If you are diving into Capcom's massive fantasy RPG, there is one catastrophic event that every player needs to be prepared for. A viral gameplay mechanic called Dragonsplague is currently infecting Pawns, turning your trusted companions into ticking time bombs. If left untreated, this devastating illness leads to the sudden slaughter of entire city populations overnight. Finding a reliable Dragon's Dogma 2 Dragonsplague cure is an absolute must if you want to protect your save file. Whether you are consulting a Dragon's Dogma 2 beginner guide or you are a seasoned veteran, understanding this affliction will save you from a catastrophic loss of merchants, quest givers, and innocent townsfolk.

What is the Dragonsplague?

Dragonsplague is a highly contagious, hidden affliction that exclusively targets Pawns. Companions can contract the sickness by fighting drakes and dragons—specifically when caught in a dragon's mind-control grab attack—or by traveling with another infected Pawn. It acts like a deadly game of hot potato. The sickness jumps from host to host when you rest at campsites. If you make the mistake of sleeping at a town inn or a player-owned house while a Pawn is in the terminal stage of the disease, a horrific cutscene triggers. Your companion transforms into a shadowy dragon, initiating a town-wide wipeout where almost every NPC is killed.

DD2 Pawn Symptoms: How to Tell if Pawn Has Dragonsplague

Spotting the illness early is the only way to prevent disaster. The game does not give you a traditional status bar or UI warning, meaning you have to rely entirely on visual and behavioral cues. If you are wondering how to tell if pawn has Dragonsplague, keep a close eye on these early DD2 pawn symptoms:

  • Glowing Red Eyes: The most prominent visual indicator is a subtle red pulsation in the Pawn's eyes. As the disease progresses, the glow becomes an angry, permanent red.
  • Defiant Behavior: Infected Pawns will blatantly ignore the Arisen's commands. They may sit down on the ground or deliver uncharacteristically sassy dialogue like expressing that you do not need to order them around.
  • Physical Pain: You might catch your companion holding their head in agony, as if fighting off a massive migraine while idling.
  • Increased Aggression: Infected Pawns actually receive a temporary boost in combat power and behave far more aggressively during enemy encounters.

The Official Dragon's Dogma 2 Dragonsplague Cure

Unlike standard status effects, you cannot drink a potion or visit a healer to remove this ailment. If you want to rid your party of the disease, you have to take drastic measures. If you notice a hired support Pawn exhibiting signs of the sickness, dismiss them immediately and send them back to the Rift before they can pass the infection to your Main Pawn.

If your Main Pawn is the one infected, the community has adopted a brutal but necessary Dragon's Dogma 2 Dragonsplague cure: the Brine. You must forfeit your companion by throwing them into deep water, allowing the red tentacles of the Brine to consume them. Alternatively, you can let them fall in combat and allow their revival timer to bleed out. Once they are fully dead, simply interact with any Riftstone. Your Main Pawn will respawn completely cleansed of the disease.

Another strategy often mentioned in Dragon's Dogma 2 tips and tricks is isolating the infection. Because the plague jumps from one companion to another when you set up camp in the wilderness, you can purposefully sleep at a campfire to force the disease off your Main Pawn and onto a hired recruit. Once the transfer is complete, simply dismiss the newly infected recruit. Your Main Pawn is instantly cured without ever needing to touch the Brine.

Dragon's Dogma 2 Town Massacre Fix: How to Revive Dead NPCs

Let us say you missed the warning signs. You rested at the Vernworth inn, the cinematic played, and you woke up to a city filled with corpses. Soft-locked quests and empty vendor stalls might make you want to delete your save, but there is a reliable Dragon's Dogma 2 town massacre fix. First, standard Wakestones can be used at the local Charnel House or Morgue. For a gold fee, the gravekeeper will help you locate the coffin of specific critical NPCs, allowing you to use a Wakestone to bring them back. However, doing this for a whole town is virtually impossible given the scarcity of standard Wakestones.

The Eternal Wakestone Solution

If you want to know how to revive dead NPCs DD2 en masse, the ultimate answer lies hidden in the mountains. By tracking down the mythical Sphinx and successfully completing her intricate riddles, you are rewarded with the Eternal Wakestone. This uniquely powerful, single-use item features a massive area of effect. Taking it to the center of a massacred settlement and activating it will resurrect the entire population simultaneously.

As a final backup among Dragon's Dogma 2 tips and tricks, some players have found success by simply waiting. If you rest on a bench or at a distant campsite for one to two in-game weeks, non-essential NPCs and merchants will eventually be replaced by new citizens, bringing the ghost town back to life naturally.