Dauntless currently has six weapons, offering pretty varied ways of tackling fights with Behemoths, but on September 26, its arsenal will be getting another addition. Coming with the Aether Unbound 1.0 update, Dauntless will introduce the Aether Strikers.
The Aether Strikers in Dauntless will be unique in a couple different ways. First of all, they’re fist weapons — think fancy brass knuckles — meaning you have to get right up close to the game’s terrifying Behemoths to do damage. They’re also much more technical than even the most advanced weapons currently in the game, requiring Slayers to juggle several different resource pools, timers, and buffs.
Where do you get Aether Strikers?
Before you get your hands on Dauntless’ newest weapons, you’ll need to craft them just like any other piece of gear. Most weapons are built by Wils in the plaza at the back of Ramsgate, but the Aether Strikers have their own crafter, much like the Ostian Repeaters. Fortunately the Aether Strikers smith, called the Scarred Master, will set up shop in the same area.
You won’t have access to Aether Strikers right away if you’re just starting off in Dauntless. You still need to complete your first couple of hunts with standard weapons like the sword to get a feel for the game, but before long, you’ll get a quest from the Scarred Master, which will unlock the ability to forge your own Aether Strikers. According to Phoenix Labs, you’ll be able to claim your Aether Strikers right around the same time you can first start using the Ostian Repeaters.
How do you use the Aether Strikers?
As you might imagine from weapons strapped right to your fists, the key to using Aether Strikers will be attacking quickly and decisively. Aether Strikers deal blunt damage, which allows them to stagger Behemoths and even interrupt them with heavy attacks. You can use that to your advantage, knocking Behemoths off balance to give yourself an opening to pull of multiple combos. It also means that Slayers with Aether Strikers should think about positioning a bit like hammer users, focusing on the head and legs for maximum stagger damage and breaking Behemoths’ armor plates when necessary to let their teammates do maximum damage.
Aether Strikers are also heavily combo based, requiring their wielders to land the final hit in a three-hit combo to get the full effect of any attack. Completing any combo will activate a Mantra, one of the Aether Strikers’ most important mechanics, which enables you to use several unique skills. There are three different combos for the Aether Strikers, using three light attacks, three heavy attacks, or a combination of both. Each generates a different Mantra — Focus, Spirit, or Might. When any one of them is active, you’ll gain new abilities, but only for a short time. To keep your Mantra active, you’ll need to either use another full combo or activate Surge, a dash attack that’s available as long as you currently have a Mantra up.
How do Aether Striker Techniques work?
Things get more complicated from here on. To use the Aether Strikers to the fullest, you need to use your Mantra to power Techniques. You’ll get a different Technique depending on how many current Mantras you have. Which Mantra you activate first doesn’t matter; what matters is the number of different Mantras you have active.
While under the effect of any Mantra, you can use Tempest Form. This will grant you a long-lasting buff to attack speed, letting you deal more damage and power up subsequent Mantra even faster. Keeping Tempest Form active as much as possible seems like the key to charging your Mantras and getting the most out of the Aether Strikers.
With two different Mantras, you can perform Karma Breaker, a powerful charged strike that deals a burst of initial damage to its target and applies a damage over time effect. It’s also strong enough to interrupt attacks, making it invaluable against Behemoths like the Shrike or Embermane.
When you have all three Mantras active, you’re able to unleash the Aether Strikers’ ultimate ability, Adamant Bolt. Adamant Bolt fires a beam of energy at your target, dealing a large amount of damage. It becomes even more powerful if you have Tempest Form active or the Behemoth is under the effect of Karma Breaker, reaching maximum damage if both previous Techniques are still in play. Setting up a perfect attack will take a lot of preparation, charging your Mantras to power both Tempest Form and Karma Breaker while timing their use so they’re still active by the time you recharge all three Mantras and position yourself for a well-timed Adamant Bolt.
The Aether Strikers look like they’ll add a good deal of complexity to the Behemoth-hunting strategy in Dauntless, which could help it keep the attention of players who find the current options a little too simplistic. Of course, Dauntless is a team-based game, so the real test will be how the Aether Strikers complement other weapons in hunting parties.
