Back in 2019, developer Phoenix Labs boarded the Monster Hunter train with its free-to-play take on Capcom's beast-slaying formula. The result was Dauntless, an online RPG with a decent gameplay loop, but one that really chugged on Switch.
In the years since, Dauntless had somewhat slipped from our minds (2019 feels like an age ago, after all), but next month, Phoenix Labs are introducing a monster update, serving as "a major overhaul of the game".
Dauntless: Awakening launches on 5th December, converting the game's progression into a new seasonal structure. The first season (fittingly called 'Awakening') introduces a new Behomoth monster, Karkonos, for you to hunt down and an all-new map, Twilight’s Domain, where you'll find it.
Operating on a seasonal basis, the new Dauntless will see weapons and armour sets unlocked by completing weekly challenges — with more rewards available to those with the new paid 'Hunt Pass', naturally. 18 new weapons can be obtained in total, with 7 available through standard quests, with another 11 entering your arsenal via 'Weapon Tokens' earned from challenges.
The Awakening update also overhauls the First-Time User Experience (FTUE) to help newbies feel more comfortable heading into their first hunt, and a fresh tutorial is there to introduce the new progression system, too.
On top of all that, next week's update also enables full cross-progression and a launch on Steam, so you can continue the hunt across any platform (if you're logged into an Epic Games account, of course). You can find the full rundown of everything included in this update on the Phoenix Labs blog.
It seems like big changes are on the horizon and while not all of them fill us with hope — how many times have we seen a seasonal structure by this point? — it's interesting to see things take such a sharp turn this late in the day. Besides, it'll make the wait for Monster Hunter Wilds a little easier.
Will you be checking out Dauntless: Awakening? Let us know in the comments.
Comments 16
Oh I tried this for a few days, had no clue as to what was going on. I didn't want to put in the effort to learn everything and went about my business.
Hope those still playing Dauntless will enjoy this apparently beefy update!
...Oh yeah, this exists, I played it for like...an hour or something, got really bored with it right after. lol
Can't even watch youtube videos on the game, it's just boring.
I played Dauntless for quite a bit as I love PvE online games - I was playing before they changed the hub town and I had gotten pretty good with the pistols. Then they overhauled the pistols and this coincided with stuff that kept me away for a while, so nowadays I do not remember how to play! Also, Helldivers 2 has become my go-to PvE game and it has significantly raised the bar.
I completely forgot this game exists
@JohnnyMind Dude, your comments on this site are always so positive and I appreciate the heck out of it!
I played a bit but couldn't get into it, the UI was very clunky.
It seems like a solid game though, and with this update it might be time to give it another chance.
I forgot this game was on Switch. Love a good co-op PvE game in the MonHun vein.
@bobby_steurer Glad to hear that's the case!
I played for a bit when this first came out. It had a lot of problems. Biggest issue I ran into far too often was the monster health/difficulty was based on # of people dropping in to the zone. If you had people that would disconnect, you ended up with a much more difficult monster to fight against then the reduced numbers could handle. I assume if you had perfect timing on dodging, counters, etc you might be able to take it, but some times you just didn't have the numbers to deal with so many adds.
Also, the loop was a bit too grindy. I kinda liked that they were trying to build synergies between classes, but if you only played PUGs you basically had to assume you weren't going to get the right classes to do that. I mean, I did have some fun with it, sorta. But, the disconnects really sucked the fun out of it.
I didn't read the changes to see if the game is a little more solo friendly. that's the only way the game would really be able to shine, but by design it's a co-op game so probably not. Clearly the game is suffering, but I guess not so much that it hasn't folded already. Many posts already about people having forgotten about the game already. I didn't know it released on Switch either.
@JohnnyMind Yeah, don't ever change, buddy.
This game lasted way longer than I would have expected. As others, I played it for like an hour, didn't like it, and went about my business. There have been games that I would have imagined being more popular that didn't last nearly as long.
Never heard of this. In the video, there is something about those sound effects, so many western developer’s and movie houses use the same, tired, boring, sound effects. I hate those sounds.
Game was ass simple as that
Oh man I remember playing dauntless a while ago. I honestly thought it was really good.
I played Dauntless for quite a while with my friend group. Although I think it’s a good, free game, it’s a watered-down version of Monster Hunter. A great introduction for those interested in trying out Monster Hunter eventually, but if you can commit to Monster Hunter, that’s the way you should go.
Tbh I hope it works out for them since MMOs are really sparse on Switch but Warframe is tough to beat.
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