Pokémon Legends: Arceus is certainly a high point for the Pokémon franchise and for good reason. Even though the game is under two years old, it’s already received considerable renown. The game earned a nomination for Best RPG at the Game Awards the year it launched. However, it lost that award to the widely acclaimed Elden Ring. In spite of that, it’s still thought of as one of the best modern Pokémon games on the market. It made radical changes to the Pokémon formula, which some fans felt was becoming stale. This made it something of a breath of fresh air for a lot of people.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus sees the protagonist sent back in time by Arceus, the creator deity of the Pokémon world. You travel to the Hisui region, the realm that will eventually become Sinnoh. There, you join the Galaxy Expedition Team, helping them chart the region and study the Pokémon there. You also help in subduing Noble Pokémon. These powerful regional lords have gone berserk thanks to the same mysterious time-space rift that sent you here. The game features a more action-oriented approach to combat. It requires you to face down Noble Pokémon yourself, without the aid of your Pokémon companions.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus DLC
Despite the huge success of the game, Pokémon Legends: Arceus did not receive much in the way of DLC. The only thing that really qualifies is Daybreak. It launched as a free content update released in March of 2022. This expansion offered a substantial update to the post-game environment of Pokémon Legends: Arceus. It grants you plenty of new things to do after the credits have rolled. This includes special challenge battles and Massive Mass Outbreaks. These new events unleash large herds of particularly aggressive wild Pokémon for you to fight. On a smaller scale, the expansion adds an extra high-difficulty balloon race. It also unlocks the ability to take photos with friendly NPCs in the photography studio. This update is free to all Pokémon Legends: Arceus fans.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus DLC Checklist
- New Post Game Requests: After you’ve finished the main story of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, this DLC will give you several new side quests to embark upon. Several of these concern the aforementioned Mass Outbreaks. By pursuing a quest chain added in Daybreak, you can unlock Massive Mass Outbreaks. These take place on a much larger scale than the Mass Outbreaks present in the game. They also give you a chance to catch much rarer Pokémon.
- Eternal Battle Reverie: If you’ve conquered the base game’s greatest challenges and want to put your Pokémon to the ultimate test, the Eternal Battle Reverie is for you. This challenge mode takes place in your dreams, where Arceus itself challenges you to a series of grueling battle gauntlets. You must strive to achieve the highest win streak you can against impossible odds. This includes facing multiple legendary Pokémon at once.
- New Training Grounds Battles: For even more of an added challenge, you can take on the Path of Solitude and the Path of Tenacity at the Training Grounds. The Path of Solitude forces you to enter battles with only one Pokémon, tailoring these fights to that one creature alone. The Path of Tenacity, meanwhile, lets you challenge the Wardens you’ve met and befriended along your journey, taking part in high-stakes battles with these prominent figures.
- Photography Studio Update: After completing some of Daybreak’s new requests, you’ll be able to take photos with some of your friends and allies in the photography studio. These photos can serve as valuable mementos of your journey through Hisui.
- New Balloon Race: The ultimate challenge of the Daybreak update in Pokémon Legends: Arceus comes after you’ve completed all of the new requests. This unlocks a brand new extra-hard balloon race for you and your Pokémon to undertake.
- Special Berry Harvest: A new special berry harvest is added to Jubilife Village, letting you grow berries that were previously unavailable.
- Gingko Guild Expansion: When you purchase items from the Gingko Guild, you now have new options to choose from.
Is Pokémon Legends: Arceus DLC Worth It?
Pokémon Legends: Arceus Daybreak is completely free. The game downloads it automatically, with no input from you. With that in mind, the question of whether or not it’s worth the money is largely irrelevant. The more important question is whether it’s worth your time. Daybreak is concerned almost entirely with post-game content, meaning the update won’t have much of an impact on your game until the credits roll. If for whatever reason the gameplay of Pokémon Legends: Arceus didn’t appeal to you much, Daybreak isn’t going to offer you much reason to stay.
One thing worth noting about Pokémon Legends: Arceus is that its story is somewhat incomplete. While the player resolves the conflict that caused Arceus to send them back in time in the first place, their personal journey, along with any hope of them returning to their own time, is left unresolved. Since Daybreak is focused most prominently on special challenge fights, you will find no new story closure here. If that’s disappointing to you, it might be sufficient reason to avoid taking on Daybreak’s dream battles and special warden fights. However, if all you want is to push your Pokémon team to the absolute limit, Daybreak offers plenty of chances to make that happen.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Nintendo.