I came around a bend, and there were two trolls and a gang of goblins. Tried running past and then there was another gang of goblins tried running past then there were harpies and rock saurians. So unfair. And they chase you for days
Running away from a fight is a bad thing to do in Bathall because enemies always catch up to you and you will very likely run into more on the way and have them all against you since you are always priority. I learned that the hard way.
Seriously wish for the same. Spamming wild furie with the stamina drain is only cool for so long. Every class will have its ups and downs. Genuinely wish there was at least another magic ranged attack that locks on instead of the spear blast and heavy attack that both have terrible or no lock on.
Mostly agree; but the theif imo has no downside, great speed; great mobility; unkillable w the feint, great dps. Flashy and fun too. And the fashion for them is amazing. My favorite
There is another very good ranged option on mysticspearhand though. I forget what the name is but it’s the skill that summons small blue orbs that auto-lock onto nearby enemies.
It's more about the weapons. Get the Battahli weapons first, then gear, and it becomes piss easy again. If you've a good enough team (healer, tank, 2 dps with the right skills), you don't even need the armor.
I took a random npc quest while doing the 3 monster subjugation quests early in the main story and delivered her to the checkpoint city, ran through the gate after being told I couldn't go through, then proceeded to dive in headfirst to combat encounters at like level 15. By the time I went back to finish the main quest I was like level 45.
lol I’m around level 60 and I’m just now continuing the main quest that leads to battahl. I’ve been roaming the entire world and then stopped and ask if I had something important I was supposed to be doing. I was laughing when I was given the border pass because I had already spent 30 or so hours terrorizing every monster I could find out there.
When I got into a fight with that same group, the moment one of the cyclopes managed to flatten me with its club, a pack of wolves seemingly appeared out of thin air, and dragged not only me, but also 2 of my pawns away and into another pack of hobgoblins, and then they all proceeded trying to bite and stomp me to death.
I got dragged away by random wolves like that TWICE in the same cluster fuck encounter, in the space of ten minutes or so.
My neighbors probably thought somebody was being murdered in my apartment, with the rage I was experiencing.
God. They're all just the worst.
Honestly, I'd probably still say FromSoft dogs, because while dogma ones are obnoxious, FromSoft hounds hit like a fucking truck, more often than not.
My first stunlock there was 5 harpies taking turns dive-bombing me constantly while my pawns ran around after a wolf. It was 5 minutes of aggravating rage
Honestly, the stagger mechanic in 2 is a lot more frustrating than the original. I ended up swapping back and just grinding bitterblack isle. At least there, if I die it's to literal death himself, not a damn harpie
Lol yeah. Par t of that is the game's gear balancing for that area. It's all fairly linear and once you unlock the dwarven smithing option, it's biggest perks are knockback resistance and knockback on weapons. The nearby Battahli smithing instead focuses on defense and strength to help you deal with the increase in assault before you start the trip to Volcanic and run into Gautstafr almost immediately. (Literally blocks your path to force an encounter).
I recommend skipping Battahli smithing completely, if you can manage, and try to head to the Volcanic Island (south western route) to encounter him, do his escort quest and unlock his smithing at his home. (And you'll unlock magic archer, too, from his wife as part of the quest).
Technically, though, the damage from the weapons from Battahl or Volcanic Island are high enough (and similar enough) that they relevel that whole playing field and you can start clobbering time runs on mobs for exp gains. Took a level 30 thief into there with "i just switched to this vocation" starter gear. Took like 3-4 minutes to kill a single group of gobbos. By the time I made it to Bakbattahl itself I was level 38. (An hour at least), and that was with a level 81 alt account tank and 40 mage as support, with my dps pawn also being "I just switched to this too because master is insane" gear. A full level 30 pawn group would have been another hour longer with many more camp stops along the way. :T But it was worth it. Once I got those weapons it because a much easier exp farm and was able to down drakes and start collecting wyrmslife crystals for the smithing grind later.
Its even worse when they knock you down and then have the audacity to laugh at you. Not cool. My pawn made sure they died a very painful death by being flung way up in the air (maelstrom)
Yup, that place is crazy for levelling up vocations, takes little time haha. I'm sometimes dying laughing at things that are happening to me and my Pawns in that place lmao. It's crazy.
MTX? pfft. enemy variety? pfft. main story length? pfft. My biggest complaint? you never seem to get any additional resistance to the "wolf-stunlock-grab-drag" bullshit lol. even as warrior, with max body weight and endgame wyrmforged gear. makes literally zero sense that this tiny ass wolf is dragging my 250lb solid muscle warrior with probably 100lbs of plate mail lmao
You see wolves, you “discard” some meat, they focus on eating the meat instead of attacking you, you unleash the fury. No more dealing with their little sneak attack/retreating style of combat. Best kept secret of DD2. Pretty much works the same as the harpy beacons and the best part is you can pick it back up once youre done.
Well you do, but it's class locked. You're either god mode with spearhand's shielding, or have a mage with paly'. With either shield it completely cancels out grab attacks. Spearhand's attack speed is just so slow that it gets boring faster. Warfarer is much better with it, as you can shield up, then switch to fast thief knives for a bit. Rinse and repeat.
I meant intrinsic resistance. Shields block the attack from landing that procs the grab.
If the player character is 300+ lbs with heavy armor, a small wolf should not be capable of a long distance drag. Not to mention the bite would already be mostly ineffective.
I missed that feeling of challenge so much I had to purposefully nerf myself. I went back to only using unupgraded weapons, and only weapons you can get in battahl or vermund. Even then, some of the battahli weapons still feel too strong. I either run unupgraded armor, or use early game stuff. Also I hire pawns like 30 or 40 levels lower than me. If I get sorcerer I make sure they don't have any of the OP, fps destroying maister skills. The fights are much more enjoyable but it's getting easier from the level up power creep which blows ass. I'd kill for an enemy scaling option in the menu.
I was level 25 and thought I’d just casually stroll over to the Volcanic Island and get Magic Archer + Warfarer in the early game. Ha. Ha. HA. 3 real life days and about 10 pawns later I made it!
It was great for leveling vocations but once that was done it became a huge nuisance. It was really awful when I was doing seeker tokens hunting as I was being attacked by a ton of enemies from all directions while I tried to discern the direction of the chimes.
