Dauntless: How to Use Different Weapon Types

Each of the weapons in Dauntless is unique, but they all fall into a few broad categories. Learn how to use your favorite weapons to their best potential by following our Dauntless weapon type guide.

Choosing to use a sword versus an Axe in some games might not make too much of a difference, but that’s not the case in Dauntless. Each of the game’s weapon types has a completely different moveset and a unique feel, so switching from one type to another will radically change the way you approach the game. It’s worth your time to craft and play with at least one of each type to see which feels best to you, but we’ve got some pointers to steer you in the right direction.

Slashing Weapons

• Sword
• Chain Blades
• Axe
• War Pike (heavy attack)

Most of the weapons in Dauntless are classified as slashing weapons. While any weapon can break parts, slashing weapons are the best at it. They do 50% bonus damage to Behemoth’s tails and to any part that’s been wounded by the War Pike’s piercing attack.

When using slashing weapons, your best bet is to pick an unbroken Behemoth part (one that shows yellow damage numbers when you hit it) and keep attacking until it breaks. Starting with the tail is generally a good idea because you do extra damage to it and chopping off a Behemoth tail will often prevent it from performing some attacks. If you’re using a sword or axe, you can also deal decent stagger damage, so it may be worth switching to attacks against the head when you see the swirling icon that shows that a Behemoth is close to being staggered.

Blunt Weapons

• Hammer

There is currently only one blunt weapon in the game: the hammer. While the hammer can break parts as well, blunt weapons’ main focus is staggering Behemoths. When you’re using a blunt weapon, prioritize getting the hardest hits possible in on the Behemoth’s head. Try to avoid attacking the tail, because slashing weapons are much more efficient at it. Also, keep in mind that blunt damage can’t break horns or tails, so if you need those parts, make sure you have another member of your team working to break them off.

Blunt damage is also especially effective against the rocky plates of the Skarn. When you’re fighting one, you may want to balance keeping the Behemoth staggered with breaking as many of its armor pieces as possible to let your teammates do maximum damage to the vulnerable parts underneath.

Piercing Weapons

• War Pike (light attack)

Like blunt weapons, there’s only one piercing weapon in Dauntless at this time. Only one type of attack from that weapon even does piercing damage. The War Pike’s light attack can wound Behemoth parts, causing them to take more damage from slashing weapons, including its own heavy attack.

As a piercing weapon user, your main job is to soften up parts to make them easier to break. Try to keep attacking the same unwounded part as much as possible until it’s wounded, then move to another part or help break it. You’ll know a part is wounded when a blue glow appears on it and red damage numbers stop appearing when you attack it.

Special Weapons

• Ostian Repeaters

The Ostian Repeaters don’t fall into any of the standard weapon categories. Functionally, you can treat them sort of like slashing weapons. Since their per-shot damage isn’t high enough to cause stagger, it’s best to focus on unbroken parts. You’re not going to be carving off parts on your own with the repeaters, so just attack whatever target the slashing weapon users are currently going after, and you can pitch in on breaking it while doing solid damage per second.