In Brief
- The Hunting Grounds launch December 3 with Dauntless Reforged.
- Explore 18 dynamic islands.
- Islands can now hold up to 6 Slayers at a time.
- Use drop-in, drop-out functionality for all islands.
- Soar through the skies with gliders.
- Join forces in island events for big rewards.
- Earn patrol keys to unlock hidden treasure caches.
The Shattered Isles have evolved.
Beginning December 3 with the launch of Dauntless Reforged (1.5.0), you will gain access to a brand-new way to hunt: the Hunting Grounds.
The Hunting Grounds are Dauntless’ biggest and most ambitious hunt type yet, designed from the ground up to provide you with a variety of activities to take part in. The Hunting Grounds offer 18 handcrafted islands to explore, brimming with flora, fauna, treasures to discover, and — of course — fearsome Behemoths.
These islands not only offer a variety of Behemoths and fauna that regenerate over time, they also dynamically update with a number of island events that call on all Slayers to band together for challenging encounters. Since you’re able to spend more time on Hunting Grounds islands than in previous hunt types, we’ve also added the ability to seamlessly restock your supplies and swap loadouts on islands through a new consumable source: supply crates.
Every element of Hunting Grounds ladders up to an overall goal: giving you more opportunities to enjoy the combat, exploration, and teamwork at the core of the Dauntless experience.
Exploring The Hunting Grounds
To access the Hunting Grounds, follow these steps:
- Navigate to the Hunt menu from the main menu.
- Select Hunting Grounds from the list.
- Select Emberthorn Cove or Boreal Outpost for an introductory hunt.
If you’d like to head back to town to craft gear or take on new quests, select Return To Ramsgate in the main menu to leave your current island. Alternatively, you can travel directly to other Hunting Grounds islands from the Hunting Grounds menu.
You can unlock new islands once you reach milestones in the Slayer’s Path, the brand-new progression system also arriving in Dauntless Reforged.
The Slayer’s Path: A New Progression …
On With The Hunt
By viewing an island in the Hunting Grounds menu, you can learn a few things about the island itself, including its local Behemoths, flora, common minerals, as well as some details on the island’s history. You will also see a star rating that tells you approximately how difficult an island is.
With the Hunting Grounds, we’ve increased the maximum number of Slayers per island to six, giving you a fighting chance against some of the more perilous encounters you’ll come across. Each island is chock full of Behemoths to defeat, aggressive fauna to clear out, treasure caches to loot, and island events to join — more on those later.
The user interface in the Hunting Grounds includes a wealth of information to give you a full picture of your surroundings and the dangers that await nearby. You can see points of interest marked by a “?” on your compass at the top of the screen.
Approaching a Behemoth will trigger the Entering Combat Area message.
There are a few stats you’ll want to be aware of before approaching a Behemoth in the Hunting Grounds:
- Level. Each Behemoth has a set level, which indicates the overall health and strength of a particular Behemoth. You may find Behemoths above level 20 in some of the riskier island events as well …
- Colour. Each Behemoth also receives a colour grading based on your current loadout, from grey (easier) to red (very hard). A green grade matches within 1 level of your character.
- Star Rating. Lastly, each Behemoth has a star rating, which signifies the complexity of the encounter. Behemoths with a higher star rating will have increased health, damage, and more attacks at their disposal, providing a greater challenge for your Slayer party.
Defeating a Behemoth in the Hunting Grounds will not send you back to Ramsgate. Instead, you’ll see a summary of the rewards you earned for that encounter and then be set free to continue exploring.
Another new change arriving with the Hunting Grounds is the ability to continue hunting even after your party is downed. If you reach 100% danger, you will have a limited time to kill the Behemoth before it flees the island. If your entire party is downed and out of stims, the Behemoth will flee, and you’ll be able to revive yourself once your stims regenerate.
Survive With Supplies
If you find yourself running low on tonics or other consumables, you can activate a new utility: the supply crate. Supply crates let you refresh your supplies (e.g. tonics, flasks) by interacting with the crate. They also lay down a ring that provides healing over time, similar to a Lifespring Pylon, so you and your party can patch up if you run into a particularly harrowing encounter.
You can also use supply crates to change your loadout. Find yourself nearing an encounter with a terra Behemoth, but went heavy on shock gear back in Ramsgate? Take advantage of the window of time when the healing ring is active to swap out your gear.
You begin each Hunting Grounds session with one supply crate that you can call forth from your emote wheel, found to the right of your signal flare. Supply crates can be summoned whenever you’re outside a combat area, and get refreshed when you move to a new island.
Gliding Over All
Advancements in Ramsgate aeronautics technology have resulted in a thrilling breakthrough: gliders, a new way to traverse the Shattered Isles.
Gliders make their debut in the Hunting Grounds, and will come in handy while exploring. The 18 islands you’ll soar over in Hunting Grounds include a number of completely reworked islands from previous hunt types with fresh, handcrafted touches, and there’s one special new island addition created specifically for the Hunting Grounds.
You can unlock gliders from the Slayer’s Path after reaching your third milestone. Here you will also be able to unlock additional frames that offer increased mobility and range.
Here are some tips for getting started with your new glider:
- Press the jump button while airborne to open up your glider.
- Use jump jets to get an extra boost before opening your glider to travel longer distances.
- Pitch your glider forward for a nosedive and pull back to swoop up.
- Keep an eye on your glider’s stamina wheel and make a safe landing before it runs out.
You can expect a number of colourful ways to personalise your glider through the Dauntless store and through future in-game events, so keep an eye out for more glider options in the future.
Patrol Keys and Treasure Caches
With the launch of the Hunting Grounds, we are replacing patrol chests with patrol keys, a new item you can earn the same way you earned patrol chests — by progressing through the current Hunt Pass and collecting daily coin flip rewards.
Patrol keys are necessary to unlock hidden treasure caches on Hunting Grounds islands. These caches can include things like cores, and a variety of currencies (including the new exploration and combat merits used in the Slayer’s Path). These lost treasures spawn randomly around the island, and will disappear once you open a chest — like minerals, they can be accessed once per player.
Join Forces In Island Events
As you progress to new, more challenging islands in the Hunting Grounds, you may come across an island event. These random events encompass a number of activities, from taking down one elite Behemoth to holding off multiple foes while dealing with deadly environmental hazards. Highlight an island on the Hunt Map and check the description to view potential events.
The goal of island events is to offer additional activities that allow you and all other Slayers on an island to work together to complete an objective and earn experience and loot.
Here are just a few of the island events you’ll experience when the Hunting Grounds launch:
- Aether Surge: A common occurrence across the Hunting Grounds, attracting powerful Behemoths and other hostile creatures you’ll need to defeat.
- High Alert: An extremely powerful Behemoth has appeared, posing a great threat to the island’s ecosystem. Slay it quickly.
- Blast Zone: Avoid surges of shock aether and slay any Behemoths and creatures that appear.
- Shatterstorm: Tough Behemoths with thick hides are swarming together. Shatter nearby crystals to increase your attack speed.
- Sudden Death: Large quantities of aether can turn any Behemoth into a formidable force. Every Behemoth attack is fatal.
When an island event goes live, an indicator will appear on your compass. It will also generate a pillar of light that will be visible from any line of sight on the island. Once you enter the combat area, the event will begin.
Live For The Hunt
The Hunting Grounds launch December 3, 2020 as part of Dauntless Reforged, and we can’t wait to hear what you think.
Hop over to Reddit or Twitter to share your thoughts. Clear skies, Slayer!
