Dragon’s Dogma 2 has two main endings: The standard “Moored World” Ending and the secret “Unmoored World” Ending. There are also several sub-endings, this guide explains all of them.
Getting all endings unlocks the following trophies & achievements: Peace, Dragon’s Dogma 2, The Hero, I Talos, The Guardian, Closure.
In the final quest, Main Quest 16: Legacy, you will come to a point where you ride on a dragon’s back. What you do here decides the ending path you are put on. Riding the dragon to the end leads to the standard ending. Using the Empowered Godsbane Blade over the Dragon’s Heart (on its belly) leads to the secret ending and a new world map variant called “Unmoored World”. However, each ending path has a few special sub-endings too.
Before going to the endings you should be at least Level 45 (Level 60+ recommended). To level up fast: rest at the same campfire repeatedly, the more often you rest the more frequently you get ambushed by enemies. Defeat the enemies, sleep again, repeat. The Unmoored World bosses will instakill you at level 30-40 range. You’ll also want very good equipment, upgrade everything as far as possible.
It is recommended to do the endings in the order outlined below to get all of them in a single playthrough! After doing the standard ending, the game lets you go back to when you ride the dragon to do the other ending.
POINT OF NO RETURN WARNING: It’s highly recommended to make an Inn Save in Main Quest 14: A New Godsway, before giving the 15 Wyrmslife Crystals to the Magick Lab Researcher. This is your last chance to clean up side content. After this you will be locked into the ending path and a lot of things become unavailable. After the endings you can reload the last Inn Save from the Title Screen to be put back before the endings and clean up content, or you can proceed to New Game+ for the cleanup. If you are on PS5 you can also make a PS+ Cloud Save from this point (turn off Autosync so it doesn’t accidentally overwrite your Cloud Save).
Ending 1: Standard Ending – Moored World
In Main Quest 16: Legacy, when you ride the dragon just stay seated on its back and do nothing. Then you fight the dragon at the end. Its weakpoints are the head and heart, with the heart only becoming vulnerable for short periods.
After defeating the dragon you will be in the throne room of Vernworth while the credits play. What you do here determines if you get a trophy/achievement or not.
Sub-Ending 1: Become True Sovran of Vernworth
After the dragon endboss, when you’re in the throne room you must sit on the throne until the credits finish and the screen fades to black. This unlocks 
Peace for becoming the true Sovran of Vernworth. If you don’t sit on the throne you won’get this.
Sub-Ending 2: Don’t Become True Sovran of Vernworth
Simply don’t interact with the Throne and stand around elsewhere. In this case you won’t get an ending trophy at all. However, from the title screen you can choose to retry from the last save which puts you back in the throne room to do the other endings/trophies. If you just want trophies/achievements you can completely skip this ending as it doesn’t give a reward.
Sub-Ending 3: Change your Fate
After getting the first ending for Peace, in the Title Screen click “Load from Last Save” (don’t start New Game+) > you are returned to throne room > talk to the blue glowing man to the left of the throne > talk to him again in the crowd in the middle of the room > you will travel back in time to riding the dragon > proceed with the steps below for the Secret Ending path.
Ending 2: Secret Ending – Unmoored World
In Main Quest 16: Legacy, when you ride the dragon, climb to the orange glowing heart on its belly. Then open the inventory, use the item “Empowered Godsbane Blade” > press the interaction button to use it on yourself while hanging over the dragon’s heart. You will sacrifice yourself and it kills the dragon. You will then enter the Unmoored World and unlock 
Dragon’s Dogma 2. This is the “true” / “secret” ending path, the logo in the title screen now also changes from “Dragon’s Dogma” to “Dragon’s Dogma 2”.
The Unmoored World is a different version of the default game map. There is red fog everywhere, the water in the ocean has disappeared and you can run around the seafloor, and there are red beacons on the map. The red beacons are trials, which will open the final beacon at Seafloor Shrine. Interacting with the red beacon at the Seafloor Shrine will end the game, but if you want all trophies/achievements you should do all trials and save all people first (do it in the order outlined below).
Sub-Ending 1: The Hero / I, Talos
To complete all the trials in the unmoored world, you must complete them within 4 days. If you are not fast enough, each land will be destroyed one by one. The trials can be recognized by the red beacons shining from the sky. There are 4 trials in total, one of which is automatically completed as the first objective as soon as you get your pawn back in the Unmoored World. The ideal way is as follows.
Step 1: Reach the Unmoored World – as explained above. Caution: If you die in the Unmoored World you will respawn at the start of it and any progress made in the Unmoored World gets reset. You must finish all remaining steps in one life.
Step 2: Recover your main pawn. You do this by tracking side quest “Dreams Apart” going to Bakbattahl, in Forbidden Magick Research Lab upstairs.
Step 3: Now travel directly to Vernworth and complete the trial (red glowing dot on map) located to the left outside Vernworth. You can get there by going down the stairs in the north of Vernworth to reach the seafloor, then head south. The strongest boss in the game awaits us here, which is why it is recommended to pack Wakestones. The boss can only be killed by attacking its weak points or using an Unmaking Arrow. After The Boss is dealt with, Vernworth is saved. You must go straight to the next location. Caution: This boss will instakill you if you attempt it under level 30.
