{"id":2041025,"date":"2026-07-13T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2041025"},"modified":"2026-07-13T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T12:00:00","slug":"dragons-dogma-2-devs-on-the-big-fast-travel-u-turn-and-wanting-to-win-back-the-trust-of-rpg-fans-with-the-dark-arisen-dlc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2041025","title":{"rendered":"Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2 devs on the big fast travel U-turn, and wanting to &#8220;win back the trust&#8221; of RPG fans with the Dark Arisen DLC"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"features\" data-article-group=\"feature\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/features\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Features<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/dragons-dogma-2\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2 devs on the big fast travel U-turn, and wanting to &#8220;win back the trust&#8221; of RPG fans with the Dark Arisen DLC<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">&#8220;The best way to implement quality-of-life improvements? Don&#8217;t impinge on the original experience, give the player more possibilities.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/DD2-devs.jpg?width=690&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Two Japanese men in portrait (producer Naoto Oyama and director Kenta Kinoshita) in front of a dragon with outstretched wings.\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"DD2-devs.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"690\" height=\"388\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dom Peppiatt avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/pxl_20220402_110941365.portrait_V04meYj.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1044\" height=\"1130\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Dom Peppiatt avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"pxl_20220402_110941365.portrait_V04meYj.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1044\" height=\"1130\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"features\"><br \/>\n                    Feature<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/dom-peppiatt\">Dom Peppiatt<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Deputy Editorial Director<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-07-13T15:00:00+00:00\">July 13, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dragons-dogma-2-dark-arisen-interview-performance-microtransactions?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          16 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"c6bfaf56-bb5c-4a68-a331-7955d7939b3a\" data-name=\"Dragonu0027s Dogma 2\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Dragonu0026#39;s Dogma 2\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Dragonu0026#39;s Dogma 2\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Dragonu0027s Dogma 2\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Dragonu0027s Dogma 2\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2\" title=\"Follow Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2\"><br \/>\n  Follow Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>There have been rumours about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dragons-dogma-2-mysterious-patch-steam-rumoured-dlc\">a Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2 expansion<\/a> since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dragons-dogma-2-celebrates-second-anniversary-with-no-dlc-news-but-we-might-have-a-solid-tease\">earlier this year<\/a>. The fascinating game was well-received by critics, but as the public got to experience it, the conversation sadly turned away from how unique its hardcore systems were, and instead fixated on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dragons-dogma-2-pc-frame-rate-issues-acknowledged-by-capcom\">its terrible technical performance<\/a>. Now, as producer Naoto Oyama and director Kenta Kinoshita get ready for the launch of the Dark Arisen DLC in October, they reflect on the original launch of the game &#8211; and how the arrival of a suite of new updates for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dragons-dogma-2-guides-tips-tricks-9422\">Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2<\/a> lay the foundations for what&#8217;s to come.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are trying our best to win back trust from those players who felt [disappointed] in with the launch of Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2,&#8221; says Oyama in an interview with Eurogamer. &#8220;We&#8217;ve already seen positive responses to the title update that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/capcom-spotlight-june-2026-dragons-dogma-2-dlc-onimusha\">was just released in June<\/a> with a variety of improvements and feature additions. Although, at the same time, some players are still cautious and they&#8217;re saying, &#8216;well, this performance update in August is going to be the real test of whether the game has got to where we want it to be&#8217;.