Dragon’s Dogma 2: How to Start the Dark Arisen DLC and Reach Norgan

The Dark Arisen expansion for Dragon’s Dogma 2 opens up through a single conversation in Vernworth, long before you finish the main story. Everything hinges on one dialogue option with Captain Brant, and then a short trek to the edge of the map where a griffin ferries you into the new region of Norgan.

Quick answer: Speak with Captain Brant at the Stardrop Inn in Vernworth after dark and select “About the new Arisen…” to begin the Chilling Tidings quest and head toward Norgan.

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Requirements before you start Dark Arisen

You can trigger the expansion on a first playthrough, a New Game Plus run, or a high-level save, as long as you have reached Vernworth during the Seat of the Sovran quest. There is one hard block: if your character is already in the post-game Unmoored World, the DLC cannot be accessed at all. In that case you must start a New Game Plus cycle or reset the character before Brant’s new options appear.

There is no minimum level gate, so the game lets you walk into Norgan early. It is not built for it. Enemies there deal extreme damage and can kill an unprepared party in a single hit, so the recommended levels below exist for a reason.

Content	Recommended level
Norgan (Forsaken Dominion)	40
Lost Rites dungeons	20

Reach at least Level 40 with well-trained gear before entering Norgan, especially on Hard Mode. Go in under-leveled and you will deal almost no damage.

Talk to Captain Brant in Vernworth

At night, you can find Brant inside the Stardrop Inn, a tavern in Vernworth’s market quarter positioned directly opposite Shakir’s Inn. If it’s still light, wait until after sunset; alternatively, speak to the barkeep or sit on the bench beside the balcony until night falls.

Travel to Vernworth and complete the fake interrogation sequence so Brant is available to talk to in the city.

Enter the Stardrop Inn at night and speak with Captain Brant. He presents his usual list of ways to boost your reputation as the true Sovran, now with two extra options marked by a download icon.

Captain Brant's topic menu in the Stardrop Inn with About the new Arisen and About the uncovered ruins, each marked with a download arrow — Brant’s menu: “About the new Arisen…” and “About the uncovered ruins…” carry a download-arrow mark.

Choose “About the new Arisen…” to start the Chilling Tidings quest.

Quest banner Chilling Tidings: Stay at Shakir's Inn, with Set as Priority Quest, shown during the talk with Brant — The quest is added as “Chilling Tidings / Stay at Shakir’s Inn.”

The menu entry itself shows no level number; the game recommends Level 40 and above for this quest, and Level 20 and above for the ruins quest, in its “Quests from Brant” notice.

The second new line, “About the uncovered ruins…”, starts the Lost Rites quest instead. That one leads to challenge dungeons scattered across the base game map rather than Norgan, and it is covered further down.

Follow Chilling Tidings to reach Norgan

Picking the new Arisen option does not drop you straight into the DLC. You run around the main map for a short stretch, speaking with a couple of NPCs, before the route north opens up.

Retire at Shakir’s Inn after talking to Brant. This triggers an ominous nightmare sequence. When you wake, the game points you toward a spot near Melve where a fallen monster was sighted.

Shakir at his inn counter with the choices Rest till Morning, Rest till Nightfall and Cancel — Shakir’s rest choices: “Rest till Morning”, “Rest till Nightfall”, “Cancel”.

Step 2 (optional): Visit Vernworth Castle’s jail and ask Magistrate Waldhar about Norgan. If you have not broken him out yet, he is in his cell. He gives extra background on what happened to Norgan, but this detour is entirely optional and can be skipped.

Go to the marked location. The quest’s description of it as near Melve is only partly accurate: the site is at the east end of the Malachite Forest. Cross the river near Trevo Mine’s northern exit, then follow the eastern shoreline to a broad clearing containing a waterfall and a fallen Griffin.

A white griffin lies on a pebble shore below a cliff while a man in dark clothes stands to the left of the Arisen — The fallen griffin on the shore, with Pekdre standing beside it.

Speak with Pekdre, the man standing beside the fallen beast. He warns you a few times about how dangerous Norgan is. Confirm that you want to go, and the Griffin carries you across the mountains into the region, officially starting the expansion.

Hail (Hold to Talk) prompt above the Arisen on a rocky slope beside the griffin clearing — “Hail (Hold to Talk)” on Pekdre: hold the key to start his warning.

You will know it worked when you arrive in the snowy Norgan pass and the DLC takes over.

Notice headed Norgan Portcrystals explaining that ordinary Portcrystals cannot be placed in Norgan and up to five Norgan Portcrystals may be placed — The “Norgan Portcrystals” notice: up to five can be placed in the Norgan region.

If you do not yet have an Eternal Ferrystone, the expansion hands you one automatically, and any Portcrystals on the main map remain freely travelable from Norgan so you can move back and forth.

Hostile bandits ambush you right as you enter Norgan. They hit far too hard to trade blows with early, so sprint past them down the road toward the Norgandian Settlement rather than standing to fight.

Banner Completed: Chilling Tidings at night in the Norgandian Settlement, with +5000 XP, Norgan Portcrystal and 10000 G at the right edge — In the Norgandian Settlement: “Completed: Chilling Tidings”, +5000 XP, a Norgan Portcrystal and 10000 G.

Lost Rites: the lower-level alternative

If Level 40 feels out of reach, the “About the uncovered ruins…” option with Brant starts Lost Rites, a set of challenge dungeons added across Vermund and Battahl. These carry a recommended starting level of 20, and clearing the first one grants the Proving Ground Compass. Using that compass from your inventory marks the remaining dungeons on your map.

Each dungeon imposes its own trial condition, such as entering with your main pawn only or with no enchanted weapons and elemental magic. Later dungeons also feature Spellseal Doors that stay locked until you have made enough progress in the main story, which eventually requires the Empowered Godsbane Blade to open sealed doors and ornate chests. Their main treasure rooms hold gear stronger than base-game endgame equipment, which makes them a sensible stop before committing to Norgan.

You do not need a fresh character for any of this. Since Norgan is designed as late-game content, continuing with a well-equipped existing Arisen, or rolling into New Game Plus if you have finished the main quest, is the smoother path. Reaching the recommended level, securing Portcrystals in Vernworth and Bakbattahl, and tuning your vocation and party will leave you far better prepared than simply triggering the quest and walking in.