DRAGON'S DOGMA 2 MOD LIST
-Updated May 9 2024
 
===ALWAYS DO ON UPDATE===
-After Steam updates the game, disable all package mods with Fluffy Mod Manager, verify integrity through Steam, then re-apply the package mods. You will also have to overwrite the vanilla files that you have manually overwritten before.
Updates happen automatically at the latest when the game is started with Steam online mode active.
 
===Backup Notes===
-You can make a small file size backup of the game, in case an update causes issues:
1. Disable all package mods with Fluffy Mod Manager
2. Copy everything except the big file with all the assets (re_chunk_000.pak).
3. To restore the previous version after an update has run, delete everything in the game directory except re_chunk_000.pak, then paste in your backup.
 
 

===Useful Tips===
 
-Shadow Quality: Going from High to Max fixes flickering and buggy shadows, but reduces performance by 5 to 15 fps (actually fps dropped from over 60 to 32 in my latest test)
 
-Uncapping gpu shader cache size may improve your performance (Nvidia Control Panel > Global 3D Settings > Shader Cache Size: Unlimited)
 
-Setting cpu priority for dd2.exe to high might improve performance for some, try it out in Task Manager first (best tested in Vernsworth city), then use registry to permanently enable this setting:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\DD2.EXE\PerfOptions]
"CpuPriorityClass"=dword:00000003
 
-DLL mods like Reshade or custom DLSS should be placed inside ReFramework's _storage_ folder, as well as the main game folder
 

 
===Mod Requirements===
 
-ReFramework
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/8
>fixes dll hooks (like Reshade) crashing the game at startup
>loads custom scripts
>option to disable vignette
>option to adjust fov
 
-Fluffy Mod Manager
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/1
>For loading .pak mods
 
-Reshade
https://reshade.me



 ===Tonemapping Fix===
Use one of these 4 solutions:
  
-Graphics Suite (latest, least intrusive)
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/693
>disable LDRPOSTPROCESS, DynamicrangeconversionEnable, EnableLocalExposure, and ExposureEnable
>get the linear LUT swap from Miscellaneous Adjustments

-Colorgrading Adjustments
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/568

-Reshade preset
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/94
>put DragonDogma2.fx from here in reshade-shaders/shaders
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/6
>put DaVinci.png from here in reshade-shaders/textures
https://sfx.thelazy.net/games/preset/12891/
>use this as Reshade preset

-Alternative Reshade setup (swaps in-game colorgrading with Capcom's "linear" texture)
https://sfx.thelazy.net/games/preset/12898/
>follow the instructions on the page



===Essential Mods to fix the game / make it enjoyable===
 
-Stop Selling Yourself
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/197
>stops pawns from locking you into conversations everywhere you go
 
-ShutUpPawns
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/248
>disable locking you into clapping animation after combat (this will prevent you from reliably gaining main pawn affection though)
>ability to turn off individual pawn lines with presets for annoyances

-Disable Mouse Acceleration
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/342
>for kbm, plugin to improve mouse input
AND EITHER
-Camera Adjustments
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/395
OR
-Proper Camera Controls for PC
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/169
>param edits, latter is kbm only
 
-High-Res Fire and Smoke
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/90
>the fire looks embarrassingly bad in a lot of situations; I consider this a fix
OR
-High-Res VFX
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/217
>AIO, includes High-Res Fire and Smoke

-Enhanced Shadowfiltering
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/489
>fixes very intrusive shadow artifacts / filters in a lot of situations
>the higher the smoothing filter is set, the milder the shadow flickering will become. Setting it to 3 is my current setting, setting it to 6 will soften shadows a lot but the flickering will be almost gone. You generally don't need a high softening value if shadows are set from High to Max (extreme framedrops).

-Quality Water
>appears to be broken at the moment
>turn off SSR in game since they look buggy
 
-Quality Raytracing
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/180
>Capcom set RT resolution to 40% which looks really bad
>either use this mod with a higher value (e.g. 0.8) or disable RT for gpu performance gain; the default makes no sense since it makes the game uglier
 
-DLSS and DLSS-G
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/333
>improves resolution scaling
>second option potentially improves framegen on 40 cards
>as for framegen on other GPUs, I have not found a mod that actually improves my performance without severely messing up the UI (using a 3090 TI)
 
-Pawns Survive Brine
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/365
>pawn ai is too stupid to handle cliff and water edges which leads to them dying incessantly in a regular playthrough
>this solves at least one of these issues

-Miscellaneous Adjustments
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/397
>prevents hired pawns from using ladder launch
>turn off pawns waving their hands and running off when a quest is active
>disable the obnoxious pawn death sound
 
 

===Additional Mods===
 
-Better UI
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/users/703937?tab=user+files
 
-Early n' Cheap Art of Metamorphosis
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/41
>that'll be $1.99
 
-A Smallman's Height Mod
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/25
>unlocks smaller heights down to 140cm

-Free Inn
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/142
>there are reports of players getting stuck and the game auto saving
>I have personally experienced the game invalidating and discarding (non-Inn) saves under various circumstances; Inn saves tend to still work in these cases
>rest at an inn whenever possible
ALTERNATIVE:
-Quick Save
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/632
>Be careful where you inn save

-Dragons Dogma II Auto Character Creator
https://github.com/Mx772/dragons-dogma-2-auto-character-creator
>allows you to apply character appearance as a macro
>data needs to be input manually once

-WarfarerIndicator
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/370
>makes switching weapons as warfarer less janky by immediately displaying the current class at the bottom
>don't forget to get the requirement as well: https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/234

-Unofficial Dragon's Dogma 2 Texture Patch
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/766

-HD Texture Overhauls
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/384
>had issues before, looks fine now
>only install if you have plenty vram and storage space to spare
>don't overlook the actor and equipment textures, arguably more important than the environment

-Custom Keybinds
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/297
>gets rid of keybind restrictions

-Cloudfix
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/519
>Basically blurs up the clouds / removes detail to get rid of the pixelization. It's a tradeoff.
>Graphics Suite offers rendering changes with some direct improvements to the clouds. Use that mod first, but change the preset ray count from 128 to 64 to improve framerate.

-Easier Scarlet Kisses
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/676
>fixes haphazard button mashing implementation of thief's attack skill

-Better Muscle Normals
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/746
>allows you to have some actual muscle definition



===Flavor===
 
-Custom Difficulty Tweaks
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/195
>lets you disable healing when knocked down / at 0 hp, among other things

-Disable Sharpening
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/224
 
-Stat Growth Adjustments
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/389
>disables vocation-based stat growth with various presets for more difficulty
>offers more build variety, playing as a Sorcerer is no longer a requirement for gaining magic damage

-No More Clipping for Robes and Invisible Sheathed Archistaves
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/465

-Pale blush
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/535
>tones down the cartoonishly exaggerated high affinity face blush; still won't fix max affinity Beastren pawns having their mouths permanently open, or characters contorting their faces

-Infinite Item Stacking
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/529
>removes a major late game annoyance that really should not be there

-Seamless Warfarer
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/678
>warfarer skill switch without the need to open ReFramework GUI

-No Stray Pawns
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/520
>allow at least 3 roaming stray pawns in the mod options to make +5 level riftstone pawns still appear

-True Shoulder Camera
https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/322
Can be used together with the camera mods on this list.