The name Kraken has long stood in our mythology as a great beast. A creature which hides beneath the sea and tears apart boats with massive tentacles, the fear of such an animal has quickened the heartbeat of many a sailor since time immemorial. In Evolve, the Kraken is not some creature that hides beneath the shimmering skin of the water. Instead, it is a hovering beast capable of controlling the element of lightning to bring electrocuting death to anyone who would dare stand before it.
It’s still got tentacles though, loads of them.
The Kraken of Evolve stands on something of a middle ground between its siblings. Its brother the Goliath is a hulking monster who is happiest when throwing Hunters back and forth through the air, while its slender sister the Wraith picks off opponents one by one in a whirling dervish of bladed limbs. Kraken don’t delight in the wonders of melee combat like their Goliath brethren, yet their stealthy capabilities don’t quite match up to those of Wraith. It exists primarily as a long-ranged menace.
When floating, the Kraken’s basic attack launches jolts of electricity at opponents who are often too busy looking up into the skies to realize they’re about to lose their footing. Some of its other abilities fit this modus operandi well, with Lightning Strike and Banshee Mines capable of dealing significant hurt onto whoever should dare oppose this beast of the skies.
Enough of this dilly-dallying around though. You’re not here to read some serenade to the Kraken, although it might kill you last if you sing to it. You’re presence has arrives at this guide because you desire to tear your enemies to pieces with lightning strikes not even Zeus could stand against. So let’s get started.
Release the Kraken (that’s the first and last time we say that, promise).
First of the Kraken’s main abilities in Evolve is the Lightning Strike. This attack can be thrown into enemies at incredibly long range, smiting them where they stand as you hover many meters away from the stench of their sparking skin. The power of Lightning Strike is not one to be forgotten about. It can unleash merry havoc among the ranks of even the most stubborn of Hunters no matter what Stage you’re currently at.
Lightning Strike enters the fray in a pillar of lightning (no shocks there then) which has a somewhat lengthy charge time. You may need to set aside a couple of seconds in any attack plan to allow yourself time to line this terrifically powerful blast. When the attack is fully charged, the column of electrical hell bursts from the clouds above. This large amount of preparation does mean that intelligent Hunters in Evolve are going to be able to see what you’re doing and get the heck out of the way quite frequently. It does come down from the stars rather than streaking from your tentacles though, so if an enemy is flying up above you can still ruin their day.
The Kraken’s ability to summon a fork of electrical death from the sky isn’t just useful against Hunters. It can be used frequently and easily to kill wildlife which itself will boost the speed of your evolution or armor recharging attempts. Smaller groups of beasts fall in moments to the damage from this crack of light and even the larger opponents will find an unhealthy, for them, lump of their health pool is ripped away from them. Softening up the wildlife of Evolve is the only surefire way to succeed as a monster, never forget this.
A key aspect of successful monster play in Evolve is using abilities together to deal maximum damage to Hunters. Kraken are unique in their abilities to throw huge amounts of damage into the group of Hunters right from the off with the use of a simple display of synergy. By throwing down a bunch of Banshee Mines (coming up next) around the landing point of their group, you can instantly put them on the back foot. Add in a Lightning Strike or two from a safe distance while your enemy is grouped up and still unsure of its direction to play a few mind games with the squishy meatbags.
Before we move on Lightning Strike is also incredibly useful when playing in the Defend mode of Evolve. Throwing one of these from a distance into the enemy turrets will deal incredibly amounts of damage to their structure, making them less of a threat.
What’s better than cackling maniacally while your enemies fry in your electrical death fingers? How about a few homing mines that’ll light a fire under their asses quicker than you can say “And now, young Skywalker… you will die.” Banshee Mines are unique in the armory of Evolve‘s monsters in that they don’t have a strict cooldown as such. They instead act more like the Arc Mines or Harpoon Traps of Hunters in that they can be thrown down in multiples at a time. They are a little more restricted though, as each one requires one third of the full ability recharge to cast.
That matters not though. Why? Well they can be fired off in quick succession to dish out a whole world of homing hurt onto enemies when you’re in a tight corner. Simply hammer that casting button three times when fully charged and you’ve got a damaging burst Halo‘s Burst Rifle would be proud of. This is also a fine strategy when facing off against the larger members of Shear’s wildlife council. A fast triple shot of Banshee Mines twined with a Lightning Strike will soften up or instantly kill anything that would hope to share your place on the food chain.
Banshee Mines aren’t just a powerful projectile in their own right. They are, as the name suggests, mines. When you’re running away from a couple of Hunters who think they’re all that, quickly spitting three of them onto the floor while you swiftly dash around the corner gives them plenty to deal with as you make a daring escape.
Thanks to their incredibly long range (which is literally until they hit a wall or something they can kill) Banshee Mines can be used for yet more Evolve-based mind games. Sniff out some hunters and spit three mines into their path from the other side of the map. The Hunters will be on high alert of you in their vicinity while you devour all of the wildlife in your unending quest to evolve.
