A team builds off each other and makes everyone stronger. Find out the right class for your Arisen and main pawn, along with what pawns to hire.

Dragon’s Dogma is a very unique roleplaying game. When it was first shown off, fans of Monster Hunter clearly saw some resemblance to the monster-slaying franchise. But the more Capcom demoed, it was clear that heroes in Dragon’s Dogma were as swift and powerful as Dante from the Devil May Cry series. Dragon’s Dogma is nearly eight years old, having first released in 2012. But the game was loved by fans, resulting in the expansion Dark Arisen and ports to modern systems. Capcom still sees strong potential in the series and is even bringing an animated show to Netflix.

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In Dragon’s Dogma, you begin with just the main character, the Arisen. Shortly, you will meet and design your loyal pawn servant to fight alongside you. Unlike most JRPGs, height and weight play a big role in how fast and resilient your characters are. You will need to assign an appropriate vocation class to each of your heroes, like a strong fighter or potent caster. From there, you can build a team of four by entering the online Rift and hiring pawns of players around the world.

Basic Vocations are the starting three classes you can pick for yourself or your pawn. One you may select for free, while the other two may be unlocked for a small number of your Discipline Points (DP). Advanced Vocations will require the character to have already obtained character level 10 and will also cost some DP. Since you can only choose the vocation of your Arisen and main pawn, the rest of your party will depend on pawns other players have uploaded to your server. When playing offline, Capcom’s premade pawns are also an option.

Fighters are hardy tanks, able to wear heavy armor, one-handed swords, and shields. They have impressive HP and DEF, but lack MDEF. Fighters are best suited for the heaviest member of your party, who will have bonus knockdown resistance. As for where to invest accumulated DP: their Core skill Takedown is great for pinning enemies. Skyward Lash will help hit flying enemies, and Stonewill will boost defense, Springboard will send allies flying, and Shield Drum is needed to get enemy attention. For augments, Vigilance will further boost HP, and Egression allows quick grapple escapes.

Striders are master rogues, wearing light armor and wielding both daggers and a short bow. Their stats are average, allowing them no clear weakness or strength. Striders should be medium to small, allowing extra speed but not enough that they are easily pushed. Double Vault is amazing to traverse heights. Ensnare will let you toss around small foes, Dazzle Hold can stun, Reset can let you switch back to your neutral stance, and Sprint gives several movement follow-ups like sliding; Fivefold Flurry should be a good ranged attack. The augment Grit will allow stamina to recover quickly.

Mages serve as support casters, as well as wear robes and special staves; these magic conduits allow them to use twice the amount of abilities with only a single weapon. Large or medium characters should be Mages so that they are not easily tossed around. As expected they have high MAG and MDEF, but all other stats are low. Levitate will allow you to glide slowly, allowing you to reach ledges, Anodyne is one of the few healing skills so always have it on hand, Haildom can remove status effects, Boon of various elements can enhance allies’ weapons, Comestion is a large fire attack, and Frigor not only deals ice damage but leaves a platform. For augments, Aprotropaism will make you resistant to magic and Beatitude will increase healing.

Warrior is the frontline brute, wearing very heavy armor and a single two-handed sword or hammer. Note that since they only have a single weapon, Warriors can use only half as many attack skills as other classes. Because Warriors are already so resistant to being knocked down, consider giving this to medium or small characters that get speed bonuses. Warriors have the best HP and also great STR. Upward Strike will easily toss an enemy, Escape Slash is a highly safe defensive attack, Spark Slash will hit all nearby foes, Battle Cry will allow you to tank enemies and save allies, and Act of Atonement will allow strong counter-attacks. Among good augments, Ferocity will boost your normal attacks, Clout will give you a strength bonus, and Impact will keep enemies down.

Ranger is a sniper, using light armor, a longbow, and daggers as back up. Since Rangers should mostly be far from the action, their physical build won’t matter as much as other vocations. Compared to Striders, Rangers get a bit more ST and STR, but lowered HP and DEF. Rangers should pick up Quick Loose to increase their fire rate and Forward Roll in case of any dodging. Sixfold Arrow is great for a barrage of attacks, Flying Din can stun, Invasive Arrow will lower enemy defense, and Whirling Arrow will hit a large area. Like Strider, Reset might also be good to have. For augments, Morbidity will add on extra stacking damage.

Sorcerers are powerful attack casters, using robes and an archistaff; like with Mages, their weapons hold twice the amount of skills. Their MAG and MDEF are even better than Mages but suffer from worse HP. Similar built Mages should be first candidates for Sorcerer. The vocation has access to some older skills, like Comestion and Frigor, which can be used as a baseline. For the new skill to unlock, Lassitude will slow down enemies, Voidspell will remove direct strength and defense debuffs, Petrification will turn enemies to stone, Bolide is a massive meteor storm, Gicel will make a twisted ice spike, Fulmination will shield you in crackling lightning, Seism will cause earthquakes, and Maelstrom will summon a tornado. For augments, Conservation will reduce spell costs, and Articulacy will increase cast speed. For outside combat, Suasion will give you more money when selling items.

Hybrids have a special restriction: only the Arisen main character can use them. This means you will only have one in your party, and it must be controlled by you instead of an AI. As with Advanced Vocations, Hybrid Vocations require level 10 and some spent DP.

Mystic Knights are magical fighters, using medium armor and select either a sword, mace, or staff, and a magick shield in the off-hand. Note that unlike Mages and Sorcerers, Mystic Knights do not gain double stave skills since they already wield shields. Their stats are mostly average, with a slight lean towards HP. As with their base classes, they can use Levitate or Takedown depending on their weapon. For new skills, Magic Cannon can be used as a ranged onslaught, Stone Grove to launch enemies, Holy Aid to restore HP when blocking, and Thundercounter will bounce back elemental damage to the enemy. Your augments are great for helping downed pawns, such as Reinforcement and Retribution which will boost stats when you revive them.

Magick Archer is a spell slinger, using a mix of light armor and robes, daggers, staves, and special magick bows. Like with Mystic Knight, they only have a normal amount of skill when using a staff. Magick Archers have stats similar to a Mage, but a bit more ST and DEF and less MAG. As with their parent classes, Magick Archers can use Levitate or Double Vault. It is also good to get True Seeker Core skill True Seeker will increase shot speed. For attack skills, Ricochet Seeker will bounce around striking multiple enemies, Explosive Bolt will attach to a target before detonating, Ward Arrow will protect allies in the area from status effect, and Scension is a medium reach dagger attack that can restore HP. Most of their augments are situational, but Regeneration will restore lost life.

Assassins serve as the ultimate killer, wearing light armor along with a sword, daggers, a shield, or short bow. This allows them to have a custom mix of Fighter and Strider abilities, like a dagger-wielding tank. Assassins have the best STR but suffer from low DEF and MDEF. You will likely want to grab either Double Vault or Takedown from previous vocations. Intimate Strike is a good sword attack to keep you at close range, Staredown will boost your offense when using a shield, Easy Kill will allow a free dagger counterattack, Wind Harness greatly boosts speed, and Blunting Arrow will slow down enemies. Their augments Entrancement and Bloodlust will greatly increase offensive stats during night time.

There are lots of choices for your team. Remember, you only have direct control of yourself and your main pawn. Your two hired pawn comrades belong to other players, and how well they perform or are equipped depends on them. Always switch out party members for more cohesion.

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Dragon’s Dogma and Dark Arisen are available for Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Switch.

Kurtis Seid has been covering the game industry for over a decade. His published works have appeared on GameSpot, EGM, and App Annie. He also was a former editor for Electronic Arts' Origin platform.