As usual, be aware that there may be some light spoilers, so please read on at your own discretion. Don’t let this be like the time that one guy spoiled “The Avengers.”

So if you’ve played once through  Dragon’s Dogma, you may have been surprised during the exciting final encounter with the Dragon to discover that, somewhere during the course of all that pillaging and spelunking in Gransys, you managed to bag a “beloved.” For some, you may have found yourself entrenched in a torrid affair with resident exotic babe Mercedes. For others, it may have been that dashing man-about-town, Fournival. 

Lord knows he’s got charisma.

↑Oh, Fournival. If I still had a heart, I’d give it to you.

At any rate, while you may have found yourself partnered up with someone unexpected, the fact of the matter is that these pair-ups are based on a rather elaborate—though subtle–“Affinity” system. If you’re in the New Game + and would like to have a better grasp over how these partnerships work, read on.

First, you should know that earning Affinity with a certain character is not necessarily as simple as just off-loading a few skulls onto that person. There are a variety of ways to both gain and lose Affinity, which, if mastered, will allow you to end up with the NPC of your heart’s desire. Aside from giving presents to people, you can also gain affinity by completing quests initiated by that person, escorting that person, or simply talking to that person. As I’m sure you know, simple communication is a fundamental building block to any healthy relationship. Meanwhile, if that’s not your thing, you can “cheat” your way to the maximum Affinity level with a given person by bestowing him or her with the elusive item, “Arisen’s Bond.”

Meanwhile, if you’ve accidentally won the favor of one of the less pleasurable characters (::cough, cough:: Julien ::cough:) , you can always lower your Affinity back down in all the intuitive ways—using violence, brandishing a weapon, giving the character a sound throttling by running into him or her, or simply ignoring that character outright.

The character with whom you share the highest Affinity will have bearing on the game’s climax, so be sure and treat the object of your affection well, and shun those you dislike. It’s really not all that different from grade school. To further help you master the Affinity system, the characters will actually exhibit little “tells,” ranging from body language to literal glowing. Be sure to be sensitive to these signs.

If this system intrigues you, you’ll be equally intrigued to know that GameFAQs FAQ’er ChibiLeen has worked the whole thing out to a science and written it all down in a handy “Affinity Guide.” Find the full guide here , and be sure to give Leen a big thanks for all the hard work.