Hey Heroes! Today I'll break down Inkbeard, the third and most expensive hero in the Black Tide event.
There's no pass to buy him and he isn't on the wheel. Skull Coins are the only way to get him, which means grinding out the full 12,500 with no chance of a lucky early pull. I'll go over the level progression, globals, skills, and forge so you can decide whether that grind is worth it.
He's a blue octopus in a pirate hat who throws an anchor around. Swift is clearly all in on pirates this year, and the design is genuinely great.
And the math is rough. Wanting both Inkbeard and Marina Tideborn puts you at 30,000 Skull Coins between them, plus another 10,000 for Powder Kegs. Since you average about 75 coins a spin, that is north of 500 spins of grinding, and unlike Marina there is no lucky pull to shortcut it.
My position going in was that he isn't worth chasing. Reviewing him didn't change that, even though his kit turned out more interesting than I expected.
| 10 | +25% Damage when dealing Physical Damage |
|---|---|
| 20 | +15% Area of Effect |
| 30 | +20% Projectile Speed |
| 40 | CROSS MARKS THE TREASURE: A red cross that increases Inkbeard's damage by 500% and area appears every 10s. |
| 50 | All Heroes: +5% Area of Effect |
| 60 | +15% Area of Effect |
| 70 | |
| 80 | BROADSIDE: Inkbeard's ship shoots cannonballs dealing damage every 5s with a chance to stun enemies on hit. |
| 90 | All Heroes that share Faction: +5% Area of Effect |
| 100 | RELEASE THE KRAKEN: All kills fill the meter. When full, kraken tentacles erupt from random locations, dealing 190% damage every swing. |
| 120 | All Heroes: x1.05 damage to stunned enemies |
| 140 | Strong Stat Bonus: x1.15 damage to stunned enemies |
| 160 | All Heroes: +100% Damage |
My first read was that this looks weak next to the other two heroes in the event, because physical damage at 10, area of effect at 20, and projectile speed at 30 is not a lineup that gets anybody excited.
Then I added it up. He stacks area of effect at 20 and again at 60, which lands him around 30% in total, and 30% area of effect is genuinely big.
His 140 strong stat is damage to stunned, and that tells you two separate things. There had better be a stun somewhere in the kit, and he is not going to be good in Boss Brawl, because you cannot stun a boss. Sad for me, fine for everyone else.
Area of effect at 50 is ho-hum, damage at 70 is ho-hum, and 90 is another +5% area of effect that only applies to heroes sharing his faction. You may be sensing a pattern.
Then 120 is All Heroes, x1.05 damage to stunned enemies, and his 140 strong stat is x1.15 damage to stunned. Both are good in every mode except Boss Brawl, and both assume you already have a stun running somewhere in your build. Marina Tideborn's 120 is x1.1, so hers is worth twice his.
That is the whole problem with him as an investment. His globals only pay out if the rest of your roster is already applying stun, and they pay nothing in the mode where roster-wide globals matter most.
His Anchor evolves off the damage tome. That matters more than it sounds. Marina evolves off projectile speed, which is a pain to fit into a build, while damage tome slots into basically everything you run. It is a small thing that makes him much easier to actually play.
Standard new-hero forge. Two real decisions and three nodes you just take.
Bountiful Maps gives Cross Marks the Treasure reduced cooldown and longer duration. Leave Nothing Behind is the other side. Since the cross is where his damage lives, more crosses for longer is the pick almost everywhere.
Dazing Cannonballs raises Broadside stun chance. More Powder raises Broadside cannonball area. It depends on the mode, but I go stun chance. Having a stun is really nice in most builds, and his 120 global and 140 strong stat both key off stunned enemies.
The 3-star. More damage to stunned, which follows the theme.
The evolution, and a nice buff to his main weapon. This one was not in the preview, so it caught me off guard in try mode.
More tentacles, or tentacles that deal damage as they erupt from the ground. Both buff the ultimate rather than the Anchor, which is exactly why Boss Brawl stays closed to him. Too bad, because Dead Man's Anchor made me want to try it.
His base weapon is the Anchor. He throws his hook, it deals damage in front of him, and then he pulls it back, which is structurally the same as Marina Tideborn's Harpoon.
At level 40, he gets Cross Marks the Treasure. A red cross appears every 10 seconds and increases his damage by 500% while he stands inside it. That scales to 2500% at level five, which is a metric ton of damage for one skill. The catch is that the cross is small and it spawns wherever it wants, so you have to move to it and stay there. In try mode the difference between standing in it and standing beside it was night and day.
At level 80, he gets Broadside. His ship fires cannonballs every 5 seconds with a chance to stun on hit. There is the stun that his level progression and his 120 global were both promising.
His ultimate, Release the Kraken, triggers on weapon kills. When the meter fills, kraken tentacles erupt from random locations for 190% damage every swing. They look fantastic. Slimy guys everywhere.
The kit points one direction. Stun with Broadside, chase the cross, and let the Anchor carry the damage.
Inkbeard is a fun hero design. The anchor set is nice, the tentacles look great, and the cross gives you something to actually do.
But my favorite heroes have an identity. Bavarian and Krampus farm orbs. Santa farms gold keys. Bunni and Druid go to Boss Brawl. When a hero is just generally okay at everything, they end up on the shelf.
Inkbeard is generally okay at everything.
He'll be good in the regular game modes and he's locked out of the one I care about. That isn't worth 12,500 Skull Coins to me, and I wouldn't spend the resources to get him by any stretch of the imagination.
If the wheel hands him to you, great, enjoy him. Don't chase him.
I'm Kolz, a high-level HVH player. Ask questions here, on Reddit, or on Discord.
And remember: Always do your adventures!