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Here, Oyama is referring to two big patches that have been announced for the game ahead of the DLC&#8217;s arrival later this year. One patch launched in late June and provided an update that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dragon-dogma-2-discontinues-microtransactions\">withdrew many microtransactions<\/a> that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/unexpected-dragons-dogma-2-microtransactions-leave-sour-taste-in-players-mouths\">caused a stir when the game first came out<\/a>, mostly because they pushed easy fast travel options and character editing options behind a paywall. Another patch, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dragonsdogma.com\/2\/en-us\/topics\/update-notice\/\">due to land in August<\/a>, addresses more performance concerns and adds a cure for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dragons-dogma-2s-dragonsplague-pawn-affliction-can-wipe-out-an-entire-town\">the controversial &#8216;Dragonsplague&#8217; mechanic<\/a>, and introduces a slew of updates that promise to sand down the rougher edges of the experience.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m really hopeful that once they see the performance improvements we&#8217;ve made in August and what we&#8217;re doing to build towards the expansion release that players, hopefully, feel that the base Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2 game is in a good state so that they can jump back into the expansion.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen - Official Announcement Trailer | Nintendo Direct June 2026\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BR5sJ0I44g0?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/BR5sJ0I44g0\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen &#8211; Official Announcement Trailer | Nintendo Direct June 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Watch the trailer for Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen here.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BR5sJ0I44g0\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But performance isn&#8217;t the only thing these preliminary updates are tackling: many of the more esoteric elements of the game that gave Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2 a lot of its identity have been targeted in these patches: whilst you could find many items in-game, there were only a limited amount of, say, portcrystals you could collect per playthrough. This means that you could only create places to fast travel to six times per game &#8211; if you wanted to create  more than that you&#8217;d either have to pay the \u00a31.49 for another one, or use another method of travel (either going on-foot, or risking travelling by cart where you would inevitably be rudely awakened in the night by a rogue troll or something).<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>This is a bit of a mixed blessing; whilst it&#8217;s nice to not have basic elements of the game locked behind a paywall, the scarcity of risk-free travel is something that makes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/dragons-dogma\">Dragon&#8217;s Dogma<\/a> feel unique and hardcore in a way that many modern RPGs don&#8217;t (even Capcom stablemate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/monster-hunter-wilds\">Monster Hunter Wilds<\/a> has been criticised for streamlining the core gameplay loop too much compared to past games, for example). Previous director <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dragons-dogma-2-director-wants-players-to-avoid-fast-travel\">Hideaki Itsuno infamously gave an interview<\/a> where he said not being able to fast travel is &#8220;only an issue because [if your game] is boring&#8221; and that &#8220;all you have to do is make travel fun&#8221; in order to engage players more. So balancing the series&#8217; identity and player sentiment is something Oyama and Kinoshita are acutely aware of.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Screenshot from Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2&apos;s Dark Arisen trailer showing a large dragon like creature breathing blue flames as a hero with a sword stands ready\" height=\"939\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Screenshot-from-Dragon&apos;s-Dogma-2&apos;s-Dark-Arisen-trailer-showing-a-large-dragon-like-creature-breathing-blue-flames-as-a-hero-with-a-sword-stands-ready.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.777422790202343\" width=\"1669\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Screenshot from Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2&apos;s Dark Arisen trailer showing a large dragon like creature breathing blue flames as a hero with a sword stands ready\" data-autosize=\"bounds_lossy\" data-uri=\"Screenshot-from-Dragon&apos;s-Dogma-2&apos;s-Dark-Arisen-trailer-showing-a-large-dragon-like-creature-breathing-blue-flames-as-a-hero-with-a-sword-stands-ready.jpg\" height=\"939\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.777422790202343\" width=\"1669\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"loading spinner large\"><\/span><\/p>\n<nav class=\"pagination--hoverable\">\n<div class=\"previous\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Previous\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\")\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"next\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Next\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\")\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"details_overlay\">\n<div class=\"counter\">\n<span class=\"current\">1<\/span> <span class=\"of\">of<\/span> <span class=\"max\">4<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"button-wrapper\">\n<button aria-label=\"Toggle information\" class=\"toggle button outline\"><\/button><br \/>\n<button aria-label=\"Close fullscreen gallery\" class=\"close button\"><\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumbnails-wrapper overflow-shadow-x\">\n<div class=\"thumbnails\">\n<button class=\"thumbnail active\" data-attribution=\"Capcom\" data-uri=\"Screenshot-from-Dragon&apos;s-Dogma-2&apos;s-Dark-Arisen-trailer-showing-a-large-dragon-like-creature-breathing-blue-flames-as-a-hero-with-a-sword-stands-ready.