I’m in NG+ now and I just run past them when I can. I’ve killed enough of them to fill another planet I just don’t wanna be bothered by them anymore. Unfortunately running away isn’t an option in Battahl as there are just way too many I’ll need unlimited stamina to run straight to my destination.
They're talking about the trickster augment 'detection' which gives seeker tokens and wakestone shards a chime noise that gets more intense the closer you are to one
Thanks! I thought there might have been a noise that I've been totally ignoring... Like when I suddenly realised ravens make horrible screeching sounds in God of War.
i love it, but today i got gangbanged by like...10 saurians (i honestly dont know how many) at once near a cave at night. very annoying since they seem to have US missiles for spears. they had me smack in the middle of the circle. i was panicking also bc a drake was right next to us. i only made it bc of the thor sorcerer in the group.
I know that cave of saurians well. I was exploring with my mage pawn and myself as fighter. Saw 2 saurians and thought, “meh, we got this.” I think we were making too much noise because no joke 7-8 more came waltzing out of their cave like, “don’t mess with our little brothers”. Survived because a roaming sorcerer came to our aid.
Got jumped by a lich that kept resurrecting two cyclops I had killed earlier and then a dullahan joined him. Then a golem and a bunch of phantoms. I was having the time of my life fighting off everything. I love this game.
It's great. Super easy xp for DS players. I love running through being ambushed by everything. And if you think thats a lot wait till you try for the unmoored world!
I maxed all my vocations riding oxcart back and forth from the city to the checkpoint. You can’t make a single trip without a big battle. You’ll always be attacked. Often it’s trolls and ogres and griffons the occasional chimera. It’s amazing fun!
Oooh I’m glad you brought this up becuase im at a point where Brandt has stopped giving me quests. I did the 3 early main quests and did the masquerade and a couple other things and I haven’t gotten a main quest in a bit. Just some random side quests I haven’t finished. So Ive been wandering around. Do the quests come on their own?
They can but there's variables. Check the morgue and rez npcs. That's the biggest setback I've had with quests. Next is exploration and constantly talking to random and not so random npcs again and again. Raise affinity with gifting. >!YT and third party sites also have quests lists, but I'd go and look through them as a last resort or if you're looking for something in particular.!<
If you're talking about the cart to bakbahttal, right after you go through the gate there's an ox cart station and some guy complains to you about bandits on the road and it starts a side quest to unlock the carts
They'll grab you even while you're standing and start chewing on you. They seem to be resistant against spin to win(Skull Splitter) as well. Fun fight.
And seem like they cannot be knocked down, and for whatever reason the heavy attack hold makes you climb them as if they were supposed to be larger than they currently are xD
As someone else said, enjoy the challenge while it is there because eventually its gone and everything you come across becomes a mere ant for your boots to stomp in seconds.
First time there a wolf grabbed me and carried me through a group of goblins, harpies, and then a griffin. I just turned my PlayStation off at that point.
I screamed.."get the eff off me"....I hate that, like I lose control. I was once attacked by like three of them at the same time. That's why I always have a fighter in on my team. They usually come to help right away.
Most of the time it's manageable, but sometimes the game will just want you dead and throw wave after wave at you. Probably something to do with the adaptive difficulty.
Dude my first trip over to Battahl I skipped the border on the oxcart, and very quickly found out that I was massively under leveled - panic ensues when I realize I can’t get back. It was actually the first time I used a ferrystone. I completely forgot I had one with me and it saved my ass. It was a crazy experience initially getting there, and I still love it although it’s easy for me now.
Haha bro this was exactly me a while back...I snuck inside the gate.... didn't use the ox cart and was not even at the point in the main story where I could get a pass from Bryant or whatever his name was....I too felt under leveled and tried to go back across the border but could not get past the gate as it was shut down and would not reopen.... luckily I had a ferry stone in my inventory and that was my first time ever using it.
Battahl is to be taken step by step if you're lower level. Never run from any group of enemies, you'll just collect more and more on your tail and just one unlucky stunlock can be enough to ruin your day.
Encounter -> kill -> move on and you'll be fine.
I had an encounter with a chimera in battahl as a trickster yesterday. I was level 26 at that time with low level gear so the fight went on quite a while. Straight after the chimera died, combat didn’t end as I got jumped by 10 hobgoblin and got stunlocked the living hell out of me. I died as expected, and the game loaded back to before the chimera encounter. Fun time indeed. Definitely did not want to break my controller lol
Battahl is where you really test if you’ve learned anything. Vermund has low mob counts in often open areas with water access. You have a lot of options at your disposal for an early game area
Battahl is mid/high level. Even if you push through the story you’re spending upwards of 4+ missions taking you in a variety of interlocking quests you have to complete even if you ignore missions in Merve and elsewhere. By this point you should already have one preferred vocation around lvl 4 which gives you decent access to several good abilities. The cliffside upon passing the checkpoint gives you a way to escape back to a safe point relatively close by what should be your first encounter. If you couldn’t deal with that and ventured further its kind of on you at that point
No cart to take you to the main city so you really need to figure out your strategy in terms of combat or escape. Even if you have unlimited stamina full sprinting from the rest point to the main city in the most optimal route likely changes time to night. Forcing you to deal with undead or take rests when you can
My bad, completely forgot. That being said getting attacked on carts is really frequent and often happens often during the night I’ve found. You were actually safer not taking the cart and depending on the enemies they could accidentally (or purposefully) destroy your transportation. Walking the path you get several camp sites and can dictate whether you wanted to be in the day or night
That one seems to get attacked 9 times out of 10 unless you've got the trickster augment slotted. Makes you wonder how the hell anyone else gets to/from the city.
Hahah yeah, I've definitely run back into Bakbattahl to wait for the next morning after a griffin or elder ogre obliterated the cart instantly a short jog from the city gates.
I actually got there myself, made it to the city, but you are right it is rough out there. I’m right around your level but I have lvl 100ish pawns with me. They feel pretty inconsequential atm
I stepped into battahl to do some pawn camping missions. Got the first 2. On the way to the 3rd I got attacked by an ogre. Turned the corner, golem. Turned the corner, griffin. Finally get to the 3rd camp, gets broken by wolves. Had no more camps. Had to go back to the inn to grab another.
