Specializations in Dragon’s Dogma 2 are passive abilities for Pawns that alter the Pawn’s behavior in interesting ways and give them additional ways to help the Arisen.

Like most things in DD2, the specialization mechanic is poorly explained and left for players to figure out on their own. Here is how it works.

Updated by Hamza Haq on April 5th, 2024: A new section has been added explaining how to view pawn specializations before hiring them and we’ve expanded the table detailing all specializations to include exactly where to get them in DD2.

How To Unlock Pawn Specializations

To start, your Pawns won’t have any specializations to their name. To unlock them, you’ll need to increase your affinity with certain NPCs, either by completing their quests or by giving them gifts. The first one you’re likely to unlock is the Chirurgeon specialization by completing Flora’s quest in Melve.

Once you meet the requirement, that NPC will give you a Specialization Tome that you can use to give your Pawn that specific specialization. Simply select the Tome in your inventory and use it.

To see what specialization a Pawn has, select Status from the pause menu, select the Pawn, and switch over to the Pawn tab. You’ll find both the Pawn’s inclination and specialization under Traits.

How To Change Specializations

Specialization Tomes are one-time-use items that expire after you use them, but you can find multiple Specialization Tomes by interacting with certain NPCs. However, unlike Augments, you can’t swap them around freely at your whim.

If you have the Chirurgeon specialization, for example, and switch to Logistician, the Chirurgeon specialization will be lost until you can find another tome for it and learn it again. In this case, the Logistician will be replaced.

I got the Chirurgeon specialization by getting a Fruit Roborant for Flora and visiting her family shop in Vernworth, but I also got another Chirurgeon Tome from the Rose Chateau Bordelrie by raising the affinity of one the ‘therapists’ to max. While this method works, it’s unclear how repeatable this is at this time. I’d advise finding a Specialization that you value and sticking to it. If you’re playing online, you can always hire Pawns from Riftstone, who have a specialization that you’re lacking.

How To View Pawn Specialization

To view Pawn specializations before you hire them, you can tab over while inside a Riftstone and navigate to Specialization/Quest to see each Pawn’s Specialization hovering over their head before you hire them.

Alternatively, you can also interact with the Riftstone to open its menu and select Pawns in the Rift, tab over to Specialization/Quest and view the information in a table format. Pawns that don’t have a specialization will have the related field empty.

To check Specializations of Pawns currently in your party, open the pause menu, select Status, switch over to the Pawn you want to look at and select the Pawn tab. You’ll see the Specialization under traits in the bottom left corner.

All Pawn Specializations & Their Effects

Here are all the Specializations currently available to Pawns.

Specialization	Effects	How To Get
Aphonite	Makes the Pawn speak less. If you hire a Pawn with this specialization, be extra careful of Dragonsplague affecting them as the telltale signs will be harder to tell if they don’t speak often.	Reach max afffinity with Norbert in Melve (he moves to Harve village if you save Melve residents for Disa’s soldiers.)
Chirurgeon	Gives the Pawn the ability to use healing potions on the Arisen and other Pawns. Can be quite useful during prolonged fights against large enemies.
Forager	Gives the Pawn the ability to point out enhancement material locations and mark them on the minimap.	Talk to Malcolm after completing The Heel of History Reach max affinity with Daphne in the Slums or Kepak in the Nameless Village.
Hawker	Gives the Pawn the ability to buy items from you. Extremely useful for managing inventory during long treks.	Reach max affinity with any wandering trader (the ones that have the large backpack they carry.
Logistician	Gives the Pawn the ability to craft ingredients into useful items automatimcally and move stuff around between inventories to manage carryweight.	Talk to Kendrick after completing The Heel of History. Reach max affinity with Glenna in Stardrop Inn or Landar in Vernworth.
Woodland Wordsmith	Gives the Pawn the ability to interpret Elvish for the Arisen. Useful if you want to explore the Arbor.	Reach max afffinity with Grisha or Kough in Sacred Arbor village.

Related

Dragon’s Dogma 2: How To Unlock All Vocations

Some Vocations in Dragon’s Dogma 2 require quite a bit of effort to unlock, and others are completely hidden if you don’t know where to look!