How to Kill a Reaper Leviathan + Other Leviathans

Despite their large stature and terrifyingly aggressive nature, the Leviathans of Subnautica are still killable - with a bit of effort. Here’s a few methods you can use to kill them.

Introduction

This guide will also work for other leviathans such as the Ghost Leviathan. It's actually way easier with them. I recommend starting with them and working your way up to the Reaper.
You can also kill the Sea Dragon, but note that unlike other leviathans it is resistant to the Thermoblade, so you should disregard the point I make about that later in the guide and use a normal knife instead.

Welcome to Jackass, I'm Xen, and today we're going to be taking down one of the biggest ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ in this entire game. When many first see one of these things, generally the first thing that happens is you say "what the hell is that thing? holy crap its big!" then it eats your seamoth and you die. Sadly, one of the things you will learn to accept in Subnautica is that everything hates you. I myself have lost 3 seamoths and almost a prawn suit to these bastards. A few days ago I decided I was done with these ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. I was going to put an end to this. And so I did and amazingly it actually worked pretty well. So then I thought I'd make this guide to show you how to get your own revenge.

Just a little notice: if you are new to this game, SPOILERS ARE AHEAD. I wouldn't read this unless you want to risk impairing your experience. Honestly, if you are new to this game, then you probably wont have the neccesary appliances to take down a reaper, so don't even try.

Got that? You sure? Ok, but be warned, you will likely die trying to do this. Anyway, let's go.

The Leviathans

The Reaper Leviathan is a huge species of fauna, about the size of a Cyclops. It's so big, in fact, that it's the 5th biggest species in Subnautica, and the 3rd largest aggressive species. Usually, the first time you will see one is when you attempt to invade the Aurora. Reaper Leviathans guard both the front and the back of the ship, however their positions are not consistent and may vary between games. 6 each (yeah, 6) also are found in the Mountains and the Dunes. (Speaking of which, one of them may spawn directly on the right of Mountain Island, right next to the Quarantine Enforcement Platform. So don't head in from the right side of the island.) A Reaper Leviathan skeleton can also be found in the Inactive Lava Zone. You should be able to tell if one is nearby from their heavily distinguishable roar, there really isn't anything else like it.

Reaper Leviathans can perform many different attacks, all of which will screw you over. They can swim fast enough to catch up to you if you make a break for it on your Seaglide or Seamoth. They will bite you for 80 damage, 4/5 of your health bar. If you health is already below 80, though, they will instead grab onto you with their mandibles and EAT YOU ALIVE. Obviously, that will kill you instantly. The Reaper Leviathan is also capable of using their mandibles to grab onto the Seamoth and Prawn Suit, crushing it in their grip and dealing massive damage to it, sometimes up to 60%. They have also been observed taking the Seamoth and smashing it into the seabed, destroying it instantly. The Cyclops also isn't safe. Although it is unable to grab the Cyclops, it will still repeatedly ram into it in an attempt to get to you which will deal massive damage to it.

Other Leviathans follow suit in terms of size and aggressiveness. They all have their share of differences, though. Ghost Leviathans can come in two sizes: Juvenile and Adult. The Juveniles are found in the Lost River and are a bit bigger than a Reaper, but they don’t do as much damage and move comparably slowly. They also seem a bit less aggressive, but that might just be me. The Adults are found in the Grand Reef, Blood Kelp Zones, and the Void, and are much larger than their smaller counterparts. From personal experience, they seem to have somewhat identical stats in other places and in my opinion are significantly easier to kill than a Reaper. To attack their prey, they simply swim right at them while releasing a signature scream which can be used to tell that they’re mad at you.
The Sea Dragon Leviathans are even large than the aforementioned Leviathans. Luckily, they’re only found deep in the Lava Zones, and you can easily tell one is nearby from their impressive roars. They seem to be less aggressive than Reapers and they certainly swim slower than them, but they make up for this with a massive health pool and extremely powerful attacks which consist of biting your vehicle, breathing fire, spitting up flaming rocks at you, and swatting at you with their arms which is powerful enough to overturn a Cyclops. Speaking of which, many of their attacks will deal massive damage to the Cyclops and will most certainly deal either massive damage or an instant kill to YOU, so if you’re wise you’d prefer to keep your distance. But if you’re hoping to kill one, all I can say is good luck to you.

So now you know what you're up against. You should always know your enemy before you attack. So, let's begin.

Method 1

This method is what worked for me, however it is pretty risky as the chances of you dying while trying to do this are insanely high.

