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

Whether you love it or hate it, one thing you can't deny about Dragon's Dogma 2 — one of this year's biggest and most divisive games — is that it stands 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. There is fast 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.

Casual Mode's biggest change, though, is the effective removal of Dragonsplague — 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't throw infected Pawns into the Brine cure 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 be terribly hard 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. Given how 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. You can switch to it from Normal Mode at any time, however.

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.

• DEAL: The Deluxe Edition of Dragon's Dogma 2 is just $56.49 at CDKeys — nearly $15 less expensive than the Standard Edition of the action RPG. In other words, you're getting more value for less money by taking advantage of this discount, which is awesome.

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 the best PC games I 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 a harder option wasn't added. "I cannot believe they added a casual mode instead of a hard mode," reads the top reply to 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 from Capcom's website.

Added Features and Adjustments

• Adding Casual Mode.
  • Reduced inn fees for staying at an inn.
  • Reduced price of Ferrystones.
  • More difficult for weight carried to become "Heavy" or "Very Heavy."
  • Less Stamina expended when dashing outside of battle.
  • Loss gauge will not increase when selecting "Load from Last Save" after the Arisen dies.
  • Pawns will recover from dragonsplague without a "devastating calamity" occurring, even if the symptoms progress to a terminal stage.
• Adding a Portcrystal to Bakbattahl.
• Adding "Sovran's Crown," "Sovran's Plate," and "Sovran's Greaves" to the list of items that can be traded with the Dragonforged.
• Adding variations to Pawns' idle animations.
• Adding animations for when Pawns and the Arisen start dashing.
• Adding animation for when the Arisen is riding on a larger enemy that is flying at high speeds.
• Making it so that the Main Pawn can be revived an infinite number of times at Forgotten Riftstones.
• Adding Polski (Polish) under Display Language in the Language section of the Options menu.
• Further fixes to issues around CPU overload in certain situations. **
• Reducing frequency of crashes.

Adjustments to Vocations

• Fighter
  • Increasing Strength for all weapons.
  • Reducing amount of time before stagger damage reactions can be canceled with "Defend."
  • Reducing charge time for "Tusk Toss." Also reducing timing during which the attack can be canceled while the user is unable to move after activation.
  • Increasing Strength and Knockdown Power for ""Riotous Fury"" and improving aiming ability on the target of the attack.
    Making it so that the lock-on adjusts itself to a different nearby target if the target initially locked on to is defeated mid-attack.
  • Increasing amount of time an enemy is downed after being knocked down by "Shield Bash." Also increasing Knockdown Power for "Shield Bash."
  • Increasing aiming ability of "Blink Strike" upon activation. Also adjusting to make it easier to hit locked-on targets with this skill.
  • Increasing Strength, expanding attack range, improving speed of initial activation animation, and adjusting timing of attack hits for "Compass Slash."
  • Increasing Strength and Knockdown Power and expanding attack range for "Airward Slash." Also intensifying damage reactions for smaller enemies hit by this skill.
  • Improving speed of the activation animation for "Gouging Skewer." Also adjusting movement correction for this skill to make it easier to hit the attack target.
• Warrior
  • Extending input duration for "Chain of Blows."
  • Reducing timing during which "Barge" can be canceled while the user is unable to move after activation.
  • Increasing Strength for "Arc of Might."
  • Adjusting strike timing of "Savage Lash" and making it easier to hit larger enemies' weak points while they are downed.
• Archer
  • Reducing charge time and increasing Strength and Knockdown Power for "Dire Arrow." Also extending timing during which a more powerful arrow can be loosed with this skill.
  • Increasing damage dealt by "Heavenly Shot" and reducing time taken for Stamina to start recovering after activation.
  • Increasing damage scaling for bow attacks. Also increasing damage scaling for attacks that hit enemy weak points.
  • Reducing weight of the items "Explosive Arrow," "Drenching Arrow," "Tarring Arrow," and "Blighting Arrow."
• Mage
  • Increasing duration of the Silence debilitation inflicted by "Solemnity."
  • Increasing distance that flames unleashed by "Flagration" can reach.
  • Increasing number of times that clusters conjured with "High Palladium" to protect allies can block attacks before they disappear.
  • Increasing duration of the continuous Health recovery effect of "Argent Succor."
  • Increasing power of additional lightning bolts summoned with additional button presses when casting "Levin."
• Thief
  • Changing Stamina consumed when using "Blades of the Pyre" from a fixed amount to an amount proportionate to the user's maximum Stamina.
• Mystic Spearhand
  • Increasing Strength and Knockdown Power for "Seching Blade."

