While you can chop and choose between them whenever you fancy, dedicating yourself to a single weapon will help you progress much faster in your favourite Monster Hunter-like. That’s where our Dauntless tier list comes in: to help you make that key decision nice and early on your journey.

Why do you have to stick to one? Well, truthfully, you don’t. You can feasibly unlock every single weapon and variant in Dauntless if you’re willing to put in the time. That’s the key point though: time. It’s as limited as the resources you gather when out hunting, so it will benefit you to stick to one so you can unlock new weapons quickly and, crucially, upgrade them to boost their power.

We’ll include a list of Dauntless weapons in this guide too, so you can take a deep-dive into their different pros and cons. Remember: this tier list is just our opinion, and your mileage may vary. We might consider a weapon a D tier, but if you master it and perform super well, who are we to judge?

Dauntless Tier List

Here’s how we would rank all of the different weapons in Dauntless.

TierWeapons
SHammer, Axe
AWar Pike
BSword
COstian Repeaters, Aether Strikers
DChain Blades

What’s the Best Weapon in Dauntless?

There isn’t a best weapon in Dauntless – there are two: the Hammer and Axe. Why? Well, while they might be the slowest weapons in the game, they pack an incredibly powerful punch and are great at breaking monster parts.

Their play style also reward a retaliatory play style, where you wait for the monster to attack and then hit them hard on the counter. Given that you can charge up attacks while moving, you can hit them incredibly hard when the attack window opens.

We’ve popped the War Pike in A because it trades off a bit of offensive power for more defence. You can sit a little further back from the monster and attack a bit faster, allowing for quicker dodges. It also unleashes decent damage with its mortar rounds.

The Sword is kind of a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. It’s certainly a viable option, but the Axe and Hammer will ultimately outshine it.

This leaves the Chain Blades, Ostian Repeaters, and Aether Strikers. None of these are bad weapons by any stretch, but you do have to work a heck of a lot harder to prove as effective as the Axe or Hammer when using them.

Dauntless Weapon List

Let’s take a look at each of the weapons in Dauntless in finer detail, with a list of skills and more.

Hammer

The Hammer is a slow but devastating weapon that rewards methodical play. It’s a combination of deadly physical strikes, which can break monster parts with ease, and elemental attacks from your cannon.

Special AttackEffectHow to Obtain
Concussive SalvoDeals 360 damage, increasing range depending on ammo consumed.Default
Mighty LandbreakerReleases an aether vent that increases damage by up to 35% and speed by up to 25% for eight seconds for all players that step over it.Beat ‘Slayer’s Path, Light the Way’
Molten EdictConvert attacks to fireball, increasing damage based on ammo consumed.Molten Edict
Ironheart LandbreakerReleases an aether vent that reduces damage received by up to 40% and heals for 155 over 30 seconds for all aethercharged players that step over it.Purchase from Lady Luck for 500 Steel Marks

Axe

The Axe is similar to the Hammer in that it can hit incredibly hard, albeit slowly. The benefit to this one is twofold though: you can stagger behemoths, opening them up to serious damage, and charge your attacks while moving. That way you can stay out of harm’s way until you’re ready to retaliate in kind.

Special AttackEffectHow to Obtain
Flight of RuinThrow your axe, dealing 60 damage until you recall it, at which point you deal up to 500 damage and gain 15 metre.Default
Grim OnslaughtThrow your axe, dealing 800 damage to all enemies in your path and gaining 15 metre if it hits a Behemoth. Catch it to gain 30 more metre.Beat ‘Slayer’s Path, Light the Way’
Relentless OnslaightThrow your axe, dealing damage to all enemies in your path. Catch it to throw it again up to two more times.Purchase from Lady Luck for 500 Steel Marks

War Pike

The War Pike is like a less effective Hammer. It’s not quite as slow or damaging, but it features a similar ranged special attack. If you’re okay trading some offensive power for more defence, the War Pike is an excellent option for you.

