[2023] Dauntless | New Game Mode AMA

Originally posted by twit-twot

Will there be special event pursuits for keystone behemoths? say once a month, a specific keystone behemoth becomes available in pursuit.

Originally posted by Sara_askeloph

Hunting grounds are still rather popular with a considerable amount of the community, will you be removing them as a garuntee?

Originally posted by Efimity

You told you want to bring back pursuit like game mode with a lot more stuff to do as side quests? I really like that idea but may I ask, if you will keep a level up system won’t that cause us to spend more time in loading screen still? The reason why Hunting Grounds were introduced was to make it so you cab spend more time playing then loading screens, how do you plan to deal with this?

Originally posted by BerriesPicking

Are hunting grounds being replaced completely? Or is it just another game mode? After coming back to the game after a few years I like that I can continuously hunt behemoths without having to go through load screens every time compared to the pursuits when the game first came out. Getting rams and weapon xp is so much more doable

Originally posted by chaddykev

Will patrols be reintroduced in anyway

Originally posted by Gullible_Drive823

what is inside the black meteor in gauntlet?

Originally posted by Kensekaru

- Are Arcstones coming back?
- Can we expect to see behemoths running away from arenas again?
- Will pursuits be able to contain multiple monsters in hunts? Kind of like a hybrid between old pursuits and the current hunting grounds.

Originally posted by HoxtonNotHouston

Is the new gamemode a redesign to the old Hunts (from before Hunting grounds)?

Originally posted by ninekpinek

Will you bring back desperado outfit in store or any other way for players to get it? Im also wondering if there are any plans to make a new omnicell or to add a new type of range wepon in game any time soon?

Originally posted by Falminar

how will this system interact with the islands that are already established to exist - will each pursuit have a random island like they used to, have the same island for the same behemoth always, or?

will some of the existing islands established by the hunting grounds be cut, or are you expecting to be using all of them in this mode?

New encounters may include things like other wandering Behemoths and other adversarial creatures you can fight, Behemoths attacking NPCs or structures on the island, shrines, and more!

you just gonna randomly drop the word "shrines" with no elaboration?

Originally posted by Efimity

This is more of a suggestion then a question but, will we have a way to still go for random behemoths in hunting grounds and I was thinking wouldn’t it be cool if we can create a pool of behemoths ourselves while going for randomized pursuits so it can make it more fun for end game players just fight the behemoth they like with still a bit randomization.

Originally posted by Icy-Bee-2157

So sadly I won’t have the opportunity to be present during the AMA so I am going to ask my questions now and hope they‘ll get answered:

First of all again the things you brought up in the block just sound incredible. I mean honestly one of my questions for this update blog was if we will get a world map like in open beta and boom there is the confirmation…this is just incredible and will bring more clearance and lore to the game and how this world is structured….just thank you so much…if it is any like the map we had back than it’ll be great…

So on to my questions:

1.Since this mode will be substitute Hunting Grounds I am assuming all those maps will be transferred over to this new mode am I correct?

1. Are original Island Models like old ember Thorne cove, the prototyp for restless sands or boreal outpost returning? I mean I like the new models as well but since hunting grounds they just went out of the game and to have much variety in the new mode that brings best of both a greater map variety would be very beneficial in my opinion.

2. Will gliders get into the new mode. I think I personally like it to play without gliders so the maps feel bigger and you can experience it better but my friends really like gliders and would like to know….

I hope you can answer those questions. Keep up the great work, next summer will be amazing Clear skies

Originally posted by PrinceUldrenSov22

Will Pursuits also include Lore and secret Side Quests along with Hunting Grounds?

Originally posted by Saphir_blue

Hello, do you intend one these things below: - monsters gaining stackable buff atk for instance + can apply some debuff to slayers (minus atk/def) along with other malus (poison, fire.....) - revamp rewards for gauntlet: uneven distribution (used pots x efforts) + add a way to have some free platinums - raid mode

Originally posted by peetar

I never liked "tracking" the Behemoths. It just wasn't fun to load into a big map (that you had memorized from playing dozens of times before). And spending the first few minutes spreading out and running to one of the 4 or 5 pre-generated spawn points. It felt more like a chore, than a hunt. And then if you didn't kill the behemoth fast enough, you'd have to repeat the "hunt" all over again. Any plans to change how the start/interludes of pursuits work?

