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It’s not just The Dragon that’s after your heart in Dragon’s Dogma Dark Arisen. A whole lineup of NPCs are also there just waiting for you to woo them. It goes without saying that Dragon’s Dogma Dark Arisen even has its own romantic mini-game. It’s unconventional, however, and a little bare, but if that’s something you want to pursue as a distraction from clinging onto monster legs, then here’s our romance guide for Dragon’s Dogma Dark Arisen.
Who Can You Romance in Dragon’s Dogma Dark Arisen?
Dragon’s Dogma Dark Arisen actually gives you more romance options compared to other RPGs, but don’t expect them to be fleshed out. It’s called the ‘Beloved’ system, and you can choose your special person in-game.
There are almost no special animations for all of them, so don’t expect much. Actually, it’s easier to list who isn’t available for romance. These guys are not ready to mingle:
- The Duke
- Pawns (except for Barnaby, Jonathan, and Selene)
- The Dragonforged
- Sofiah
- Edmun Dragonsbane
- Anyone from the Bitterblack Isle
Everyone else is available for you. But again, don’t expect a fully fleshed-out romance system in Dragon’s Dogma Dark Arisen. At best, the ‘Beloved’, or whichever you form an affection with whether accidentally or intentionally, is just there to be kidnapped by The Dragon during the final main quest boss battle.
Certain characters are more likely to become your Beloved either because the game keeps pushing them into your view or because they have specific questlines that help you form a bond with them:
- Aelinore
- Julien
- Madeleine
- Mercedes Marten
- Quina
- Reynard
- Selene
- Valmiro
How to Pick a Beloved in Dragon’s Dogma Dark Arisen
If you want someone of note instead of just picking a random NPC to be kidnapped by The Dragon just because you looked at them nicely, then you might want to limit your choices to the eight characters we mentioned above.
The game will choose the Beloved for you based on your Affinity with the characters. Sadly, there might be instances when you have multiple characters with maxed-out Affinity and you might become uncertain who the Beloved will be among them.
In such cases, the game will consult its own picking mechanism to determine your Beloved. So, essentially, it can be random if you’re too friendly with everyone. If you want to maximize your chances of picking a specific Beloved, here are some tips:
- You can lower a Beloved candidate’s Affinity by hitting them or by picking them up and throwing them. Lowering an NPC’s Affinity can eliminate them from the prospect pool for the Beloved.
- You can gift your target Beloved character the Arisen’s Bond item to max out their Affinity (if it isn’t already). Arisen’s Bond is a special ring you can obtain from The Dragon’s Tongue sidequest.
- To deplete a character’s Affinity with you and quickly eliminate them from your Beloved choice pool, you can gift them the Liquid Effluvium item (bought from Barroch in Bitterblack Isle).
Whatever you do though, don’t fail the quest of your target Beloved. It’s an effective way to turn them off and blow your chances.
