Players of Raft quickly learn that a great white shark is their constant companion. From the moment the game begins, a shark is circling the titular raft, and every five minutes or so, it attacks the raft (not to mention any player brave enough to enter the water).
However, Raft players can eventually build weapons, and they can use these weapons to keep the shark at bay. It takes a lot of damage, but eventually, these weapons can even deal enough damage to kill the shark. In fact, a player with a good sense of timing can jump into the water and kill the shark in a one-on-one duel.
How to Deal with Sharks in Raft
- There's only ever one shark at a time in the game, and it takes damage when players stab it while it's attacking the raft. This means a shark may have less health later on when players fight it, and it's possible to kill it without ever entering the water.
- Once players are in the water near the raft, the shark will approach and attack. However, if players stab the shark at the moment its mouth begins to open, the shark will veer off and not harm the player. This timing window is smaller on hard mode.
- Since the shark is always actively hunting players, they can stay in one spot near the surface and grab air between each attack.
- Sharks take an incredible amount of punishment, and players will need at least two (and maybe three) wooden spears to kill them. Other Raft weapons deal more damage, but even a titanium sword needs eight hits to take down a shark.
- So long as the player's water and food bars are above zero, their health will regenerate. If the shark connects too many times, players should climb back onto the raft or onto an island and wait for their health to return.
Rewards for Killing Sharks
When the shark dies, players can loot its corpse for four shark meat and one shark head. Shark meat in Raft is highly nutritious, and players can cook it to make it even better, though it takes two minutes and several planks to cook. The shark head is an equipable item that adds shark teeth to a player's screen, but it has no real benefit. Players can also mount these heads as trophies.
Finally, when a shark dies, Raft players can safely explore the water for around three minutes. After that point, a new shark will appear and take over where the last one left off. Players will never be completely free of a shark's presence, but the opportunity to explore a reef and the valuable meat means it's still worth the effort to hunt it.
Raft is available now on PC.