To help better understand the structure of the world in Dragons Dogma, it is like an apartment building with many floors/levels: 1) Every floor is the same but inhabited by different people, its own arisen, dragon, cycle and seneschal as the warden of that floor. 2) The Riftstone is the elevator that connects all these floors that your lets pawn travel through to them. 3) The Pathfinder is the owner of the building, watching every floor making sure things are in running order accordingly. (This is surmised from Capcom concept presentation of DD before the first game was released back then.)
@h.knight The Greater Will sounds like a Outer God, just like Elden Ring. Pretty much a entity that exists outside the bounds of our reality, but communes with it's followers like Pathfinder, to see it's Will put into action. Could be the creator of the world, or a entity that took control of that world.
Addition: 1) After ascending to the throne of Seneschal, Rothais got the perfect view of his floor and realized: Every inhabitant serves a purpose, their destiny is pre determined and they have no free will. tl:dr version: He realized all this time he and ever inhabitants are literally NPCs and he snapped. So he started killing people randomly out of spite because hey theyre just mindless NPCs imprisoned by destiny that Great Will set for them, might as well kill them and set them free. Thus he was dubbed the mad Sovran. 2) This attracted the attention of the Pathfinder to his floor and realized he had to do something to get it back in order. So he sent a bunch of arisens to kill Rothais. But they failed and got killed by Rothais instead (because power wise, a Seneschal is very powerful). The dead arisen souls become fragments of the crystals which later be made into the Godsway. 3) You managed to convince Rothais to abdicate his post but not before he sold his idea of being free from the Great Will to you. Pathfinder was happy with your help, he could finally get back things in order and make his Great Will boss happy but nope. You also want to be free. 4) However, there is a risk. Every floor that does not follow the rules and order that the Great Will has put in place will get destroyed by the brine (those tentacle thingy in the water) its like a piping problem that floods the floor in the building. So pathfinder insists that you stick to your role and keep things in check as they should be so the floor wont get flooded. 5) So what happened at the end of the true ending was, you the arisen managed to cut off the pipe and detach your floor from the rest of the building. Now it is no longer bound by the building rules and management, and its inhabitants are free to forge their own destiny.
@@VisionoftheChief There's a Reddit post all about this called 'The True World Has Been Reached, The True Cycle Restored. The True Ending Explained.' The Great Will is not a God. It's the Dragon itself. Confusing, right? But it's the truth. This is an English mistranslation. In the English version, the Pathfinder says this: ''Time has seen worlds uncountable created, only to be snuffed out like candles by the cold breath of oblivion. Eventually, the Great Will tired of witnessing this. It sought to overturn oblivion by granting unto it a role. A duty. An identity. I speak of the Dragon.'' But in the Japanese one, he says this: ''A cycle that has repeated countless times... a world is born, and then erased by nothingness. Eventually, a will that fought against nothingness was born. That will obtained a role... That of Dragon.'' This massively elevates the importance and power of the Dragon, as it means he is a cosmic being that came first before anything else and allowed the rest to exist by safeguarding creation from oblivion. English Pathfinder follows it with this: ''By the great will does the Dragon create a cycle, allowing it to forestall the end of this world time and time again. Yes, Arisen. This world has been safeguarded by the Dragon all along. You yourself were chosen to form a part of this cycle. The Arisen is selected by the Great Will to play the role of the Dragon's counterpart.'' While Japanese Pathfinder says: ''Dragon, through Great Will, caused flux in nothingness, slowing down annihilation. That's right. The world you know of exists because it had been protected by Dragon. The Awakened (Arisen) is an existence that was chosen by Great Will to be a foil to Dragon.'' That might seem confusing at first, but that's because the English language only has one word for ''Will''. The Japanese version separates the Dragon's Will from Oblivion's Will. So there are two ''Great Wills''. One is that of the Dragon who somehow willed himself into existence and protects everything, and the other is that of a pure cosmic force that isn't fully explained. In a way, this almost makes us as the Arisen seem like the bad guy because we're the ones first created by a being/power that was opposed to the Dragon, which safeguarded countless words. It's a really interesting read that is far too long for a comment. I highly recommend you look it up.
There's a reddit post that i highly suggest everyone read that explains everything about DD2 including the fact that the pathfinder's ending dialogue was mistranslated so poorly that it completely changes the narrative. In short, King Rothias abandoned his duties as senischel and killed every person to challenge for the position of the next arisen so the pathfinder manipulated the cycle of arisen/dragon but in doing so he basically doomed the world into a slow oblivion. Notice the major differences between Grigori (the dragon from dd1) and this dragon. Grigori was all about reinforcing the idea that everything rested on the arisen's choices and decisions whereas this dragon seems incredibly shallow and is basically begging the arisen to end the pathfinder's false cycle. Ulrika was originally going to be the next arisen but when you sacrificed yourself to save her the dragon chose you because it was going to require a great will to finally end the false cycle. The former arisen in harve village (the old fisherman who is in the final cutscene) had reached the unmoored world himself but lacked the will to put an end to the false cycle. The unmoored world is the true world with the veil lifted showing the oblivion surrounding the world which will ultimately consume it due to the false cycle of arisen/dragon that the pathfinder is manipulating. Im leaving out a lot of details and not giving justice to the depth of it all but definitely look into that reddit post if you are intrigued by the lore behind dd1 and 2
The translation was badly mishandled for sure. From that post, Rothais’s title was unambiguously translated as Seneschal. That alone would have been of massive help when trying to figure out the context of the plot without having to rely on understanding Japanese.
Yes! I completely agree. DD HAS a deep lore, it's just that people missed it (because is part of the loading screens or dialogues in game, while you're fighting so sometimes you lost focus on the things told because you're trying to keep you alive)(And that's a reason to re play the game too!) or sometimes they misunderstood/not analyze it. And it also had some grayish or vague points for you to play. Seriously, I hope people could understand the media/messages who developers/writers wants to show you in a better way.
This 100% every time someone goes on a tyrant about DD2 for example its mtx I simple ask did yall play it? They either say no or use the mtx as an excuse as to why they wont or they simply just quote what someone who also didn't play the game said to make a point. No one I know who played the game hates it yeah they have some problems with the game we all do but it isn't as bad as people are making it out to be.
well I played it and I thought it was pretty good but I felt let down by the game. It is better than the first one, but it feels like it takes some major steps back in terms of gameplay from dark arisen.
Played it through to the true ending. That story is dreadfully dry. The gameplay is 10/10 with some hiccups here and there, but that story is a 2/10 at best. The only parts that are remotely memorable, and I'll be able to say I'd remember a year from now, are literally the final two cutscenes. 79.5 hours and I don't even remember the prince's name, or the beastren queens name, and she's literally on the cover art. Shameful.
The thing about DD is that in its conception its an eternal cicle of games. Each Arisen its the "true" arisen....for the player, because thats what they are, furthermore given that the rift transports pawns to other "arisen" wich are just as valid as all the others, simply reinforces that its an infinite universe with infinite outcomes and infininte possibilities. Heck...you want to get uplifting?. Many universes have been saved by all of us "the arisens" but just as many have been domed. In other words, where the DD1 universe might continue its cycle, DD2 universe might technically be "free" from the cicle, but at the same time DD3 potential universe will just be another one with another potential outcome. In other words...DD as a multiuniverse its ever expanding, never ending and eternal....in other words...its a cycle of eternal return.
I was thinking it could be a prequel or a sequel, given the fact that at the true ending of the game things are left ambiguous as to the position of the arisen
I want this game to get the Royal treatment like the Persona games series, where they add more content to flesh out the original story and then an expansion after the game is finished
My main pawn somehow went all dragon plague and murdered a whole town without showing any signs. She always obeyed me. Never acted strange. No glowing eyes. The night before I went to sleep, she told me nothing made her happier than being with me. Luckily, I had an eternal wakestone. I wanted it to happen for the achievement anyway. It's just so weird that she never showed the signs.
