Ever wondered why other players do or don’t pick your pawn as an adventuring partner in Dragon’s Dogma 2? Sure, there are literally thousands of other pawns to choose from, but if you want to have your partner hired more often whenever another Arisen enters a Riftstone, I’ve got a few tips to make them the more tantalizing choice.
How to Get Your Pawn Hired More in Dragon’s Dogma 2?
Give an Easy Pawn Quest with a Good Reward
One of the first things other players see when they interact with your pawn in the rift is the pawn quest you set. In other words, what reward do they get for working with your pawn, and what they’ll need to do to get it? In my experience, the pawns with the most Thumbs Up and Heart ratings have two things in common:
- The quests are easy to complete no matter where you are in the game. The most common pawn quest I’ll pick up is a simple “defeat X monster” task. If I’m setting a quest like that, I’ll pick Ogre or Cyclops as my chosen target because both monsters are plentiful in Vermund and easy enough to find in Battahl, as well. They’re also easy fights once you pass level 20 and know how to beat them.
- Your reward is valuable enough. The default reward the highest-rated pawns come with is a flat offering of 10,000 gold or thereabouts. It’s a high price, but consider this: if you run with two summoned pawns worth 10,000 gold each and have your own pawn with a 10,000 gold reward attached, you still come out ahead by 10,000 gold. You can also set a rare weapon or set of materials as a reward, so long as they’re either hard to find or appropriate to your level — preferably both.
If you follow these two rules and no others, I’m positive you’ll get your pawn hired more often because everyone loves getting stuff just for playing.
Give Your Pawn the Best Gear for Their Level
The first bite of anything is with the eye, and players will pay attention to whether your pawn is using gear and abilities appropriate for their level. If they’re still running around in lower-tier armor with a weapon several hundred stat points too low, you’re much less likely to have your pawn picked up.
To avoid this terrible fate, head to any Riftstone in the game and take a look at what other pawns are using. I don’t recommend making them look exactly the same because then they’re just a part of the crowd. If you have a rare weapon you found in the wild, compare it to what you can get in the most expensive shops. Is it as good or better than what you can pay for? Give it to your pawn! They’ll be more effective in your world, and other players will pick them up just to see what their toy can do.
Make Them Look Unique
In addition to the second tip, making your pawn’s physical appearance unique is also helpful. They don’t need to be traditionally beautiful, nor do they need to be a demon monstrosity from the pit, but they can be if you so choose. I’ve heard anecdotally that people are choosing both ends of the spectrum, as well as everywhere in between.
Speaking for myself, I’ve added several pawns who looked like bespoke NPCs thanks to their custom appearance. One was a zombie, another a fashionista, and at least one other that defied easy description. One of my favorites was a fairly nondescript pawn named simply Health Pack. They were a mage of particular healing ability, and not only did their name make me chuckle, but they were downright useful as a teammate.
In other words, you can also have a little fun with how you name your pawn. You’ll undoubtedly see tons of pop culture names in the Rift, but if you go a little further with your creativity and humor, your pawn is bound to see more action.
Make Them a Specialist
As tempting as it is to take your pawn to max level in every vocation, doing so stifles their potential as a specialist in their role. Not only will they level stats slightly differently, but they’ll also learn different things when they’re with other players. If you make your pawn focus on no more than two linked classes — Mage and Sorcerer or Fighter and Warrior, for instance — they’ll have a stronger stat line than pawns like mine who’ve done a bit of everything.
If you make a specialist pawn, you can also fine-tune their skills and augments to be perfect for the way you play. Sorcerer pawns can use the overpowered spell combo at the right time and in the right way more often if they learn from others. Thieves will steal more effectively, archers will have better aim, and so on. You don’t need to limit your pawn to a single vocation, nor should you, but sticking to those that share common traits will only serve you in the long run.
Don’t worry too much about which vocation you choose for your pawn. Every team can use a Mage, which is true, but not every player needs one. They might be playing Mage themselves and need someone to be dealing damage, or vice versa. There are enough people playing Dragon’s Dogma 2 that a pawn of any vocation has a place in some other player’s adventuring party.
For more Dragon’s Dogma 2 content, check out our guides hub and read interesting pieces like Best Thief Skills in Dragon’s Dogma 2 Ranked and How to Change Pawn Inclination and Voice in Dragon’s Dogma 2.
