Slayers who are looking for serious challenges, elite Behemoths and rare materials often find themselves setting a course for the Maelstrom. We want Slayers to choose the paths that they’ll forge and make their choices feel important so that their legend feels truly unique. With that in mind, we’re making some changes to the Maelstrom and the Behemoths found there.
Spin Me Right ‘Round
Having dire Behemoths rotating in and out of weekly rotations can add urgency to hunts; Slayers who want to forge top-tier gear know that they will need to dedicate themselves if they want to complete their sets. However, we’ve also heard from Slayers that these rotations don’t feel like they empower player choices.
So, what is going to change? All of the islands of the Maelstrom and the dire Behemoths that inhabit them will always be available to hunt, starting with the 0.5.7 update. We’re committed to continuing to tune up these encounters to test your skills and to give you more choice when it comes to top-tier play. Slayers can look forward to more dire Behemoths and new ways to hunt that will challenge their skills in the future. While the Maelstrom may be the current top-tier of the Open Beta, it’s only the beginning of our vision for the Evergame.
Thorny Issues
Slayers entering the Maelstrom for the first time since Update 0.5.0 are running into a thorny wall. As if dire Behemoths weren’t enough of a challenge, their thornbound cousins are proving to be a frustrating difficulty spike (so to speak) that doesn’t track with the rest of progression.
It’s important to us that Dauntless challenges Slayers and we’re proud to have Behemoths that offer a true skillcheck, but the road to those accomplishments should be paved with refined skills — not face-first frustrations.
To make the transition into the Evergame more enjoyable, we’ll be rotating thornbound Behemoths out of play for the time being. Slayers embarking on the Koshai quest chain will instead need to patrol the Sovereign’s Throne. Slayers who have already completed the existing Koshai quest chain will not notice a difference, but anyone who is mid-quest will find their progress reset and their objectives replaced by a new set of dire Behemoth hunts. So if you’re itching to say that you did it the hard way – get on it before Wednesday!
For those that will miss getting simultaneously electrocuted and slashed to ribbons, rest assured that Koshai’s roots run deep. These botanical beasts will be back in the future. We like the specific challenges that these encounters offer and are looking forward to creating a wider breadth of content that will give context to their challenge.
Slayers can look forward to additional Behemoth-altering effects in the future. Who knows what aether-fueled abilities may cause encounters to change in the future!
These changes are the direct result of your feedback, and we are continuing to put it to good use as we shape the Behemoths, weapons, quests, and modes that you can look forward to in the future. As always, keep the feedback coming!
