Best vocation?

Trying to get back into this game after some time off. During my first go around, I had a real problem with getting timely healing so I decided to restart as a Mage. But after going back and reading some old "Help me!" threads, it sounds like I'd be missing out on some fun combat if I didn't play as a melee character and my griefs with healing could be resolved with better pawn management. Although, I am the kind of person who loves to sit back and watch A.I. fight (probably derived from my love of Tower Defense). Mage might actually be up my alley if I can sit back and support.

I wish I could get some experience with all vocations, but the game only has 1 save slot and apparently switching vocations a lot does more harm than good. This just makes me more frustrated with the game, but I really want to give it a shot.

Does anyone have any input on the experience I'd have playing each vocation? Is there a general consensus as to which is the best/ most enjoyable?

EDIT: I swear I was in the Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen forum, don't know how I ended up in General Discussion. Mods, can I get moved or should I remake in Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen and this will get closed?

...which game? are you talking about Dragon's Dogma (I haven't played it but I recall "pawn" is a concept)?

Ah shit. I swear I was on the Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen forum. Don't know how I ended up in General Discussion.

There's really no harm in switching vocations. You can switch back to unlocked classes for free. You'll also be able to use any augments unlocked by a particular class with any other class you may switch to.

The game loops when you beat it like a Souls game, so you can essentially keep playing for as long as you want. I'm on maybe my third or fourth playthrough and have 2/3rds of the vocations leveled up (I've got warrior, ranger, and assassin left), and I haven't even touched Dark Arisen yet. The game's quite open to experimentation, so don't be afraid to try stuff out!

I personally enjoyed strider the most so far, but I suspected assassin would be the one I liked the most, so I decided early on to save that for last. Strider's just fun for zipping around the battlefield, climbing up enemies, general heroics (also the dodge roll is OP). I've definitely enjoyed levelling up the other vocations though.

I'm pretty sure there's been a site bug that dumps messages into General Discussion for no reason.

If you're min/maxing Assassin has the highest strength stat growth of 3 per level. Masterful Kill and Invisibility make the game a joke. They also have the best augments generally and can be played solo, which is great because pawns generally suck.

Fighter to level 10, then assassin to 100. Get vocation levels for other classes without getting actual exp levels so you don't waste your stats but still get the spells and augments.

It doesn't hurt to switch vocations, it just costs DP the first time to unlock them, you can switch back at any time.

I only play on Hardmode so your mileage may vary.

So you don't screw yourself out of XP (or Vocation XP) by switching back and forth? I read something along the lines of, if you switch to a mage at level 30, you'll be a level 1 mage, so you'll have a rough go of it. But I guess if I have a level 30 Mage, I'd have access to level 30 Mage skills and wouldn't be underpowered/ underleveled?

Personally speaking, Magick Archer is the strongest because the dodge and reset skills are useful in general. The dagger has Hundred Kisses for melee whereas the bow has the Sixfold Shot and Ricochet Shot, both which are super powerful when amplified with a Demon's Periapt and Ricochet is incredibly powerful for tight spaces like the Bitterblack Isle dungeons.

@lukeweizer: Your vocation level persists for that vocation. So if you level mage to 5 then switch to fighter (which you shouldn't really do since your stats suck for being a fighter) then switch back to mage it will still be at level 5. Vocations only go to level 10 btw and are not tied into your character level in any way other than stat growth per character level earned while the selected vocation is active. The spells are unlocked on a per weapon basis also, so you can use some fighter sword and shield skills as an assassin. There isn't much crossover on mage and sorcerer since they use two different types of staves.

A quick note on how DP works. You get more % dp the lower exp you earn. So under 100 exp you get 40% of the exp value back as DP. So honestly if you are just leveling vocations the fastest way to do it is farm shitty monsters that give very little actual EXP, so you wont really have much trouble with what you're fighting in that instance.

I found Strider to be a lot of fun. I really dug the high mobility and fast-hitting close-range combos, and the fact that Striders can use bows and arrows as well. If you like hanging back while your Pawns laid down the pain, you can do that while shooting in arrows as a Strider. Plus, you can use your hit-and-run melee attacks when you need them.

Those who Stride can become Magick Archers, Rangers, or Assassins, which, based on what Canteu said, I really oughtta try.

@canteu: That must have been what I read about. If I level a mage, then switch to fighter, my stats will suck. So even though I could switch between all vocations to try them out, I can't experiment too much or else my stats would be too weak for whatever vocation.

