Capcom’s RPG makes getting around its map difficult — whether by oxcart or Portcrystal — but that’s part of the game’s charm
If you just started Dragon’s Dogma 2, it might have come as a shock that this sprawling open-world, role-playing epic is missing one common feature: fast travel. Well, it’s not quite missing, but it’s extremely limited in ways that run counter to the normal rhythms of this hugely popular genre.
The way it usually works in open-world games is this: You set forth on an adventure, heading out to unexplored regions. As you explore, you unlock fast travel points that make it easy to return to those areas. It takes a matter of seconds to get back to town when you need to rest, shop, or turn in quests. Even in games that prioritize organic exploration and discovery — like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom — fast travel is available, and usually free. It’s just accepted as a necessary addition to make these huge game worlds manageable.
Dragon’s Dogma director Hideaki Itsuno and his team at Capcom feel differently about it. In keeping with the many ways Dragon’s Dogma 2 intentionally makes your life difficult — restricting game saves to prevent save-scumming, for example — the approach to fast travel puts realism and immersion over convenience.
There are, in fact, three automatic travel options in the game: oxcarts, ropeways, and Portcrystals. Most wouldn’t really call oxcarts fast travel since they’re painfully slow, only run along a few set routes between towns, and, although you can nap to pass the time, your journey might be interrupted by bandit or monster attacks. Ropeways come with their own hazards, as they’re subject to aerial attack — and it’s a long way down.
Portcrystals resemble traditional fast travel, but with a couple of huge caveats. You need to use a Ferrystone to warp to one, and these are a very rare and precious resource. There are only a handful of Portcrystals in major locations across the entire game. If you can obtain your own Portcrystal you can place it wherever you like, but these items are rarer still.
All this means that during general play, fast travel is out, either because it’s too expensive or too inconvenient.
