Dauntless Stormchasers Update Available, Live on Nintendo Switch
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The Phoenix Labs team has put together a fresh content update for their Monster Hunter-inspired free to play action-RPG Dauntless. Known as Stormchasers (patch notes), the update's standout features include the Escalation mode where you have to fight five Behemoths back to back, a brand new aerial Behemoth, and a new season of the Hunt Pass.
Additionally, you can now play Dauntless on your Nintendo Switch. Here's the official launch trailer:
And an overview of the new stuff:
Welcome to the Stormchasers update! With this supercharged release, we’re putting Dauntless on the Nintendo Switch, delivering a shocking new Behemoth, and launching a bold new challenge for Slayers everywhere: Escalation. In this blog post, we’ll also introduce the Myth & Legend Hunt Pass and take a look at some improvements debuting along with 1.1.0.
NOW ON NINTENDO
After many months of development, testing, and incredibly hard work from all corners of our studio, we’re proud to announce that Dauntless has arrived on Nintendo Switch. If you’ve got a Nintendo Switch at home (or your holiday radar is telling you that you might get one soon), be sure to download the game and try it out! Remember: You can access all of your progress – no starting over! – on any system that you play Dauntless on as long as you’re linked to an Epic Games account.
ESCALATION
You’ve mastered the art of fighting one Behemoth at a time. But what about surviving five in a row? Or two at once? In Escalation, you’ll be challenged to make it through five back-to-back Behemoth encounters with just one set of gear, one set of supplies, and a charged-up lantern to light your way. How far will you make it?
MALKARION
Make it to the top of the Escalation island chain and you just might encounter our newest Behemoth: the Malkarion. This aerial beast is bristling with shock aether and ready to tail slam you straight back to Ramsgate. Use new mounted attacks to get the upper hand and earn yourself the right to craft its legendary shock weapons.
MYTH & LEGEND
The Myth & Legend Hunt Pass brings history and heroism to the city of Ramsgate. Journey through this epic pass to earn the First Slayer cosmetic armour set, steel marks (a Hunt Pass first!), and a glorious set of Ultra Armour on level 50 of the Elite Track. Ever dreamt of riding into battle on the back of a glorious Ramsgate ram? Claim the “Let’s Ride” arrival emote on Elite Track level 45 to make your dream a reality.
Also worth calling out: Bounties that used to ask you to complete N hunts will now ask you to slay N Behemoths instead. This should help those of you that want to focus on Escalation do so without worrying about falling behind. Good luck out there!
QUICK CHAT
Sending messages on PC is easy, but if you’re slaying on console? Not so much. That’s why we’re introducing a new quick chat feature with the release of 1.1.0.
Quick chat launches with a library of nearly 30 chat options, covering everything from “yes” and “no” to requests to target specific Behemoth parts. Set your favourite phrases via the Personality menu, then navigate to your quick chat wheel from the emote wheel. Selecting a phrase will send it to chat. No typing required.
HEADS UP
Health bars. Shield indicators. Weapon UIs. Buff icons. Just about every part of our combat HUD has been overhauled and improved for 1.1.0, and it is beautiful.
Things to look for as you settle into the new UI: new lantern ability indicators, new buff and debuff icons, and cleaner feedback for your weapon(s) of choice. As with any big change, this might take some getting used to, but we promise it’s worth the temporary brain itch.
HEART TO HEART
As part of our HUD rework – and in support of the new Dual Behemoth hunts available in Escalation – we’ve added an optional Behemoth health indicator to the combat screen. This heart-shaped meter is divided into four quarters, giving you a rough idea of how close you are to taking a Behemoth down, and will light on fire when a Behemoth enters an enraged or aethercharged state. In Dual Behemoth hunts, you’ll see two hearts – one per Behemoth. Use them to track and prioritize targets as you climb your way to the top of the islands.
Why four quarters and not a numbered bar? While we want to provide useful feedback on your hunt, we don’t want to eliminate uncertainty. Suspense is part of the joy of the hunt. Dividing Behemoth health into quarters also gives us the opportunity to explore health-triggered events in future updates. What might a Behemoth do differently at half health? Or with just one heart fragment left? We look forward to finding out.
“Ok, but I still don’t want it,” you might think. Which is why we’ve made Behemoth health an optional feature. If you don’t want to see it, simply go to Options > Gameplay and flip the Behemoth Health Visible toggle to the off position. You can always change your mind later.
IN THE MAIL
Can’t remember how the latest event works? Don’t want to go to a browser to catch up on patch notes? Now you can check your in-game inbox. This new message delivery system arrives with today’s Stormchasers update – along with a warm welcome message to get you started. Open it up, give it a read, and let us know what you’d like to see delivered to you in the future.
