The Dragon's Dogma 2 Cyclops is one of the several large foes you can face in Capcom's RPG. The one-eyed beast will likely be your first encounter with a large enemy, so it can be intimidating to try and take on at first.
However, the Cyclops can be a fairly easy foe to defeat if you know its weaknesses and how to avoid its attacks. In the guide below, we’ll explain everything you need to know about taking down this massive beast in Dragon’s Dogma 2.
How to defeat Dragon's Dogma 2 Cyclops
You can encounter your first Cyclops in one of two places. The first is near the very northern part of the map, where you can travel after reaching the Borderwatch Outpost. Here, you’ll find a Cyclops with two lives that emerge from the trees after you get close enough to its location. This Cyclops isn’t a part of the main story at all, so defeating it is purely for XP, items, and a confidence boost.
Your other encounter with a Cyclops might come during the main story, where you travel south to the capital city of Vernworth after reaching Melve. This particular Cyclops is guarding a river that you need to cross to continue your journey, so defeating it is required to progress the story. In any case, all Cyclops are virtually the same in Dragon’s Dogma 2, so whatever one you end up fighting, you can use the same strategies to defeat all others of its ilk.
When going to fight a Cyclops, there’s one thing you need to remember: aim for its eye. The Cyclops’ one eye is its major weakness, and if you manage to impale a sword inside or shoot an arrow through it, you’ll deal massive damage to the beast. If you’re an Archer, then shooting arrows at the Cyclops’ eye should be no problem.
However, if you’re a Fighter, Thief, or other melee Vocations, then you’ll need to grab and climb on top of the Cyclops to reach its eye. You can grab hold of a large enemy by pressing R2/RT and then using your joystick to climb the beast in the direction you want to go. Remember, though, climbing uses stamina, so watch your yellow bar and refill your stamina with healing items as needed.
Once you reach the top of the Cyclops’ head, look down at its eye and use your Triangle/Y attack to drive your weapon into its eye. You need to be fairly close for this to work. If successful, the Cyclops takes huge damage and you’ll likely be thrown off the beast.
The other way to attack the Cyclops’ eye is to stagger it, leaving its eye exposed while it lies on the ground unconscious. You can stagger any large enemy by attacking it enough, using the “Grab” button to push their legs and make them trip, or using another skill, such as the Thief’s “Ensnare.” If you manage to get the Cyclops on the ground, go over to its eye, hold your Triangle/Y attack, and you’ll plunge your weapon into its eye.
As for defending against the Cyclops, it only has a couple of attacks. One sees the Cyclops jump backwards, landing on its behind and crushing anything underneath, while the other is a swinging attack with its club. Both attacks are fairly easy to avoid and can be seen coming as long as you’re paying attention.
The Cyclops is arguably the easiest of the large enemies to defeat in Dragon’s Dogma 2. However, you still need to be careful against the beast, as it can one-shot kill you with an attack if you get too careless. As long as you attack enough and watch out for its attacks, though, you’ll take down the Cyclops with ease.
If you need some healing items during or after the Cyclops fight, check out our previous guide on where to find Harspuds in Dragon's Dogma 2.