An aggressive and devastating new feature has surprised players of Dragon’s Dogma 2. Dragonsplague, a special sickness impacting only the AI-controlled allies called Pawns, is causing unanticipated chaos for many unaware Arisen. While an interesting idea, the results of disregarding Dragonsplague are surprisingly serious, ruining entire in-game communities.
The Dragonsplague can be contracted by battling dragons or by hiring an infected Pawn from another player. Sadly, the disease cannot be cured with regular items and doesn’t appear in the Status menu. This means players have to carefully observe their Pawns to identify the infection instead of relying on quick menu checks. This is causing a lot of strife and a split between opinions of it being good or bad. Check out the tweet below for a good example of what happens.
The late-stage effects of Dragonsplague are especially dangerous. If an infected Pawn stays in the player’s party for too long, it will turn into a dark dragon the next time the player rests at an inn. This transformation causes a catastrophic event, destroying the entire town or city and killing its NPC inhabitants. This could have serious consequences, potentially leading to the loss of quest givers or characters crucial to the main storyline.
We’d recommend everyone recognize the subtle signs of Dragonsplague infection to prevent tragedies. Infected Pawns will have a faint red glow in their eyes, sometimes hold their head in pain, or act strangely when given orders. It’s important to look over every pawn you hire because it spreads fast. There is only a short time to handle Dragonsplague before it leads to a disaster.
There is only one way to deal with Dragonsplague effectively. Non-player Pawns must be sent away or defeated in battle. The player’s Main Pawn can be temporarily defeated by submerging them in water or throwing them off cliffs. Then, you can revive them at a Riftstone, which cures the infection. There have been reports of the illness spreading to other players if the Main Pawn is hired, too, so giving them a beatdown fast is important.
We’re not going to comment on game development, as it’s up to the developer to add and remove features. We do know this is incredibly controversial, and some players love the idea. So we’ll just say to be wary when hiring pawns or fighting dragons. Reports on social media and forums suggest that some players may have permanently ruined their game progress due to Dragonsplague rampages. While the feature adds exciting risk and unpredictability, the potential consequences have surprised many.