The best way, and the only way in some cases, is to look up where they want you to take them in the wiki, go there, drop a port crystal, then just teleport straight there. Boom instant affinity boost and XP with no fuss.
Dragon's Dogma is honestly a very convoluted game that doesn't explain some mechanics very well at all. Fuck, wait until we get into the romance system, there's a bloody tangled mess. It's also a game where almost every part and mechanic of the game on its own is below average or average at best. The music is generic. The setting is bland medieval land with next to nothing interesting going on about it. The graphics are fine but full of the "real world is brown" issue. The quest system and overall gameplay is a grindy grind, especially when you get to the "endgame". The one ubiquitously good thing about it are the giant monsters.
And if you're a new player reading this, you're now probably thinking I'm slagging on the game and are saying "Oh I've made a huge mistake buying this" .
Yet you pull all that stuff together and it becomes a fucking amazing game.
Just... be prepared to look at bits of the game in a vacuum and say "This... this is really dumb, why is this a thing?".
"The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
Seems to be a lot of recommended wiki use for a now-portable game :P
There are A LOT of systems in this game that aren't clearly explained.
Here's just one example: If you let an apple sit too long in your inventory, like 2-3 days, it turns moldy and won't heal you when used. But if you take that moldy apple and combine it with a bottle of water you make a wine that is a great healing item early on.
It's layers and layers of systems as if the designers never heard of the idea of feature creep and people love it for that.
i picked this up to give it another chance, having played it way back and quit early because it felt like a dumb beatemup
i'm at gran soren and i haven't died yet, but i am just about to get to voc level 5 and unlock the first defensive skill; this seems silly! i know the combat gets more technical later tho
but i'm having trouble deciding between strider and melee classes (to get to magick knight); i assume i'll have time and resources to play around with other classes?
i always love melee but not having ranged options is rough here, i can tell
i'd dip a toe into every vocation, at least enough to unlock the passives. even the mages have stuff that could be useful for physical builds, like magic resistance.
not having a ranged option does suck.
strider is a ton of fun as a generalist rogue, especially once you get bitterblack rings thst upgrade some of the core skills another tier.
ranger is ranged monster.
assassin has the best offensive physical stat growths, a really wide selection of weapon types (dagger/bow, sword/bow, sword/shield), and parries
warrior has the most limited kit but good stat growths, and the charge up moves are master classes in satisfying hitstop.
fighter is sword and board guy. typical sword and board stuff (i like this more as a pawn vocation)
mystic knight is a lot of fun. perfect blocks, buffs, area denial, and kind of a turret as your ranged option.
magic archer is a little weak in the base game but thrives in bitterblack, as the terrain, enemy composition, and gear itself all give the class a huge boost. one of the strongest classes in endgame imo.
mage: meh. pawn class imo. heals, buffs, etc.
sorcerers: one of the wildest mage classes i've ever seen in video games. spells take a while to go off but are super strong and dramatic. if you have multiple sorcerers in a group the can spell sync to cast faster.
There's really no indication of how hard quests are? I followed the story right up to after I chopped the hydra head. But the game seems to introduce to you this side quest of finding the Quina woman gone missing and you incidentally run into investigating some monsters in the town well. I'm getting bodied by the saurians within the well, and the bandits on the way to the Witchwoods seem way too tough for my party at the moment.
Should I just continue on with delivering the hydra head? I'm tending to go for the side quests because I don't want to miss any due to advancing the story.
There's really no indication of how hard quests are? I followed the story right up to after I chopped the hydra head. But the game seems to introduce to you this side quest of finding the Quina woman gone missing and you incidentally run into investigating some monsters in the town well. I'm getting bodied by the saurians within the well, and the bandits on the way to the Witchwoods seem way too tough for my party at the moment.
Should I just continue on with delivering the hydra head? I'm tending to go for the side quests because I don't want to miss any due to advancing the story.
They're both meant to be done now, and in-fact if you deliver the head before finding Quina you'll be looked out of something later.
Saurians have two weaknesses: ice damage freezes them solid, and cutting off their tails weakens them hugely. Grab a mage pawn with Ice Boon and aim for the tails.
The bandits in-front of Witchwood are abnormally hard. If you can't kill them you can try just running past, they won't follow you into the wood. Alternatively you can make the trip at night; there'll be lots of wolves instead of bandits, which should be more manageable.
Heh, I know how ya feel. I simultaneously love and hate that aspect of the game. On the one hand, during your first and possibly second (maybe even third!) playthroughs you're all "God DAMN it" but on the other hand it adds to the replayability because once you do NG+ you won't be getting dunked on by everything constantly and have the freedom to attempt what you think is sequence breaking.
Dragon's Dogma is honestly a very convoluted game that doesn't explain some mechanics very well at all. Fuck, wait until we get into the romance system, there's a bloody tangled mess. It's also a game where almost every part and mechanic of the game on its own is below average or average at best. The music is generic. The setting is bland medieval land with next to nothing interesting going on about it. The graphics are fine but full of the "real world is brown" issue. The quest system and overall gameplay is a grindy grind, especially when you get to the "endgame". The one ubiquitously good thing about it are the giant monsters.
And if you're a new player reading this, you're now probably thinking I'm slagging on the game and are saying "Oh I've made a huge mistake buying this" .
Yet you pull all that stuff together and it becomes a fucking amazing game.
Just... be prepared to look at bits of the game in a vacuum and say "This... this is really dumb, why is this a thing?".
I remembered my first playthrough ever and thought I was going to end up with Mercedes since I did all her quests and pal'd around with her the most outside of the main game, but no, I got the fucking JESTER. Apparently Grigori saw me giving him pies at some point and mistook that for a courtship ritual.
10/10 this is the game that just keeps on surprising me.
Dragon's Dogma is honestly a very convoluted game that doesn't explain some mechanics very well at all. Fuck, wait until we get into the romance system, there's a bloody tangled mess. It's also a game where almost every part and mechanic of the game on its own is below average or average at best. The music is generic. The setting is bland medieval land with next to nothing interesting going on about it. The graphics are fine but full of the "real world is brown" issue. The quest system and overall gameplay is a grindy grind, especially when you get to the "endgame". The one ubiquitously good thing about it are the giant monsters.
And if you're a new player reading this, you're now probably thinking I'm slagging on the game and are saying "Oh I've made a huge mistake buying this" .
Yet you pull all that stuff together and it becomes a fucking amazing game.