@@neocrimsoncloud I have started just checking my pawn into the brine every so often so they don't become infected. "Oh, we've been out for a week? Time for a swim" Maybe a little excessive...
My BiL made a pawn that is suspect all the time. He'll say things like "of course it has to be me, it always is" when told to do something or " I'll do it but I won't pretend to be happy about it" and so forth. I'm like do you want a brine bath, sir? Lol
Fun fact they kind of not. Savan too has stabbed himself with the godsbane. The godsbane doesn't release you from the seneschal position. The godsbane seperates you the seneschal from your mortal coil and instills it in your pawn. That's why in other new games you'll fight your presvious arisen
The only thing I didn’t understand narratively, is why would the pathfinder actively give me the Godsway blade since it was the tool to end the cycle he is meant to protect?
@@kevinvu5432 Gotta get pawn affinity above 620. It starts around a neutral 200. The max is 1000. Talking (small talk with your pawn is +2 High fiving your pawn is +5 Hot spring bathtime with your pawn is +10 Presenting your pawn to the Sphinx as your ''Most beloved'' is +20 (one time thing) Changing your pawn's hair (one hair sheen is enough) is +50 Death, no matter the cause, is -25 All of these are on a 10 minute cooldown. If around 200 affinity is reached in a short span of time, there's a cooldown of a few hours, which then resets, allowing you to max it out again. Generally if you just high five and talk to your pawn a lot as well as giving them an occasional haircut/bath, you'll max it out fast.
@@kevinvu5432 My first thought was this is a joke. But apparently there is pawn affinity. I know that towards the end of the game when I chose to talk to my pawn sometimes they would blush, which is the sign you have max affinity. Presumably this is what the comment is referring to. Sorry to say not sure how to increase this, but I have heard that just throwing your pawn into the brine will decrease it.
They aren't getting free will they are doing the Dragon/Drakes will. This is also in the 1st game. The dragons snatch up your companion and compel them to attack you. After you stop them everything pass that is new, but the drakes are the ones controlling the pawns. Which sucks in the bad way lol. It seems at the very end is when they get free will.
Possession of Pawns by a drake is a different thing than that, though. We know of Pawns that get possessed by dragonkin, we know of Pawns that get corrupted (like in Bitterblack Isles) and we know of the Bestowal of Spirit, where a Pawn takes on its master's appearance and eventually becomes human with a "will of their own" (like Selene or the player's Pawn). The Dragonplague in DD2 seems to be something very different, as they become stronger, while becoming defiant until they lose control and become genocidal. The only time they stay in control is in the true ending (and with max affinity, we even see them return to humanoid form for a moment to talk about being given a fledgling will). Overall, while Pawns are these blank slates (literally, their looks, class, demeanor etc. can be changed at the player's/Arisen's will, alway rember the stfu chair in DD1), but they can be formed and changed in many different ways, both in a good and bad way.
@@Windmelodie The video said this is the only time they have free will. What i'm saying thats not true its the dragons control. 1st they'll attack you. Kill em.. but they are still under its the drakes spell. They will say after awhile (usually during a fight) that they feel under like they are under a great power.. which is why i'm saying they don't have free will during the plague its the drake/dragon's will. Now why the Brine is the only thing to clear it is wild.
@@Windmelodiethe dragons plague is the nature of the pawns and the dragons dogma it’s why dragons can control pawns because they are one in the same. The dragonsplague is the pawns nature battling against the pawns free will. It’s why when drakes force control over your pawns they contract it. It’s why in the Unmoored world your pawn when at max affinity delivers a speech that they would give up their entire existence for you because they love you. The pawn and the dragons dogma are one in the same the pawn gaining its own will is against the dogma and when the pawn helps the arisen defeat the end of the dogma and end of the story they defeated themself because they are one in the same. Maybe the pawn survives because they gained a will of their own and like Rothais said. *Power endures*
I would like an Expansion that actually has us existing in the world that progresses after the True Ending. There has to be other threats out there and the world cannot just be that location alone.
I can only imagine how the first people who discovered this route reacted. They either did it out of curiosity/trial and error cause the godsbane was never used in the story, or thought it'd be funny to make up a joke ending where once Grigori finishes his speech he notices you killed yourself out of boredom, only triggered that ending by accident
I’d played the first so I knew the godsbane was important but I was too dumb to figure out you could use items on the dragons’s back the first few times
I'm not gonna lie, I felt utterly blue-balled by the "true ending". The way you explain the ending makes more sense than the way the game itself explains it. Don't get me wrong, I still love the game, but I feel like the ending fell flat on its face for one important reason: the game failed to follow the rule of "show, don't tell." The game TELLS you at the eleventh hour that everything is preordained and the people of the world are enslaved to the cycle, but the game never SHOWS you the effect that's having on the world in any of the events leading up to the ending. I get what they were going for, but I as the player never really felt like I was given any real motivation for wanting the cycle to end. None of the characters I met throughout the game ever FELT like they lacked free will in the context of the story. In fact, I found more satisfaction in the side quests because they felt more personal and relatable, and actually made me care about the characters. So for me it wasn't enough for the antagonist of the game to simply state that everything is hollow and there is no free will, because that's not what I saw throughout the course of my adventure. Show me every character behaving in an uncanny and robotic manner, make me feel like something is amiss and that there's actually something there that everyone needs to be set free from, don't just tell me. And also the fact that there wasn't even a proper final battle, just a scripted sequence with you climbing up a giant Dragon's back, was a major disappointment too.
Sorry for the long post but I have a lot to say about this ending. Another thing that irked me is that it felt like a lot of plot threads just got kinda forgotten about. The first half of the game where you're doing quests to undermine the Queen Regent and legitimize your claim to the throne felt well paced and like it was actually leading somewhere, but as soon as the main quest takes you to Battahl, it just feels like things start happening way too fast, and before you even know it you're already at the final battle with the Dragon. The whole political plot is just dropped by the wayside and you just become Sovran with no questions asked or any opposition from Disa and her supporters after the Dragon is defeated, even though nobody was there to personally see you kill it other than your pawns. Also, what the hell happens to your pawn during the Unmoored World ending, and why? Did she get suddenly infected with stage 4 Dragonsplague for no reason? What the hell happened to my other pawns that were standing right there a second ago? How was my main pawn able to retain her own consciousness when transformed into that winged creature? What is up with that giant dragon at the end? Is that the Worldforged in a different form? Is it the main dragon in a beefed up form? If I defied my fate by refusing to kill the main dragon then why do I just end up killing a different dragon to break the cycle? Why don't I get to confront the Worldforged in person and fight him as the final boss? If free will is an illusion then how is anybody able to deviate from their assigned roles at all, like Disa when she had you captured or Phaesus when he started researching how to control the Dragon? Just what the hell is going on with this ending? Explain, damn it! This was the reaction I had when finishing the game's true ending. It just felt so poorly thought out and rushed, and although the rest of the game is 10/10, I really wish they'd done better at wrapping up the plot.
@@dustinspeakes8793 You have to play the first game to understand mainly everything. These worlds did not exist on their own, its all watched over by the Seneschal. In DD1, we become the seneschal but believed this "eternal ring" deserved "true freedom" in all its worlds without a god controlling everything. Thats what led to the result of the post game in DD2. No seneschal means no overseer for the rifts, the everfall and its inhabitants, illnesses, and monsters spill over into each other, while all dragons defy their purposes(Dogma). No "true test of will" happens ever again for any Arisens afterwards. In DD2, like its said in the video, we only play a part in a never ending cycle that NEVER CHANGES. In DD1, seneschals have the choice to develop new worlds, new paths not only for people but Arisens to build their strengths in themselves as shown in the Bitter Black Isle/Dark Arisen DLC. New stories were always formed with the prior Seneschal(Hence the book reference in the credits with our story completion of DD1). Without them, we're doomed to repeat one story forever with no hopes of truly breaking this cycle. Thats why im looking forward to the hopefully what got "leaked", a dlc called Dragon Princess. The name makes sense if the story is leading to making a new seneschal once again to undo the events of DD1
@@jinji_xo I know, I played the first game. I understand the lore, I just think the second game handled its presentation poorly. The first game's major plot twist worked because you didn't see it coming, so when fulfilling your destiny and killing the dragon inadvertently unleashed the apocalypse it was like, "Whoa what the hell?!" The second game kinda felt like it was trying too hard to replicate that feeling without really spending enough time wrapping up the other plot threads, it was so focused on giving us another mindf*** ending that they didn't even bother making everything make sense.
