Dragon’s Dogma: Actualizing the World
Review after review after review particularize that the main flaw of Dragon’s Dogma is its tedious open world. Yet, for such a deep-rooted problem, the solution to these issues can be applied through moderate adjustments and what is already present within Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen.
It isn’t hard to diagnose that one of the worst flaws of Dragon’s Dogma is the growing tedium of its open world. While exploring it is initially novel (when it comes to accessing secretive locales, especially) and often yields much plunder, it quickly loses its luster between the long travels the game encourages. And as I’ve previously affirmed, the plunder itself can lead to the player quickly minimizing the challenges the open world provides — what was once an imposing challenge can be a cinch with the exceptional power given by thorough exploration; in player level, equipment, resources, and knowledge.
The woes involved with the open world is much to the undoing of Dragon’s Dogma. To start with, let’s take a look at this map where Goblins and Hobgoblins often reside throughout Gransys. It’s not a completely accurate map, but it’s a close approximation of areas that contain Goblins and/or Hobgoblins.
In defense of the Goblin, they have a good amount of attack variation and fighting styles: they can blow horns, throw items that can inflict status ailments, can wear shields and be near-invulnerable until provoked into attacking, can unleash a barrage of slashes, can flee in fear in some circumstances, and even more subtle behaviors. However, their attributes are nearly constant across each encounter. The ordinary Goblins right outside of the starting town are the same as those encountered in the dangerous Frontier Caverns, and the Hobgoblins faced in the relatively early Shadow Fort are present in the later areas of Soulflayer Canyon and the Barta Crags.
The story is much of the same for the other enemy types, with the only exceptions in the stages of Gransys’ exploration being the larger boss-type monsters. For the most part, these encounters remain exciting even once the player is well-acquainted with them.
Of course, there are many more details to elaborate upon when it comes to trekking the whole of Gransys. Though there are many factors and nonfunctional remedies that comprise the experience of exploring Gransys, it is generally not interesting enough to maintain a player’s interest beyond the initial forays and discoveries. The most blatant flaw is that the world simply does not have enough variety in the scenarios it presents to the player.
However, enemy variety is not the entire spine of an open world. The elements that create an engaging open world are complex, and I would generally say that it is difficult to imagine what the objectively ideal open world is.
Before knowing how to solve the issue of the perceived emptiness of Gransys, it is necessary to define what makes a captivating open world.
In my opinion, the world of Azeroth in Vanilla World of Warcraft is one of the most enticing open worlds ever created. The world was filled with variety, points of interest, and many lulls in one’s travels could be shored up by interactions with other players. Comparing the variations in open world designs shows many things that Dragon’s Dogma didn’t capture in an exciting open world.
From an aesthetic standpoint, the regions of Azeroth often share region types and even functionality, but each is host to distinct features that make them easily recognizable. For instance, there are many Dark Forest archetypes in Azeroth, yet each are distinguishable from one another. Darkshore, Duskwood, Tirisfal Glades, Silverpine Forest, Felwood, The Plaguelands, and Deadwind Pass all fit into this general archetype, but each has substantial differences that make them discernibly unique in spite of their grouping.
Darkshore’s aesthetic is hard to capture. While the landscape is dominated by an abundance of gray-white in the forms of tree trunks, beaches, cliffs, and ruins, the ground is littered with dull browns, grays, and greens of decaying grass. And yet, there are splashes of vibrant color to be found: in the crimson of certain tree leaves; the glowing blues of Night Elf magic and abundant moonlight; even the taller blades of grass are streaked with purples and oranges. The inhabitants of the forest also provide color, whether directly with their outward appearance or by establishing their homes with burning campfires. This creates an overall dreary landscape, yet touched with a certain air of elvish mysticism.
Tirisfal Glades has many similarities with its abundance of ruins (albeit with vastly different architecture) and washed-out palette, yet it is very different. The trees remain green and reddish-brown, though they still appear unhealthy and almost flesh-like. The landscape is mostly verdant, with green grass accented with silvery hues. Perhaps the most poignant indicator is the reddish-orange hues in every cliff and hill, inscribed with a rather atypical face-like texture. This subtle omnipresence of reddish-orange recalls the plagues, hardships, and rotting vitality of Tirisfal.
