Dragon's Dogma 2 Short-Sighted Ambition and On the Transference of Souls walkthrough

The Dragon's Dogma 2 Short-Sighted Ambition quest has players find a Ripened Quince for Isaac, and then escalates suddenly to finding a book called On the Transference of Souls 2, to pair with the other text that is rotting his eyesight even as he pours through it. This will ultimately lead to a subtle choice about whether you want to give him the book or not, but making the right call will allow you to get the original book, On the Transference of Souls 1, and combine the two to cast a powerful and unique spell in Dragon's Dogma 2 called Celestial Paean - but we get ahead of ourselves. 

Below, I'll take you through a simple and comprehensive walkthrough for the DD2 Short-Sighted Ambition quest, explain where to find a ripened quince and the book On the Transference of Souls 2, and whether you should even give such a powerful artifact to Isaac at all…

Short-Sighted Ambition quest walkthrough for DD2

The Short-Sighted Ambition quest starts in DD2 in Bakbattahl at the shop Isaac's Wares. When you try to buy any object from Isaac, it'll start a dialogue where he struggles to find it because of his failing eyesight. This turns out to be because he's reading a book of evil magic that's burning his eyeballs out of his head, but damned if it isn't a page-turner nonetheless. Below we'll explain the individual steps of the Short-Sighted Ambition quest, but here's a quick summary of what you need to do.

1. Find a Ripened Quince. Go into the Battahl desert, harvest a quince bush, and wait three in-game days for it to ripen. Give it to Isaac.
2. Wait several days. When you go back, Isaac will have actually lost an eye to the evil book, but he still wants the tome that goes with it - and says it's somewhere in Vermund.
3. Go to Ibrahim's Scrap Store in the Checkpoint Rest Town. Ibrahim sells On the Transference of Souls 2. Buy it from him.
4. Get Ibrahim to make a forgery of the book. Having bought it, give it back to Ibrahim to make an additional, fake version, "On the Transit of Souls 2". That'll be manufactured in a few days.
5. Decide whether to give Isaac the real or forged book. This ultimately decides whether you get the good or bad ending, and your reward.

Where to find a Ripened Quince in DD2

Quince bushes are fairly common in the Dragon's Dogma 2 Battahl region, and I've marked a location that I found one just above, though exploration generally will yield a Quince sooner or later - especially when a few enemies tend to drop them randomly.

Once you find one, you can turn it into a Ripened Quince by keeping it in your inventory for three in-game days (which can be passed rapidly by just sleeping in a house you own for a long weekend). If it becomes Rotten, you've waited too long and will need to find another one, otherwise just give it to Isaac and wait a few days for him to read his book.

Where to find On the Transference of Souls 2

The book On the Transference of Souls 2 is sold at Ibrahim's Scrap Shop, the little alleyway store on the North side of the Checkpoint Rest Town on the Battahl/Vermund border. You might've been here before if you did the Dragon's Dogma 2 Hunt for the Jadite Orb quest, but otherwise you can simply buy it off Ibrahim for 2000G. 

However, once you have it, ask Ibrahim to make a forgery of the book. This requires handing the book back over and paying some more gold, then waiting a few days. When you come back, you'll get both the real book, and a fake one called "On the Transit of Souls 2." This is a step you can skip though - if you're willing to get the bad ending.

Short-Sighted Ambition endings and rewards

There are two endings to the Short-Sighted Ambition quest, both of which we'll walk through below, but ultimately they depend on whether you give Isaac On the Transference of Souls 2, or give him the forged copy.

• Good ending. If you give Isaac the fake book, On the Transit of Souls 2, he attempts to cast the spell from both texts, and nothing happens. Deciding to go back to being a humble shopkeep, he puts his ambitions aside, to the relief of his family. You receive 16000G and 3000 XP, and can buy the original book, On the Transference of Souls 1, from Isaac in his shop for 2000G (you'll have to sleep to get him to go back to his shop). Now you have both books, and can combine them in your inventory to create a consumable that allows you to cast the spell Celestial Paean, a one-use spell that buffs all the players stats temporarily. It's one of the most powerful spells in the game and, though one-use, a great boss-killer.
• Bad ending. If you give Isaac the real book, On the Transference of Souls 2, he attempts to cast the spell and ends up accidentally killing his wife and daughter, before fleeing the town. You only get 3000 XP, no money, but can loot a Ring of Disfavor from his wife's body. Later on, if you do the Off the Pilfered Path quest, one of the final options is to advise Hugo to take over Isaac's abandoned store.

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