Modifications and Fixes

• Player
  • Fixing issue where, after readying and firing the magickal bow as the Magick Archer vocation, readying the bow again resulted in awkward camera movement.
  • Fixing issue where, when playing as the Warfarer vocation, redoing an enchantment and then using "Rearmament" resulted in the enchantment remaining even after its effect duration had ended.
  • Fixing issue where changes to Button Mapping settings weren't reflected for the Draw Bowstring control for ballistae.
  • Fixing issue where pressing "next" during a normal conversation caused the Arisen to perform an action at the same time.
  • Fixing issue where the Arisen couldn't be revived after falling in a river at certain points.
  • Fixing issue where the Arisen could clip through coffins and get stuck.
  • Fixing issue where walking caused Stamina to start recovering more quickly than standing still.
  • Fixing issue where falling into certain oxcarts with bonnets wouldn't trigger the nullified damage animation.
  • Fixing issue where the Arisen could fail to cling to a target when using "Gouging Skewer" from a height.
  • Fixing issue where the Arisen could become stuck while conjuring decoys as the Trickster vocation.
  • Fixing issues where the Arisen could become frozen in place.
  • Fixing issue where blocks of ice created by "Frigor" would float in mid-air.
• Pawns
  • Fixing issue where dismissing Pawns inside the rift and then immediately accessing the Riftstone of Remembrance caused dismissed Pawns who were not in the rift to appear on the "Pawns in the Rift" list.
  • Fixing issue where Pawns of the Archer vocation would behave strangely when firing special arrows.
  • Fixing issue where actions could be canceled for Pawns with reduced Health.
  • Fixing issue where the Main Pawn's eyeshadow wasn't applied in the worlds of other Arisen who hired them.
  • Fixing issue where Pawns became immobile during the Talos battle.
  • Fixing issue where Pawns given the "Go!" command wouldn't gather items.
  • Fixing issue where Pawns of the Warrior vocation would cease attacking.
  • Fixing issue where Pawns launched into the air with "Springboard" couldn't climb walls that they should have been able to climb.
  • Fixing issue where using the "To me!" command after a Pawn offered guidance resulted in the Pawn not guiding the player correctly, even if the player used the "Go!" command.
  • Fixing issue where Pawns of the Mage vocation would unnaturally loop the same animation.
  • Fixing issue where "Maelstrom" spells cast by Pawns would diverge from the enemy's location.
  • Fixing issue where Pawns controlled by drakes would react with dialogue describing their fellow pawns being controlled.
  • Fixing issue where Pawns couldn't evade stout undead explosion attacks.
  • Fixing issue where Pawns wouldn't assist when the Arisen was possessed by a phantom.
  • Fixing issue in second and subsequent playthroughs, where Pawns would guide the Arisen to treasure chests that had already been opened.
  • Improving Pawn lines to better match circumstances.
• NPCs
  • Fixing issue where Cliodhna would freeze in place after climbing a ladder.
  • Fixing display issues with Taliesin's hands.
  • Fixing issue where UI for switching between Pinpoint Volley and Rivet Shot was displayed when Cliodhna used "Conversion."
  • Fixing issue where Taliesin used dialogue that didn't match the situation after certain quests were completed.
• Enemies
  • Fixing issue where using "Vimtaking Arrow" during "A Scholarly Pursuit" fulfilled the conditions for completing the quest during its initial phase.
  • Fixing issue where if a dullahan entered a body of water after it was defeated, it would teleport and become frozen in place in a standing position.
  • Fixing issue where liches' homing attacks ignored the Trickster's simulacrum and attacked other targets instead.
  • Fixing issue where the lesser dragon would cease to act during "Readvent of Calamity."
  • Fixing issue where some griffins would circle continuously around a fixed point.
  • Fixing issue where if a lich was defeated while resurrecting another monster, that monster would still be resurrected.
  • Fixing issue where rocks falling on a goreminotaur dealt an excessive amount of damage.
  • Fixing issue where having a Thief pin down a skeleton lord with a heavy attack prevented light attacks from hitting while the skeleton lord was pinned down.
  • Fixing display issues with some attack effects for lesser dragons.
  • Fixing issue where torches thrown by enemies would get stuck floating in mid-air.
  • Fixing issue where targets grabbed by a dullahan's grab attack would drop straight down.
  • Fixing issue where Thief enemies used "Bump and Lift" even though they are unable to steal items.
• Quests
  • Fixing issue where Pawns would be loaded in as party members if the player selected "Load from Last Save" while exploring solo with Raghnall during "Tensions on the Highroad."
  • Fixing issue where Pawns followed the Arisen beyond the point where the party was supposed to be separated in "Tensions on the Highroad."
  • Fixing issue where, after defeating the cyclops in "Beren's Final Lesson," performing certain actions caused the defeated cyclops to resurrect.
  • Fixing issue where, if certain actions were performed during "Till Death Do Us Part," Gregor wouldn't go home even after being restored to life.
  • Fixing issue where Higgs's Tavern Stand wouldn't function as a shop under certain conditions.
• Gimmicks
  • Fixing issue where coffins that enemies were supposed to come out of were open from the start.
  • Fixing issue where ballistae would clip through other objects when the base was rotated.
• Equipment
  • Fixing issue where the armor values of cloaks weren't being applied.
  • Fixing issue where some leg armors stretched unnaturally.
• Display
  • Fixing issue where a filter-like effect appeared on water surfaces after closing the Shop menu.
  • Fixing issue where distant shadows looked unnatural.
  • Fixing issue where some tattoos weren't displayed during cutscenes.
• UI
  • Fixing issue where some text on the title screen wouldn't change to reflect updated language settings.
  • Fixing issue where skill preview videos weren't displayed on the Weapon Skills screen in vocation guilds under certain conditions.
  • Fixing issue where some text on images in the Quest menu wouldn't change to reflect updated language settings.
  • Fixing issue where the quest icon didn't indicate the correct location for Roman during "Steeled Resolve, Blazing Forge."
  • Fixing issue where message icons would disappear from the NPC Logbook in the History menu.
• Sound
  • Fixing issue where using a Wakestone in battle caused the in-game music track to malfunction.
  • Fixing issue where riftstone sound effects would be quieter than usual after exiting a riftstone.
• Other
  • Fixing issue where skipping certain cutscenes would result in a black screen.
  • Fixing issue where changing to certain hairstyles resulted in thinner hair on the top of the head.
  • Fixing areas where gathering points floated.
  • Fixing issue in Photo Mode where the Arisen's body remained onscreen, even if the Arisen display setting was set to "off."
• Steam
  • Fixing issue where enabling DLSS FRAME GENERATION caused a temporary lag when exiting the Pause Menu.

Dragon's Dogma 2 Deluxe Edition | $69.99 $56.49 at CDKeys (Steam, PC)

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)