Silverpine Forest neighbors Tirisfal, and it naturally bears many similarities. The most noticeable differences are the trees being replaced with healthier-looking pines. The pines work in tandem with the slight mist and shrubberies to add an abundance of teal to the palette. The reddish-orange hues are replaced with grays, and the ground covers a wide range of colors from yellow to green to gray. The colors and alpine presence sets it apart from Tirisfal, though the presence of undeath and rot is still very tangible.
Duskwood also shares many similarities, yet its aesthetic, too, is entirely different. It holds the most literal darkness of the aesthetic, with the forest being tinged a twilight teal even in the hours of the day. The trees are larger and healthier, with their canopies hanging low, although dead trees are periodically present. The underbrush has many dark greens and dark teals, which give rise to the pale gray-browns of the trees and various ruins. Aside from just a few points of interest, the palettes remain constant throughout the area. Although nightmarish beasts and undead lurk within the darkness, the land itself does not appear to be dying like Silverpine and Tirisfal, and merely appears to be forlorn and forbidding.
And to put it shortly, Deadwind Pass is unlike any other, dominated by blue-gray crags and black dead grass. The foliage gives meager color in dying greens, while the trees are all barren, twisted, and textured with ghostly visages. And it is thusly set apart as a nightmarish, twisted land beyond redemption, filled with death and gloom, corrupted by a uniquely intangible agent.
I believe the point is made without having to into additional detail on the other Dark Forest variants. While Dragon’s Dogma is far more realistic with its landscapes and biomes, the differences between its areas are usually hard to immediately notice. Perhaps the most abrasive element is that Gransys hardly ever shifts from its palettes of green, gray, and sometimes brown.
There are five main forests in the open world of Gransys: the Seabreeze Trail, the Deos Hills, the Cursewood, the Wilted Forest, and the Verda Woodlands. Of course, the enemies and environmental resources change for each of these areas, but at a glance there is little difference. Sure, if you pay close enough attention you can spot some differences: the Seabreeze Trail is rather shady and boasts tall rocks and cliffs; the Deos Hills are sloping and are a bit more sparse with a variation of thick and thin trees; the Cursewood is alpine, dense, and quite rocky; the Verda Woodlands are quite dense, shady, and a bit rocky. If you pay close enough attention, you might notice differences in the types of trees and shrubbery, but the difference between them is far from striking. As mentioned, I believe the greatest offender is simply a palette that is just too similar across the span of Gransys. When thinking about it in terms of pure realism, it makes sense to not see all too much variation, but from the perspective of a player the regions of the vast world simply blend together to become a stretch of blandness.
Of course, Gransys is also home to a lack of biome diversity, with the entirety of its landscapes able to be generalized down to related types of mountains and forests. There are plains. There are beaches. There is a marsh. And yet, these are either too insignificant to be more than just points of interest, or too same-y to make an impact on most of Gransys being mountains and forests.
Perhaps the best outlier in the open world is the Wilted Forest. While it is a forest like its brethren, it has a number of aesthetic differences that make it a paradoxical breath of fresh air. The ground here is a dying gray, joined by the barren trees. The only green to be found is in the few patches of grass that still cling to life. There are other aesthetic features that complete the vibe of the Wilted Forest: a peculiar Abbey at its heart, the mysterious Curved Carvings, and the seemingly harmless nature of the forest — until nightfall descends, and the undead rise en masse.
But even then, the Wilted Forest is still home to the omnipresent gray rocks of Gransys, and is far from substantial enough to redeem the world entire. In fact, the area is entirely optional, hosts no dungeon or essential item, and it is entirely possible for a player to have completed the game and be unaware of its existence.
