Dragon’s Dogma 2 likes to keep many of its mechanics and systems a secret until you discover them. You will learn quickly that you can’t fast travel around the map freely, but there’s one mechanic that is far more detrimental to your game. This is called dragonsplague and it is a disease that can’t be cured with a simple tonic. In fact, you may not even realize if you have it in your game because it isn’t something that affects your character at all; instead, it affects your Pawns. Failing to recognize you have dragonsplague and deal with it in a timely manner can ruin your entire playthrough if you’re not careful. To avoid such a catastrophe, here are all the details about this cruel disease.
What is dragonsplague?
Dragonsplague is a special kind of disease that Pawns can contract seemingly by interacting with either Drakes or Dragons. That part isn’t fully clear yet, however, we do know that Pawns with dragonsplague can spread the disease to other Pawns. Since Pawns are able to pass between worlds to join other players, you are never fully safe from being infected if you’re playing online. Unlike a real sickness, though, dragonsplague actually transfers between Pawns rather than spreads, meaning it won’t fully run rampant through the game.
A couple of things will happen when a Pawn is infected in Dragon’s Dogma 2. Initially, they will stop obeying your orders, but that’s not the problem. If you either don’t know you have a Pawn with dragonsplague, or don’t know the real danger, then you will be in for a rude awakening after resting at an inn. If you do, you will get a cutscene of your Pawn turning into a monster in the night. Upon waking up, you will find that most, if not all, NPCs in whatever town you had rested in have been killed. Shopkeepers, quest givers, everyone is at risk of being slaughtered. This can have massive ramifications on your game if vital characters are killed and you don’t have the resources to bring them back to life.
How to tell if a Pawn has dragonsplague
What are the symptoms of dragonsplague so you can make sure not to rest at an inn and put everyone in danger? There are a few signs:
- If you get a tutorial message about dragonsplague, your Pawn was just infected with it. The prompt will only appear the first time a Pawn gets the disease, and it won’t tell you which one has it either.
- Second, a Pawn stops obeying orders. This is harder to detect, but pay attention to if they stop assisting you in battle.
- Also pay attention to your Pawn’s idle animation. If they are infected, they will grip their head and appear unwell.
- Finally, check their eyes. A Pawn with dragonsplague will have glowing red eyes.
How to cure dragonsplauge
If you’ve spotted a Pawn with dragonsplague, there are a few options to deal with it. The first is to just dismiss a Pawn with it at a Rift Stone to get them out of your party.
However, if it is your main Pawn with the curse, your only recourse is to kill them. The easiest way is to pick them up and throw them into any body of water. You can also go into battle and let them get downed, then refuse to revive them until their health fully depletes. So long as they fully die, the disease will be “cured.” Once you recall them from a Rift Stone, they will be free and clear of the disease.