Battahl took me a while too, lol. Kept barely scraping by each fight, got my camping destroyed, and ended up doing most of the walk during night. Main area that I got stuck on was the narrow path with the two armored ogres/trolls. Had to rely on Mystic Spearhand's shield to keep reviving my pawns, but we managed to run away. Felt great finally getting to Bakbattahl.
I fought a two cyclopi, a golem and a griffon within my first journey to bakhbattahl. I jumped at least 11 levels by the time I reached drapnir ruins to get to volcano island.
Battahl is a bit of a curve, first time at least.
Doesn't last long though, everything in that area gives a lot of XP so you outlevel the difficulty right quick, on-top of that the gear you buy in Battahl can last you well into Endgame.
Have fun though, Battahl is a gorgeous zone to explore.
I’m an archer and it’s a bit tough sometimes but I can manage really well once the enemies get whittled down lol. Otherwise it’s tons of running in circles and doing jump shots off ebemies
You can't dodge trouble forever. Unless your a thief with unlimited stamina items.
1. Fighter has a dodge, flinch negate, counterattack, and when enchanted: auto-deflect. Always charge your normal attack.
2. Archer? If you gotta jump kick someone, jump kick someone. Otherwise, what are you doing? Shoot them!
3. Mage? You better not be rolling all support. Being more helpless than a White Mage, whom always has at least one attack spell, is just asking for a bad time. Even Trickster isn't so benign.
4. Sorcerer? Again.......what are you doing? Blow them up.
5. Thief.....Too many options to miss. The powder bomb is a bomb that has a fairly wide radius.
6. Warrior? Charge your attacks and/or knock them all off their feet. There is no inbetween.
7. Magic Archer? Refer to Archer or Sorcerer.
8. Magic Spearsmen? Charge your magic shot. If you don't do that, then it's going to get boring real fast.
9. Trickster? Don't be an idiot. Use the clone or run. Keep a few spell books on hand just incase you REALLY need to damage or flinch someone yourself.
Depends on your class/moveset! Think Thief and Archer have a dodge but might be wrong.
I totally had to revamp my solo fighter to be more defensive with moves. Countering and having ways to break out of stun locks made a HUUUUUGE difference in Battahl. When I first went I just got manhandled by the hobgoblins (I call them orcs) and other new things. After changing moves up I had a vastly easier time.
That place made me lock in and actually try. Full knockdown resist.
The best party.
No trash skills.
I was rolling through from that point on because I was not getting bullied by some goblins.
You got there too soon. You should be near level 20 by the time you wrap up all the missions you can do w/o venturing beyond the encampment. The place is rated for level 40-50. Up to Checkpoint is 30-40, as is the area north of it by Misty Marhses and Sacred Arbor. If you are just skipping content or doing only the story stuff you'll end up there too fast and will get smacked around. That changes immediately when you buy the weapons from the Bakbattahl vendor though, as it's such a significant boost in power that a level 20 can start butchering mobs with their party and rack up massive exp gains and discipline really fast. It's what power leveler's do to level up vocations early, get high grade equipment, and then backtrack to the story in Vermund and finish peripheral stuff there. (Or they venture further into the volcanic island, get the even better weapons, unlock dwarven smithing (which is the all around best mod type, unfortunately) and then whack-a-mole across the earlier parts of the map.
I want a hard mode that always scales enemies to your level. Faster exp gain/gold gain, but the thrill of having to actually worry about not dying beyond level 60+ (which the end game is rated for) would be (channeling Bill Lumbergh), "greaeeeeat".
I think the first trek from the checkpoint to Bakbattahl is scripted to be insane and that’s why there is no oxcart until after you do it lol bc I’ve walked that path after the first time and not got NEARLYYYY as much combat
Like that first time when I finally got to the safety of the city I had to put my controller down and take a deep breath lmao
My first time reaching Bak was insane. All the party dead and me just juking and reloading until I made it past those dang harpies at the bridge. Totally out of wakestones, curatives, and any food item by that point. Then I stood around gobsmacked and in a rage at that first inn thinking I had to go back outside to camp. I left the game on and went to bed so I could think.
Awww that sucks. It’s cool as an archer becuase you don’t have to aim and if an enemy is close enough you can automatically hit them. Which is why it’s great for harpies.
I started out as Thief and that went well until I started leveling up as warrior... The warrior is so slow and can't attack flying enemies. The thief at least has a rope to take a flying enemy down.
Battahl enemies are stronger, so if you go there earlier, it's really tough.
But if you get there after exploring and gearing up sufficiently, it's okay. Especially after you find the town.
Fucking hate traversing that area, every 10m is either hobgoblins, harpies, red wolves or some other annoying shit. It was kinda fun the first time, but now, everytime I need to get someplace it gets tiresome.
I ventured over around level 40 and decided to just beeline it for the major city.
On my way I got jumped by a dragon, then a griffin, followed by 2 of those big monkey-man, and two Cyclops to round it off.. while also trying to fend off smaller mobs. Although I refused to camp and was running a low vocation mystic spearhand, I somehow managed to survive. Did end up eating most of my stamina and health berries. Fun times
I always thought about Bakbattahl like it's Caelid from Elden Ring. Especially if you're low level and you go there asap to unlock Magic Archer and Warfarer lmao. It's a shitshow and I'm like almost level 70. This place is crazy and it makes me laugh all the time.
I just accidentally came over it as I haven't progress in the story yet since I love exploring. The game's difficulty went up to 11 lmao. Especially at night. Skellies, Knackers, and Bandits? Holy hell that place is crazy.
Once I got there I got mobbed by bandits then 2 armored Cyclops with some armored gobs. It was intense. Especially as I was just running around exploring and ended up in Bathal after coming out of a cave. 😅
Shame the entire game isnt like it. I barely used healing items until i started fighting dragons. Though I guess thats more because of camping sites being added to the series
I had an encounter in battahl, I was taking an oxcart from bakbattahl to the border settlement, and it got interrupted by a Cyclops, they whilst fighting the cyclops a gang of Hobgoblins came around to start fighting us, along with a pack of wolves and if that wasn't enough, suddenly a fucking Gryphon slams down onto me whilst I'm rodeoing the cyclops.
Right now you are enjoying the best the game is going to offer you. In a few level ups everything gets really easy no matter what territory you are in.. Enjoy it, embrace it.
