So I just picked up Dragon's Dogma and I am really loving this game (seriously, what the hell was I thinking not picking this up?). It's like a mix between Monster Hunter and Dark Souls with a little TES mixed in. So I was wondering if anyone whose played through the game could give me some helpful tips. I recently just got to Gran Soren and I noticed that when you talk to the inn keeper, there is an option to change vocation. I'm assuming that its another class, so does that mean that the skills I have are gone or can I change back? Also is it advisable to switch vocations (currently I'm a strider but magical archer looks pretty tempting)?

I noticed that some pawns that I've used have some really awesome looking gear. Where do I get that stuff? I checked the blacksmith/armor guy in Gran Soren but none of the gear looks as good as the gear one of my pawns is wearing (they were wearing some black armor with a black shield and a red sword. looked pretty awesome). So do i have to do quests and I'll get the armor or do i have to kill monsters in order to get the armor? I've already killed an orge but he didn't drop anything expect for some stones or something. Right now my pawn is still wearing the stuff he started with. I haven't seen anything that's significantly better than what he's got on. I'm not necessarily concerned about defense since its still early on in the game (I think I'm level 19 right now) but I want him to look a little cooler because right now he looks like he just rolled out of bed (although I did find this cooling looking viking helmet for him).

I've already noticed that I missed out a quest because I progressed the main story (didn't really know that was going to happen or else I would done that one instead). So does happen often? Should I just put off main quests and do all of the side missions first? Also, is there like a good team compesation that I should go for? Right now I have myself (strider), my pawn (fighter), and two other pawns (another fighter and a mage). I was thinking switching them out mainly because I got them when I was level 12 so they probably won't be as effective as they were. I definately want to get another mage for healing mostly but I was thinking another pawn for dps since my pawn is mostly going to be doing tanking and i don't think I need two people tanking. So should I get another strider type or is their another class that does good dps?

Anyway, sorry for the massive amounts of questions but these questions kept popping up as I was playing and just wanted to get what the consensus what would be an efficient way to play. Thanks in advance!

Ouch dude. Did you buy the original one? Cause the expanded version of DD is coming out in like two weeks.

It's a fantastic game, hope you dig it. The expansion (Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen) however is being released in two weeks, hope you knew that beforehand

yes you can and should change classes, your active abilities won't be available to use in the new class, but you can always switch back at no penalty and have them again. Class does affect stat leveling up, but generally isn't an issue unless you want to min/max.

Magick Archer is a great mid game vocation, you can wreak havoc with it.

A lot of the best gear is gotten in post game, you get it from traveling merchant shops and chests.

Unfortunately yes. There a lot of missable quests, but thereare 7 story beats that cause you to miss them. Generally if memory serves Quests like "Hunt x number of X" and "Escort NPC to X location quest" and DLC quests don't expire. But everything else can. There is good guide on Wikia.com about what quests expire when. Light Spoilers obviously if you look at it.

http://dragonsdogma.wikia.com/wiki/Side_Quest_Progression

Team wise, I like having at least two casters. Offensive and defensive. A lot of times I rolled with three. I don't find Strider classes useful from a pawn perspective but they are fun to play as the Arisen. I never have more than one Tank type unless my Arisen is one as well.

as for everything else,

If your pawn is female your liklihood of having her accompany other players is much higher. Casters are more in demand than other vocations is seems as well.

I don't really want to spoil too much but also just keep mental note of which NPCs you interact with and how your interact with them. There is a gameplay element there I totally didn't expect.

re changing vocation - you can switch back at any time, the main consideration when changing vocation is gear, you will need new weapons for each vocation, and they cost a lot in gold, so if you're not happy with your vocation and want to change, just make sure you can afford the new weapon straight away, and aren't stuck empty handed, also, if you intend to switch back to an old vocation remember not to sell the relevant gear, bank it instead.

re armor - it will come as you progress through the game, you don't have to go out of your way to pick it up, although there are guides about where to get what, i don't think it's worth worrying about too much.

re pawns - it took me a lot of time to get the hang of the pawn system with regards to having an effective party, it's dependent on two things in particular - firstly the experience of each pawn, as in their familiarity with certain enemy types - for example, if you have a mage pawn who can cast fiery weapons, he won't cast it unless he knows that the enemy you're facing is weak to fire, this can be frustrating in early game, you can check how familiar each pawn is with each enemy type when you hire them - one, two or three stars of experience.

secondly there is the "inclination" of each pawn, as in their behaviour patterns, a primary and a secondary. for example a pawn with "pioneer" as one of it's inclinations will scout ahead for loot as you move, and this can be useful for a tank as they will then pick up aggro first when you encounter enemies. you can also check these easily when you're hiring pawns, and you can change them if you want on your own pawn, with a potion, although that gets kind of tricky as they may change back on their own depending on what you have the pawn doing. i'd say it's worth looking up a guide for inclination, as getting a good set-up makes a big difference to having a smooth game.

that might sound confusing, but getting the hang of these two things will make your choice of pawns, whether its dps or tank or healing you need, much more effective.

I'll say one thing early game DONT get caught outside at night until you've got some decent weapons. When night falls in DD it gets DARK and all kinds of awful baddies can appear.

@demoskinos: I had no idea about it. Is it some kind of expansion or something?

@gogosox82: You know how Capcom re-issues games like Super Street Fighter 4 etc? Its that. The original base game all of the original paid DLC and a huge new expansion area all for $40.

Thanks for the tips! Already switched over to magical archer and I'm loving it. I think I've fallen in love with this flip into a fireball move you get. The magical arrows are really powerful. Is it me or are mages really powerful in this game? I got this mage pawn and she was raining down fireballs like nobody's business. I'm guessing its on a timer or it takes forever to cast ( I dunno, I haven't messed around with mage classes yet. I wanna test out the rogue type classes first) b/c I would just spam that constantly since everything seems to not like fire so far. Got my main pawn some better gear so I'm not as concerned as I was about it. At least he doesn't look like he just woke up anymore. I think I got a good team. Myself (magical archer), my pawn ( fighter), and two others (warrior, and mage). The warrior is doing great ( a lot of dps right now) and allows me to be more versatile and my pawn is just tanking stuff like a boss and the mage is doing a lot of damage and healing when needed and keeping out of the way. I'll keep note of npc interactions since you noticed it. Having a lot of fun with the game right now.

@demoskinos: Damn wish i would have known that :( I thought dark risen was just dlc not a re release with an expansion. Oh well, I guess I'm just have to deal with it. Still having a lot of fun with the game.

Anytime duder.

I do think casters are really strong in the game. Sorcerer with top level spells especially is almost a must have in any party for post game. You lose the healing spells which means you might have to have a mage too, but the dmg output is awesome.

Personally I enjoy the rogue classes the best for the Arisen, so I don't think you're missing anything, but that depends on your play style. I

one last thing I forgot to mention is that if you want people to borrow your pawn, also pay attention to their inclinations. You can alter them some at Inns if need be. People generally don't like chatty pawns. I like 'em chatty, most players really don't.

and the word is you will be able to buy Dark Arisen on XBLA or PSN and import your save for 40 bucks, so no worries there other than money.

Make a hot lady healer and she'll be rented so much, you'll have to get yourself a pimphat.