The Ultimate Dynamax Adventure Guide
What Are DAs?
Dynamax Adventures (DAs for short) are a feature added to Pokémon Sword and Shield with the Crown Tundra DLC. In these DAs, you fight through four raid dens with NPCs or other online players with a max party limit of four. In each den, you face off against one Dynamax or Gigantamax Pokémon, with the last one being either a Legendary or an Ultra Beast.
Why Should I Do DAs?
Shiny Hunting
The first and biggest reason you should do DAs is because they allow you to very easily find shiny Pokémon, with the chances being 1/300 (0.33%) without Shiny Charm and just 1/100 (1%) with Shiny Charm. Not only that, DAs are also one of the best ways to shiny hunt Legendaries and Ultra Beasts.
Good Rewards
Another reason to do DAs is to get Dynite Ore, which you can exchange for various rare and desired items by speaking to the NPC with the 
Sableye, located to the right of the lead scientist.
Which Legendaries/Ultra Beasts Can You Encounter?
There are 31 Legendaries/Ultra Beasts which you can encounter in both versions of the game (Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield), as well as eight version-exclusive Legendaries for each. Let’s break down which Pokémon you’ll find in each game so you can shiny hunt your favorites with ease.
Pokémon Shield Exclusives
The Shield version exclusives are: 
Palkia, 
Thundurus, 
Zekrom, 
Yveltal, 
Lunala, 
Kyogre, 
Latias, and 
Lugia.
Pokémon Sword Exclusives
The Sword version exclusives are: 
Dialga, 
Tornadus, 
Reshiram, 
Xerneas, 
Solgaleo, 
Groudon, 
Latios, and 
Ho-Oh.
Non-Exclusive Legendaries/Ultra Beasts
The non-exclusive Legendaries and Ultra Beasts you can encounter are: 
Articuno, 
Zapdos, 
Moltres, 
Mewtwo, 
Raikou, 
Entei, 
Suicune, 
Rayquaza, 
Uxie, 
Mesprit, 
Azelf, 
Heatran, 
Giratina, 
Cresselia, 
Landorus, 
Kyurem, 
Zygarde, 
Tapu Koko, 
Tapu Lele, 
Tapu Fini, 
Tapu Bulu, 
Nihilego, 
Buzzwole,
Pheromosa, 
Xurkitree, 
Celesteela, 
Kartana, 
Guzzlord, 
Necrozma, 
Stakataka, and 
Blacephalon.
How Do I Unlock DAs?
To unlock DAs, you first have to buy the Sword and Shield Expansion Pass. Once you have it, you then go to the Crown Tundra (located by the train station in Wedgehurst). Once there, you’ll encounter Peony and Peonia. After some quick dialogue and battles, you’ll then get taken to the DA location and the tutorial will begin. Note: Don't worry about losing to Peony in battle, as you’ll still progress despite losing the battle. After defeating your first DA during the tutorial, you’ll then unlock DAs completely and can complete as many as you like!
How Do DAs Work?
To start a DA, you first need to head to the beginning of the Crown Tundra map and speak to the lead scientist. This will be the same scientist you talked to during your first DA tutorial. After that, you can pick the Legendary/Ultra Beast you want to go for.
To begin your DA, you’ll be asked to select one Pokémon out of three random options which you will use throughout your DA unless you decide to swap (more info on that later). The Pokémon you select are different from the Pokémon you have in your party. The Pokémon you get to choose from at the beginning are always randomly generated so be sure to review their movesets and choose carefully!
After you’ve chosen your Pokémon, you’ll have to decide between two dens to battle through. Throughout the whole DA, you and your team will have four lives total. This means that whenever a Pokémon faints, your team will lose one life. Lose all four of them, and you’ll get thrown out of the DA.
After defeating the first Pokémon you encounter, you’ll get an option to catch it or not. If you decide to catch it, afterwards you’ll get a chance to swap it with your current Pokémon to use for the remainder of the DA.
Once the first den is defeated and you’ve chosen to catch the Pokémon or not, you now repeat the process by picking the next den paths you want to embark on. When you have defeated the third Pokémon, you now get to battle the Legendary/Ultra Beast!
After defeating the Legendary/Ultra Beast, you get to pick one Pokémon that you defeated and caught during your DA to bring with you back into the main game. You can also decide to not bring one with you. Once you have picked your Pokémon, you will then speak to the lead scientist again, who will let you save the path so you can go back and re-battle the Legendary/Ultra Beast again.
How To Do DAs With Players Online
How To Host DAs
To host DAs with players online, you first need to get a Nintendo Switch online subscription. Then, connect to the internet by pressing Y and then + on your Nintendo Switch controller.
Once you have connected to the internet, go and speak to the lead scientist to start the DA - but this time, instead of starting it normally, you will need to press the + button on your controller and pick a link code. This will be used to connect with other players using the same link code as you. When you have entered the link code you want, press ‘Invite Others’ and the game will find every player with the same link code to join you. Once everyone is ready, you can start the adventure!
How To Join DAs
To join DAs with online players, it's mostly the same process as hosting. The only difference is that you will need to press ‘Invite Others’ at the same time as the host. If you would like to join a friend or someone else you know then you would need to type in the same link code but if you want to play online with random people then just press ‘Invite Others’ without typing in a link code and the game should find a lobby for you to join. Once you have joined, press ‘Ready to battle!’ and when everyone is ready, the DA should start. If you don't have the same path saved as the host, then you can press ‘Anything is fine’ instead of a specific path.
Tips and Tricks
- If your goal is shiny hunting and the Legendary/Ultra Beast you battle isn't shiny, DON'T pick it because then you won't be able to capture another one.
- Make sure to look at the Legendary’s/Ultra Beast’s weaknesses and how they compare to the strengths in your party to help you choose which den to go to.
- There is sometimes a scientist or an item bag in between dens - so if you don’t know which den to pick from your options and there's an item bag or scientist, then go there. The item bag will let you choose from one of five items and the scientist will let you swap out your Pokémon with a mystery one, which could help you as you continue down your DA.
- I would recommend catching every Pokémon you encounter, as this allows for more chances for one to be shiny.
- All Poké Balls have a 100% catch rate while in a DA, so feel free to use whichever one you want.
- When doing DAs on your own, be sure to turn off battle animations in the settings, as this will make the adventures go by way faster.
- Once you have completed the DA, make sure you press “Check summary” just in case there is a shiny. However, note that it can be very hard to notice.