The highlights of Gransys come in the form of its points of interest, of which there are numerous. Neutral bandit strongholds, secret caves and coves of treasure, mysterious healing springs, intriguing ruins, and the dens of powerful monsters. These can be important enough that they become definitive of the Dragon’s Dogma experience, though a number of areas (such as Saurian dens and the Beast Cave) are often of little value. On occasion, these can even be unnoticeable without thorough exploration (such as the fringes of the Unusual Beach, or the Noonflower Cliff Cave) despite the possibility of them holding much in lucre.
But every open world has points of interest. They are a necessity, and not entirely what defines one’s interest in the world at large. If one were to summarize it down at its base, it is the sheer number and location of perceived points of interest that create a good open world. To return to Vanilla World of Warcraft, much of the game is defined by these points of interest, which serve primarily as specific quest locations. While it is generally true that the location serves little value once the quest is complete, the presence of certain materials can bring a player back to an area they had already completed. Furthermore, there exists a number of high-level subareas tucked away in the corners of low-level areas, such as the endgame Grim Batol area tucked away in the early zone of the Wetlands. Lastly, while these points of interest are sometimes singular branches off the safety of the roads, there are points of interest which lead into more dangerous points of interest, a good example being Stromgarde Keep (ranging from level 35 in the city streets, to up to 40 in the keep and mage tower) and the Agamand Mills (the open, vast farmland which eventually leads into the claustrophobic and dangerous family crypt). There are even times where points of interest and other dynamic events intersect with the path and make direct travel complicated, such as Greatwood Vale in Stonetalon, Corrin’s Crossing in Eastern Plaguelands, and Stitches’ assault in Duskwood.
Dragon’s Dogma simply does not have enough between the points of interest that do hold the player’s attention. Even in the Wilted Forest I had mentioned, the Abbey is essentially the only point of interest, unless the player seeks out the forest specifically for an encounter with monsters.
In conclusion to this point, the very environments of Dragon’s Dogma lack enough of note to sustain an adventuresome player. Though it definitely has some notable and exciting points of interest, they are too sparse and potentially not worth the time to return to. With all considered, I find the biggest flaw to be the lack of tangible variety within the palettes and atmospheres of its overall environment, making the world feel even more tiresome than it is.
And yet, the Dragon’s Dogma already presents solutions to this problem of sameness, in a form not present in the open world.
Bitterblack Isle substantially increases the host of enemies in Dragon’s Dogma. The majority of enemy types receive at least one additional variant, ranging from being as simple as Giant Saurians (the only differences being increased attributes and the ability to climb on them) to as different as Pyre Saurians (still weak to Ice and having its tail cut, but very dangerous to approach due to their unique cloak of fire). Some are different enough to be considered entirely unique enemies when sized up to their inspiration; the Gold/Silver Knights (based on Skeletons), the Eliminator (based off the Warrior class), Prisoner Gorecyclopes (based on Armored Cyclopes), Living Armor (a novel mixture of Ghosts and Skeleton Lords), and all three boss encounters (Evil Eye, Lich, and then something created without any familiar basis) are beasts of their own regard.
Even though many enemies are similar to foes the player has already seen, they are significantly stronger. Previous tactics that could be ignored through brute force become paramount. Easy and foolproof tactics that players had previously relied on become restrained in their effectiveness. For example, Stout and Poisoned Undead are both weak to fire, but the greater Poisoned Undead is not instantaneously neutralized by a single lick of fire like the Stout Undead is.
This single element makes Bitterblack Isle feel very exquisitely fresh, as no two rooms will have precisely the same or similar enemies, even though Bitterblack Isle constantly reuses assets in building its levels. Additionally, some enemies in the base game, which were previously very rare, are given further appearances in Bitterblack Isle, so that not every enemy has to be newly built. The contexts in which they appear in Bitterblack Isle makes these familiar enemies still exciting, even if the player is well-acquainted with them from the base game.
Enemy variety is not the sole factor in Bitterblack Isle’s dynamism.
