Be a Pirate Enemy Ships: How to Identify Each Threat and Respond

In Be a Pirate, the enemy threat you can positively identify on the water is the Pirate Rowboat - Lv1 — it shows an on-screen name-and-level label and the objective SINK THE PIRATE BOAT! when you encounter it. It fights back when you attack, and sinking it drops its loot and rewards a level-up. Not everything hostile on the water is a ship, though: krakens are a separate threat, and the right response to them in a starter ship is to sail away, not fight.

Here's how to tell each threat apart and what to do about it.

The Pirate Rowboat: your identifiable enemy ship

Near the starter sailing routes, you'll run into the Pirate Rowboat - Lv1. You can recognize it two ways:

• An on-screen label showing its name and level ("Pirate Rowboat - Lv1").
• The objective banner SINK THE PIRATE BOAT! appearing when the encounter starts.

This boat is aggressive. Once you open fire, it shoots back, so don't treat it as a free target. The payoff makes it worthwhile: sinking it rewards you with loot and a level-up, which makes it a reliable early fight while you're still in a starter ship like the Dinghy.

Krakens: hostile, but not a ship

A kraken doesn't announce itself with a ship label. Instead, a giant black tentacle rises near your sailing route and the objective switches to HEAD BACK TO PORT — that's your signal that this is a retreat situation, not a fight. In a starter ship, the right response is avoidance: turn away and sail back to port rather than engaging. Kraken combat mechanics aren't something you should rely on early.

Picking your fights across the seas

Enemy ships are a recurring combat target across the game's eight seas. As a general approach, prioritize blasting weaker enemy ships first so you can build strength safely before challenging larger targets. Between fights, upgrade your speed, health, and cannons so your ship can handle tougher encounters. Sinking an enemy drops its loot — confirmed with the pirate boat — so every win feeds your progression.

For the full fighting system, see the Be a Pirate combat guide, and for making your ship strong enough for bigger targets, see ship upgrades. If a black tentacle appears instead of a ship label, the kraken guide covers what to do.