Dragon's Dogma 2: A Beginner's Guide to Pawns

Perhaps the most unique feature of Dragon's Dogma 2 is the pawn system. Unlike many other RPGs, you aren't able to take direct control of your party members in DD2; instead, party members other than the Arisen (a.k.a. your player character) are known as pawns. Pawns are computer-controlled allies and companions with a variety of temperaments and skills who will stay by your side throughout (almost) the entire game.

Your main pawn is a character you create alongside your Arisen at the start of the game, with access to all the same customisation options and possible vocations. They level up independently of your character but will likely stay more-or-less in step with you in terms of capability as you progress through the game and are your second permanent party member, albeit one you don't control directly.

Hired pawns, on the other hand, fill out the remaining slots in your party. They can't level up and therefore are likely only to be your companions temporarily, but nevertheless they are extremely useful allies during combat and exploration. The really cool thing, though, is that hired pawns don't have to be randomly generated: if you're playing online, other players' main pawns will show up in your hiring pool, allowing you to enjoy a bit of cooperative play-by-proxy in this otherwise firmly single-player game.

How to hire pawns in Dragon's Dogma 2

Your main pawn will join your Arisen's party at a convenient moment in the story of Dragon's Dogma 2, and will stick by your side through thick-and-thin from thereon out.

There are two more spaces to be filled, though, and not much sense leaving them empty, so you'll want to hire pawns at your earliest convenience.

Randomly generated pawns will approach you on a semi-regular basis as you explore the world in order to offer their services, but if you want to shop around for the best fit for your team and/or experience the joys of other players' wacky creations, you'll want to interact with any Rift Stones you encounter.

Rift Stones can be found in most settlements, but are also a feature of the landscape that you'll come across from time to time as you explore. Interacting with one transports your Arisen to the Rift, where they can browse through a random selection of pawns who are available for them to hire.

What's the best party composition in Dragon's Dogma 2?

At the beginning of the game, there are four vocations available to you: Fighter, Thief, Archer, and Mage. There are also, conveniently enough, four places in your party: two filled by your Arisen and main pawn, with the other two open for hiring temporary pawn companions as needed.

Therefore, I highly recommend arranging your initial party around those four core vocations. Ensure that your main pawn has a different vocation to your Arisen, and then hire two pawns to fill in the other two specialisms as soon as you can.

Of course, as you progress through the game and unlock additional vocations, things become a little more complicated. However, vocations are colour-coded such that melee fighters are always shown in red, ranged fighters in yellow, magic users in blue, and stealthy types in green, so you can maintain that balance into the later game if you like.

At minimum, you'll definitely always want to have a close-up fighter, a ranged fighter, and a magic user (for healing and buffs) to ensure that you can deal with anything the game throws at you.

How often should I switch out my pawns in Dragon's Dogma 2?

While your main pawn stays with you throughout the game and levels up more-or-less alongside your Arisen, hired pawns can't level up while in your company. Therefore, rather than getting too attached, it's worth regularly switching out your hired companions with new ones at higher levels.

Frankly, there's no reason not to at least take a look at the available pawn hires every time you find a new Rift Stone, especially if you've been exploring the wilderness for a while. You tend to level up quite rapidly during exploration, at the same time that Rift Stones are few and far-between, so the odds are good that you'll benefit from swapping in a couple of higher-level hired pawns when you're given the opportunity.

Why do some pawns cost currency to hire in Dragon's Dogma 2?

Pawns of your own level or lower are free to hire, but pawns of a higher level than your main character cost a varying amount of a special currency called Rift Crystals. Broadly speaking, the greater the difference between your level and that of your potential hiree, the higher the cost of bringing them onto your team.

On a meta-game level, this is there to deter you from simply always hiring the highest-level pawns you encounter and letting the AI basically complete the game for you. However, it's not cheating to judiciously spend your netherworld coin on hiring a pawn who's a few levels stronger than you are — that's literally what Rift Crystals are there for, after all!

The most important thing, though, is still using pawn hires to fill gaps in your team's expertise. There's not much point hiring a Fighter who's a couple of levels ahead of your Fighter Arisen if that leaves your team without a Mage to act as healer, for example; and a Mage of your own level who you hired for free would almost certainly be more beneficial to your party than a costly high-level Fighter under those circumstances.

How to earn Rift Crystals in Dragon's Dogma 2

You can accumulate Rift Crystals fairly easily just by exploring the world and completing quests; you also get a nice payout every time you interact with a new Rift Stone for the first time. You can also buy them for real-world cash, although we'd argue that isn't really worth it.

You'll also receive a helping of Rift Crystals every time your main pawn returns from their adventures in another player's game, which get delivered when you wake up from resting at an inn.

However, you're unlikely to earn enough Rift Crystals to hire a pawn more than a handful of levels above your Arisen's, unless you really hoard them for one specific hire. This is a deliberate choice for game balance and of course you're free to spend your Rift Crystals as you choose, but in my experience it's best to maintain a solid team who are all at a similar level and swap out hired pawns often.

How to dismiss a pawn in Dragon's Dogma 2

You can't dismiss your main pawn, since they're your ride-or-die companion for the duration of the game. But you'll want to swap out your hired pawns for higher-level alternatives on a pretty regular basis — or maybe you'll just get sick of one, since their personalities are surprisingly varied.

To dismiss a pawn from your party, you just need to hire another one. Your party headcount is hard capped at four members, so when attempting to hire a pawn (either in the Rift or from a random encounter) when you already have the maximum number of companions, you'll be prompted to dismiss one. The game will let you choose which one to get rid of, and even gives you a handy overview of their stats and so-on to help you decide who to cut.

Don't worry, the pawn's dialogue will make it clear that there's no hard feelings over letting them go. In exchange, you'll have the option to give them a rating (Thumbs-Up or Heart) and even send them back to their player with a gift from your inventory in-hand as a thank you. It's really all very wholesome.

For more early-game character choices, check out our guide to picking the best starting vocation in Dragon's Dogma 2, and see our explainer on why your choices in character creation actually matter.