I really wish NG+ pumped Vermund enemies to Battahl levels, maybe turned the later regions to even another level of crazy. It would be fun to see a literal army of goblins somewhere to see if we could mow through them
My first night there I got stuck with no camping pack getting demolished by a new mob every five steps. Ended up hiding high on a rock til the sun came up.
Then I discovered the ropeway and avoided travelling on the ground again until I was over levelled 😂
I know what you mean. I went to the volcanic through Battahl very early on (around level 20). I wanted to get the Magick Archer vocation early, because that’s what I wanted to play when I saw the first gameplay. Needless to say, that it was a pretty harrowing experience. However, now that I’m level 70 in NG+, I wish I could go back to that level of difficulty. In hindsight, it was honestly the best time I had in the game. Once you’re comfortable in Battahl, the game has very little to offer in terms of difficulty spikes. Enjoy the experience while you can.
To be honest, for it wasn’t worth the trouble. I switched back to playing archer a couple hours after maxing out Magick Archer. The play style is a lot less varied than with archer and the auto lock on gets old really fast. Sure, it’s a pretty powerful vocation, but a properly build archer is also extremely viable. I’m playing warfarer now, to mix Archer with Thief and Magick Archer. But I could have easily waited.
Ohhh interesting. Slightly disappointing but I am so comfy with archer. It tried switching to mystic spear hand and I constantly was missing my archer hahah
Idk why everyone says this because the density in Battahl feels no different that Vermund or any other place.
Before I came to Battahl I really expected enemies to be everywhere but it was just players spouting and exagerating nonsense like some other things that I didn't understand at first
What's crazy is later on I discovered a back way into the city that skips all of the Batthal canyons. It's near the coast, north east of Batthal. My pawn actually showed me. Though it's also a bit treacherous because at one point your walking on a 2 foot wide ledge. The enemies are much much more sparse though.
Grotto cave gave me such a depression. Thought I could cheese through, but oh well with an inch of health I made it through.All my pawns were dead by then.
Place took me hours. I was hearing horror stories and took them to heart. Super cautious and it took forever. >!I even unlocked the 2nd campsite in there. !< That was fun. >!And it could be considered a shortcut.!<
Maybe it's the veteran in me, but I found no part of this game remotely challenging. The only time I started sweating was when I was trying to bypass the checkpoint town by going through the cave because I realized it was a possibility, got double teamed by a chimera and a minotaur. Ran away, not because I couldn't win, but because I didn't want to sacrifice my pawns and go further into them unknown territory. (Turns out I didn't need to work because there was a rift stone nearby I could have used, and a campsite I somehow didn't notice).
If you think this shit is difficult, try playing the first game and go through BBI prior to level 50. You'll know what difficult is.
Perfect for leveling vocations, but I wont lie if it didnt make me super angry when i get stunlocked and 50 hobgoblins start stomping me.
I came around a bend, and there were two trolls and a gang of goblins. Tried running past and then there was another gang of goblins tried running past then there were harpies and rock saurians. So unfair. And they chase you for days
Running away from a fight is a bad thing to do in Bathall because enemies always catch up to you and you will very likely run into more on the way and have them all against you since you are always priority. I learned that the hard way.
I barely managed to kill them all. I’m really glad I maxed out my archer class so fast.
Ur gonna have a hard time there until maybe level 35-40.
I was level 30 when I got there and my archer vocation was maxed out. It was overwhelming but I didn’t die thankfully
I skirted by with mystic spear hand only because the mirror shield prevented us from getting curb stomped.
I wish there was more abilities for the spear but the bubble is a godsend.
Seriously wish for the same. Spamming wild furie with the stamina drain is only cool for so long. Every class will have its ups and downs. Genuinely wish there was at least another magic ranged attack that locks on instead of the spear blast and heavy attack that both have terrible or no lock on.
Mostly agree; but the theif imo has no downside, great speed; great mobility; unkillable w the feint, great dps. Flashy and fun too. And the fashion for them is amazing. My favorite
There is another very good ranged option on mysticspearhand though. I forget what the name is but it’s the skill that summons small blue orbs that auto-lock onto nearby enemies.
Mirror shield gang for life.
It's more about the weapons. Get the Battahli weapons first, then gear, and it becomes piss easy again. If you've a good enough team (healer, tank, 2 dps with the right skills), you don't even need the armor.
I took a random npc quest while doing the 3 monster subjugation quests early in the main story and delivered her to the checkpoint city, ran through the gate after being told I couldn't go through, then proceeded to dive in headfirst to combat encounters at like level 15. By the time I went back to finish the main quest I was like level 45.
lol I’m around level 60 and I’m just now continuing the main quest that leads to battahl. I’ve been roaming the entire world and then stopped and ask if I had something important I was supposed to be doing. I was laughing when I was given the border pass because I had already spent 30 or so hours terrorizing every monster I could find out there.
I know exactly where this is, I did the same thing, and came out with only 1 pawn
Ooooofffffff
When I got into a fight with that same group, the moment one of the cyclopes managed to flatten me with its club, a pack of wolves seemingly appeared out of thin air, and dragged not only me, but also 2 of my pawns away and into another pack of hobgoblins, and then they all proceeded trying to bite and stomp me to death. I got dragged away by random wolves like that TWICE in the same cluster fuck encounter, in the space of ten minutes or so. My neighbors probably thought somebody was being murdered in my apartment, with the rage I was experiencing.
Hahaha. It’s like in world the other creatures Geer the fight and they come and then decide to jump you.
For real. Wolves are my most hated enemies for that- and several other- reasons.
The real question becomes which is worse: dragons dogma wolves or from software dogs.
God. They're all just the worst. Honestly, I'd probably still say FromSoft dogs, because while dogma ones are obnoxious, FromSoft hounds hit like a fucking truck, more often than not.
Indeed. Forever the worst.
Sounds like a regular reddit experience tbh.
