How to defeat the Sea Serpent in Wartales

When the Wartales DLC arrived it brought with it the first boss fight with a unique battle flow. Read on to find out how to defeat the Sea Serpent in Wartales. 

Wartales - How to beat the Sea Serpent

You have to get to 100 percent completion in the Belerion Archipelago Scenario Quest to be able to take on the Sea Serpent. Once you have done this and made (and equipped) the Ancients’ Ballista, return to Dihya Herqet’s Palace on Per-Bast Island. 

She will send then you to the dock on the western shore of Per Bast. From there, sail to Ferath (in the far southwest corner of Belerion Archipelago) and dock with the ship there (see above). Once you do, the Sea Serpent will appear. Click the Sea Serpent to start the battle. 

To defeat the Sea Serpent, you’ll need to reduce its health bar (at the top-middle of the screen) to zero by completing several combat waves. I suggest you read my whole guide before you begin, to better understand how the whole battle will go. In terms of party size, for region-locked, I suggest around 15. Animals are of little use here unless you can control them.

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The Sea Serpent battle, part 1: Attack the tentacles

During setup, try to keep your crew away from the edges of the boat and preferably between the two tentacles. Hits from the tentacles will knock your companions back, potentially leaving them hanging over the edge and unusable to act. 

Your first job is to take out the two tentacles draped across the ship. If you’re playing in region-locked mode, each tentacle will have 2k+ health. You need to destroy both tentacles to move the battle on, so do so as quickly as possible. 

However, you also need to load the ballista. Each companion can do this once on their turn and can still attack as normal, so don't leave companions blocking the loading spaces of the ballista. You need to save the loaded ballista for the end of the battle as you only get one shot, but you want to get it prepped and ready during this round of combat. It takes three attempts to load it rather than the usual one.

To take out the tentacles quickly, a great tactic is to use a level 12+ Bruiser with the Thrashing bravery skill. If you can use Battle Cry on them first (increasing damage by 30 percent), that’s even better.

Hopefully, your Bruiser will then be able to take out most or all of the first tentacle in one hit. Note that the tentacles can be hit with effects, such as Weakening, which I found was also a massive help. However, you cannot engage with a tentacle, so don’t expect to pick up Valor from engaging with them. 

Note that once the Sea Serpent’s first attack triggers, a red area will be highlighted. Its next attack will damage and knock back everything in that area. If you can, use the actions you have before then to move people (especially those near the ship's edge) out of the way. Destroying one tentacle will not reduce the number of attacks against you. For this reason, try to take out both as quickly as possible.

Also, note that when you defeat the second tentacle the round will end, resetting your bravery skill and allowing all characters to act again.

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The Sea Serpent battle, part 2: Reinforcements

You will now be attacked by six Sirens. These tend to group around the ballista, making it awkward to get to, so I found it useful to already have it loaded before now. Once you’ve taken out one tentacle, if you may have companions who can’t reach the other one from their position but are about to get hit, use their turns to at least continue to load the ballista. 

The Sirens are fairly weak and easy to dispose of. I got good use from my archer with Suppressive Fire here, due to the tight group of Sirens by the ballista. Also, note that Sirens knocked back will fall into the sea and can’t be saved by the other Sirens, so attacks such as the archer’s Piercing Arrow are also great at this time. 

Unfortunately, the Sea Serpent also has more tentacles that will continue to attack you in the same way as in part 1. These can’t be attacked, so again you just need to take the Sirens out with as few attacks as possible to limit the damage. For this reason, remember that Sirens heal when they do damage so if you’re not going to kill them with an attack, attack Sirens that have already acted in the round. Once they're all dead, part 3 will begin and the round will start afresh.

The Sea Serpent battle, part 3: The head rise, plus more reinforcements

The Sea Serpent is at half-heath and raises its head above the water. Presuming you have loaded the ballista, fire it directly at the head of the Sea Serpent. The head will fall to the deck. If you select it, you’ll note it only has 1 health left. This will also summon more Sirens. 

You only need to do that 1 damage to the Sea Serpent to end the battle. The companion that first the ballista can still use all of their actions (including their basic attack), so if you get the right one in place to fire the ballista it is easy to finish off the Sea Serpent in the same action. I did it by using a companion with Relentless Charge which got them past the surrounding Sirens easily, although Unstoppable will work equally well. 

With that, the Sea Serpent will be defeated. You’ll get to keep Belerion’s Spear (a Legendary Polearm), and you’ll also get the Sea Serpent Scale (Legendary Belt Accessory). As an extra reward, the Dihya will also give you 500 gold and the blueprint for the Steel Hessura Figurehead. Be aware that you’ll also get 150 Reputation, which could put you into the sights of your next pirate rival. 

For more on Wartales check out Pugilist Build Guide – Wartales, Wartales Region Levels and Order Guide, and much more here at Pro Game Guides!