One important mechanic is the presence of Necrophagous enemies. These are some of the most powerful enemies in the game, and only appear under certain conditions dependent on the room. Typically, once the player has slain enough foes in an area, they will appear. But this is not always the case, and they may not come to fight the player even if they have fully cleared an area. Though it may be circumstantial to say so, I find that Necrophages have a higher chance of appearing depending on how quickly the Arisen clears a room, and how efficiently they do it, primarily in the form of not taking damage. Therefore, Necrophages typically appear to players who are breezing through the base challenges of Bitterblack Isle, and present an additional challenge to ensure that the content will never be too easy or readily expected. As an addendum, the player can force encounters with Necrophages through the use of an item, and there are a few scripted appearances of Necrophagous beasts in one’s initial foray into Bitterblack Isle as a reminder of their presence, especially for those who are not ready to fight them.
Once that initial foray is complete, and Bitterblack Isle is thought to be fully explored by the player, the dungeon receives a significant overhaul in terms of its inhabitants. Much of the old cast is replaced with even stronger challenges that remain difficult, even when cleared multiple times.
Even when an area is cleared, it still keeps up with variety. This is due to a system in which the makeup of enemies can be in one of two arrangements. For instance, the Midnight Helix will always have three Skeleton Brutes in a back room, but the contents of the main tower can be a Frostwyrm accompanied by Strigoi, or an unchained Prisoner Gorecyclops attended by Corrupted Pawns. Even the potential Necrophage varies with the arrangement; a Cursed Dragon if the Frostwyrm is present, or Death itself if the unchained Prisoner Gorecyclops’ variation is selected instead. Functionally, this keeps farming runs different from the previous go-around, and the player must be prepared for the multitude of encounters that the variations will present as they traverse through multiple rooms. This mechanic isn’t used in the first clearing of Bitterblack Isle, though it makes logical sense why it wouldn’t initially be utilized: enemy layouts that can drastically differ from one another is a substantial difficulty increase which may not be warranted on one’s first experiences with the new content Bitterblack Isle offers. Furthermore, utilizing the system early on could prevent players from encountering and learning the wholly new enemies purely through the system not selecting that enemy to spawn, which could result in unintentional difficulty walls.
Though Bitterblack Isle reuses many of its level design assets, the menagerie within Bitterblack Isle — and more importantly how it is applied — keep the area far more enticing than Gransys ever was. Even after as many as ten times clearing a particular area, there is still a strong potential for one’s experience with that area to be unique and new.
As mentioned, Gransys can become tedious even on one’s first adventure. Bitterblack Isle remains ever interesting through many adventures. Logically, if the principles of Bitterblack Isle were applied to Gransys, it would result in a vastly more engaging experience.
I can say that this is entirely true, as I have had direct experience exploring Gransys with some of these principles applied.
For a number of complicated reasons, Dragon’s Dogma does not receive much in the way of third-party modifications which alter the gameplay itself. Though there are a number of mods which change up how classes play, I know of only one mod which changes how one experiences the world of Gransys: World Difficulty by Lefein Noel.
The first major modification the mod makes is to adjust AI and various enemy statistics. A tossed torch from a lone Goblin can spell instant death. Cyclopes are no longer pushovers, and require strong tactics to stagger and knockdown. Most surprisingly, Wolves can no longer be trifled with. They become a fleet-footed threat that holds many deceptive and evasive patterns, always ready to unleash a strong attack when least expected and overwhelm the party. With statistics adjustments, Direwolves and Sulfur Saurians are hefty steps up in difficulty when compared to their lesser brethren. Though they share many similar characteristics, the leaps in power between enemy variants make them no longer feel as if they’re just reskins.
While this alone adds depth to one’s progression in the open world, there is another feature that makes the open world all the richer: adding foes from the late game into the world of Gransys, re-contextualized as minibosses.
Though much of the early areas are untouched by modifications, these new enemies begin to make their appearances once the player arrives in Gran Soren. When one exits the Western gate of Gran Soren and turns right, they’ll immediately notice the presence of a mysterious alabaster Saurian. At this level, plus with the additional modifications made to it, the white Saurian Sage poses a substantial threat to the party by itself. Not only that, but it can bolster the defenses of its allies, and even heal them. Healing a Saurian can expose a player to their rare tail-less moveset for longer, and even help a Saurian eventually regenerate its tail. While not overly complex, this fight is still a threat to any early player. Most likely, the player will resolve to revisit it once they have become stronger.
