Dragon’s Dogma 2's Dreaded Dragonsplague Will Be Easier To Deal With

A Dragon’s Dogma 2 Pawn raises their right hand to the Arisen in front of them, with an NPC character on the left and right.

Capcom’s high-fantasy RPG Dragon’s Dogma 2 will get a new update on all platforms this month that makes some much-needed changes, including one that makes Pawns more reliable, less dumb, and less talkative. We love Pawns that do their job silently, but one of the most notable changes in this upcoming patch makes the dreaded Dragonsplague disease easier to deal with.

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Dragonsplague is a viral infection that exclusively affects Pawns. This illness causes all kinds of problems for your loyal servants, from disobedience to pulsing red eyes to headaches. These are all signs that something is amiss, but if you don’t catch these indicators early, then, as Capcom warns in an in-game pop-up message, “devastating calamity” will ensue. That calamity? The infected Pawn will transform into a shadow dragon and kill everyone in town which sucks because, unless you know what to look for, it’s possible you’ll ignore the warnings and be forced to clean up the mess your faithful retainer has left behind. In an upcoming update, however, the deadly disease will become more noticeable, making it a little less of a nuisance.

“Reducing the infection frequency of dragonsplague and adjusting the signs of Pawns infected with dragonsplague to be more noticeable,” Capcom wrote in the April 19 patch notes. “For example, when infected, glowing eyes will be more noticeable.”

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The glowing red eyes are currently difficult to notice, especially if you’ve given your Pawn red eyes in the character creator. With the upcoming Dragon’s Dogma 2 update, you’ll be able to to zoom in on character’s faces while in the status menu. If those eyes are red and glowing, then your best course of action is to either dismiss the Pawn or kill them outright. Sucks, but you gotta do what you gotta do.Get to work, doctor Arisen. You’re needed.

There are other necessary changes to Pawn behavior in this patch, too. They won’t fall off cliffs as often, which is great. I’m tired of saving my Pawns all the time, especially when escaping through treacherous mountains. And now they’ll actually guide you when you tell them where previously they’d just…ignore your request. Plus, they won’t talk as much (finally!) and they’ll help out when you’re in need more (again, finally!). The best one, though? You’ll finally be able to high-five them more effectively—beforehand the animations just wouldn’t play out no matter how close you were to your Pawn’s extended hand. I love this. There’s nothing like a celebratory fist-bump or high-five after slaying a dragon.

Unfortunately, there’s no release date for when this patch will go live, though Capcom tweeted that the plan is to drop the update on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S this month. We’re near the end of April, so we don’t have much longer to wait for these changes. Below are the patch notes for this update:

Dragon’s Dogma 2 April 2024 Patch Notes

• Reducing the infection frequency of dragonsplague and adjusting the signs of Pawns infected with dragonsplague to be more noticeable.
• For example, when infected, glowing eyes will be more noticeable.
• Adding the option to zoom in on faces of the Arisen and Pawns in the status screen, shops, etc.
• Fixing some issues and implementing adjustments related to the mini map.
• Treasure chests that have already been acquired won’t be displayed on the mini map.
• Adjustments to Pawns’ behavior and dialogue.
• Fixing issues where occasionally the player couldn’t high five Pawns.
• Fixing issues where Pawns wouldn’t start guiding after offering to guide.
• Making Pawns less likely to fall off cliffs.
• Reducing the frequency of some Pawn dialogue lines.
• Improving Pawn lines to better match circumstances.
• Fixing some issues where the Main Pawn speaks Support Pawn’s dialogue.
• Making Pawns more likely to aid the Arisen if the Arisen commands them to help while being held by enemies.
• Reducing the frequency of Pawns offering to be hired by the player while in the field.
• Fixing issues where sometimes escort quests are considered failed when accessing Character Edit or other specific situations.
• Fixing issues where the player could be jailed when fighting monsters in town.
• Fixing some crashes and freezes in specific circumstances.
• Miscellaneous bug fixes.

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