Summary

• Dragon's Dogma 2 has multiple endings, which complicates how players can continue after beating the main story.
• After the standard ending, there are options to continue with the same save file, and an additional route to DD2's version of New Game Plus.
• There is a robust post-game in Dragon's Dogma 2 tied directly to its true ending.

Open-world RPGs are particularly prone to setting players loose in the world even after beating the game, but the story of Dragon's Dogma 2 has a certain finality to it, complicating the matter. The long-awaited sequel is also something of an outlier, with plenty of idiosyncrasies in both its setting and gameplay. Without venturing into heavy spoilers – and with plenty of forewarning when approaching the broad strokes of certain endings below – these oddities contribute to numerous ways to potentially play Dragon's Dogma 2 after beating it.

Anyone looking to mainline the story, however, should be aware that certain Dragon's Dogma 2 quests are time-sensitive, and moreover, there are certain points in the story where unfinished quests reach a premature conclusion without the player's involvement. Dragon's Dogma 2 is largely inseparable from its day/night cycle, so it's recommended that players take their time progressing through the game, because even though there are options for continuing after the credits roll, it is possible to permanently miss large swathes of content.

You Can Keep Playing After Dragon's Dogma 2's Standard Ending

Load From Last Save & Load From Last Inn Rest

After reaching the standard ending of Dragon's Dogma 2, in which the Arisen meets their fate and battles the Dragon, the credits roll and are followed by a return to the main menu. There are two options that will let players continue the completed save file: "Load from Last Save" and "Load from Last Inn Rest." The latter winds the clock back a bit further than the former, reloading the last autosave that occurred following a rest at an inn. This lets players return to their game before the final boss, unfinished quests intact with the whole game world to explore.

Selecting the "Load from Last Save" option is a bit more odd – it replays the final cutscene, which leads into the credits, and again brings the player to the main menu (where the same options are available). There is a deeper purpose to this option, though; it pertains to the true ending of Dragon's Dogma 2, so more on that later.

You Can Keep Playing Dragon's Dogma 2 With New Game Plus

Restart Game With Current Level & Equipment

Once the credits roll and the game takes players back to the main menu, a third option appears for continuing play: "Restart game with current level and equipment." This is essentially New Game Plus for Dragon's Dogma 2, where the game restarts but keeps the current character. For the game's opening, items and equipment will be sent to storage, which can later be retrieved at an inn. This will give players a chance to find content they missed on their initial playthrough, or perhaps see different outcomes to quests they've already completed once. Doing this immediately after the standard ending locks players out of seeing the true ending, since the full game will have to be played through again.

The following section discusses the broad strokes of the game's true ending, but not the story itself, constituting minor gameplay spoilers.

Dragon's Dogma 2 Has A Post-Game That Lets You Keep Playing After Beating It

Load From Last Save & Trigger The True Ending

Players who reach the standard ending of Dragon's Dogma 2 by defeating the Dragon in a boss fight may feel that a number of threads are left hanging. This is because the true ending of the game comes after a significant post-game section. Once the credits roll on the standard ending, players can select "Load from Last Save" on the main menu, and when given control of the Arisen in Vernworth Palace, speak with the Pathfinder (the ghostly NPC who directs the Arisen sporadically throughout Dragon's Dogma 2).

Speaking with the Pathfinder when they're sitting at a table near the throne, then again when they're standing among the crowd, takes the Arisen back to the sequence in which they're riding the Dragon toward the final confrontation. Waiting for the sequence to reach its conclusion will go through the standard ending loop again. However, climbing down toward the Dragon's beating heart and using the Empowered Godsbane Blade will trigger a different set of cutscenes, eventually leading to Dragon's Dogma 2's final section.

After the true ending is completed, players are once again sent to the main menu, where "Restart game with current level and equipment" will now be the only option – it is not possible to continue playing Dragon's Dogma 2 after beating its true ending.

While it's possible to enter the post-game on the first go-around, the dialogue from both the Pathfinder and the Dragon after viewing the credits once suggests playing through the standard ending before returning for the true ending is the expected route for players. The post-game is significantly different from the main game, so any lingering quests must either be finished by loading from the last inn rest, or saved for New Game Plus. While it seems to be the canon conclusion to Dragon's Dogma 2, the true ending does come after beating the game and seeing the credits, and the post-game section offers new gameplay opportunities.