This is a key element to any deep open world. A player making plans to be completed at a later date — once they have prepared for that previously insurmountable challenge — is part of what makes a great open world. Of course, these obstacles must not completely bar the progress of an under-prepared player, and must be of the player’s own volition to take on. The base game of Dragon’s Dogma attempts to do this, but without much flavor. Cyclopes are common to find both in the open world and in dungeons, and shouldn’t pose a novel threat. Chimera, though substantially more dangerous than the Cyclopes, are still rather common and do eventually run their course. Wights are rarer, but are perhaps too conditional and still not a truly imposing challenge. Golems are also quite uncommon, yet their difficulty is very much dependent on one’s party composition and knowledge, and become a trifle for a knowledgeable player. Griffins almost fit the bill, yet their primary difficulty is when it comes to grounding them and properly initializing the fight — their randomness when it comes to landing (and being somehow hard to notice due to their airborne nature) can often render the Griffins to be safely ignored. The only enemy that is posed as an overwhelming challenge that must be revisited later is the Drake of Devilfire Grove, the sole case of an entirely player-set goal in traversing the original version Gransys.
The Saurian Sages aren’t the only foreign tyrants of Gransys: Grimgoblins set up camp in various spots. Though deceptively small, these powerful Goblin variants are given new homes near the Stones of Courage and in the Deos Hills. Seeming similar to a normal Goblin, they will likely surprise a player with their ferocity and speed. Though they share many abilities, a Grimgoblin prefers to unleash a frenzy of blows, and lunge from unexpectedly great distances. They even have a special ability not shared by their lesser brethren; they can hold down and stomp a downed human. Though they are not boss-like creatures of themselves, the presence of Grimgoblins adds intensity to Goblin packs, as the fodder of familiar Goblins serve to assist and mask the lethal attacks of Grimgoblins.
Gransys is made to be even more dangerous as one ventures further from the capital. Not only do the traditional inhabitants receive potent bonuses, but the presence of entirely new foes serves to uphold the new banner of variegation. Near the Blighted Manse, the Direwolves are aided by a pack of venomous Wargs. Not only do their debilitating bites add an extra technical element to what would otherwise be an almost entirely mechanical test of skill, but both groups can join in on mauling a downed human, with the Wargs seeming to have a preference for initiating the feast.
Even deeper, the Chimera has been ousted, and replaced with a foe that one likely has never seen before: a Garm. A Garm holds the same speed and guile of a Wolf, but can delivers fatal blows with a single lunge. Their affinity to unleash a Blinding mist, even upon death, further amplifies their slippery nature. Furthermore, the Garm serves as a sort of final test of one’s knowledge of Wolves, as many of the previous strategies one would use against Wolves apply to the Garm. Though it does not possess the same vigor as a Chimera, the new Garm is not only a logical boss to face after trudging through the omnipresent Direwolves of the Northface Forest, but it is also an exotic and welcome new addition to the world of Gransys.
Of course, the revitalization of Gransys would not be complete without making night the proper horror it was meant to be. Though the basic Skeleton is drastically amplified into becoming a formidable threat, the heart of the Deos Hills becomes a place of lurking terror with the advent of nightfall. Phantasms, Specters, and Skeletons Lords are just the start, as the immensely powerful Skeleton Brute, Wraith, and Gold/Silver Knight inhabit multiple locales. Though the roads remain mostly safe, the deep woods pose a threat that even an endgame player will find challenging. The pairs of Gold and Silver Knights themselves are dramatically different from Skeletons in terms of new abilities and weaknesses, and can definitely be considered bosses if encountered early on; the ability to resurrect their partner is just the start of what they’re uniquely capable of.
