Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen New Game Plus: Save Guide

What New Game Plus Changes—and What You Keep

Your next adventure can start with the equipment you spent an entire playthrough earning. Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen new game plus resets the story while preserving your character’s growth, letting you revisit quests and prepare for Norgan without rebuilding your Arisen from scratch. If your save is already in the Unmoored World, Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen new game plus also provides a route back to the normal world where the expansion begins.

The important distinction is between character progress and world progress. Your level, skills, and possessions carry forward, but completed quests become available again. That gives you another opportunity to make different choices, rescue characters you missed, and explore with a different vocation.

Progress or possession	What happens in NG+
Experience, level, and character stats	Carry over
Vocation progress and learned skills	Carry over
Gold and Rift Crystals	Carry over
Equipment and items	Carry over; retrieve stored belongings at an inn
Created Arisen and main pawn	Carry over
Main quests and side quests	Reset
Seeker’s Tokens and Golden Trove Beetles	Collection progress remains; collected ones do not respawn
Placed Portcrystals	Return to storage

That Portcrystal reset deserves attention. Your previous travel network will need rebuilding, even though the crystals themselves remain yours. Retrieve them alongside your equipment rather than assuming your old destinations are still available.

The Sphinx’s Riddle of Rumination also requires a fresh reference point: the first Seeker’s Token you collect in your current playthrough. Tokens collected before NG+ do not respawn.

Record the location of your first new token as soon as you find it. A quick note can spare you a frustrating search later, especially when your second journey takes a different route through Vermund.

Official page: Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen (dragonsdogma.com)

How to Start NG+ and Reach Dark Arisen

The standard Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen new game plus route begins after completing the game and returning to the main menu. Select “Restart game with current level and equipment,” read the carryover notice, and confirm the decision.

Image: Steam / CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

Before doing that, decide whether you have finished the ending you actually wanted. Dragon’s Dogma 2 has multiple endings, including a true ending. Reaching the credits does not necessarily mean you have seen everything the current playthrough offers.

If you still want to pursue another ending, use the available load options before committing to the restart. After the true ending, continuing that character means moving into NG+.

Step	Action	Result
1	Complete your chosen ending and return to the main menu	Access the NG+ restart option
2	Choose “Restart game with current level and equipment” and confirm	Begin a new story cycle
3	Progress from Gaoled Awakening to an inn	Retrieve equipment and other stored items
4	Advance through Seat of the Sovran	Reach the expansion’s early story requirement
5	Visit The Stardrop Inn in Vernworth at night	Speak with Captain Brant
6	Select “About the new Arisen...” or “About the uncovered ruins...”	Begin Chilling Tidings or the Lost Rites questline

The October 2026 expansion entry point is Captain Brant, not a separate endgame menu. His two dialogue options lead to different activities: Chilling Tidings starts the Norgan campaign, while the uncovered-ruins conversation introduces Lost Rites.

Those conversations become available early, but access and combat readiness are different things. The expansion’s recommended starting level is 40, and your equipment still deserves attention before heading north.

Retrieve your upgraded weapons, armor, and useful consumables before pursuing either questline. Returning with familiar gear also makes it easier to adjust your skills without changing every part of your build at once.

Choosing a Save: Normal World or Unmoored World

Your current world state matters more than whether the character has completed an earlier playthrough. Dark Arisen takes place alongside the base game’s normal-world story. The expansion cannot be accessed while your save is in the Unmoored World.

Image: Steam / CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

For a character already there, finish the base game and begin NG+. Then progress back to Vernworth and meet Brant after reaching the required quest.

If you are still exploring the normal world, you do not need to restart just to enter Norgan. Continue with that character, reach the dialogue requirement, and prepare your equipment.

Current situation	Available path
Normal-world save before Seat of the Sovran	Continue the main story to the expansion entry requirement
Normal-world save after Seat of the Sovran	Visit Brant at The Stardrop Inn at night
Character in the Unmoored World	Finish the game, enter NG+, and return to the normal-world entry point
Completed true ending	Begin NG+ to continue with that character
Desire to replay from scratch	Use a separate save slot for a fresh character

The October 2026 version supports three save slots. Use a separate slot if you want a fresh playthrough while retaining an existing character. Starting NG+ on a character still resets that character’s quest progression; it should not be confused with creating an independent adventure.

Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen new game plus is especially useful when you want to keep earned equipment while restoring access to the expansion’s normal-world setting.