What you will need:
- A knife. I used the hardened blade at the time of writing this guide; since then, it has been removed and knife durability is no longer a thing. Use the thermoblade - it does the most damage.
- The Stasis Rifle. Make sure it's fully charged.
- A lot of oxygen. Do consider the ultra high capacity tank.
- A Seaglide and fins will make it much easier to surface and get back down to the Reaper before it breaks out of stasis, and will allow you to make a getaway in case it gets mad. Don't use the Seamoth, obviously.
- The Reinforced Diving Suit will cut all damage you take in half, which allows you to tank 2 attacks from a Reaper until the 3rd one kills you, so it's an extremely valuable asset. It's also handy for attacking a Sea Dragon Leviathan if you're up for the challenge since the suit provides heat protection of up to 70 degrees.
- Scanner (optional). You don't need to bring this unless you want to get this thing in your PDA.

First things first: find yourself a Reaper Leviathan. I would advise against the ones at the Aurora, as you will want some space. I used the one next to Mountain Island. Get your ass over there. Now just swim around till it gets mad at you and charges. You're gonna need some fast reflexes right now. As soon as you know it's charging, get your stasis rifle, charge it up all the way, and shoot it directly at its face. The hitbox doesn't spread much further down than the 2 fins near its face, so aim for the face. As soon as you know it's stuck, get over there as fast as you can and start stabbing the crap out of it. When it looks like it might break out, charge up another one and shoot. DO NOT GO NEAR THE MOUTH; IT CAN STILL EAT YOU. If you run low on air, shoot another stasis charge at it while you get more air. It shouldn't break out unless you're a slowpoke. Also, if you brought it, now would be a good time to scan it. Make sure you see the yellowy blood coming out of it, or you're literally not doing anything. Don't be afraid to get in there (just stay away from the mouth). It might start squirming around a bit - that's just it's hurt animation, don't worry about it. After your third air refill, you should kill it before you need to head back up. You'll know its dead because it'll flip itself over, like this:

It'll flip over regardless of whether or not it's in stasis. Congratulations! You killed it. DO. NOT. SAVE. YOUR. GAME. Saving the game makes it bug out and come back to life. Or, it might, I didn't really see.
I have no clue why this happened the first time I did it, but it doesn't seem to happen anymore.
Do whatever you want.
Either way, it's gonna go after you and "eat" you, and you'll get stuck in the death animation until you run out of air. So yeah, wait till you're back at base before you take selfies. But as long as you don't save, being near the mouth *shouldnt* kill you.

Method 2

My first time I tried taking down a Reaper Leviathan, I tried this since I thought it'd be cool. I failed horribly. I'd advise using Method 1, but if you think you can do it, try it. Definitely cooler, anyway.

What you will need:
- A Prawn Suit. It must have an arm on it that is able to do damage.
Your options for this are either the claw arm, which does good damage but is a bit harder to aim and slower, or the drill arm, which does less damage per hit but is definitely faster and easier to aim. Pick whichever one is right for you - I'm not completely sure yet which arm will do more damage per second.
You may also want to consider the grappling gun arm. The grapple is a bit hard to aim in my opinion, and it will only latch on to the Reaper's upper body, but if you do manage to land a hit your suit should be able to stay right next to the Reaper and you can go at it (up until it manages to grab the suit). I would also make sure it has the Prawn Suit Jump Jets, if you have the recipe.
- The Repair Tool. You may also consider the Cyclops Vehicle Upgrade Module, which will allow you to heal in safety. Make sure you bring lots of batteries.
- Again, the scanner is optional unless you want to add it into the PDA.
- A stasis rifle is useful for freezing anything in your way while you heal or for freezing the Reaper while you scan it.
- As mentioned in Method 1, the Reinforced Diving Suit is useful for tanking a Reaper's attacks but isn't as useful in this method since you'll have a Prawn Suit for protection. However it can still be useful as protection while you're repairing the suit so you don't get instantly destroyed.
- Having a Cyclops is useful for saving in in case you die.

Unlike the Reaper Leviathan I used in Method 1, for this method you will want to use one in a more shallow enviornment, such as the one at the back of the Aurora. If you brought it, park your Cyclops nearby, but not close enough as to have the Reaper attack it. MAKE SURE YOU SAVE BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE CYCLOPS. Your suit's destruction is extremely likely, and I'm sure you don't want to lose it. Get your prawn suit and go get the Reaper Leviathan onto your tail. Just keep beating it up with the claw arm or the drill. The Reaper grabbing onto your suit is inevitable (even if you grappled onto it behind its mouth), and if you fall below 50% health, hide somewhere and heal the suit. If your suit is equipped with the grappling arm, try to grapple near the fin behind the mandibles. This puts the suit outside of the Reaper's grasp and the only way it will be able to grab you is if it starts to move erratically and the suit flies around into its mouth.

Note that as the Reaper chases your suit, it will very likely swim pretty far away from the place you found it. Pray that it doesn't swim into the Kelp Forest, or else you probably will never see it again. It's very hard to see it through the Creepvine without fog turned off. Pray it won't swim even further behind the ship, or you'll have even more of them to deal with. Pray it doesn't swim into the dead zone...for obvious reasons. Since your attacks will potentially be slower and do less damage, and the Reaper is not in stasis, this method will take a considerably long time, but if you keep going at it, the Reaper should eventually flip over and die. Congratulations! You've taken down a Reaper Leviathan using an extremely sketchy method. Extra props to you.

