Expert Dauntless Tips Beginners Need To Know

Dauntless, the free-to-play game about hunting giant monsters (known as Behemoths) and making swords out of their thighbones, has been out for over a year, but it received a massive update in late 2020.

With Dauntless Reforged, Phoenix Labs has broken up the pieces of the game and stuck them back together in a different shape, hoping to attract new players and recapture the attention of old ones.

It's an exciting time to get into Dauntless. Rather than going after specific monsters, players can now explore 18 larger biomes known as Hunting Grounds, taking on Behemoths at their leisure. Each Hunting Ground contains unique resources, secrets, smaller creatures and multiple hulking Behemoths to hunt.

But while many aspects of Dauntless' gameplay and economy have been shuffled around with the Reforged update, plenty of the old tried and true strategies remain sound. Here are the tricks newcomers should know if they want the best chance of bringing down some Behemoths.

When you land an attack in Dauntless, a flurry of damage numbers pop up, displaying its impact. But it's not just the size of the number that a hunter-in-training will want to pay attention to. It's also worth being aware of the color. That's because, while white damage numbers mean you're depleting a Behemoth's HP — fairly straightforward — there are also three other damage colors, each with their own meaning.

Blue damage is stagger damage, and it's best dished out using weapons like the hammer. Deal enough of it and you'll stagger a Behemoth, stunning it for a while so you can attack without fear of reprisal.

Red damage is wound damage and is usually caused by the war pike weapon. Apply enough of it in one area and you can wound a part of the Behemoth. This means it takes more damage from attacks in that area.

Yellow damage is part damage, and you'll want to deal as much of it as possible. Target the same spot enough and you can actually break off a part of the Behemoth, producing harvestable resources and often disabling certain attacks. Beware though, because some monsters will actually gain new attacks when you break their parts.

If you're coming to Dauntless from its more expensive cousin Monster Hunter, you're probably used to diving out of the way of a charging beast. In Dauntless, you'll instead want to steel yourself and roll right into incoming attacks. It might seem unintuitive, but if you time things right, you can dive straight under a Behemoth's legs, placing yourself in the perfect position for a counterstrike.

This is because when you roll in Dauntless, you have a lot of invincibility frames, frames of animation during which an attack can't connect with you, rendering you essentially unstoppable. So get close and get rolling. If you've ever fought a Dark Souls boss, you may be familiar with the strategy.

You may still need to run away (or towards) a Behemoth from time to time. When you do, be mindful of your stamina. The most important thing to remember is to sheath your weapon when you're not using it, as running with your weapon out drains your stamina in seconds flat.

If you spend any time in the Dauntless community, you'll probably hear the term "booping," and you may be confused by it at first. But to put it simply, booping is the playerbase's term for a special combat move that can interrupt Behemoth's attacks, knock 'em over, and leave them vulnerable to a bunch of free attacks.

It's a handy trick, but also a difficult one for newcomers to get the hang of. For starters, it requires an iron nerve to stand still while a monster barrels down on you. Then you'll need to use a certain attack (which will change depending on what weapon you're using) at just the right moment.

Bear in mind that only certain attacks can be interrupted in this way. Look out for an orange indicator around a Behemoth's head when it's attacking. That's a sign that you can "boop" it.

If you're playing in a team, it's best to group up when trying this tactic. Not only will this make it easier to predict where a Behemoth will charge, it will mean that when you pull off a successful boop, everyone will be within striking range.