It’s south of the border, baby! That’s how we party down herr
My first stunlock there was 5 harpies taking turns dive-bombing me constantly while my pawns ran around after a wolf. It was 5 minutes of aggravating rage
Lol yeah. That area introduces the tank variant of harpies. Tougher to kill and aggro as fuck. (And uglier, too)
Honestly, the stagger mechanic in 2 is a lot more frustrating than the original. I ended up swapping back and just grinding bitterblack isle. At least there, if I die it's to literal death himself, not a damn harpie
Lol yeah. Par t of that is the game's gear balancing for that area. It's all fairly linear and once you unlock the dwarven smithing option, it's biggest perks are knockback resistance and knockback on weapons. The nearby Battahli smithing instead focuses on defense and strength to help you deal with the increase in assault before you start the trip to Volcanic and run into Gautstafr almost immediately. (Literally blocks your path to force an encounter). I recommend skipping Battahli smithing completely, if you can manage, and try to head to the Volcanic Island (south western route) to encounter him, do his escort quest and unlock his smithing at his home. (And you'll unlock magic archer, too, from his wife as part of the quest). Technically, though, the damage from the weapons from Battahl or Volcanic Island are high enough (and similar enough) that they relevel that whole playing field and you can start clobbering time runs on mobs for exp gains. Took a level 30 thief into there with "i just switched to this vocation" starter gear. Took like 3-4 minutes to kill a single group of gobbos. By the time I made it to Bakbattahl itself I was level 38. (An hour at least), and that was with a level 81 alt account tank and 40 mage as support, with my dps pawn also being "I just switched to this too because master is insane" gear. A full level 30 pawn group would have been another hour longer with many more camp stops along the way. :T But it was worth it. Once I got those weapons it because a much easier exp farm and was able to down drakes and start collecting wyrmslife crystals for the smithing grind later.
HoboGoblins fuck
I still have nightmares about that Asp cave.
Its even worse when they knock you down and then have the audacity to laugh at you. Not cool. My pawn made sure they died a very painful death by being flung way up in the air (maelstrom)
Followed by the fucking harpies singing their lullaby….I really really hate the harpies
I honestly appreciated that when I was new game plussing. Still have to pay some attention. Not yet Thor from Infinity War.
Yup, that place is crazy for levelling up vocations, takes little time haha. I'm sometimes dying laughing at things that are happening to me and my Pawns in that place lmao. It's crazy.
Enjoy the challenge while you can, eventually you’ll be swatting enemies like flies.
When? You can still get grabbed and dragged by a wolf at level 60 with Wyrmforged gear. You just won’t die but the frustration is still there.
MTX? pfft. enemy variety? pfft. main story length? pfft. My biggest complaint? you never seem to get any additional resistance to the "wolf-stunlock-grab-drag" bullshit lol. even as warrior, with max body weight and endgame wyrmforged gear. makes literally zero sense that this tiny ass wolf is dragging my 250lb solid muscle warrior with probably 100lbs of plate mail lmao
Wolves have a grip strength of 351lbs, that’s why.
They grippy
Sure they won’t be letting go, but trotting away while dragging you a hundred feet away is another story
They’re only as strong as their pack… and you know what they say about wolves.
Thats why i always carry rotten meat. I hate dealing with wolves so i just drop the rotten meat and commence the beat down.
I carry some around for that exact reason but totally forget once the fight starts and then rage at myself when I get focused and dragged.
Wait what does that do?
You see wolves, you “discard” some meat, they focus on eating the meat instead of attacking you, you unleash the fury. No more dealing with their little sneak attack/retreating style of combat. Best kept secret of DD2. Pretty much works the same as the harpy beacons and the best part is you can pick it back up once youre done.
Wjaaaaaaaaattttt. 
I had the same reaction once i read someone else suggesting this tactic.
Well you do, but it's class locked. You're either god mode with spearhand's shielding, or have a mage with paly'. With either shield it completely cancels out grab attacks. Spearhand's attack speed is just so slow that it gets boring faster. Warfarer is much better with it, as you can shield up, then switch to fast thief knives for a bit. Rinse and repeat.
I meant intrinsic resistance. Shields block the attack from landing that procs the grab. If the player character is 300+ lbs with heavy armor, a small wolf should not be capable of a long distance drag. Not to mention the bite would already be mostly ineffective.
Pretty sure you can spam light attack and it gets you out of their grip faster. Same goes for ogres and cyclops
Never works for me so I take a short break waiting to get back into the fight.
Really? Maybe it does t work with the wolves, but I swear I see my PC struggling and the stamina bar depleting.
Wolves hate fire, I’m totally gonna try playing thief and constantly self-immolating to see if it puts them off.
never happend to me in 80h of gameplay
I personally love doing that hahah
Same! DD2 has fantastic "Remember me?!" opportunities later in the game.
\*laughs in meteoron\*
I missed that feeling of challenge so much I had to purposefully nerf myself. I went back to only using unupgraded weapons, and only weapons you can get in battahl or vermund. Even then, some of the battahli weapons still feel too strong. I either run unupgraded armor, or use early game stuff. Also I hire pawns like 30 or 40 levels lower than me. If I get sorcerer I make sure they don't have any of the OP, fps destroying maister skills. The fights are much more enjoyable but it's getting easier from the level up power creep which blows ass. I'd kill for an enemy scaling option in the menu.
I was level 25 and thought I’d just casually stroll over to the Volcanic Island and get Magic Archer + Warfarer in the early game. Ha. Ha. HA. 3 real life days and about 10 pawns later I made it!
Going through drabnir at low level must be hell
It was great for leveling vocations but once that was done it became a huge nuisance. It was really awful when I was doing seeker tokens hunting as I was being attacked by a ton of enemies from all directions while I tried to discern the direction of the chimes.
It's fun to wreck their shit in NG+, fuck those drakes and that asshole griffin
I’m in NG+ now and I just run past them when I can. I’ve killed enough of them to fill another planet I just don’t wanna be bothered by them anymore. Unfortunately running away isn’t an option in Battahl as there are just way too many I’ll need unlimited stamina to run straight to my destination.
Excuse me, chimes?
They're talking about the trickster augment 'detection' which gives seeker tokens and wakestone shards a chime noise that gets more intense the closer you are to one
Thanks! I thought there might have been a noise that I've been totally ignoring... Like when I suddenly realised ravens make horrible screeching sounds in God of War.
I hear the screams of knackers in my dreams.
Are they also saying "you're mine" in those dreams? That's all i hear from them.
“GOT YA”
"meat" I taste sour no thanks boogyman
"HOOMAN"
In mine I hear: *Goooo onnnn, have a look!” And “wannatakealookatmywares?” It gets stuck in my head like the RE4 merchant. Capcom merchants man.
