Any tips on how to deal with Crashfish?

[bugfanq]

As a new player, i'm terrified of them (nearly died to a bunch), which makes it difficult to get ores in caves. Any tips on how to deal with them? (Keep in mind that i'm new and won't have access to many other things more experienced players have.)

[Suzaku]

They're bad at turning sharply and decelerating. When they try to charge you, swim passed them so they blow up behind you instead. Once you unlock the seaglide, simply swim away since you're faster than them when using that.

[admiral1018]

Early on, you can just swim right at them. You'll pass by them and they'll take a long time turning, likely too long to hurt you. Turning around and fleeing results in a much higher chance of getting hurt.

A little later, once you have the Seaglide, just use that. You can outrun Crashfish easily.

[daylightsavings]

forget about any fancy stuff, ive cleared out entire dens of crashfish simply by using my seaglide to get close enough to activate them and then flying in a straight ish line in the other direction. none of them can get you if you just go straight away from them on the seaglide.

[dreamrider]

Swim past is best, but it can get you lost in deep cave or dark.
If you hear a crasher start up, and you don't know where it is coming from, and you don't want to go dashing uncontrolled into that dark cave to get past it (and get lost), DON'T swim straight away. Swim away from the cave mouth, but stay close to the rockface and bend your course around any available rock shoulder or outcropping. Don't stop curving away til you hear the bang.

This won't ALWAYS get you out of the blast, but you'll miss some, and the distance may diminish damage.

Enter each cave and internal chamber opening cautiously. Look ahead but putting pathfinder disc or at least a flashlight beam into any new chamber before you move. If you have seen the sulphur flower, but you still want to go in there, being prepared for the "crash chase" can give you just that little edge that will keep you out of the blast radius.

Always, always take 2 med kits when going cave exploring. Never search any but the most surface rooms of a cave system "on the spur of the moment". Always know where the opening you cam in through IS, relative to your diver, in each cave room.

And don't let yourself be TOO afraid of them. It takes 3 crashfish in relatively close succession to seriously and dangerously hurt the avatar. Hence the med kits. If you get caught by one for 15-20% health, your still good to go. Get caught by 2 and you are down to ~60%, use that medkit and consider going home for awhile.

If the crashfish are not in close succession, recall that your body will be doing some slow healing constantly. If you get hit for -20%, but it was a solo crashfish, you might be healed back to ~90% before you see the next one, even without the medkit.

[Cursed Hawkins]

Originally posted by Suzaku:

They're bad at turning sharply and decelerating. When they try to charge you, swim passed them so they blow up behind you instead. Once you unlock the seaglide, simply swim away since you're faster than them when using that.

Or get the fins early on so you can swim away even WITHOUT the seaglide! I've done that and only gotten hurt once or twice out of the ninty times one's came after me.

[dreamrider]

Roxxy,
On a further note, while I love to clear the caves and get all their resource nodes as well, I will point out that modest but adequate amounts all the types of resources that you need for all the early tools and equipment can be had from surface spots in and on the fringes of the Safe Shallows.

Except for Cave Sulphur. Of course, you don't need to go very far into caves for that! ;-) And you don't need very much.

So, no need for extensive cave diving until you are more comfortable with it.


A bonus tip for a cave newbie: When you DO go caving in the SS, be alert of shelfs, cubbyholes, and side chambers. They can be particularly rewarding.

[Another Mother's Son]

I found that if you swim out the cave entrance then up and over the sea bottom. I think the AI either loses track of you or tries to go straight up through the ceiling.

[manthathascomputer]

Knife them.