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Screenshot from Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2&apos;s Dark Arisen trailer showing a large dragon like creature breathing blue flames as a hero with a sword stands ready\" height=\"939\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Screenshot-from-Dragon&apos;s-Dogma-2&apos;s-Dark-Arisen-trailer-showing-a-large-dragon-like-creature-breathing-blue-flames-as-a-hero-with-a-sword-stands-ready.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1669\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Screenshot from Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2&apos;s Dark Arisen trailer showing a large dragon like creature breathing blue flames as a hero with a sword stands ready\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"Screenshot-from-Dragon&apos;s-Dogma-2&apos;s-Dark-Arisen-trailer-showing-a-large-dragon-like-creature-breathing-blue-flames-as-a-hero-with-a-sword-stands-ready.jpg\" height=\"939\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1669\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Capcom\" data-uri=\"DD2-Dark-Arisen-drake-battle.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen - fighting an ice drake\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/DD2-Dark-Arisen-drake-battle.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen - fighting an ice drake\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"DD2-Dark-Arisen-drake-battle.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Capcom\" data-uri=\"DD2-Dark-Arisen-overlook.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen - overlooking a castle\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/DD2-Dark-Arisen-overlook.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1200\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen - overlooking a castle\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"DD2-Dark-Arisen-overlook.jpg\" height=\"675\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1200\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Capcom\" data-uri=\"DD2-Switch-2-trailer.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2 on Nintendo Switch 2 (trailer)\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/DD2-Switch-2-trailer.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1200\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2 on Nintendo Switch 2 (trailer)\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"DD2-Switch-2-trailer.jpg\" height=\"675\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1200\"><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fullscreen_info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nCaption          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nAttribution          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-gallery-caption\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"advert_container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;I think there&#8217;s a lot of strategising that was made possible by the original game design of Dragon&#8217;s Dogma,&#8221; reflects Kinoshita. &#8220;It&#8217;s got a certain &#8216;hardcore nature&#8217; where the game design forces you to think about things you might not think about in every game, or even every open-world RPG. The fact you then need to develop a strategy for how to exist in this world, and then make difficult choices about how and when you adapt that strategy &#8211; that&#8217;s something people love about this series.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I definitely don&#8217;t want to make changes that will ruin that aspect of Dragon&#8217;s Dogma, but at the same time I want to give players more choices, which means they have more strategic opportunities.&#8221; Kinoshita goes on to reference the Eternal Ferrystone, an item introduced in June&#8217;s patch that allows for infinite fast-travel around the world (&#8220;this is a good example,&#8221; he adds, of an issue &#8220;often raised&#8221; with him). The same Eternal Ferrystone which was also introduced in a DLC update to the original Dragon&#8217;s Dogma, incidentally, and was well-received when it became available in the 2012 game.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I feel that we&#8217;re not forcing anyone to fast travel anywhere; we&#8217;re just giving those who wish to take that option an alternative &#8211; even if they don&#8217;t use it every time. I&#8217;m sure every player has times when retracing the path from the main town back to where they&#8217;re going, yet again, where they will feel the game is getting repetitive. And everyone has real-world time constraints, so they don&#8217;t want every session to feel that lengthy. Sometimes you just need to get where you&#8217;re going. That option is there for you now.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If a player wants to make a decision to remain in the high verisimilitude version of being an adventurer who has to walk everywhere &#8211; or they want to go in the middle and take the ox cart and take the risks that approach has &#8211; that&#8217;s absolutely still an option. It&#8217;s just you now have a third option. That&#8217;s the best way to implement quality-of-life improvements: don&#8217;t impinge on the original experience, but just give the player more possibilities, if possible.