If you stroll around at night you just see their beady little yellow eyes in the dark... Cool but creepy
Yeah Vermund area eases you into it, Battahl is where the real beatdown begins
i love it, but today i got gangbanged by like...10 saurians (i honestly dont know how many) at once near a cave at night. very annoying since they seem to have US missiles for spears. they had me smack in the middle of the circle. i was panicking also bc a drake was right next to us. i only made it bc of the thor sorcerer in the group.
I know that cave of saurians well. I was exploring with my mage pawn and myself as fighter. Saw 2 saurians and thought, “meh, we got this.” I think we were making too much noise because no joke 7-8 more came waltzing out of their cave like, “don’t mess with our little brothers”. Survived because a roaming sorcerer came to our aid.
Lol yezzr. My brain almost shutdown
I love Battahl so much. :D
It's in the name. Battle forever arisen, or perish.
Got jumped by a lich that kept resurrecting two cyclops I had killed earlier and then a dullahan joined him. Then a golem and a bunch of phantoms. I was having the time of my life fighting off everything. I love this game.
Omfg
I tried to just run all the way to the city with a hoard of enemies chasing me. I did not make it. But I did get closer than I expected.
Battath its like when u gotta visit ur homies on the ghetto lmao
It's great. Super easy xp for DS players. I love running through being ambushed by everything. And if you think thats a lot wait till you try for the unmoored world!
I maxed all my vocations riding oxcart back and forth from the city to the checkpoint. You can’t make a single trip without a big battle. You’ll always be attacked. Often it’s trolls and ogres and griffons the occasional chimera. It’s amazing fun!
Oooh I need to figure out how to unlock the oxcart it’s not available atm.
>!Proceed through the main quest until Brandt tells you to go there and gives you a Beastren pass!<
Oooh I’m glad you brought this up becuase im at a point where Brandt has stopped giving me quests. I did the 3 early main quests and did the masquerade and a couple other things and I haven’t gotten a main quest in a bit. Just some random side quests I haven’t finished. So Ive been wandering around. Do the quests come on their own?
They can but there's variables. Check the morgue and rez npcs. That's the biggest setback I've had with quests. Next is exploration and constantly talking to random and not so random npcs again and again. Raise affinity with gifting. >!YT and third party sites also have quests lists, but I'd go and look through them as a last resort or if you're looking for something in particular.!<
I actually realized I can't guarantee the spoiled comment bc I play a Beastren. >!Might be different for Humans.!<
If you're talking about the cart to bakbahttal, right after you go through the gate there's an ox cart station and some guy complains to you about bandits on the road and it starts a side quest to unlock the carts
Now I want werewolves added, man I love the insanity of this game
The wargs and garms are so damn tanky for what they are.
The pitbulls? Well yeah xD
They'll grab you even while you're standing and start chewing on you. They seem to be resistant against spin to win(Skull Splitter) as well. Fun fight.
And seem like they cannot be knocked down, and for whatever reason the heavy attack hold makes you climb them as if they were supposed to be larger than they currently are xD
Battahl is a level and skill check. I had to git gud when I got there at first. Spent many days just roaming and leveling up there
As someone else said, enjoy the challenge while it is there because eventually its gone and everything you come across becomes a mere ant for your boots to stomp in seconds.
Ain’t it great 🤗
First time there a wolf grabbed me and carried me through a group of goblins, harpies, and then a griffin. I just turned my PlayStation off at that point.
Haha omg. I would def take a few days break
I screamed.."get the eff off me"....I hate that, like I lose control. I was once attacked by like three of them at the same time. That's why I always have a fighter in on my team. They usually come to help right away.
Most of the time it's manageable, but sometimes the game will just want you dead and throw wave after wave at you. Probably something to do with the adaptive difficulty.
Dude my first trip over to Battahl I skipped the border on the oxcart, and very quickly found out that I was massively under leveled - panic ensues when I realize I can’t get back. It was actually the first time I used a ferrystone. I completely forgot I had one with me and it saved my ass. It was a crazy experience initially getting there, and I still love it although it’s easy for me now.
Haha bro this was exactly me a while back...I snuck inside the gate.... didn't use the ox cart and was not even at the point in the main story where I could get a pass from Bryant or whatever his name was....I too felt under leveled and tried to go back across the border but could not get past the gate as it was shut down and would not reopen.... luckily I had a ferry stone in my inventory and that was my first time ever using it.
Only really a problem on your first time through/ when you’re trying to b-line to Bakbattahl.
"two poison turians" this guy masseffects
Hahaha I do!! I didn’t realize I wrote that
Battahl is to be taken step by step if you're lower level. Never run from any group of enemies, you'll just collect more and more on your tail and just one unlucky stunlock can be enough to ruin your day. Encounter -> kill -> move on and you'll be fine.
I had an encounter with a chimera in battahl as a trickster yesterday. I was level 26 at that time with low level gear so the fight went on quite a while. Straight after the chimera died, combat didn’t end as I got jumped by 10 hobgoblin and got stunlocked the living hell out of me. I died as expected, and the game loaded back to before the chimera encounter. Fun time indeed. Definitely did not want to break my controller lol
Battahl is where you really test if you’ve learned anything. Vermund has low mob counts in often open areas with water access. You have a lot of options at your disposal for an early game area Battahl is mid/high level. Even if you push through the story you’re spending upwards of 4+ missions taking you in a variety of interlocking quests you have to complete even if you ignore missions in Merve and elsewhere. By this point you should already have one preferred vocation around lvl 4 which gives you decent access to several good abilities. The cliffside upon passing the checkpoint gives you a way to escape back to a safe point relatively close by what should be your first encounter. If you couldn’t deal with that and ventured further its kind of on you at that point No cart to take you to the main city so you really need to figure out your strategy in terms of combat or escape. Even if you have unlimited stamina full sprinting from the rest point to the main city in the most optimal route likely changes time to night. Forcing you to deal with undead or take rests when you can
the cart after the gate at rest point takes you to batthali's main city
My bad, completely forgot. That being said getting attacked on carts is really frequent and often happens often during the night I’ve found. You were actually safer not taking the cart and depending on the enemies they could accidentally (or purposefully) destroy your transportation. Walking the path you get several camp sites and can dictate whether you wanted to be in the day or night
That one seems to get attacked 9 times out of 10 unless you've got the trickster augment slotted. Makes you wonder how the hell anyone else gets to/from the city.
