Breakdown
- Dragonsplague is an in-game disease that can wipe out entire cities
- Essential NPCs can be killed by the deadly plague
- Players are informed of the plague beforehand, but still despise it
A disease of epic proportions, Dragon’s Dogma 2 players have unleashed Dragonsplague on unsuspecting cities in Capcom’s fantasy RPG, wiping out entire populations in a single night.
As we mentioned in our Dragon’s Dogma 2 review, the new RPG is a punishing experience. One of the ways the game can punish players is in the form of Dragonsplague, a disease that your NPC Pawns can get after being grabbed by a dragon.
In game, there are obvious signs that your Pawns have caught the disease. This includes flashing red eyes, persistent coughing and an animation of being discombobulated when not moving. The only way of getting rid of the disease is by dismissing your pawns and throwing your main pawn into a lake to kill them, later reviving them at a Riftstone.
Those who don’t do this and stay at an inn in Dragon’s Dogma 2 will unknowingly unleash the plague on every NPC at that town, killing everyone, including main quest givers. During our time with the game, we never experienced this, because we wisely lobbed our Pawn into the nearest ocean at the first sign of the disease. (COVID taught us a lot.)
However, those who have experienced the disastrous events of Dragonsplague are not a fan of the mechanic with some calling it the “worst mechanic in gaming history”. A popular Reddit thread detailing a player’s experience with the mechanic took issue with the fact that there’s no way of returning to a previous save if you mess up. (Actually, you can learn to backup your Dragon's Dogma 2 save here.)
Dragon’s Dogma 2’s disease is both despised and beloved, with some adoring the features ballsy-ness while hating its effects.
“I have never been so torn on something being the absolute f**king worst and the absolute f**king best,” one fan said. “We bricked your save file as a joke. You know it's incredible when fear and hunger has less BS save file destroyers.”
Fans of the mechanic have even gone as far as to rename the mechanic to “Dragon’s Ligma”, with fans praising the game’s “audacity” of putting such a spiteful mechanic in the game.
It’s worth noting that Dragonsplague isn’t some random mechanic that pops up and ruins your life. Alongside the aforementioned symptoms, the game gives you a full-screen pop-up the first time the mechanic appears and your Pawns also never shut up about the disease. Despite being a main quest-ending plague, you are consistently informed when it’s happening.
Similar to the Dragon’s Dogma 2 microtransaction controversy, there does seem to be a good deal of misinformation surrounding it. It is a mean-spirited addition, one that really makes you feel the oppression of Capcom’s fantasy world, but you’re also well-informed about it.
Dragonsplague doesn’t discriminate against the best vocations or the best pawns. It’s a plague that can be stopped, but will have devastating effects if you leave it unchecked. Really, it’s Dragon’s Dogma 2 in a nutshell.