Originally posted by EmberKoi

I'm pretty sure I speak for almost everyone when I ask, when is a new weapon coming??

Originally posted by FrikityFrock

1. Are there going to be dual-type Behemoths? Whether it be new variants of existing Behemoths or new species altogether?
2. Will weapon elements have more substantial effects on multiple behemoth types? Like instead of blaze weapons only being effective against frost types, it is partially effective against, for instance, umbral and shock, but also partially resistant by radiant, terra, and neutral?
3. There was mention that random island events where AI slayers could be fighting behemoths. Is it possible we could have enemy factions of slayers that side with the behemoths? Even potential PvP?

Originally posted by KorrupiKid

Please tell me about the map

and we are currently working on a world map that will finally show off the frontier of the Shattered Isles in a way you have never seen before!

This is by far the most interesting thing mentioned in teh blog post if you ask me. I have a lot of feelings and concerns for the map.

First of all how will the map work?

The shattered isles are ever changing and islands don't stay in one place. We know they move around which is why we've previously been told there it's difficult to make a map.

What will be on the map?

The blogpost mentions the word "frontier" leads me to believe it will only include Ramsgate and the various islands we hunt on. Ramsgate is said to be a frontier town fighting off the behemoths closest to the Maelstrom. It's hard to tell what the world is like now ever since the skyquake messed up a bunch of stuff, but I imagine the stuff about Ramsgate is still true.

I would love to see other nations being displayed on the map as well. Places like Ostia, St. Avellaine, Andar, Skaldeskar and so on.

My thoughts

I really hope this map will be at least somewhat detailed and lore accurate. I know not a lot of people care about the lore, most people don't even know there is lore and the vast majority of players only have a general idea of what the story is. A good map of the shattered isles will be very beneficial to those who want to learn more about the game. The various locations in the shattered isles won't just be filler words in quests or item descriptions anymore. I hope the map turns out great.

Originally posted by YoursTrulyHuntty

I have been scrolling down and reading the other comments and have came to ask my own.

With the possible return of pursuits, Should the hunting grounds stay along with the pursuits? It would diverse the community between Hunting grounds and Pursuit.

Originally posted by Due_Extent2124

will we get any new dodge animations?.
i mean... the war pike one was pretty cool.

Originally posted by Due_Extent2124

will we get any new dodge animations?.
i mean... the war pike one was pretty cool.

Originally posted by peetar

I never liked "tracking" the Behemoths. It just wasn't fun to load into a big map (that you had memorized from playing dozens of times before). And spending the first few minutes spreading out and running to one of the 4 or 5 pre-generated spawn points. It felt more like a chore, than a hunt. And then if you didn't kill the behemoth fast enough, you'd have to repeat the "hunt" all over again. Any plans to change how the start/interludes of pursuits work?

Originally posted by NickyNicklas

Are you bringing patrols back? Or something close to how patrols felt?

I'll admit that the reason to why i first started getting hooked on playing Dauntless all those years ago was the fact that we actually had to look for the behemoths and hunt them on the map itself, not knowing which one it'll be (Specifically in patrols).

When the hunting grounds were introduced i felt that the game definitely lost that charm and just became mindless and boring. Having the behemoths constantly respawn and show up on the mini-map ruined the feeling of actually hunting a dangerous monster.

I also felt like the game lost the CO-OP element a bit too. Yea you can hunt together on the hunting grounds, but it'll never top the excitement of being the first to find the behemoth and sending out that flare making people group up and defeat it was exciting.

I love grinding in games, but playing a game where that's the only you do will eventually make people lose interest (which it did for me, but that's also because i finished basically everything.)

I want Dauntless to feel epic to play again, and i personally wouldn't be opposed to removing the hunting grounds and just revert to the old patrol/pursuit system entirely. I know that probably wont happen but i think that'd make the game better. But i'm still excited to see what you're cooking up with this rework.

This mini-rant comes from a place of love for Dauntless. I wouldn't have used 1000+ hours of my time playing it if i didn't like it.

Hope to see the game improve <3

Originally posted by sseltnuad

I am not able to join the AMA when live so I am stating my questions here. I hope that is ok for you: Btw another great Blog I am truly excited

1. One thing about the new side quests(it’s a mix between a question and a suggestion/feedback So you stated that there are going to be side quests like protecting npcs or buildings. That is honestly very great and surely will bring proper dynamics into the island experience…one thing though…

Are those npcs or especially the buildings always going to be present on the island even if they are not for a present side quest or is there going to be the same island model just with and without buildings on it?

