Hey Slayers!
Welcome to the sixth installment of our Shattered Isles dev blog. Today, we share more details on our vision for Behemoths and what makes them fun, our expectations for Legend Behemoths, and updates on Codename Crudge. Let’s get into it!
What makes a Behemoth fun?
Behemoths are the beating heart of Dauntless, representing the biggest challenge in the game, and each new Behemoth strives to bring something original and exciting. Three main ingredients of the Behemoth-Secret-Sauce are:
- Remarkable concept
- Cool moves
- Pressure points
Before the encounter even begins, the idea of the new Behemoth has to be engaging. Our team gets together to pitch different ideas and mix everything to brew an unique concept, something slayers have never seen but feels like it belongs in The Shattered Isles.
After we have a concept, we start iterating on the gameplay intent. Great Behemoths should have interesting moves that feel equally awesome to behold while Slayers are getting hit by it or when Slayers successfully evade them.
With the concept and moves defined, it’s time to craft a captivating and memorable encounter. Behemoths must pressure Slayers, making them move, dodge, and balance risk and reward, choosing to go for that extra attack or evading to avoid a punishing strike. A successful Behemoth draws that desire to master the encounter, a bit of frustration when you fail, and a lot of joy once you conquer it.
This is the most complex step, as Slayers are very creative in their ways of fighting Behemoths. We count on our internal playtests, partners, and community feedback to understand how successful we are on any new Behemoth.
What can we expect from Legend Behemoths?
We first presented Legend Hunts in our The World of the Shattered Isles blog post and had the initial iteration of Setikai, the Fallen King (Legend Riftstalker) and Roc, the Roost Mother (Legend Shrike) available during our last playtest rounds. A lot of progress has happened since then.
We collected great feedback on those encounters and are currently redefining our approach. Playtesters liked their concepts, but their pressure points and moves were too similar to their base Behemoths.
We want these encounters to feel like a remix of a song you know very well – deeply familiar, but with enough differences to make it feel revitalized. You can expect to see a couple of new moves, mechanics, or system tweaks to give a new spin to each encounter.
Meet two of the Legends featured in The Shattered Isles:
Pandoro, The Cataclysm
Oberut, The Ruinback
Legend Behemoths have defeated several foolhardy Slayers, accumulating Aether and maturing into their ultimate version. Be ready, Slayer, they will not be easy and might catch you off guard.
Codename Crudge, our next Behemoth!
Crudge started as a collaboration between our community of Slayers and our artists on our Behemoth Concept community livestream, but that was just the beginning, and a lot of work happens after the initial draft concept. The goal of that step is to let ideas run freely and embrace them.
After the initial draft, we started funneling the design into what would make it feel like an integral and iconic part of Dauntless. As a natural step of this process, the concept was adjusted:
- Attention to personality: We accentuated some defining details, like Crudge’s jaw, tusks, tail, and claws. As mentioned before, having a great concept is one of our key success factors, and the majority of Crudge’s moves will revolve around those parts.
- Familiar reference: The initial draft felt too otherworldly and, to keep Crudge in line with The Shattered Isles’ Behemoths, we grounded the design on a familiar animal reference – Crabs!
- Gameplay-focused: We made Crudge lower to the ground with a heavier feel. This adjustment was necessary to have break-parts at Slayer’s reach.
Crudge will debut as part of The Shattered Isles update, you can expect a very dynamic encounter with an overly persistent Behemoth. Crudge keeps even experienced Slayers on their toes, every time they think they got the upper hand, Crudge comes with one more unexpected move.
Internally we say “Crudge is mean!”. You can expect to be constantly pressured and see some of the most unexpected attacks we’ve ever created. Be careful and don’t expect a passive and slow behemoth due to its size. Crudge is onto you, Slayer.
Your Feedback
Continue engaging with us and sharing feedback on our Dauntless Discord. We are eager to hear your thoughts on The Shattered Isles update and Crudge!
See you in the game for another Springtide in March.
Clear skies, Slayers!
