When all you have is a hammer…
The world of Dragon’s Dogma 2 is rife with nails—er, monsters. From wolves (which hunt in packs!) and goblins to minotaurs and cyclopes, you can hardly go a dozen steps across the land of Vermund without running into a dangerous adversary. Fortunately, the Arisen can choose from a number of Vocations to turn the tide. These Vocations grant new skills and abilities, favoring different weapons and styles of combat. For anyone fond of two-handed weapons and sheer force, the Warrior Vocation is calling.
The Warrior is something of a brutal battlefield barbarian, swatting down enemies with powerful blows from a greatsword, while standing firm and tanking hard hits from heavy-set monsters that would instantly crush some other Vocations. Here’s everything you need to know about the Warrior in Dragon’s Dogma 2.
Dragon’s Dogma 2: What is the Warrior Vocation?
The Warrior is a melee-oriented Vocation in Dragon’s Dogma 2. Instead of taking up a sword and shield like the Fighter, Warriors opt for one really big weapon, primarily some type of two-handed greatsword. Warriors have a huge amount of health, allowing them to soak up damage that can’t be blocked or deflected (for the most part, anyway).
Warriors are slow to strike, but when they strike they deal devastating damage, sundering individual targets and hitting multiple opponents at once. This makes the Warrior an interesting choice. It lacks the sheer protective quality of the Fighter, but unlike the Fighter, the Warrior can take on several enemies without fear of being overwhelmed.
Dragon’s Dogma 2: How to unlock the Warrior Vocation
The Warrior is not one of the four starting Vocations — Archer, Fighter, Mage, and Thief — and instead must be unlocked after you’ve started off on your Dragon’s Dogma 2 adventure. Fortunately, this isn’t a complicated Vocation to unlock.
You can easily unlock the Warrior (and the Sorcerer) by finding a greatsword (and Archistaff) as part of the “Vocation Frustration” side quest. This side quest is simple to find, and fairly simple to undertake, but if you want to make sure you don’t miss anything, you can consult my guide on finding the greatsword and Archistaff in Dragon’s Dogma 2.
Once you’ve got the quest complete, you can change your Arisen and your Pawn to the Warrior Vocation at any point by going to a Vocation Guild and speaking with the representative. There are several to find, but the easiest one to access is in the town of Vermund.
Dragon’s Dogma 2: Warrior Vocation skill list
There are three kinds of skills in each Vocation: Weapon Skills, Core Skills, and Augments. There are all of the skills I’ve found for the Warrior Vocation so far.
Weapon Skills
Weapon Skills are the main abilities you’ll be using with your chosen Vocation. You’ll need to pick and choose carefully, as you can only have so many assigned. That means if you unlock a new ability you like more, you may end up having to swap that older skill out and put the new one in instead. Some of these skills are upgrades of existing skills, but the majority are distinct.
| Skill name | Description |
|---|---|
| Skyward Sunder | Jumps up and slashes upward simultaneously, swingin’ the blade in mid-air. Can be charged prior to unleashing. |
| Heavenward Sunder | An advanced form of Skyward Sunder that inflicts greater harm when fully charged. |
| Rending Sweep | Spins the blade with enough force to cut down foes in all directions. Can be charged prior to unleashing. |
| Razing Sweep | An advanced form of Rending Sweep that inflicts greater harm when fully charged. |
| Bellow | Shouts to draw the attention of hostile targets in the vicinity. |
| Roar | An advanced form of Bellow that becomes more likely to draw the attention of foes with additional button presses |
| Goring Lunge | Charges forward, running targets through with the blade. Pressing the activation button again stabs forward. Striking with momentum impales foes and crashing them into walls inflicts more harm. |
| Ladder Launch | Enables the user to plant their feet and launch an ally into the air from their shoulders. |
| Catapult Launch | An advanced form of Ladder Launch that flings allies further and to greater heights. |
| Surging Strike | Leaps up and plunges down the blade using the full force of the user’s weight. Deals further strikes to smaller, flinching targets. Employable while jumping. More powerful when used from a height. |
| Revivify | Gives the user a second wind, curing them of some debilitations (flaming, frostbite, sleep, silence, and unconscious). |
| Savage Lash | Channels the user’s strength into a devastating charged strike. |
| Knoll Breaker | Thrusts the blade upward, delivering a solid blow that can knock targets off balance or render them unconscious. Can be charged prior to unleashing. |
| Tidal Fury | Delivers a momentous counterattack if the user is struck at the moment of activation. Can guard against targets’ strikes even should the counterattack fail. |
| Gale Slash | Uses the blade’s momentum to unleash a series of weighty slashes. Swings grow faster and faster if correctly timed. Unleashes a powerful slash attack if button is released when swinging fast enough. |
Core Skills
Core skills are used to buff up and enhance your specific Vocation in different ways. While some Core Skills may alter abilities, the effects are always contextually permanent and don’t have to be equipped, just unlocking them is enough. They’ll also never require any specific activation outside of the aforementioned manner in which they may alter an ability.