@lukeweizer: It isn't that big of a deal in normal mode honestly, you'll just not be as supremely powerful as you could be once you find the vocation you want to stick with. A few extra points in magic attack wont kill you if you're a fighter or assassin, same as a few points in stamina wont be the end of the world as a mage. I would always recommend doing fighter to character level 10 though as the large early health helps a lot.

A note on controlling pawns since they suck. If you're hurt and a pawn has anodyne and you hit right or left on the d-pad, they'll stop what they're doing and cast it on you. The same with buffs, if you don't have one and call for help they'll generally try to buff you.

As I recall, Assassin's were pretty awesome. They could use bows, which are incredibly useful and strong, and I believe dual daggers also give you access to a dodge roll, which was also incredibly valuable. They also had a few unique skills that were incredibly strong, that I can't remember the name of for the life of me, but I know it made playing class very rewarding.

I played around with most of the classes, but I usually found myself going back to the Assassin for anything difficult. I'm pretty sure it was basically the only class I used to get through Bitterblack Isle.

Mystic Knights have Great Cannon and Repulsing Sigil, two easily spammable spells that can stun-lock larger enemies.

Ranger was my favorite. You can shoot 10 arrows in a volley like you're a gatling gun or something. Magic Archer was the worst though, don't pick that one.

Also your stat increase upon level up is dependent on what vocation you're using at the time of level up. So if you spent 30 levels as mage you're gonna have shitty attack stats. It's best to keep at least one foot in a chosen discipline (dex, magic or strength) at all times.

As for your topic ending up in General, I had the same thing happen to me. In future you don't need a mods help to move your topic, just hit the "full edit" button at the top of your post and you can change the forum.

@arbitrarywater: That combo also stunlocks the framerate if you get more than 2 cannons going don't forget!

I had the most fun with Strider and Magic Archer. The least fun with the pure melee/pure magic characters. The latter are more effective in combat, but really only do one thing over and over. The former give you a large variety of ways to take on each fight. Archery is also a necessity in a dragon or griffin fight since they'll spend half the fight flying away from you.

Unfortunately, the fun vocations also have the worst overall stat gains. If you want a min/max character (and if you plan on fighting the online UR Dragon, you need them, that thing is a slog!) you have to spend most of your time gaining levels with fighter/warrior or mage/sorceror. I hated the way levels worked in this game, which is a shame, otherwise it was an awesome, and different approach to RPG conventions.

That's the best part! The frame rate going to shit while you shred large chunks of the enemy's health, 6 magic bolts at a time!

@arbitrarywater: You can get up to 5 with persistance. The delayed heavy attack on 5 cannons would fire I think 3 times each since it was a multiple hit attack, not to mention all of them holy (or whatever attached boon at the time) would just rip whatever it hit apart. It drops to about 5-10 fps though sadly.

i messed around with quite a few vocations once i got into my second playthrough and the only real issue i had was having enough money to finance it. The good weapons buy and sell for a lot and it's tempting to get rid of your old one in order to get a new one for the new build, but it's generally better to keep them in the bank in case you want to switch back. basically if i know i'm going to try out a new vocation i don't switch until i've bought or looted the right weapon for it.

in fact, because you can use any class-specific augment skills you earn with any vocation, it's a good idea to try as many classes as possible, it'll give your character a much better spread of passive abilities to choose from, which allows you to really pinpoint your build, and as dark arisen in hard mode is pretty damn hard that comes in quite handy.

i started out as a ranger (although i think you have to upgrade from strider, right? it's been so long), then tried assassin, fighter, warrior, mystic knight, and eventually settled on magik archer, which is a good hang-back class, good for controlling the battlefield. my pawn started out as a mage for heals, but i picked up a follower pawn that was better in that respect, so i switched her to strider to make better use of the weapons i'd leveled as a ranger. if you are having trouble with heals, or any aspect of combat, searching the rift persistently for experienced pawns does pay off.

BLASPHEMY!

Seriously though, if you're talking about stat gain, MA isn't great, but as a class to play, it's possibly the best. Extremely versatile, with Ricochet Hunter ruining enemies in tight spaces and and Immolation + Climbing + Hundred Kisses melting the big baddies. Throw in roll, reset, and regeneration, and you have a pretty solid vocation that's a blast to play.