My personal favorite is the Skeletons of Smugglers’ Pass. Like in Deos Hills, these once plain and simple skeletons are replaced by Skeleton Brutes, and a locked pair of Gold and Silver Knights. While much of the loot can be obtained by only taking on the lesser (but still difficult) Skeleton Brutes, the encounter with the gilded Knights requires the player to actively unlock their cell using a Skeleton Key. Upon first visit I was too weak to challenge the Knights, but I placed down a Portcrystal nearby and resolved to come back and take them down when I was ready. And when I was, the unique geography of the prison-like Smugglers’ Pass proved to make the encounter unlike anything else I would experience. Even once I had eventually surpassed the challenge of the Gold and Silver Knights, the location still remained useful as a place to farm an otherwise rare enemy.
And then there is all the indirect depth added due to these changes. Usage of blunt weapons and explosives, or at least Holy magic, against Skeletons seemed mandatory to take on a threat that constantly maintained its challenge. Infliction of Torpor became a lifesaver, buying precious extra seconds of opportunity in an otherwise hectic encounter. Throwing Skulls at a Cyclops to Curse it became a simple and effective tool. Survival was impossible without a decisive technique to handle the enemy.
This also trickles down into exploration. Whereas exploration could quickly lead to becoming too powerful too quickly, it became a just reward after surpassing the walls of muscle posed by the world. The increased difficulty did not waver as I collected and enhanced new equipment, and finding big upgrades was now balanced, especially by the leaping increases in attributes between enemy variants. And when I had finally progressed to the point that old challenges were no longer feared, the tactics I had learned and applied proved to be more fruitful tool, rather than simply overpowering them with stats as it once was.
Conclusively, World Difficulty actualizes the open world experience that Dragon’s Dogma sought to establish. Though Dragon’s Dogma is made much harder with these modifications (especially when paired with Hard Mode), it cannot be denied that Gransys is made far more interesting for it. The fact that the player establishes their own goals for how they wish to interact with the newly demanding world of Gransys is the very root of what makes one’s adventure meaningful. Though there are unfortunate side effects of the modification due to the foundations of the game being volatile— such as Cyclops tusks being unable to be cut off due to their new attributes, among just a few other things — it fully mends the woes of exploring Gransys, and consequently places Dragon’s Dogma very close to perfection.
So, what can be learned from this modification, for the future of Dragon’s Dogma as a series?
Though the aesthetics of Gransys are unchanged by the mod, the areas are made memorable through other means. In the original Dragon’s Dogma, the player typically associates an area with the enemies that can be found there. It’s a relationship based on practicality, rather than the initial appearances. In truth, this alone can carry forth a sense of mystique to an open world, though it isn’t concrete unless the enemies are unique. As I am like to mention, the Drake of Devilfire Grove is the entire namesake of their relatively small area, but it is a guarantee that any player who is familiar with Devilfire Grove will be accounting for the presence of the Drake; taking measures to avoid encountering it, or actively hunting it. To put it simply, this makes that area special.
World Difficulty serves to create even more unique areas. Nighttime Deos Hills is legendarily horrifying by the swarms of incredibly powerful enemies; Smugglers’ Pass similarly joins it in intimidation. The Garm near the Blighted Manse even forms a sort of story in the player’s head, with the Garm becoming a sort of “absolute alpha” over the many packs of wolves of the Northface Forest.
Areas that are otherwise ordinary receive new contexts with the scaling of enemy variants in the outer reaches of Gransys. Rocks that house basking Sulfur Saurians are normally unexceptional, but the area becomes incredibly dangerous when Sulfur Saurians become a wall of muscle that needs to avoided early on. In the north, the vicious Direwolves and the bandits of Pastona Cavern act as another wall of muscle to any early player, and the Gorechimera of Barta Crags will quickly introduce itself to anyone who passes beyond Heavenspeak Fort.
