DD2 How to get into Battahl and find Bakbattahl

There's so much to discover in Dragon's Dogma 2 that it's easy to get lost in just the opening area. However, what already seems like a sprawling open-world is just one part of Dragon's Dogma 2's huge map.

To the south of Vermund is the mysterious desert country of Battahl, filled with even more caves to explore, secrets to unearth and loot to collect.

The Arisen can't just wander into Battahl whenever they please though - there are a few important steps you need to complete first. Here's what to do.

How to enter Battahl in Dragon's Dogma 2

To get into Battalh, you first need to have completed the first four main story missions you collect from Captain Brant, including Monster Culling, The Caged Magistrate, The Nameless Village, and The Stolen Throne

You then need to have attended the coronation ceremony during the Feast of Deception quest to get an entry permit which allows you to pass the fortress gate. But, if you're playing as a human, there's a problem: the permit is for a Beastren merchant.

To get around this, go to the northwest Oxcart station in Vernworth and travel to the Rest Town for 200g, defeating any ambushes along the way.

At the rest town, look for the Scrap Shop in the left-hand corner on the map. Pick up the Beastren mask for 8700g - a hefty price, but hopefully not an exorbitant one at this point in the game - and don it before following the thick path around to the fortress gate.

Show your pass to the guard and you will now have a whole new part of the map to explore.

Head south along the thick, main road from the Rest Town fortress gate, and it will eventually lead to the city of Bakbattahl - no need to mess around with any of the capillary-like trails snaking out from the main route.

Alternatively, you can take an Oxcart from the station just on the other side of the fortress gate.

Along the way you’ll likely encounter a quest asking you to deal with the Coral Snakes gang, which is a relatively straightforward mission, as well as scattered monster cull and escort missions.

I found an escort mission that asked me to guide a soldier to the nearby Reverent Shrine. There I unlocked the Trickster vocation by buying a fortune.

The road to Battahl is relatively “dangerous” with numerous encounters with monsters and bandits - however, I found it relatively lacking in mini-boss style enemies like cyclops, ogres, minotaurs and the like.

When you get close to Bakbattahl, you can ride the rest of the way on the system of cable cars set up by the locals to get around, which is a lot of fun. Then you can finally enter the city proper and sample its great shops and make headway with its massive roster of quests.