Dragon's Dogma 2 Dragonsplague - Signs your pawns have it, dangers, and how to cure

For anyone who has been enjoying Dragon's Dogma 2, there's a potentially deadly illness spreading throughout the game's pawns - and it's beginning to get more and more common every minute. Dragonsplague is an illness that, as described in-game, is one which Pawns can contract through the Rift - and can have disastrous consequences. But how do Pawns catch it, how can you tell if they're infected, and how do you cure it?

What is Dragonsplague?

Simply put, Dragonsplague will infect pawns, making them stronger but also - crucially - unresponsive to commands. The one surefire way to tell if a pawn is infected is if they directly refuse to heed a command from the player. This can be confusing, as certain Pawn personality types might grumble when asked to do something - but they will normally never disobey your commands, regardless. If a pawn actively refuses your command, either dismiss them - if they're a summoned Pawn - or drown them if they're your main pawn ASAP.

While the consequences of the Dragonsplague aren't immediate, if left unchecked then the result can be disastrous. YouTuber Ruba showcased exactly what players can expect if they rest at an inn once a Pawn has reached the apex of the disease. The Pawn will transform into a malformed dragon, and murder NPCs in the town indiscriminantly. 

Needless to say, players will want to closely observe their pawns for signs of the disease, else they might suffer the dire consequences.

How can you tell if your pawn has Dragonsplague?

Beyond the more obvious changes, such as Pawns refusing to heed your commands, complaining about a headache, and wiping their forehead you can also tell if a Pawn has been infected by looking at their eyes. This is especially useful for your main pawn; if the color of their eyes has changed then you must immediately drown them to cure the Dragonsplague.

However, there is a saving grace. You can't get Dragonsplague in-game without receiving it from another Pawn. Despite reports stating otherwise, the game will warn you the very first time you come into contact with a Pawn with Dragonsplague. While you won't be warned for any instances beyond that, you can't catch Dragonsplague through anything other than an already infected pawn.

How do you catch Dragonsplague?

While it's hard to say with 100% certainty, our best guess is that anyone who clears the game's true ending and starts New Game+ without changing their main Pawn will start spreading the disease. Why we think this is the nexus is a bit of a spoiler, but we personally witnessed a friend of the site complete the game's True Ending, and the next time we summoned their Pawn it was infected. Considering some moments of the main story, this would make the most sense. This also means that Patient Zero for the disease was likely whomever completed the game and started New Game+ for the first time.

How do you cure Dragonsplague?

If the Pawn that is infected is not your main pawn, then you simply need to dismiss them to avoid spreading the disease. One of the ways that Dragonsplague can be cured is by having an infected Pawn spread it; so if the infection has spread, you should be safe to resummon the same pawn without much worry. Ironically enough, this means that players are likely incentivized to constantly swap out pawns, as that minimizes the possibility of the disease fully metastasizing. 

For your main Pawn, fully killing them - most easily done by drowning them - will also see them cured once they return from the Rift. This means that if players want to avoid a massacre, one surefire way to do so is to dismiss all your Pawns and kill your main one before resting at an inn. This is probably a bit extreme, but it will make sure that players won't have to worry about a possible disaster if they aren't sure if any of their party is infected.

If our theory that Dragonsplague is spread through New Game+ is accurate, this means that the disease will only grow in scope the more players that have finished the game, so keep an eye out in the days and weeks ahead. It's very possible to catch the disease early on and react accordingly, but the last thing anyone wants is to leave a bunch of NPCs in their game world dead. So stay vigilant, Arisen!