Members of the Dragon’s Dogma 2 community are reporting a game-ending bug that, thanks to the game’s controversial saving system, completely bricks their play through and leaves them unable to complete the game.
Crescendo
27 Mar @ 4:16am
I’m experiencing the same issue. I’ve explored around and waited a couple days hoping it would have fixed itself by the time I come back… but nope :((
If you’re not familiar, Dragon’s Dogma 2 features a saving system that was designed to restrict a players ability to “save scum,” an act that sees players reload a save to avoid an unfavorable event or outcome.
For the record, I am total scum. I will reload a mission in X-COM 2 47 times if it means my favorite operator doesn’t die. I save scummed in Dragon’s Dogma 2 to avoid murdering a man’s entire family. Judge me, if you will. Anyway, back to the save system.
It utilizes two different methods of saving. A traditional save file that the player can save and load at any point, but one that the game overrides freely, and an additional save file that only saves when a player rests at an inn or in a bed.
The inn save is typically used as a failsafe, a save that is only made when a player is safely hidden away in a haven free of enemies or outside influences. This should, in design at least, ensure players are never truly screwed.
The issue players have been having, one initially brought to my attention by @kythlyn on X, surrounds a particular boss encounter in the game where the player is tasked with escorting a huge construct to a specific location.
From the comments on the Steam forum discussing the problem, it appears some players may have defeated the construct before the appropriate time, causing the end-scene of the encounter to bug out. A similar sentiment is echoed on a Reddit thread discussing the same issue.
What makes this particular situation more problematic is the positioning of an inn at the end of the encounter. It’s a rather arduous battle, one that requires a lot of climbing and falling, and an inn is a much welcomed respite. Any RPG player would jump at the opportunity for a full heal immediately following such an epic encounter.
Furthermore, the entire act of defeating the gigantic construct before it reaches its destination is incentivized via the in-game achievement “Gigantus, I Hardly Knew Thee.”
Therein lies the problem. Players have defeated the construct before the game was prepared for it and rested at an inn, all but guaranteeing all of their save files are post game-ending bug.
Players have shared their creative attempts at fixing the problem, with one explaining that they carried a vital NPC to his intended location, but to no avail.
This brings up an important conversation, as Dogma 2’s save file system is an integral part of the experience, and one I personally love. It forces players to live with the consequences of their actions in a living, breathing world of its own existence, not merely a playground for the whim of the player.
At the same time, this particular problem shows that the technology of today isn’t quite ready for such a cut and dry approach.
What are your thoughts? Does the hardcore nature of the game’s save system offer enough to run the risk of ruining entire save files? Let us know below.