DD II has some intriguing lore, but it's frustrating that they didn't develop it into something more impactful. It's clear they put effort into a few quests, but for the most part, the main quests received the kind of lackluster attention usually reserved for side quests, with just a handful that are better developed. Games like Mass Effect, Cyberpunk, Red Dead Redemption, and even Skyrim did a much better job with their storytelling. Take Phaesus, for instance-he could have been a fascinating character, but you hardly see him, his motivations are obscured, and by the time he becomes significant in the game, you feel no real connection to him. Overall, the game is just okay-the combat and exploration are fantastic, but the storytelling leaves a lot to be desired. I will say I don't want to make this sound like a reason to not buy the game I did like the ending but by the time we got to it, it wasn't fully earned.
I didn't like the ending because it felt like a rushed info dump, maybe it needed more time to bake. The concept is fine, but as a follow up to DD1, it's lacking. The ending felt like the last games midpoint. Still a fun game and I'm playing the heck out of it.
honestly, I disagree. It makes more sense knowing DD1. DD1 you have 4 possibilities abdicate the role, become the new dragon, become schenel. No matter what you did the cycle continues This one you literally get to choose to break the cycle. Thematically it's great. Plot wise mid.
@@noirekuroraigami2270 I was hoping for more of the second half of the game, I think it would have been a great expansion and explained things better, but as it stands, it feels rushed. I'm not against the concept of what played out, but its execution. In DD1 there is no hint of chaos taking over if you stab yourself, and your pawn gets your body/vessel.
I agree, it felt like the developers wrote the ending first then the beginning and then finally they wrote the mid point of the game. Still love the game tho, after reading the mistranslation thead on reddit, I sorta understood the plot more.
I love the sequel, yet a few changes are just strange... Yeah, the entity that controls the world is the Seneschal, and is a crucial part of the cycle. The Arisen, when he bested the dragon, must confront and beat the Seneschal in order to become the next seneschal. Or as you will, the next God, the will of the Arisen will fuel the world, until the will is gone, and a new Arisen is needed to become the Seneschal to watch over the world (Meaning a new big dragon drops out of the sky). Should the Arisen fail to beat the Seneschal, he'll become the next big red dragon. In the first game, becoming duke was a bad ending, because all the dukes before chose to sacrifice a beloved to the dragon instead of fighting it. I kinda miss the Seneschal bit, was a neat way into New Game plus, to basically fight yourself. I guess... The Rothais is the Seneschal, still confusing why he sits in the ruins of Gran Soren, instead of in the rift... Oh well 🌞
Wrong the seneschal was always another cog in the greater will Savan even tells you there are “powers beyond the sensechal’s ken” The greater will is oblivion it is the end of the story that created a reason to stave off its nature. The pathfinder and the brine are one in the same. They are the end and entropy taken form but they’ve done it so long forever that they got bored so it created cycle and order to justify staving off it’s purpose. The arisen takes to a final battle and defeats the end of the story freeing the denizens of the world and allowing people to make their own story free of oblivion.
Rothais sits in the ruins of gran Soren because he was the arisen that created gran Soren. He defied the order of the dogma and came to the earth in the form of the seneschal which was against the rules he then ruled the world as seneschal until the great will caused the world to flood and the brine to take all. The new cycle started above the ruins of gran Soren. The seneschal is not the god of the world they are a battery and keeper of the cycle. A puppet to stave off entropy from the great will. The great will and the brine are one in the same it’s nature is oblivion but they spent so long doing the same thing it creates the dragons dogma to entertain itself and justify staving off it’s nature and oblivion. The unmoored world is the true world as it existed one that exists in a perpetual state of oblivion. Creation was just a byproduct. But you as the arisen defy the greater will and in the true final ending stab oblivion and erase the end of the story. It presumably destroys the pawn and yourself because again we are all one being of the same cycle. But what differentiates us is WILL power an undeniable force that drives all and gives the world the ability to move. Like Rothais said *power endures* and what is “will” but power. Both you and your pawn carry “willpower” so it’s possible both survived and will be shown in the dlc expansion that takes place in a foreign land (speculation)!
The true ending to this game is super weird and not really explained leaving so many questions. I quite like this guys very game journalist's take that it's all meta. However that doesn't quite do it for me. You "break the cycle", but what does that mean. Simple answer is easy, no more dragon, then arisen, repeat. But why? and how? Did we just destroy the brine somehow? Is the pathfinder dead? The greater will maybe? Did we combine with the dragon and take control? What the F was Phaeses doing and did he get any answers? I think I missed the whole world is but a play thing, guess this was the pathfinder, but not sure when. Even with that being the case, this is like dark souls level of questions, but I'm not sure there are answers.
In the end, your pawn gets its own personality and will. Perhaps there will be another gamei some time. But this, time, with an coop-optioin because the pawn aren't will-slaves of the arisen anymore. and can have their own real personality. This could even be impemented in a DLC instead...
It's crazy how the Brine began as "we don't have time to finish swimming mechanics before we ship this game" to where we are now. I was honestly hoping that this time they would have allowed you to go into the water like most other games but I guess not.
The thing about "excusing" problems through plot contrivance is this; First, that the plot needs to be contrived, and secondly, that it's an excuse--a contrivance designed to make you ignore detractions. The good news is that neither of those things are true, and thus these points are valid; Dragon's Dogma 2's awkward NPC interractions--whether that be Pawn or Human--work well because they all give the game an uncanny sense of un-reality that it directly confronts through its themes. If the player is convinced by the 'play', they ignore the tells guiding them through the cycle--they complete quests in unintended ways, they throw NPCs off cliffs, they screw around. They become like the Mad Sovran. The ending itself requires you to think with the sort of outside-the-box mentality of a speedrunner using glitches to skip. The True Ending is intentionally unnatural; it's achieved by pulling out a random sword you were given probably 20 hours prior, mid-dialogue, whilst flying on the back of a massive dragon, way to the final boss' arena. It's so not what you would be thinking of doing, that it comes across as a total shock when it actually works. From here, the interesting part kicks in. Suddenly the game is using its 'flaws' (really, reasonable limitations on NPCs scripting that most large games would be expected to have anyway) to tell a story of how artificial beings gain a will of their own, and it's satisfying because you yourself witnessed one such being--your Main Pawn--develop that will through your own actions; a relationship made naturally through unintentional gameplay habits. By the end of the game, your Pawn (who is literally controlled by your commands) has probably done a million unexpected things, and this becomes pay-off for the ending of the game. What is Dragonsplague, if not a Pawn developing a will against the Arisen's commands, and becoming like the Mad Sovran? And how is the final Dragon defeated? Through the power of the Dragonsplague--its free will made manifest. People write off 'bad on purpose' plots and then talk about how brilliant Metal Gear Solid 2 is--a game that was literally made crappier on purpose. We can't act like every flaw is a secret message by the developers, but a good developer can play to their flaws as well as their strengths; when Ultima Online was being developed, they had to split the player-base over multiple servers, so they canonized 'shards' to explain the existance of multiple parallel worlds. I don't see any reason why Dragon's Dogma 2's story could be so meta-contextual, yet we for some reason aren't allowed to let that meta-contextuality influence our opinions of the artificial mechanics of the world. It's literally just how art works--how is that bad at all? It's arguably more interesting than if all the NPCs acted totally realistically all of the time.
