Dragonʼs Dogma: Dark Arisen out today on PSN – list of new content

Capcom RPG arrives on US PlayStation Network, contains original game, DLC, all-new content

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen arrives today on the US PlayStation Network, priced $39.99. It contains an extensively tweaked version of the original game, complete with all previous DLC, as well as various pieces of new content, most notably an entirely new island with new quests and enemies. Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen will arrive on the European PlayStation Network on Friday, 26 April, priced £19.99/€29.99. An Xbox Live version is confirmed, but still no release date.

In terms of new content, here’s what you can expect:

• New quests in an Underworld Dungeon located on Bitterblack Isle
• New enemies, including Death, Prisoner Cyclops, and Greater Goblin (see the two enemy videos below for more)
• Level 3 skill tier, offering new abilities and skills
• 100 pieces of new equipment
• New high level weapons and armour sets
• 14 new Arisen/Pawn augments 
• Additional tier of equipment enhancement
• Increased character customization
• Item appraisal
• Japanese voice over option

Here are a couple of videos showcasing some of the new foes you’ll be facing:

In addition to the new content, Dark Arisen contains the complete original, although it’s been tweaked in response to player feedback. The Capcom Unity blog recently posted some – but not all – of the changes that have been made. Here’s what was listed:

Player

• Various attacks and skills for all weapons have been rebalanced for all weapons

Enemies

• Made the Ur-Dragon corpse’s collision boundary smaller so players can now pick up drop items more easily
• Undead enemies will now come out of the ground with higher defense stats (super armor mode)
• When Saurians die after being knocked down, they will now use a special death animation for when they are on the ground
• Goblin Shamans will appear in the Witchwood
• Eliminators will appear on the Tainted Mountain
• Pyre Saurians will appear on the Tainted Mountain
• Golden Knights and Silver Knights will appear in the Everfall (before the destruction of Gran Soren)
• Gorecyclopes (condemned type) will appear in the Shadow Fort
• Living Armor will appear in the Catacombs
• Wyverns (strong type) will appear at Bluemoon Tower
• Wyrms (strong type) will appear at the Watergod’s Altar
• Drakes (strong type) will appear in the Everfall after the destruction of Gran Soren

Pawns

• Adjusted how often pawns will talk by spacing out less important lines; in effect, making them seem to talk less
• Adjusted and balanced the equipment and skills of all of the high-level pawns that are available to a player when they’re playing offline
• Adjusted how much it costs to hire a pawn that is higher-leveled than yourself down to a more realistic scale.
• Added a Monthly ranking to the pawn’s Top Ranked section

NPCs

• You will not gain Affinity with Assalam simply by talking to him anymore

Items & Equipment

• Adjusted how much Ferrystones cost and how much they sell for. (Purchase price: 20000 >5000 | Sell price: 3500>1250)
• Adjusted how much Premium Rings and Premium Earrings cost. (Purchase price: 1,500,000>150,000 Rift Crystals | Purchase price 3,000,000>300,000 Rift Crystals)
• Tweaked stat increases for weapon upgrades (increases weaker upgrades, decreases ones that were too strong). Tweaks affect 68 different weapons
• Dramatically increased base stats for 12 weapons obtainable by defeating the Dragon.
• Improved base stats for 10 Magick Bows

World

• A Portcrystal that allows players to return to Cassardis has been added just outside Cassardis’s gate
• A character/warp point that allows players to travel between Bitterblack Isle and Cassardis has been added to Cassardis’s pier
• Added a removable Portcrystal to the following areas: The Gran Soren Everfall (before a certain plot point. . . .), The Shadow Fort, The Witchwood, Hillfigure Knoll

Anyone who owned the original Dragon’s Dogma will be able to transfer their saves, giving them immediate access to the new content, and will also receive 100,000 Rift Crystals, unlimited Ferrystones, and an armour pack containing six new costumes when they purchase Dark Arisen.

For the benefit of anyone who would rather buy the disc version, we should probably mention that Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is also available in physical media form for PS3 and Xbox 360 in the US today, 23 April, and on both platforms in Europe on Friday, 26 April.