Dragon's Dogma 2 - How To Recruit Pawns
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Pawns play an important role in Dragon's Dogma 2. They are your companions, people who help form a well-rounded party. As such, it's important to consider where you can find them in the world. Here's our guide on how to recruit pawns in Dragon's Dogma 2.
How to recruit pawns in Dragon's Dogma 2
The first thing to keep in mind is that your party consists of the following:
- The Arisen - This is your character.
- Main pawn - You create your main pawn upon reaching the Borderwatch Outpost.
- Two support pawns - These are recruited as you go along.
Note that your character and main pawn gain XP and level up. Support pawns, however, do not. As such, you may find yourself frequently switching to different support pawns as you progress.
One more thing to remember is that pawns can either come from players (i.e. the main pawns they create) or from Capcom (i.e. premade pawns with their own quirks to help out newcomers).
Earning Rift Coins (RC)
The currency used when recruiting pawns is called Rift Coin (RC). This is earned through the following means:
- Interacting with a Forgotten Riftstone for the first time.
- Random loot when you defeat certain spectral enemies.
- Awarded if another player selects your pawn during their adventure.
Note that pawns may cost a certain amount of RC:
- Pawns from Forgotten Riftstones and those that are at a lower level compared to your character don't cost any RC.
- Those at a higher level require you to spend RC. The higher the level, the higher the cost.
Pawns met on your journey
While exploring, you'll encounter pawns that are just roaming around. They'll help you fight off enemies, too. If you interact with them, you'll see their level, skills, RC cost, and the option to recruit them.
Riftstones
There are several varieties of Riftstones:
- Riftstones in major settlements - Riftstones found in cities (i.e. Vernworth and Battahl) offer several functions (more on these later).
- Riftstones in minor settlements - Riftstones found in smaller settlements tend to have limited functions only.
There are also Forgotten Riftstones, which you might stumble upon in specific areas. You can activate them to gain a particular function:
- Free Pawn - A random pawn will magically emerge from the Riftstone. It will be at a higher level (compared to your character's current level), and it won't cost any RC. It's a good idea to save free pawns as favorites. Even if you don't need them at that very moment, you can call on them down the line and they're free of charge, too.
- Linked Riftstone/Charactertistics - These Forgotten Riftstones allow you to summon multiple pawns in a Rift, and they belong to a particular category or characteristic.
Searching for inclinations/behavior via Linked Riftstones
As mentioned above, some Forgotten Riftstones act as Linked Riftstones. Here's the gist:
- You can quickly recruit pawns in Dragon's Dogma 2, assuming you're in a city, by interacting with the Riftstone and selecting the Linked Riftstone option. This brings up a list of the Forgotten Riftstones that you've discovered.
- Forgotten Riftstones summon pawns of a certain characteristic--i.e. inclination/AI behavior, body type, height, features, and more.
Let's say you want to find Kindhearted pawns. If you've already tagged a Riftstone of the Kindhearted, and you can choose this category to summon pawns with this particular inclination. You can learn more in our best pawn inclinations and specializations guide.
Other search options: Pawns in the Rift, Pawn ID, Pawns You've Met, and more
You can open other panels when interacting with a Riftstone:
- Pawns in the Rift - Allows you to see a list of pawns in your current instance. You may check their inclinations, specializations, and skills--not all skills will be listed, so you have to talk to pawns one by one.
- Pawn ID - Each main pawn created by a player has its own ID. You can enter this if you just want to summon a friend's pawn.
- Favorites - These are the pawns in your favorites list.
- Pawns You've Met - If you've discovered a Riftstone of Remembrance, you can select it to summon only the pawns that you've recruited to your party in the past.
- Monthly Rankings - These are the pawns that have received the highest approval (i.e. thumbs up and hearts).
Switching to other pawns
As cited before, support pawns don't level up alongside you and your main pawn. As such, your playthrough will be akin to a revolving door of companions. If you need a party member with a different class or specialization, then you can dismiss either of your two support pawns so you can invite someone else.
When dismissing a support pawn, you can do the following:
- Give a gift - This item will be given to the player who created that pawn.
- Approval - Give a thumbs up or a heart symbol.
Pawn Quests
Riftstones also allow you to select a Pawn Quest for your main pawn. This will be active whenever someone else adventures with your pawn. Here's the gist:
- You can either pick an objective that's badge-related (i.e. kill certain monsters) or exploration-related (i.e. camp in a specific region).
- Choose the type of reward that the player will receive (i.e. gold or an item).
- At certain points when you rest at an inn, you'll see the rewards that you've received (if another player chooses your pawn).
That's everything you need to know about how to recruit pawns in Dragon's Dogma 2. There are certainly more mechanics to bear in mind, and you can read about them in out pawn inclinations/specializations guide and pawn/NPC revival guide.
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.