Dragonsplague causes, symptoms, and cures in Dragon’s Dogma 2

Dragonsplague is one of the wildest and coolest mechanics in Dragon’s Dogma 2. Unfortunately, it’s also a mechanic that can completely destroy your save file if you’re not careful — or, as the game calls it, “observant.”

In this Dragon’s Dogma 2 guide, we’ll give you a brief explanation of what Dragonsplague is. We’ll also tell you some of the common Dragonsplague symptoms and show you how to fix it (if you’re unlucky enough for your save file to contract it).

What is Dragonsplague in Dragon’s Dogma 2?

Dragonsplague is a disease that can only be aqcuired by pawns in Dragon’s Dogma 2. It’s also contagious, and can jump from one pawn to another in your party. The above breakdown from RageGamingVideos has a lot of great details about Dragonsplague, and they’ve seen symptoms of the plague I haven’t yet, so I recommend checking it out for a thorough explanation.

In short, Dragonsplague causes any infected pawns to become stronger and more effective in combat. However, it will also, eventually, cause them to turn into a massive dragon and wipe out whatever town you’re currently resting in, killing every villager and then saving your game in the process. Not great!

There’s a pretty simple way to tell whether or not you’ve run into Dragonsplague. If you’ve seen a pop-up tutorial about the illness in your game (the screenshot above), you’ve seen it. If not, you’re in the clear.

What are the Dragonsplague symptoms in Dragon’s Dogma 2

Image: Capcom via Polygon

There are a number of Dragonsplague symptoms in Dragon’s Dogma 2, and it seems like your infected pawn can exhibit a number of them. However, not every infected pawn will exhibit every symptom before becoming a destruction monster capable of obliterating an entire town.

Here are some of the common Dragonsplague symptoms, and how to spot them:

• Glowing red eyes — your pawn’s eyes glow read (easiest to spot in a dark room)
• Lethargy — you witness your pawn sitting down on the ground
• Headaches — your pawn holds their head or physically acts like they’re in pain
• Independent action — your pawn stops listening to commands like “to me” or “go”
• Sass — your pawn is overly animated, including (and especially) copping an attitude
• Increased power — your pawn becomes oddly effective and strong in combat

Pawns are known for serving the Arisen at any cost. If your pawns start to deviate from that — no matter how jazzed you are to have a sassy pawn (I know I would be) — you should consider attempting to “cure” them …

How do you cure Dragonsplague in Dragon’s Dogma 2?

“Death” is the only cure for Dragonsplague in Dragon’s Dogma 2. However, keep in mind that pawns can’t really die forever. When a pawn you’ve summoned bleeds out, they simply leave your party. And when your main pawn dies, you can just summon them again from a Riftstone.

The most effective way to kill a pawn is to throw them off a cliff — either a really high one that takes them out via fall damage, or one above water that takes them out via the Brine.

If you come in contact with Dragonsplague, the safest option is to kill all three of your Pawns, summon your main pawn back, and then summon two completely new pawns from a riftstone.

Does the Eternal Wakestone fix Dragonsplague?

Image: Capcom via Polygon

You can fix Dragonsplague if you don’t catch it quickly enough. Because Dragonsplague kills everyone in a city, you’d need to use a lot of Wakestones to get everyone up. But there is actually a much more efficient method: the Eternal Wakestone.

The Eternal Wakestone is a reward you can get from killing the Sphinx and acquiring her key in Dragon’s Dogma 2. This is a single use item, but will revive every dead NPC in a large area — you know, like a city that just got leveled by a Dragonsplague-infected pawn. Just walk into town, use it, and things should return to normal.

If the stone doesn’t get everyone, just revert to your inn save and bring all the bodies to the center of town and use the Eternal Wakestone while standing next to them.

Just know that there is only one Eternal Wakestone per playthrough, so if Dragonsplague gets you twice, you’re going to need to get more creative with your Wakestones or straight up start a new game.

For more Dragon’s Dogma 2 explainers, see our guides on how to get more Wakestones, the best portcrystal locations, or a list of all riftstone locations and effects. You could also peruse our interactive Dragon’s Dogma 2 map.