‘Sea of Thieves’: The Monsters and Wildlife of the High Seas

The high seas are a dangerous place even for an experienced pirate. Sea of Thieves throws gamers out into the deep blue on a quest for treasure and infamy, but in this mystical world, there’s more than rival scallywags to be on the lookout for.

A significant aspect of Sea of Thieves is dealing with fellow player-controlled pirates, but the world is also filled with monstrosities that promise to make treasure hunting a literal hell. On your quest to becoming a feared brigand of the sea and master of piracy, you can expect to run into these unholy fiends, bloodthirsty beasts of the sea, and even docile creatures of nature.

Here, we’ll explore the many inhuman aspects of Sea of Thieves and how you can best dispatch or use them to your advantage.

Sharks

Stalking the depths of Sea of Thieves, sharks can be a real nuisance if you’re not paying attention. Sharks have a powerful bite that will halve your health, making it imperative that you seek out ground or a friendly ship as quick as possible.

Where to Find Them: Sharks will be drawn to a sunken vessel, so if you’ve lost yours in battle or through a collision, don’t linger near it too long. They’ll also pop up when a player has been treading water for too long.

Best Way to Kill Them: If it’s possible, find solid ground and attack with a scoped rifle. Otherwise, just hope that you can get in four or so hits before it closes in on you. Attacking a shark with a cutlass is ill-advised.

Skeletons

There are five different types of skeleton that you’ll find on your journey: Common, Gold, Shadow, Overgrown, and Captain. Each is a nuisance in its own way and can be troublesome if you’re not careful. Different skeletons come with their own quirks, which we’ll explore below.

Where to Find Them: Skeletons are primarily found on or around islands in groups. They’re able to traverse through ankle-deep water but won’t stray far from the island they spawn on.

Best Way to Kill Them: There are specific tactics for certain skeleton types, but when they attack in groups, it’s best to thin their numbers from afar with your firearm.

Common Skeletons: Basic skeletons will attack in waves during Bounty Maps and Fortress raids. Wielding either a cutlass, pistol or blunderbuss, or their fists, skeletons are more annoying than they are dangerous. Don’t let them swarm and surround you, and you’ll be able to cut them down easily. If you pass a landmass and receive cannon fire from it, chances are it’s a skeleton sending you a warning. Don’t let them eat bananas as they’ll regain health.

Gold Skeletons: Think of these fiends like armored Common Skeletons. The gold that encases their body makes them more difficult to take down, but there is a trick to cutting through their masses. Lure them to water or use your bucket to toss water onto them and their gold casing will start to rust, making them weaker to your attacks.

Shadow Skeletons: These spooky skeletons are easy to take down so long as the sun is out. In the thick of night, however, they are invincible. The only way to take them down at night is to shine a light source on them, including your lantern. You’ll know it’s a Shadow Skeleton by its green eyes and wispy appearance.

Overgrown Skeletons: Coated in a plant-like growth, these green skeletons aren’t difficult to kill so long as you keep them away from water. Once they step foot in a body of water, they’ll start to regenerate health.

Skeleton Captains: Captains appear at the end of waves and serve as the “boss” for quests and raids. Take out the skeletons that surround them to be able to chip away at their health in peace. Skeleton Captains don’t have any tricks up their sleeves and are just stronger versions of the Common Skeleton.

The Kraken

When Rare revealed the presence of the Kraken, it became one of the most anticipated aspects of Sea of Thieves. The more players encounter the tentacled beast, however, the excitement fades more and more. Besides a glitch that shows the Kraken wasn’t designed with a body, some encounters with the horror of the high seas have consisted of the tentacles barely attacking.

When the Kraken does attack, though, it targets both players and ships. The Kraken wraps its tentacles around the deck of a vessel, causing holes to appear quickly. Players can be sucked into a mouth that opens at the end of tentacles and will sustain damage. Avoid this attack by paying attention to the wind direction. If it’s flowing towards the tentacle’s maw, move below deck.

Where to Find Them: The Kraken will appear at random in any location across the map. So long as you are sailing over deep waters, you can run into this aquatic monstrosity. Watch for the water to turn black and your ship to come to a standstill and you’ll know that the Kraken has found you.

Best Way to Kill Them: Just be persistent with your attacks. If a tentacle crashes on your deck, use your cutlass until it retreats. Focus on using the scoped rifle and cannon fire to attack tentacles from afar. Especially if you’re sailing alone, it will take quite a bit to take down the Kraken and release yourself from its hold. Try to hit the tentacle’s head to maximize damage done.

Snakes

Maybe the most annoying aspect of Sea of Thieves are the snakes. They don’t pursue you and don’t do a ton of damage, but if you’re trying to back away from a horde of skeletons and aren’t paying attention, they can really get in the way. Snakes attack with a quick bite, which will leave you poisoned and hemorrhaging health. Their poison will also hinder your vision with a purple haze and diminished view.

Where to Find Them: Snakes are found all over the place on random islands. Listen for their hiss to avoid stepping in one’s path.

Best Way to Kill Them: You actually won’t necessarily want to kill a snake you come across. Merchant Alliance quests may require you to bring back a snake, which needs them to be alive. You can snag snakes with a basket, but be wary of their attack. You can sooth snakes by playing your accordion or hurdy-gurdy, but you’ll need a fellow player to capture it.

Pigs and Chickens

Harmless and fun to chase around, pigs and chickens may not appear to have a purpose when you first happen upon them, but they come in handy for Merchant Alliance missions.

Where to Find Them: Follow the noises you’ve learned to recognize in kindergarten and you’ll find pigs and chickens scurrying about. They’ll spawn randomly on islands and are usually found en masse.

Best Way to Kill Them: You shouldn’t want to kill pigs and chickens, but you’re free to if you want. Two or three thwacks from your cutlass or rounds from your firearm will take them down, but they will just vanish. Instead, you’ll want to catch them using respective coops and cages and turn them in to earn your bounty.

Mermaids

Mermaids appear only when a player is separated from their ship or after a ship has sunk. Keep your eye on the deep blue for a blue-green flare and utilize them to be transported back to your ship or, if it has sunk, to the Outpost or Island it respawned at. By using a Mermaid, you will lose any environment items (gunpowder barrel or treasure chest) you may be carrying.

Where to Find Them: Essentially, they’ll find you when you need them most.

Best Way to Kill Them: You can’t. It’s as simple as that.