Dragon's Dogma

• Make sure that you always play in Online mode. If you are not given the option on load you should press Start, go down to Options, Gameplay tab, and set Connectivity to Online and Main Pawn Online Access to Anyone. If you are not online with Anyone pawn access then your pawn will not be available to hire by other players and you will lose out on a huge source of Rift Crystals (RC), the currency used to hire party member pawns and purchase several items in-game.

• There's an early story quest (the Pawn Guild one) that has two creatures you aren't capable of fighting directly, confusing the shit out of a lot of people. You can kill one by getting it to run off a cliff, but the other you have to run away from.

• After doing everything at the encampment there are some quests you can take on that you can actually do but they're ridiculously hard if you're new to the game. If you have trouble with them, just carry on with the main plot-line.

• There're two stores in the residential district of Gran Soren (The Black Cat, which lets you make forgeries, and the barber, which... barbers). They're hard to find, but get added to your map when you do.

• The difficulty levels off really really hard, the entire game becomes a cakewalk at level 75 or so, earlier if you're an Assassin. Don't grind for levels or dcp.

• Don't be afraid of switching vocations, as long as you don't spend 50 levels playing with the same class you won't be gimped. Capcom did a great job with making them feel much different, so if you get bored - try switching.

• When you create a character, their physical attributes have minor effects. Heavy characters regenerate stamina a bit more slowly than lighter ones, but use less stamina when using special attacks and can carry more weight before being encumbered. It's also harder for them to be carried off by certain flying enemies. "Average" weight is 70-89kg. Shorter characters have a shorter reach in melee combat, but are also smaller targets for an enemy's attacks.

• When creating your main pawn, try to offset your current build. If you're a Fighter, consider making them a Strider for ranged attacks or a Mage for the range and healing. If you are short and light, consider making your pawn tall and heavy so they can carry all the stuff you find.

• Always carry flasks of oil, since your lamp will assuredly run out at the worst possible time.

• Don't rely solely on healing spells to recover your health. Your maximum health will drop after taking sufficient damage, and only recharge to the grey coloured cap. You can't always wait for a full heal spell, so keep some healing items for an immediate health boost past the cap.

• Also carry some stamina recovery items in case you need to run a long distance, whether towards or away from somewhere.

• Additional enemies spawn during the night compared to the day. Stay at an inn and leave town in the morning.

• When hiring extra pawns, they will not require Rift Crystals if they are the same level as you. If you are level 10, pawns that are level 1 through 10 will cost zero crystals. You can swap out these free pawns after every couple of quests or even every time you level up. This is important because some merchants only accept Rift Crystals as currency.

• The higher the pawn level, the more Rift crystals they'll require. When you pay, check out their equipment, skills and quest knowledge to get the most out of them.

• You don't actually lose your pawn when it's hired out, other players just get a copy and you get rewarded after they finish with it and you rest at an inn.

• keep at least 10 of everything in the Material category for upgrades. Shove everything in Other into your box, as it's likely quest related.

• your pawn will be stupid at the outset of your journey no matter how patrician you are at the game. Proper inclination setup will help, but growing your pawn's bestiary knowledge will help even more.

• only Mages have healing magic and they also get some of the best buffs (for the classes pawns can be, anyway). Once you're well on your way to godhood you can forego the Mage for more firepower, but early on they're pretty indispensable