Dragon's Dogma 2 - Romance And Affinity Guide
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You'll meet hundreds of characters in Dragon's Dogma 2. Funnily enough, you can improve your relationship with most of them. A few even have arcs that lead to something that's more than just friendship. Here's our Dragon's Dogma 2 romance and affinity guide to help you with this particular mechanic.
How affinity and romance work in Dragon's Dogma 2
The Dragon's Dogma 2 romance and affinity mechanic is, generally speaking, dependent on giving gifts to NPCs. Almost all named NPCs are part of this, though a select few can become romantic partners. In other cases, you might be able to increase affinity by completing quests.
Fierce foes and loyal companions await you as you journey onward in Dragon's Dogma 2. For other tips and strategies, you can visit our guides hub.
How to give gifts to NPCs
You can give gifts to named NPCs by starting a conversation with them. In the middle of dialogue, you should see the "Gift" action/prompt. Press this button to open your inventory panel, which allows you to select a particular item that can be given to the character.
Characters can include everyone from those that play major or supporting roles in the story, right down to your average vendor, innkeeper, or oxcart driver.
Note that affinity can only increase once per day. That means you have to rest periodically while handing out gifts to people.
How to check preferred gifts
You can check the types of gifts that an NPC wants by checking the History - NPC Logbook tab. Each NPC has certain gifts that they like. These include beautiful items like flowers or expensive items such as gemstones.
Quests, escort missions, and affinity
NPCs tend to provide you with various quests that aid in progression (i.e. Commander Brant). In other cases, NPCs you've met might ask you to accompany them. These activities can help increase affinity.
In the case of escort missions, the NPC will follow you to a marked location. You need to protect them since they can die (you can revive them with a Wakestone), or they could get stuck. Ideally, though, if the destination is close enough to a Portcrystal, you can just fast travel via Ferrystone. The NPC will be teleported alongside you, and you won't have to cover a great distance.
Note that important NPCs tend to reward you with a Bunch of Flowers. This can be gifted to other characters to further boost your relationship level with them.
Other ways to improve relationship boosts
If you want to make the most out of the Dragon's Dogma 2 romance mechanic, then you should find ways to boost affinity gains further:
- Trickster augment: Allure - The Trickster is an unlockable class/vocation. One of the augments that you can obtain is Allure, which helps you increase your bonds with others easily.
- Seeker's Tokens: Eternal Bond - There's also the Eternal Bond ring, which can be given to a character to greatly increase your relationship level with them. You can acquire this once you've collected 120 Seeker's Tokens.
Rewards for having high affinity
If you have high affinity with characters, you'll notice how they blush when you speak with them. They may even provide you with rewards. For instance, you might see a note that's posted just outside your player home. Upon reading it, you could receive items, such as Ferrystones or Wakestones. As for merchants/vendors, they may offer you a discount when buying their wares.
A little trip to the brothel
In the capital city of Vernworth, you'll find the Rose Chateau Borderlie, a brothel that has a lot of attendants. You won't have access right from the get-go. However, you might obtain a membership card while you're tackling The Stolen Throne quest.
Once inside, you may speak to an attendant and pay them 20,000 gold. This leads to a short cutscene where the NPC and your character are in their underwear... and that's that.
Quests that lead to love scenes
Some characters in the game also have their own quest arcs, and these might lead to a special scene. You can learn more in our Wilhelmina romance quest guide and Ulrika romance quest guide.
In any case, that's everything you need to know about romance and affinity in Dragon's Dogma 2. You could always find love even in a time of war and rampaging monsters.
Fierce foes and loyal companions await you as you journey onward in Dragon's Dogma 2. For other tips and strategies, you can visit our guides hub.