The Best Dragon’s Dogma 2 Fighter Build

The Fighter Vocation in Dragon’s Dogma 2 focuses on brutal Melee combat, absorbing damage with their shield while dishing out stuns and crippling opponents. The Fighter is the best tank class in Dragon’s Dogma 2, with multiple ways to draw enemies’ attention and protect your allies from harm. This build is very powerful when played correctly in the early game and can extend easily to the end game with the right upgrades.

How To Play The Fighter Class

If you’re looking to play a juggernaut that can literally be thrown around the battlefield by ogres or hit by a torrent of dragon fire and still get up smiling whilst banging your weapon on your shield, look no further than the trusty Fighter. It may be a straightforward starter vocation, but similar to the original game, it is easy to learn but hard to master. But once you get the hang of your taunts, defensive skills, and physical attacks as this vocation your party will love you for it!

Best Fighter Skills

I recommend taking the following Fighter vocation skills as your primary abilities and then upgrading them as soon as you have the chance.

Blink Strike (upgrade to Burst Strike)

Blink Strike is your primary gap closer ability on the Fighter. When you use this skill, you quickly sprint toward the nearest target in front of you and pierce it with a forward-leaning strike. The upgrade to this skill, known as Burst Strike is well worth the extra Discipline Points as it will allow you to traverse even further distances to quickly engage your foes.

Shield Bash (upgrade to Shield Pummel)

Shield Bash, later upgraded to Shield Pummel is an excellent skill to stagger lesser enemies, breaking their stance and allowing your party to quickly execute them with strong attacks. This skill is also extremely fun to use against Goblins and Wolves as its raw power will launch them into the air which you can then combine with a leaping strong attack for a big burst of damage that usually finishes them off.

Shield Summons (upgrade to Shield Drum)

Shield Summons and its upgrade Shield Drum will attract your enemy’s attention, making them focus their attacks on you instead of your party. This skill is helpful if your intent is to play this build as a pure tank, absorbing as much damage as possible and utilizing block. Keep in mind that this won’t always work against bosses such as Ogres or Griffons.

Impeccable Guard (upgrade to Flawless Guard)

The Impeccable Guard skill is a fantastic option when enemies surround you as you quickly spin around in a circle with your shield raised, avoiding damage and staggering nearby targets. This skill can be a real lifesaver, but it does consume a fair amount of Stamina, so make sure to use it wisely.

Optional Skills For The Fighter Vocation

The skills listed below may be useful in certain situations so you should definitely unlock them.

Compass Slash

Spins with blade extended, drawing a deadly circle that slices through nearby targets.

Airward Slash

Performs a jump while slashing diagonally upward. An effective means of assailing flying targets.

Springboard

Launches allies into the air using the shield.

Perfect Defense

Guards against all manner of attacks from the front. Consumes a great deal of Stamina while defending.

Riotous Fury

Rains a flurry of powerful blows on the target, dealing massive damage at great cost to Stamina. Leaves the user vulnerable if the first strike misses.

Fighter Vocation Core Skills

Core Skills in Dragon’s Dogma 2 are essentially passive upgrades to basic attacks. These skills do make the Fighter much more effective in combat so be sure to pick them up as soon as you have enough Discipline Points.

Onslaught

Onslaught is your basic attack which creates a decent 3-hit combo that can then be followed up with other core abilities such as Empale or Tusk Toss to help you stagger enemies. This basic attack consumes no stamina and can also apply status effects from enchanted weapons so be sure to use it between your other attacks for maximum advantage.

Empale

Empale is your heavy attack or strong attack option that provides bonus execute damage to knocked-down enemies. This will be extremely useful on smaller enemies as an execution to finish them off after utilizing skills like Shield Bash. Against larger targets, Empale can be used on weak points to deal bonus damage.

Defend

The Defend skill allows the Fighter to raise their shield to block an incoming enemy attack, but keep in mind that holding block also removes your Stamina Regeneration, so its better to use Defend only when you need it, and then use Onslaught or Empale in between to let your Stamina return.

Deflect (upgrades to True Deflect)

Deflect, when timed correctly, allows you to counterattack your enemy. Upgrading to True Deflect will make counter-attacking consume no stamina.

Tusk Toss

The Tusk Toss ability traces a grand skyward arc with your blade, sending lightweight targets flying into the air. This can also be combined with Empale on a downed target for massive execute dmage.

Steeled Foundation

If you hold block while falling you can make use of Steeled Foundation, which reduces fall damage and hastens recovery after taking a fall.

Enchanted Counter

When using Defend while enchanted, automatically counters with an elemental attack corresponding to the enchantment.

Best Fighter Augments

Augments in Dragon’s Dogma 2 are passive skills which you can slot on your character to give them improved stats. While you will start with only having access to Fighter Vocation Augments you can also use Augments from any other Vocation that you have leveled up during your playthrough. I recommend a combination of Fighter augments along with some augments unlocked from other classes as listed below.

• Mettle (Fighter Vocation) – Augments your Physical Defense

• Thew (Fighter Vocation) – Enables you to carry additional weight

• Endurance (Archer Vocation) – Improves your Maximum Stamina

• Dominance (Warrior Vocation) – Improves your Knockdown Power

• Lethality (Archer Vocation) – Increases the damage dealt when striking a target’s vitals

• Exaltation (Mage Vocation) – Improves your Stamina Recovery Speed

Best Pawns For The Fighter Vocation

The fighter is definitely a team player when it comes to Dragon’s Dogma 2. Keep this in mind, as you’ll need specific pawns in your party to make the most of this class, as its abilities are somewhat limited.

1. Mage

It’s always recommended to keep a Mage vocation in your party, and that’s especially true if you are playing the Fighter vocation. This is because the Mage excels at healing spells and this will be essential to keep your Fighter alive against difficult bosses and against groups of enemies. The Mage can also restore your Stamina if your Stamina pool becomes to low from repeatedly blocking attacks or attempting to stun enemies. Finally, a Mage can empower your weapons with bonus effects like Fire or Ice to make your attacks more effective against specific enemy weaknesses.

2. Archer

The Archer in Dragon’s Dogma 2 focuses on ranged attacks and can hit enemies from quite a distance, even if that enemy is airborne. This is essentially the opposite of the Fighter class, whose range is extremely limited, so having an Archer in your party is essential to fill in that gap. Archers are particularly useful against annoying aerial enemies like Harpies and can knock them out of the sky so that you can easily dispatch them once they hit the ground.

3. Thief or Warrior

While the Fighter does decent melee Damage they are by no means a DPS class. With this fact in mind it works very well to pair your Fighter with another melee DPS class such as the Thief or the Warrior. These two classes have some of the best DPS in Dragon’s Dogma 2 and can help you finish off enemies much quicker than on your own.

4. Sorcerer

If you prefer having ranged classes in your party then the Sorcerer is another fantastic option to pair with the Fighter vocation. Sorcerers have high DPS but take a long time to cast their most powerful abilities so you will need to buy them that time by stunning your enemies with crowd control abilities or by gaining their attention via taunt skills.

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