How Dragon’s Dogma 2 Explains Away Not Playing an Elf

Dragon’s Dogma 2 allows players an unprecedented level of freedom in their gameplay. From its in-depth character creation system to its punishing and unforgiving emergent combat, Dragon’s Dogma 2 takes into account many of the choices players make, whether those choices are made intentionally or subconsciously. Its character creator is one of its most innovative features, and it can get so complex and intricate that Capcom felt it needed an “easy mode” that pulls from a massive library of preset character models. However, despite the amount of agency players have in creating their Dragon’s Dogma 2 character, there are only two playable races to choose from — Human and Beastren.

Many fantasy role-playing games include several playable races for players to choose from when creating their character, and these races often include elves. Elves are a popular race in fantasy games, primarily because of how well they represent the fantasy genre. Unfortunately, while elves do exist in the world of Dragon’s Dogma 2, they are not included in the options for playable races. Instead, Dragon’s Dogma 2 uses its narrative and worldbuilding to essentially explain away playing through the game as an elf, and it turns out to be entirely understandable why players wouldn’t even be given the option.

How Dragon’s Dogma 2 Explains Not Giving Players the Option to Play as an Elf

There are three races in the world of Dragon’s Dogma 2: Humans, Beastren, and Elves. However, despite being able to play as either a Human or Beastren character, players cannot create an Elf. There are likely plenty of other reasons for this, but the most logical explanation lies in the fact that Elves are an isolated race in Dragon’s Dogma 2, and voluntarily so. Firstly, the home of the Elves, Sacred Arbor, is located in the far northern reaches of Dragon’s Dogma 2‘s open world, deep in the Malachite Forest. Not only is the trek to Sacred Arbor a rather lengthy one but there aren’t any quests that will lead players there. As such, the best and arguably only way to find the Elven sanctum is to either stumble upon it by accident or purposefully seek it out after learning of its existence.

In addition to the Elves being isolated geographically, they speak their own language and Dragon’s Dogma 2 honors that lore to the point that players can’t properly interact with them without the ability to understand them. Thankfully, so long as players have a Pawn accompanying them who can speak Elvish, the Pawn will interpret for them and they can go on completing quests for the Elves.

It might sound sad for Elves to be so isolated in the world of Dragon’s Dogma 2, but it’s all of their own volition. They actually prefer not to interact with other races, which is why they live in such a remote area. Since their isolation is voluntary, and they prefer not to interact with Humans and Beastren, it wouldn’t make sense to the lore of Dragon’s Dogma 2 for players to be able to create an Elf character who then goes beyond the borders of Sacred Arbor.

Perhaps the next Dragon’s Dogma game will find a way to feature Elves as playable characters, but for now, it makes sense why Dragon’s Dogma 2 doesn’t allow it. At the very least, it gives players a reason to hire Pawns with specific skills, such as the ability to speak Elvish, thereby giving one of Dragon’s Dogma 2‘s best features a little more prominence.

Dragon’s Dogma 2

The long-awaited sequel to 2012’s action RPG, Capcom’s Dragon’s Dogma 2 follows the Arisen, a hero whose heart is stolen by a powerful and massive dragon. Featuring a world 4x the size of its predecessor, Dragon’s Dogma 2 emphasizes customization and player control through its character creator, vocations system, and AI-controlled Pawns. 

Released

March 22, 2024

Genre(s)

Action RPG

Engine

RE Engine

How Long To Beat

30 Hours

Metascore

88

PS Plus Availability

N/A