If you’ve been following along with the news out of the multiplayer critter hunting RPG Dauntless, you’ll know that things haven’t been particularly happy as developer Phoenix Labs seems to be content on releasing similar content updates time after time. However, it looks as if the studio is finally deciding to shake things up, as it announced a renewed focus on weapons last week, including major updates for specific weapons and the ability for players to swap between different weapons.
In summary, the goal is to make individual behemoth weapons feel more unique by granting them distinct abilities so that similar types of weapons don’t feel homogeneous. Weapons will also have 20 different levels that can be gained via crafting, with parts from a wider assortment of behemoths required to progress.
The other big part of this update is the ability to swap weapons mid-fight. Players will be able to bring two different kinds of weapons into the field and hot swap between them, whether it’s switching from one kind of sword to another sword or swapping between an axe and a pike. Swapping weapons can be done either through a specific input or through new combo paths, and players can even engage an ability from one weapon that carries forth when switching to another. Phoenix Labs’ aim is to allow for more build diversity based on playstyle or situation, such as moving from a blunt weapon for KO power and then to a cutting weapon to slice tails or combining effects.
Phoenix Labs held a Reddit AMA with players on the heels of this news, with answers that confirmed more loadout slots are coming, explained the rationale for weapon crafting requiring more varied monster parts, promised more information about buff updates that are planned, confirmed that updates to mods and specials are coming, and noted that the update will also bring new armors and outfits.
Unfortunately all of these features aren’t planned to arrive until sometime next summer, which is a long while to wait for a game that arguably feels like it’s in maintenance mode. That said, the features that are on tap for this update definitely hit the overhaul-sized swing for the fences mark, so that will certainly take time to do.
