Dave the Diver Mantis Shrimp fight tips

Dave the Diver’s Mantis Shrimp boss is a bit of an enigma if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Dave himself suggests blocking is the key to victory, and it kind of isn’t. Your clue is right at the start of the battle, when the Mantis Shrimp’s eyes linger on the screen for a few seconds before the beast itself comes crawling out.

Even with the right approach, the Mantis Shrimp boss is a lengthy one, so make sure to set aside some time to tackle it.

Dave the Diver Mantis Shrimp

How to beat the Mantis Shrimp in Dave the Diver

The Mantis Shrimp’s only weakness is its eyes, which it keeps covered for most of the time except under certain circumstances. The Mantis Shrimp’s usual attack pattern is:

• Two punches with the right glove
• One punch with the left

The shrimp’s eyes are uncovered after the left punch, which is your time to fire off your rifle or harpoon. You should have enough time to aim and fire at least two shots before the shrimp covers its eyes and the process starts again.

After two or three times of this, the Mantis Shrimp will pitch a fit and cause a rush of water to flow your way, and it pulls its left glove back for a mighty punch. A cord comes down that you can pull to raise the metal pod, ideally high enough that the shrimp hits it instead of you.

The trick here is to position yourself near the top left of the screen when you fire your last shot. That way, you’re close to the pull cord that comes down in the next stage and actually have time to raise the pod high enough. There’s no chance of raising it fast enough if you aren’t near, and the punch’s impact will send you flying into the spike wall instead.

If the shrimp does hit the pod, it’ll become vulnerable for a few seconds, long enough to land three or four hits. Repeat this several more times, and you’ll finally fry the shrimp.

Mantis Shrimp fight tips

If you’re using a harpoon gun, make sure to upgrade it or scout around for some powerful tips that boost its base damage. You can’t upgrade your rifle yet, so there’s no way to eke more power out of it for this fight.

Check the crates on the boss arena floor to refill your ammo.

The shrimp’s punches land wherever you were when it first pulled its fist back. You can just move a little ways to the side and position yourself to attack without having to worry about the shrimp tracking you.

Blocking the shrimp’s big punch isn’t essential. It just creates an extra opening for you to attack. If you’re struggling to get the timing right, just focus on firing at the eyes after the shrimp uses a left punch. It might take a little longer, but it saves you some frustration.

If you're after more help in Dave the Diver, head over to our guides for how to find the Runaway Seahorses, where to find the Marlin, and how to get Trevally Fin the easiest way possible.