Just... be prepared to look at bits of the game in a vacuum and say "This... this is really dumb, why is this a thing?".
I remembered my first playthrough ever and thought I was going to end up with Mercedes since I did all her quests and pal'd around with her the most outside of the main game, but no, I got the fucking JESTER. Apparently Grigori saw me giving him pies at some point and mistook that for a courtship ritual.
Magic Archer was my go to. Pinging from a distance was very useful against the loser dragons early on but it helped manage mobs too
I had started out as a mystic knight but that ended up not really being what I wanted, so I switched to magick archer was pretty pleased from then. A lot of great flash and very effective.
I had always wanted to try one solely focused around the dagger skill that lights you on fire, because I loved the idea maniac knife wizard setting himself ablaze and charging into battle.
I think I sent you some weapons for your MK.
Lovely class but kinda wonky.
The mix of physical and magic attack was kinda awkward for move selection; too many short-timed buffs; counters weren't very useful vs big monsters; and stat growth of the class hampered the attack stats.
But it was fun.
Mystic Knight was also capable of the highest damage output of any class in the game. Like, I mean it was BROKENLY overpowered if you knew what to do. How broken? The sheer amount of DPS and projectile spam on screen would cause the console versions to turn into a slideshow and possibly even crash, that's how bad it was.
If you have it on PC, it's totally viable though and absolutely hilarious. Basically, level yourself up 60 levels as a sorcerer to boost your magic attack stat up to the point you start hitting diminishing returns, then switch to magic knight and get Full Moon Slash and that one skill that plops an orb in front of you that shoots projectiles when you hit it. For some reason, I guess Full Moon Slash has multiple hit registrations, because when you hit the orb with FMS it just VOMITS projectiles. SO you just load up on stamina restoratives and mash the hell out of your FMS button and everything on screen will melt like a crayon in a George foreman grill.
They're both meant to be done now, and in-fact if you deliver the head before finding Quina you'll be looked out of something later.
I — god damn it
I'm not sure this is true. I've definitely delivered the head and then gone back to find Quina - precisely because those bandits are assholes. I think as long as you don't advance the main quest in the city (something about the abyss) after delivering the head there, you're fine.
I will say I thought the monster combat was pretty bad the first time around, but this time I jumped from a cyclops's butt to his head and stabbed him once in the eye and he died, and I have revised my opinion
It's like weird body platforming + stamina management, which is very entertaining
Now correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like I can spam healing items from the menu whenever I want? This I do not like.
I will say I thought the monster combat was pretty bad the first time around, but this time I jumped from a cyclops's butt to his head and stabbed him once in the eye and he died, and I have revised my opinion
It's like weird body platforming + stamina management, which is very entertaining
Now correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like I can spam healing items from the menu whenever I want? This I do not like.
Yes, but everything has a weight, and as your gear gets better (and heavier) you'll find that you won't be able to carry enough healing items to heal yourself infinitely at all times without hitting an encumbrance level that will significantly impede both your combat ability and your ability to carry all your new loot home. Even if you made yourself Andre the Giant.
Foefaller on
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AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
edited April 2019
Also keep in mind that curatives will heal indirect and direct damage while magic only heals indirect damage. If you burn through your curatives during combat you can find yourself in a bad spot later on. Especially important to keep in mind while dungeon diving or exploring if you don't know when you will be able to stock up again.
edit- Not that it is an inherently bad thing to use them during combat. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, but in general it is best to save curatives for after combat or use them before you start a big fight to top off.
Axen on
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
I will say I thought the monster combat was pretty bad the first time around, but this time I jumped from a cyclops's butt to his head and stabbed him once in the eye and he died, and I have revised my opinion
It's like weird body platforming + stamina management, which is very entertaining
Now correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like I can spam healing items from the menu whenever I want? This I do not like.
Yes, but everything has a weight, and as your gear gets better (and heavier) you'll find that you won't be able to carry enough healing items to heal yourself infinitely at all times without hitting an encumbrance level that will significantly impede both your combat ability and your ability to carry all your new loot home. Even if you made yourself Andre the Giant.
Ahhh, interesting. So it's not about managing in-game timing as much as limited resources.
my typical approach is to hire a healbot pawn - there are typically like, dozens available - and rely mostly on that. healing is almost always available, but localized and occurring over time, and with the gradual life bar decay.
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IceBurnerIt's cold and there are penguins.Registered Userregular
This game is almost unassumingly deep. There's no reason to try and do everything in a single playthrough and I don't recommend even trying.
Dragon's Dogma is made for near-seamless repeat playthroughs, where you keep all the benefits of your past exploits but get to have different adventures each time. Heck, there's a forger who can literally duplicate items you have, including quest items. Had trouble getting the target of a quest? Forge a copy or two and skip all the trouble next time around.
I say explore as much as you'd like, befriend who you'd like, and try different things each game. Don't sweat "missing" anything, as it's merely a temporary state.
I remember thinking my character's romance was going to be this one girl I had given a lot of things to, but when it was revealed my character got tackled by a horny blacksmith.
I will say I thought the monster combat was pretty bad the first time around, but this time I jumped from a cyclops's butt to his head and stabbed him once in the eye and he died, and I have revised my opinion
It's like weird body platforming + stamina management, which is very entertaining
Now correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like I can spam healing items from the menu whenever I want? This I do not like.
Yes, but everything has a weight, and as your gear gets better (and heavier) you'll find that you won't be able to carry enough healing items to heal yourself infinitely at all times without hitting an encumbrance level that will significantly impede both your combat ability and your ability to carry all your new loot home. Even if you made yourself Andre the Giant.
Ahhh, interesting. So it's not about managing in-game timing as much as limited resources.
Yep. As Axen mentioned healing spells are better for anything short of critical damage because they are infinite.
There are other bits of gear other than weapons/armor that will compete for space too. Oil for your lantern, because dark in genuinely dark and night is genuinely dangerous in most places. (Lanterns last forever on pawns though, however they do jack for your ability to see) You'll want to carry items that remove some of the nastier debilitations, like poison or blindness, even if you have a pawn with Halidom, and start carrying a secret softener or two once you get close to the end. Items that restore stamina (most of which can spoil) like mushrooms and meats are also something you want to carry.
