Megalodon

The Megalodon is a dangerous species of giant shark that roams the open waters of the Sea of Thieves, preying on player ships. There are seven Megalodon species with varying colours and rarity. Of the varying species, five appear as emergent encounters and two are Ancient Megalodons that appear after a crew achieves the Hunter's Call Emissary Grade V.

Megalodons were first introduced as a time-limited encounter for The Hungering Deep, returning as a permanent emergent encounter, with additional species, in the Shrouded Spoils update, while Ancient Megalodons were added in Season 15.

The Encounter

Megalodons are vicious predators that appear around player ships on open seas. A Megalodon encounter begins when the tense Megalodon music starts playing, after which, the Megalodon appears out of the deep sea behind the ship and starts swimming closely until the ship sails out of its hunting grounds or the Megalodon is defeated. Each Megalodon spawns with a unique personality, with ranging aggression, sometimes passive until provoked.

A Megalodon will attack the ship by charging at and biting the ship, which is accompanied by a tense chorus of violins. This bite attack can cause 1-5 holes in the ship's hull depending on the ship's size. Defeating a Megalodon takes around 10-13 cannonball hits on a Sloop, around 15-18 cannonball hits on a Brigantine and around 30-32 cannonball hits on a Galleon. Sloops and Brigantines also take less damage from the Megalodon's bites.

Players wishing to get rid of a Megalodon may sail close to Outposts, islands, Seaposts or shipwrecks, the Megalodon will turn away and patrol the area where it first appeared.

List of Megalodons

Each species have distinguishing colours, with additional markings (scars, stripes, etc) that may vary per encounter.

Regular Megalodons

These Megalodons are the more ordinary form of Megalodons, commonly found as emergent threats at sea or, with the exception of the Shrouded Ghost, found as part of the A Tracker's Megalodon Hunt Voyage.

Icon	Name	Description
	Hungering One	Blue variant with green eyes, and sometimes light-blue fin.
	Crested Queen	Dark purple variant with purple fins and eyes.
	Shadowmaw	Dark grey variant with red fins, and orange eyes.
	Ancient Terror	Mossy-yellow variant with yellow fins and eyes.
	Shrouded Ghost	Pale white-gray variant with peach-coloured fin and eyes. Extremely rare. Nighttime light makes its body appears much darker and can be confused for the Crested Queen or Shadowmaw. Its peach-coloured fins are the safest way to identify it. It has a chance to spawn in any of the same locations as all other Megalodon species. Does not appear during the A Tracker's Megalodon Hunt Voyage. A special theme plays when encountered.

Ancient Megalodons

Ancient Megalodons are fierce, toughened Megalodons with unique abilities. They can spawn at sea without a ship nearby, and will be marked on the Map Table for a crew who reaches Hunter's Call Emissary Grade V.

Icon	Name	Description
	Feared Redmaw	Dark gray variant with bright red teeth, covered in glowing orange horns, with orange eyes that lack pupils. Portions of its body are constantly on fire.
	Barnacled Dread	Dull pinkish-gray, covered in rocky armour, itself dotted with colourful coral formations. When the armor is destroyed, the skin appears covered in sunken curse marks similar to those afflicting ships carrying the Skull of Siren Song.

Rewards

Upon defeat, a Megalodon of any type will leave behind a variety of treasure where they died. Players sailing as a Trading Company Emissary will also earn a notable amount of Emissary Grade Reputation (with the exception of Reaper's Bones Emissaries).

All regular Megalodons have the same treasure pool:

• 4-6 pieces of Megalodon meat
• 5-12 random Treasure items
  • Hunter's Call Crates and Packs
  • Regular, Shipwrecked, Ashen, and Cursed Treasure Chests
  • Skeleton Captain’s Chests
  • Stronghold Chests
  • Crates of Ancient Bone Dust
  • Regular and Ashen Trinkets
  • Regular and Ashen Trade Good Crates
  • Regular and Ashen Bounty Skulls
  • Skeleton Captain’s Skulls
  • Stronghold Skulls
  • Mermaid Gems
  • Collector's Chests with Gold and other small Treasure

• 0-2 Pristine Boar Tusk (Emergent encounter only)
• 0-2 Pristine Megalodon Scale (Emergent encounter only)
• 0-2 Pristine Megalodon Tooth (Emergent encounter only)
• 0-1 Pristine Tooth of Feared Redmaw (Emergent encounter only)
• 0-1 Pristine Scale of Feared Redmaw (Emergent encounter only)
• 0-1 Grisly Tooth of Feared Redmaw (Emergent encounter only)
• 0-1 Grisly Scale of Feared Redmaw (Emergent encounter only)
• 0-1 Pristine Tooth of Barnacled Dread (Emergent encounter only)
• 0-1 Pristine Scale of Barnacled Dread (Emergent encounter only)
• 0-1 Grisly Tooth of Barnacled Dread (Emergent encounter only)
• 0-1 Grisly Scale of Barnacled Dread (Emergent encounter only)

• 2-3 Grisly Megalodon Scale (A Tracker's Megalodon Hunt encounters only)
• 1 Grisly Megalodon Tooth (A Tracker's Megalodon Hunt encounters only)

Previous events

• During The Hungering Deep campaign, players could defeat the Hungering One to earn the Hungering Tattoo Set, Shark Bitemark Scars, and Hungering One Figurehead.
• During The Hungering Deep Anniversary Event, players could kill 3 Megalodons to earn the Drum of the Deep.
• During the Hunters of the Deep event, players had to earn Shark Teeth as points via completing Megalodon or shark related challenges to unlock Shrouded Ghost Hunter Set ship cosmetics.
• During The Shrouded Deep adventure, players were tasked with gathering the souls of each species of Megalodon in order to summon and defeat the Shrouded Ghost. Those who participated were rewarded with the Hunter's Beloved Figurehead and Summoner of Myths title.

