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The best Dauntless weapons you find will make you into a killing machine – whether it’s the spritely Chain Blades, the lumpen Hammer or the Ostaian repeaters, with six weapons to pick from it’s important to know what you should be prioritising. We’ve put together a Dauntless weapon tier list for that reason with all six guns gone into in details, helping you figure out the best Dauntless weapons (and by the way, this is a guide that’ll pair nicely with our Dauntless tips (opens in new tab) page – just saying).
Dauntless weapon tier list
Before we get into the Dauntless weapon tier list, we need to explain that the best weapon for you personally will ultimately come down to your personal preference. Each of the six Dauntless weapons can be immensely powerful if you understand how to execute the various moves and abilities, and if you’re familiar with the core mechanics of the game. The following Dauntless weapon tier list is from my experience with the game so far but don’t take it as gospel, because every single weapon can be useful in one way or another!
S Tier: Axe
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While the Axe and the Hammer are both huge and cumbersome, the Axe outperforms the Hammer by a long shot because of the much higher DPS. Both types of attacks can be charged, and you can even move while charging the horizontal attack for added versatility. Attacking with the Axe takes some time so it’s best used when you’ve got a team that can stagger and wound the behemoth, then you can jump in and clobber the bugger. The Flight of Ruin ability means you can do some serious ranged damage too, as your Axe will fly forth and spin at high speeds, then just before it returns you can perform a high-damage ground pound.
A Tier: War Pike
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The War Pike doesn’t have the highest DPS, nor is it the most mobile, or the best ranged weapon. Where the War Pike shines is with wounding and severing behemoth parts; the piercing attacks are stationary and will wound parts, while the harvesting attacks are great for severing the parts. The War Pike is ideal for obtaining much needed crafting components, and can be paired perfectly with high DPS weapons like the Axe. For a much more ranged attack that is great at ‘booping’ behemoths – the term colloquially used for interrupting a behemoth’s attack and staggering it – you can use the Pike Blast which emits a ranged laser blast and is one of the most powerful special abilities.
B Tier: Chain Blades
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The Chain Blades are the fastest weapon to use in Dauntless, and are well suited to players who love to demonstrate a high DPS. They can’t do anything special like wound or stagger the behemoths, but they allow you to dart in and out of battle with the Chain Push ability. Blade Spin is the best combo to use when getting up close and personal because you’ll swing the Chain Blades around in a vertical motion, and while each hit doesn’t deal immense damage, the quick succession of hits results in a high total DPS and is great for stacking up the part damage. Unfortunately, the Chain Blades can’t deal any wound or stagger damage, and it can’t ‘boop’ behemoths – which prevents it from being an S Tier weapon.
B Tier: Sword
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The Sword in Dauntless is the most basic of weapons. The two attacks are light and heavy for a medium and high amount of damage respectively, and there’s four unique combos to execute which all deal high DPS. Like the Chain Blades, the Sword is great at focusing on part damage and if you’re brand new to games of this type, the Sword may be the best way to go overall because it’s the simplest weapon to use. Overdrive, the special ability for the Sword, follows suit by dealing more damage per hit, and emitting ‘aetheric waves’ whenever you attack. You can also use Aether Dash while in Overdrive, which is a simple mobility tool, like a more effective dodge.
B Tier: Repeaters
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You may equip the Repeaters and think that you can now sit on a clifftop taking pot shots at the behemoth because you’ve got two guns, but you’d be oh so wrong. The Repeaters increase in damage the closer you are to the behemoth, so peppering it with shots from a distance will make you essentially useless. In the early game, the Repeaters are not a good weapon of choice. That all changes when you reach the endgame though because once you understand the mechanics completely and can customise your character build in favour of the Repeaters, they can quickly become very powerful and arguably the strongest weapon in the game. Reaching that point will take hours of gameplay though, so during your initial time spent with the game when you’re still completing quests, leave the Repeaters in their holsters and don a melee weapon instead.
C Tier: Hammer
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This will undoubtedly be controversial because the Hammer has some notable strengths but in my opinion, the Hammer is the worst weapon in Dauntless. It offers the least amount of mobility because of how heavy it is, and attacks are so easily interrupted since the animation is so long. It’s the best weapon for staggering behemoths, but you’ll often be better off using a War Pike or Axe for the added wound damage. It has a very short ranged attack that can deal high damage but you have to be right next to the behemoth, and is again, easily interrupted. Some players love the Hammer but it has a steep learning curve compared to the other weapons. Give it a miss and focus on dealing more DPS instead, unless you’re determined to persevere with it.
