Dragon’s Dogma 2: Best Pawn inclinations & specializations

Pawns make up an integral part of combat and exploration in Dragon’s Dogma 2. But picking just any Pawn for a quest doesn’t always yield the best results. Here are the best inclinations & specializations to look for in Pawns.

The original Pawn system in Dragon’s Dogma was a passionately discussed subject, with players crafting theories based on their own play experiences and “unofficial” playtests. The rabbit hole of opinions made it difficult to determine what exactly the best combination was.

Dragon’s Dogma 2’s Pawn system is no less complicated than its predecessor, allowing players to customize and retrain their pawns inclinations and specializations to complement their individual playstyle.

We’ve rounded up some of the best picks when it comes to both inclinations and specializations, as determined by our playthrough.

Best Pawn inclinations in Dragon’s Dogma 2

Capcom

There are four inclinations available for Pawns in Dragon’s Dogma 2: Calm, Kindhearted, Straightforward, and Simple. While the best Pawn inclination for a specific task can sometimes be situational, we’ve ranked them below in order of how useful we’ve found them in play so far.

Calm

Pawns with the Calm inclination apply strategy in battle. Calm Pawns will use their wits to provide distractions and use evasive maneuvers to help the player keep the upper hand in combat.
Calm is a good inclination for a wide range of Pawns, including Archers, Thieves, Sorcerers, and even Fighters.

Kindhearted

Pawns with the Kindhearted inclination are good picks when looking for support in combat. Kindhearted Pawns will prioritize aiding the player during combat by providing buffs and enhancements, rather than striding headlong into the fray straight away.  Obviously, with a focus on support rather than the frontlines, this inclination makes a perfect choice for mages and sorcerers.

Straightforward

Straightforward is the most aggressive option out of all the Pawn inclinations. Unlike the Calm and Kindhearted, Straightforward will have Pawns focused on dealing heavy damage to foes, and not worrying too much about the defensive side of things.
That said, there are situations where this inclination works well on a Pawn, especially Pawns with the Warrior Vocation.

Simple

The Simple inclination is exactly what it sounds like. Their biggest talent lies in their ability to gather items. So they can take the pain out of acquiring resources for upgrades. In combat, however, the Simple inclination leaves a lot to be desired.

Best Pawn Specializations in Dragon’s Dogma 2

Capcom

Pawns have five starting vocations to choose from, Archer, Fighter, Mage, Thief, and Warrior. However, on top of a Pawns vocation, they can also be trained in a unique specialization, increasing their usefulness and versatility.  

So far six specializations have been discovered: Chirugeon, Logistician, Forager, Woodland Wordsmith, Hawker, and Aphonite. Each of them has its own benefits, however, some are undeniably more useful than others. We’ve ranked them in order of how helpful we’ve found them to be.

Forager

The Forager specialization proves extremely useful when it comes to farming materials like minerals for upgrading weapons or armor. The Pawn will mark the location of items available for foraging on the map. This specialization can be put on a Pawn with any vocation, as it won’t affect their behavior in combat.

Chirugeon

Despite this specialization being the heal-bot method, we found it less useful than Forager. Although it does give the Pawn the ability to use curative items, like potions, on the player and other Pawns in the party, they can get a bit overzealous with items used. It’s also slightly counterintuitive on Mage pawns, who will use potions over healing spells. The Thief and Archer vocations can make better use of this specialization than Fighters, Warriors or Mages.

Logistician

The Logistician specialization lets the Pawn move items between the player’s inventory and pawn inventories, as well as allowing them to combine items into potions or other useful tools. Like the Chirugeon specialization, this class can get a bit too combo-happy and create far more of an item than is useful. They are also useful for keeping inventories well managed, however, and avoiding problems from debuffs like rotten food.

Woodland Wordsmith

To access Sacred Arbor, players will need a Pawn with Woodland Wordsmith at some point. This specialization gives the Pawn the ability to understand Elvish. However, aside from visiting Sacred Arbor, there isn’t a lot of value in keeping this inclination around. Players can retrain specializations by giving their Pawn a new tome as many times as they like. So, swapping Woodland Wordsmith out once it’s no longer useful is an option.

Hawker

Much like Forager, the Hawker specialization won’t have much effect during combat. A Pawn with Hawker specialization lets the Pawn sell items from the player’s backpack overnight when the party is resting. However, the items sold will be picked at random, which can result in some frustrating scenarios if a needed item suddenly vanishes after resting.

Aphonite

This specialization is the one to pick if players like their Pawns seen and not heard. The Aphonite specialization will prevent the Pawn from talking, except for a few certain circumstances. It’s not the most helpful specialization, but for some, it will certainly improve the gameplay overall.

Best combinations for Pawns in Dragon’s Dogma 2

There are some combinations of inclination and specialization that, in our experience, just work well together. So, we’re highlighting them here.

Kindhearted + Chirugeon

This combination is excellent for building a heavy support Pawn. It can be utilized fairly well on Pawns with the Mage vocation, just keep in mind their penchant for using potions over spells and keep supplies well stocked to avoid any trouble.

Forager + Simple

This is the perfect combination for those who want to collect a lot of loot. Since the Forager specialization already has the Pawn marking foraging nodes on the map, adding Simple inclination gets the Pawn to do all the hard work of mining ores and gathering resources.

Calm + Logistician

Seeing as the Calm inclination already encourages Pawns to use wits and strategy over brawn in battle, adding the Logistician specialization gives them an extra edge in combat. This set up makes a great combination for Archers and Thieves.