Finally, you'll want to bring some items that could be useful for making stuff on the fly to help the treck go further. For example, there are several items that can be combined with most meats to make Backfat Oil, a non-perishable stamina restorer. Bottles of water can be combined with moldy grapes and apples to make wine, which are one of the most weight-efficient healing items out there. And empty bottles themselves can be used to gather water out in the open, as well as oil and sometimes poison from jars and water from one of the 3 healing springs hiding out in the world.
Out about atm, but when I'm done and at home I'll probably do an in-depth on what you should look for (and avoid) in support pawns.
Sooner or later, you are going to run into a pawn that is plain worthless. It picks up loot when it should be fighting, it spams a worthless ability over and over. It fails to do anything because it always stops in the middle of whatever it was doing to do something else instead, and you will ask yourself "How do I make sure that it will neverbe a long time less likely to happen ever again!?"
Well, ask no longer! Because I'm here to do my best to make sure that you are fully informed of the mess you will get with the pawns you hire!
First, it is important to know all the things a pawn will and will not do, can and can not do, regardless of vocation and inclination. It is important to have a baseline expectation, so you know how much you need to carry and what you can rely on your pawns for.
So, regardless of all other factors, a pawn will always:
-Cast spells at their highest level, regardless time it will take, how much of an overkill it will be or (except for healing) whether it is even necessary anymore. Will stop to avoid damage, but won't release it at the current level, but simply cancel.
-immediately use items to remove debilitations that they or (for group curatives) party members have.
-Attack enemies with abilities that they are weak against if they "Know" their weakness, be it an element, slashing vs. blunt, or status effects, regardless of their actual effectiveness based on the situation.
-Pick up nearby loot, open chests and fill flasks when out of combat and the group isn't moving quickly.
-Use stamina and health restores when they or (for group curatives) is below 45-50%, though Mendicant raises it higher.
-Drop whatever they are doing to cast healing spells whenever a party member drops below at least 45-50% or has a debilitation they can cure via magick.
-enchant weapons with an element they "Know" is the weakness of at least one of the enemies the party is currently fighting.
-Use basic attacks, even melee for Strider/Ranger, from time to time.
However, a pawn will never:
-use any buff items, though certain inclinations will use specialty arrows and thrown items.
-override a current enchantment, even if the element is no longer the strongest for the enemies they are fight. They will wait until it's done first.
-Knowingly avoid using elements/attacks the enemy is highly resistant to, unless they are attacking with a "known" weakness instead, or one of two enemies that grow in power when damaged by the wrong element.
-Risk themselves to finish a spell; if possible they will get out of the way.
Next is pawn knowledge. You might have noticed that I wrote "known" in quotes a couple of times. that's to denote behavior that is dependant on Pawn Knowledge. Pawns gain knowledge in three categories; Quests, Bestiary, and Areas.
Quest knowledge includes where objectives are, what items you need, where you might go next and possibly even alternative means to completing quests. Quest knowledge is limited to main quest and major side quests (i.e., nothing you get from a notice board) and is earned by being present for steps of that quest. Note that for some quests with alternative outcomes, the pawn needs to have witness *all* outcomes to get 3 star knowledge.
Area knowledge is about where stuff is and what enemies you might find. It is obviously gained by exploring, though actual "I think I've learned something" moments typically take a specific location reached or mechanism being used.
The important one, however, is Bestiary knowledge. Bestiary knowledge is gained in three ways; witnessing specific actions, using tactics scrolls (which typically are an alternative to witnessing) and generally killing a whole heck of a lot of them. The most important thing to learn in most cases, however, is the enemies' weakness, which is almost always something that has to be witnessed. Luckily, that (as well as most stupidly obvious facts about a creature) are pretty easy to trigger, if you know what you are doing, and generally you can ignore whether or not a pawn you are considering has knowledge of the enemy you are planning to fight. However, it is important to know that, in the vast majority of cases, if a specific action, weakness, or resistance of any enemy doesn't have a knowledge trigger to it, the pawn will never learn that fact, and how to take advantage/avoid it. This is most important/obvious for resistances; pawns will never avoid using something the enemy is strong against intentionally (though they generally don't use status effect spells/abilities unless their overall knowledge of the enemy is low or "know" that the enemy is weak to it) but AFAIK some enemies (specifically those in Bitterblack Isle) don't have the weakness as a witnessable thing, but rather something they will only pick up after killing enough of them.
Next we have Pawn Inclinations. IMO this is the most important thing to look out for, arguable more than abilities. Which is ironic because they're on the last page of a pawn's details when you inspect them. Every Pawn has a Primary Inclination, and nearly all have a secondary one. There is some evidence that the third or even fourth strongest inclination also affect behavior, but it is inconclusive (plus you can't actually see another pawn's 3rd inclination, only our own via the knowledge chair) Your primary pawn's inclination will change over time depending on your actions, as well as with special tonics that can be bought by a special merchant near the Rift crystal in the Encampment. Support pawns inclinations won't change while with you however.
The 9 Inclinations are Guardian, Nexus, Medicant, Scather, Challenger, Mitigator, Pioneer, Acquisitor and Utilitarian:
Guardian makes the pawn to take more effort to protect you, the Arisen, from enemies. PRIMARY GUARDIAN SHOULD BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS, as it will make the pawn stand by you, weapon drawn, and never attack until you take damage, even if they are a vocation that can attack from afar. This is harder than it sounds, because Guardian inclination increases by spamming "Come" and "Help" commands, and having to get picked up by your pawns, which are both fairly common among new players. Guardian as a secondary will reduce the "leash" for how far a pawn is willing to be before they head back to you, and focus on enemies that damage you, baring their primary inclination. This is... acceptable if both you and they are melee focused (for example, you are a Warrior and they are a Strider with Scather as their primary) but generally should also be avoided unless their abilities and primary inclination are freaking perfect for what you need.
Nexus makes the pawn more protective of other pawns. Most notable change of behavior is that they will carry downed pawns to you to be revived, but they also try to stay close to the other pawns and attack enemies that damage them. I know some people frown on this inclination, and it isn't one you probably should look for, but IMO it isn't bad enough that you should discount an otherwise good pawn either... though the rushing in to pick up downed allies is problematic if they are a Mage or Sorcerer, and should be avoided with those.
Medicant has the pawn focus on healing and, if the wiki is right, applying weapon enchantments. Secondary medicant increases the threshold when pawns cast healing a bit, while Primary Medicant seems to make them drop everything and/or consume precious curatives for a chip nail. A Secondary Medicant Mage pawn is hella useful, especially if that Primary is Challenger, Mitigator or Utilitarian, but IMO the quickness to drop everything for Anodyne with Primary isn't worth it.