WTF are you on about...MGS2 is in an entirely different league. DD2 isn't even a step above DD1, but 3 steps back. Nearly all aspects were reduced. Characters, mechanics, enemies, story beats. I bought DD/DDDA 4 times because it was good. If I had one major critique outside no beholder and Cockatrice...what is the fucking point of Trickster...detection!?!...that should be on thief.
What if by giving your pawns dragons plague & letting them kill the villagers destroyed small towns & cities what if we create a new story like the first Arisen that was a beastran of Vermund
The dragonsplague is the nature of the pawn conflicting with their own free will. It’s why it forces them back to the rift and delivers a punishment. It’s why the pawn talks about giving up their entire existence and essence to aid you because they love you and gained a free will of their own and defied the dragons dogma which is the same being as the pawns themselves they are one in the same. “I would fain give all that I am for you arisen” maybe the pawn survived when they gained a will of their own. Because will is power and like Rothais said *POWER ENDURES* The world didn’t need a god that what’s the ending implied when you stab the brine in the heart and kill oblivion. You unwrite the unwritten rules of the world and forge a story that can write itself It’s why you see the old man sailing out to see in the true end credits. The world is free of the dogma.
Im pretty sure the NPCs in this game are so robotic and unalive because Capcom didnt bother make them more realistic. Not due to the story, lol. Remember, the Arisen is not born Arisen. They are chosen by Grigori. So basically any person in this world can become Arisen. So saying anyone but the Arisen being robots makes sense, doesnt really make sense here. because the Arisen would have been a robot too, before becoming Arisen. Which is not how this works at all.
The algo changing at the same time as Jules leaving is beyond apparent. I love Josh videos, but this channel more than most makes clear the acrobatics content creators have to fold themselves into to keep our lord Algo happy
I think the secret ending is what the secret Godsbane dores will be for. There's like 4 that I have found. All behind rubble that ya have to tern the cam into to see.
Idk why the pathfinder would actively work against itself xD he literally points us to the god's bane blade, gonna be honest I like the story of the 1st game it was simple and interactive if you were the Arisen and you cleared the game the boss would be your arisen in ng+ even if the game explains why it is so undercooked that does not make it better the Npcs and the story should have been far better than what it was and the secret ending should have been something that you are not guided into. bad guys should have consequences for their actions and the world should be reactive to the players actions with or w/o the plot or excuses, because atm it's the same excuse as it was in DD1; they didn't have enough resources like what have you done with the money you received from the old game??
Because having Rothais relinquish the Godsbane blade is the only way Pathfinder could end his reign as the Seneschal (in DD1, we became the Seneschal after the current one pass the Godsbane blade to us, remember?) The story in 2 is a result of Rothais getting fed up and refuse to play his role in the cycle, so the Pathfinder had to use us to get rid of him and take over his place to get the cycle back on track or else no one could hold the brine from destroying the world.
We live in a society of idiots and morons basically. The sad fact is in this day, not liking something requires a tremendous amount of endless commentary on why you don't like it and no one else should dare to disagree. I prefer simple. Don't like it? Don't play it. Go entertain yourself with something you enjoy. No commentary needed. No time, energy wasted. Its the same with music or tv. That show, that song offended you? Turn it off. Move on. No muss. No fuss. Too ez. But apparently impossible for some. Strange world. Like the unmoored world actually. Odd thing that...
The things you are saying are great and I really appreciate the content... However I suggest you to show in the video the things you are talking about more synchronized with the speech 😊
Damn, I guess I'll have to go for the true ending afterall :X. Currently at the point of no return, and was about to just get the normal ending and be done with the game ...
I wouldn’t say a reboot it could be the same universe as 1 but hundreds of years in the future and the cycle is continuing but it seems like a lot of the arisen choose to give up on defeating the dragon until we arrive. DD1 established the cycle and DD2 broke it. It’s basically a continuation and I cant wait for the dlc or ever DD3
just shame the good music is in the intro and ending, the in between ain't as strong, especially if you're expecting the first game's level of music the overall thing about the story unraveling if people strayed from their stories could also be used politically, especially in japan or the more controlling countries, or even the game's production being controlled but we're not here for that.
This is pure delusional cope. The mental gymnastics people are doing to justify this game being a lazy remake with nothing new is astounding. The world, NPC’s, and story wasn’t bland and shallow on purpose to make a statement about the game being an actual game in universe. The game is just a lazy remake. It has nothing new, no new mechanics, no new systems. The story is terrible. The combat is all the same. The vocations are all the same. Massive disappointment. The game wasn’t shallow and bland on purpose. Stop justifying this lazy re-make. If there was more depth to the unmoored world, I’d be happier. The unmoored world should have been half the game, tearing down the veil of the world, tearing down the whole bland story as some kind of test to the arisen. And there could have been more realistic and likable characters after that. But it wasn’t. It was a 2 hour adventure with like 1-2 new enemies to fight. Didn’t ad anything. I think as more time passes, more people are going to view this game this way, when the excitement is far gone, especially with the unmoored world.
Yeah no, I don't care if you're story is just being "meta," how dry and awful and forced that story is, I'm not finishing it. It's dreadfully awful, and there are so many better ways to tell that story than "Whoopee! I'm the hero! Everyone automatically trusts and loves me!"
I dig your passion and energy for the games “true” ending but I can’t help but feel even more frustrated by it? You said it yourself, shallow game mechanics are still shallow game mechanics. Also in 2024 the meta narrative “surprise” of you are playing a video game feels hollow and played out without something more to it, no? I enjoy the game but it really feels like someone was so beholden to remaking the first and not improving it in any way. The “true” ending reveal feels like an afterthought reasoning for the game being so shallow and frustrating? Maybe Im alone in this? I’m someone that was a fan of the original so not jelling with the sequel was surprising to me as well.
To help better understand the structure of the world in Dragons Dogma, it is like an apartment building with many floors/levels:
1) Every floor is the same but inhabited by different people, its own arisen, dragon, cycle and seneschal as the warden of that floor.
2) The Riftstone is the elevator that connects all these floors that your lets pawn travel through to them.
3) The Pathfinder is the owner of the building, watching every floor making sure things are in running order accordingly.
(This is surmised from Capcom concept presentation of DD before the first game was released back then.)
There's another floor higher than Pathfinder and its resident is called The Greater Will, something or someone we don't know much about.
@h.knight The Greater Will sounds like a Outer God, just like Elden Ring. Pretty much a entity that exists outside the bounds of our reality, but communes with it's followers like Pathfinder, to see it's Will put into action. Could be the creator of the world, or a entity that took control of that world.
Addition:
1) After ascending to the throne of Seneschal, Rothais got the perfect view of his floor and realized: Every inhabitant serves a purpose, their destiny is pre determined and they have no free will. tl:dr version: He realized all this time he and ever inhabitants are literally NPCs and he snapped. So he started killing people randomly out of spite because hey theyre just mindless NPCs imprisoned by destiny that Great Will set for them, might as well kill them and set them free. Thus he was dubbed the mad Sovran.
2) This attracted the attention of the Pathfinder to his floor and realized he had to do something to get it back in order. So he sent a bunch of arisens to kill Rothais. But they failed and got killed by Rothais instead (because power wise, a Seneschal is very powerful). The dead arisen souls become fragments of the crystals which later be made into the Godsway.
3) You managed to convince Rothais to abdicate his post but not before he sold his idea of being free from the Great Will to you. Pathfinder was happy with your help, he could finally get back things in order and make his Great Will boss happy but nope. You also want to be free.
4) However, there is a risk. Every floor that does not follow the rules and order that the Great Will has put in place will get destroyed by the brine (those tentacle thingy in the water) its like a piping problem that floods the floor in the building. So pathfinder insists that you stick to your role and keep things in check as they should be so the floor wont get flooded.
