The best starting class in Dragon's Dogma 2

Dragon's Dogma 2 is a dense, mechanically-complex game—which makes picking the best starting class (called vocations in-game) a daunting task. Especially with the game's current one-save-only policy, though whether that survives long past launch is another thing entirely.

As someone who suffers from analysis paralysis on every character creation screen, I'm here to give you my sage wisdom: and my sage wisdom is—chill out. Dragon's Dogma 2 wants you to play and level a handful of classes, especially since doing so will give you access to augments, permanent buffs you can use while playing any vocation.

Still, while changing your vocation is pretty easy, you won't have an opportunity to do so for a handful of hours—and you might want to stick to one class to get used to the game's often-chaotic combat system. Here's a full rundown of your options.

Dragon's Dogma 2 classes

You can choose one of four starting classes when you begin Dragon's Dogma 2:

• Fighter: Sword and broad, the Fighter is all about using a shield to great effect, giving you options for parrying mighty blows.
• Thief: The thief requires you to get your hands bloody, offering a lot of utility—primarily, however, the Thief focuses on kicking (well, stabbing) foes while they're down.
• Mage: A caster with a balance of support, utility, and magic. The mage excels at taking advantage of foes' elemental vulnerabilities and casting defensive and healing spells.
• Archer: A ranged attacker. The Archer's main draw—aside from its utility—is being able to hit monster weak spots from afar.

Each of these classes has its own respective niche in the party—so a balanced spread is recommended. It also bears repeating that you aren't locked into your starting class and, as a point of order, probably shouldn't stick with your initial choice for the whole game. There's plenty to be gained from levelling other vocations. Become a jack-of-all trades, master of everything, it is your destiny.

The best starting class for Dragon's Dogma 2

Your mileage may vary, here, seeing as each class fills a specific niche—but after drilling my fellow writers at PC gamer for their own takes, I think the best starting class is Thief, closely followed by Fighter.

While thieves, rogues, and scoundrels are typically the more 'advanced' option in RPGs, the Thief is actually very beginner-friendly. You get an excellent dodge to get out of danger, as well as the Subtlety Augment, which makes monsters less likely to attack you. Bump and Lift gives you a chance of stealing items when you hit enemies as well, but the real star of the show here is Ensnare.

This ability lets you hurl a rope at a foe and yank them towards you, and it's great at knocking medium-sized goblins, bandits, and skeletons off their feet. Harpies are a particular nuisance early on—but Ensnare can yoink them out of the air, too. For larger enemies, Ensnare can also trip them up when they're already staggered.

Fighter comes in as a close second because of its defensive utility—though it requires you to get in the mix more often, whereas Thief can get away with playing more passively, waiting for openings to exploit. If you want to play a more active role (and enjoy a good frame-perfect parry), pick Fighter over Thief.

As for why Archer and Mage aren't recommended for newbies, both classes want you to have a better understanding of the game's mechanics to use them to their full effectiveness. Archers benefit from a good knowledge of monster weak points, while Mages excel by exploiting monster vulnerabilities—and are typically support casters, anyway. Mage is a great choice for your main pawn, though, as you can set-and-forget all those useful support abilities to be used in combat. 

However, don't let my advice here stop you from picking these classes if they call to you—again, each one has something to offer, and it's wise to try them all out eventually.