How to Solo the Kraken
Hello pirates! Since patch 1.4.0, a lot of solo players have been struggling to defeat the Kraken on their own.
It took me a long time, but I finally put together a video showing my strategies for defeating the Kraken solo. In the first 10 minutes I discuss the strategies for the fight. The next 14 minutes are three full, unedited clips of me fighting the Kraken. Hope it helps!
Transcript below.
Hello world, I am Calypto and today I'm going to show you guys how to solo the Kraken.
So let's get Crackin'...
cough Moving on from that terrible pun, patch 1.4.0 - the Shrouded Spoils update, brought a few key changes to the way the Kraken works.
The most notable change being that the Kraken can now attack a ship of any size.
This means that solo sloopers are vulnerable to a new threat that they didn't have to worry about before.
However, the difficulty of the Kraken encounter is scaled to the size of the crew, so you wont have to fight a Kraken quite as difficult as the one you would see on a galleon.
The other changes to the Kraken include a new slap attack, loot drops, and some changes to the existing mechanics of the fight.
So how do you actually beat the Kraken solo?
Here's what you need to know...
First, gather enough supplies before the fight even begins.
A big factor in your success is going to be how well prepared you are for the Kraken's attack.
As soon as you load into the game you should suck the outpost dry of resources.
As long as you take the time to loot supplies from the outpost, you should be able to leave with at least 70 cannonballs, and 35 planks & bananas.
Usually you will actually be able to get more than that.
It is very common to find a voyages to deliver a resource crate.
Pick up the crate from the MA and use it to help you loot faster.
Make it a point to loot resources from each island you visit.
Even a single inventory load of resources goes a long way to making sure you have enough resources to defeat the Kraken.
Most outposts have a fort very close by and they are very rich in resources.
I like to sail for a fort immediately after leaving an outpost.
Try to find a rowboat ASAP.
They can be invaluable during the fight with the Kraken.
They are also common at forts which is another reason I like to head there so quickly into my adventure.
You might be thinking, what if I'm attacked as soon as I leave the outpost?
Well, 70 cannonballs and 35 planks should actually be enough resources for you to win the fight.
You might think planks are what you're going to need the most, but it's actually the cannonballs that are the bottleneck resource.
You should be able to win the fight using less than 10 planks, usually less than 5.
You also shouldn't need ANY bananas.
Don't worry, if you don't believe me, I'll show you in a bit.
Awesome, you have all of the supplies you need to fight the Kraken, but how do you actually kill it?
Here's what you need to do.
At the start of every fight with the Kraken, your first priority is to raise the sails.
You want the ship to stop moving so that your shots on the tentacles are easier.
You DON'T want to lower your anchor, because you might end up having to turn the ship to get easier shots on different tentacles.
If the anchor is dropped, this becomes significantly harder, and takes way longer. Just raise the sails.
Second, you want to detach a rowboat if you have one, so that the rowboat is floating in the water and not attached to the ship.
I'll explain why in a little bit.
Then you are free to get your planks, cannonballs, and, bananas.
Make sure you have a full inventory of all of them.
Now it's time to fight the Kraken.
In a way, the Kraken fight is kind of like a sport because it can be broken up into two categories: offense and defense.
Okay, maybe it's not like a sport, but that statement still stands.
The offensive portion of the fight is very straight forward.
You win by killing 2-3 tentacles, if you're on the sloop.
Each tentacle can survive 6-7 cannonballs shots, approximately.
The rumor is that shots near the head of the tentacle do more damage.
This hasn't been verified yet, but I still try to land as many shots their as possible.
The trick is to be aggressive and target one tentacle at a time.
Don't worry about missing a shot here or there.
Pick the easiest target to hit and unleash cannonballs like a madman.
I don't even use guns during the fight, but if you feel like you need to, grab two out of the weapon box, because the cutlass isn't going to do you any good.
The tentacle will shake violently and screech before going underwater, if you have killed it.
You will also hear this jingle...
If the tentacle goes underwater without doing these three things, it's not dead yet.
Try to find where it resurfaces.
If you've shot it before it went under water, it will takes less hits this time around.
Playing defense against the Kraken comes down to knowing the Kraken's move set.
The Kraken has three moves, and once you learn them, the fight is quite simple.
The first attack is the slap attack.
A tentacle will slap the ship, rocking it, and putting three holes in the hull.
If the holes are in the bottom deck, this becomes the highest priority.
Fix the holes immediately and bail out the water.
If the holes are in the back of the ship under the canopy, you can ignore them for a while.
Just be sure to bucket out some water every now and again.
The next attack is the suck attack.
One of the Kraken's tentacles will try to suck you out of the ship.
You will see what looks like wind coming from behind you and moving toward the tentacle that is trying to suck you up.
Avoid being sucked up at all costs.
If you are sucked up, the chances of you sinking are increased dramatically.
This is really the only way you can lose the fight.
To avoid being sucked up, get below deck or under the canopy, both areas are safe.
Do not be on deck near the cannons.
You can interrupt the suck attack by hitting the tentacle with the cannonballs or gun, but it's not guaranteed.
The only 100% way to stay safe is to be under the canopy or below deck.
The last attack is the wrap attack.
One of the tentacles will wrap around the ship and do damage every so often while it is wrapped.
Do not hit the tentacle that is wrapped around the ship.
Do you see this tentacle?
No touchy.
Instead, hit the short tentacle that is very close to the ship.
It will only take one cannonball before it goes underwater.
99% of the time, after you hit it, it will switch sides, so be ready on the other cannon.
It takes a few seconds for the tentacle to resurface, so use this time to bail some water, get some cannonballs, and reload your ammo.
Do not just sit idly by.
Hitting this tentacle 3-4 times will make the wrapped tentacle let go.
Usually the tentacle wraps over the canopy of the sloop, in the very back, so you can ignore those holes until you have it unwrapped.
Now, the question a lot of you are probably asking right now is, what do I do if the tentacle wraps in a way that blocks the stairs?
It's insta-death, there's no way to defeat it, how do I do it?
Well, there is a way.
First of all, your plan of attack shouldn't change.
You still want to shoot the short and close tentacle 3-4 times to make it unwrap quickly.
You should be able to do this before you take on too much water, but be ready to bail water quickly.
Now, if for some reason you absolutely need to get below deck to bail water, here's how you do it.
Provided that you detached the rowboat at the beginning of the fight like I said early, you simply jump overboard, swim to the back, get on your rowboat, and reattach to the ship.
You now have access to the lower deck.
Make sure that when you go back above deck, you do so by getting on your rowboat and detaching again.
If you need to get to the cannonball barrel, swim to your ladder, climb up it, and you should be able to interact with the top cannonball barrel from the top of the ladder.
Unfortunately I've never been attack by the Kraken in this way, so these ideas are kind of theoretical, but they should work.
