Currently, one of the biggest issues with Capcom's long-awaited ARPG sequel Dragon's Dogma 2 is that it doesn't give its players an in-game option for deleting their save file and starting a new game. That means you're stuck with the Arisen you make until you reach the point in the game where you can change character appearance — and even then, you're not able to edit your race, and the number of items that allow you to make tweaks are finite unless you're willing to cough up money for microtransactions.
This is one of the big reasons why Dragon's Dogma 2 has launched to "Mostly Negative" review bombing, but thankfully, there's good news: Capcom, as revealed in a new blog post from the developer on Friday morning, is looking to add an option to restart the game to it's menu on PC.
"We are looking at adding a feature to the Steam version of the game that will allow players that are already playing to restart the game," wrote the studio. "We will announce more details as soon as we can."
But what if you want to start over with a new character now? At first, I assumed that you're simply SOL for the time being, though I've since figured out that there is actually a way to delete your save file (and also one that should work on console, too). Here's what to do.
How to start a new game in Dragon's Dogma 2
Since an option to do so isn't currently offered in-game, the key to starting a new game in Dragon's Dogma 2 is to delete your save files outside of the game itself. You can do so by following these steps:
- First, turn off Steam cloud syncing for Dragon's Dogma 2. To do this, right-click the game in your library, go to Properties, and then switch Steam Cloud off in the General section. This ensures your existing save won't be restored from the cloud.
- Next, find and delete all the files in the folder your saves are stored in. You can find it in the following location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\[RandomNumber]\2054970.
- The correct folder is always 2054970, though the number string of its parent folder is randomized. Do not delete any files unless they're the ones in 2054970 — that's save data from other games.
- Then, launch Dragon's Dogma 2, start a new game, make a new character, and save manually. This is done by pausing, going to the System tab, and choosing one of the saving options there.
- Next, turn Steam cloud saves back on. Follow the first step to find this setting again.
- Finally, when Steam presents you with the choice, have your new local save overwrite your existing cloud save. This will wipe out your old character and save your new one to the cloud.
Note that you can delete your Dragon's Dogma 2 save data on Xbox (and likely PlayStation) as well; here's how we managed to do it successfully.
- First, navigate to the "My games & apps" menu on your Xbox.
- Next, highlight Dragon's Dogma 2 and press the Options button (three stacked lines) on your controller.
- Then, select "Manage game & add-ons" from the options that appear.
- Next, select Saved Data.
- After that, choose the option to delete your Dragon's Dogma 2 save data.
- When prompted, quickly cancel save synchronization.
- Then, launch Dragon's Dogma 2, make a new character, and play until a save sync warning appears.
- Finally, select your new save from the options that appear.
In case you're wondering, the rest of Capcom's update wasn't particularly noteworthy. The developer promises to address bugs, crashes, and fixes "starting from those with the highest priority" in updates coming in the near future, and says it's going to look into improving the impact that NPC characters have on the game's framerate.
The studio also addressed the ARPG's controversial microtransactions by reiterating that most of the items they give players are earnable in-game, which we can confirm after playing through it ourselves. Several of the items are far from common, though, and some either cost tons of Rift Crystals or are only available in limited quantities.
Dragon's Dogma 2 is available now, and it's one of the best Xbox games and best PC games you can play in 2024 if you love action RPGs with deep, varied combat and rich fantasy worlds. Capcom's new title is playable on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PS5 for $69.99, and despite the newly uncovered microtransactions, I wholeheartedly recommend playing it.
