Month: May 2018

Monster Hunter World‘s PC release may still be a few months away, but players looking for a fun alternative can now take down towering monsters together in Dauntless. Phoenix Labs’ free-to-play action RPG has entered open beta, meaning everyone can download and begin playing it free of charge–although you may have some trouble connecting to it at the moment.

Like Capcom’s monster-slaying series, Dauntless puts players in the role of Slayers, and they must work together to hunt ferocious Behemoths that are draining the Shattered Isles of their aether. Up to four players are able to band together and take on the monsters, using an array of different weapon types and armor.

Those looking to jump into the game can download it for free from its official website; however, like many online titles at launch, Dauntless is currently experiencing some technical issues. Many players are reportedly having trouble connecting to the server, with queue wait times estimated to last an hour or longer. Phoenix Labs has acknowledged the issues on Twitter, saying it is “working to resolve issues with matchmaking.”

Phoenix Labs says that Dauntless and all of its future expansions will remain free-to-play, but players will also have the option to purchase customization items for their Slayers. However, the developer stress that these will strictly be cosmetic in nature and won’t have any bearing on the gameplay. Likewise, Dauntless does not offer any type of loot boxes to purchase.

We had an opportunity to go hands-on with Dauntless at PAX East 2018 last month. In the video above, you can see us team up with several developers from Phoenix Labs to take on Shrike, a giant owl-like monster that makes its home in a forest. You can also read our previous impressions of Dauntless here for more on the title.

For Season 4 Battle Pass owners, Tuesdays are an exciting day in Fortnite. A new set of weekly challenges is released, and although you have the full season to complete them, players are eager to get them done and earn new rewards. That process is about to become a more pleasant one, thanks to one of several new quality-of-life changes coming soon.

Epic Games has outlined many of the new features and changes that are slated for update 4.3 and beyond. One thing that is coming in 4.3 is challenge progress notifications. As you accomplish your objectives, a message will pop up during matches to let you know where you stand toward finishing a given challenge.

Currently, you can only check on how you’re doing with challenges in between matches from the main menu. You can also take mental notes (or physical ones, if you really want to get wild), but that becomes difficult when a bunch of challenges pile up. Was I supposed to get Eliminations in Tomato Town and open chests in Greasy Grove, or the other way around? How many more shotgun kills did I need? It gets confusing and can impact your ability to get things done if you’re shooting at enemies with a pistol when you’re already done with that challenge.

It’s a minor adjustment, but it’s just the sort of thing that’s much appreciated by players–especially when Epic continues to roll out new playable content. It’s also not the only quality-of-life improvement that will benefit those seeking to complete challenges, although others are useful to everyone. For instance, Epic is experimenting with adding in-world markers (to go along with those you see on the map and compass) and continuing to reduce load times.

The latest Fortnite update, 4.2, introduced the long-awaited jetpack for a limited time. There’s a lot more to look forward to on the horizon, as we’re also on the verge of seeing more new limited-time modes, including one called Playground that includes respawns and friendly fire.