Scather has the pawn focus on attacking the strongest foe in close range combat. Emphasis on "Close range;" Mages, Sorcs and Rangers with Scather as Primary will waste their range advantage to get close to the enemy or, worse, climb them. Fighter, Strider and Warrior Scathers are awesome, however.
Challenger has the pawn focus on ranged and spellcaster foes in ranged combat. Again, Emphasis on "Ranged combat." Good for Mages/Sorcs/Rangers, wasted on Warriors and Fighters, and arguably a detriment to Striders, who do their best damage when they are climbing large monsters.
Mitigator has the pawn start with the weakest enemies and work their way up. Generally wasted on Warriors and potentially Sorcerers, but otherwise a good inclination to have.
Pioneer makes the pawn act as the party scout, rushing ahead an increasing the "leash" for how far they are willing to travel from the Arisen. This obviously mean they will be the first to run into any enemies, and should be avoided on backline vocatons like Sorc or Mage, but can be useful for the pawn you want to tank for the party.
Acquisitor pawns focus on gathering loot. Even during combat, albeit not all the time if it's the secondary inclination. Generally avoid, though arguably not as bad as Primary Guardian since at least the pawn is doing something, even if it's not specifically useful for the moment.
Utilitarian has the pawn act more tactically. "More tactically" is a rather broad, but basically it means five things:
-They are more likely to act on their Bestiary knowledge for the situation beyond just elemental weaknesses (target weakpoints, take advantage of behavior, use debilitations they know the enemy is weak against, etc)
-They can act as a sort of "sergeant" to your commander, calling other pawns to group actions based on their knowledge. For example, if they "know" that they can knock an enemy down if enough pawns latch on to it. They will try to get the other pawns to help them do so when the opportunity presents itself.
-They are more likely to use CC abilities that knock down, stagger or otherwise impair enemies. A Primary Utilitarian Pawn with Flying Din is going to use it a lot... and I love it.
-They will be more willing to assist with abilities like Springboard and by grappling enemies for you to attack.
-They are more willing to use special items, like specialty arrows, that can apply effects that they think will be useful.
Utilitarian is arguably the most all-round useful Inclination a pawn can have; IMO it should always be considered a plus if they have it.
Finally, for abilities, rather than going step-by-step on what you should get (because that depends on a number of factors) I will instead focus on myths and things you should keep in mind or avoid.
Myth or Fact?: Mages with regular Anodyne are better than those with High or Grand Anodyne, all other factors equal, because they will have a shorter casting time and can get critical heals out faster.
-This is a Fact in regards to Grand Anodyne; that takes way too long and battles move too fast and pawns aren't that good at positioning. With High Anodyne it's more of a preference; High and Grand have a lingering affect that continues healing after you've left the initial target area, and you may personally find that more useful than getting the spell out a second or so faster.
Myth or Fact?: Good Ranger pawns have no daggers equipped, because they'll focus entirely on ranged
-This is a Myth, and a dangerous one at that. Pawns are not smart enough to not melee attack just because they have no melee weapon, and this also denies the pawn Dodge rolling and the Reset ability, things that pawns can and *will* use to avoid damage and get out of tight situations. What should absolutely be avoided, however, is Toss & Trigger/Advanced Trigger; Since it does fire damage, they will spam it against any enemy that is weak to fire, which is about 75% of the monsters in base game outside of Bitterblack Isle. Dazzle Hold/Blast should be also avoided if they are Utilitarian, because will try to spam that too (both of these pieces of advice apply to Striders too, IMO.) Ideally, the daggers have Reset, Cutting Wind, and Scarlet Kisses, or just Reset. And finally, if none of the above has convinced you, you can just unequip a pawn's daggers yourself; you can change support pawn gear, though any gear you equip on them will leave with them when you release and anything you've unequipped disappears.
If an ability seems like it would be too complex for a pawn, it probably is: Notably Pilfer for Strider, Act of Atonement for Warrior, Whirling Arrow for Ranger, Exquay for Sorcerer, and their upgrades. That said, if there is a timing aspect to it (like with Savage Lash for Warrior) I believe they will always nail it as long as something else doesn't get in the way (or for Lash, away)
On Mage and Sorcerer Pawns with multiple Enchantment spells: This can sound very versatile, but it really isn't. Pawns will not overwrite enchantments because they have another one that is stronger against the enemy; they will wait until the original enchantment fades first. Likewise, if they don't have (or know) the weakness of the enemy you are facing, they will pick an enchantment at random (because, due to how damage is calculated, it will still be a damage buff even if it's the wrong damage type... at least, as long as the weapon doesn't have a permanent enchantment) even if one would still be better than the other. You could probably get away with two such spells, as long as they are on the same pawn, but three or more, or having multiple spellcasting pawns with different enchantments are going to be a mess that will often leave you with weapons improperly enchanted.
On Sorcerers and Dual-casting: Sorcerer pawns can assist other Sorcerers (including you) with most unique Sorcerer spells by dual-casting. Basically, If a Sorcerer start casting the right spell, and another Sorcerer starts casting the same spell nearby, they will increase each other's spellcasting speed, with the second Sorcerer starting at the same point that the first one is so that they may finish casting the spell at the same time. If you are wondering if you can get a Sorcerer Pawn that has, say, Grand Bolide (also known as Meteor Storm), start dual casting the spell, release yours once you've charged enough for regular Bolide, and then start re-casting to be immediately back at the level to cast regular Bolide again, and just cast and release for 4-5 castings or reg. and High Bolide before the pawn finally finishes Grand Bolide, the answer is yes.
On Warriors: With only three skills, you probably don't want support abilities (like Battle Cry or Ladder Blade) or Arc of Might, which takes too long to charge for a Pawn to use well. Just which ever three abilities you find most effective for killing.
On bow-users:Threefold Shot/Fivefold Flurry and Sixfold/Tenfold are consider better damage dealing abilities for Strider and Ranger pawns, respectively, than their single-arrow equivalent (i.e. Full Bend and Dire Arrow), though you might find the later a better ability for yourself.
If a Strider does not have Scarlet/Hundred/Thousand Kisses, I argue that it is not a Strider: but a terrible take on a Ranger. No Kisses, no spot in the party. No exceptions.
Anyway, I hope that this has been informative for new Switch players, and I'm sure others have their own bits to add.
