The waters of Arkesia are populated by hazardous seas. You can choose to safely sail around them but what kind of lily-livered swashbuckler would do that?? Instead, crew up, and tame those wild seas till they purr like Blackfang’s sword.

There are 6 different Hazardous Waters in Arkesia: Kelp, Sandstorm, Siren, Cold Snap, Tempest, and Dead. Each Hazard has 4 different levels, with level 4 being the strongest and doing the most damage to your ship. You can negate heavy durability loss by increasing the level of your ship and equipping sailors with strong resistances to the hazards you’ll be sailing in.

Hazardous Waters Zones
Kelp Beds Cold Snap
Sandstorm Tempest
Siren Dead Water
map zoom

The in-game map is laid out in a grid format. Clicking on a square will zoom in to that area. Kelp beds are a hidden annoyance, but other hazard seas are clearly defined.

The map below (thanks to Invenglobal) shows that level 1-2 hazards are found in east Arkesia, while level 3-4 hazards are found in west Arkesia beyond the Wall of Procyon.

The Wall of Procyon is a mostly invisible wall that stretches north to south between the continents. You won’t be able to cross it until your Equipped Item Level is 460+, then the main questline will take you through it to Rohendel, continuing your adventures into West Arkesia.

hazardous waters map

Your Ship’s Hazard Meter

After entering any Hazardous Waters, a Hazard Debuff will be placed on your ship and the glass Hazard Meter will begin to fill. When it’s full, a stronger debuff will hit your ship which usually includes a hefty durability loss.

The rate at which the meter fills depends on how resistant your ship is to that Hazard. Leaving the Hazard waters will empty the Hazard meter, but timed debuffs will continue until they time out.

 

hazard meter debuffs

Hazardous Waters Interface

You can plan ahead if you know which level of Hazardous Waters you will be sailing in by hitting the arrow keys to the right and left of the Hazardous Waters level in the Docking UI. In the picture below, Hazardous Waters Level 3 is selected. 

hazard water Lvl 3 stats

Your Ship’s Safety Levels

There are 5 arrow icons that represent your ship’s Safety Level. They indicate at a glance how resistant it is to every Hazardous Water type. The safety level determines the level of debuffs the ship will receive while sailing in each water type. A green upward arrow indicates the ship is strong in that Hazard and will receive the lowest level of debuff. A double red downward arrow indicates your ship is in serious danger and will receive the highest level of debuff.

Safety Levels
Strong
Normal
Weak
Very Weak
Danger

This ship is Strong in level 3 Dead Waters, but Dangerous in level 3 Tempest Seas. If I sail into Tempest waters using this configuration, I would expect frequent debuffs with huge durability losses.

The Math Behind Ship Safety Levels

Hovering your mouse over the arrow icons in the Docking UI will detail how each safety level was calculated and how many points are necessary to improve the ship’s safety level.

Each level of Hazardous Waters subtracts a set amount from the sum of your Hazard Resistances:

Hazard Level Resistance Reduction
1 None
2 -20
3 -35
4 -60

In the bottom row of the Hazardous Waters UI is an icon of the Hermida’s Song skin. The Hermida’s Song skin allows you to allocate 12 points to whichever resistances you want. The resistance bonuses chosen with this skin are: +7 in Siren and +5 in Dead. You can re-allocate your bonus resistance points, but it costs blue crystals each time you do it.

The sum of Hazard Resistances is calculated by:

  • Adding…
    • + Your ship’s base resistance points
    • + Skin applied resistance points
    • + Resistance points from collectibles
  • Modifying…
    • +/- Points applied by crew members
  • Then Subtracting…
    • – Set points from Hazard Level

Your mission, as Captain, is to improve your ship’s safety level by adding more Hazard Resistance points through ship upgrades and crew modifications.

Hazardous Waters Types and Debuffs

Kelp Beds

Kelp Beds are the first hazardous water you’ll encounter after acquiring your sea legs and leaving Wavestrand Port. It’s the only hazardous water you can’t see on the in-game map.

Kelp Beds debuff your sailing speed but do not decrease durability.

