Dragon’s Dogma 2’s pawn plague is wreaking havoc in the game

Dragon dogma 2 players will no doubt have heard whispers from their loyal followers, known as pawns, about a terrible plague infecting their ranks. Unfortunately, that disease is real and is currently spreading through Capcom’s fantasy role-playing game via its pawns, and has led to the mass murders of NPCs such as merchants and questers.

The disastrous effects of the plague have some players worried that it will ‘ruin’ their saved games – and Dragon dogma 2 currently players can only have one (although a change is coming). But the ultimate impact of that spreading infection may not be as bad as it seems.

The infection known as Dragonsplague is foreshadowed by players’ overly talkative pawns over time Dragon dogma 2‘s story. Dragon Plague, pawns warn, will make the infected violent, aggressive, and dismissive of their master’s orders. It can be contracted by hiring a pawn that is already infected, or through battle interactions with dragons and dragons, where it can spread between party members.

If left unaddressed, a pawn with full-blown Dragon Plague will turn into a shadowy dragon itself and destroy entire cities full of people. Here is an example of Dragonsplague resulting in the deaths of dozens of Vernworth residents. Yes, everyone except the player’s main pawn and a few soldiers are left dead.

The game makes matters worse by chiding the player, “If only you had been more observant, this tragedy might have been prevented.”

Fortunately, preventing the spread is not difficult. Players will receive an in-game warning at the first threat of infection, but the symptoms of a Dragon-infested pawn are not so easy to spot – you have to pay attention. Troubled pawns will show signs of illness, such as coughing and visible discomfort; they touch their heads as if checking fever or headache. They will also ignore orders and respond with phrases such as “I will act on my own accord” or “Don’t tell me what to do!” More subtly, their eyes will begin to pulse with a reddish tint.

There are a few ways to tackle a Dragonslague infection. If one of your hired pawns is infected, quickly dispatch him – or deliberately kill him by throwing him off a cliff or into a river – before the plague strikes other members of your party. If your main pawn is infected, it’s best to kill it. Throw them into the Brine to drown them, then bring them back with a Riftstone.

The main thing to avoid is resting in an inn. Doing so will begin the killing spree you see in the video above.

However, it may not be worth worrying about a Dragonslague infection. And you shouldn’t use all your Wakestones (and certainly don’t buy them!) to immediately bring dead NPCs back to life. While an outbreak of plague leading to mass murder may seem like a game-ruining problem, players report that a wiped-out city will eventually repopulate, and some NPCs may come back to life over time. (Other characters in the world must have Wakestones too, right?)

On the Dragon dogma 2 subredditIf a player reported that one of their cities had been decimated by the plague, they simply fast-forwarded a week by resting on a bench. “Everyone (side and main mission NPCs) came back. Play the game as normal. I did NOT need Wakestones,” they report.

With Dragonslague rapidly spreading through the massive player base of Dragon dogma 2We’ll likely learn more about how the infection spreads and how players can best deal with it in the coming days.

For now, keep your eyes peeled for disobedient pawns with signs of infection.