Dragon’s Dogma 2 gives you plenty of opportunities to forge your own path. In one of the first main story quests, you’re free to choose whether you’ll accompany Gregor to Vernworth or find your own way there.
As you can probably imagine, this decision won’t have a major impact on any story beats—it essentially comes down to your personal preference of doing things the easy way or the hard way. Here’s what you should do in Dragon’s Dogma 2. Spoilers ahead!
Should you join Gregor or go it alone in Dragon’s Dogma 2?
The quest begins: Traveling with Gregor and the cyclops attack
When first departing from Melve you should travel with Gregor. He will be waiting for you at the gate of Melve, and any time you go in or out he will stop you to ask if you’re ready to embark. This part isn’t even a question: You should tell Gregor you’re ready. There is no reward or hidden alternative for trying to forge your own path from square one.
As you’re making your way to Vernworth with Gregor and a small squadron of soldiers, you will be attacked by a cyclops along the main road. After the encounter has wrapped up, Gregor will offer you to ride the rest of the way on an oxcart. You now have to decide whether you want to accept Gregor’s offer or make your way there on foot.
What happens if you ride the oxcart with Gregor?
If you accept Gregor’s offer, you will essentially just be using Dragon’s Dogma 2‘s version of fast traveling for the first time. This isn’t the only time you will use an oxcart—it is a regular feature of the game.
If you choose the oxcart, you will fast travel straight to Vernworth and advance the story immediately. Naturally, the question that follows is “What am I missing out on along the way?”
What happens if you make your way own way to the capital?
The main draw to going to the capital on foot is the chance to do some extra exploring, leveling up, and earning some gold. However, this route also comes with perils and leaves you to your own devices.
You won’t get a quest marker on Vernworth if you choose to walk, so you need to trust your own feet and the path in front of you. Conveniently, if you stay on the main road headed south from where you turned down Gregor’s oxcart offer, you will eventually reach the capital.
Along the way, you will endure several goblin ambushes, harpies, and even an ogre (I recommend running from the ogre—it took me a few tries to properly learn as much).
Which option is best?
Deciding which option is best comes entirely down to how quickly you want to power through the early stages of Dragon’s Dogma 2. There isn’t any game-changing loot along the path to Vernworth, but you will get a couple thousand gold and two or three levels.
At the same time, that many and xp will become negligible within the next several hours. If you want to stop and smell the roses as much as possible, then you should go on foot. If you want to keep things progressing, you should take the oxcart.