In my opinion this would be the better solution, so to not just have the same parameters on the same island. I mean we have it with the boreal out post/ coldrunner key model. We had the old one that in terms of hunting grounds got removed and replaced with the one with the skalds town. And that’s a bummer cause because of that we lost some pretty clutch parts of the island….I think it would be better to have both models sometimes with the town or for some other islands with buildings and sometimes without(btw please read the three old missing og island models currently missing)

1. Are you going to delete any islands models currently in game or like the so spoken older models?

I would really dislike seeing that because as this game mode will represent and bring the best out of both it should also bring all the islands new and old with it…..

1. Are any new islands models planned for the mode(maybe like a ruin city in the Sand I mean….since we got this dope new Skarn model I honestly can’t think of something else…or a lava as island with bone piles for the new Hellion….;))

That would it be for me. I am excited for the side quests and all around that but when it comes down to the core I am mostly interested in the environment and the overall feeling on the island…I hope you understand that…that does not mean I am not looking forward to helping old granny gathering spores or protecting orrey while making aetheric analysis from some Styxians or raptors… Clear skies I am looking forward to your answers

Originally posted by EmberKoi

I'm pretty sure I speak for almost everyone when I ask, when is a new weapon coming??

Originally posted by Cpt_Maelstrom

- Why the team decided to go back to patrols instead implementing the bait system? I believe the result would be almost the same.

- Whats with the "mimic" fauna? It seems very annoying, and as the current gatherables goes, theres pretty much no reason to interact with them (as you can buy potions with rams). Another possible issue: (like in wayfinder) mimics has set points, instead being randomly placed, so players can easily avoid it.

- Am I wrong to see this "new game mode" as a simple "Hunting Grounds event"? Or like some combination of already existing content, such as, Terra esca mushroom gather / linnea wood cutting / barrier building repeatable quest / island adventures or even escalation? Because none of these were fun or made any difference. So im a bit sceptic when the "new way of playing the game" is built around these kind of side activities (and the main activity also just a HG event, called differently)

Yes, shrines and all that stuff are new, but i assume its a random buff during that pursuit, which might sound like a chore for something meaningless (ends up being completely ignored after 5-10 times for efficiency)

Originally posted by Manujiiva

Will the reintroduce pursuit be endless or it ends once the targeted behemoth is slayed?

Any plans on upgrading the current game engine to lets say UE5 or another?

Originally posted by KorrupiKid

Bonus question for you. Will Gaius Copperwheel make a return? He is the cartographer after all and we have not seen him since old Ramsgate. Where is he hiding?

Originally posted by GentlemanTrex

Love your game, but I'm at work so I'll be brief!

1: the new game mode or open world aspect will it be similar to Monster Hunters open areas? Sort of Monsters Co existing in an ecosystem, moving around to do things rather than just staying in an invisible circle? ? 2: for new creatures, any hint at what's coming up? 3: unrelated, but how's Fae farm doing? My wife adores the game to no end and it's nice to see you all branch out!

Originally posted by PrinceUldrenSov22

You mentioned improvement in Behemoth behavior and interactivity. Does this mean we'll be getting a new mechanic similar to the Aether Geysers that allow us to jump on some Behemoths backs?

Originally posted by BodybuilderOk6047

Hey dauntless I just lookt at the dev blog and the problem you face with, players zero in on target behemoth and other players that want to explore, wy not have a earship be called after you kill the targeted behemoth and it will be an extraction point fore player free to leave and if they stil want to explore, they can

Originally posted by Specter56709

I've got a few reasonable questions.

1) Will there be some kind of story/lore

2) Will trading ever be a thing in the long run

3) Will there be more buffs for escalations

4) Will there be a seperate trials board for duo, trio and then of course squad

5) Is there a possibility that you guys will add a decorative mode for your own personal hub or headquarters to customize it to your own liking

6) What's the actual point of trackers if they don't really benefit the player instead of just bragging rights

7) Will you guys maybe add new elements to the game where you can have a twin combo of a behemoth like a nature/shock Malkarion

8) When will pets be a thing and how will it actually benefit a player new or old

Originally posted by Xardas_88

Just what Dauntless needed, another remake of existing systems instead of new content.