Dragon’s Dogma 2 | How to Unlock Magick Archer Vocation and Maister Skill

Dragon’s Dogma 2 is full of incredibly fun and diverse Vocations that you or your Pawns can train in to completely change the way that you play the game: from the long-ranged Archer who can use various kinds of arrows to inflict status effects, to the monstrous Warrior who can use weapons often larger than their own body to skewer their foes, to the mystical magic of the Sorcerer which can be used to either aid or destroy, there’s a lot of classes in Dragon’s Dogma 2 to learn. One of the most interesting, and desirable, Vocations in Dragon’s Dogma 2 is the Magick Archer.

As the name implies, Magick Archer takes the long-ranged, precision-focused play style of the regular Archer and spruces it up with some delightful magical enhancements. With an automatic targeting system and the ability to cast a wide variety of devastating magical attacks, Magick Archer has the potential to be one of the strongest Vocation in the game, especially once you unlock its Maister Skill, Martyr’s Bolt. However, getting your hands on Magick Archer is quite the journey as the NPC who gives it to you is on the other side of the world.

Here’s how to quickly and efficiently unlock the Magick Archer Vocation and Maister Skill in Dragon’s Dogma 2, as well as a few quick tips on how to use the class effectively. 

Want more Dragon’s Dogma 2 content? Then you can find our review for Dragon’s Dogma 2 here on KeenGamer.

Magick Archer Overview

How to Unlock Magick Archer in Dragon’s Dogma 2

Entering Battahl

First things things, you need to be aware of where to find the Magick Archer and, unfortunately, it’s quite the trek away… half the world map away, in fact. To unlock Magick Archer, you need to enter the land of Battahl, the second major region of the game and the twin nation to the starting area of Vermund. However, getting into Battahl is a massive headache, mainly on account of the gigantic iron gate which the Battahl military won’t open unless you have a specific kind of merchant Entry Permit.

Getting your hands on this Entry Permit is going to take some time and a considerable amount of story progress, which may deter some Arisen from trying to get the Vocation. Fortunately, there is a way to get into Battahl early and without the aid of a Permit. If you want to learn both of the ways that you can enter Battahl – either with an Entry Permit or without one – then you can find a full guide on how to get there, including how to get a Border Entry Permit, in our Dragon’s Dogma 2 Battahl Entry guide.

Gates to Battahl

Your troubles don’t stop once you’re in Battahl, though, as you’ll need to traverse the majority of the region’s rocky, desolate wasteland to make it to your location. Battahl is full of deadly monsters, ranging from Golems to Drakes to Griffins to annoying harpies who won’t leave you alone, so come prepared with the best kind of gear you can get (the Checkpoint Rest Town armour shop has a good selection of wares for sale). 

To reach the Magick Archer, you need to make your way through southern Battahl until you arrive at the Drabnir’s Grotto dungeon. Upon exiting this dungeon, you’ll reach the ashy black shores of the southernmost landmass in Dragon’s Dogma 2, the area where you first started your journey all those hours ago. Keep an eye out on the road as, as soon as you leave Drabnir’s Grotto, you’ll be close to the Magick Archer quest line. 

Spring in Thy Step Quest Location

Spring in Thy Step Quest Location and Objectives

On the path which connects [—] and the southern continent, you’ll find a short main gasping in pain in the middle of the road. You can choose to ignore him, of course, but, if you want Magick Archer, you’ll need to speak with him as he’s the quest giver. The man will reveal himself to be [—], a local who suffers from severe back pain, and he won’t discuss anything further with you unless you bring him three Wildflowers to help soothe his aches and pains. This will begin the Spring in Thy Step quest, which is the quest which eventually awards the Magick Archer Vocation. 

Wildflowers are some of the most common gatherables in the entire game so, unless you’re a crafting maniac, you should have a good variety of Wildflowers to give Gautstafr: if you don’t, wander around the highlands for a bit, keeping an eye out for any tall patches of green stems that you can pick. Once you’ve delivered the goods, Gautstafr will thank you and even offer a reward, so long as you escort him back to his home, which is nearby. 

Bring Some Wildflowers

On the journey back, Gautstafr will begin hurting once more so we highly recommend just grabbing him and walking to his house that way: Gautstafr is small enough that you can just pick him up, bridal-style, and hoof it back to his house in much less time. Upon arriving at his quaint abode, his elvish wife, Cliodhna, will begin to scold him and scrutinise you, mocking your character and making some hurtful accusations. However, it’s clear that Gautstafr’s pain isn’t getting any better so he says that he’ll need to visit an area on the island called the rejuvenating spring. 

