Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a madly addictive mash-up of Minecraft and a JRPG. The building is fun, the writing is hilarious, and the visuals are pleasantly chunky and colourful. It's a really great game and I'm delighted to see it on PC.
It's also surprisingly deep, with a lot of systems to master and uncover, so here are a few quick tips to get you started on your adventure. And don't forget to check out our list of every recipe in the game as well.
Carry a bed
When you go out exploring, make sure you have a straw bed in your inventory. This means that if you're low on HP you don't have to use any healing items: just pull out the bed and take a nap, which fully restores your health. This also lets you snooze through the night when the monsters are more powerful.
Falling is fine
If you accidentally fall off something high you'll never die. A particularly nasty fall will drop your HP to 1, but that's easily restored with food or sleep. So if you don't fancy carefully making your way down from somewhere high up, don't bother: just dramatically leap off. You'll survive and save a lot of time.
Build a toilet
Yeah, seriously. When you build a toilet in a town you'll notice the villagers queuing up to use it, taking turns to dump their loads. If you pop in after them and access the pot you'll find stacks of a crafting material called Night Soil (yes, that is what you think it is) which can be used to create worm food and fertiliser.
Switch views
New to Dragon Quest Builders 2 is the ability to switch to a first-person perspective. This is particularly useful when you're tunnelling underground, which tends to send the standard third-person camera bit loopy. It also makes the experience feel more like Minecraft if that's your thing.
Defend yourself
Don't leave your settlement out in the open: building moats, walls, and fences won't keep enemies out entirely, but it'll dramatically slow their advance. And before a battle begins, make sure your combat-ready villagers are equipped with the finest armour and weapons your current list of recipes will allow.
Finish the story
The sooner you finish the main story, the sooner you'll have access to all of Dragon Quest Builders 2's vast collection of materials, tools, recipes, and blueprints. These are steadily unlocked as you progress through it, some quite late on, and once you have them all you can really get creative.
Build quicker
If you hold the build button down your character will stay facing in the same direction, which lets you quickly place blocks without having to position yourself each time. This means you can build a wall or whatever else in half the time, without worrying about any misplaced blocks messing your rhythm up.
Cook everything
Raw food will give you a small health boost in a pinch, but it's always better to carry cooked food around with you—especially in a fight. If you're being hammered by an enemy you'll be forced to use healing items, and eating a nice bowl of saucy spaghetti will heal you a lot more than a handful of raw kelp.
Help people out
If you see a red exclamation point hovering over a villager's head, that means they have a quest for you. These are often quite easy and you'll be rewarded with gratitude points that will ultimately contribute to your base level. A higher base level will give you access to new recipes, blueprints, and more.
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