Check out this Dauntless guide on how to build for the weapon - Sword! Includes exotic & lifesteal build guides, overview of each build, & more!
Recommended Builds & Loadouts
Table of Contents
Overview & Strengths
Flexible Weapon For Severing Behemoth Parts
The Sword is an iconic weapon in Dauntless - very flexible in attack power and speed. It has excellent cutting power, perfect for cutting Behemoth tails and breaking parts.
Sword Can Boop & Interrupt Behemoth Attacks
The Sword has the capability to boop or interrupt certain Behemoth moves with its heavy attack. This makes it a useful weapon to learn when fighting solo and great for damage in multiplayer.
Needs To Be In Close-Range To Attack & Fill Meter
The Sword has a meter you need to charge in order to use your special skills but you need to be in close-range of the Behemoth to actually hit them.
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Beginner Part-Breaking Sword Build
High Attack Power Focusing On Part-Breaking
| Equipped Gear Gear Bound Perk | Equipped Cell |
|---|---|
| Ember Cutlass (Sword) +3 Evasive Fury | +3 Evasive Fury Cell +3 Evasion Cell |
| Draskscale Helmet (Head) +3 Aetheric Attunement | +3 Sharpened Cell |
| Shell of the Swarm (Torso) +3 Bladestorm | +3 Bladestorm Cell |
| Gnasher Grips (Arm) +3 Ragehunter | +3 Ragehunter Cell |
| Gnasher Treads (Leg) +3 Tough | +3 Sharpened Cell |
| Embermane's Rapture (Lantern) | +3 Aetheric Attunement Cell |
Weapon Mods
- Valiant Overdrive
- Adhesive Hilt
Perk Summary
- +6 Aetheric Attunement
- +6 Bladestorm
- +6 Evasive Fury
- +6 Ragehunter
- +6 Sharpened
- +3 Evasion
- +3 Tough
Beginner High Damage Part-Breaking Build
Focuses On Breaking Behemoth Parts & Damage-Dealing
This build supplements the Sword's capabilities in severing monster parts such as tails. Bladestorm and Sharpened amp up part-breaking damage while Evasive Fury will increase the Sword's attack speed.
Break Parts With Bladestorm & Sharpened
Bladestorm does extra part damage in every hit and amps this up extremely when you dodge after an attack. Sharpened complements this by adding more part damage per hit.
Add Attack Speed With Evasive Fury & Embermane's Rapture
In this build, your attack speed will increase when Evasive Fury is activated. Dodge through an attack to increase your attack speed for 16 seconds.
Ragehunter Deals More Damage On Enraged Behemoths
With Ragehunter activated, your attack power will increase against enraged Behemoths. This is a perfect match with part-breaking damage as you'll hit the Behemoth harder when it's enraged.
The Hunger Exotic Tank Build
End-Game Exotic Build For Damage & Survivability
| Equipped Gear Gear Bound Perk | Equipped Cell |
|---|---|
| The Hunger (Sword) | +3 Overpower Cell +3 Energized Cell |
| Light's Crown (Head) +3 Conduit | +3 Cunning Cell |
| Gnasher Cloak (Torso) +3 Tough | +3 Tough Cell |
| Light's Refuge (Arm) +3 Conduit | +3 Cunning Cell |
| Dance of the Swarm (Leg) +3 Conditioning | +3 Overpower Cell |
| Koshai's Bloom (Lantern) | +3 Energized Cell |
Weapon Mods
- Adhesive Hilt
Perk Summary
- +6 Conduit
- +6 Cunning
- +6 Energized
- +6 Overpower
- +6 Tough
- +3 Conditioning
End-Game Build With The Hunger Exotic Weapon
Build To Survive The Hunger's Special Feast Perk
The Hunger is an Exotic Sword that has a special Perk called Feast. You take damage over time in exchange for increase attack power, speed, & lifesteal. This build helps offset that, giving you tankier HP and buffing your attack speed & power.
More HP & Increased Healing With Tough
The Tough Perk instantly adds 500 to your HP bar, allowing you to survive the dangers of The Hunger's Feast. It also increases the amount of healing you get from different sources such as pots or Aetheric vents.
Overpower & Cunning Adds Damaging Power
Overpower will add more damage per hit when the Behemoth is staggered while Cunning increases your chance of landing critical hits. You deal more damage and make the hunt faster, allowing you to survive while wielding The Hunger.
Energized Lets You Fill Meter Faster
When you have Energized equipped, you'll fill up your Sword meter much faster, allowing you to activate your special very quickly & often in the hunt. This will help you do more damage and hunt the Behemoth faster.
Attack Faster With Conduit
When using the Hold ability of your Lantern, you'll activate the Conduit Perk. This increases your attack speed and those of Slayers around you for a short period. Make sure to activate your Lantern when the Behemoth is down or stationary.
Beginner Friendly DPS & Survivability Build
Early to End-Game Iceborne / Lifesteal Build
| Equipped Gear Gear Bound Perk | Equipped Cell |
|---|---|
| Onus of Boreus (Sword) + 3 Conditioning | +3 Rage Cell +3 Tough Cell |
| Hellplate Casque (Head) +3 Ragehunter | +3 Wild Frenzy |
| Gnasher Cloak (Torso) +3 Tough | +3 Iceborne |
| Gnasher Grips (Arm) +3 Ragehunter | +3 Rage |
| Boreal March (Leg) +3 Iceborne | +3 Wild Frenzy |
| Drask's Eye (Lantern) | +3 Energized Cell |
Weapon Mods
- Valiant Overdrive
- Adhesive Hilt
Perk Summary
- +6 Iceborne
- +6 Rage
- +6 Ragehunter
- +6 Tough
- +6 Wild Frenzy
- +3 Conditioning
- +3 Energized
Early to End-Game Loadout Using Iceborne / Lifesteal
Easy To Assemble Early to Mid Game
This build utilizes easy to acquire items, mostly from Boreus and Gnasher, which are one of the few Behemoths that you face early game. The only challenging bit here is acquiring the Hellion helmet.
Great for End-Game DPS & Survivability
Iceborne, Rage and Wild Frenzy synergize well as they give various buffs when a Slayer is low health. These become more viable perks to have at the end-game when Behemoths start to hit harder.
Core Perks Must Be Allocated On Armor
Iceborne, Rage, and Wild Frenzy which are the main requirements for this build must be allocated on armor pieces, so it's easier to swap out weapons.
More HP & Increased Lifesteal With Tough
A maxed out Tough Perk adds 500 to your HP bar, giving you a bigger health pool, while improving healing from all sources which also works well with Iceborne!
Has Neutral Resistance Against Behemoths
The Hellplate Casque and the Boreal March's resistances will cancel each other out, maintaining neutral resistance against all Behemoth types.
Dauntless Featured Articles
Recommended Build / Best Loadouts Per Weapon
Check Out The Best Weapon Tier List Here!vs Behemoth Battle Guide
| Boreus | Charrogg | Drask | Embermane |
| Gnasher | Hellion | Kharabak | Koshai |
| Nayzaga | Pangar | Quillshot | Rezakiri |
| Riftstalker | Shrike | Shrowd | Skarn |
| Skraev | Stormclaw | Valomyr | - |
