DD stuff

DD General stuff:

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BEFORE STARTING NEW GAME
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- Install the game to HDD if you can. Much improved loading speed.
- The DLC store has two free DLC of interest; high-res texture pack & japanese voice pack.
    - High-res texture pack prettifies the game, but at the cost of actor load speed. FPS doesn't drop, but actors tend to load a little slower, ESPECIALLY in town. I recommend installing it, and if it annoys you, uninstall it.
    - The JP voice pack is an afterthought, and IMO it should be skipped, the EN voices are much better in this game (and are original voice).
- DON'T WAVE OFF THE BRIGHTNESS SETTING. This game makes VERY good usage of darkness, and "can't see shit" in the dark is very much integral to the gameplay of many areas. You can equip a lantern for light, and there are debuffs that put it out. The level design will also use darkness for ambushes / etc. Make sure you set it properly; too dark and the game is living hell, too bright and you're missing some of the best parts of its design.
- In the "Gameplay" tab of the Options menu, set the following:
   - Mini-map Rotation: Off
   - Button Guide Display: Off
   - Pawn Commands Display: Off
   - Cutscene Subtitles: Whatever
   - Pawn Subtitles: Off
   - Cinematic Camera: Off
   - Tutorial Message Display: Off
- Do not play on Hard. It will kick your ass. I do recommend playing through twice, and hard can be tackled on NG+.
- Turn on Online features (slow wifi is fine, as long as you have any line to the internet, it doesnt matter - no XBL gold required).

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CONTROLS
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- The controls aren't hard to get a hang of but for using skills it isn't clear with the UI help off.
A = Jump
B = Interact
X = Weak Normal Attack
Y = Strong Normal Attack
Then there are modifiers:
LB = Secondary Weapon Activate (aim bow, put up shield, etc)
RB = Primary Weapon

You have 3 skills for each equipped weapon. You can use them with RB/LB + B, X, Y.

The Dpad issues commands to your pawn:
Up = "Go Forward!"
Down = "Come here!"
Left/Right = "Help me!" (heal&buff for casters, "get shit off me" for melee)

R2 will grab stuff, or in the case of large monsters, Shadow of the Colossus them. Useful sometimes, but mainly you should be spamming skills.


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CREATING YOUR CHARACTER
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- Your voice isn't a huge deal, your character never speaks, so it's just the typical grunts.
- Don't miss the "Make more detailed edits" menu option.
- There are bonuses to going female, but I'm sure you would anyways, so I won't explain them all now.
- Taller characters walk faster, use less stamina to do stuff, and can carry more.
- Smaller characters regen stamina faster - almost 2x as fast! This bonus is huge. Plus small is cute. Carry weight can be offset with passive skills. "Walk faster" doesn't mean a whole lot, as you only walk when you're out of stamina to dash. Dash speed is always the same between big and small chars. So basically, a bigger character dashes, then has a long stamina refill time, but walks faster as stamina refills. Smaller characters dash, then walk a bit slower than bigger characters, but regen the stamina to dash again faster. THEREFORE, smaller characters are actually fastest at travelling over distances that take more than 1 stamina bar, which is basically everywhere.
    - ちびっ子一番！
- After you "fight the dragon" in the beginning, you can pick your class. Just don't select mage, strider & fighter are both fair game (strider is best). You can change your vocation once you hit the main town (Gran Soren) and are level 10.

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BEGINNING OF THE GAME
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- Don't play with more pawns than your main pawn! You will get a tutorial mage pawn - Rook. As soon as you create your main pawn, enter the Rift, and release Rook. That way it's just you and your main pawn.
- I can't stress it enough, NEVER RECRUIT A RANDOM PAWN, EVER. More pawns = Less fun, and everyone I've talked to agrees. Trust me on this. It makes the game a little harder, but WAY more fun.
- Until level 100, do whatever you want with your vocation, just experiment around. I really like Mystic Knight, and if you went MK, we could do cool stuff to make our pawns have compatible setups. But still, do whatever you want. (play MK, seriously, best sword and board character in any action game)
- Take quests on the questboard in the Inn, but avoid the Escort quests for the first few hours of playing. They're as stupid as they sound, and you'll probably fail them since they are also hard.
- Food spoils (IGT), so eat it or sell it before that happens.
- You will may have questions about the skill system as it isn't initially intuitive, but once you get it, it's really nice. Ask me for explains if you want.
- Towns people will lose affinity for you if you walk around with your weapon out or test skills in town. Careful. In the capital city, you will even get jailed for it (it's a pain in the ass jail system too).
- This game has a romance system (yes, same sex is possible), not very in-depth though (only really affects epilogue). Can discuss more in-depth later, but basically, be nice to all the girls you're interested in as you play, and do all their quests.
- DD has breakoffs, and they change both monster behaviour and your drops. The breakoffs aren't as plentiful as VP2, but they're way more in-depth and easier/more fun than Mabiheroes. Going for tails is always a safe bet, but a lot of boss mobs have unique ones.
- Enhancing equipment is very good, and should be done throughout the play.

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MAIN PAWN STUFF
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- You can preview the voice a little better by going into a facial option at char creation and doing "Show expression" until she says a line.
- When you go through the initial Inclination setting for your pawn, prioritize maxing out the "Utilitarian" bar.
- Make her a mage. When she hits Mage Vocation Lv9, make her a Sorcerer.
- After you create your pawn, touch the Rift Stone, find Rook in the area it takes you to, and release him. SERIOUSLY
- Enchants are VERY good in this game, they are a sizable damage multiplier. Holy is best, but all are worth using (but I normally just take holy and ice)
- In every Inn there's a "Knowledge Chair". Sit in it once each visit and talk to your pawn.
    - There is a lot to explain about your main pawn, the system is quite in-depth, but I will explain it all later.
- When you rest at an Inn, sometimes you'll see that other players used your main pawn, and a thing will come up allowing you to select how much RC you want. Always just take highest RC. In late game, sometimes people gift random players by giving your pawn tons of good shit, but for starting, RC is best.