Dragon’s Dogma 2: Best Trickster skills and augments

Best Trickster skills and augments in Dragon’s Dogma 2

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom

Interested in the best Trickster skills and augments in Dragon’s Dogma 2? Of all the vocations in Dragon’s Dogma 2 , the Trickster is the trickiest, pardon the pun. Instead of attacking with a weapon, the Trickster is all about baffling opponents with trails of smoke from the Censer, a special tool exclusive to the class. This is perhaps the hardest vocation to use well in Dragon’s Dogma 2 , but those who enjoy playing support roles and watching confused enemies fight amongst themselves may find that the payoff to studying the Censer’s smoke is worth it.

Whether you’re looking for info on unlocking the Trickster or are simply curious about this vocation’s unorthodox style, we’re here to help. In this guide, we’ve delved into the best Trickster skills and augments, giving you the rundown on what you need to let the smoke fly.

Before we begin, it’s worth noting that the Trickster is an advanced vocation, and not accessible at the start of Dragon’s Dogma 2. See our guide on how to unlock the Trickster for more information.

In this guide:

• Dragon’s Dogma 2 Trickster weapon skills
• Dragon’s Dogma 2 Trickster core skills
• Dragon’s Dogma 2 Trickster augments

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Dragon’s Dogma 2 Trickster best weapon skills

The Censer technically can be swung about like a flail to deal damage, but when used in this fashion it is incredibly weak. Its strength lies in mastering the AoE, buffing, and debuffing techniques that arise from its depths.

That said, unlike most other vocations in Dragon’s Dogma 2, you absolutely need a decent party of pawns to take advantage of the Censer’s weapon skills. Honestly, two melee attacking pawns are a requirement. (Take a peek at our Dragon’s Dogma 2 best vocations guide for some hints on which vocations are best for pawns.)

Sweeping Shroud

The only weapon skill immediately available, Sweeping Shroud makes your Trickster diffuse smoke across the playing field in a wide arc. The smoke will attract the attention of any enemy it touches, and Sweeping Shroud should almost always be used in tandem with Effigial Incense, a core skill described below that creates a smoky decoy of you. When used together, Sweeping Shroud brings in the enemies, who then attack your Effigial Incense simulacrum, ideally throwing them off guard to strikes from your pawns.

It’s all about sending out a wide array of smoke when you’re playing as the Trickster. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom

It’s an unusual first skill, especially compared to other vocations who get easier-to-understand attacks. But if you play around with Sweeping Shroud a bit, you should get the hang of it before upgrading to Suffocating Shroud , a more advanced version that diffuses smoke over a wider area.

Delusory Screen

Delusory Screen is a crowd control ability that conjures an illusory wall, blocking foes and hindering their field of vision. Use this to segment tougher enemies away from you and your weaker pawns. It’s especially useful to keep enemies from running off and inadvertently attracting more allies to an already crowded battle.

Ranking up the Trickster vocation gives you access to Illusive Divider , a more advanced form of Delusory Screen that allows for up to two walls to be manifested at once.

Aromatic Rally

Aromatic Rally and its stronger cousin, Aromatic Resurgence , send out smoke that buffs the offensive power of all allies in the vicinity in exchange for sapping their health at a steady rate. It’s especially useful when you need your Fighter and Warrior pawns to go into berserker mode, in other words. The health sap is annoying, but if you’ve got a Mage in your party, you can have them spam Anodyne to heal everyone.

Latching Effigy

True Tricksters don’t need to fight - they get their opponents to fight amongst themselves. Latching Effigy is just the ticket, letting you temporarily possess an enemy with one of your smoky simulacrums created via Effigial Incense, a core skill described below. It’s pretty amusing to watch a saurian bonk another saurian on the head after using this skill, but you’ll also want to upgrade it to Binding Effigy as soon as you can to send your simulacrum out at farther ranges and with an increased speed.

Fickle Floor

Fickle Floor is used perfectly in the trailer that first introduced the Trickster vocation. In it, a Trickster uses their smoke to create a horizontal platform across a gap. The Trickster then removes that bridge, making a bunch of goblins fall to their early demise.

As you can surmise, when used well, this skill is hilariously devilish. When used poorly, it’s a bit useless. But that’s just how the Trickster vocation goes! At the very least, be sure to upgrade Fickle Floor to Tricky Terrace for the ability to conjure two platforms at once.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Trickster best core skills

In Dragon’s Dogma 2, core skills represent the essential foundations of each vocation. While other vocations offer varied core skills, most of the Trickster’s revolve around one basic building block - Effigial incense.

Effigial Incense

We mentioned this skill earlier when discussing Sweeping Shroud and Latching Effigy, but if you’ve forgotten, Effigial Incense is used to create a decoy of yourself. This manifestation will come in tremendously handy when you need to fool enemies, and is possibly the most important skill in the Trickster’s entire arsenal, since so many other abilities are dependent on it.

Meet my Effigial Incense double! He takes a lot of sword and club swipes that would otherwise kill me. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom

Be aware that your Effigial Incense clone will dissipate if it’s attacked too much, or if you wander too far from it. You can dispel your simulacrum with the core skill Effigial Snuff , if you so desire.

Invoking Essence

Invoking Essence is used to bring your Effigial Incense simulacrum to your location. It’s handy to invoke this skill in a jiffy when you’re jogging across the battlefield and need your decoy (and all of the enemies attacking it) to travel with you. It can also be used when clinging onto or pinning an enemy, though to be honest, I don’t do too much of either when I’m playing as a Trickster!

As you can see, my simulacrum is drawing aggro for me while I make a mad dash to the exit. I should probably use Invoking Essence to bring him along with me. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom

Mending Vapor

Your Effigial Incense simulacrum will take a lot of punishment as it soaks up damage for you, and to keep it standing strong in its incorporeal form, Mending Vapor is the ticket. This core skill slowly repairs any damage incurred by the simulacrum, while also beckoning it to your side.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Trickster best augments

Augments are passive boons that unlock as you rank up your Dragon’s Dogma 2 vocations. The Trickster’s augments focus largely on non-combat capabilities, and I like the following two the most.

Enlightenment

Enlightenment gives you a chance to create more than one result whenever you combine items together. Don’t ask me how the Trickster does this, but it’s nice to end up with two curatives when I only expected one.

Obfuscation

Obfuscation decreases the likelihood that hostile targets will detect you when you’re not in a battle stance. It’s handy for staying in the shadows, which is exactly where the Trickster belongs.

That concludes our look at the Censer shenanigans that make up the Trickster’s skills and augments. For more on tackling the wild world of Dragon’s Dogma 2 and becoming the legendary Arisen that all your pawns praise you as, keep your eyes on Rock Paper Shotgun as we delve into all the other Vocations of this epic adventure. You can start with our deep dive into the magical ways of the Mage , the smooth firing of the Archer , the sword and shield tactics of the Fighter , or the shifty dagger action of the Thief . For more advanced vocations, check out our guide to the greatsword swings of the Warrior , the extreme magick of the Sorcerer , the Duospear slices of the Mystic Spearhand , the bow spell combos of the Magick Archer , or the many weapon skills of the Warfarer .

Dragon’s Dogma 2

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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