Core Skills are skills that are tied to vocations in Dragon's Dogma 2 (DD2). See a list of all core skills in the game, the corresponding vocation they belong to, each core skill's effects, and more!
List of Contents
- List of Core Skills
- What are Core Skills?
- Related Guides
List of Core Skills
| Jump to a Vocation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fighter | Archer | Mage |
| Thief | Warrior | Sorcerer |
| Mystic Spearhand | Magick Archer | Trickster |
Fighter Core Skills
| Core Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Onslaught | Skill Effect: Unleashes a flurry of swift slashes with the sword.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Empale | Skill Effect: Thrusts blade forward in a forceful jab. Follows up with powerful successive strike if it connects with a foe who has been knocked off balance.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Defend | Skill Effect: Guards against attacks from the front with the shield. Some Stamina is consumed when an attack connects with the shield.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Deflect | Skill Effect: Deflects attacks back towards the target. While active, counterattacking consumes less Stamina.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| True Deflect | Skill Effect: Deflects attacks back towards the target with impressive might. While active, counterattacking consumes less Stamina.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 150 |
| Tusk Toss | Skill Effect: Traces a grand skyward arc with the blade, sending lightweight targets flying into the air.Rank Unlocked: 2 DCP Cost: 250 |
| Steeled Foundation | Skill Effect: Uses the shield to ease the impact from falling. Reduces fall damage and hastens recovery after a fall.Rank Unlocked: 3 DCP Cost: 400 |
| Enchanted Counter | Skill Effect: When using Defend while enchanted, automatically counters with an elemental attack corresponding to the enchantment.Rank Unlocked: 4 DCP Cost: 600 |
Fighter Vocation Guide
Archer Core Skills
| Core Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Loose | Skill Effect: Aims and fires an arrow at a nearby foe. Can be employed while moving. If employed while clinging to or pinning down a target, the user pierces the target with the arrow directly.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Front Kick | Skill Effect: Unleashes a swift kick that causes the target to flinch. Launches the user backward if the kick connects in mid-air.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Steady Shot | Skill Effect: Draws the bow carefully, allowing for precise aim. Can be employed while moving. Length of the draw affects arrow impact and distance flown.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Leaping Punt | Skill Effect: Delivers a weighty kick that can knock foes off balance. Launches the user backwards after it connects.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 150 |
| Parting Shot | Skill Effect: Fires an arrow while jumping back after performing a Leaping Punt or a mid-air Front Kick.Rank Unlocked: 2 DCP Cost: 250 |
| Swift Nock | Skill Effect: Enables the user to nock arrows more quickly when using Loose or Steady Shot.Rank Unlocked: 3 DCP Cost: 400 |
| Puncture Dart | Skill Effect: Draws the bowstring to its absolute limit before firing. Makes aiming more difficult, but allows arrows to pierce targets with greater impact.Rank Unlocked: 4 DCP Cost: 600 |
Archer Vocation Guide
Mage Core Skills
| Core Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Magick Bolt | Skill Effect: Fires a magickal burst that differs based on active enchantment. Can be cast while moving.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Anodyne | Skill Effect: Conjures a magickal curative sigil that recovers the health of the caster and their allies when in contact with it.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Focused Bolt | Skill Effect: Fires a condensed magickal burst that differs based on active enchantment.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 100 |
| Quickspell | Skill Effect: Greatly hastens incantation speed. Consumes Stamina while active.Rank Unlocked: 2 DCP Cost: 250 |
| Levitate | Skill Effect: Manipulates the caster’s weight through magickal means, allowing them to float temporarily.Rank Unlocked: 3 DCP Cost: 400 |
Mage Vocation Guide
Thief Core Skills
| Core Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Carve | Skill Effect: Delivers a flurry of dagger blows.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Twin Fangs | Skill Effect: Performs a deadly double strike forward, followed by a powerful successive strike if target is knocked off balance. Hold down to cling to larger targets or to pin down smaller flinching targets.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Swift Step | Skill Effect: Lowers stance and renders movement swift and light. Effective as an evasive maneuver.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Scarlet Kisses | Skill Effect: Unleashes a flurry of forward slashes.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 150 |
