Dragon’s Dogma 2 doesn’t currently have a hard mode to make the game more challenging for veterans of the series or experienced players. Not even the New Game Plus mode makes the game any harder than the base game. So is hard mode coming to Dragon’s Dogma 2 in the future?
Will Dragon’s Dogma 2 Have Hard Mode
While Capcom hasn’t officially confirmed anything, it’s highly likely we’ll be getting a Hard Mode for Dragon’s Dogma 2, judging from the original game. This is because Dragon’s Dogma 1 got a Hard Mode update in A Trial for Adventurers DLC. More specifically, the original was updated with the Challenge Pack: A Trial for Adventurers DLC Hard Mode just six months after its initial launch.
Therefore, I think it’s likely Capcom will be doing the same thing with DD2 and releasing the Hard Mode update or DLC during or after summer.
In the original Hard Mode, enemies were staggered less; the Arisen took more damage and drained stamina quickly. Furthermore, there were also boosts to drops and resource gains. I assumed Capcom would implement these in New Game Plus, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. Currently, New Game Plus doesn’t affect the difficulty at all, and DD2’s endgame isn’t that challenging.
This means that while we wait for DD2’s Hard Mode, the only way to increase difficulty is through mods (if you’re on a PC). I highly recommend the Enemy HP and Damage Increase mod, along with Custom Difficulty Tweaks, to make your base game or NG+ more enjoyable.
As for expectations, Dragon Dogma 2’s Hard Mode would drastically increase replayability if it also introduced mechanically enhanced bosses. Specifically, new moves or increased enemy spawns would be interesting in addition to passive HP and damage bonuses. There are a lot of ways it can be implemented so we can only look forward to the first major update.
So is Hard Mode coming to Dragon’s Dogma 2? While it isn’t confirmed, it likely is on its way judging from the original game. For more DD2 guides, check out how to complete Halls of the First Dawn final quest.
