Dauntless 101 – Danger Meter, Island Rotations and Special Attacks

If you’re interested in Phoenix Labs’ co-operative action-RPG Dauntless now that it’s in open beta and its servers are no longer on fire, you may want to check out some of the so-called “Dauntless 101” articles on the game’s developer blog that try to clarify a few things about some of the game’s less obvious features and mechanics. Here’s one that covers the danger meter, one that explains how Dauntless’ island rotations work, and one that provides a detailed overview of the “special” attacks.

Here’s a bit about island rotations:

SCHEDULED CHAOS

There is currently one fixed island in the Maelstrom: Dyadic Drift. This is where you’ll find Shrowd and Rezakiri waiting to punch holes in your fancy new armour. Approach with caution, but approach as often as you like – this island isn’t going anywhere.

Beside the Dyadic Drift, you’ll see two additional islands on your map. These are our rogue islands – land masses that rotate through the visible range of the Maelstrom. Every week, one of these rotating islands will leave the map and a new one will take its place.

In the image below, you’ll see that our two rotating islands are Vermillion-18 and Cobalt-4.

If you take an even closer look, you’ll notice a timer attached to each of those islands. In this instance, Vermillion-18 has 10 days left and Cobalt-4 has three days left. That means that in three days, Cobalt-4 will disappear from the map and a new island will take its place. This schedule of rotation gives you two weeks to hunt on each island.

WHERE’S MY BEHEMOTH?

Rotating islands aren’t just there to change up the scenery. With each new island that shifts into range, you’ll discover a new Behemoth or two waiting to test your skills. The Bloodfire Embermane, for example, appears exclusively on Vermillion-18. Once Vermillion-18 rotates off the map, you’ll need to wait for it to reappear before challenging that beast again.

MAPPING THE DRIFT

The in-game map and its island timers aren’t the only way to keep an eye on the Maelstrom. You can also follow @playdauntless on Twitter for weekly updates on island rotations. We’ll let you know which new islands are moving in – and which are on their way out – so you can start planning your next hunt right away.

As to looking beyond next week … well. Arkan Drew is good, but he’s not there just yet.