 

Hazard Safety Lvl Continuous Debuf Full Hazard Meter
Kelp
Strong Sailing Speed -5% Sailing Speed -75%/3s
Normal Sailing Speed -10% Sailing Speed -75%/5s
Weak Sailing Speed -15% Sailing Speed -75%/7s
Very Weak Sailing Speed -25% Sailing Speed -75%/9s
Danger Sailing Speed -35% Sailing Speed -75%/11s

Sandstorm

Sandstorm seas have a continuous durability debuff that ticks off every few seconds. When the meter fills, expect a hefty chunk of durability loss and reduced visibility according to your ship’s safety level.

 

Hazard Safety Lvl Continuous Debuf Full Hazard Meter
Sandstorm
Strong Durability -5/20s Durability -200
Sight Impaired 5s
Normal Durability -3/16s Durability -250
Sight Impaired 5s
Weak Durability -5/12s Durability -300
Sight Impaired 10s
Very Weak Durability -10/8s Durability -500
Sight Impaired 15s
Danger Durability -10/5s Durability -500
Sight Impaired 15s

Siren

Siren seas have a continuous durability debuff that ticks off every few seconds. When the meter fills, expect a huge chunk of durability loss and a short stun according to your ship’s safety level.

 

Hazard Safety Lvl Continuous Debuf Full Hazard Meter
Siren
Strong Durability -5/20s Durability -300, Stun
Normal Durability -5/16s Durability -450, Stun
Weak Durability -5/12s Durability -450, Stun
Very Weak Durability -5/8s Durability -750, Stun
Danger Durability -5/5s Durability -750, Stun
siren seas debuff

Cold Snap

Cold Snap seas have two continuous durability debuffs that tick off every few seconds. One if you are sitting still and an additional one if you are moving. When the meter fills, expect some durability loss and reduced sailing speed according to your ship’s safety level. Reduced sailing speed stacks up to 9x.

cold snap debuff
Hazard   Safety Lvl Continuous Debuf Full Hazard Meter
Cold Snap
Strong Durability -1/45s
Additional Durabillity -5 while sailing
Sailing Speed -1%-Stacks 9x
Durability -200
Normal Durability -1/45s
Additional Durabillity -10 while sailing
Sailing Speed -1%-Stacks 9x
Durability -200
Weak Durability -3/15s
Additional Durabillity -25 while sailing
Sailing Speed -2%-Stacks 9x
Durability -200
Very Weak Durability -5/5s
Additional Durabillity -50 while sailing
Sailing Speed -5%-Stacks 9x
Durability -200
Danger Durability -5/5s
Additional Durabillity -50 while sailing
Sailing Speed -5%-Stacks 9x
Durability -200

Tempest

Tempest seas have two continuous debuffs, one consumes durability and the other consumes fast sailling gauge. When the hazard meter fills, expect a hefty chunk of durability loss and the inability to use any ship skills for several seconds.

 

Hazard Safety Lvl Continuous Debuf Full Hazard Meter
Tempest
Strong Durability -5/45s
Fast Sailing gauge -15/15s
Durability -300
Unable to Use Skills 5s
Normal Durability -5/30s
Fast Sailing gauge -15/15s
Durability -300
Unable to Use Skills 5s
Weak Durability -15/15s
Fast Sailing gauge -50/15s
Durability -300
Unable to Use Skills 10s
Very Weak Durability -10/5s
Fast Sailing gauge -100/15s
Durability -300
Unable to Use Skills 20s
Danger Durability -10/5s
Fast Sailing gauge -100/15s
Durability -300
Unable to Use Skills 30s
tempest debuff

Dead Waters

Dead waters have two continuous debuffs that reduce durability and sailing speed.

Hazard Safety Lvl Continuous Debuf Full Hazard Meter
Dead
Strong Durability -5/120s
Sailing Speed -5%
Durability -200
Unable to Use Skills 8s
Sight Impaired 8s
Normal Durability -5/120s
Sailing Speed -5%
Durability -200
Unable to Use Skills 8s
Sight Impaired 8s
Weak Durability -10/30s
Sailing Speed -25%
Durability -350
Unable to Use Skills 15s
Sight Impaired 15s
Very Weak Durability -15/10s
Sailing Speed -35%
Durability -350
Unable to Use Skills 15s
Sight Impaired 15s
Danger Durability -15/10s
Sailing Speed -35%
Durability -350
Unable to Use Skills 30s
Sight Impaired 30s

When the hazard meter fills, expect a chunk of durability loss along with sight impairment and the inability to use ship skills.