| Controlled Fall | Skill Effect: Tucks the body into a light roll when hitting the ground after being knocked down, allowing the user to swiftly regain their feet. Reduces damage taken upon impact.Rank Unlocked: 2 DCP Cost: 250 |
| Bump and Lift | Skill Effect: Robs the target of an item when an attack connects. Activates when using Carve, but has a low success rate.Rank Unlocked: 3 DCP Cost: 400 |
| Footpad | Skill Effect: Kicks off a wall, allowing the user to launch themselves a great distance.Rank Unlocked: 4 DCP Cost: 600 |
Thief Vocation Guide
Warrior Core Skills
| Core Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Mighty Sweep | Skill Effect: Sweeps in a horizontal arc. Holding the activation button turns the attack into a charged slash and makes the user less likely to flinch.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Stonesplitter | Skill Effect: Perform a mighty downward slash. Follows up with a powerful successive strike if it connects with a foe who has been knocked off balance.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Barge | Skill Effect: Rushes forward, tackling the target. Though limited in range, it can force the target to flinch. The user is less likely to flinch while it is active.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Bulwark | Skill Effect: Reduces damage taken from hostile targets during a charged attack.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 150 |
| Breakneck Strike | Skill Effect: Enables a charged attack to inflict greater harm by unleashing it the very instant it is fully charged.Rank Unlocked: 2 DCP Cost: 250 |
| Chain of Blows | Skill Effect: Employs the user's momentum to unleash an additional Mighty Sweep.Rank Unlocked: 3 DCP Cost: 400 |
| Repulse | Skill Effect: Parries a hostile target's attack by unleashing a charged attack that can knock the target off balance.Rank Unlocked: 4 DCP Cost: 600 |
Warrior Vocation Guide
Sorcerer Core Skills
| Core Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Magick Bolt | Skill Effect: Fires a magickal burst that differs based on active enchantment. Can be cast while moving.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Galvanize | Skill Effect: Rapidly recovers Stamina through single-minded focus. Can be employed while moving, but with reduced efficacy.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Bursting Bolt | Skill Effect: Stores up magick before unleashing it in a powerful burst that explodes sometime after connecting with the target. Effect differs based on active enchantment.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 150 |
| Quickspell | Skill Effect: Greatly hastens incantation speed. Consumes Stamina while active.Rank Unlocked: 2 DCP Cost: 250 |
| Levitate | Skill Effect: Manipulates the caster’s weight through magickal means, allowing them to float temporarily.Rank Unlocked: 3 DCP Cost: 400 |
Sorcerer Vocation Guide
Mystic Spearhand Core Skills
| Core Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Twein Cut | Skill Effect: Unleashes a flurry of swift slashes with the duospear.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Magike Cut | Skill Effect: Slashes and fires a magickal burst simultaneously. Follows up with a powerful successive strike if it connects with a foe who has been knocked off balance.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Redouted Bolt | Skill Effect: Fires a magickal burst that deals no damage but causes targets to flinch. Can be employed while moving.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Forbeding Bolt | Skill Effect: Alters the effect of Redouted Bolt so that it instead prevents the target's movement. Charging up magick before unleashing extends the effect. Can charge magick while performing other actions.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Scatering Bolt | Skill Effect: Disperses Forbeding Bolt after it has been unleashed, ensnaring hostile targets in the vicinity and preventing them from moving. Targets struck directly are restrained for longer.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 150 |
| Quik Fot | Skill Effect: Allows the user to instantly approach a target that was struck by Forbeding Bolt or Scatering Bolt.Rank Unlocked: 2 DCP Cost: 250 |
| Ferrene Bolt | Skill Effect: Extends the effective range of Redouted Bolt.Rank Unlocked: 3 DCP Cost: 400 |
| Winding Cut | Skill Effect: Spins the duospear forward, whirling and slashing through targets without pause. Repeatedly pressing the activation button spins the duospear faster. Can be activated while walking.Rank Unlocked: 4 DCP Cost: 600 |
How to Unlock Mystic Spearhand Vocation
Magick Archer Core Skills