It's too bad you can't get access to the pawns from Steam. I have a very lovely male pawn, and Madican has the most beautiful female pawn I've ever seen.
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ThePantsAssociationA million could-be years on a thousand may-be worldsRegistered Userregular
edited April 2019
All my rented pawns are sent away with a perfect star rating and a treat. I'm not sure if it helps the owner at all, but I support boosting pawn self esteem.
I was messing around and threw a pawn off a wall, and he splatted and then got up apparently unconcerned. Then a guard ran up to me and arrested me and threw me in prison.
I said no to the bribe because it's still early game and I don't have a lot of money lying around, I don't want to be spending 5000 gold for no reason. I read that your sentence is one full game day, which is about 45 minutes, so I left the game on and went and got lunch.
When I came back the door to the cell was unlocked, and a message at the bottom of the screen said something about the night watch being on duty and getting thrown in prison. I left my cell and the guard immediately said something about my jests going too far and now I need to do time...so I was arrested the instant after I was let free.
I hit the home button and killed the game and started it up again, and my last save was from the initial time I was thrown in prison before I went to lunch. So I guess now I'm paying 5000 fucking gold for no reason just to be able to play this game.
I was messing around and threw a pawn off a wall, and he splatted and then got up apparently unconcerned. Then a guard ran up to me and arrested me and threw me in prison.
I said no to the bribe because it's still early game and I don't have a lot of money lying around, I don't want to be spending 5000 gold for no reason. I read that your sentence is one full game day, which is about 45 minutes, so I left the game on and went and got lunch.
When I came back the door to the cell was unlocked, and a message at the bottom of the screen said something about the night watch being on duty and getting thrown in prison. I left my cell and the guard immediately said something about my jests going too far and now I need to do time...so I was arrested the instant after I was let free.
I hit the home button and killed the game and started it up again, and my last save was from the initial time I was thrown in prison before I went to lunch. So I guess now I'm paying 5000 fucking gold for no reason just to be able to play this game.
Always keep a skeleton key on you for this; they take a shackle combined with either a Hammer, Scrap of Iron, Hunk of Ore or Unremarkable Ore.
When you use it to get out of your cell, head right and there should be an entrance to the sewers. Once you are in there you should be able to reequip everything, and you will be reunited with your pawns once you leave.
I will say I thought the monster combat was pretty bad the first time around, but this time I jumped from a cyclops's butt to his head and stabbed him once in the eye and he died, and I have revised my opinion
It's like weird body platforming + stamina management, which is very entertaining
Now correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like I can spam healing items from the menu whenever I want? This I do not like.
Yes, but everything has a weight, and as your gear gets better (and heavier) you'll find that you won't be able to carry enough healing items to heal yourself infinitely at all times without hitting an encumbrance level that will significantly impede both your combat ability and your ability to carry all your new loot home. Even if you made yourself Andre the Giant.
Ahhh, interesting. So it's not about managing in-game timing as much as limited resources.
There are other bits of gear other than weapons/armor that will compete for space too. Oil for your lantern, because dark in genuinely dark and night is genuinely dangerous in most places. (Lanterns last forever on pawns though, however they do jack for your ability to see) You'll want to carry items that remove some of the nastier debilitations, like poison or blindness, even if you have a pawn with Halidom, and start carrying a secret softener or two once you get close to the end. Items that restore stamina (most of which can spoil) like mushrooms and meats are also something you want to carry.
The meat items will also eventually turn "sour" which apparently was a weird translation of "dry aged" and sell for a lot more if you don't need to use them yourself so they pull double duty as a money maker early on. Just don't hang on to them too long or they turn rotten.
I think you can craft something in the jail cell and escape using the back door.
But yeah. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.
Can't. Resources online say there are one or two specific quests where you can escape prison and otherwise not.
And also I don't have a skeleton key, I'm new to the game.
It's just poor design. Do like Skyrim and give me a choice: bribe the guard or handwave the time spent in prison by leveling me down or reducing me to the XP floor for my current level or something. Not bribe the guard or you literally can't play the game for 45 minutes.
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And if you're a new player reading this, you're now probably thinking I'm slagging on the game and are saying "Oh I've made a huge mistake buying this" .
Yet you pull all that stuff together and it becomes a fucking amazing game.
Just... be prepared to look at bits of the game in a vacuum and say "This... this is really dumb, why is this a thing?".
I’m not so sure about my pawn though; I should have made an attractive man instead of a little gremlin.
Steam: pandas_gota_gun
There are A LOT of systems in this game that aren't clearly explained.
Here's just one example: If you let an apple sit too long in your inventory, like 2-3 days, it turns moldy and won't heal you when used. But if you take that moldy apple and combine it with a bottle of water you make a wine that is a great healing item early on.
It's layers and layers of systems as if the designers never heard of the idea of feature creep and people love it for that.
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i'm at gran soren and i haven't died yet, but i am just about to get to voc level 5 and unlock the first defensive skill; this seems silly! i know the combat gets more technical later tho
but i'm having trouble deciding between strider and melee classes (to get to magick knight); i assume i'll have time and resources to play around with other classes?
i always love melee but not having ranged options is rough here, i can tell
not having a ranged option does suck.
strider is a ton of fun as a generalist rogue, especially once you get bitterblack rings thst upgrade some of the core skills another tier.
ranger is ranged monster.
assassin has the best offensive physical stat growths, a really wide selection of weapon types (dagger/bow, sword/bow, sword/shield), and parries
warrior has the most limited kit but good stat growths, and the charge up moves are master classes in satisfying hitstop.
fighter is sword and board guy. typical sword and board stuff (i like this more as a pawn vocation)
mystic knight is a lot of fun. perfect blocks, buffs, area denial, and kind of a turret as your ranged option.
magic archer is a little weak in the base game but thrives in bitterblack, as the terrain, enemy composition, and gear itself all give the class a huge boost. one of the strongest classes in endgame imo.
mage: meh. pawn class imo. heals, buffs, etc.
sorcerers: one of the wildest mage classes i've ever seen in video games. spells take a while to go off but are super strong and dramatic. if you have multiple sorcerers in a group the can spell sync to cast faster.
Should I just continue on with delivering the hydra head? I'm tending to go for the side quests because I don't want to miss any due to advancing the story.
They're both meant to be done now, and in-fact if you deliver the head before finding Quina you'll be looked out of something later.
