Devil Hunter: Kraken Guide

 Revision 1.0

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Changelog:  Revision 1:0 Guide creation Revision 1:1 First proofread by User:Shadowslicer777 Revision 1:2 Bugs/Problems added Revision 1:3 Additional information added 

Introduction
This guide will serve as a detailed explanation about the mechanics and strategy behind the raid battles of Devil in the Water and From the Depths. Devil in the Water is a story related battle, and can only be unlocked by reaching Demon from the Depths in the main story of Season 2, Episode 1: Coffer Chaser. From the Depths is available from level 30. The battles have their own daily limit of one victory, and the game-play is identical for both. This guide will be written from the perspective of playing these battles on the 70 - 80 difficulty.

In this battle up to 8 players will face up against the Kraken, a massive octopus monster. The battle takes place in the Ship Graveyard, on the deck of a wrecked ship. This raid battle is unlike any previous raid in Vindictus, and teamwork is required in order to succeed. The orientation of left/right in this guide will be from the player's perspective when looking at the Kraken's head. The front will be where the Kraken's head is.

Mechanic: Boat Durability
In this battle there is a mechanic called Boat Durability. The boat that the battle takes place on starts with 100% durability. The durability goes down every time a tentacle lands flat on the deck. If the boat's durability reaches 0%, the Kraken sinks the boat and the battle ends in failure. In order to prevent the tentacles from damaging the boat, a player must continually occupy and attack each tentacle in order to repel it. Tentacles that have aggro to the player will attack them instead of the boat, costing no durability.

Organizing Your Team: Roles
There are three roles that will be divided up among your group. These roles are Tentacle Team, Head Team and Floater (Main and Sub). The Tentacle Team consists of four players. The Head Team consists of the other four players. The role of Main Floater and Sub Floater is given to two of players on the Head Team.

Tentacle Team's duty is to each occupy one of the four starting tentacles. Each player has to continually attack their tentacle to prevent it from damaging the boat. These players will only be attacking their tentacle for the entire duration of the fight, and must never leave their posts. The only exception to this is for the two front tentacles. At 7 bars of HP, the Kraken will initiate two grab attacks. If the players on the front tentacles are grabbed and freed before the Kraken can eat them, the front tentacles will sink into the water. This allows the front tentacle players to attack the head instead, or aid the back tentacle players if they are having trouble.

Head Team's duty is to attack the head of the Kraken. These should be your four players with the highest attack, as they will provide the main DPS (damage per second) for your team. These players will also attempt to repel the Kraken's roar, which is a battle-wide area of effect attack that can only be dodged by jumping (which the Tentacle Team is too occupied to do) or by invulnerability dodges. Mana amber for Staff Evie can also block the roar.

The Main and Sub Floaters are two of the players on the Head Team. If anyone from Tentacle Team is having trouble or is killed, the Sub Floaters will cover them. The Main Floater should attack the tentacle and the Sub Floater should revive the player if needed. When the Tentacle Team player recovers, the Floaters should return to the head to continue DPS. The Floaters are also responsible for dealing with the mobs that spawn later in the battle to harass the Tentacle Team. If one of the Floaters runs out of feathers to revive, another player on Head Team should take over the role.

It is highly recommended to have someone Assist for the duration of this battle. The assisting player can take on the role of a Floater, and can make the battle much easier once Phase Three starts. For an experienced team, an assist may not be required.

Organizing Your Team: Characters

 * Lann:
 * With Twin Swords, Lann can either take the head or take a tentacle. Slip and Nimble Dash allow for easy dodging against the tentacle's attacks. The tentacle tends to sway away from the boat a lot so there won't be many opportunities to deal damage. If possible, using Twin Spears instead will allow for a higher DPS against the head.
 * With Twin Spears, Lann can be devastating for DPS against the Kraken's head with Moon Splitter. Fury Infusion gives a much needed attack boost to help penetrate the defense of the Kraken, and Active: Berserker Spirit can boost the entire party's attack.


 * Fiona:
 * With Longsword, Amaranth Kicks can easily repel the tentacles, as they are much faster to get out than a hammer's stigma. Longsword can do head or tentacle easily.
 * With Long Hammer, Fiona can use Butterfly Spin to deal damage or Stigma to attempt to flinch the Kraken our of a roar attack. Hammer can do head or tentacle easily.
 * It is advised for both to stay on the back tentacles as skills such as SP: Shield Bash and SP: Shield Charge have high knockdown rate. These skills are extremely valuable during Phase Three.


 * Evie:
 * With Staff, Magic Arrow gives constant damage to repel tentacles. The range on Magic Arrow allows you to deal damage when the melee characters cannot. Blind Arrow or Ice Spear can be charged up when the tentacle sways far back. SP: Regeneration should be the only SP ability used during the battle, as SP: Reverse Gravity does not stall the Kraken and only deals damage. Keeping everyone alive is essential, which is why Regeneration is more important. Place your Healing Corona near the middle of the deck so everyone only has a short distance to run to grab it if they need it. Staff should always have priority on the back tentacles. In Phase 3, it is possible for a single staff Evie to cover the back tentacles at the same time, with the use of Alchemy Kit: Mana Pistol and Magic Arrow.
 * With Scythe, front tentacle would be the ideal location to take. Bloody Thread will hit multiple tentacles and the head at the same time, increasing damage output. If the tentacles go away at phase 2, simply attack the head instead. Be sure to use SP: Insane Reaper to help the party with stamina regeneration.
 * With both weapons, Evie has a hard time removing the Phase Three tentacle if it lands on the boat. She will require assistance if this happens.
 * DO NOT USE SP: REVERSE GRAVITY! IT DOES NOT WORK!!


