Dauntless 1.0 Launches September 26 with the Aether Unbound Expansion

Dauntless officially launches out of early access September 26 with the Aether Unbound expansion.

Dauntless officially launches out of early access with the Aether Unbound seasonal expansion on Sept. 26, according to developer Phoenix Labs. When the 1.0 update hits, it will bring with it a load of new content, including a new weapon, a new behemoth, and the Bounty system.

If that announcement leaves you feeling deja vu, it may be because Dauntless already launched this May on PS4, Xbox One, and the Epic Games Store. That was the launch from open beta to early access. Wow with the 1.0 update, Dauntless is officially released for the last time. At least for now.

Regardless of its questionable status as the official start of the game, Aether Unbound is bringing some substantial changes to the free-to-play monster hunting game. A new Bounty system replaces its previously dull weekly quests with a slightly less dense mission structure, and a new Hunt Pass, for starters. More exciting additions are the Aether Strikers, a brand-new fist weapon, and the Tempestborne Stormclaw, a variant on the ever-deadly Stormclaw behemoth already in the game.

Earlier this month, update 0.9.3 added some pretty hefty content of its own. The update introduced a much-needed improvement to the crafting interface and lots of other small improvements. It also introduced swappable loadouts, a highly requested feature for slayers to save a suite of different armor sets to switch between on the fly.

Since early access is an increasingly meaningless term these days, Dauntless will also continue to receive regular updates. Along with its continuing rotation of seasonal goodies, more substantial changes are laid out in the game’s roadmap. Among the most awaited updates is the Nintendo Switch port of the game, which is still in development with an unannounced release date.

Dauntless slightly fell off the map. It got utterly overshadowed by the release of Monster Hunter World: Iceborne. However, Aether Unbound could make it well worth another look if you’re after a more relaxed (and free!) monster-slaying experience.