Saurians have two weaknesses: ice damage freezes them solid, and cutting off their tails weakens them hugely. Grab a mage pawn with Ice Boon and aim for the tails.
The bandits in-front of Witchwood are abnormally hard. If you can't kill them you can try just running past, they won't follow you into the wood. Alternatively you can make the trip at night; there'll be lots of wolves instead of bandits, which should be more manageable.
I — god damn it
I remembered my first playthrough ever and thought I was going to end up with Mercedes since I did all her quests and pal'd around with her the most outside of the main game, but no, I got the fucking JESTER. Apparently Grigori saw me giving him pies at some point and mistook that for a courtship ritual.
10/10 this is the game that just keeps on surprising me.
I remembered my first playthrough ever and thought I was going to end up with Mercedes since I did all her quests and pal'd around with her the most outside of the main game, but no, I got the fucking JESTER. Apparently Grigori saw me giving him pies at some point and mistook that for a courtship ritual.
Mystic Knight was also capable of the highest damage output of any class in the game. Like, I mean it was BROKENLY overpowered if you knew what to do. How broken? The sheer amount of DPS and projectile spam on screen would cause the console versions to turn into a slideshow and possibly even crash, that's how bad it was.
If you have it on PC, it's totally viable though and absolutely hilarious. Basically, level yourself up 60 levels as a sorcerer to boost your magic attack stat up to the point you start hitting diminishing returns, then switch to magic knight and get Full Moon Slash and that one skill that plops an orb in front of you that shoots projectiles when you hit it. For some reason, I guess Full Moon Slash has multiple hit registrations, because when you hit the orb with FMS it just VOMITS projectiles. SO you just load up on stamina restoratives and mash the hell out of your FMS button and everything on screen will melt like a crayon in a George foreman grill.
I'm not sure this is true. I've definitely delivered the head and then gone back to find Quina - precisely because those bandits are assholes. I think as long as you don't advance the main quest in the city (something about the abyss) after delivering the head there, you're fine.
But I could be wrong.
It's like weird body platforming + stamina management, which is very entertaining
Now correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like I can spam healing items from the menu whenever I want? This I do not like.
Yes, but everything has a weight, and as your gear gets better (and heavier) you'll find that you won't be able to carry enough healing items to heal yourself infinitely at all times without hitting an encumbrance level that will significantly impede both your combat ability and your ability to carry all your new loot home. Even if you made yourself Andre the Giant.
edit- Not that it is an inherently bad thing to use them during combat. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, but in general it is best to save curatives for after combat or use them before you start a big fight to top off.
The game has New Game+ mode so you can try such quests later. With the old gear you can get to that section of the story quite quickly.
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
Ahhh, interesting. So it's not about managing in-game timing as much as limited resources.
Dragon's Dogma is made for near-seamless repeat playthroughs, where you keep all the benefits of your past exploits but get to have different adventures each time. Heck, there's a forger who can literally duplicate items you have, including quest items. Had trouble getting the target of a quest? Forge a copy or two and skip all the trouble next time around.
I say explore as much as you'd like, befriend who you'd like, and try different things each game. Don't sweat "missing" anything, as it's merely a temporary state.
PSN: theIceBurner, IceBurnerEU, IceBurner-JP | X-Link Kai: TheIceBurner
Dragon's Dogma: 192 Warrior Linty | 80 Strider Alicia | 32 Mage Terra
Expensive, but whack.
I always found it hilarious that he can "forge" monster parts, which are actually normal monster parts.
Makes you wonder how the hell he's getting them.
Same way you are, I imagine.
He's actually (real plot spoilers follow)
Yep. As Axen mentioned healing spells are better for anything short of critical damage because they are infinite.
There are other bits of gear other than weapons/armor that will compete for space too. Oil for your lantern, because dark in genuinely dark and night is genuinely dangerous in most places. (Lanterns last forever on pawns though, however they do jack for your ability to see) You'll want to carry items that remove some of the nastier debilitations, like poison or blindness, even if you have a pawn with Halidom, and start carrying a secret softener or two once you get close to the end. Items that restore stamina (most of which can spoil) like mushrooms and meats are also something you want to carry.
Finally, you'll want to bring some items that could be useful for making stuff on the fly to help the treck go further. For example, there are several items that can be combined with most meats to make Backfat Oil, a non-perishable stamina restorer. Bottles of water can be combined with moldy grapes and apples to make wine, which are one of the most weight-efficient healing items out there. And empty bottles themselves can be used to gather water out in the open, as well as oil and sometimes poison from jars and water from one of the 3 healing springs hiding out in the world.
Out about atm, but when I'm done and at home I'll probably do an in-depth on what you should look for (and avoid) in support pawns.
...no he's not. He specifically says those legends are bunk. The characters outside Bitterblack that meet that description are
Oh, I know, that was a bit, but still kinda spoilery so I wanted to specify.
Sooner or later, you are going to run into a pawn that is plain worthless. It picks up loot when it should be fighting, it spams a worthless ability over and over. It fails to do anything because it always stops in the middle of whatever it was doing to do something else instead, and you will ask yourself "How do I make sure that it will never be a long time less likely to happen ever again!?"
Well, ask no longer! Because I'm here to do my best to make sure that you are fully informed of the mess you will get with the pawns you hire!
First, it is important to know all the things a pawn will and will not do, can and can not do, regardless of vocation and inclination. It is important to have a baseline expectation, so you know how much you need to carry and what you can rely on your pawns for.
So, regardless of all other factors, a pawn will always:
-Cast spells at their highest level, regardless time it will take, how much of an overkill it will be or (except for healing) whether it is even necessary anymore. Will stop to avoid damage, but won't release it at the current level, but simply cancel.
-immediately use items to remove debilitations that they or (for group curatives) party members have.
-Attack enemies with abilities that they are weak against if they "Know" their weakness, be it an element, slashing vs. blunt, or status effects, regardless of their actual effectiveness based on the situation.
-Pick up nearby loot, open chests and fill flasks when out of combat and the group isn't moving quickly.
-Use stamina and health restores when they or (for group curatives) is below 45-50%, though Mendicant raises it higher.
-Drop whatever they are doing to cast healing spells whenever a party member drops below at least 45-50% or has a debilitation they can cure via magick.
-enchant weapons with an element they "Know" is the weakness of at least one of the enemies the party is currently fighting.
-Use basic attacks, even melee for Strider/Ranger, from time to time.
However, a pawn will never:
-use any buff items, though certain inclinations will use specialty arrows and thrown items.
