Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen - Best Warrior Builds (2024)

Warriors carry two-handed swords and hammers, filling the boots of the slow but hard-hitting melee role in Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen. They aren't as agile as Fighters, nor do they have the ability to wield magick like Mystic Knights, but they make up for their lack of these with their ability to deal several health bars' worth of damage with just one strike.

Before warriors can reach the point where they can topple even the biggest of beasts with a single hit, players will need to get their characters properly geared up and built with the right skills first. Here are the best skills, augments, and gear to use for the Warrior vocation in Dragon's Dogma.

Warrior Playstyle and Skill Builds

The Warrior's ability to one-shot enemies is what sets it apart from the Fighter in the Dragon's Dogma series, and this comes from Indomitable Lash and Arc of Deliverance. Both are heavy-hitting attacks that take a while to charge-up, though the former charges significantly faster than the latter at the cost of doing less total damage. Pick Indomitable Lash if you would rather take advantage of shorter windows of opportunity. Otherwise, use Arc of Deliverance and try to make your own openings by using Pommel Bash or Whirlwind Slash, or by inflicting effects like Sleep and Torpor.

Exodus Slash is your main defensive skill. Warriors cannot block, and they must rely on the invincibility frames provided by this skill. Time it well, and you'll never have to worry about taking damage again.

For Augments, you'll want to get at least five levels into Strider to get Eminence. Warriors have strong jumping attacks that deal very good damage and have excellent knockback/stagger properties. It is a core part of the class' playstyle, and all players should take advantage of it.

A less popular Warrior build uses Act of Vengeance in place of Exodus Slash. Instead of avoiding damage, this playstyle invites it — use War Cry to gather aggro, then charge Act of Vengeance with the incoming onslaught of blows. Let it loose to destroy all weaker enemies within its range. Make sure to get as many defensive passives as you can when using this skill build.

Recommended Gear

Early on, would-be warriors should try to get the Gryphic Victory longsword in Dragon's Dogma as early as possible. It's easily the best longsword in the first half of the game, and it even comes with a matching outfit. The Gryphic Armor set becomes available once players beat the Griffin in Bluemoon Tower. You can buy its individual pieces from Caxton at Gran Soren.

• Gryphic Victory
• Gryphic Helm

As your progress through the game, you'll eventually get better weapons and armor sets. Gearing up in Dragon's Dogma is mostly about getting whatever has the bigger numbers, so feel free to switch things up once you get direct upgrades. Some pieces of gear to keep an eye out for include:

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

Platform(s)

PS4 , PS3 , Xbox One , Xbox 360 , Switch , PC

Released

April 23, 2013

Developer(s)

Capcom

How Long To Beat

33 Hours