Notes

• A Megalodon's difficulty is scaled to the size of the ship it spawns to attack.
• However, an Ancient Megalodon's difficulty and health is scaled to the size of the crew that enters its attack range. (For example, a Feared Redmaw encountered on a solo Sloop will require around 70 cannonball hits to kill, whilst a duo will need around 100-110 to bring it down.)
• A Megalodon will remain near the area where it appeared and not leave its range.
• The Megalodon's bite attack is the main threat of the encounter. Landing consecutive cannonball shots (2 on a Sloop, 4 on a Brigantine, 6 on a Galleon) on a charging Megalodon's mouth will disrupt its charge, cancelling the bite attack entirely, or lessening its damage to the hull/negating knock-back effects.
  • The Ancient Megalodons both have unique interactions here.
    • The Ancient Barnacled Dread will ignore the stun if its armour is stricken during the charge, unless the armour is broken by the attack.
    • The Ancient Feared Redmaw required additional hits to cancel its attack (3 on a Sloop, for instance) due to its increased health.
• A Megalodon's bite does as much damage as a shark bite and knocks the player back.
  • The Ancient Feared Redmaw's bite deals approximately 75 damage, increased from the typical 50 damage.
• Dying to a Megalodon's bite gives the blue Flame of Fate, same as other sharks.
• Sharks will appear near the body of a defeated Megalodon.
• Cursed Cannonballs have no effect on Megalodons.
• Megalodons can be harpooned in order to position the ship into a more fitting position to attack it or it can be used to travel more quickly as the Megalodon will drag ships around at astonishing speeds when harpooned.
• Skeleton Ships and Skeleton-operated land cannons will shoot at Megalodons. The Megalodon may then focus on the skeletons rather than the player. A Megalodon has no way of attacking skeletons that shoot at it from island cannons, leaving them swimming and charging close to the island until the skeleton gets lucky enough to kill the Megalodon.
• Megalodons are capable of targeting and attacking rowboats. However, they will always cancel a charge before reaching the rowboat. If a rowboat makes contact with a Megalodon's body, regardless of whether the beast is actively attacking, it will rapidly and continuously take damage until it sinks or the contact ceases.

Commendations

Commendations
Image	Commendation	Requirements	Rewards
	Hunter of the Hungering One	Defeat The Hungering One in a chance encounter.	+5  Rewards the Hunter of the Hungering One Title.
	Hunter of the Crested Queen	Defeat The Crested Queen in a chance encounter.	+10  Rewards the Hunter of the Crested Queen Title.
	Hunter of the Shadowmaw	Defeat The Shadowmaw in a chance encounter.	+15  Rewards the Hunter of the Shadowmaw Title.
	Hunter of the Ancient Terror	Defeat The Ancient Terror in a chance encounter.	+25  Rewards the Hunter of the Ancient Terror Title.
	Hunter of the Shrouded Ghost	Defeat The Shrouded Ghost in a chance encounter.	+50  Rewards the Hunter of the Shrouded Ghost Title. Unlocks the Shrouded Ghost Figurehead in the Ship Customization Chest, and the Spectre of the Sea Trophy for purchase.
	Legendary Hunter of the Hungering One	Defeat The Hungering One in a chance encounter 50 times, as a Pirate Legend. High Seas only   Grade I: 1 Grade II: 5 Grade III: 10 Grade IV: 25 Grade V: 50	Rewards the Legendary Hunter of the Hungering One Title.
	Legendary Hunter of the Crested Queen	Defeat The Crested Queen in a chance encounter 50 times, as a Pirate Legend. High Seas only   Grade I: 1 Grade II: 5 Grade III: 10 Grade IV: 25 Grade V: 50	Rewards the Legendary Hunter of the Crested Queen Title.
	Legendary Hunter of the Shadowmaw	Defeat The Shadowmaw in a chance encounter 50 times, as a Pirate Legend. High Seas only   Grade I: 1 Grade II: 5 Grade III: 10 Grade IV: 25 Grade V: 50	Rewards the Legendary Hunter of the Shadowmaw Title.
	Legendary Hunter of the Ancient Terror	Defeat The Ancient Terror in a chance encounter 50 times, as a Pirate Legend. High Seas only   Grade I: 1 Grade II: 5 Grade III: 10 Grade IV: 25 Grade V: 50	Rewards the Legendary Hunter of the Ancient Terror Title.
	Legendary Hunter of the Shrouded Ghost	Defeat The Shrouded Ghost in a chance encounter 5 times, as a Pirate Legend.   Grade I: 1 Grade II: 2 Grade III: 3 Grade IV: 4 Grade V: 5	Rewards the Legendary Hunter of the Shrouded Ghost Title.
	Hunter of the Feared Redmaw	Defeat Ancient Feared Redmaws (10 times).	Rewards the Hunter of the Feared Redmaw Title. Unlocks the Eternal Hunt Cannons for purchase.
	Master Hunter of the Feared Redmaw	Complete all other Ancient Feared Redmaw Commendations.	Unlocks the Eternal Hunt Hull for purchase.
	Hunter of the Barnacled Dread	Defeat Ancient Barnacled Dread (10 times).	Rewards the Hunter of the Barnacled Dread Title. Unlocks the Eternal Hunt Capstan for purchase.
	Master Hunter of the Barnacled Dread	Complete all other Ancient Barnacled Dread Commendations.	Unlocks the Eternal Hunt Figurehead for purchase.