| Skill name | Description |
|---|---|
| Bulwark | Reduces damage taken from hostile targets during a charged attack. |
| Breakneck Strike | Enables a charged attack to inflict greater harm by unleashing it the very instant it is fully charged. |
| Chain of Blows | Employs the user’s momentum to unleash an additional Mighty Sweep. |
| Repulse | Parries a hostile target’s attack by unleashing a charged attack that can knock the target off balance. |
Augments
Augments are the most unique of the three skill types that a Vocation may use. Augments provide ostensibly simple benefits, such as Vitality, a Warrior Augment that increases your maximum Health stat. Unlike Weapon Skills and Core Skills however, once unlocked, Augments can be used across any Vocation. This approach encourages experimentation and allows you to buff a Vocation in unique ways if you make the effort of trying them out for extended periods of time.
| Skill name | Description |
|---|---|
| Vitality | Increases your Maximum Health. |
| Impact | Improves your ability to push and pull targets when grabbing hold. |
Dragon’s Dogma 2: Best Warrior build
The Warrior has a bit of flexibility, with multiple equally-useful skills that can be more or less useful depending on the exact situation you’re in. That said, a specific combination served me well when fighting a number of monsters:
- Skyward Sunder – This is your go-to for eliminating Harpies and landing hits on weak points for big monsters. Given the limited options available to the Warrior, taking this and the upgraded version of the skill, Heavenward Sunder, is a no-brainer.
- Rending Sweep – Spinning is a good trick, and Rending Sweep is perfect for clearing multiple enemies around you all at once, or dealing heavy damage to one large monster. You should also get the upgrade, Razing Sweep, which makes the attack absolutely devastating when charged.
- Ladder Launch – This one is tricky and definitely requires practice to get working properly, but if you can get the timing right, it’s immensely satisfying and effective to yeet your Thief right onto a monster’s head. Catapult Launch, the upgraded version of the skill, is even more useful.
- Repulse – A must-have Core Skill, Repulse allows you to parry a monster attack with any charged abilities. Combine Repulse with Razing Sweep, and once you learn the patterns of enemy creatures like minotaurs and cyclopses, you’ll watch in awe as their earth-shattering smash attacks are parried aside by your Arisen’s greatsword.
- Vitality – An Augment that increases your total Health. More Health means surviving longer and going longer without having to rest at an inn. Simple, but essentially required, no matter your preferred Vocation.
Dragon’s Dogma 2: Warrior Vocation tips and tricks
The Warrior Vocation isn’t unlocked right from the beginning of the game, but it is easy to find before you’ve spent too long on your adventure. As a result, it’s probably best to go from Fighter first, then to Warrior, taking advantage of the Fighter’s Mettle Augment being unlocked once you change Vocations.
With a Warrior, you need to always be spinning, and managing timing matters more than with other melee-other focused Vocations. You can do more damage than a Fighter, but you’re extremely slow, and missing an attack can mean getting tackled by Saurian with anger management issues. Spend time getting the timing of swinging your weapon down and you won’t be frustrated by inopportune enemy attacks.
Take note of your Pawn party’s positioning when you’re in a fight. If you find them being attacked, you need to immediately step in, creating distance with Razing Sweep and clearing space wherever possible.
Dragon’s Dogma 2: Best Pawn types for a Warrior Arisen
Playing a Warrior means knowing you’re going to take some hits. That means having a healer at your side is an absolute must, so you need to have a Mage Pawn in your party. Ideally, this should be your main Pawn, but having one in your party is a requirement. After that, you’ll also want to have an Archer who can help deal damage from a distance, picking off flying enemies and filling griffins with arrows.
The third Pawn is totally up to you. A Fighter can help in spreading out the damage that your party receives, drawing enemy attention and allowing you to focus on landing heavy hits on your foes. Alternatively, you can take a Sorcerer, who will increase the raw damage output and elemental variety that your party can use.
Take up arms and lead your Pawns to victory
Dragon’s Dogma 2 features a world fraught with peril, and while you may find parts of the game extremely challenging, pushing through or rethinking your approach with your chosen Vocations will lead to success.
In our review of Dragon’s Dogma 2, managing editor Jez Corden wrote that “Dragon’s Dogma 2 has some of the most incredible “adventure” gameplay ever committed to code. A truly gargantuan journey spanning hundreds of virtual miles along a vast mountainous coast, through desert badlands, culminating atop a volcanic moss-washed island. I loved almost every minute of my time with Dragon’s Dogma 2, and I’m already eager to start over fresh once I finish my assignments this week.”
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is now available on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PlayStation 5.
