Where are they, what can they do, and how do I kill them so I can get their precious cores for the stupid coral?
You find them near the Fathomking’s Hold, normally somewhere in the southern part of the map.
They are pretty tough, can submerge, have a long distance attack and cause more damage if they manage to ram you.
To kill them sneak up on them in the dark and keep shooting, if you put your light on they are very likely to submerge. Fortunately Fathomking’s has an opportunity to repair your hull (if you have a Live Specimen) and is normally close to the Mangrove College where you can lower terror.
edited by reveurciel on 12/8/2014
Always below the island below the Fathomkings hold, usually in a holding pattern around said island, catch it in the light and then engage full reverse while shooting at it, ranged attack isn’t too bad, but they hit like a hammer up close. If it keeps on submerging, you may have to resort to firing before a full solution is reached on the targetting, hitting them usually causes them to come back up again.
I’ll add that if you move backwards fast enough that they drift in and out of your beam, they’ll fire on you less and won’t submerge as much, in my experience.
Additionally, do watch your terror. While this never happened to me, I believe in the old version of combat, when your terror got too high, they could start snatching Zailors and their shockwave ranged attack did more damage. Their shockwave attack also occasionally raises terror by 1, if I remember correctly.
When they get close enough, I’ve found it can raise terror by as much as 10, and their close quarter attacks are easily the equivalent of a lifeberg, why I never let them get close. :)