GamerEscape

While out at PAX West last weekend I had the chance to check out Dauntless: a free-to-play co-op action RPG currently in PC open beta from Phoenix Labs.

I wasn’t completely unaware of the game going in. After all, several friends of the site such as Mr. Happy and Ethys are Dauntless partners and so I decided it was time to finally get some hands-on time with the game and try it out for myself.

The best way I can think of to describe Dauntless is a more simplified version of Monster Hunter. You can team up with up to three other players to take down a Behemoth, one of the game’s big monsters. As you fight them, you’ll be able to break certain parts off like horns or tails, and collect those items to use for weapon and armor upgrades. There’s also the hub town of Ramsgate where you can take on new quests and craft new gear and items to get ready for your next Behemoth slaying endeavor.

I joined up with some other PAX West attendees as we took on the mission of slaying Shrike. After landing on the island the group’s first task is to find the enemy. After locating the Behemoth, you can send up a flare to alert other players of your location so that they can quickly come to join you in the battle if they’re not already with you.

The fights against Behemoths can feel long, but our fight against Shrike didn’t take more than probably 10 minutes or so. After my time out at PAX West, I came home and immediately installed Dauntless on my PC and I’ve already sunk a number of hours into the game. With most of my Behemoth hunts not going any longer than 10 minutes, I can easily see Dauntless making it’s way into my list of games for when I want something I can quickly jump into. On the other side of that, I’ve also played a few hours-long sessions. It’s safe to say that the game has its hooks in me at this point.

I walked away from my first hands-on with Dauntless impressed. It was a fun game, it had some cool weapon choices, but in the back of my mind I was wondering if maybe it wasn’t missing something in the ranged weapons department…

Luckily, that’s something the Dauntless team has been working on. While at PAX, they gave me a quick look at the Ostian Repeaters- Dauntless’ first ranged weapon.

While I wasn’t able to try the repeaters out first-hand, they showed me several clips of the weapons in action, which we’ve combined together for your convenience.

This video has been removed at the request of Phoenix Labs. They’re hoping to provide more information about the Ostian Repeaters soon.

The Ostian Repeaters will have interchangeable parts, allowing players to customize different aspects of it to better suit their play style. However, the earning of the materials and training required to wield the Repeaters is said to be something that will challenge even the most devoted of Slayers. The Ostian Repeaters will arrive as part of The Coming Storm expansion that’s set to arrive early Fall of this year.