Dragon's Dogma 2 is getting a DLC expansion along with long-overdue performance and balance patches — but will they be enough to pull me back in?
Recently, Dragon's Dogma 2 has rolled out its 3.1 Title Update, adding true Fast-Travel and quality-of-life improvements. This is just one of two patches Capcom is planning to add leading up to its Dark Arisen DLC expansion in October 2026
Capcom fired on all cylinders during Summer Game Fest 2026. It revealed the long-awaited remake of Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Monster Hunter Wilds' highly anticipated DLC expansion, and an unexpected DLC expansion for Dragon's Dogma 2, titled Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen.
This expansion to Capcom's fantasy action-RPG will bring a new region for players to explore, new cosmetic options, twelve new Dungeon Challenges, and many more features based on the players' feedback when they played the base game.
However, players won't have to wait for the Dark Arisen DLC expansion when it launches on October 9, 2026, for new content.
Capcom is rolling out two major title updates for the base game Dragon's Dogma 2, which will add some gameplay adjustments people have been begging for since the game's launch, like improved fast-travel, performance optimization, balance changes, and many other quality-of-life features.
One of these title updates, 3.1, launched on June 10, 2026, and it brought forth the following changes (as stated on the Dragon's Dogma 2 website):
Click here to expand the full list ↴
- Added Features and Adjustments
- Fast Travel/Movement Adjustments
- Added the fast travel item Eternal Ferrystone.
* The Eternal Ferrystone will be automatically acquired after talking to Brant during the quest Seat of the Sovran.
* If you have already completed this quest, the item will be placed in your inventory. - Added Portcrystals to Melve, Checkpoint Rest Town and Volcanic Island Camp.
- Added a Portcrystal as a reward for the quest Monster Culling.
* If you have already completed this quest, it will be placed in your inventory. - Added Oxcart Stopovers.
- Reduced the time until the Doze Off command becomes available when riding an Oxcart.
- If an Oxcart happens to be close by, an Oxcart icon will be displayed on the mini map.
- Extended Oxcart Station departure hours. Oxcarts will now depart from morning till evening.
- Decreased the amount of stamina used when dashing outside of combat.
- Added the fast travel item Eternal Ferrystone.
- Selecting Load from Autosave after defeat will no longer result in loss gauge accumulation.
- Improved the stats for some equipment found when exploring dungeons.
- Options Additions/Adjustments
- Added the Free Camera option to Photo Mode.
- Added the option to toggle the display of patterns left on equipment strengthened in wyrmfire.
- Added the option to toggle the display of head armor.
- Changed the wording of the Set to "Examine" Only option in the Button Mapping settings to make it clearer that it does not include Dash.
- Added the option to enable/disable unhired pawns to approach you and offer their services.
- Added the option to enable/disable high fives from pawns after battle.
- Reward Adjustments
- Changed the content of some treasure chests and some enemy item drops.
- Increased the rewards (mainly gold) for some quests.
- UI Adjustments
- Added the option to use a Ferrystone from the map by moving the cursor to a Portcrystal.
- Improved the visibility of the player icon on the map.
- A notification will now display if your camping kit was destroyed in an ambush.
- When shopping, you can no longer purchase more than you can hold of a specific item.
- The stat boosts for Pawns inflicted with dragonsplague will now be reflected on the status screen.
- Multiple item types can now be transferred at once between the Arisen and Pawns.
- The Art of Metamorphosis has now been moved to the top of the Pawn Guild Vendor's product list.
- The order of Lantern and Lantern Oil has been changed at each shop so that Lantern Oil appears first.
- An hourglass icon will now appear on timed quest notifications.
- Quest progress will now be displayed for priority quests after loading saved data.
- Pawn Adjustments
- Added Guardian specialization.
* Enables the pawn to prevent oxcart raids from occurring while they accompany the Arisen. Also enables the pawn to singlehandedly repel smaller foes that attack the camp, and to reduce the Health of larger ones before the Arisen joins the battle.
* The Guardian's Tome can be acquired in the following ways.
