One of the most appealing aspects of Sea of Thieves, at least to players fully invested in the mystery and magic of a shared-world pirate game, is the mysterious Kraken. This gargantuan tentacled sea creature roams the briny blue, popping up to attack ships that dare linger in its presence. Legit screenshots of a kraken fight in the game have now leaked online (via ResetEra and 4chan) and you can check them out below:
If you were wondering: the black blots on the images are a way to remove an identifying marker from Rare’s internally-developed system that helps identify the source of the leaked Sea of Thieves content. The Kraken itself bubbles under the surface, and players will know it’s ready to strike when the water turns a murky, oily color. Do you run or do you wait to battle the beast?
The Kraken is a random world encounter designed to give players a sense of “awe “and “mystery,” according to Sea of Thieves design director Mike Chapman. This legendary creature has its own A.I. brain and comes up with its own strategies to take you out. The Kraken uses all eight of its tentacles during combat, meaning you’ll have to watch your back from every angle while battling this big boy. Each emergent scenario has you fighting the Kraken a different way so no fight feels the same.
“Some of the stuff it can do, it can literally pick players up off the deck, it can ingest players, it can slam them in the water, dunk them under water, it can throw players across the map. It can wrap the ship, rock the ship, punch holes in the ship. You can fight the tentacles to get them to release you, it sprays ink, it's going to be epic,” said Chapman.
The Kraken is a big bad boss fight and requires multiple teams of pirates to team up. “Imagine a scenario where the Kraken is simultaneously attacking multiple ships, you're sailing past, you see the Kraken against the sunset, do you go and save those guys? Or do you sail away? Or do you sail in and pick off the stragglers?” said Chapman.
There are special rewards for those who succeed, including physical rewards like chests. But we’ll have to wait until Mar. 20, when Sea of Thieves launches, to find out exactly what the Kraken boss is really made of. Don’t worry: the Kraken is 100 percent confirmed to be included in launch, along with tons of customization, including ship, pirates and more.
Are you looking forward to releasing the Kraken? Feel free to let us know in the comments section below.