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s clear that Kinoshita and Oyama have thought through these tweaks and balances carefully; there are also some big changes coming to how your AI companions &#8211; named Pawns &#8211; will work in the DLC. But nothing introduced or added is designed to soften the experience too much; it&#8217;s all about balancing the friction of an intentionally difficult game with the fluidity and intuitiveness that make modern RPGs. I&#8217;m looking forward to seeing what that balance looks like in both the August update, and with the launch of Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen &#8211; though, that 9th October launch means <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/a-plague-tale-developer-asobo-gta-6-release-date\">it&#8217;s going up against a lot of competition<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>There have been rumours about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dragons-dogma-2-mysterious-patch-steam-rumoured-dlc\">a Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2 expansion<\/a> since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dragons-dogma-2-celebrates-second-anniversary-with-no-dlc-news-but-we-might-have-a-solid-tease\">earlier this year<\/a>. The fascinating game was well-received by critics, but as the public got to experience it, the conversation sadly turned away from how unique its hardcore systems were, and instead fixated on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dragons-dogma-2-pc-frame-rate-issues-acknowledged-by-capcom\">its terrible technical performance<\/a>. Now, as producer Naoto Oyama and director Kenta Kinoshita get ready for the launch of the Dark Arisen DLC in October, they reflect on the original launch of the game &#8211; and how the arrival of a suite of new updates for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dragons-dogma-2-guides-tips-tricks-9422\">Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2<\/a> lay the foundations for what&#8217;s to come.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are trying our best to win back trust from those players who felt [disappointed] in with the launch of Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2,&#8221; says Oyama in an interview with Eurogamer. &#8220;We&#8217;ve already seen positive responses to the title update that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/capcom-spotlight-june-2026-dragons-dogma-2-dlc-onimusha\">was just released in June<\/a> with a variety of improvements and feature additions. Although, at the same time, some players are still cautious and they&#8217;re saying, &#8216;well, this performance update in August is going to be the real test of whether the game has got to where we want it to be&#8217;.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Here, Oyama is referring to two big patches that have been announced for the game ahead of the DLC&#8217;s arrival later this year. One patch launched in late June and provided an update that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dragon-dogma-2-discontinues-microtransactions\">withdrew many microtransactions<\/a> that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/unexpected-dragons-dogma-2-microtransactions-leave-sour-taste-in-players-mouths\">caused a stir when the game first came out<\/a>, mostly because they pushed easy fast travel options and character editing options behind a paywall. Another patch, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dragonsdogma.com\/2\/en-us\/topics\/update-notice\/\">due to land in August<\/a>, addresses more performance concerns and adds a cure for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dragons-dogma-2s-dragonsplague-pawn-affliction-can-wipe-out-an-entire-town\">the controversial &#8216;Dragonsplague&#8217; mechanic<\/a>, and introduces a slew of updates that promise to sand down the rougher edges of the experience.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m really hopeful that once they see the performance improvements we&#8217;ve made in August and what we&#8217;re doing to build towards the expansion release that players, hopefully, feel that the base Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2 game is in a good state so that they can jump back into the expansion.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen - Official Announcement Trailer | Nintendo Direct June 2026\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BR5sJ0I44g0?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/BR5sJ0I44g0\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen &#8211; Official Announcement Trailer | Nintendo Direct June 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Watch the trailer for Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen here.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BR5sJ0I44g0\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But performance isn&#8217;t the only thing these preliminary updates are tackling: many of the more esoteric elements of the game that gave Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2 a lot of its identity have been targeted in these patches: whilst you could find many items in-game, there were only a limited amount of, say, portcrystals you could collect per playthrough. This means that you could only create places to fast travel to six times per game &#8211; if you wanted to create  more than that you&#8217;d either have to pay the \u00a31.49 for another one, or use another method of travel (either going on-foot, or risking travelling by cart where you would inevitably be rudely awakened in the night by a rogue troll or something).