- Bought from the Nameless Apothecary in the Nameless Village.
- As a reward for the quests Claw Them Into Shape and Readvent of Calamity.
* If you have already completed these quests, they will be placed in your inventory.
* Added a tutorial for the Guardian specialization. - Adjusted behavior when moving, making it harder to fall from cliffs.
- Increased the stamina recovered when Pawns help you after becoming exhausted.
- Added Guardian specialization.
- Shop Adjustments
- Reduced inn fees for staying at the inn in Melve, Excavation Site, Nameless Village, Borderwatch Outpost, Vernworth and Harve Village.
- Reduced fees for all barberie services.
- Lantern (Fueled) price changed from 1000 G to 800 G.
- Ferrystone price in Normal Mode changed from 10000 G to 5000 G.
- Ferrystone sale price changed from 99 G to 900 G.
- Text/Tutorial Display Adjustments
- Changed fonts.
- The loading screen has been changed to show tips instead of quest progress.
- The tutorial for loading from an autosave has been adjusted to reflect the changes to the loss gauge.
- Added a tutorial explaining the "!" symbol that displays on the minimap.
- Other Adjustments
- Adjusted the camera angle when approaching a pre-existing Portcrystal.
- Adjusted the quality of the camera angle when returning from a zoomed view.
- Added the Hollow Cape to the product lineup at Celeste's Smithy in Checkpoint Rest Town.
- ◆ Bug Fixes
- Vocations
- 【Mage】
- Fixed a bug where the Arisen's position would slightly move if no input was entered after drawing their sword.
- 【Sorcerer】
- Fixed a bug where Prescient Flare would not affix to enemies in certain areas of the Tomb of Ku'Myage.
- 【Trickster】
- Fixed a bug where the effect of the ability Enlightenment would activate without it being equipped.
- Pawns
- Fixed a bug where the Arisen and allied pawns would be afflicted with debilitations when hit by an unhired pawn's elemental weapon.
- Fixed a bug where a pawn's appearance would become unnatural when moving.
- Fixed a bug where a different pawn would speak when a pawn saves the Arisen from falling.
- Fixed a bug where a pawn would guide the Arisen to the Rocky Lair as if it was undiscovered, even though it had been fully explored.
- Fixed a bug where after the pawn Luksa was summoned in the Riftstone, Luksa would not disappear even when searching for pawns under different conditions and it would become impossible to interact with them.
- Fixed a bug where pawn commands would flash rapidly and pawns would not respond.
- Fixed a bug where pawns would sometimes not dash when far from the Arisen.
- Fixed a bug where a pawn would stop guiding the Arisen towards a quest immediately after they started.
- Fixed a bug where the "!" symbol that appears after a pawn discovers a movable boulder would remain on the map, even if the boulder has moved.
- Fixed a bug where the "!" symbol that appears after a pawn discovers a treasure chest would remain on the map, even after the chest was opened.
- Fixed a bug where pawns would not use Barrage Shot towards small enemies.
- NPCs
- Fixed a bug where NPCs would enter your private dwelling in Bakbattahl.
- Fixed a bug where some NPCs would not be registered in the NPC Logbook.
- Fixed a bug where NPC voices would not stop when they die.
- Fixed a bug where NPCs that died during a quest would be revived after waiting 999 days in game.
- Fixed a bug where you could buy the Saurian Tail from Emerich even if you did not have the required amount of gold.
- Enemies
- Fixed a bug where an enemy's appearance would become unnatural when held in place by Forbeding Bolt.
- 【Goblin/Hobgoblin/Chopper/Knacker】
- Fixed a bug where the hit effect would display incorrectly when the Arisen was hit by a burning club or torch.
- 【Harpy/Venin Harpy/Gore Harpy/Succubus】
- Fixed a bug where the Arisen's behavior would become abnormal when airborne near a wall's surface.
- 【Ooze】
- Fixed a bug where pawns were unable to avoid explosions.
- 【Undead/Fat Undead】
- Fixed a bug where enemies would not flinch after a Fighter successfully used the ability Deflect or True Deflect.
