A highly ambitious Dragon's Dogma 2 mod is attempting to make the RPG far more challenging on New Game Plus mode.
'Epic Encounters' is the name of the fan-made creation over on NexusMods, and that name sure does do the mod justice. In short, the mod claims to rework "hundreds" of overworld encounters in Dragon's Dogma 2 to make them far harder for anyone playing on the RPG's New Game Plus mode, as a proper test of their combat skills and capabilities of working with their Pawns.
"This mod was created to challenge New Game Plus players with extremely difficult, hand-crafted, and flavorful challenges that require mastery of the game to overcome," the mod's description reads. There are around 600 encounters that have been modified throughout the game's four major areas and are designed to have the player working at level 60 along with three Pawns.
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"Wherever possible, I have tried to stay true to the 'flavor'/'lore' of each area/dungeon I am introducing encounters to. For example, in Waterfall Cave, you will meet a new encounter with a Skeleton Lord and his retinue, who, in their past lives, may actually have been adventurers seeking to find and destroy the powerful lich who resides there," the mod's creator further writes.
However, there are currently "significant balance issues" with elements like Vocations, items, and creature difficulties unless you install the other set of New Game Plus mods from its creator. Four additional mods on NexusMods are available to download in pairing with this one, which focuses on rebalancing elements like potions, weapons and armor, and Vocations.
Because this mod reworks the number of enemies you face in overworld encounters, it's recommended you download the additional mods to balance out said enemies. Fighting a horde of goblins won't feel particularly challenging if you haven't downloaded the mod that rebalances their attributes to give you a proper challenge, after all.
Unfortunately, this probably won't help with players complaining about the lack of enemy variety in Dragon's Dogma 2. Plenty of fans are tired of repeatedly clubbing the same goblins and wolves over the head, so if you're in that camp, you might actually want to rethink downloading this mod.
