changing your loadout and even skills is going to help you have more success against enemies that are otherwise quite good at punishing a bad strategy.
5. Store A Few Good Pieces of Gear For Each Vocation
In the interest of constantly changing your loadouts, and perhaps with the earlier Warfarer tip we gave you in play, storing a full set of armor and weapons for each Vocation in the game is going to give you even more freedom to take on challenging enemies with varying strategies until you find one that clicks.
You’re going to be swimming in loot soon enough, and it’s a good idea to send a strong set of weapons and armor into storage to let you switch things up on the fly if you so desire.
6. Keep Selling Stuff
Conversely, don’t be afraid to sell off both gear and Relics if you’re running short on cash or Rift Crystals, respectively. The sheer amount of stuff you get from just engaging with Norgan is going to replace those lost pieces quite quickly, while you manage short-term cash flow issues without too much trouble.
Many Relics drop generous amounts of both anyway, so engaging with the system is a great way of building up a load of cool stuff.
7. Progress Right Up To The Point of No Return In The Base Game
You’re going to destroy anything in the base game after about ten or so hours with the expansion, so it’s a good idea to get as far in the story as possible if this is your first time.
That’s good since following the story is going to help with getting to that level 40 mark while leaving you enough room to chase down Vocations and any cool weapons you might need to get started with your investigation into the Dark Arisen and the mysteries that Norgan conceals from you when you first arrive in it.
8. Use Portcrystals Wisely
You’re going to have to earn every inch of exploratory progress you can get in this one, but Norgan has generously placed ones, and the Eternal Ferrystone means you don’t have to worry about fast-travelling with abandon.
The ones you get to carry with you are then strategic fast-travel points that you put down to your liking. It’s a good idea to lay one down right at the point you’re safe enough to explore before you pop back to the village for a quick rest, before picking up right where you left off in the daylight’s relative safety. Of course, we’d encourage you to start braving the night as soon as you feel comfortable doing so.
9. Engage with the Side Quests
They’re a great way to net some extra Relics, XP, and rewards, and are also ways to improve your standing with the village’s residents. This is true in the expansion’s early hours, and we’d advise chasing down that Winterbloom for the region’s smith as soon as you can manage, and to try grabbing any other resources you can along the way.
That’s because you can then see if you can purchase a few pieces of gear to help you get started with the adventure before the Relic system can give you something better. They also lead to some useful stuff like extra Climbing Hooks, Wakestones, and Allheal Elixirs, which you’ll definitely need.
10. Freki Is Awesome At Sniffing Out New Gear
While we’re on the subject of side quests, it’s a good idea to stock up on meats to feed Freki, the direwolf, as she leads you to treasures that are quite easy to miss. Just be prepared to fight/run past any enemies along the path, as she doesn’t directly engage them and leaves the fighting to you.
We didn’t see her getting hurt while that happened, so there’s no harm in letting her stay by your side for all your exploring, letting her nose guide you to your next big find. But if the thought of any harm coming to her makes you anxious, you can always send her back to the village and bring her out again at a later time.
11. Appraise, Equip, Sell, Rest
You should ideally end each day with a trip to the village for an appraisal of relics, following which you keep stuff you want, store some for later, sell off any excess, and then rest to begin a new day with better stats and full health and stamina bars.
You could also choose to employ new Pawns if you’ve gone up by more than five levels in the previous day. That might sound like a lot, but it’s more than possible that a particularly active foray out in the frozen landscape puts you on a collision course with enough enemies to make that happen.
12. Don’t Hesitate To Equip Your Recruited Pawns
The Relic system is so generous you can freely change the gear your recruited pawns are wearing to help them improve. Yes, they take that gear back with them when you switch them out, but it isn’t something to worry about like it was in the base game.
It isn’t too much of a loss, and it’s definitely better than having the gear they came to your world with be the reason you’re scrambling to revive them in a battle where your enemies hit as hard and fast as they do in Norgan.
13. Use the Magick Archer’s Ricochet Hunter Skill Wisely
If the Undead Dragon is proving too much of a challenge for you thanks to that battle’s unique twist, we highly recommend switching to the Magick Archer and using the arena’s ceiling to let the Ricochet Hunter create opportunities for you to attack directly. Know that you don’t have to completely win that first battle, so don’t hesitate to heal generously.
We wish we could tell you more, but that’s a fight you’re going to want to experience without any spoilers. It’s nice to know you have an easy way to cheese it if you can’t wait to know more about its origins, though.
14. When In Doubt, Look Up and Down
If you feel stuck at any point, it’s a good idea to look for ladders or grappling points in the area, as there’s a lot of verticality baked into Norgan’s many ruins and places of interest. You must also keep an eye out for breakable obstacles in the environment, which your Pawns can sometimes point out for you as well.
Remember to loot everything you see, as that’s going to be the bread and butter of getting stronger in the area.
15. Craft as Many Heatstones As You Can
Norgan’s a cold place, and your Stamina bar can take a hit in some areas where Wipeouts are a thing. Having the means to stay warm can mean the difference between facing a deadly opponent with enough in the tank for a single attack, or with a full bar ready to unleash your deadliest abilities right out of the gate.
And that’s about it for this one. You’re going to find that Norgan doesn’t pull its punches, but also encourages you to take on a similar attitude, using everything it rewards diligent explorers with to blaze a path to answers in an interesting narrative addition to the base game.
Happy exploring, fellow Arisens!
