Dauntless and Transparency

This blog has discussed a few problems with the game in the past because even if I believe the game is amazing, it is not perfect. I am not the only one with this opinion and Phoenix Labs has started to make an effort to combat some players' frustrations. It began a short while ago with the letter from Jesse Houston, which I discussed at length last week. Now Phoenix Labs is proving that they plan to keep that promise.

Crushing Bugs

Phoenix Labs has been using Reddit, Trello, and an in-game report system to deal with bugs. I personally use the in-game system, but Trello is a good place to see what is being dealt with and what is already resolved.

New Features and Changes

Developers have already asked the players about two different things they are currently working on.

1. Defensive Cell Reworks: A Reddit post was created about some balance changes to (mostly unpopular) defensive (and one utility) cell. It's VERY interesting to see these small proposed changes be shared publicly. I use Mender (yes, my build is trash even though I own every cell) so I found the proposed changes super interesting.

2. Slayer's Path Progression Transfer: Many players (myself included) were anxious to see how all the hard work they've done will transfer over into the new system. It is confirmed that weapons will not upgrade and level as they do now. The full thread goes into extensive detail about the proposed system of scanning your gear and rewarding you based on some simple math. I don't think it rewards people with full and almost full collections of weapons and armor, but I highly recommend you read what they wrote for yourself and form your own opinion.

State of Dauntless

The State of Dauntless posts were what I was looking forward to the most. It's a chance to hear directly from the developers about what they are working on and when it will come out. The Roadmap may be interesting to read, but it is frustratingly devoid of a timeline.

The First State of Dauntless Post - Playtesting

• What is coming in December? This information is in my last blog post so I'm not going to repeat it. The post does discuss that there will NOT be a new escalation because of the overhaul.

• Playtests (and streaming): Phoenix Labs wants to know what players care about ahead of release (as well as fix any discovered issues). Playtests help show what players are enjoying and excited about. (Sky Fishing)

• Player Feedback: Players are being handed the power to shape the game. Fine-tuning the difficulty and core details about the new hunt and other changes will be determined by input on Reddit, playtesting analytics, and other data.

• The Future: The next State of Dauntless post will discuss solo queues and progression (Slayer's Path?)

Closing Opinions

• I think solo queue isn't critical in any way, but I don't mind playing with randoms but I understand other players do.

• Play the experimental server whenever you can. I wish I was chosen for more playtests because I really like to see and share my opinions on what's coming.

• Keep up on Reddit or look out for the announcements on Discord. Phoenix Labs only replies to responses posted within a day or so of the initial post so you need to pay attention if you want your voice heard.

Citations:

Phoenix Labs. (2020). Dauntless Roadmap. Retrieved October 23, 2020, from https://playdauntless.com/

Phoenix Labs, CreatureTech (2020, November 10). R/Dauntless - State of Dauntless #1: Playtesting. Retrieved November 13, 2020, from https://www.reddit.com/r/dauntless/comments/jr8pq1/state_of_dauntless_1_playtesting/?utm_source=share

Houston, J. (2020, October 27). A Letter from CEO and Co-founder Jesse Houston. https://playdauntless.com/news/letter-from-jesse-q4-2020/

All images are from the Dauntless website and are only meant to serve as placeholders. The final appearance of these features is not being portrayed.