Taking Banshee Mines as one of your first abilities isn’t just advised, it’s almost necessary. They’re able to kill most creatures in little more than a sneeze to speed up your evolution times, turning you into a greater threat in even less time than it’d take most of your opponents to count to 5 on their silly human fingers.
No we aren’t talking about the questionable Eli Roth movie here. Aftershock is one of the Kraken’s abilities in Evolve which gives it a little more power when up close and personal with Hunters. Like Lightning Strike, Aftershock takes a few seconds after being activated to actually cast. This is far from a hindrance though, as it’ll allow you to hover into place to dish out as much damage as possible. The ability, which has nothing to do with earthquakes, sends out an area of effect burst of electricity in your immediate radius.
Activating this while you’re in among the group of Hunters leads to them either fleeing for cover or getting a shock so powerful it’d stop a pacemaker four planets away. You’re not invulnerable while using Aftershock, so ensure you’ve got plenty of armor on your body from eating wildlife before zipping into the humans. Evolve‘s Hunters will also find it incredibly difficult to battle against this attack when you’re pulled to the ground as it damages equipment nearby, ripping those pesky harpoons from your skin.
Aftershock is also plenty of use when feeding in Evolve. Activate it when you’re being attacked by a pack of Trapjaws to cut their health down a few pegs, ready for quick slaughter by yourself. It’s far from a central ability due to Aftershock’s requirement of putting the Kraken up close with foes, but there’s a power to be found in it when used correctly.
If you’re trapped in an arena by the opposing Trapper, find a corner which has the shield on one side and hide in there. When the Hunters invariably wander around the corner expecting to see you crying for mommy Kraken and counting your remaining days alive, leap into them and set off an Aftershock. They’ll never know what hit them. Pair it up with a Banshee Mine or two to really make them think twice about underestimating the mighty Kraken in Evolve.
The Kraken’s Vortex in Evolve doesn’t really make sense at first. You dish out a load of damage while knocking enemy hunters in the line of Vortex’s attack away. But you’re a Kraken, right? You want to get them all together so you can shock them into next Sunday with a smattering of lightning even Tesla would tip his hat to. Wrong, because Vortex is central to any successful Kraken battle in Evolve when used properly.
Its chief purpose is actually to knock enemies out of reach of their companions. Getting that Medic alone and away from the Support’s shielding ability will turn this already important target into nothing more than a bump in the road to be hovered over. Smash a valuable Hunter away from their friends, put a trio of Banshee Mines around them, then charge up the Lightning Strike to get them crying home to their cats. Or just, you know, kill them.
Vortex has its uses too when you’re stuck in the middle of a melee with Hunters in Evolve. The rest of your damaging abilities require a little finesse or fine placement to work properly. Vortex is more of a shotgun blast. Turn towards a couple of Hunters (or animals because yummy evolution food) and fire this shot off to deal incredible amounts of pain to them. Even at its most basic Vortex is a powerful part of the Kraken’s armory. When fully leveled up, it becomes hands down one of the most powerful abilities available to the monsters of Evolve.
A great place to use Vortex is when you’ve already downed an opponent. Beat them until their on the floor and quickly back away. Your opponents will often try to run in to resurrect their fallen comrade. Stick a pair of Banshee Mines to a surface behind them and throw in a Vortex just as they start to revive their friend. The floored opponent will take damage, while the one trying to help them up is launched into a pair of conveniently placed mines.
Right so that’s all of the major abilities done. Now it’s time to look at how to actually play as the Kraken quickly. This is far from a definitive guide as everyone is encouraged to create their own strategies. We’re just offering a few hints and tips to make those irritating Hunters kneel before your power as you cut a bloody swathe across the world of Evolve.
The most important thing to do as a Kraken when fighting against Hunters is fly. Using the Airburst ability, a Kraken can hover above the ground. This makes them harder for Hunters to focus upon as their too busy looking to up to see the Trapjaws eating their knees. It also turns the standard melee attack into something altogether more beautiful. Attacking while you’re flying as a Kraken turns your normal ability into a ranged shot which has a minor area of effect element. Use this to spam shot after shot into the Hunters, as accuracy isn’t as important as for abilities like Lightning Strike or Vortex when it comes to this skill.
Killing the Trapper is always an important thing for Kraken as it takes away their ability to fly freely while often tying them to the ground with other attacks. Unleash everything in your power onto the Trapper to take them down as quickly as possible, but make sure to try and save Aftershock for when you’ve got a harpoon stuck in you. If you do use Aftershock, descend as quickly as possible towards the Hunter as it charges up to do some extra damage. Assault Hunters on the other hand are basically cannon fodder as their most powerful attacks require you to be close. Just hover far away and put damage into them from a distance for victory.
When killing Medics or Supports you’ll want to use Vortex to push them away from their friends as quickly as possible. Then blow them apart with ranged damage before they can quickly react. In the case of Medics be extra careful of Tranquilizer shots as they will slowly bring you out of the skies. Keep moving behind cover and use Banshee Mines on fallen foes as traps for the goody-two-shoes support staff of the Hunter attackers.
What are your preferred tactics as a Kraken in Evolve? Are you enjoying playing Evolve? Let us know in the comments down below.
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