How to Start Dark Arisen in Dragon's Dogma 2: Step by Step

You start Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen by talking to Captain Brant in Vernworth at night. He offers two new conversation options: one begins the Norgan story, the other begins the Lost Rites dungeons. That is the short version. Below are the exact steps, the requirements that trip people up, the levels guides recommend, and what to do in your first hour in Norgan so the expansion does not end in a bandit ambush.

Before you begin: three requirements

• The expansion is installed. On PS5, Xbox and PC it is a separate add-on, so make sure the download has finished and the game has been restarted. The Switch 2 version includes it.
• Your save has reached Vernworth. You do not need to finish the main story or make a new character. You only need to have arrived in the capital during the Seat of the Sovran arc and got far enough that Brant is available to talk to.
• You are not in the Unmoored World. If your save has already crossed into the post-game, the expansion is locked on that file. More on the workaround below.

Step by step: starting Chilling Tidings

1. Go to the Stardrop Inn in Vernworth. It sits in the market quarter, across from Shakir's Inn.
2. Wait for night. Guides agree Brant only offers the expansion dialogue after dark. If you arrive during the day, rest at an inn or wait it out.
3. Choose "About the new Arisen..." This starts the main expansion quest, Chilling Tidings, which tells you to stay at Shakir's Inn.
4. Rest at Shakir's Inn. Sleeping there triggers a nightmare sequence that moves the quest on.
5. Head to the marked site in the Malachite Forest. The route crosses the river near the northern exit of Trevo Mine and follows the eastern shore to a waterfall clearing where a griffin has crashed.
6. Speak to Pekdre and confirm. The griffin flies you over the mountains into Norgan.

The second option in Brant's dialogue, "About the uncovered ruins...", starts Lost Rites instead. The two questlines are independent, so you can do either first or run them side by side.

Starting from the Unmoored World or New Game Plus

This is the most common reason the dialogue never appears. The expansion cannot be started from a save that has entered the Unmoored World. Your options are to start New Game Plus, which keeps your level, gear and items but resets quest progress, or to use an earlier save from before the Unmoored World if you still have one in another slot. Games.gg notes that you can switch to New Game Plus from the save slot menu without creating a new character, which is the fastest route for players who finished the base game long ago.

What level should you be?

There is no hard level gate, which is exactly why people get into trouble. The general advice is:

• Norgan and Chilling Tidings: around level 40, and higher if you play on Hard Mode.
• Lost Rites: around level 20 for the early trials, with later ones expecting more.

Under-levelled characters can reach Norgan, but they hit like a feather and fold quickly. A common mistake is flying north at level 20 straight after unlocking Vernworth and then wondering why the first group of bandits wipes the party.

Dark Arisen start checklist

Step	Where	What to watch for
Reach Vernworth	Main story, Seat of the Sovran	Brant must be available to talk to
Talk to Brant	Stardrop Inn, market quarter	Night only; pick "About the new Arisen..."
Rest	Shakir's Inn	Triggers the nightmare sequence
Find the griffin	East side of the Malachite Forest, waterfall clearing	Cross near Trevo Mine's northern exit
Fly to Norgan	Talk to Pekdre	Recommended level about 40
Lost Rites (optional)	Brant, "About the uncovered ruins..."	About level 20; separate questline

Your first hour in Norgan

You land in a snowy pass, and bandits ambush you almost immediately. They hit hard. The usual advice is to sprint down the road to the Norgandian Settlement rather than stand and fight with whatever gear you brought from the south. Finishing Chilling Tidings at the settlement pays out experience, gold and a Norgan Portcrystal.

A few things worth knowing on arrival:

• Fast travel works differently. Ordinary portcrystals cannot be placed in Norgan. The region uses its own Norgan Portcrystals, with up to five placeable. If you do not already have an Eternal Ferrystone, the expansion gives you one.
• Cold is a real mechanic. Blizzards apply Chilled, which drains your maximum stamina. Heatstones cure it, a hot meal at a camp or inn holds it off for a while, and some relic armor passives prevent it.
• Your old gear will age fast. Norgan's armor comes from relics that you get appraised at the settlement, not from shops. The sooner you start bringing Spoils back, the sooner the region becomes manageable. Our Dark Arisen armor guide covers what to look for.

Starting Lost Rites

The twelve Lost Rites trials are scattered across the existing map rather than inside Norgan's main zone. Clearing the first one gives you the Proving Ground Compass, which marks the rest when you use it from your inventory. Each trial has a condition, such as main pawn only or no enchanted weapons. Some sealed doors stay shut until you reach specific story milestones, and opening them all eventually needs the Empowered Godsbane Blade from the main story, so do not expect to clear all twelve on a fresh save.

The honest problem with starting fresh

If your character is low level, still in the Unmoored World, or you simply do not want to replay the early game to reach Vernworth again, getting into the expansion properly can take many hours before the new content even begins. Then Norgan expects relic gear you do not have yet.

That is the gap our Dark Arisen starter save is built for. It begins at the start of the DLC with the story untouched, and gives you a level 100 character (or another level if you ask), every vocation maxed including hybrids, all relics appraised and every Norgan portcrystal active. It works on PC and PS5 only, and the expansion must already be on your account. For more on what the expansion contains before you commit, read our Dark Arisen overview, or browse the full Dragon's Dogma 2 range.

Frequently Asked Questions