Step 4: Now travel to Sacred Arbor, where another red dot is on the map, northwest of Vernworth. The next boss awaits us there, but it is the easiest one. This is a worm. Here you have to attack the weak points again so that you can defeat him. Here you work your way from the tail to the head. Caution: This boss has instakill attacks if you attempt it under level 30.
Step 5: The next trial is right where you killed the Gigantus (where he dropped to his knees, on Agamen Volcanic Island southeast of Bakbattahl). Interact with him to get the I, Talos trophy. For this trial you simply have to watch the fight.
Step 6: Now Phaestus and the Pathfinder will show up, telling you of a final trial taking place in Bakbattahl. If they don’t show up automatically, simply head to Bakbattahl for the final trial. In Bakbattahl, head towards the red marker and then follow Phaestus until you can slay the dragon. IMPORTANT: As soon as you interact with the beacon, the game is over! After the cutscene you get the trophy that all trials have been completed.
Step 7: Since the world can no longer be destroyed, you can now explore the world. You should now bring all people to safety. For the next steps continue with the steps outlined below.
Sub-Ending 2: The Guardian
To get people to safety, you have to talk to all the leaders you met. However, it is advisable to complete all tests first so that the world cannot be destroyed. If you don’t take the tests, you have a short window of time to get people to safety.
Step 1: Complete the steps outlined above for 
The Hero to finish all trials of the unmoored world.
Step 2: Go to the Seafloor Shrine and interact with Rothias from within the BLUE beacon aura (NOT the red one). After talking to him, Luz will show up asking you to evacuate as many people as possible. Caution: DON’T interact with the red beacon, it will end the game!
Step 3: Travel to Vernworth and speak with Brant at the Inn. This will initiate side quest “The Regentkin’s Resolve”. Head to the castle and speak with Sven, who can be found in his room on the second floor of the castle. Enter it and take the staircase on your left, then head all the way down the corridor to find him in the last room on the right. He will talk to you. Now head for the next marker and use 
on Visa, Sven’s mother, and bring her back to Sven. Next, head down to the next objective, by the oxcart and intimidate Allard by grabbing him. He will flee because you scared him. Now simply head back to Sven and tell him that the oxcart is ready. Quest complete and Vernworth is evacuated.
Step 4: Travel to Sacred Arbor, the city northwest of Vernworth where you fought the worm boss. Here, speak with Glyndwr, the blonde archer elf found on the round platform at the entrance of the town. Follow him to his father Taliesin to convince him to evacuate his people. Bring a pawn with the “Woodland Wordsmith” specialization to understand him. Keep talking to him until he gives up. You have to sleep, talk to him again, he changes his dialogue each time you sleep, repeat until he gives up (sleeping 3 times at the nearby inn and talking to him each time after you sleep is enough). Alternatively, you can complete the side quest The Ailing Arborheart > Out of the Forest, Into the Forge, then after planting the seed return to Taliesin to complete this side quest and evacuate the Sacred Arbor.
Step 5: Travel to Bakbattahl and head towards the Flamebearer Palace. On your way, you’ll be stopped by Menella. If not, continue to the palace and talk to her (if she’s not there, make sure you completed the trials for The Hero in the same life without dying). Now you have to witness and end three different scuffles. Whether you end them with peace or violence doesn’t influence the evacuation of Bakbattahl. You can simply attack them all to break up the fights. Evacuating Bakbattahl also completes side quest “Civil Unrest”.
The Guardian may already unlock early here before evacuating the other people.
Step 6: Travel to Volcanic Island Camp and speak with Ernesto by the northern gate. He will want you to rescue Ciodhna and Gautstafr. Simply head to the mission marker and after a brief intermission between Ciodhna and Gautsafr, grab Gautsafr and Ferrystone your way back to the Camp. Carry Gautsafr to Ernesto to complete this part of the quest. Next, we need to convince Lamond to evacuate. After talking to Ernesto, intercept Lamond on his way to the hot geysers. Choose any of the dialogue options with him to get him on board the evacuation and you’ll have evacuated all Volcanic Island Camp and completed side quest The Importance of Aiding Ernesto.
Step 7: Head for the Excavation Site near the Volcanic Island Camp, defeat the Magick Golem and then talk to Henrique at the gate. Follow him to the nearby gaol and he will give you a key. Return where you met him at the gate and unlock the door of the second hut on the hill. Here, retrieve the Diminished Godsawy staff and return to Henrique. Doing so will evacuate the Excavation Site and complete side quest Shepherd of the Pawns.
Sub-Ending 3: Closure
After doing all the above, you can go to the red beacon at Seafloor Shrine and interact with it. The game will end once you interact with it. During the credits you’ll be walking on a dragon. After a while, the dragon will start spewing fire onto himself to kill you. When it does, you must stand on the ridges on its wings to avoid burning to death.
Then you get the “true” ending and the cycle ends. If you followed everything here, you should now have all ending trophies. If you kept an “Inn Rest” Save before the endings you can reload the Inn Save from the Title Screen to go back and finish your cleanup. Otherwise, you can choose to start a new playthrough from the Title Screen which begins New Game+. Your level and equipment carries over and you can change the design of your character. You get your equipment back in NG+ upon reaching the Borderwatch. Continue the main quests until reaching Vernworth, then you can freely explore the entire world again and finish any side quests or trophies/achievements you didn’t get in your first run.
For more guides check out Dragon’s Dogma 2 Wiki.
Felipe dos Santos says
Great content! Cheers for the creators.