Dragon’s Dogma 2: Best Starting Vocation for the Arisen and Main Pawn

If you’re starting your first playthrough of Dragon’s Dogma 2, you may wonder which of the four basic vocations to choose from for yourself and your Pawn. Is there a standout vocation or one to avoid? Honestly, it’s a bit of both.

The Best Starting Vocations for Arisen and Pawn in Dragon’s Dogma 2

The absolute beauty of Dragon’s Dogma 2 is that you can successfully run whichever vocation you like – basic, advanced, or hybrid. But, if you want to know which of the four basic vocations is the best out of Fighter, Archer, Mage, or Thief, here’s everything you should know.

Best Starting Vocation for the Arisen

The best basic vocation to choose from when beginning Dragon’s Dogma 2 for the first time would be the Fighter class. Let me explain: Fighter is your standard melee class. It plays exactly how you expect it to. It is easy to learn how to use it quite well, and it is convenient to have a shield while you are learning enemy reactions and attacks – plus using it to soften your landing is a bonus! It also allows you to get up close and personal with your enemies and climb them, which is my favorite part of the game.

Warrior seems like the natural advanced vocation progression from Fighter, but it doesn’t have to be. Once you have unlocked the other advanced vocations, you can experiment with those. If you want a similar but more exciting class that provides a more magical experience, Mystic Spearhand is your good next bet.

Archer and Thief are okay choices as well. With Archer, you can attack enemies from a distance, which provides you with more security. Plus, you’ll be able to be the party VIP when you successfully shoot all of the harpies to the ground. If you want to focus on damage output and DPS, the Agile Thief is the class for you.

I would not recommend choosing Mage as your starting class. This is because I think Mage is best suited to the Pawn position. During my first and second playthroughs, I had success with my Pawn being a Mage—just like in Dragon’s Dogma 1.

Best Starting Vocation for the Pawn

Your Pawn is your new best friend. The one who has your back. Your ride or die. So, you’ll want to make sure that you choose the best vocation for them. Of course, you are free to change it at will. But the right vocation for your playstyle just makes Dragon’s Dogma 2 flow seamlessly.

In my opinion, the best starting Vocation that you can choose for your Pawn in Dragon’s Dogma 2 is the Mage. Due to the fact the Mage is a healer, it is very convenient not to worry about healing yourself when your Pawn will do it for you, which allows you to continue your onslaught of attacks on your enemy while your Pawn heals you from a distance. Naturally, they aren’t perfect, but with a simple Help! Pawn command, the Mage will heal you on request. You could also hire another Mage from beyond the Rift, but knowing that your Pawn is well-equipped and ready to go is nice.

If having a healer by your side isn’t for you, there are always the Archer and Thief classes. Having an Archer on your side is wise, as many enemies can be difficult to hit from the ground. It also gives you additional horizontal reach as well. As mentioned earlier, the Thief has the highest DPS out of the four vocations, and if additional damage is what you seek, you cannot go wrong.

Fighter would be the last of my choices for the Pawn. There are vastly more benefits that the other three vocations will bring to your Pawn that Fighter just lacks, and besides, there are plenty of Fighter and Warrior Pawns in the Rift for you to hire.

But, at the end of the day, you are free to choose whichever Vocation you like. There are four basic Vocations, but 10 in total, and you are free to change them as often as you want to. You are not locked into a singular class. So, try them all and see which one works best for both Arisen and Pawn.