After this, you’ll be given two choices. You can either offer to help escort Gautstafr to the curative spring deeper in the island, or you can just keep your mouth shut. If you want to get Magick Archer, as well as the Vocation’s Maister Skill, you’ll need to offer your hand in aid.

Carrying is the Best Way

From this point on, your final quest objective is to escort Gautstafr to this spring, which is located in the nearby town, Volcanic Island Camp. As you may expect, the path with littered with monsters, bandits, and other fearsome foes, including a Goreminotaur, so be prepared. Just like before, the most efficient way to travel is to pick up Gautstafr with the Grab command and carry him the whole way, putting him down whenever you have to fight. 

Eventually, after some time, you’ll reach the town and be able to escort Gautstafr to the spring. After that, simply speak to him while inside the spring and he’ll saunter inside, ready to get some much-needed relaxation. His wife will then also pop up, revealing that she’s been following you this whole time as she didn’t trust you. However, that doubt was unproven and, as a reward for your truthfulness, she will award you the Magick Archer Vocation. Cliodhna will also give you the Magick Archer Maister Teachings, Spellbow’s Paradox, which teaches you the Martyr’s Bolt Skill: this is one of Magick Archer’s best skills so be sure to pick it up before you leave. 

Curative Spring Path and Location

Magick Archer Maister Skill: Martyr’s Bolt

Magick Archer’s Maister Skill in Dragon’s Dogma 2 is Martyr’s Bolt and it’s in contention for the strongest Maister Skill in the whole game. It’s an absurdly powerful ability capable of erasing both smaller, fodder enemies as well as massive boss-tier monsters in the blink of an eye. Of course, such power comes with a mighty cost to stop you from abusing it. 

Once triggered, your Arisen will take an aiming stance before automatically targeting any weak point within the vicinity. At the same time, your health will begin rapidly draining. These effects will both persist until you press the Skill button again, where you will unleash a volley of destructive magical power on any targets who you were locked onto. The base damage is already quite impressive but the Skill’s additional effect is where it gets its unique name: the more health you drain in the Skill’s cast animation, the more damage you will deal. 

Do be wary of using this Skill carelessly though. The health drain isn’t capped, meaning that you can go from full to nothing in one attack, unleashing devastating power that’s capable of one-shotting massive monsters like Griffins, Cyclopes or even Drakes. However, there’s no limit and, if you’re not careful, you can even completely drain your health, killing you instantly without unleashing Martyr’s Bolt. As such, always be sure to unleash your attack before your health reaches zero or else your efforts will be for nought. 

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Magick Archer Tips and Tricks

Firstly, you’ll need to understand what Magick Archers scale off for their damage. Despite using a more martial weapon, your damage will come almost entirely from your Magick stat, just like a Sorcerer or Mage. Many Magick Archer Bows will have the exact same Attack stat but wildly different Magick stats, which is the important thing you need to be aware of. Additionally, as a Magick class, Magick Archer will benefit greatly from wearing Elven armour and enhancements as it increases your Magick stat while decreasing your Physical Defence and Attack.

Secondly, Magick Archer’s automatic aiming has two modes which you can switch through using their Convergence ability. The first, Pinpoint Volley, covers a much wider area, allowing you to target multiple enemies at once. Meanwhile, the second, Rivet Volley, has a much smaller targeting radius but it locks on far faster, making it more suitable for large monsters or single-target attacks. The usual way to cast Convergence is with the triangle button (on PS5, anyway), meaning that you cannot switch targeting types without lowering your bow. Thankfully, if you press the right stick while aiming, you will switch between Pinpoint and Rivet, saving you some precious time. 

Finally, there’s a cheeky tactic which you should know about with regards to Marytr’s Bolt. Once you consume health to cast the Skill, the health loss will stay like a wound until you next rest at a camp or an inn, making it a very high-risk, high-reward move to use, especially in prolonged battles. However, there is a way around this. If you cast Martyr’s Bolt and then die (hopefully not in the cast animation) with a full Wakestone in your possession, you can revive with full health and stamina. This is excellent if you want to unleash the power of Martyr’s Bolt without taking on the downsides or if you want to unleash multiple, full-power Martyr’s Bolts back to back, almost guaranteeing that your foe, no matter how mighty, will fall. 

Magick Archer’s Destructive Power

That was how to unlock the Magick Archer Vocation in Dragon’s Dogma 2, as well as how to unlock its Maister Skill.