Ship of Fools: How to Defeat Tentacles, Shadow of the Undergrowth

Tentacles, Shadow of the Undergrowth is the first boss in Ship of Fools and, if you don’t know what to look for, it can be very difficult to defeat. Whether by yourself or with a friend, if you know what to expect, you can easily defeat Tentacles, Shadow of the Undergrowth in Ship of Fools.

How to Defeat Tentacles, Shadow of the Undergrowth in Ship of Fools

Tentacles, Shadow of the Undergrowth is a boss with two phases. The first phase is the tentacle phase. The second phase is the slug phase. The boss will cycle between the first and second phases until it is dead. Here’s how to navigate both phases and defeat Tentacles, Shadow of the Undergrowth.

Though there are a lot of great Fools to choose from, the best Fool to take on the Tentacles, Shadow of the Undergrowth boss fight is Krillstoph and/or Shelbie. Once you’ve unlocked these Fools, Krillstoph is needed for the slug section and Shelbie is great for the tentacle and slug section.

In the first phase, the tentacle phase, three tentacles will appear and circle clockwise around your ship. More tentacles will appear periodically until there are around six or seven tentacles circling the ship. To get past this phase, shoot one projectile at each tentacle.

Don’t shoot more than one projectile at a given tentacle because once hit, it will sink immediately. Though your shots will deal damage to the tentacles, this is not a damage-dealing phase, this is a survival phase.

If a tentacle flashes red, shoot it immediately. If you don’t shoot it, don’t worry. The tentacle will sink and emerge directly next to one of the four corners of your ship. The tentacle will appear at the corner closest to where it sunk back into the water. To counter this, quickly run over to it and deliver a paddle melee combo to smack it away from the ship. This is where Krillstoph is a good choice.

After some time defending your ship from the tentacles, the mouth of Tentacles, Shadow of the Undergrowth will emerge. Unload all of your projectiles at the mouth because this is the main damage phase. After a few seconds of emerging, the mouth will shoot out dozens of slugs onto the ship.

Take a break from shooting the mouth to eliminate all of the slugs. Krillstoph is great for clearing these slugs. Focus on the slugs that landed first and try to sweep from the left to the right side of the ship or vice versa to quickly squash them all. If you have an ally, Shelbie is good to keep firing at the mouth of Tentacles, Shadow of the Undergrowth.

With all of the slugs gone, reload your cannon and fire at the mouth until it sinks back into the water. When the mouth leaves, the tentacle phase will start again. Repeat this careful process until Tentacles, Shadow of the Undergrowth is defeated. If you find yourself dying more than you’d like, check out the best early upgrades to spend your Tendrils on.

Ship of Fools is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.