5) So what happened at the end of the true ending was, you the arisen managed to cut off the pipe and detach your floor from the rest of the building. Now it is no longer bound by the building rules and management, and its inhabitants are free to forge their own destiny.
In dragons dogma quest, they said that some NPCs can be shared between alternate universe.
@@VisionoftheChief There's a Reddit post all about this called 'The True World Has Been Reached, The True Cycle Restored. The True Ending Explained.' The Great Will is not a God. It's the Dragon itself. Confusing, right? But it's the truth. This is an English mistranslation. In the English version, the Pathfinder says this: ''Time has seen worlds uncountable created, only to be snuffed out like candles by the cold breath of oblivion. Eventually, the Great Will tired of witnessing this. It sought to overturn oblivion by granting unto it a role. A duty. An identity. I speak of the Dragon.''
But in the Japanese one, he says this: ''A cycle that has repeated countless times... a world is born, and then erased by nothingness. Eventually, a will that fought against nothingness was born. That will obtained a role... That of Dragon.''
This massively elevates the importance and power of the Dragon, as it means he is a cosmic being that came first before anything else and allowed the rest to exist by safeguarding creation from oblivion.
English Pathfinder follows it with this: ''By the great will does the Dragon create a cycle, allowing it to forestall the end of this world time and time again. Yes, Arisen. This world has been safeguarded by the Dragon all along. You yourself were chosen to form a part of this cycle. The Arisen is selected by the Great Will to play the role of the Dragon's counterpart.''
While Japanese Pathfinder says: ''Dragon, through Great Will, caused flux in nothingness, slowing down annihilation. That's right. The world you know of exists because it had been protected by Dragon. The Awakened (Arisen) is an existence that was chosen by Great Will to be a foil to Dragon.''
That might seem confusing at first, but that's because the English language only has one word for ''Will''. The Japanese version separates the Dragon's Will from Oblivion's Will. So there are two ''Great Wills''. One is that of the Dragon who somehow willed himself into existence and protects everything, and the other is that of a pure cosmic force that isn't fully explained. In a way, this almost makes us as the Arisen seem like the bad guy because we're the ones first created by a being/power that was opposed to the Dragon, which safeguarded countless words.
It's a really interesting read that is far too long for a comment. I highly recommend you look it up.
There's a reddit post that i highly suggest everyone read that explains everything about DD2 including the fact that the pathfinder's ending dialogue was mistranslated so poorly that it completely changes the narrative. In short, King Rothias abandoned his duties as senischel and killed every person to challenge for the position of the next arisen so the pathfinder manipulated the cycle of arisen/dragon but in doing so he basically doomed the world into a slow oblivion. Notice the major differences between Grigori (the dragon from dd1) and this dragon. Grigori was all about reinforcing the idea that everything rested on the arisen's choices and decisions whereas this dragon seems incredibly shallow and is basically begging the arisen to end the pathfinder's false cycle. Ulrika was originally going to be the next arisen but when you sacrificed yourself to save her the dragon chose you because it was going to require a great will to finally end the false cycle. The former arisen in harve village (the old fisherman who is in the final cutscene) had reached the unmoored world himself but lacked the will to put an end to the false cycle. The unmoored world is the true world with the veil lifted showing the oblivion surrounding the world which will ultimately consume it due to the false cycle of arisen/dragon that the pathfinder is manipulating. Im leaving out a lot of details and not giving justice to the depth of it all but definitely look into that reddit post if you are intrigued by the lore behind dd1 and 2
The translation was badly mishandled for sure. From that post, Rothais’s title was unambiguously translated as Seneschal. That alone would have been of massive help when trying to figure out the context of the plot without having to rely on understanding Japanese.
For anyone curious, it is called: ''The True World Has Been Reached, The True Cycle Restored. The True Ending Explained.''
can you post a link to this reddit thread?
Yes! I completely agree. DD HAS a deep lore, it's just that people missed it (because is part of the loading screens or dialogues in game, while you're fighting so sometimes you lost focus on the things told because you're trying to keep you alive)(And that's a reason to re play the game too!) or sometimes they misunderstood/not analyze it.
And it also had some grayish or vague points for you to play.
Seriously, I hope people could understand the media/messages who developers/writers wants to show you in a better way.
GIMMIE THE LINK YOUB
Dragons Dogma 2 is something special, it seems like everyone that likes it REALLY likes it and everyone that doesn't like it didn't play it 👼
It’s my favourite game ever. I’m nearly @ 400 hours
This 100% every time someone goes on a tyrant about DD2 for example its mtx I simple ask did yall play it? They either say no or use the mtx as an excuse as to why they wont or they simply just quote what someone who also didn't play the game said to make a point. No one I know who played the game hates it yeah they have some problems with the game we all do but it isn't as bad as people are making it out to be.
well I played it and I thought it was pretty good but I felt let down by the game. It is better than the first one, but it feels like it takes some major steps back in terms of gameplay from dark arisen.
@@siddu4960 Yes I agree it was great but they could of done better especially in the story/characters department.
Played it through to the true ending. That story is dreadfully dry. The gameplay is 10/10 with some hiccups here and there, but that story is a 2/10 at best. The only parts that are remotely memorable, and I'll be able to say I'd remember a year from now, are literally the final two cutscenes. 79.5 hours and I don't even remember the prince's name, or the beastren queens name, and she's literally on the cover art. Shameful.
The thing about DD is that in its conception its an eternal cicle of games. Each Arisen its the "true" arisen....for the player, because thats what they are, furthermore given that the rift transports pawns to other "arisen" wich are just as valid as all the others, simply reinforces that its an infinite universe with infinite outcomes and infininte possibilities. Heck...you want to get uplifting?. Many universes have been saved by all of us "the arisens" but just as many have been domed. In other words, where the DD1 universe might continue its cycle, DD2 universe might technically be "free" from the cicle, but at the same time DD3 potential universe will just be another one with another potential outcome. In other words...DD as a multiuniverse its ever expanding, never ending and eternal....in other words...its a cycle of eternal return.
At the end that old guy was able to sail. Maybe he can find the Arisen washed up somewhere
For true fans of DD1 its might actually be a sequel! once you get to the unmooring world you will see a familiar location….
I was thinking it could be a prequel or a sequel, given the fact that at the true ending of the game things are left ambiguous as to the position of the arisen
@@schmittybacall1655 I personally think the action of the true ending lead to the world of DD2. Sea levels rising etc
Could you tell me what that location is i played dd1, but idk what you are talking about
@@plumberman3591 gran Soren.
If there is a DLC like BBI, I kinda hope we get the opportunity to fight the Pathfinder like we fought the Senechal.
I want this game to get the Royal treatment like the Persona games series, where they add more content to flesh out the original story and then an expansion after the game is finished
I thought the massive dragon at the end was the Pathfinder no?
@@larsschulze2799 It was.
"All the world's a stage. And all the men and women are merely players."
Pawn getting sassy? A little toss into brine will cleanse everything 😂
My main pawn somehow went all dragon plague and murdered a whole town without showing any signs. She always obeyed me. Never acted strange. No glowing eyes. The night before I went to sleep, she told me nothing made her happier than being with me. Luckily, I had an eternal wakestone. I wanted it to happen for the achievement anyway. It's just so weird that she never showed the signs.
@@neocrimsoncloud I have started just checking my pawn into the brine every so often so they don't become infected.
"Oh, we've been out for a week? Time for a swim"
Maybe a little excessive...
@@ladyjay74 nahhh bruh, its just a bath
My BiL made a pawn that is suspect all the time. He'll say things like "of course it has to be me, it always is" when told to do something or " I'll do it but I won't pretend to be happy about it" and so forth. I'm like do you want a brine bath, sir? Lol
So we just gonna forget a lot of the things from DD1 like our pawns literally are learning from and turn into us at some point
Fun fact they kind of not. Savan too has stabbed himself with the godsbane. The godsbane doesn't release you from the seneschal position. The godsbane seperates you the seneschal from your mortal coil and instills it in your pawn. That's why in other new games you'll fight your presvious arisen
The only thing I didn’t understand narratively, is why would the pathfinder actively give me the Godsway blade since it was the tool to end the cycle he is meant to protect?