-override a current enchantment, even if the element is no longer the strongest for the enemies they are fight. They will wait until it's done first.
-Knowingly avoid using elements/attacks the enemy is highly resistant to, unless they are attacking with a "known" weakness instead, or one of two enemies that grow in power when damaged by the wrong element.
-Risk themselves to finish a spell; if possible they will get out of the way.
Next is pawn knowledge. You might have noticed that I wrote "known" in quotes a couple of times. that's to denote behavior that is dependant on Pawn Knowledge. Pawns gain knowledge in three categories; Quests, Bestiary, and Areas.
Quest knowledge includes where objectives are, what items you need, where you might go next and possibly even alternative means to completing quests. Quest knowledge is limited to main quest and major side quests (i.e., nothing you get from a notice board) and is earned by being present for steps of that quest. Note that for some quests with alternative outcomes, the pawn needs to have witness *all* outcomes to get 3 star knowledge.
Area knowledge is about where stuff is and what enemies you might find. It is obviously gained by exploring, though actual "I think I've learned something" moments typically take a specific location reached or mechanism being used.
The important one, however, is Bestiary knowledge. Bestiary knowledge is gained in three ways; witnessing specific actions, using tactics scrolls (which typically are an alternative to witnessing) and generally killing a whole heck of a lot of them. The most important thing to learn in most cases, however, is the enemies' weakness, which is almost always something that has to be witnessed. Luckily, that (as well as most stupidly obvious facts about a creature) are pretty easy to trigger, if you know what you are doing, and generally you can ignore whether or not a pawn you are considering has knowledge of the enemy you are planning to fight. However, it is important to know that, in the vast majority of cases, if a specific action, weakness, or resistance of any enemy doesn't have a knowledge trigger to it, the pawn will never learn that fact, and how to take advantage/avoid it. This is most important/obvious for resistances; pawns will never avoid using something the enemy is strong against intentionally (though they generally don't use status effect spells/abilities unless their overall knowledge of the enemy is low or "know" that the enemy is weak to it) but AFAIK some enemies (specifically those in Bitterblack Isle) don't have the weakness as a witnessable thing, but rather something they will only pick up after killing enough of them.
Next we have Pawn Inclinations. IMO this is the most important thing to look out for, arguable more than abilities. Which is ironic because they're on the last page of a pawn's details when you inspect them. Every Pawn has a Primary Inclination, and nearly all have a secondary one. There is some evidence that the third or even fourth strongest inclination also affect behavior, but it is inconclusive (plus you can't actually see another pawn's 3rd inclination, only our own via the knowledge chair) Your primary pawn's inclination will change over time depending on your actions, as well as with special tonics that can be bought by a special merchant near the Rift crystal in the Encampment. Support pawns inclinations won't change while with you however.
The 9 Inclinations are Guardian, Nexus, Medicant, Scather, Challenger, Mitigator, Pioneer, Acquisitor and Utilitarian:
Guardian makes the pawn to take more effort to protect you, the Arisen, from enemies. PRIMARY GUARDIAN SHOULD BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS, as it will make the pawn stand by you, weapon drawn, and never attack until you take damage, even if they are a vocation that can attack from afar. This is harder than it sounds, because Guardian inclination increases by spamming "Come" and "Help" commands, and having to get picked up by your pawns, which are both fairly common among new players. Guardian as a secondary will reduce the "leash" for how far a pawn is willing to be before they head back to you, and focus on enemies that damage you, baring their primary inclination. This is... acceptable if both you and they are melee focused (for example, you are a Warrior and they are a Strider with Scather as their primary) but generally should also be avoided unless their abilities and primary inclination are freaking perfect for what you need.
Nexus makes the pawn more protective of other pawns. Most notable change of behavior is that they will carry downed pawns to you to be revived, but they also try to stay close to the other pawns and attack enemies that damage them. I know some people frown on this inclination, and it isn't one you probably should look for, but IMO it isn't bad enough that you should discount an otherwise good pawn either... though the rushing in to pick up downed allies is problematic if they are a Mage or Sorcerer, and should be avoided with those.
Medicant has the pawn focus on healing and, if the wiki is right, applying weapon enchantments. Secondary medicant increases the threshold when pawns cast healing a bit, while Primary Medicant seems to make them drop everything and/or consume precious curatives for a chip nail. A Secondary Medicant Mage pawn is hella useful, especially if that Primary is Challenger, Mitigator or Utilitarian, but IMO the quickness to drop everything for Anodyne with Primary isn't worth it.
Scather has the pawn focus on attacking the strongest foe in close range combat. Emphasis on "Close range;" Mages, Sorcs and Rangers with Scather as Primary will waste their range advantage to get close to the enemy or, worse, climb them. Fighter, Strider and Warrior Scathers are awesome, however.
Challenger has the pawn focus on ranged and spellcaster foes in ranged combat. Again, Emphasis on "Ranged combat." Good for Mages/Sorcs/Rangers, wasted on Warriors and Fighters, and arguably a detriment to Striders, who do their best damage when they are climbing large monsters.
Mitigator has the pawn start with the weakest enemies and work their way up. Generally wasted on Warriors and potentially Sorcerers, but otherwise a good inclination to have.
Pioneer makes the pawn act as the party scout, rushing ahead an increasing the "leash" for how far they are willing to travel from the Arisen. This obviously mean they will be the first to run into any enemies, and should be avoided on backline vocatons like Sorc or Mage, but can be useful for the pawn you want to tank for the party.
Acquisitor pawns focus on gathering loot. Even during combat, albeit not all the time if it's the secondary inclination. Generally avoid, though arguably not as bad as Primary Guardian since at least the pawn is doing something, even if it's not specifically useful for the moment.
Utilitarian has the pawn act more tactically. "More tactically" is a rather broad, but basically it means five things:
-They are more likely to act on their Bestiary knowledge for the situation beyond just elemental weaknesses (target weakpoints, take advantage of behavior, use debilitations they know the enemy is weak against, etc)
-They can act as a sort of "sergeant" to your commander, calling other pawns to group actions based on their knowledge. For example, if they "know" that they can knock an enemy down if enough pawns latch on to it. They will try to get the other pawns to help them do so when the opportunity presents itself.
-They are more likely to use CC abilities that knock down, stagger or otherwise impair enemies. A Primary Utilitarian Pawn with Flying Din is going to use it a lot... and I love it.
