How to Use Dire Arrow and Puncture Dart in Dragon’s Dogma 2

The Archer’s Dire Arrow and Puncture Dart are two skills that have spawned a bit of confusion. Dire Arrow seemingly does abysmal damage if not used right and Puncture Dart’s input is currently missing on consoles. Here’s how to use Dire Arrow and Puncture Dart in Dragon’s Dogma 2.

Dire Arrow Explained in Dragon’s Dogma 2

The Dire Arrow and the upgraded version, Deathly Arrow, weapon skill for Archers in Dragon’s Dogma 2 lacks a crucial description. The skill often deals low damage to enemies even with a vital spot hit. The trick to Dire and Deathly Arrow is that it deals low damage before and after charging up. To deal proper damage you must release the input and shoot it as soon as you flash white.

This means that you need to charge up Dire/Deathly Arrow and release the input with the white visual cue to fire the skill perfectly. This is when it does the proper damage it’s actually meant to do. Releasing too early or too late results in poor damage, and it’ll make you feel like you wasted a weapon skill slot. Timing is key, and players should think of it more like a Warrior skill.

How to Use Puncture Dart in Dragon’s Dogma 2

To use Puncture Dart, the player actually needs to hold down Mouse 3 on PC, R3 on PS5, or the right analog stick on Xbox. The skill doesn’t actually tell you the input you need to press on PS5, and I saw a lot of confusion on Reddit about it. All you have to do is Steady Shot an arrow and hold, then hold down the appropriate input, which is R3 for me on the PS5, and the Puncture Dart animation will start.

This is a decent skill I use against grouped-up smaller enemies since the shot passes through them. Just be careful since the aiming cursor will start shaking making aiming drastically more difficult. Unfortunately, you cannot use it in conjunction with your other weapon skills, it just works with a regular arrow shot.

That’s it for my short guide on how to use Dire Arrow and Puncture Dart in Dragon’s Dogma 2. For more Dragon’s Dogma 2 guides, check out how to unlock all maister skills and all enhancing styles like Dwarven or Elvish.