The Dauntless is an Epic Interceptor available from Operations 45 (and needing a Shipyard at level 45), built around Seek and Destroy -- an active ability that automatically locates, intercepts, and engages the nearest non-Armada hostile in a system, cutting out manual re-targeting entirely. It can't be used in Arena or Wave Defense systems. It spans 15 tiers and 75 levels, covering the 45-70 range as a long-term progression ship, with blueprints available from the Aggregation Refinery from Day 1.
While Seek and Destroy is active, Active Sweep boosts base damage and Active Apex Barrier boosts Apex Barrier, both against non-Armada hostiles; Aft Expansion increases general hostile loot, and Aggregation Plunder increases Reclaimed Loot specifically from Aggregation hostiles. Every Dauntless tier increases the daily bundle available in the Aggregation Refinery -- more building materials, research dust, Forbidden Tech mats, and Prototype Tech mats -- making it a genuine multiplier on that whole progression loop, not just a combat upgrade.
The Dauntless runs on its own currency, Dauntless System Scans, converting 100 Scans into one activation of Seek and Destroy. Activations scale from 1 per day up to 4 at max tier plus research bonuses, with no cooldowns -- you're limited only by available Scans, and the Scan cap itself rises by tier (300 at Tier 1, up to 1,200 at Tier 15). Unlocking the ship grants a starting activation bundle and 6 gift activations, and every tier-up adds a one-time bonus. Note that only one Dauntless can be owned per account. A known issue at time of writing: restarting the app while Seek and Destroy is active leaves the ability stuck on and the ship unresponsive until its duration runs out -- worth avoiding in the Mirror Universe specifically, where losing control mid-hunt can cost you your cargo.