- 【Phantom/Phantasm/Specter】
- Fixed a bug where the simulacrum's behavior would become abnormal after it possesses a foe.
- 【Cyclops】
- Fixed a bug where unintended behavior would occur when startled while laying down.
- Fixed a bug where damage was not taken when recovering from a downed state.
- 【Minotaur/Goreminotaur】
- Fixed a bug where damage taken was greatly increased if hit with Counter Slash or Tidal Fury while charging.
- Fixed a bug where the enemy would continue to exist in a transparent state when destroyed while petrified.
- 【Goreminotaur】
- Fixed a bug where the enemy would repeat the same actions after certain conditions were met.
- 【Skeleton Lord】
- Fixed a bug where the enemy would attack skeletons and other unintended beings.
- 【Lich/Wight】
- Fixed a bug where enemies could attack for a period of time after death.
- 【Dullahan】
- Fixed a bug where damage was not taken for a period of time after a grab attack.
- Fixed a bug where the target being grabbed was not blown away at the end of a grab attack.
- Fixed a bug where the Thief's Easy Kill counter did not work and damage was taken when used.
- Fixed a bug where the Arisen's actions became abnormal when countering an attack with Warrior's Tidal Fury.
- Fixed a bug where the background music did not transition as intended when the battle situation changed.
- 【Drake】
- Fixed a bug where magic attacks were generated embedded in the ground.
- Fixed a bug that caused an unnatural appearance after dying while only the chest is glowing.
- Fixed a bug where death lines sometimes played when drakes aren't around.
- Fixed a bug where destroyed body parts sometimes reverted back to their pre-destroyed state.
- 【Drake/Lesser Dragon】
- Fixed a bug where destroyed body parts sometimes reverted back to their pre-destroyed state.
- 【Medusa】
- Fixed a bug where, at low frame rates, if the enemy was caused to flinch during a specific attack, they would be unable to move afterwards.
- Quests
- Fixed a bug in the quest Nesting Troubles where Lennart would sometimes be inflicted with the blighted debilitation.
- Fixed a bug in the quest Monster Culling where the wagon would disappear when approaching the location of the soldiers near the Nameless Village.
- Fixed a bug in the quest The Caged Magistrate where the Arisen would unintentionally move to a different location when using a Sealing Phial.
- Fixed a bug in the quest Saint of the Slums where Elena would be outside her cell after being imprisoned.
- Fixed a bug in the quest Hunt for the Jadeite Orb where Offulve wouldn't disappear when progressing along a certain route.
- Fixed a bug in the quest The Guardian Gigantus, where if the player were to approach the bridge just as the Talos destroyed it, the Talos would still throw a spear towards the bridge during the resulting cutscene.
- Fixed a bug in the quest The Guardian Gigantus where if the Talos was petrified right after destroying the bridge, a cutscene would play as if the Talos was still alive.
- Fixed a bug in the quest The Guardian Gigantus where progressing to the location where the scene changes at the same time the Talos throws the spear resulted in multiple instances of abnormal behavior.
- Fixed a bug in the quest A Scholarly Pursuit where, when getting close to the Battahl Purgener, the Arisen's appearance and hitbox were misaligned.
- Gimmicks
- Fixed a bug where fragments would spawn at their original location when destroying rolling rocks.
- Fixed a bug where the game would crash when re-spawning rolling boulders after they were destroyed.
- Equipment
- Fixed a bug where the character's neck was sticking out when wearing Creedbound Armor.
- Fixed a bug where, when wearing Monarch's Crown, the part that covers the neck would disappear after using a ferrystone.
- Fixed a bug where body hair was poking through when wearing Robe of the Enlightened.
- Fixed a bug where protrusions appear to stick out of the ring part of the Tribal Brace armor.
- Fixed a bug where shields were not sorted properly when sorting by strength.
- Fixed a bug where only the armor spikes remained when equipping cloak-type equipment while wearing Intrepid Scalecoat.
- Display
- Fixed a bug where rain entered certain buildings.