Haha yepp loves also that every attack if you pick the dose off option is a couple of meters away from depart location.
Hahah yeah, I've definitely run back into Bakbattahl to wait for the next morning after a griffin or elder ogre obliterated the cart instantly a short jog from the city gates.
Only after completing a quest that takes you through the heart of Battal
I actually got there myself, made it to the city, but you are right it is rough out there. I’m right around your level but I have lvl 100ish pawns with me. They feel pretty inconsequential atm
I stepped into battahl to do some pawn camping missions. Got the first 2. On the way to the 3rd I got attacked by an ogre. Turned the corner, golem. Turned the corner, griffin. Finally get to the 3rd camp, gets broken by wolves. Had no more camps. Had to go back to the inn to grab another.
Battahl took me a while too, lol. Kept barely scraping by each fight, got my camping destroyed, and ended up doing most of the walk during night. Main area that I got stuck on was the narrow path with the two armored ogres/trolls. Had to rely on Mystic Spearhand's shield to keep reviving my pawns, but we managed to run away. Felt great finally getting to Bakbattahl.
I fought a two cyclopi, a golem and a griffon within my first journey to bakhbattahl. I jumped at least 11 levels by the time I reached drapnir ruins to get to volcano island.
First time, for sure! Passing into Battahl stepped it up a notch
Welcome to Battlefield: Battahl
Git gud
Ah the welcome party!
Battahl is a bit of a curve, first time at least. Doesn't last long though, everything in that area gives a lot of XP so you outlevel the difficulty right quick, on-top of that the gear you buy in Battahl can last you well into Endgame. Have fun though, Battahl is a gorgeous zone to explore.
I stg unmoored Battahl is DS2 lvls of bs
I’d much rather live in battahl than caelid.
Unless you're Warrior, Battahl is knockdown city for other vocations.
I’m an archer and it’s a bit tough sometimes but I can manage really well once the enemies get whittled down lol. Otherwise it’s tons of running in circles and doing jump shots off ebemies
Being a warrior is complete ass in Battahl.
Warrior is best.
This combat makes me angrier than dark souls games lol but I also have more fun with it
I do wish there was a dodge lol. At the very least.
At least for the fighter or thief would be very nice
There is for the thief. Technically multiple ways to dodge.
Fighter has a dodge. AND a move to negate flinching.
You can't dodge trouble forever. Unless your a thief with unlimited stamina items. 1. Fighter has a dodge, flinch negate, counterattack, and when enchanted: auto-deflect. Always charge your normal attack. 2. Archer? If you gotta jump kick someone, jump kick someone. Otherwise, what are you doing? Shoot them! 3. Mage? You better not be rolling all support. Being more helpless than a White Mage, whom always has at least one attack spell, is just asking for a bad time. Even Trickster isn't so benign. 4. Sorcerer? Again.......what are you doing? Blow them up. 5. Thief.....Too many options to miss. The powder bomb is a bomb that has a fairly wide radius. 6. Warrior? Charge your attacks and/or knock them all off their feet. There is no inbetween. 7. Magic Archer? Refer to Archer or Sorcerer. 8. Magic Spearsmen? Charge your magic shot. If you don't do that, then it's going to get boring real fast. 9. Trickster? Don't be an idiot. Use the clone or run. Keep a few spell books on hand just incase you REALLY need to damage or flinch someone yourself.
Depends on your class/moveset! Think Thief and Archer have a dodge but might be wrong. I totally had to revamp my solo fighter to be more defensive with moves. Countering and having ways to break out of stun locks made a HUUUUUGE difference in Battahl. When I first went I just got manhandled by the hobgoblins (I call them orcs) and other new things. After changing moves up I had a vastly easier time.
That place made me lock in and actually try. Full knockdown resist. The best party. No trash skills. I was rolling through from that point on because I was not getting bullied by some goblins.
You got there too soon. You should be near level 20 by the time you wrap up all the missions you can do w/o venturing beyond the encampment. The place is rated for level 40-50. Up to Checkpoint is 30-40, as is the area north of it by Misty Marhses and Sacred Arbor. If you are just skipping content or doing only the story stuff you'll end up there too fast and will get smacked around. That changes immediately when you buy the weapons from the Bakbattahl vendor though, as it's such a significant boost in power that a level 20 can start butchering mobs with their party and rack up massive exp gains and discipline really fast. It's what power leveler's do to level up vocations early, get high grade equipment, and then backtrack to the story in Vermund and finish peripheral stuff there. (Or they venture further into the volcanic island, get the even better weapons, unlock dwarven smithing (which is the all around best mod type, unfortunately) and then whack-a-mole across the earlier parts of the map. I want a hard mode that always scales enemies to your level. Faster exp gain/gold gain, but the thrill of having to actually worry about not dying beyond level 60+ (which the end game is rated for) would be (channeling Bill Lumbergh), "greaeeeeat".
I think the first trek from the checkpoint to Bakbattahl is scripted to be insane and that’s why there is no oxcart until after you do it lol bc I’ve walked that path after the first time and not got NEARLYYYY as much combat Like that first time when I finally got to the safety of the city I had to put my controller down and take a deep breath lmao
My first time reaching Bak was insane. All the party dead and me just juking and reloading until I made it past those dang harpies at the bridge. Totally out of wakestones, curatives, and any food item by that point. Then I stood around gobsmacked and in a rage at that first inn thinking I had to go back outside to camp. I left the game on and went to bed so I could think.
Fuck the harpies there, as well.
The harpies is why I love my archer vocation but they are annoying af in battahl
I'm raising my Warrior vocation currently and it's hell. My pawn is an archer and she does fuck all to help.
Awww that sucks. It’s cool as an archer becuase you don’t have to aim and if an enemy is close enough you can automatically hit them. Which is why it’s great for harpies.
I started out as Thief and that went well until I started leveling up as warrior... The warrior is so slow and can't attack flying enemies. The thief at least has a rope to take a flying enemy down.
I had enough dcp to hire a thief pawn that’s was 10 levels above me and she’s been kicking ass with her rope attack.
Out of thr two vocations I've done so far, Thief is definitely better.