Trivia

• The The Hungering Deep official summary was: "Something old, fast and hungry is surfacing. Follow the trail of riddles and rumours. We hope you live to tell the tale."
• Megalodons are sometimes called 'Megans', by the community.
• The Deckhand Guess for Gold Competition from August 22nd, 2019 stated that 11 Shrouded Ghosts were killed between the 21st and 22nd of August, 2019.
• The Deckhand Guess for Gold Competition from January 28, 2019 stated that 7,857 Megalodons were killed between January 22nd - January 23rd, 2020.
• After the conclusion of The Shrouded Deep adventure, crews who encounter an emergent Shrouded Ghost will hear its unique theme, "The Shrouded Ghost", instead of the usual Megalodon Battle theme

Patch history

• 3.3.0 (February 20, 2025)
  • Ancient Megalodon Encounters
  • Ancient Megalodons have torn through from the Sea of the Damned and begun terrorising pirate crews with their terrifying powers. Hunters should keep a keen eye on the waves for these deadly new foes.
  • The Feared Redmaw is a ferocious beast with fiery attacks. Crews must quell its supercharged assault by damaging it to release its pressure and avoid a cataclysmic explosion.
  • The menacing Barnacled Dread must have its coral armour removed before the beast can be defeated. Look out for its shocking bite and ability to summon Eel-ectric Ocean Crawlers onto your ship!

• 2.8.3 (June 15, 2023)
  • Seagulls above barrels no longer prevent Megalodons from appearing across the seas, bringing the frequency of Megalodon encounters back to intended levels.

• 2.8.0 (March 16, 2023)
  • Emergent Megalodon encounters can now occur in a wider variety of locations across the seas, including those previously restricted due to the distance between islands.

• 2.4.1 (January 20, 2022)
  • When a Megalodon attacks a player's ship, it should no longer intersect with the ship and cause it to be thrown into the air.
  • Defeating a Megalodon when it is close to a ship should no longer cause the ship to be thrown into the air.
  • Upon encountering a Megalodon, it should no longer become stuck when following close behind a player's ship and should change direction before attacking.
  • Megalodons pursuing ships should now navigate more smoothly around the rocky arches found out at sea.

• 2.4.0 (December 2, 2021)
  • Defeated Megalodons will now have seagulls circling all dropped floating Treasure, marking its location until it is retrieved or sinks.
  • Megalodons in pursuit of players should less frequently collide with islands and run aground.

• 2.0.15 (May 27, 2020)
  • Sloop Megalodon Encounters – Megalodons encountered while on a Sloop are now less likely to attack if not provoked.

• 2.0.14 (April 22, 2020)
  • Defeating emergent threats such as Megalodon will now result in higher-value loot drops and increase Emissary Reputation gains for Gold Hoarders, Order of Souls, Merchant Alliance, and Athena's Fortune.

• 2.0.5 (July 17, 2019)
  • Megalodons now drop Mermaid Gems.

• 2.0.4 (June 19, 2019)
  • Improved Kill Contribution for Megalodon Encounters – Participation tracking has been improved for players and crews engaging in Megalodon encounters. Damaging the beast now counts towards killing it even if the player or crew subsequently leaves the encounter. Players will find that unlocking Commendation progress for winning these encounters is now much more consistent.

• 1.4.0 (November 28, 2018)
  • Added Megalodon varieties: the Hungering One, the Crested Queen, Shadowmaw, Ancient Terror, and the Shrouded Ghost.
  • Added rewards for defeating Megalodons.

• 1.1.5 (July 4, 2018)
  • Multiple Megalodons will no longer spawn in the same zone.
  • Megalodon encounter music will no longer be heard on the Ferry.

• 1.1.4 (June 28, 2018)
  • Megalodons will no longer collide with islands when following a ship.

• 1.1.3 (June 20, 2018)
  • Readded the megalodon along with making it spawn randomly and having different personalities as well.

• 1.1.2 (June 13, 2018)
  • Removed The Hungering One.

• 1.1.0 (May 29, 2018)
  • Introduced The Hungering One as a special event raid encounter.