Dragon’s Dogma 2 ‘Gift of the Bow’ and ‘A Trial of Archery’ Archer maister skill quest guide: Help Glyndwr and get Heavenly Shot

Here’s how to get one of the best boss-killing Archer skills in all of Dragon’s Dogma 2.

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Each ofDragon’s Dogma 2’s vocation classesfeature a wide variety of different skills for players to unlock and experiment with, but none hold a candle to the power of maister skills. Unlike the regular Weapon or Core Skills you get access to by leveling up your Vocation Ranks, these unique talents can only be learned by seeking maisters. These vocation masters can teach you special high-risk, high-reward techniques that have a huge impact in battle when used properly, but you’ll have to find and help them first before they’ll be willing to pass on what they know.

One of the tougher maisters to find and study with is the Archer maister. Not only are they located in a place you can miss very easily if you’re not exploring Vermund thoroughly, but there’s also a full questline you have to complete as well.

Hoping to find the Archer maister and learn from them yourself? Read on, then, because I’ve put together a complete walkthrough guide that goes over everything you need to know. This includes how to start and finish the important “Gift of the Bow” and “A Trial of Archery” quests, as well as where you’ll find the maister in the vast and rich fantasy world ofDragon’s Dogma 2.

Dragon’s Dogma 2: ‘Gift of the Bow’ quest guide and walkthrough

The first step in your journey to find theArcher vocationmaister and learn his skill is to start and complete the quest “Gift of the Bow.” Here’s what to do:

Note that Glyndwr will give you 8,500 Gold and the Ring of Proximity, which strengthens the power of your bow attacks as enemies get close to you. Though the latter seems like it would be counterintuitive to Archer gameplay, the bonus damagedoescome in handy whenever monsters run or leap at you in an attempt to close the distance.

Dragon’s Dogma 2: ‘A Trial of Archery’ quest guide and walkthrough

The first of Dragon’s Dogma 2’s Archer quests is done, but you still need to begin and finish the second. Here’s a full walkthrough for it:

When “A Trial of Archery” is finished, Taliesin will give you some excellent quest rewards: 16,000 Gold, a special Repeller Bow that deals bonus damage to chimeras, and a Portcrystal you can use in conjunction with Ferrystones tofast travelto a location of your choosing.

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With both “Gift of the Bow” and “A Trial of Archery” completed, all that’s left now is to speak with Taliesin like Glyndwr suggested so that he’ll give you his skill.

Dragon’s Dogma 2: Archer maister skill and location

As Glyndwr implied, his father Taliesin is indeed the Archer maister — and by personally helping his family, you’ve earned the opportunity to learn his secret technique, Heavenly Shot.To get the Heavenly Shot skill scroll after completing “A Trial of Archery,” simply return back to the Sacred Arbor, doze off or sleep at the inn there, and speak to Taliesin in the Arborist’s Home. Once it’s in your inventory, simply use it and you’ll learn the skill, which you can then equip at an inn or Vocation Guild.

Heavenly Shot is essentially a Dire/Deathly Arrow on steroids, and is designed as a heavy all-or-nothing snipe that’s extremely high-risk and high-reward. It’s capable of dealingabsurdamounts of damage and knockdown if you hit a boss in their weakspot(s) with it, but the drawback is that it also consumes all of your Stamina, with the skill’s potency determined by the amount of Stamina you have when you go to use it. If your arrow finds its mark, you’ll do incredible damage and likely stagger whatever you’re fighting; if it doesn’t, you won’t have any Stamina to use for sprinting or jumping, leaving you completely exposed to any potential counterattacks.

Thou truly art a master now, Arisen

Dragon’s Dogma 2 is home to an incredible number of different quests, secrets, and rewards, with some better hidden than others. These Archer quests and the Heavenly Shot reward from the vocation’s maister aren’t terribly difficult to stumble across as you play, though there’s a good chance you’ll miss them and the Sacred Arbor entirely if you don’t think to speak to Glyndwr in Vernworth.

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Speaking of the Sacred Arbor, you should stay there awhile and investigate the village, as there’s some excellent mid-to-late game gear being sold here as well as another quest or two you can pick up before you head back out on your adventure. Since it’s far away from the major settlements you’ll be frequenting, you may even want to place down the Portcrystal Taliesin gives you there.

Just be aware of the fact that elves speak a language you can’t understand — and since Glyndwr is no longer at your side like he was during his questline, you don’t have a translator anymore. For that reason, you may want to leave for now and then return when you hire a Pawn with the Woodland Wordsmith specialization (they’ll generally tell you they can speak Elvish).

Notably, you can teach your Main Pawn this specialization (and Elvish) by using a Woodland Wordsmith’s Tome on them. All the different ways you can obtain this item aren’t clear yet, but one confirmed method is to give gifts to elf NPCs in the Sacred Arbor until you reach max affinity with them (they’ll blush when you talk to them), then wait for them to give you one of the tomes in return.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 is available now, and it’s one of thebest Xbox gamesandbest PC gamesyou can play in 2024 if you love action RPGs with deep, varied combat and rich fantasy worlds. Capcom’s new title is playable on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PS5 for $69.99.

Dragon’s Dogma 2

You are the Arisen, the one who holds the loyalty of Pawns and has an intertwined destiny with a powerful dragon. Work with your party to battle through tough enemies, explore distant locations, and grow stronger so you can take down your foes.

PC — Buy at:GMG (Steam)|CDKeys (Steam)|Humble Bundle (Steam)Xbox — Buy at:Amazon|Xbox

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Deluxe Edition

You’ll gain additional add-ons along with the base game when purchasing the Deluxe Edition. Use your powers to take own large dragons with the help of your Pawn party members.

PC — Buy at:GMG (Steam)|CDKeys (Steam)|Humble Bundle (Steam)Xbox — Buy at:Amazon|Xbox

Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he’s been an avid fan since childhood. He’s been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you’ll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he’s not writing or gaming, there’s a good chance he’s either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once.Follow him on X(Twitter).