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 | |||
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Kelp Beds | ![]() |
Cold Snap |
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Sandstorm | ![]() |
Tempest |
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Siren | ![]() |
Dead Water |

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.
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.

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.Â

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 | |
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Strong |
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Normal |
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Weak |
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Very Weak |
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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.
Hazard Level | Resistance Reduction |
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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 | |
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Kelp![]() |
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Strong | Sailing Speed -5% | Sailing Speed -75%/3s |
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Normal | Sailing Speed -10% | Sailing Speed -75%/5s | |
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Weak | Sailing Speed -15% | Sailing Speed -75%/7s | |
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Very Weak | Sailing Speed -25% | Sailing Speed -75%/9s | |
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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 | |
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Sandstorm![]() |
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Strong | Durability -5/20s | Durability -200 Sight Impaired 5s |
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Normal | Durability -3/16s | Durability -250 Sight Impaired 5s |
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Weak | Durability -5/12s | Durability -300 Sight Impaired 10s |
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Very Weak | Durability -10/8s | Durability -500 Sight Impaired 15s |
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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 | |
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Siren![]() |
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Strong | Durability -5/20s | Durability -300, Stun |
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Normal | Durability -5/16s | Durability -450, Stun | |
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Weak | Durability -5/12s | Durability -450, Stun | |
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Very Weak | Durability -5/8s | Durability -750, Stun | |
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Danger | Durability -5/5s | Durability -750, Stun |

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.

Hazard | Â | Safety Lvl | Continuous Debuf | Full Hazard Meter |
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Cold Snap![]() |
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Strong | Durability -1/45s Additional Durabillity -5 while sailing |
Sailing Speed -1%-Stacks 9x Durability -200 |
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Normal | Durability -1/45s Additional Durabillity -10 while sailing |
Sailing Speed -1%-Stacks 9x Durability -200 |
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Weak | Durability -3/15s Additional Durabillity -25 while sailing |
Sailing Speed -2%-Stacks 9x Durability -200 |
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Very Weak | Durability -5/5s Additional Durabillity -50 while sailing |
Sailing Speed -5%-Stacks 9x Durability -200 |
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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 | |
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Tempest![]() |
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Strong | Durability -5/45s Fast Sailing gauge -15/15s |
Durability -300 Unable to Use Skills 5s |
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Normal | Durability -5/30s Fast Sailing gauge -15/15s |
Durability -300 Unable to Use Skills 5s |
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Weak | Durability -15/15s Fast Sailing gauge -50/15s |
Durability -300 Unable to Use Skills 10s |
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Very Weak | Durability -10/5s Fast Sailing gauge -100/15s |
Durability -300 Unable to Use Skills 20s |
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Danger | Durability -10/5s Fast Sailing gauge -100/15s |
Durability -300 Unable to Use Skills 30s |

Dead Waters
Dead waters have two continuous debuffs that reduce durability and sailing speed.
Hazard | Safety Lvl | Continuous Debuf | Full Hazard Meter | |
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Dead![]() |
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Strong | Durability -5/120s Sailing Speed -5% |
Durability -200 Unable to Use Skills 8s Sight Impaired 8s |
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Normal | Durability -5/120s Sailing Speed -5% |
Durability -200 Unable to Use Skills 8s Sight Impaired 8s |
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Weak | Durability -10/30s Sailing Speed -25% |
Durability -350 Unable to Use Skills 15s Sight Impaired 15s |
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Very Weak | Durability -15/10s Sailing Speed -35% |
Durability -350 Unable to Use Skills 15s Sight Impaired 15s |
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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.