Originally, Dragon’s Dogma does make use of the wall of muscle concept, yet only once in particular. The path to the Witchwood from The Encampment is guarded by two Bandit parties that will make quick work of any unprepared player. Almost anyone who’s taken this path early on can attest to the spike in difficulty these two groups present. However, there are methods to bypassing them: one can simply run past them into the relative safety of the Witchwood, or wait until night when the Bandits are replaced by gentler Wolves. While other pathways may be guarded by powerful creatures, like Armored Cyclopes, these become quite manageable as soon as one reaches Gran Soren. In essence, the world’s entirely open and accessible from that point, with very little to fear aside from the scant domains of large monsters.
So why does Dragon’s Dogma not utilize walls of muscle beyond one instance? One of the most obvious answers is that the game holds back many of its unique encounters — Hydras, Evil Eyes, Gorechimeras, Wyrms, Wyverns, Liches, and Archydras can only be encountered immediately before facing The Dragon, or after it. Even unique basic enemies like Geo Saurians, Saurian Sages, Hellhounds, Grimgoblins, Giant Undead, Succubi, and Vile Eyes are restricted to the span of time when the initial iteration of Gransys is no longer relevant. If they were accessible early on, they could easily serve as a wall of muscle, or otherwise as an optional difficult encounter. Even so, unique bosses like the Hydra and the Evil Eye are already teased early on in the main story, and the other enemies are simply variants of those previously encountered, rendering their arrival to be welcomed but ultimately unsurprising.
To put it bluntly, Dragon’s Dogma stays its hand in the effort of making the world almost entirely accessible the moment a player steps into Gran Soren, but retains its primary wall of muscle at the very beginning of the game, teaching players about something that quickly no longer exists. This isn’t an issue of players outscaling enemies, as the stat differences between basic enemies (Goblins, Wolves, Saurians) and their next variant (Hobgoblins, Direwolves, Sulfur Saurians) aren’t significant enough to present a massive difference, particularly in terms of Defense and Magick Defense. The only logical explanation is that it was the developer’s intention to make the open world entirely accessible from the moment a player reaches Gran Soren: combined with not being interesting or dynamic enough to maintain its appeal, this overall wounds one’s experience with the open world.
Nighttime and Post-Dragon are the only cases in which the open world changes (aside from a few rare monster pack variations), and even then the scope is still quite limited and often does not provide significant challenge. Though the game attempts this dynamic difficulty and evolution of the open world, it’s simply not enough. It would be as if Oblivion or Skyrim’s open world did not scale to the player’s level, and also did not scale to endgame outside of a handful of scenarios: even when propped up by easy-to-use fast travel, those open worlds would just be a chore.
If these concepts of dynamism were realized enough to make a tangible impact on gameplay, then scouring areas of unavoidable difficulty would make sense. Even so, a combination of these design philosophies, as exemplified in Bitterblack Isle, work exceptionally well. The original Dragon’s Dogma simply did not have the development resources to properly implement these mechanics, and therefore falls short on its vision.
While its innovation was not initially fulfilled, a more traditional and brutalistic open world RPG approach works very well in making Gransys an exciting world. World Difficulty applies these concepts, and situationally combines it with the game’s dynamism to create something quite unique. The crisp combat of the game serves to make every difficult and unique encounter established by World Difficulty all the better, as every victory feels deserved and hard-won.
With vehemence, I would say that Dragon’s Dogma, enhanced by World Difficulty, is the best single-player gaming experience I have ever had.
If Dragon’s Dogma is to apply these concepts to its less-than-secret sequel, it wouldn’t be very difficult. Many of the elements missing from Dragon’s Dogma are realized within the scope of Bitterblack Isle: enemy variety, intense dynamic encounters, enemy layout variation, the definitive fight for survival. It is only logical that a sequel would apply these oft-praised concepts to the world at large.
Dragon’s Dogma holds an immense amount of potential. Though the delicate balance requires finesse to achieve, the actualization of that potential — however one personally attains it — is what has caused so many to fall in love with Dragon’s Dogma.
You can find World Difficulty by Lefein Noel, and begin your own revolutionary experience, here. I would highly suggest experiencing what the mod has to offer, and strongly encourage supporting the creator if you appreciate her work.