| Core Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Quickfire | Skill Effect: Fires a trio of magickal arrows that disperse in a forward direction. Can be employed while moving. Pierces target with arrow directly if employed while clinging to or pinning down a target.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Conversion | Skill Effect: Alters ability of user’s magickal arrows. Choose: Pinpoint Volley that strikes multiple targets or multiple points on a target—OR Rivet Shot that attacks a single target or one point on a target.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Pinpoint Volley | Skill Effect: Takes aim at multiple targets or multiple points on a target before firing with precision. Can be employed while moving.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Rivet Shot | Skill Effect: Takes aim at a single target or a single point on a target before firing with precision. Can be employed while moving.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Climactic Arrow | Skill Effect: Increases harm inflicted with Pinpoint Volley and Rivet Shot if loosed the instant the bow is fully drawn.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 150 |
| Scopic Sight | Skill Effect: Extends lock-on range when using Pinpoint Volley or Rivet Shot.Rank Unlocked: 2 DCP Cost: 250 |
| Tracker's Sight | Skill Effect: Increases the maximum number of lock-on targets when using Pinpoint Volley or Rivet Shot.Rank Unlocked: 3 DCP Cost: 400 |
| Protracting Arrow | Skill Effect: After the user employs a fire, ice, or lightning weapon skill, that element is conferred to arrows loosed with Quickfire, Pinpoint Volley, and Rivet Shot. The effect persists for a short time.Rank Unlocked: 4 DCP Cost: 600 |
How to Unlock Magick Archer Vocation
Trickster Core Skills
| Core Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Beveiling Fumes | Skill Effect: Swings the censer, engulfing targets in smoke and drawing attention to the caster.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Effigial Incense | Skill Effect: Creates a simulacrum (an illusory figure that is identical to the caster) that draws the attention of hostile targets. Dissipates if continuously attacked or if too far away from the caster.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Invoking Essence | Skill Effect: Beckons the simulacrum to the caster’s location. Can also be employed while clinging to or pinning down a foe.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Effigial Snuff | Skill Effect: Dispels a simulacrum created with Effigial Incense.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Enthralling Aroma | Skill Effect: Possesses a hostile target with a simulacrum of the caster, drawing the ire of foes and causing them to attack each other. Can also be employed while clinging to or pinning down a foe.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 0 |
| Mending Vapor | Skill Effect: Slowly repairs damage incurred by a simulacrum while beckoning it to the caster.Rank Unlocked: 1 DCP Cost: 150 |
| Drifting Brume | Skill Effect: Swings the censer to conjure a cloud of smoke before unleashing it upon targets. The smoke can travel to reach targets that are not too far away, and draw the attention of any targets it engulfs.Rank Unlocked: 2 DCP Cost: 250 |
| Effigial Quickburn | Skill Effect: Hastens the speed at which a simulacrum is created when casting Effigial Incense.Rank Unlocked: 3 DCP Cost: 400 |
| Trailing Aroma | Skill Effect: Extends the distance that a simulacrum created with Effigial Incense can venture from the caster.Rank Unlocked: 4 DCP Cost: 600 |
How to Unlock Trickster Vocation
What are Core Skills?
Skills Learned to Improve Combat Performance
Core Skills are vocation-based unique skills that the Arisen and Pawn can learn. These skills add different perks to your vocation such as allowing shield blocks to deflect attacks (Fighter's True Deflect) to stealing items from enemies (Thief's Bump and Lift).
Does Not Consume Stamina
Unlike Weapon Skills, Core Skills do not consume stamina. This mechanic was true for Dragon's Dogma 1 and is still the case for Dragon's Dogma 2.
This means you can consistently use your vocation's perks such as the Fighter's Tusk Toss to repeatedly bring down aerial enemies without worrying too much about stamina management.
Dragon's Dogma 2 Related Guides
Dragon's Dogma 2 Wiki Top
Dragon's Dogma 2 Guides
| Dragon's Dogma 2 Wiki Contents | |
|---|---|
| Walkthrough | Quests |
| Vocation | Tips and Tricks |
| Weapons | Armors |
| Interactive Map | Romance |
| Character Creator | Pawns |
| Items | Augments |
| Monsters | NPCs |
| Weapon Skills |  Core Skills |
| Trophies and Achievements | Choices |
| Collectibles | News and Game Info |
| Updates and Patch Notes | Bugs and Errors |
Recommended Guides
| Popular Guides | |
|---|---|
| Portcrystal Locations | Missables |
| Stat Growth | Max Level |
| Seeker's Token Locations | Golden Trove Beetle Locations |
| Maister Locations | New Game Plus |
| How to Delete Save Data and Start a New Game | Best Equipment |
| Bosses | - |