<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>This is a bit of a mixed blessing; whilst it&#8217;s nice to not have basic elements of the game locked behind a paywall, the scarcity of risk-free travel is something that makes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/dragons-dogma\">Dragon&#8217;s Dogma<\/a> feel unique and hardcore in a way that many modern RPGs don&#8217;t (even Capcom stablemate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/monster-hunter-wilds\">Monster Hunter Wilds<\/a> has been criticised for streamlining the core gameplay loop too much compared to past games, for example). Previous director <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dragons-dogma-2-director-wants-players-to-avoid-fast-travel\">Hideaki Itsuno infamously gave an interview<\/a> where he said not being able to fast travel is &#8220;only an issue because [if your game] is boring&#8221; and that &#8220;all you have to do is make travel fun&#8221; in order to engage players more. So balancing the series&#8217; identity and player sentiment is something Oyama and Kinoshita are acutely aware of.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"image_wrapper\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Screenshot from Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2&apos;s Dark Arisen trailer showing a large dragon like creature breathing blue flames as a hero with a sword stands ready\" height=\"939\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Screenshot-from-Dragon&apos;s-Dogma-2&apos;s-Dark-Arisen-trailer-showing-a-large-dragon-like-creature-breathing-blue-flames-as-a-hero-with-a-sword-stands-ready.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.777422790202343\" width=\"1669\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Screenshot from Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2&apos;s Dark Arisen trailer showing a large dragon like creature breathing blue flames as a hero with a sword stands ready\" data-autosize=\"bounds_lossy\" data-uri=\"Screenshot-from-Dragon&apos;s-Dogma-2&apos;s-Dark-Arisen-trailer-showing-a-large-dragon-like-creature-breathing-blue-flames-as-a-hero-with-a-sword-stands-ready.jpg\" height=\"939\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.777422790202343\" width=\"1669\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"loading spinner large\"><\/span><\/p>\n<nav class=\"pagination--hoverable\">\n<div class=\"previous\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Previous\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\")\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"next\">\n<button class=\"button pagination-button\"><br \/>\n<span aria-label=\"Next\" class=\"icon\" role=\"img\" style=\")\"><\/span><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"details_overlay\">\n<div class=\"counter\">\n<span class=\"current\">1<\/span> <span class=\"of\">of<\/span> <span class=\"max\">4<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"button-wrapper\">\n<button aria-label=\"Toggle information\" class=\"toggle button outline\"><\/button><br \/>\n<button aria-label=\"Close fullscreen gallery\" class=\"close button\"><\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumbnails-wrapper overflow-shadow-x\">\n<div class=\"thumbnails\">\n<button class=\"thumbnail active\" data-attribution=\"Capcom\" data-uri=\"Screenshot-from-Dragon&apos;s-Dogma-2&apos;s-Dark-Arisen-trailer-showing-a-large-dragon-like-creature-breathing-blue-flames-as-a-hero-with-a-sword-stands-ready.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Screenshot from Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2&apos;s Dark Arisen trailer showing a large dragon like creature breathing blue flames as a hero with a sword stands ready\" height=\"939\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Screenshot-from-Dragon&apos;s-Dogma-2&apos;s-Dark-Arisen-trailer-showing-a-large-dragon-like-creature-breathing-blue-flames-as-a-hero-with-a-sword-stands-ready.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1669\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Screenshot from Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2&apos;s Dark Arisen trailer showing a large dragon like creature breathing blue flames as a hero with a sword stands ready\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"Screenshot-from-Dragon&apos;s-Dogma-2&apos;s-Dark-Arisen-trailer-showing-a-large-dragon-like-creature-breathing-blue-flames-as-a-hero-with-a-sword-stands-ready.jpg\" height=\"939\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1669\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Capcom\" data-uri=\"DD2-Dark-Arisen-drake-battle.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen - fighting an ice drake\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/DD2-Dark-Arisen-drake-battle.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen - fighting an ice drake\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"DD2-Dark-Arisen-drake-battle.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1920\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Capcom\" data-uri=\"DD2-Dark-Arisen-overlook.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen - overlooking a castle\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/DD2-Dark-Arisen-overlook.