In Dragon’s Dogma 2, combat steals the show. It is cinematic, explosive, and seamlessly intuitive. It gives players the tools to tackle combat encounters head-on however they wish and rewards those who think outside the box. The tools that players all have at their disposal, however, depend on the vocations that you choose in Dragon’s Dogma 2.
Vocations are equivalent to a character’s class. They define what abilities they can equip, what gear they can use, and unlock key passive abilities. Players can switch between them anytime, but they play a pivotal role in determining exactly how your character plays. So, let’s take a look at all of the options and see which ones rise above the rest depending on how fun they are to play and how effective they are on the battlefield. First, we’ll rank the four Dragon’s Dogma 2 starting vocations, and then, we’ll move on to the advanced vocations that are unlocked later on in playthroughs.
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Dragon’s Dogma 2 Starter Vocations
4. Archer
Archers are exactly what you would expect. They have low defense but make up for it with more nimble movement abilities than some other vocations. The vocation is focused on staying on the fringes of combat and dealing physical damage with ranged attacks interspliced occasionally with elemental arrows to capitalize on enemy weaknesses. It is a staple of the fantasy genre, but it fails to capitalize on what makes combat in Dragon’s Dogma 2 special. Playing an archer is mostly just slowly strafing around a battle and shooting arrows that don’t always hit. Not a very good time, if you ask me.
3. Mage
The mage is the only starter vocation that has access to magick. Similarly to the archer they have to stay out of close combat due to having fewer hit points and lower defense. However, they do not have the nimble movement of the archer and their abilities come with lengthy casting times to use. This makes playing them well much harder to do, especially when fighting groups of smaller enemies.
So why are they above the archer? Well, they are the only class that has healing options at the start of Dragon’s Dogma 2, making them an indispensable resource. Mages also feature a wide range of abilities from offensive to defensive and support, making a well-played mage very powerful. Thankfully, they can be played by your pawn so even if you don’t want to play one you can still get access to their healing abilities early on.
2. Fighter
Fighters are the basic melee vocation in Dragon’s Dogma 2. They function primarily as tanks that are capable of soaking up damage with heavy armor and a shield. This means that they are always in the thick of combat, which is a great boon as melee classes are largely the best way to play Dragon’s Dogma 2. They aren’t capable of shelling out huge amounts of damage, but it is still a very fun vocation to play, especially if you get satisfaction from protecting or bolstering your party members.
1. Thief
The Thief vocation is by far the most fun and versatile of the starting options players are given. It is a damage-focused melee class that excels at dealing ridiculous amounts of damage to singular targets, making them great at fighting bosses and colossal creatures. The fun of playing a thief largely stems from how it pushes players to engage with every mechanic in Dragon’s Dogma 2. Players have to nimbly dodge attacks, use a diverse array of abilities to capitalize on developing situations, and are pushed to climb around on bigger enemies to target their weak points.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 Advanced Vocations
6. Warfarer
The warfarer advanced vocation is the last unlocked in Dragon’s Dogma 2. It requires players to reach the Volcanic Island Camp Hot Springs and find a man named Lamond. If players give him three bottles of Newt Liqueur he unlocks the class for them. The warfarer’s selling point is allowing you to equip any three weapons in the game. This makes it a very versatile class that can use abilities from the other vocations and swap on the fly to react to different situations. The variety can be a lot of fun to play if you can keep track of it all, but it prevents you from unlocking higher-level abilities for each of the weapons you have equipped. This makes the vocation a harder sell, especially when fighting higher-level enemies.
5. Trickster
The trickster vocation is a unique vocation. It is unlocked during the Flickering Shadows questline and focuses on wielding illusory magicks. These allow the player to manipulate the battlefield and bolster their allies. There are some really neat ideas at play in the class. You can summon a bridge over a gap only to destroy it when enemies go to cross it. You can block a massive attack with a mystical wall. Unfortunately, it is a very passive class that fulfills a support role on the battlefield. The trickster also requires players to be very familiar with the enemies and mechanics of Dragon’s Dogma 2 to be effective.
4. Sorcerer
The sorcerer is one of the first two advanced vocations unlocked during the Vocation Frustration quest found in the capital city of Vernworth. It expands the magical capabilities of players by giving them a bigger staff to channel more powerful magicks. It plays almost identically to the mage but is elevated by area-of-effect abilities. These are extremely powerful for dealing with groups of enemies and help it outweigh its negative characteristics much better than the mage does.
3. Warrior
The warrior vocation is unlocked alongside the sorcerer and acts as a damage-focused evolution of the fighter. It grants the ability to wield massive two-handed weapons. The transition does sacrifice much of the fighter’s defensive capabilities, but it is worth it for the satisfying squish of a goblin being crushed by a sword three times its size. The warrior can also equip heavy armor, meaning that its defensive capabilities are still more than enough, so really it is just your party members that need to figure out how to stay alive without your help.
2. Magick Archer
The magick archer vocation is unlocked in Agamen Volcanic Island by completing the quest Put a Spring in Thy Step. It modifies the archer class to use magick spells in lieu of arrows, allowing you to quickly switch between elemental effects and ensuring that they always hit their target. The quick management of swapping between arrows and adapting makes the vocation much more active to play, which is great. Its movement options are also a lot of fun to play around with and the sheer damage output it is capable of helps a lot as well.
1. Mystic Spearhand
To unlock the mystic spearhand vocation players need to travel to Dragonsbreath Tower and talk to Sigurd. Sigurd gives the vocation away just for the player talking to him, and I don’t blame him. I want everyone to play a mystic spearhand too. The vocation imbues the rapid movement and reactivity of the thief with the versatility of magick. It allows players to build complicated combo strings with regular attacks and magick effects, making it the most involved and satisfying vocation to play.
One of the greatest parts of Dragon’s Dogma 2 is how any of its vocations can be a blast to play thanks to its strong combat. So, if any of the vocations sound like they are your cup of tea, go for it. Even the gaps between how effective each is on the battlefield are slim. But I’ll still be comfortably using the mystic spearhand from here on out.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