From how he talks about pawns, I don't think this guy got the secret love dialogue from his main pawn
I didn't know there was one. How do you unlock it?
@@kevinvu5432 Gotta get pawn affinity above 620. It starts around a neutral 200. The max is 1000.
Talking (small talk with your pawn is +2
High fiving your pawn is +5
Hot spring bathtime with your pawn is +10
Presenting your pawn to the Sphinx as your ''Most beloved'' is +20 (one time thing)
Changing your pawn's hair (one hair sheen is enough) is +50
Death, no matter the cause, is -25
All of these are on a 10 minute cooldown. If around 200 affinity is reached in a short span of time, there's a cooldown of a few hours, which then resets, allowing you to max it out again.
Generally if you just high five and talk to your pawn a lot as well as giving them an occasional haircut/bath, you'll max it out fast.
@@kevinvu5432 My first thought was this is a joke. But apparently there is pawn affinity. I know that towards the end of the game when I chose to talk to my pawn sometimes they would blush, which is the sign you have max affinity. Presumably this is what the comment is referring to. Sorry to say not sure how to increase this, but I have heard that just throwing your pawn into the brine will decrease it.
The end is the beginning and the beginning is the end, Oroborus intensified.
They aren't getting free will they are doing the Dragon/Drakes will. This is also in the 1st game. The dragons snatch up your companion and compel them to attack you. After you stop them everything pass that is new, but the drakes are the ones controlling the pawns. Which sucks in the bad way lol. It seems at the very end is when they get free will.
Possession of Pawns by a drake is a different thing than that, though. We know of Pawns that get possessed by dragonkin, we know of Pawns that get corrupted (like in Bitterblack Isles) and we know of the Bestowal of Spirit, where a Pawn takes on its master's appearance and eventually becomes human with a "will of their own" (like Selene or the player's Pawn).
The Dragonplague in DD2 seems to be something very different, as they become stronger, while becoming defiant until they lose control and become genocidal. The only time they stay in control is in the true ending (and with max affinity, we even see them return to humanoid form for a moment to talk about being given a fledgling will).
Overall, while Pawns are these blank slates (literally, their looks, class, demeanor etc. can be changed at the player's/Arisen's will, alway rember the stfu chair in DD1), but they can be formed and changed in many different ways, both in a good and bad way.
@@Windmelodie The video said this is the only time they have free will. What i'm saying thats not true its the dragons control. 1st they'll attack you. Kill em.. but they are still under its the drakes spell. They will say after awhile (usually during a fight) that they feel under like they are under a great power.. which is why i'm saying they don't have free will during the plague its the drake/dragon's will. Now why the Brine is the only thing to clear it is wild.
@@Windmelodiethe dragons plague is the nature of the pawns and the dragons dogma it’s why dragons can control pawns because they are one in the same. The dragonsplague is the pawns nature battling against the pawns free will. It’s why when drakes force control over your pawns they contract it. It’s why in the Unmoored world your pawn when at max affinity delivers a speech that they would give up their entire existence for you because they love you. The pawn and the dragons dogma are one in the same the pawn gaining its own will is against the dogma and when the pawn helps the arisen defeat the end of the dogma and end of the story they defeated themself because they are one in the same. Maybe the pawn survives because they gained a will of their own and like Rothais said. *Power endures*
I would like an Expansion that actually has us existing in the world that progresses after the True Ending. There has to be other threats out there and the world cannot just be that location alone.
These solo Josh videos are chefs kiss 🤌🏽
There crap pay jules more lol
Glad some people actually understood and appreciated the genius of this game.
I can only imagine how the first people who discovered this route reacted.
They either did it out of curiosity/trial and error cause the godsbane was never used in the story, or thought it'd be funny to make up a joke ending where once Grigori finishes his speech he notices you killed yourself out of boredom, only triggered that ending by accident
Most likely was revealed through datamining.
I played the first one so pretty much knew something like that was gonna happen.
I’d played the first so I knew the godsbane was important but I was too dumb to figure out you could use items on the dragons’s back the first few times
Yah know it’s going to be dragons dogma 2 when you’re walking in gransys castle
I'm not gonna lie, I felt utterly blue-balled by the "true ending". The way you explain the ending makes more sense than the way the game itself explains it. Don't get me wrong, I still love the game, but I feel like the ending fell flat on its face for one important reason: the game failed to follow the rule of "show, don't tell." The game TELLS you at the eleventh hour that everything is preordained and the people of the world are enslaved to the cycle, but the game never SHOWS you the effect that's having on the world in any of the events leading up to the ending. I get what they were going for, but I as the player never really felt like I was given any real motivation for wanting the cycle to end. None of the characters I met throughout the game ever FELT like they lacked free will in the context of the story. In fact, I found more satisfaction in the side quests because they felt more personal and relatable, and actually made me care about the characters. So for me it wasn't enough for the antagonist of the game to simply state that everything is hollow and there is no free will, because that's not what I saw throughout the course of my adventure. Show me every character behaving in an uncanny and robotic manner, make me feel like something is amiss and that there's actually something there that everyone needs to be set free from, don't just tell me. And also the fact that there wasn't even a proper final battle, just a scripted sequence with you climbing up a giant Dragon's back, was a major disappointment too.
Sorry for the long post but I have a lot to say about this ending. Another thing that irked me is that it felt like a lot of plot threads just got kinda forgotten about. The first half of the game where you're doing quests to undermine the Queen Regent and legitimize your claim to the throne felt well paced and like it was actually leading somewhere, but as soon as the main quest takes you to Battahl, it just feels like things start happening way too fast, and before you even know it you're already at the final battle with the Dragon. The whole political plot is just dropped by the wayside and you just become Sovran with no questions asked or any opposition from Disa and her supporters after the Dragon is defeated, even though nobody was there to personally see you kill it other than your pawns. Also, what the hell happens to your pawn during the Unmoored World ending, and why? Did she get suddenly infected with stage 4 Dragonsplague for no reason? What the hell happened to my other pawns that were standing right there a second ago? How was my main pawn able to retain her own consciousness when transformed into that winged creature? What is up with that giant dragon at the end? Is that the Worldforged in a different form? Is it the main dragon in a beefed up form? If I defied my fate by refusing to kill the main dragon then why do I just end up killing a different dragon to break the cycle? Why don't I get to confront the Worldforged in person and fight him as the final boss? If free will is an illusion then how is anybody able to deviate from their assigned roles at all, like Disa when she had you captured or Phaesus when he started researching how to control the Dragon? Just what the hell is going on with this ending? Explain, damn it! This was the reaction I had when finishing the game's true ending. It just felt so poorly thought out and rushed, and although the rest of the game is 10/10, I really wish they'd done better at wrapping up the plot.
@@dustinspeakes8793 You have to play the first game to understand mainly everything. These worlds did not exist on their own, its all watched over by the Seneschal. In DD1, we become the seneschal but believed this "eternal ring" deserved "true freedom" in all its worlds without a god controlling everything. Thats what led to the result of the post game in DD2. No seneschal means no overseer for the rifts, the everfall and its inhabitants, illnesses, and monsters spill over into each other, while all dragons defy their purposes(Dogma). No "true test of will" happens ever again for any Arisens afterwards. In DD2, like its said in the video, we only play a part in a never ending cycle that NEVER CHANGES. In DD1, seneschals have the choice to develop new worlds, new paths not only for people but Arisens to build their strengths in themselves as shown in the Bitter Black Isle/Dark Arisen DLC. New stories were always formed with the prior Seneschal(Hence the book reference in the credits with our story completion of DD1). Without them, we're doomed to repeat one story forever with no hopes of truly breaking this cycle. Thats why im looking forward to the hopefully what got "leaked", a dlc called Dragon Princess. The name makes sense if the story is leading to making a new seneschal once again to undo the events of DD1
@@jinji_xo I know, I played the first game. I understand the lore, I just think the second game handled its presentation poorly. The first game's major plot twist worked because you didn't see it coming, so when fulfilling your destiny and killing the dragon inadvertently unleashed the apocalypse it was like, "Whoa what the hell?!" The second game kinda felt like it was trying too hard to replicate that feeling without really spending enough time wrapping up the other plot threads, it was so focused on giving us another mindf*** ending that they didn't even bother making everything make sense.