 * Karok:
 * With Battle Pillar, Jump Smash or War Slam can be repeatably used on the head.
 * With Cestus, take any tentacle. Cestus is the lowest on the dps scale, and should have no trouble surviving on a tentacle.
 * When the Kraken goes to roar, you can Clash it. The timing is near the end of the roar, as the head starts to come down to release it.


 * Kai:
 * With Long Bow, you can easily break the Kraken's 6 eyes to give your party some extra item drops and cause the Kraken to flinch. As you are attacking the Kraken's head, Long Bow will always get bonus damage from Headshot. Magnum with a full charge is quite useful due to the massive size of the Kraken's head and can almost always flinch it out of a roar. Sticking to the head can make the battle much easier for Tentacle Team if you are able to constantly prevent the Kraken from unleashing it's roar. Kai is also ideal as a floater: with his range he can be in the middle of the deck, and can easily assist any of the tentacle team without having to move. A well-aimed Active: Ricochet Shot can bounce to multiple tentacles and cause them to flinch away, giving the Tentacle Team player(s) time to drink a potion. Ricochet can also be used to stun or damage the mobs that spawn later in the battle from a distance.
 * With Cross Gun, take a back tentacle. The constant rate of fire will easily repel tentacles. Active: Hand Bomb can free a grabbed player with a single use. Use Active: Hollow Shot to detonate the hand bomb quickly. Alternatively, Active: Massive Impact can be used to free both grabbed players at the same time. As the Kraken's HP reaches 7 bars, start preparing massive impact to free the grabbed players.
 * When Phase Three begins, Kai should move to the back of the boat and assist in repelling the two tentacles that spawn. His range allows him to hit the tentacles when other characters are unable to. A charged Magnum across the length of the tentacle can remove it quickly. Massive Impact will automatically remove the tentacles.


 * Vella:
 * With Twin Swords, take a front tentacle. The charge attack on the front tentacle can be cross cut easily. The rising flop attack can be cross cut, but the cut will often miss. Save your Blade Heart stack for the charge attack instead.

Gear Check
The Kraken and mob stats for 70 - 80 are as follows:


 * Head: Level:80   EXP:3,486  HP: 5,000,000  ATT: 12,014  DEF: 14,000  CRIT:30 CRITRES:64  CRITDMG: 1.5x


 * Tentacle: Level:80   EXP:3,486  HP: 5,000,000  ATT: 12,014  DEF: 12,00  CRIT:30 CRITRES:59  CRITDMG: 1.5x


 * Tentacle Short: Level:80  EXP:3,486  HP: 5,000,000  ATT: 12,014  DEF: 8,000  CRIT:30  CRITRES:54  CRITDMG: 1.5x


 * Tentacle Long: Level:80  EXP:3,486  HP: 5,000,000  ATT: 12,014  DEF: 8,000  CRIT:30  CRITRES:54  CRITDMG: 1.5x


 * Black Water Siren: Level:76  EXP:526  HP: 18,000  ATT: 11,175  DEF: 7,700  CRIT:30  CRITRES:47  CRITDMG: 1.2x


 * Deep Water Crab: Level:70  EXP:450  HP: 12,000  ATT: 9,999  DEF: 5,500  CRIT:30  CRITRES:44  CRITDMG: 1.2x

HP is shared between all tentacles and the head. All upright tentacles have the same stats. The Short and Long entries are when the tentacles land on deck to damage the boat's durability. Short is for the four starting tentacles, and Long is for the two Phase 3 tentacles.

Phases Of The Battle
There are four phases to this battle. Phase One is at the start of the battle, after the cutscene. This phase lasts until the Kraken has 7 bars of HP left, and Phase Two begins. Phase Two lasts until the Kraken has 4 bars of HP left, and Phase Three begins. Phase Three lasts until the Kraken has 1/2 bar of HP left, and Phase Four begins. Phase Four is ending the battle.

Phase One
Phase One consists of four tentacles and the head. There is one tentacle to the left and to the right of the Kraken's head. Another two tentacles are located near the back of the boat, one on each side. Tentacle Team should each choose a tentacle and begin to attack them. They will be attacking this tentacle for the entire duration of the fight, with the exception of the back tentacles.

The front tentacles (closest to the Kraken) have two types of attacks towards the player. One rises up vertically and comes crashing down. Dodge when the tentacle is about to drop down. For the left side, dodge towards the back of the boat. For the right side, dodge towards the Kraken's head. The attack will track if you dodge in the opposite direction. For the other attack, the tentacle pulls away and shows its spines for a few seconds, and then charges at the player. Time your dodge before the tentacle charges to avoid it, or dodge towards the center of the boat. This attack has a limited range. These are the only attacks these front tentacles will do for the entire battle. If the tentacle is not occupied, it will rise vertically and flop down on the deck of the boat, dealing 2% of the boat's durability and damaging any player caught in it's path. It will then slowly slide off the boat and back to it's normal position.

