How to beat Megalodon in Sea of Thieves?

The Megalodon in Sea of Thieves represents a colossal, toothed threat in your seafaring escapades. Embarking on a quest, you'll become skilled in the lost art of prehistoric shark dueling, equipped with vital knowledge and tactics to triumph over this powerful adversary. Be ready to shift the balance of power in your direction and seize your deserved standing as a valiant shark conquisseur.

From understanding the beast's behavior to mastering precision strikes, we'll teach you the best tactics to take down this legendary beast so you can claim victory (and some sweet loot) while keeping your ship afloat.

How to defeat a Megalodon in Sea of Thieves?

All Megalodons in Sea of Thieves (Image via Rare/ Trunath on YouTube)

The Megalodon in Sea of Thieves is a terrifying giant shark lurking in the depths. While these encounters can be thrilling, they can also leave your ship in splinters. With the right strategy, you can turn the tables on this ocean predator and emerge victorious.

Currently, there are five variants of Megalodon in Sea of Thieves:

Hungering One
Crested Queen
Shadowmaw
Ancient Terror
Shrouded Ghost (this variant does not exist. If you have killed it, pics or it didn't happen)

Steps to beat a Megalodon in Sea of Thieves

1) Summon the beast (not really)

Contrary to Sea of Thieves lore, you cannot summon a Megalodon using Merrick's shanty.

A Megalodon is a random spawn that can appear anytime, anywhere. Whether you just spent a few hours stacking FoTDs or if you are amidst a heated PvP battle - the Megalodon can appear and attack out of nowhere!

Megalodons have a radius of attack. Leaving this radius will cause it to stop attacking you.

2) Fierce combat

The Megalodon's attack with its jaws bared (Image via Rare/ Trunath on YouTube)

Fighting a Megalodon in Sea of Thieves is extremely difficult, so pay close attention. Just keep firing canons till they die. Now, isn't that very difficult?

A Megalodon's attack pattern is very simple. It will circle your ship in a radius, allowing you to fire a volley of cannons. Its only attack is a frontal charge baring its jaws. This attack will knock back your pirate, and your ship will sustain considerable damage.

Although this attack is easily avoided, fire at least three cannons at its bared jaws, and the Megalodon's attack will fall short. This also does considerable damage to the Megalodon. A win-win scenario for all pirates.

The difficulty of a Megalodon depends on the size of the ship and crew, like all other world events. The approximate number of cannonballs needed to beat a Megalodon are:

Sloop: 10 - 15 cannonballs
Brigantine: 15 - 20 cannonballs
Galleon: 30-35 cannonballs

3) Keep repairing

Keep repairing your ship when it suffers damages from Megalodon's charge attack. Forgetting to repair your ship might end you up in deep waters, quite literally.

4) Claim the spoils

The Megalodon will float tail up for a while after it is defeated (Image via Rare/ Trunath on YouTube)

Like all events, defeating the Megalodon in Sea of Thieves is denoted by a sound cue, and the loot spawns up in the water shortly.

Any variant of this monster drops the following loot:

Four to six pieces of Megalodon meat
Five to 12 random Treasure items
Regular, Ashen, and Cursed Treasure Chests
Skeleton Captain’s Chests
Stronghold Chests
Regular and Ashen Trinkets
Regular and Ashen Trade Good Crates
Regular and Ashen Bounty Skulls
Skeleton Captain’s Skulls
Stronghold Skulls
Mermaid Gems
Collector's Chests with Gold and other small Treasure

Selling Megalodon meat after cooking helps increase your Hunter's Call reputation.

Commendations for defeating Megalodons in Sea of Thieves

As of Season 11, Sea of Thieves offers the following commendations for defeating Megalodons:

Commendation	Requirements	Rewards
Hunter of The Hungering One	Defeat The Hungering One in a chance encounter.	Five doubloons; Rewards the Hunter of The Hungering One Title
Hunter of The Crested Queen	Defeat The Crested Queen in a chance encounter.	10 doubloons; Rewards the Hunter of The Crested Queen Title
Hunter of The Shadowmaw	Defeat The Shadowmaw in a chance encounter.	15 doubloons; Rewards the Hunter of The Shadowmaw Title
Hunter of The Ancient Terror	Defeat The Ancient Terror in a chance encounter.	20 doubloons; Rewards the Hunter of The Ancient Terror Title
Hunter of The Shrouded Ghost	Defeat The Shrouded Ghost in a chance encounter.	50 doubloons; Rewards the Hunter of The Hungering One Title; Unlocks the Shrouded Ghost Figurehead in the Ship Customization Chest, and the Spectre of the Sea Trophy for purchase.
Legendary hunter of The Hungering One	Defeat The Hungering One in a chance encounter 50 times as a Pirate Legend.	Rewards the Legendary Hunter of The Hungering One Title
Legendary hunter of The Crested Queen	Defeat The Crested Queen in a chance encounter 50 times as a Pirate Legend.	Rewards the Legendary Hunter of The Crested Queen Title
Legendary hunter of The Shadowmaw	Defeat The Shadowmaw in a chance encounter 50 times as a Pirate Legend.	Rewards the Legendary Hunter of The Shadowmaw Title
Legendary hunter of The Ancient Terror	Defeat The Ancient Terror in a chance encounter 50 times as a Pirate Legend.	Rewards the Legendary Hunter of The Ancient Terror Title
Legendary hunter of The Shrouded Ghost	Defeat The Shrouded Ghost in a chance encounter five times as a Pirate Legend.	Rewards the Legendary Hunter of The Shrouded Ghost Title

Season 11 of Sea of Thieves has seen a new overhaul in the game, and new players are dipping their feet in Sea of Thieves. With this knowledge that sets you apart from the newbies, you're now well-equipped to face the Megalodon in Sea of Thieves.

Remember, while the battle may be fierce, staying calm, coordinating with your crew, and aiming true will see you emerge victorious. So set sail, brave pirate, and conquer the seas, one toothy menace at a time.