- Fixed a bug where wounds were not displayed when attacking an enemy.
- Fixed a bug where lanterns would flicker constantly despite being filled with oil.
- Fixed a bug where the model for Panacea would differ from that on the field.
- UI
- Fixed a bug where some riftstone names differed between the one displayed on the map and the one displayed in the rift.
- Sound
- Fixed a bug where, when equipped with a bow, the quiver sound effect would continue to play even after changing weapons.
- Other
- Fixed a bug where the game would crash during processing.
- Fixed a bug where falling into water in some places would not result in the activation of The Brine, allowing the player to move along the bottom of the water.
- Fixed a bug where approaching the Riverside Cavern would trigger a map transition and dialogue as if the pawns had entered the cavern, despite not actually being inside.
- Fixed a bug where selecting certain head options in the Character Creator would result in the appearance of holes beneath the eyes.
- Fixed a bug where items could not be obtained by performing the Investigate action after defeating enemies, and subsequently prevented further Investigate attempts.
- Fixed a bug where certain facial animations did not play in some cutscenes.
- Fixed a bug where obtaining multiple items simultaneously from a treasure chest while inventory space was insufficient would result in some items being unobtainable.
Windows Central's Take
Personally, I'm happy Dragon's Dogma 2 is getting another shot at life with these updates and DLC expansion because the base game has loads of potential to be one of Capcom's best games thanks to its in-depth combat system and massive open-world riddled with quests and secrets.
However, contrary to my colleague Jez Corden's 4.5/5 Star review of Dragon's Dogma 2, where he praised it for "rewarding the patient and creative with its deep systems and infectious combat," I feel the game is currently held back by some major issues that prevented me from finishing the game, one of which is its subpar performance.
When I played this game back in 2024 on Xbox Series X to help my colleague make strategy guides for it, Dragon's Dogma 2 frequently dipped between 30 and 20 frames per second. This made the controls during combat feel sluggish, and the visuals looked like a stuttery mess when there were too many characters and particle effects on-screen.
Another major issue I had with the game at launch was that traveling in the open-world map was a giant pain because you had limited modes of transportation, running outside of combat consumed too much stamina, and fast travel was only possible through limited resources called Ferrystones.
I understand the game wants to immerse players in its grand world by making them walk through most of it instead of fast traveling everywhere.
However, with my limited free time and giant backlog of games to play, I don't want to waste it running miles across the country to complete trivial fetch quests or waste vital fast-travel resources to chase after Sphinxes to solve their Riddles.
So, I'm glad we don't have to worry about that anymore thanks to this 3.1 Title Update, which has given players an Eternal Ferrystone that will let them fast-travel to any location with a Portcrystal without being consumed upon use like a regular Ferrystone.
However, the update that may convince me to give Dragon's Dogma 2 a second chance will be the 3.2 Title Update at the end of August, which will bring the performance refinements the game so desperately needs.
Not to mention it will bring improvements for its save system, character actions, and the infamous Dragonplague mechanic, adjustments to the UI, Pawns, and enemy stats, and many bug fixes.
If this performance patch can fix Dragon's Dogma 2's stuttery framerate, then I'll be fully on board to return to this game and prep for its DLC expansion when Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen launches on October 9, 2026, for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam.
Embark on a grand adventure with your Pawns to save the world from the indomitable Dragon in Dragon's Dogma 2, the long-awaited sequel to Capcom's cult fantasy action-RPG.
• Xbox Store Page
• Steam Store Page
🗨️ Over to you
What do you think of Dragon's Dogma 2's upcoming title updates in the lead-up to its Dark Arisen DLC expansion? Will they convince you to replay the game, or are you holding off until the DLC expansion arrives?
If you have any thoughts on the matter, please let us know through the poll below, the comments section, or our Reddit page.
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Alexander Cope is a gaming veteran with over 35 years of experience who primarily covers Xbox and PC gaming news and spotlights discounts on the best laptops, peripherals, and other electronics. He's also a diehard fan of JRPGs, action games, beat em’ ups, and Capcom’s Monster Hunter series
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