-They will be more willing to assist with abilities like Springboard and by grappling enemies for you to attack.
-They are more willing to use special items, like specialty arrows, that can apply effects that they think will be useful.
Utilitarian is arguably the most all-round useful Inclination a pawn can have; IMO it should always be considered a plus if they have it.
Finally, for abilities, rather than going step-by-step on what you should get (because that depends on a number of factors) I will instead focus on myths and things you should keep in mind or avoid.
Myth or Fact?: Mages with regular Anodyne are better than those with High or Grand Anodyne, all other factors equal, because they will have a shorter casting time and can get critical heals out faster.
-This is a Fact in regards to Grand Anodyne; that takes way too long and battles move too fast and pawns aren't that good at positioning. With High Anodyne it's more of a preference; High and Grand have a lingering affect that continues healing after you've left the initial target area, and you may personally find that more useful than getting the spell out a second or so faster.
Myth or Fact?: Good Ranger pawns have no daggers equipped, because they'll focus entirely on ranged
-This is a Myth, and a dangerous one at that. Pawns are not smart enough to not melee attack just because they have no melee weapon, and this also denies the pawn Dodge rolling and the Reset ability, things that pawns can and *will* use to avoid damage and get out of tight situations. What should absolutely be avoided, however, is Toss & Trigger/Advanced Trigger; Since it does fire damage, they will spam it against any enemy that is weak to fire, which is about 75% of the monsters in base game outside of Bitterblack Isle. Dazzle Hold/Blast should be also avoided if they are Utilitarian, because will try to spam that too (both of these pieces of advice apply to Striders too, IMO.) Ideally, the daggers have Reset, Cutting Wind, and Scarlet Kisses, or just Reset. And finally, if none of the above has convinced you, you can just unequip a pawn's daggers yourself; you can change support pawn gear, though any gear you equip on them will leave with them when you release and anything you've unequipped disappears.
If an ability seems like it would be too complex for a pawn, it probably is: Notably Pilfer for Strider, Act of Atonement for Warrior, Whirling Arrow for Ranger, Exquay for Sorcerer, and their upgrades. That said, if there is a timing aspect to it (like with Savage Lash for Warrior) I believe they will always nail it as long as something else doesn't get in the way (or for Lash, away)
On Mage and Sorcerer Pawns with multiple Enchantment spells: This can sound very versatile, but it really isn't. Pawns will not overwrite enchantments because they have another one that is stronger against the enemy; they will wait until the original enchantment fades first. Likewise, if they don't have (or know) the weakness of the enemy you are facing, they will pick an enchantment at random (because, due to how damage is calculated, it will still be a damage buff even if it's the wrong damage type... at least, as long as the weapon doesn't have a permanent enchantment) even if one would still be better than the other. You could probably get away with two such spells, as long as they are on the same pawn, but three or more, or having multiple spellcasting pawns with different enchantments are going to be a mess that will often leave you with weapons improperly enchanted.
On Sorcerers and Dual-casting: Sorcerer pawns can assist other Sorcerers (including you) with most unique Sorcerer spells by dual-casting. Basically, If a Sorcerer start casting the right spell, and another Sorcerer starts casting the same spell nearby, they will increase each other's spellcasting speed, with the second Sorcerer starting at the same point that the first one is so that they may finish casting the spell at the same time. If you are wondering if you can get a Sorcerer Pawn that has, say, Grand Bolide (also known as Meteor Storm), start dual casting the spell, release yours once you've charged enough for regular Bolide, and then start re-casting to be immediately back at the level to cast regular Bolide again, and just cast and release for 4-5 castings or reg. and High Bolide before the pawn finally finishes Grand Bolide, the answer is yes.
On Warriors: With only three skills, you probably don't want support abilities (like Battle Cry or Ladder Blade) or Arc of Might, which takes too long to charge for a Pawn to use well. Just which ever three abilities you find most effective for killing.
On bow-users:Threefold Shot/Fivefold Flurry and Sixfold/Tenfold are consider better damage dealing abilities for Strider and Ranger pawns, respectively, than their single-arrow equivalent (i.e. Full Bend and Dire Arrow), though you might find the later a better ability for yourself.
If a Strider does not have Scarlet/Hundred/Thousand Kisses, I argue that it is not a Strider: but a terrible take on a Ranger. No Kisses, no spot in the party. No exceptions.
Anyway, I hope that this has been informative for new Switch players, and I'm sure others have their own bits to add.
1) Someone made a Danny Trejo pawn and he's perfect and now he's in my party
2) Masterworks all you can't go wrong masterworks all you can't go wrong masterworks all you can't go wrong
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
And I'm going around with huge fat green-haired Melon Jeff as my best bud, kinda like an earlier days Jonah Hill thing goin' on.
I was messing around and threw a pawn off a wall, and he splatted and then got up apparently unconcerned. Then a guard ran up to me and arrested me and threw me in prison.
I said no to the bribe because it's still early game and I don't have a lot of money lying around, I don't want to be spending 5000 gold for no reason. I read that your sentence is one full game day, which is about 45 minutes, so I left the game on and went and got lunch.
When I came back the door to the cell was unlocked, and a message at the bottom of the screen said something about the night watch being on duty and getting thrown in prison. I left my cell and the guard immediately said something about my jests going too far and now I need to do time...so I was arrested the instant after I was let free.
I hit the home button and killed the game and started it up again, and my last save was from the initial time I was thrown in prison before I went to lunch. So I guess now I'm paying 5000 fucking gold for no reason just to be able to play this game.
But yeah. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
Always keep a skeleton key on you for this; they take a shackle combined with either a Hammer, Scrap of Iron, Hunk of Ore or Unremarkable Ore.
When you use it to get out of your cell, head right and there should be an entrance to the sewers. Once you are in there you should be able to reequip everything, and you will be reunited with your pawns once you leave.
The meat items will also eventually turn "sour" which apparently was a weird translation of "dry aged" and sell for a lot more if you don't need to use them yourself so they pull double duty as a money maker early on. Just don't hang on to them too long or they turn rotten.
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Can't. Resources online say there are one or two specific quests where you can escape prison and otherwise not.
And also I don't have a skeleton key, I'm new to the game.
It's just poor design. Do like Skyrim and give me a choice: bribe the guard or handwave the time spent in prison by leveling me down or reducing me to the XP floor for my current level or something. Not bribe the guard or you literally can't play the game for 45 minutes.