Special AttackEffectHow to Obtain
Concussive PayloadDeal up to 1,200 damage and interrupt a Behemoth’s attack.Default
Savage WellspringIncrease critical strike chance by 30% for all allies for ten seconds.Beat ‘Slayer’s Path, Light the Way’
GodhandChannel a beam that deals increasing damage the longer you hold it.The Godhand
Reckless LeapDeal up to 1,500 damage depending on your distance to the Behemoth.Purchase from Lady Luck for 500 Steel Marks

Sword

The Sword is a jack-of-all-trades that deals decent damage at solid speed. It’s outclassed by the Hammer, Axe, and War Pike given that you have to land combos to maximise your damage, which is difficult when Behemoths like to hit you back.

Special AttackEffectHow to Obtain
Valiant OverdriveGain +20% attack speed and up to 80 additional AoE attack. Gain a Valour point every four seconds. Activate again to dash.Default
Ardent CycloneDeal 80 damage to all nearby enemies, gaining a Valour point every four seconds. Activate again to deal damage depending on the number of hits.Beat ‘Slayer’s Path, Light the Way’
FeastGain +25% damage and 12% life steal, though your health constantly drains.The Hunger
Avenging OverdriveGain +20% attack speed and up to 80 additional AoE attack. Gain a Valour point every four seconds. Activate again to parry an attack, dealing 800 damage afterwards.Purchase from Lady Luck for 500 Steel Marks

Ostian Repeaters

Ostian Repeaters are by no means bad weapons, they’re just harder to wield. They’re ranged, so you can stay out of danger of attack, but they deal increasing damage the closer you get to a Behemoth, so why not use an Axe or Hammer?

Grips and ChambersEffectHow to Obtain
Salvo ChamberDeals 450 AoE damage.

Empower to fire three missiles.
Default
Marksman ChamberDeal 250 damage in a line, dealing 25% more core and part damage for ten seconds if you hit a Behemoth part. Empower to deal bonus damage and provide the damage buff to all allies.Beat ‘Slayer’s Path, Light the Way’
Full-Bore ChamberDeal damage in a line. Empower it to increase damage, pushing you backwards.Beat ‘Slayer’s Path, Light the Way’
Captain’s GripGrant a 15% attack speed buff to a nearby Slayer. Empower it to buff all nearby Slayers.Default
Saboteur’s GripDeal 400 damage then 700. Empower it to deal 900 damage and interrupt Behemoths.Guns of Ostigaard

Aether Strikers

If you like playing as monk archetypes in MMOs and RPGs, the Aether Strikers are the choice for you. They can attack quickly, buff you, and pull off some powerful attacks. They’re very fiddly to use, so you will need to master them to close the gap between the easier weapons, like the Axe or Hammer.

TechniquesEffectMantra Cost
Tempest FormIncrease your attack speed.One
Karma BreakerAttack in front and deal damage over time.Two
Adamant BoltDeals increasing damage at range depending on the number of mantras you have active.Three
Titan’s CrashDeals increasing damage at melee range depending on the number of mantras you have active.Three

Chain Blades

Similar to the Aether Strikers, the Chain Blades require mastery to get the most out of. They attack quickly but don’t deal a huge amount of damage with each strike. The huge benefit is that you can attack at melee and range, and use the chains to pull yourself towards the Behemoth.

Special AttackEffectHow to Obtain
Reaper’s DanceGain invulnerability then follow up with a primary attack to deal damage, or a secondary attack for greatly increased damage.Default
Cruel RiftstrikeGain invulnerability and teleport, dealing 75 damage to a Behemoth part and 25 damage per second for seven seconds, dealing 200 damage when it ends for each DoT active. If you avoid an attack during the teleport, damage increases by 20%.Beat ‘Slayer’s Path, Light the Way’
Insatible DanceGain invulnerability then follow up with a primary attack to deal damage, or a secondary attack that heals you. If you’re at full health, gain +5% damage for ten seconds, which stacks up to four times.Molten Edict

You can grab Dauntless on Epic Games, PlayStation, Xbox, or Switch.

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