DD II has some intriguing lore, but it's frustrating that they didn't develop it into something more impactful. It's clear they put effort into a few quests, but for the most part, the main quests received the kind of lackluster attention usually reserved for side quests, with just a handful that are better developed.
Games like Mass Effect, Cyberpunk, Red Dead Redemption, and even Skyrim did a much better job with their storytelling. Take Phaesus, for instance-he could have been a fascinating character, but you hardly see him, his motivations are obscured, and by the time he becomes significant in the game, you feel no real connection to him.
Overall, the game is just okay-the combat and exploration are fantastic, but the storytelling leaves a lot to be desired.
I will say I don't want to make this sound like a reason to not buy the game I did like the ending but by the time we got to it, it wasn't fully earned.
I didn't like the ending because it felt like a rushed info dump, maybe it needed more time to bake. The concept is fine, but as a follow up to DD1, it's lacking. The ending felt like the last games midpoint. Still a fun game and I'm playing the heck out of it.
honestly, I disagree. It makes more sense knowing DD1. DD1 you have 4 possibilities abdicate the role, become the new dragon, become schenel. No matter what you did the cycle continues
This one you literally get to choose to break the cycle. Thematically it's great. Plot wise mid.
@@noirekuroraigami2270 I was hoping for more of the second half of the game, I think it would have been a great expansion and explained things better, but as it stands, it feels rushed. I'm not against the concept of what played out, but its execution. In DD1 there is no hint of chaos taking over if you stab yourself, and your pawn gets your body/vessel.
I agree, it felt like the developers wrote the ending first then the beginning and then finally they wrote the mid point of the game. Still love the game tho, after reading the mistranslation thead on reddit, I sorta understood the plot more.
@@noirekuroraigami2270 what's schenel?
I love the sequel, yet a few changes are just strange... Yeah, the entity that controls the world is the Seneschal, and is a crucial part of the cycle. The Arisen, when he bested the dragon, must confront and beat the Seneschal in order to become the next seneschal. Or as you will, the next God, the will of the Arisen will fuel the world, until the will is gone, and a new Arisen is needed to become the Seneschal to watch over the world (Meaning a new big dragon drops out of the sky). Should the Arisen fail to beat the Seneschal, he'll become the next big red dragon. In the first game, becoming duke was a bad ending, because all the dukes before chose to sacrifice a beloved to the dragon instead of fighting it. I kinda miss the Seneschal bit, was a neat way into New Game plus, to basically fight yourself. I guess... The Rothais is the Seneschal, still confusing why he sits in the ruins of Gran Soren, instead of in the rift... Oh well 🌞
Wrong the seneschal was always another cog in the greater will Savan even tells you there are “powers beyond the sensechal’s ken”
The greater will is oblivion it is the end of the story that created a reason to stave off its nature. The pathfinder and the brine are one in the same. They are the end and entropy taken form but they’ve done it so long forever that they got bored so it created cycle and order to justify staving off it’s purpose. The arisen takes to a final battle and defeats the end of the story freeing the denizens of the world and allowing people to make their own story free of oblivion.
Rothais sits in the ruins of gran Soren because he was the arisen that created gran Soren. He defied the order of the dogma and came to the earth in the form of the seneschal which was against the rules he then ruled the world as seneschal until the great will caused the world to flood and the brine to take all. The new cycle started above the ruins of gran Soren. The seneschal is not the god of the world they are a battery and keeper of the cycle. A puppet to stave off entropy from the great will. The great will and the brine are one in the same it’s nature is oblivion but they spent so long doing the same thing it creates the dragons dogma to entertain itself and justify staving off it’s nature and oblivion. The unmoored world is the true world as it existed one that exists in a perpetual state of oblivion. Creation was just a byproduct. But you as the arisen defy the greater will and in the true final ending stab oblivion and erase the end of the story. It presumably destroys the pawn and yourself because again we are all one being of the same cycle. But what differentiates us is WILL power an undeniable force that drives all and gives the world the ability to move. Like Rothais said *power endures* and what is “will” but power. Both you and your pawn carry “willpower” so it’s possible both survived and will be shown in the dlc expansion that takes place in a foreign land (speculation)!
The true ending to this game is super weird and not really explained leaving so many questions. I quite like this guys very game journalist's take that it's all meta. However that doesn't quite do it for me.
You "break the cycle", but what does that mean. Simple answer is easy, no more dragon, then arisen, repeat. But why? and how?
Did we just destroy the brine somehow? Is the pathfinder dead? The greater will maybe? Did we combine with the dragon and take control? What the F was Phaeses doing and did he get any answers?
I think I missed the whole world is but a play thing, guess this was the pathfinder, but not sure when. Even with that being the case, this is like dark souls level of questions, but I'm not sure there are answers.
In the end, your pawn gets its own personality and will. Perhaps there will be another gamei some time. But this, time, with an coop-optioin because the pawn aren't will-slaves of the arisen anymore. and can have their own real personality. This could even be impemented in a DLC instead...
Dragons dogma 2 is definitely one of the best games I’ve ever played
It's crazy how the Brine began as "we don't have time to finish swimming mechanics before we ship this game" to where we are now. I was honestly hoping that this time they would have allowed you to go into the water like most other games but I guess not.
The thing about "excusing" problems through plot contrivance is this;
First, that the plot needs to be contrived, and secondly, that it's an excuse--a contrivance designed to make you ignore detractions.
The good news is that neither of those things are true, and thus these points are valid; Dragon's Dogma 2's awkward NPC interractions--whether that be Pawn or Human--work well because they all give the game an uncanny sense of un-reality that it directly confronts through its themes. If the player is convinced by the 'play', they ignore the tells guiding them through the cycle--they complete quests in unintended ways, they throw NPCs off cliffs, they screw around. They become like the Mad Sovran. The ending itself requires you to think with the sort of outside-the-box mentality of a speedrunner using glitches to skip.
The True Ending is intentionally unnatural; it's achieved by pulling out a random sword you were given probably 20 hours prior, mid-dialogue, whilst flying on the back of a massive dragon, way to the final boss' arena. It's so not what you would be thinking of doing, that it comes across as a total shock when it actually works.
From here, the interesting part kicks in. Suddenly the game is using its 'flaws' (really, reasonable limitations on NPCs scripting that most large games would be expected to have anyway) to tell a story of how artificial beings gain a will of their own, and it's satisfying because you yourself witnessed one such being--your Main Pawn--develop that will through your own actions; a relationship made naturally through unintentional gameplay habits. By the end of the game, your Pawn (who is literally controlled by your commands) has probably done a million unexpected things, and this becomes pay-off for the ending of the game. What is Dragonsplague, if not a Pawn developing a will against the Arisen's commands, and becoming like the Mad Sovran? And how is the final Dragon defeated? Through the power of the Dragonsplague--its free will made manifest.
People write off 'bad on purpose' plots and then talk about how brilliant Metal Gear Solid 2 is--a game that was literally made crappier on purpose. We can't act like every flaw is a secret message by the developers, but a good developer can play to their flaws as well as their strengths; when Ultima Online was being developed, they had to split the player-base over multiple servers, so they canonized 'shards' to explain the existance of multiple parallel worlds.
