Romance - Dragon's Dogma 2 Guide - IGN (2024)

Love never comes easy, but the Dragon’s Dogma 2 romance system is particularly tricky. If you don’t know how to find an NPC to romance, don't use the affinity mechanic, or fail to complete the tasks necessary to develop that romance, you may miss out on a love story entirely.

This Dragon’s Dogma 2 romance guide will show you all the romance options in the game, how to increase affinity, and how to get a romance scene with an NPC.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Romance and Affinity Explained

In Dragon’s Dogma 2, you can build affinity with almost any NPC you encounter. Increasing an NPC's affection for you will make them blush when they see you, leave gifts at your door, and get you a discount if they’re merchants. That said, you don’t get any romantic interactions or special cutscenes with these NPCs, so beware that this isn't a "romance system" where they become your special life partner as part of the story.

As for the true Dragon’s Dogma 2 romance options, the ones that do lead to a declaration of love and a special cutscene, there are only two: Ulrika and Wilhelmina. You need to complete a bunch of quests and raise their affinity to unlock them as romantic partners. If successful, you’ll get a romance ending with that character.

Tip: Ulrika and Wilhelmina's romance scenes can no longer be unlocked if you've advanced too far in the main story. You must do them before heading to Battahl!

To sum up, here's what you gain by building affinity with/romancing Dragon's Dogma 2 NPCs:

• The NPC will gain the visible "blush" effect.
• The NPC may come to your house and follow you around.
• The NPC will bring you gifts. If you aren't home, they'll leave them at the door (see picture below).
• If the NPC is a merchant, they'll give you a discount (usually 10%) on all their stock.
• If it's Ulrika or Wilhelmina, you'll get a romantic ending to their storylines.

Your greatest fan, meaning the NPC with the highest affinity, will also play a small role at the end of the main story. Click on the spoiler if you want to know how this works:

How to Build Affinity

Found an NPC you’d like to build a bond with? Here’s what you should do: make sure you’ve spoken to this NPC at least once, then open your menu and scroll to the ‘history’ tab. Click on the NPC Logbook, and find the NPC you want to bond with. Below their ‘gender’, ‘race’, and ‘residence’, you will find the NPC’s likes. This will tell you the type of gifts they prefer: beautiful items, fancy items, rare items, etc. In the example below, the NPC called Denny likes interesting and fancy items.

With that knowledge in mind, exit the menu and initiate a conversation with the NPC again, then press the “gift” button. This is usually the ‘X’ on a controller and the ‘Y’ on a keyboard.

Make sure you choose a suitable gift! If you give something the NPC dislikes (such as rotten fruit or dried flowers), their affinity for you may actually decrease. In Denny’s case, a Poison Pinion or a Spellbook would make a great gift, as they count as an “interesting item” and "fancy item" respectively.

Take a look at our Dragon's Dogma 2 gift guide for more information on gift types and the corresponding items.

How to Reach Max Affinity

So, how many gifts does it take to reach max affinity in Dragon's Dogma 2? This seems to differ depending on the NPC and how well your gifts match their personal preferences, but four to six gifts is usually enough. Beware that affinity has a daily cap, which means you should only give one gift per day.

Unfortunately, the game doesn't tell you how much progress you've made - there's no such thing as an 'affinity tracker'. You simply need to be patient, keep bringing gifts, and at some point, the NPC will suddenly start to blush. This means you've reached max affinity. The picture below shows Bakbattahl merchant Whitney at max affinity:

If you're having trouble, here are a few tips to help you reach max affinity:

• As the game doesn't explain how the daily gift cap works, it's safest to wait a full day (24 hours) rather than give an item in the evening and another one in the morning.
• Try giving different items. Even if an NPC seems happy with your gift, just giving the same item over and over again may not be enough to reach max affinity. To reach max affinity with Denny, for example, bring him various monsters parts and spellbooks instead of just spellbooks.
• Almost every NPC seems to like a Bunch of Flowers. Although you can find this item in the wild, there's a merchant in Bakbattahl who sells Bunch of Flowers for 1,000 gold (decreased to 900 gold if you max this merchant's affinity).

The NPC who sells Bunch of Flowers is located in the Residential Ward in Bakbattahl:

How to Romance Ulrika

To romance Ulrika in Dragon's Dogma 2, you need to complete the quests listed below. Click on the quest names for a detailed walkthrough.

• Play through the main story until you receive Brant's quests in Vernworth. Then do the quest called An followed by Monster Culling. Do not complete the Feast of Deception quest yet! It'll be very useful to activate the Portcrystal in the middle of the city and get a ferrystone to easily travel back later.
• Monster Culling will take you to Harve Village, where you must do the Scaly Invaders side quest (leave the quest open when it asks you to come back in a few days - we'll return here later). Again, don't forget the activate the Portcrystal before leaving.
• Return to Vernworth and pick up the Oxcart Courier quest in the northern part of the city. This will take you back to Melve.
• Upon reaching Melve, you'll find that it's under attack by a dragon. Defeat the dragon to start the Readvent of Calamity side quest. During this quest, you'll need to locate Ulrika, who is in Harve Village. You can complete Scaly Invaders once you've returned there.
• After meeting up with Ulrika and before you return to Melve, buy four swords, as you'll need them later on (any sword will do, so go for cheap ones). Make sure a few days have passed, and you'll be able to pick up the Home Is Where the Hearth Is side quest in Melve (this requires the swords to complete).
• Return to Harve Village after a few days to trigger the next side quest, Trouble on the Cape, and complete this one as well.

There's usually no need to raise Ulrika's affinity by bringing her gifts, as the quests will already do that for you. Still, it's wise to bring a Bunch of Flowers near the end of the questline just in case; one such gift should be enough to ensure max affinity and make her your "beloved".

The most important thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn't enter Battahl in the main story before romancing Ulrika - once the Nation of the Lambent Flame quest has begun, you'll still be able to find Ulrika in Melve and speak with her, but the dragon attack won't trigger anymore.

Once you've completed the quests listed above, you can find Ulrika on one of the docks in Harve Village and approach her to trigger the romance scene.

How to Romance Wilhelmina

To romance Wilhelmina in Dragon's Dogma 2, you need to do a bunch of quests around Vernworth. Click on the quest names listed below for a more detailed walkthrough.

• Upon reaching Vernworth and starting Brant's quests, do the one called An Unsettling Encounter. When leaving Allard's room at the end of the mission, make sure you exit the room through the window, as you'll meet Wilhelmina below.
• Meet up with Brant and do The Stolen Throne quest. Beware that you'll need clothes befitting of a royal masquerade to advance this quest, so take a look at our guide on how to find courtly clothes if you don't have any yet. At the end of this quest, you'll meet Wilhelmina again and she'll give you access to the Rose Chateau Bordelrie.
• Return to the Bordelrie after a few days and find Wilhelmina's room, which is on the higher floor. Go up the winding staircase, then through the door opposite the hall - Wilhelmina won't be there, but if you interact with the small picture around the corner on the right, you will see her together with Allard.
• Offer to help Wilhelmina with her Allard issue to start the Every Rose Has Its Thorn quest. Completing this quest will lead to a romance scene at the end.

Once you've done The Feast of Deception quest, Wilhelmina will no longer be available as a Dragon's Dogma 2 romance option, so don't be too hasty!

You don't need to give Wilhelmina additional gifts, as the quests should already raise her affinity to the max. If you'd nonetheless like to give her something, she likes adorable and beautiful items.