How to Stagger Behemoths in Dauntless

Sometimes, the best defense is a good offense. In Dauntless, a good offense can result in the Behemoths you're fighting to get knocked off balance, causing them to stagger. This is a golden opportunity for you and your hunting party to do some significant damage to your foe. But how do you knock one of these giant beasts down? It's simple, but not necessarily easy. 

How to Stagger in Dauntless

Staggering can be done with any weapon type with modifications, but Hammers, and to a lesser extent Axes, can stagger right out of the box. You can tell you're doing Stagger damage by the blue-colored numbers when you're hitting Behemoths. Stagger damage is given when you hit the Behemoth's head and legs. Hit them enough times and they'll eventually topple over, giving you an opportunity to hit them while they're down. You won't have any sort of visual indicators, like a meter, to tell when a stagger is coming, but after enough playing, you'll know. Think of it like a stun meter in Street Fighter II - you can't see it, but you can tell that a stun is incoming. The same concept applies in Dauntless. 

Each Behemoth has a different stagger animation, so be cognizant of what the monster is doing before you star wailing away. That being said - we've all seen someone dizzied before, so look out for something similar to that sort of animation.

When Should I Try to Stagger?

As funny as it sounds, the best time to stagger a Behemoth is when they're ramping up for a charge attack. Their head is wide open, after all, as they ready their strike. Some well-timed Hammer Strikes will do the trick - though this is tricky with the Hammer. Often times, it's easier to use a slashing weapon instead.

That being said, it's not always a good idea to bring a team full of Hammer users. Each weapon has its own role, and while Hammers are useful for staggering foes, the other weapons have their place in the hunt too. Hammers can't sever body parts or shatter armored hides, after all. As always, the best course of action is to bring a well-rounded team with you created based on the encounter. Also, not all Behemoths can be staggered, so factor that in when challenging beasts like the Stormclaw. 

Now that you know how to stagger Behemoths in Dauntless, learn how to interrupt them as well for maximum damage mitigation. Then, it's time to put those skills to the test and get your hands on these Exotic blueprints to really do some damage!