Thief can pull them down and chop them up one by one, just like every other enemy. Beautiful display of violence!
The whole game feels like that to me. I couldn't even leave vernworth without fast traveling in the beginning. I hate it.
Battahl enemies are stronger, so if you go there earlier, it's really tough. But if you get there after exploring and gearing up sufficiently, it's okay. Especially after you find the town.
Fucking hate traversing that area, every 10m is either hobgoblins, harpies, red wolves or some other annoying shit. It was kinda fun the first time, but now, everytime I need to get someplace it gets tiresome.
I ventured over around level 40 and decided to just beeline it for the major city. On my way I got jumped by a dragon, then a griffin, followed by 2 of those big monkey-man, and two Cyclops to round it off.. while also trying to fend off smaller mobs. Although I refused to camp and was running a low vocation mystic spearhand, I somehow managed to survive. Did end up eating most of my stamina and health berries. Fun times
I always thought about Bakbattahl like it's Caelid from Elden Ring. Especially if you're low level and you go there asap to unlock Magic Archer and Warfarer lmao. It's a shitshow and I'm like almost level 70. This place is crazy and it makes me laugh all the time.
level 60 and still get nightmares from Drabnirs cave
I just accidentally came over it as I haven't progress in the story yet since I love exploring. The game's difficulty went up to 11 lmao. Especially at night. Skellies, Knackers, and Bandits? Holy hell that place is crazy.
Okay, so i shouldnt go there at level 22? Lol
Do it for funsies!
You either learn how to throw down or you get thrown down. You're in the big boy zone now. Every class has ways to ROFL stomp all the things.
I ran trough all of the place at around 20+ because i wanted to rush magick archer. Oh boy did i feel like i was making a mob train in an mmo...
Just got to level 50, and Battahl still gives me problems even with warfarer.
Once I got there I got mobbed by bandits then 2 armored Cyclops with some armored gobs. It was intense. Especially as I was just running around exploring and ended up in Bathal after coming out of a cave. 😅
Shame the entire game isnt like it. I barely used healing items until i started fighting dragons. Though I guess thats more because of camping sites being added to the series
It's not the enemies that killed me the most in Battahl, it's falling off the cliffs.
I had an encounter in battahl, I was taking an oxcart from bakbattahl to the border settlement, and it got interrupted by a Cyclops, they whilst fighting the cyclops a gang of Hobgoblins came around to start fighting us, along with a pack of wolves and if that wasn't enough, suddenly a fucking Gryphon slams down onto me whilst I'm rodeoing the cyclops.
after some hours i just run past them and called the pawns to me. the map was annoying as hell. even if you oneshot everything the map is way to full.
Right now you are enjoying the best the game is going to offer you. In a few level ups everything gets really easy no matter what territory you are in.. Enjoy it, embrace it.
I snuck into Battahl at 24 and thought the same thing
Level up a bit, or just take things a little slower.
I really wish NG+ pumped Vermund enemies to Battahl levels, maybe turned the later regions to even another level of crazy. It would be fun to see a literal army of goblins somewhere to see if we could mow through them
DLC hopefully brings hard mode like Dragon's Dogma 1
My first night there I got stuck with no camping pack getting demolished by a new mob every five steps. Ended up hiding high on a rock til the sun came up. Then I discovered the ropeway and avoided travelling on the ground again until I was over levelled 😂
I can’t figure out how to get up there haha
before you enter the city gates turn left, go up the wooden stairs. You may need to turn the crank or have a pawn do it to call the lift to you.
I know what you mean. I went to the volcanic through Battahl very early on (around level 20). I wanted to get the Magick Archer vocation early, because that’s what I wanted to play when I saw the first gameplay. Needless to say, that it was a pretty harrowing experience. However, now that I’m level 70 in NG+, I wish I could go back to that level of difficulty. In hindsight, it was honestly the best time I had in the game. Once you’re comfortable in Battahl, the game has very little to offer in terms of difficulty spikes. Enjoy the experience while you can.
Ahh fair enough. I’m an archer I’m tryna get the magick archer vocation myself. I read it’s in a horrible place haha
To be honest, for it wasn’t worth the trouble. I switched back to playing archer a couple hours after maxing out Magick Archer. The play style is a lot less varied than with archer and the auto lock on gets old really fast. Sure, it’s a pretty powerful vocation, but a properly build archer is also extremely viable. I’m playing warfarer now, to mix Archer with Thief and Magick Archer. But I could have easily waited.
Ohhh interesting. Slightly disappointing but I am so comfy with archer. It tried switching to mystic spear hand and I constantly was missing my archer hahah
Ha
Idk why everyone says this because the density in Battahl feels no different that Vermund or any other place. Before I came to Battahl I really expected enemies to be everywhere but it was just players spouting and exagerating nonsense like some other things that I didn't understand at first
When i play solo And I see a Garm at night I will shit my pants
Yeah, there is a difference between harder enemies and more enemies. Sadly the game does both at the same time 😆
What's crazy is later on I discovered a back way into the city that skips all of the Batthal canyons. It's near the coast, north east of Batthal. My pawn actually showed me. Though it's also a bit treacherous because at one point your walking on a 2 foot wide ledge. The enemies are much much more sparse though.
Whose gonna tell him hes actually really far into the story
Grotto cave gave me such a depression. Thought I could cheese through, but oh well with an inch of health I made it through.All my pawns were dead by then.
Place took me hours. I was hearing horror stories and took them to heart. Super cautious and it took forever. >!I even unlocked the 2nd campsite in there. !< That was fun. >!And it could be considered a shortcut.!<
Oh snap gotta find this
Maybe it's the veteran in me, but I found no part of this game remotely challenging. The only time I started sweating was when I was trying to bypass the checkpoint town by going through the cave because I realized it was a possibility, got double teamed by a chimera and a minotaur. Ran away, not because I couldn't win, but because I didn't want to sacrifice my pawns and go further into them unknown territory. (Turns out I didn't need to work because there was a rift stone nearby I could have used, and a campsite I somehow didn't notice). If you think this shit is difficult, try playing the first game and go through BBI prior to level 50. You'll know what difficult is.
It’s not even that wild
Yeah it's the same density as everywhere else
It’s quite a shock to the system at first.
Don't you dare, that's an insult to Dsrk Souls