I don't see any reason why Dragon's Dogma 2's story could be so meta-contextual, yet we for some reason aren't allowed to let that meta-contextuality influence our opinions of the artificial mechanics of the world. It's literally just how art works--how is that bad at all? It's arguably more interesting than if all the NPCs acted totally realistically all of the time.
good point
WTF are you on about...MGS2 is in an entirely different league. DD2 isn't even a step above DD1, but 3 steps back. Nearly all aspects were reduced. Characters, mechanics, enemies, story beats. I bought DD/DDDA 4 times because it was good. If I had one major critique outside no beholder and Cockatrice...what is the fucking point of Trickster...detection!?!...that should be on thief.
Capcom has an opportunity to go so many places with content with the True Ending
Only realized that theres a hint for gettin in the unmoored world right at the beginning after started ng+ in the intro
What if by giving your pawns dragons plague & letting them kill the villagers destroyed small towns & cities what if we create a new story like the first Arisen that was a beastran of Vermund
wait but we meet people who was arisen and isn't anymore
And they either chose not to do anything or failed in their task. Hence a new arisen is selected by the dragon.
Remember when you faced the dragon and he asked one last time if you really want to fight him? Those people chose the latter.
And?
The dragonsplague is the nature of the pawn conflicting with their own free will. It’s why it forces them back to the rift and delivers a punishment. It’s why the pawn talks about giving up their entire existence and essence to aid you because they love you and gained a free will of their own and defied the dragons dogma which is the same being as the pawns themselves they are one in the same. “I would fain give all that I am for you arisen” maybe the pawn survived when they gained a will of their own. Because will is power and like Rothais said *POWER ENDURES*
The world didn’t need a god that what’s the ending implied when you stab the brine in the heart and kill oblivion. You unwrite the unwritten rules of the world and forge a story that can write itself
It’s why you see the old man sailing out to see in the true end credits. The world is free of the dogma.
Im pretty sure the NPCs in this game are so robotic and unalive because Capcom didnt bother make them more realistic. Not due to the story, lol. Remember, the Arisen is not born Arisen. They are chosen by Grigori. So basically any person in this world can become Arisen. So saying anyone but the Arisen being robots makes sense, doesnt really make sense here. because the Arisen would have been a robot too, before becoming Arisen. Which is not how this works at all.
AMAZING VIDEO!!! Thank you for your passion & work to analyze the beauty of it all
What’s the series he refers to at 2:37?
The algo changing at the same time as Jules leaving is beyond apparent.
I love Josh videos, but this channel more than most makes clear the acrobatics content creators have to fold themselves into to keep our lord Algo happy
I think the secret ending is what the secret Godsbane dores will be for. There's like 4 that I have found. All behind rubble that ya have to tern the cam into to see.
That true ending is depressing 😢
80 hours? Pah. Try 256.
Idk why the pathfinder would actively work against itself xD
he literally points us to the god's bane blade, gonna be honest I like the story of the 1st game it was simple and interactive if you were the Arisen and you cleared the game the boss would be your arisen in ng+
even if the game explains why it is so undercooked that does not make it better the Npcs and the story should have been far better than what it was and the secret ending should have been something that you are not guided into. bad guys should have consequences for their actions and the world should be reactive to the players actions with or w/o the plot or excuses, because atm it's the same excuse as it was in DD1; they didn't have enough resources like what have you done with the money you received from the old game??
Because having Rothais relinquish the Godsbane blade is the only way Pathfinder could end his reign as the Seneschal (in DD1, we became the Seneschal after the current one pass the Godsbane blade to us, remember?)
The story in 2 is a result of Rothais getting fed up and refuse to play his role in the cycle, so the Pathfinder had to use us to get rid of him and take over his place to get the cycle back on track or else no one could hold the brine from destroying the world.
Dragon's Dogma 2 felt like an Isekai! (see anime genre)
We live in a society of idiots and morons basically. The sad fact is in this day, not liking something requires a tremendous amount of endless commentary on why you don't like it and no one else should dare to disagree. I prefer simple. Don't like it? Don't play it. Go entertain yourself with something you enjoy. No commentary needed. No time, energy wasted. Its the same with music or tv. That show, that song offended you? Turn it off. Move on. No muss. No fuss. Too ez. But apparently impossible for some. Strange world. Like the unmoored world actually. Odd thing that...
This is like that movie The Island but with swords and dragons 😂
Yoooo i never knew this thanks man fr 💯💯💯💯
The expansion better let me get my original main pawn back somehow?
I got to attached to that one to only create a new one just for the expansion.
The things you are saying are great and I really appreciate the content... However I suggest you to show in the video the things you are talking about more synchronized with the speech 😊
Dragon dogmas story is Donnie darko …. It’s DnD DD
Damn, I guess I'll have to go for the true ending afterall :X. Currently at the point of no return, and was about to just get the normal ending and be done with the game ...
Why does the game in your video sometimes looks so weird bloomy? colors that are off.
I wouldn’t say a reboot it could be the same universe as 1 but hundreds of years in the future and the cycle is continuing but it seems like a lot of the arisen choose to give up on defeating the dragon until we arrive. DD1 established the cycle and DD2 broke it. It’s basically a continuation and I cant wait for the dlc or ever DD3
just shame the good music is in the intro and ending, the in between ain't as strong, especially if you're expecting the first game's level of music
the overall thing about the story unraveling if people strayed from their stories could also be used politically, especially in japan or the more controlling countries, or even the game's production being controlled but we're not here for that.
This is pure delusional cope.
The mental gymnastics people are doing to justify this game being a lazy remake with nothing new is astounding.
The world, NPC’s, and story wasn’t bland and shallow on purpose to make a statement about the game being an actual game in universe.
The game is just a lazy remake. It has nothing new, no new mechanics, no new systems. The story is terrible. The combat is all the same. The vocations are all the same. Massive disappointment.
The game wasn’t shallow and bland on purpose. Stop justifying this lazy re-make.
If there was more depth to the unmoored world, I’d be happier. The unmoored world should have been half the game, tearing down the veil of the world, tearing down the whole bland story as some kind of test to the arisen. And there could have been more realistic and likable characters after that. But it wasn’t. It was a 2 hour adventure with like 1-2 new enemies to fight. Didn’t ad anything.
I think as more time passes, more people are going to view this game this way, when the excitement is far gone, especially with the unmoored world.
It took 10.39 minutes to get to the point and 2.3 seconds to get back to the passionate rant off topic about other video games
gotta get dem views
Most disappointing game of 2024 for me especially after what Itsuno was promising. It sounded like he was talking about BG3 instead of his own game 😂
Well said, I mean explained. 👍
That's deep
DD Dark Arisen has a better sense of being in spaces and more variety in locations. DD2 was more bland.
No free will until the DLC 👀
sigh, thought the thumbnail was Alex Mercer.
is this copium at the highest level?
Amazing game!!!!!!
Yeah no, I don't care if you're story is just being "meta," how dry and awful and forced that story is, I'm not finishing it. It's dreadfully awful, and there are so many better ways to tell that story than "Whoopee! I'm the hero! Everyone automatically trusts and loves me!"
Filtered
I dig your passion and energy for the games “true” ending but I can’t help but feel even more frustrated by it? You said it yourself, shallow game mechanics are still shallow game mechanics. Also in 2024 the meta narrative “surprise” of you are playing a video game feels hollow and played out without something more to it, no? I enjoy the game but it really feels like someone was so beholden to remaking the first and not improving it in any way. The “true” ending reveal feels like an afterthought reasoning for the game being so shallow and frustrating? Maybe Im alone in this? I’m someone that was a fan of the original so not jelling with the sequel was surprising to me as well.
it's not a meta narrative it's Gnosticism and a demiurge
Man I really tried to enjoy this game, but damn I found it dull and clunky.
Dd2 is plain bad
Josh loves his job but damn get a wife lol
First.
Second
Is it an additional $2.99 to unlock, too?
Haha funny just kidding you have no friends :)
@@mase6783 DIAF :)
@@mase6783 Your only friends are corporations you pay to "like" you. :)
Everything about this game is trash