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If you're jumping into the Shattered Isles and making friends in Ramsgate, then do we have the best Dauntless tips for you. Dauntless is the latest free-to-play game to make waves, and it's heavily inspired by Monster Hunter but much more accessible for casual players who find Monster Hunter too intimidating. You play as a Slayer, who embarks out on hunts to slay huge behemoth monsters, but they're not easy to kill, which is why we've got some top Dauntless tips for beginners. Read on for all of our beginner Dauntless tips so you can progress through the early game at top speed. Wondering which weapon to pick? Read about the best Dauntless weapons here.
1. Spend some time searching for plants and resources on the island before fighting the behemoth
During your very first hunt in Dauntless, before you've been introduced to many of the mechanics in the game, you'll discover some plants and resources on the island. Before you start fighting the behemoth on every hunt, make sure you go and grab some more of these plants and resources because they act as crafting materials later down the line. Whether you need to craft some more Blitz Tonics or Barrage Grenades, collecting enough crafting materials means you'll never run out.
2. Fire a flare when you find the behemoth to let others know its location
If you're playing Dauntless in a group - especially with randoms - make sure you fire a flare whenever you find the behemoth at the start of a hunt. There's nothing worse than fighting a behemoth by yourself while your hunt party are off around the island gallivanting because they don't know where the action is going down. That applies vice versa too, because too many times I've been searching for the behemoth but unable to find them, all while my random teammates' health bars are depleting.
3. Consider hunting privately or even solo
If you're playing solo or with a pal and you're decked out to fight a specific type of behemoth, but you get bundled in together with a couple of noobs who don't know their Ember Cutlass from their Revolution of Boreus, the fight can be much tougher than it otherwise should be. Behemoth health in Dauntless scales depending on the amount of players in the hunt, so try tackling it privately, or even solo if you've got no buddies on to play with.
4. Experiment with all six types of weapon
While Dauntless doesn't have specific classes to pick from at the start of the game, you can shape your character build by investing in specific weapon and armour. Every weapon behaves vastly different from the last though, with each one having unique combos and attacks to execute, therefore it's imperative you experiment with all types before dedicating your unlocks to a specific path. You definitely don't want to spend all your hard earned rewards on Chain Blades when you find out you actually prefer the Hammer!
5. Pay attention to which behemoths will advance your quests
After you get through the first few hunts in Dauntless, your quest log will start to pile up very quickly. All your quests tend to require specific behemoth hunts, so focus on the ones around your level that you can complete. There's no point grinding away at a threat level six Stormclaw when you only really need to take out a threat level three Skarn to complete multiple quests at once and progress further in the game. If you're unsure which behemoths are tied to which quests, when you select them on the map screen, the relevant quests will be listed on the right-hand side.
6. Study each behemoth's attack animation and learn when to dodge
You're completely invincible while in the dodging animation in Dauntless, but you need to actually know when to dodge for that to be useful. Dodging consumes stamina so you must make sure you conserve it and don't dodge recklessly, and that can only be achieved by paying attention to the behemoth you're fighting. Whether it's up close or from afar, every behemoth has unique attack animations so keep a close eye on the movement. As you progress further through the fight, some behemoths can become enraged and start performing different moves too, so stay on your guard and learn when to perform the perfect dodge.
7. Every behemoth has multiple weak spots
Each Dauntless behemoth you fight will have a number of weak points, which will deal extra damage as indicated by the yellow numbers that appear as you attack. Make sure you're focusing on these as much as possible because you can eventually wound behemoths like this and chop off specific parts, which also doubles as fairly rare loot. Focus all of your attacks on these weak spots and you'll be dealing much more damage throughout the fight. There's also different types of damage like blue for stagger damage and red for wound damage, but yellow is the most important to focus on.
8. Remember to use your lantern ability
One of the first few Dauntless quests you receive requires you to kill either a Skarn or a Shrike, then craft one of the relevant lanterns. Your lantern is crucial in Dauntless, because it's an auto-regenerating ability that can provide a much needed crutch during intense fights. The Skarn lantern grants a 250 hit point shield for six seconds if you press the button once, but if you hold it down, you'll get an aura ability that deals 900 Terra damage to nearby enemies for 10 seconds. The Shrike lantern on the other hand provides a 40% speed buff for six seconds, or if you hold it, you'll get another aura to buff your teammates with 15% increased move and attack speed for 15 seconds. Remember to use your lantern ability at all times!
9. Use the cracks in the ground to heal before health tonics
In the middle of every battle site in Dauntless is a huge crack in the ground, emanating with blue sparks. You can sit on top of these and use them to heal up, before you start chugging your health tonics. Beware though, because there's a limited number of times you can use these cracks and once they're gone, they're gone for your whole team. So don't be that one player who chugs it all at the start after taking a few hits; make sure everyone has a chance to use it and don't be greedy!
10. Don't let the danger level reach 100%
In the top right of your screen during a hunt in Dauntless is a percentage which will gradually increase. It's not fully explained in-game what this actually means until it happens though, but the basic gist of it is this: Don't let it happen! When the danger level reaches 100%, all strengths and resistances go out of the window. The behemoth you're fighting will deal much more damage per hit, often enough to one-hit-kill you, and you can't be revived by your teammates. Make sure you kill the behemoth before it reaches 100% or you'll be in a very sticky situation which could see all of your fighting go in vain.
11. Don't use self revives unless absolutely necessary
When you get knocked down in Dauntless, every player has three self revive tonics available. It's tempting to use these right away so you can jump back into the action, but refrain from doing that unless it's absolutely necessary. Self revives are the only way of resurrecting yourself when the danger level hits 100%, so take advantage of your teammates' revive abilities while you can. It doesn't take too long to revive a teammate, so they should be able to get you - and vice versa - in a pinch.
12. Collect all the daily deathmarks in Ramsgate
Finally, whether you've bought the Dauntless Elite Hunt Pass or not, make sure you're collecting the 10 daily deathmarks found throughout Ramsgate every day. These glowing red symbols hanging off walls around the town will provide you with a 50 experience bonus to your Hunt Pass if you collect them all. They can be found all throughout Ramsgate, from the spawn archway to the very back of the town and on all the walkways found within.