The back tentacles also have two types of attacks. They have the same vertical drop down as the front tentacle. The other attack is different from the front tentacle. The tentacle will sway away from the boat before landing on the deck and sliding towards the player. For the left side, dodge towards the back of the boat. For the right side, dodge towards the Kraken's head. Only the initial landing of the tentacle deals damage. The sliding part just pushes you aside harmlessly. If the tentacle is not attacked, it will damage the boat in the same way as the front tentacle.

Phase Two
Phase Two begins at 7 bars of HP left, and adds more things to Phase One. Two additional tentacles will spawn, one per side. These tentacles cannot be attacked directly, and will throw objects and mobs at players. They can also grab a player. To free the grabbed player, aim a secondary weapon Spear at the sucker side of the tentacle, close to the player. Alternatively, Cross gun's Active: Hand Bomb can free a grabbed player with a single use. If the right spot is hit with a spear the tentacle will release the player. If the player is not freed after a certain amount of time, the player is thrown into the Kraken's mouth and instantly killed, much like Glas Ghaibhleann's grab. The body is spit near the middle of the boat.

If the player is freed from the grab that tentacle will sink into the water for a long period of time, removing itself from the battle. This allows the players on the front tentacle to either assist the back tentacle players, or attack the head. The front tentacles will only sink into the water if the grabbed players were freed. Failure to free the players results in them being killed, and the front tentacles remaining in the battle.

Phase Three
Phase Three begins at 4 bars of HP left. Everything from Phase 1 and Phase 2 still applies. The Kraken will pull the last two tentacles out of the water. These appear at the very back of the boat, one per side. These tentacles must be attacked just like the Phase One tentacles in order to prevent them from damaging the durability of the boat. Unlike the Phase One tentacles, these tentacles do not attack players. If the tentacles are not suppressed, they will land on the deck of the boat and deal 5% boat durability. These tentacles will continue to remain on the boat, dealing an additional 5% for every 10~ seconds they remain. These tentacles can take a lot of punishment before being removed, and it is absolutely essential that they get removed as soon as possible or the boat will be destroyed very quickly.

A single player attacking these tentacles while they are upright may not be enough to prevent them from landing on the deck, even in transformation with stimulants. The two Tentacle Team players on the back tentacles should switch over to the Phase 3 tentacles, and a Floater from Head Team should assist in preventing these tentacles from landing. The Phase One back tentacles should continue to try and to attack the Tentacles Team players on the Phase Three tentacles, as both tentacles are close and the player will be within attacking range. If a Phase Three tentacle is successfully repelled, it will sink into the water for about 20 seconds. In this time the players can attack the Phase One back tentacles until the Phase Three tentacles re-appear.

In addition to the added tentacles, the Kraken's Head will begin using another attack: it will inhale everything within its front range for a few seconds and then spit ink on the entire battlefield. This can pose a problem to the Tentacle Team stationed at the front tentacles, as they are more than likely to be affected by the pull.

If your Phase Three team is struggling, have an additional Floater cover the other tentacle. With two players on each of the Phase Three tentacles they should have enough damage output to prevent the tentacles from damaging the boat's durability.

Phase Four
Once the Kraken has 1/2 bar of HP left, it will stop attacking, but cannot be attacked any further. A player must then rush to the ballista stationed at the very beginning of the map to engage a cutscene. The ballista fires, impaling the Kraken's head with a massive spear, killing it once and for all.

Bugs/Problems
There are several bugs with this battle that can make a smooth run start to struggle. One of these bugs is with the Kraken's tentacle grab. Sometimes when a player is freed from the grab with a Spear, they will be released onto the deck but will remain in the grabbed animation. This player will be unable to do anything, and cannot be helped by the other players. The only way to break out of this animation is to allow this player to be attacked by the mobs that spawn. A flinch from being hit will free the player and allow them to continue to play.

There is another issue with the tentacle grab. Sometimes when you are freed, instead of falling on the deck of the boat safely you will fall through the boat or fall into the water. Depending on where you are placed, you may still be able to attack the Phase One tentacles without them being able to attack you. Your attacks will still be able to repel it. Using /escape might place you back on the deck, but sometimes it does not. There is nothing you can do to get back on the deck if the command fails.

Another problem is with players being killed. Sometimes when you die your body will fall off of the boat. You will be unable to be revived by Phoenix Feathers, as you are too far away. A Party Revival Feather can still reach you, or alternatively a Goddess Grace can be used to instantly revive yourself. When revived the game usually teleports you back on to the deck of the boat.

There is an issue with the initial cutscene to start the battle, but it is prevalent with all battles involving a skippable cutscene. If all players press ESC at a certain time during the cutscene, the battle will begin in slow motion. This effect will last for the entire duration of the battle. It is recommended to simply restart the battle if this bug occurs. The battle would take far too long to fight in slow motion.