Dauntless - Behemoth Guide

This is a strategy guide for the Skarn Behemoth in Dauntless, a kill-boss-monster free-to-play game available from the Epic Games Store. We cover various Behemoths in our Dauntless Behemoth Strategy Guide.

(Regular) Skarn

Not Turtled / Enraged

When it is not curled up into a ball, it is most dangerous as it keeps up a stream of attacks. Keep moving to avoid the body blocks, rolls, and shell-eruptions.
Try to stay at the tail. It will still try all its attacks even though when you are at the tail, a short move will put you in a safe position.
Its attacks are basically all big area effects so watching for tells to start moving as soon as possible is important; as is having Stamina to run after it after it charges or body blocks, which typically moves it a fair distance..
Any time you are in front, you are liable to be charged and very quickly.

Standing Up / Belly Slam

When it stands up on its rear legs, it is getting ready to slam down. There is typically a lot of time to run to the legs and Interrupt it, causing it to fall down.

On some of the stronger Skarn types, if you are standing right in front of it when you Interrupt it, you will be damaged and knocked away so do it from the side or rear. Seems pretty safe if you are just fighting a Lesser Skarn.

Turtled / Enraged

When Enraged, it balls up then erupts a series of spikes the track you.
It will stay balled up a long time and wherever you linger, it will get ready to erupt its shell outward, pushing you back and damaging you.

This exposes the Skarn, but shortly after the shell will be pulled back and that can also damage you.
If the shell in that arc has broken it can still kick you or headbutt you, and you have less warning because there are no shaking shells to indicate the attack is about to happen.
Try to circle it slowly while attacking, to avoid being hit by the shells.

When the shell starts to shake, move away or Dodge away and hit it somewhere else.
Since it does nothing else in this phase and is very predictable, this phase is quite safe.

The Skarn’s armour is vulnerable to blunt damage of the sort dealt by hammers and aether strikers.
A Skarn’s aether vortex is tough to crack, but it can be interrupted with a well-timed staggering attack.
When a Skarn targets you with a belly-slam, heavy damage to its legs can stop the attack cold.

General

Standing Up / Belly Slam

Ice Spikes

The Deepfrost Skarn will occasionally send out a row of three widely spaced Ice Spikes, one of which will erupt right under you.

Centrifuge Spin

Depending on how far you were when this starts, it can be devastating to be hit by it. If you are very far away, by the time the suction effect is over, you might still be out of range and not be hit at all.
Except at the very end, the Deepfrost Skarn is vulnerable to Interrupt. While you are pulled in, you can still act and even run closer to try to get in an Interrupt.

Like the ordinary variety, the Deepfrost Skarn can launch deadly attacks from beneath a Slayer's feet. These ice spires explode when the Behemoth becomes aether-charged.
Though they are made of incredibly dense frost archonite, Slayers can destroy the Deepfrost skarn's ice spires (with some effort) to prevent the explosions.
Whether you destroy the spires intentionally or they detonate due to aetheric instability, the Deepfrost Skarn may use the resulting burst of frost to restore its own cold, rocky body armour.