Dragon’s Dogma 2: How to fast travel, how to use Ferrystones, and where to find Portcrystals
You’re not supposed to fast travel around Dragon’s Dogma 2 very much, but when you’re in a pinch, you can make use of the certain locations.
If you want to know how to fast travel in Dragon's Dogma 2, there are a certain number of prerequisite things you need to do first. It’s not as simple as other open world games where you can just boot up the world map, select a location and teleport there – the systems-driven nature of Dragon’s Dogma 2 means that you need to think carefully about how (and why!) you want to get across the continent in a pinch.
Fast travel is tied to Ferrystones; rare items that can either be found in the world or purchased from certain vendors. These items are consumable, and can only be used once – you need to be careful not to use them all up frivolously and be stuck in the middle of nowhere, all your pawns dead, and your pack weighing heavily on your aching back.
But there is a fast travel option for you in the game. I’d advise avoiding it in the early hours; trekking around and making use of ox carts is likely better when you just need to get between the likes of Melve, Vernworth and Harve. When you open up Battahl – the kingdom of the Beastren – and need to get between there and Vermund, a quick journey becomes essential.
You will need to place your own Portcrystals for the most part – more on that later – so think very carefully about where you place them, and why, since there is a very limited number you can earn throughout the game.
How to fast travel in Dragon’s Dogma 2
In order to fast travel in Dragon’s Dogma 2, you need to own at least one Ferrystone – these can be found in chests in the world, or purchased from certain merchants. If your main character or one of your pawns owns ones one of these items, you can then select it from the inventory (open the pause menu, head to items, and select it there) and choose ‘Use’.
You will be given a list of activated Port Crystals (for the most part, this list will consist of only Vernworth and Harve, until the end-game, since there’s a tiny number of pre-available locations in Dragon’s Dogma 2) and you can select your destination from there. You will be automatically teleported to your destination, and very little in game time will pass.
How to fast travel in Dragon’s Dogma 2 without a Ferrystone
If you haven’t unlocked a Portcrystal in the location you wish to travel to, or if you find yourself without a Ferrystone – a very likely scenario – you will need to make use of ox carts. Typically, these can be found at the entrances to settlements or populated areas, and are identified by a wooden post with a bell. These are handy for getting from A to B, but have some major disadvantages compared to using Ferrystones: time will pass when you travel, and you may get attacked by monsters en route to your destination.
You can only embark on ox cart journeys at certain times of day, too, meaning you will potentially skip whole days waiting for the right time to travel, and then completing your journey. Think efficiently; if you have quests to complete in an area, try to wrap those up before migrating to another part of the map – you may lock yourself out of completing questlines if you wait to long to speak to the right people.
Be aware that ox carts only travel in the daytime, too. It's too dangerous to brave the roads at night.
Understanding, using, and obtaining Portcrystals in Dragon's Dogma 2
Portcrystals are key to making good use of fast travel in Dragon's Dogma 2, but they aren't just limited to the handful of naturally-occurring crystals out in the world. In fact, there's deliberately very few Portcrystals out there - because you'll actually instead obtain Portcrystal Items that when used place a new fast travel point into the world - meaning you have the agonizing choice of where to place it.
These rare portcrystal items are rewarded for a handful of side quests, such as the 'A Trial of Archery' quest. In addition, there are certain quests which allow an item in your possession to be duplicated, such as the Sphinx's Riddles, and this can also allow you to obtain more Portcyrstals. Forgeries are possible - but sadly, they're non-functional.