Before restarting, identify the unfinished activities you still care about. Check your quest list, consider the ending you want, and decide whether to finish those objectives in the current cycle. NG+ gives you another opportunity to attempt quests, but you will replay their prerequisites.

Prepare Your Build for Norgan and Lost Rites

Think of Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen new game plus preparation as rebuilding your travel network and checking your combat setup. Keeping your level helps, but equipment, party composition, and dungeon entry conditions still matter.

Image: Steam / CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

Start with the Norgan campaign if you want to build up your expansion equipment before tackling its more demanding dungeon content. Explore the campaign’s main quests and side quests before moving on to Lost Rites.

There are 12 Lost Rites dungeons, offering additional exploration and combat challenges. Set aside enough time to explore rather than treating every entrance as a quick loot stop.

Check Your Party Before Entering a Trial

Lost Rites can impose specific conditions. These include requiring every party member to have a Very Light carrying status, requiring the Arisen to be an Archer or Magick Archer, or requiring completion of four earlier trials. Some entrances also keep supporting pawns outside.

Read the entrance condition before reorganizing your party. For a carrying-weight requirement, check everyone’s inventory after collecting nearby loot; picking up another item can push a character out of the required category.

Bring healing and recovery supplies, and include a healer when the trial permits your full party. Longer dungeons contain campsites and camping kits, so use those opportunities to recover during an extended run.

Explore side passages and breakable walls. Explosive barrels provide another combat tool, and combining oil with fire can increase its effectiveness against a tough enemy.

Set Up Skills and Travel

The updated game supports six skill slots. Review both your Arisen’s loadout and your main pawn’s before starting the expansion. Fill the extra slots with abilities you intend to use, then practice the expanded controls during ordinary encounters.

Retrieve your Portcrystals and place them along your new exploration routes. The Eternal Ferrystone allows repeated travel to available Portcrystals without consuming ordinary Ferrystones, making town visits useful for restocking and inventory management.

Plan Your Relic Hunting

Relics are unidentified equipment that must be appraised using Rift Crystals. Their results include different equipment types and relic levels, while relic gear can provide enhanced versions of existing skills.

Your Arisen’s vocation and your main pawn’s vocation influence which associated weapon relics are more likely to appear. Match those vocations to the equipment you are pursuing. For example, use Thief on both characters when focusing on Thief weapon drops.

Keep Rift Crystals available for appraisal rather than spending the entire balance before exploring. As you advance deeper into the expansion, higher-level relics become available. Revisit your loadout when new equipment provides an enhanced skill instead of automatically keeping your old combination.

NG+ and Hard Mode Are Separate Decisions

Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen new game plus determines what carries into a restarted story. Hard Mode determines the combat challenge. You can consider either without automatically choosing the other.

Hard Mode has no exclusive titles, special clothing rewards, or increased-XP incentive. Choose it because you want harder battles.

The commitment matters: once you switch an ongoing playthrough to Hard Mode, returning from it requires restarting the playthrough or completing the game and changing difficulty afterward. Avoid making that switch simply because you have carried over strong equipment.

Use a separate save slot to try a fresh Hard Mode character before changing your main adventure. Early enemies provide a chance to judge the combat demands while your established character remains available.

For Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen new game plus, make the difficulty decision before settling into expansion preparation. Then retrieve your gear, return to Brant, and choose which questline to begin.

Keep the final checklist simple:

• Finish the ending and current-cycle objectives you want to complete.
• Restart with your existing level and equipment.
• Retrieve stored gear and Portcrystals at an inn.
• Reach Seat of the Sovran and speak with Brant at night.
• Review six-slot loadouts for your Arisen and main pawn.
• Check each Lost Rites entrance requirement before committing.

FAQ

Do I need Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen new game plus to start the expansion?

No. A normal-world character can start the expansion after progressing through Seat of the Sovran and speaking with Captain Brant at The Stardrop Inn at night. A character in the Unmoored World needs to return through NG+.

What carries over into New Game Plus?

Your level, experience, stats, vocation progress, skills, equipment, items, Gold, and Rift Crystals carry over. Your Arisen and main pawn also remain available. Quest progression resets, and placed Portcrystals return to storage.

Where do I retrieve my equipment after restarting?

Progress from Gaoled Awakening until you reach an inn, then access storage. Retrieve your equipment and Portcrystals before heading toward the expansion’s entry quests.

Should I enable Hard Mode for Dark Arisen?

Choose Hard Mode if you want harder combat. It offers no exclusive reward incentive, and switching back requires restarting or completing the playthrough. Try it on a separate fresh save before changing your main character’s difficulty.