WARNING: I usually stay away from the Mountains and Dunes due to the Reapers, but if you do this there, DO NOT do it in a place that has Warpers nearby. They will teleport you out of the suit, and then the Reaper will likely kill you. This is another reason why Reapers near the Aurora are a better pick.

Tips and Tricks

Here are some extra things you can do/should know to make your execution attempt smoother.

- You don't have to scan the reaper when it is still alive - you can also scan its dead body.
- The damage the Reaper will do to your Prawn Suit is essentially random, but sometimes I feel like the Reaper lets go of the suit faster if you keep drilling at it and mashing your movement keys while he's grabbing you.
- The Reaper can sometimes get stuck inside props which will give you a great opportunity to bash its head in. Or, you know, it can do the exact opposite and clip through the floor. Be prepared for anything.
- Whenever you see a Reaper located near the Aurora, you should be careful while fighting it because there are always more of them nearby. The front has at least 2 but they aren't as close together, but the back has 3 of them.

And most importantly...

- Don't bring your Cuddlefish. It will die.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading my guide! I hope it helped you get your well deserved revenge. But be warned: that Reaper won't be gone forever.
When a major update comes out, the map essentially "rebuilds" itself by swapping out all the old terrain files with the new ones. This also includes the leviathan spawns, so once an update comes out and this happens you'll have to deal with those guys again. Like I said though, this is only for MAJOR updates. I killed off all the Ghost Leviathans in the Lost River right after the Ghost Update and they didn't respawn until v1.0.
Still though, the adrenaline rush is good, right?

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i also learned that you can juke them out then stab them when using the ultra fins

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i put all my stuff in lockers, made a new knife, then stabbed the shit out of the fuckers near my base at the QEP

[The skyliner empire]

i drilled into its skull with the prawn suit when it picked me up. i killed it within it picking me up twice. most of the time it will run away the first time. have fun chasing them with prawn suits now👍

[Spazmania]

There are two more methods:

1. The tiger plant turret. Plant a bunch of tiger plants in exterior growbeds and keep luring the reaper over. They'll fire at you (not him) so position yourself between them and the reaper and once they fire a volley get out of the way. Sort of a pain because the tiger plants end up shooting and destroying each other too, so you have to keep replanting them and waiting for them to regrow.

2. The reverse-cyclops. Ramming things with the cyclops does more damage than anything else in the game. If you do it in reverse, ramming the reaper with the screw, he tries to bite the screw. He'll eventually do some damage that way, but not much. Just keep going forward and back. Jump up to flank speed temporarily when going back to score a solid hit. If he does finally do enough damage that you need to stop and repair, just go forward until he gives up, repair, and then go backward again.

[theloonylizard]

Craziest way I've ever seen is rather ingenious. You have the reinforced dive suit for its invulnerability to tiger plant thorns, the seaglide, the stasis rifle, the habitat builder, titanium, lead, and tiger plant seeds. You build a foundation and exterior grow beds near a reaper's spawn point. Plant it full of tiger plants. Using your seaglide, lure the reaper over to the grow beds with fully-grown tiger plants. Trap him in a stasis bubble, preferably one that also envelops the grow beds.

Swim in between the reaper and the tiger plants with the seaglide. Because the thorns are fired ballistically, any that miss you will stick in the stasis field. If the plants are in the stasis field, all of them get stuck as soon as they're fired. And since the thorns damage anything they hit, when the field collapses, the reaper gets riddled with shots like a snitch in an old mobster movie and goes belly-up.

[Lord Walksaway]

You can also just build a cage around them and they stay there like good doggos forever.

[KindaLikeThat]

my strat: 99999 gas pods, stasis rifle

[Fireshot]

Mod weapons work quite nicely for terminating the Reapers and Ghosts. I like the laser mod for the Cyclops its quite powerful although it is very power hungry when used so you should see about using something like the Cyclops nuclear reactor or some modded power cells so you don't end up running out of power.

[MilitaryGradeHotdogs]

i dont use the first method cus my balls are atom sized, so i used method two and it worked really good. you if you stack 4 hull reneforcements in the prawn it reduces the damage taken by a reaper by a lot and if you grapple onto its face it will swim for the safe shallows giving you the upper hand. when i used this i fought the reaper at the back of the aurora and imploded its skull the next one was at the front of the aurora when i lost like 70 percent of health i hid and repaired my suit but when i returned the reaper was gone no reaper at its spawn so i guess it died under the map

[𝕬𝕽𝕲𝕺𝕽𝕺𝕶]

30 fps was godly back in those dark days