Dragon’s Dogma 2: How to get and equip weapon skills

Don't just button mash your way through the game.

Characters standing next to a dead ogre in Dragon's Dogma 2
Screenshot by Dot Esports

You’re given one weapon skill to use in combat by default in Dragon’s Dogma 2. Other than that, you’re stuck with button-mashing your way through engagements at the beginning. However, as you progress, you’ll be able to acquire and equip three more weapon skills.

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The weapon skills are different depending on your class. They all cost “DCP,” which is a currency solely used to unlock weapon skills and character attributes. In the guide below, you can see exactly where to spend your DCP so you can unlock new weapon skills and truly start to buff up your character in Dragon’s Dogma 2.

Unlocking weapon skills in Dragon’s Dogma 2

You can only unlock weapon skills in Dragon’s Dogma 2 by visiting a Vocation Guild. The first Vocation Guild you have access to is in the town of Melve, which is the second major location you’ll visit after the Borderwatch Outpost. The Vocation Guild is marked on your map with a double-sword icon. Sometimes, the Vocation Guild will share a building with an inn and it’s accessed by speaking to the NPC who runs the inn.

At a Vocation Guild, you can speak with the NPC and select the Vocation option from the Dragon’s Dogma 2 menu. Here, you have a couple of options; one of which is to Acquire/Equip Skills. That’s the one you want to pick.

The option to select the weapon skills menu at a Vocation Guild
The Vocation Guild offers the ability to acquire new weapon skills. Screenshot by Dot Esports

In the weapon skills menu, you’ll be able to access a few different tabs. The first is for Vocations, which shows you all available vocations and how much DCP it costs to switch to any specific vocation. The next tab is for Weapon Skills, allowing you to view and unlock a variety of different skills for your current vocation.

As you go down the Weapon Skills menu, the skills cost more and more DCP but have greater abilities. You unlock more skills and better variations of skills as you level up in Dragon’s Dogma 2, so I suggest coming back to the Vocation Guild every five or so levels to see if you have unlocked anything new. The variations of existing weapon skills give it better abilities, but it’s still the same skill at its core. Every new variation costs more DCP than the original skill, however.

The weapon skills menu at a Vocation Guild
The weapon skills menu at a Vocation Guild. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Once you find a weapon skill you want, click on it and spend the required DCP to unlock it. You can view how much DCP you have by looking in the top-right corner. With the skill unlocked, you’re able to assign it to a skill slot, giving you the ability to use it in combat. You’re only able to have four weapon skills equipped at a time, so be careful with your selections.

In addition to equipping weapon skills for your Dragon’s Dogma 2 character, you can also unlock new weapon skills for your primary Pawn. By swapping to your Pawn’s tab, you’re able to unlock skills for their vocation. Your Pawn has a separate DCP bank from you, so don’t worry about saving any DCP for your Pawn.

Finally, if you’re looking to swap out your weapon skills with another one you’ve unlocked, you can do so at a Campsite. The Campsite doesn’t allow you to unlock new skills, but you can replace one with another you’ve previously unlocked. This way, you’re able to test out new skills in the field rather than having to wait until you return to a Vocation Guild. Of course, this means you have to spend more DCP to unlock more weapon skills to try out.

Author
Image of Joey Carr
Joey Carr
Joey Carr is a full-time writer for multiple esports and gaming websites. He has 6+ years of experience covering esports and traditional sporting events, including DreamHack Atlanta, Call of Duty Championships 2017, and Super Bowl 53.