Like any other RPG, Dragon’s Dogma 2 has a terminology all its own, and that can be quite daunting to new players. This includes terms like ‘Inclination’ and ‘Specialization’. What’s the difference? It’s simple really: Inclinations determine the general active behavior of your AI Pawns, while Specializations are passive skills that further fine-tune that behavior especially for non-combat situations. Here’s the complete list of Specializations in Dragon’s Dogma 2 ranked from best to least recommended.
Chirurgeon
A good Specialization to have on a non-magic support Pawn, especially as a backup to a natural healer. Chirurgeon Pawns will automatically use curatives on behalf of you and your other Pawns. Very handy, especially if your primary healer is preoccupied or gets cut down.
Forager
A great passive ability to have outside of combat, Foragers scout out materials and mark them on the map, easing your resource runs greatly. Combined with Simple, and you have a Pawn that is basically a resource vacuum, allowing you to travel between areas without too much interaction with the environment.
Woodland Wordsmith
While not urgent in the early game, eventually the Woodland Wordsmith Specialization will become very important to have when attempting to trade with the Elves in their native tongue of Elvish. Until you have an interpreter Pawn with this Specialization in your party, you will be unable to properly interact with the Arbor.
Logistician
This Specialization can be a hit or miss depending on your own gameplay style and preferences. Logisticians will craft materials automatically, using materials from the party inventory, as well as transfer items around, completely of their own volition. This can cause some issues when certain items are being held for a particular purpose. On the other hand, it deals with the minutiae of inventory management, especially in a game where some items decay over time. Complete the Heel Of History quest and get the Logistician’s Tome from Kendrick.
Hawker
The Hawker Pawn will basically act as a traveling merchant, except they are traveling right alongside you. They will randomly offer to buy excess inventory off of your player character. Since encumbrance is a consideration in Dragon’s Dogma 2, and weight can significantly affect travel speed and combat, this may come in handy on long journeys between actual merchants. However, it is wasted, especially if you can just properly manage your inventory, either yourself, or with a Logistician, as well as acquire as many Golden Trove Beetles as you can find, in order to increase your carry weight. The Hawker’s Tome is one of the simplest to get: just maximize Affinity with any vendor that has a large rucksack on their back.
Aphonite
This Specialization is strongly not recommended, as it almost completely silences your Pawn. While it’s understandable why it was included in the game, to serve players that dislike the constant companion chatter, it can have a debilitating effect on gameplay. Pawns will not communicate discoveries and lore, as well as worst of all, fail to alert when they are suffering from the Dragonsplague affliction.
That’s everything to know about all currently discovered Pawn Specializations in Dragon’s Dogma 2.