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1200\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen - overlooking a castle\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"DD2-Dark-Arisen-overlook.jpg\" height=\"675\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1200\"><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"thumbnail\" data-attribution=\"Capcom\" data-uri=\"DD2-Switch-2-trailer.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2 on Nintendo Switch 2 (trailer)\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/DD2-Switch-2-trailer.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1200\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Dragon&apos;s Dogma 2 on Nintendo Switch 2 (trailer)\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"DD2-Switch-2-trailer.jpg\" height=\"675\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1200\"><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fullscreen_info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nCaption          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n<span class=\"label\"><br \/>\nAttribution          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-gallery-caption\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"advert_container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;I think there&#8217;s a lot of strategising that was made possible by the original game design of Dragon&#8217;s Dogma,&#8221; reflects Kinoshita. &#8220;It&#8217;s got a certain &#8216;hardcore nature&#8217; where the game design forces you to think about things you might not think about in every game, or even every open-world RPG. The fact you then need to develop a strategy for how to exist in this world, and then make difficult choices about how and when you adapt that strategy &#8211; that&#8217;s something people love about this series.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I definitely don&#8217;t want to make changes that will ruin that aspect of Dragon&#8217;s Dogma, but at the same time I want to give players more choices, which means they have more strategic opportunities.&#8221; Kinoshita goes on to reference the Eternal Ferrystone, an item introduced in June&#8217;s patch that allows for infinite fast-travel around the world (&#8220;this is a good example,&#8221; he adds, of an issue &#8220;often raised&#8221; with him). The same Eternal Ferrystone which was also introduced in a DLC update to the original Dragon&#8217;s Dogma, incidentally, and was well-received when it became available in the 2012 game.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I feel that we&#8217;re not forcing anyone to fast travel anywhere; we&#8217;re just giving those who wish to take that option an alternative &#8211; even if they don&#8217;t use it every time. I&#8217;m sure every player has times when retracing the path from the main town back to where they&#8217;re going, yet again, where they will feel the game is getting repetitive. And everyone has real-world time constraints, so they don&#8217;t want every session to feel that lengthy. Sometimes you just need to get where you&#8217;re going. That option is there for you now.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If a player wants to make a decision to remain in the high verisimilitude version of being an adventurer who has to walk everywhere &#8211; or they want to go in the middle and take the ox cart and take the risks that approach has &#8211; that&#8217;s absolutely still an option. It&#8217;s just you now have a third option. That&#8217;s the best way to implement quality-of-life improvements: don&#8217;t impinge on the original experience, but just give the player more possibilities, if possible.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s clear that Kinoshita and Oyama have thought through these tweaks and balances carefully; there are also some big changes coming to how your AI companions &#8211; named Pawns &#8211; will work in the DLC. But nothing introduced or added is designed to soften the experience too much; it&#8217;s all about balancing the friction of an intentionally difficult game with the fluidity and intuitiveness that make modern RPGs. I&#8217;m looking forward to seeing what that balance looks like in both the August update, and with the launch of Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen &#8211; though, that 9th October launch means <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/a-plague-tale-developer-asobo-gta-6-release-date\">it&#8217;s going up against a lot of competition<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home Features Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2 Dragon&#8217;s Dogma 2 devs on the big fast travel U-turn, and wanting to &#8220;win back the trust&#8221; of RPG fans with the Dark Arisen DLC &#8220;The best way to implement quality-of-life improvements? Don&#8217;t impinge on the original experience, give the player more possibilities.&#8221; Image credit: Eurogamer Feature by Dom Peppiatt [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2041025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2041025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2041025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2041025\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2041025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2041025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2041025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}