When sailing the ocean blue in Sea of Thieves, there is almost never a dull moment. Even when other players on the server aren't as frequent, those sailing must always be prepared for a world event to interrupt their journey. This is especially true when underwater creatures pop up out of seemingly nowhere to wreck a ship.
One of the more feared encounters to have in the game is the Kraken, a tentacled monster similar to a squid that will stop any boat in its tracks to mess around with those on board. The first interaction with this creature could be tough, so it's important to know the ins and outs of the Kraken before it begins an attack.
Fighting The Kraken
When there are no world events occurring at a given time, a Kraken could spawn underneath a ship. The water around the ship will turn dark and up to eight tentacles will splash out of the water. Swimming in the dark water can be dangerous as players can begin drowning the moment they duck their head under. As for the beast, each tentacle has one of four specific attacks that can be used against the player and its ship.
Inhaler: Players will need to keep an eye on the deck for what looks like air being sucked up. Getting trapped in this current will lead to the player being trapped in the tentacle of the Kraken. Players are still able to attack the Kraken while in its grasp. However, the tentacle will slap the player on the water every once and a while. The tentacle will eventually let go if the player is still alive.
Slapping: These tentacles pop out of the water and slap the sides of the ship, causing massive damage to the ship. The slap could cause up to five holes being made in the ship, which requires players to stay attentive to the potential damage caused.
Tangling: Meanwhile, players will need to deal with tentacles that could wrap around their entire ship. While wrapped, the ship will come to a halt if moving and holes in the ship will appear in need of repair. The head of the tentacle can be found in the water at the boat's side or on the deck. Attacking it will cause poisonous blood to squirt out, looking to land on the attackers.
Target: These are the tamest of the tentacles as it just lingers in the water. It is simply a tentacle that can be shot to deal damage to the overall Kraken.
The amount of tentacles needed to be killed to win a Kraken fight depends on the player's ship size. A Sloop requires two to three tentacles to go down, a Brigantine requires five to six, and a Galleon requires seven to eight.
How To Avoid It
There are several ways to avoid a Kraken fight if a player doesn't want to deal with one. The attack happens in the middle of the open water, so keeping a ship as close to land as possible could avoid the attack from occurring. Keep an eye out for Flameheart, Ashen Lords, Skeleton Fleet, or Skeleton Fort. If any of these events are visible, a Kraken attack won't happen as these are different world events that can't be interrupted. Only one Kraken will spawn at a time so players are less likely to be targeted if there are many people online.
If an attack on a ship begins, the best way to get out of the situation is to turn the ship 180 degrees and get out of the dark waters. This may take some effort as the waters are thick and make it hard to get out. Plus, a tentacle may grab hold of the ship. In this case, players must damage the tentacle in order to free the boat. Escaping by rowboat may also work as Krakens tend to not attack those who are in rowboats. The only risks are that the Kraken could still use an Inhaler attack and that the main ship will be doomed.
How To Defeat It
If players want to be prepared to fight a Kraken, they need to bring lots of cannonballs. Simply put, cannons do a lot more damage to the tentacles than handheld weapons do. Players should keep an eye out for Firebombs and Blunderbombs as these surprisingly deal an equal amount of damage. Worse comes to worst, a sword can do some serious damage if a tentacle is wrapped around the ship while guns will work for basically any other tentacle type. To deal the most damage, wait for the tentacle "mouths" to open up wide. Timing a cannonball shot in these vulnerable areas can speed up the process of taking the Kraken down.
Players need to take cover when an Inhaler is trying to claim a victim. Hiding in the hold of the ship is the best tactic. However, in the chaos of the attack, it may be inevitable that a player gets sucked up. Having a cutlass handy is perfect to fling oneself out of the tentacle. If other players are on the ship while someone is trapped, a harpoon may work to retrieve them. Avoid taking too much damage by having lots of food in the inventory to heal quickly after being slapped onto the water.
Be wary of and keep an eye out for other entities. Another ship manned by other players could come in and attack while the player is vulnerable. On top of that, Skeleton Ships or Megalodons could show up during the fight. Skeleton Ships can serve as a distraction, but Megalodons will ignore the Kraken altogether. Having multiple allies on board can help make these situations much easier.
The Reward
Kraken tentacles each drop 1 piece of Kraken Meat and 1 to 2 pieces of loot. These tendrils can provide a bevy of different items as a reward, from treasure chests to bounty skulls. Players will need to swim out or use a harpoon in order to retrieve these items at the tentacle death site. Kraken Meat is good food as it replenishes 100 percent of health and gives 50 percent health regeneration when well-cooked. A cooked Kraken Meat can be sold to The Hunter's Call for 450 gold.
Commendations can be rewarded after successfully killing a number of Krakens. Kraken Hunter requires one to die. Master Kraken Hunter requires five. Legendary Kraken Hunter requires ten. Each commendation also unlocks doubloon prizes and Kraken-themed cosmetic options.