The best Dragon’s Dogma 2 Warrior build does more than just hit things really hard, though it does that too. It gives your Warrior a chance to sustain themselves as much as possible while dealing with threats your less sturdy party members might have trouble tackling.
Our Dragon’s Dogma 2 Warrior build guide explains how to play Warrior well and which skills have the most to offer. If you’re wondering where Warrior falls in the overall scheme of Vocations, check out our Dragon’s Dogma 2 Vocation tier list.
How to play Warrior in Dragon’s Dogma 2
Timing is the most important part of playing Warrior effectively. Most Warrior skills, including your standard attack, have a basic and charged form, and the charged version deals extra damage, as you’d expect. However, they also require precise timing to deal the most damage. Warriors, more than other Vocations, also need a solid team for support, as they’re only good at doing one thing: smashing stuff.
- You’re not a tank – It may be tempting to see Warrior as a tank, but you shouldn’t. Warriors have fewer defensive skills than Fighters and, while their armor is heavy, they sacrifice shields for strong weapons and are more vulnerable than Fighters as a result.
- But you should play aggressively – Warriors can overwhelm small and medium foes and even make big dents in larger enemies if they keep pressing the attack and don’t let up. Use charged attacks to deal heavy damage and basic skills to keep the enemy’s attention on you, and don’t retreat unless absolutely necessary.
- Practice – Knowing when to use a charged attack and where to aim it makes a big difference, especially once you unlock certain abilities and core skills. Take some time to practice on weaker foes so you can make the most out of your Warrior.
- You’re a bit helpless – Warriors only have one support skill, a debuff cleanser, and while it’s helpful, it won’t keep you alive or raise your defense. You’ll need a team of pawns who aren’t Warriors and Fighters to keep you going, including at least one Mage. Their healing and elemental imbuement powers give you a big advantage in every encounter.
- Barge in – You start with the Barge skill, and while it seems a bit pointless, it’s more useful than you might think. Barge can put enemies off balance, which leaves them open to taking more damage–or getting picked up and thrown off a cliff–and since you’re free to launch another attack immediately after using Barge, you can create combos with it and your other skills.
Best Warrior skills in Dragon’s Dogma 2
Warrior skills might seem like they do different shades of the same thing, but there are some that work better than others. Ideally, you want a diverse range of skills that are effective again single targets and enemy mobs, though the best take a fair bit of practice to get the timing just right.
We’ve named the basic skills here, but once their upgraded versions unlock, you should purchase them immediately.
Rending Sweep
Rending Sweep and its circular slash are the best way to attract multiple enemies at once. You’ll want to plan carefully so you don’t attract too much unwanted attention and get overwhelmed, but if you need to give your allies time to escape, recover, or cast spells, this is the best way to do it.
Skyward Sunder
Skyward Sunder is your starting skill, and it deserves a long-term spot in your arsenal. The basic attack sees you perform a decent upward strike, but when you charge it, your character leaps into the air and has the chance to land a powerful follow-up strike on the way down. That’s good in itself, but even better is that charged Skyward Sunders can help you get on top of smaller foes, including drakes and dragons.
Goring Lunge
Goring Lunge takes some aiming to work properly, but if you manage to impale an enemy and slam them into a wall, the skill deals impressive amounts of damage. It’s also a helpful way to shift a battle’s location if, for example, you’re fighting a bit too close to a cliff edge.
Tidal Fury
This one also takes practice and timing. Using it right when an enemy’s hit lands will see you launch a strong counterattack, though even if you get the timing wrong, Tidal Fury blocks some of the incoming attack’s damage.
Gale Slash
Gale Slash is pretty basic, but it’s one of the strongest skills at your disposal. You perform several strong slashes, and if you time the button presses correctly, you swing faster and deal more damage. The set ends with a final, even more powerful slash.
Best Warrior core skills in Dragon’s Dogma 2
The Warrior has several useful core skills in addition to the starting Barge and Stonesplitter abilities, though these skills also require good timing and smart planning.
Breakneck Strike
If you unleash a charged attack as soon as it fully charges, Breakneck Strike ensures it deals even more damage than usual. Most of your utility comes from charged attacks, so the timing of this one is worth mastering.
Bulwark
Bulwark takes some of the danger out of charging your strikes. Once you purchase this, it reduces the damage you receive while charging a skill, and it stays active until you release the charged skill.
Repulse
If you manage to parry an incoming attack, Repulse will let you automatically follow up with a charged attack that has a high chance of knocking the target off balance.
Best Warrior Augmentations in Dragon’s Dogma 2
It’s worth leveling Warrior if only to get the Augmentations that unlock at rank six and nine. The others are decent, but these two are the best and make playing any Vocation easier.
Pertinacity
Increases your ability to break through an enemy’s guard
Intrepidity
Slows down the loss gauge while receiving damage. That means your max recoverable HP stays higher for longer.
Vitality
Increases max HP–always a good thing, regardless of Vocation.