Switching Vocations is not bad at all. You actually do want to experiment and level up different vocations to get their unique abilities. As far as what the best one is, I'd say Assassin might be a notch above the competition, but you want to have a pretty good core off of other classes first. My personal build was to start off with whatever the tanky class was and gain some hp and defense traits, then I switched over to assassin more or less full time for the absurd damage gain.

It's been a long time so the specifics are fuzzy, but you can really dive deep into min/maxing in this games. The key point though is that you probably don't need to. Just play however you want, and whatever weakness you spot in your character can be covered up by switching vocation temporarily or by getting appropriate pawns to cover it for you.

As a style over substance kind of guy I recommend the strider class, which is damn cool. If you want to keep some of your maginess however, the battle mage (think that's what it's called) class is really cool as well.

@lukeweizer: Go for either Mystic Knight or Ranger, both are super strong and super fun. Depends if you want to melee or shoot.

The real issue you had in the first try was probably your Pawns were magic users, but they might have had more offensive spells than defensive/buff spells. More importantly, I bet those pawns had a DISPOSITION to attack rather than to defend.

Its a quirk of DD, that a pawn even with healing spells can be set up to not prioritize healing of the group. When you choose pawns ALWAYS look at what weapons, spells, buffs, and disposition they have. Also, ALWAYS load your pawns up with healing, buff and de-buff potions too. Moreover make sure at least one or two pawns is set up to watch your back or the group as a priority over battle. I cannot stress this enough before you go into battle or leave a city load your pwns up with healing potions, buff/defbuff potions, and poisons. If you have a bowman make sure they have a few quivers of arrows ice, fire, posion, explosive types! Make sure your own pawn has at least two weapons and is properly armored for their class too!

I always played my main as light or heavy Melee character. My own Pawn was a bow-woman, or whatever offensive type I was not playing with a disposition to search/explore. Then the other two pawns were one magic user with a priority to watch my back and one pawn setup to always attack. (I never played the healer, because that seemed boring.)

If its set up that way you will fight. Your own pawn will always be breaking open chests to find items scattered around or exploring while not fighting. Your two other pawns are healing you or prioritizing you protection by sopping up monster agro. There are some really SHITTY pawns made by people - pawns that are set up wrong...no weapons...cheap armor...poor spell choices...and a disposition that is USELESS for another person to use.

@lukeweizer: Anything from the Strider family of classes is the most fun to play in DD I think.

Strider, Magick Archer, Assassin, Rangers

I then usually rolled with a Warrior type pawn as my main helper and would draft a healer and a offensive mage to add some punch.

If you are the min/maxing type, this Graph has all you need to know about how vocations affect them.

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

Also there are calculators know if you are into those, I haven't used these

https://github.com/stackoverflow/dragons-dogma-stat-planner

Just reading this thread makes me want to dig up my PS3 to play this game again, I wish that they'd release this for PC.

All the vocations were really fun and well fleshed out, I think I played the most as an assassin just for the speed buff, it made traversing the world less tedious, also climbing monsters is fun. I also really liked the sorcerer vocation just for the ability to rain down meteors and whip up tornadoes.

Reading over this makes me wish they made a sequel. Bastards.

I ended up loving Dragons Dogma in a way I didn't expect I would. The combat was fun and extremely varied, the dress up options were awesome and the enemies had static levels which felt rewarding as you leveled up.

IF there is one game that I think would really benefit from an HD Re-release on current consoles it's Dragons Dogma. Get rid of that ridiculous letterboxing, fix up some textures and smooth out that framerate - man you got yourself an amazing RPG.

Too bad that not a lot of people played it.

As for teams I always rolled with two mages. If you made them both support then your team could withstand quite a beating. Once I tried rolling with a full team of offensive mages and it was devastating - especially because of that ability that makes your AI companions synchronize their casting with you resulting in 4 simultaneous meteor showers.

I was a big fan of Ranger. Ran with a Fighter main pawn and a Sorcerer and then a Warrior. Tenfold is king! Magick Archer got a big usefulness buff in Dark Arisen, considering most stuff in Bitterblack is weak to some form of magick.

Ranger or Strider. You get to stay in the back and shoot arrows, but you also get to climb those monsters.

I never really got that into assassin for some reason, must have lacked some skills I missed, but it would be reeeeal nice to have some better stats. I'd agree with whoever said the strider family is the best, but whatever, try everything out. I just went through and got all the skills with every class on the same character, and they all have something cool. Maybe not a good move statwise, but the game isn't that hard save for the island.