How to use a Harpoon Gun in Sea of Thieves

An essential tool to master for any pirate.

Harpoon on the ship in Sea of Thieves
Screenshot by Dot Esports

A Harpoon Gun is a core part of your ship, and using it is something any pirate in Sea of Thieves should learn. Here’s everything you need to know to become the master of a Harpoon Gun in Sea of Thieves.

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Where to find a Harpoon Gun in Sea of Thieves

Harpoon on the side of the ship in Sea of Thieves
The game would be chaos without it. Screenshot by Dot Esports

A Harpoon Gun in Sea of Thieves is a mounted tool on each side of your ship, regardless of the ship’s size. You can also find the Harpoon on rowboats, in Sovereign tents on outposts, and on several islands. They can’t be destroyed and can be used by any player at any time.

How to use a Harpoon Gun in Sea of Thieves

Harpoon shot at a cliff in Sea of Thieves
A quicker way to get to the top. Screenshot by Dot Esports

A Harpoon Gun is a very handy tool and will become one of your best friends as you journey the seas. To use it, get close to the Harpoon and press the interact button. Then, you can aim and shoot the line at any surface, item, teammate, or enemy

Aiming the Harpoon does require a bit of skill, mostly because of the waves, so try to get the feel of the waves and their pattern when shooting at a small target. Keep in mind: If you shoot the line and sail too far away from the target, the line will snap. It can also snap if the Harpoon Gun takes damage (though, the gun itself can’t break).

Tips for using a Harpoon in Sea of Thieves

There are also a few tricks you can pull off with the Harpoon Gun that can give you an edge in battle or speed up the boring parts of the adventure.

Here are some of the things you can do with the Harpoon:

  • Collect loot and other players
  • Hard turn your ship
  • Pull your ship closer to an island or another ship
  • Damage monsters
  • Create a tightrope to walk or slide on

Collecting loot is the main use of the Harpoon because of how much time it saves. You can have your crew drop the loot by the shore, where you can reach it with the Harpoon and then use it to move all the treasure to your ship. Harpooned loot automatically drops when on your ship, so you don’t even have to exit it.

Adjusting your ship’s position is another thing you can do with the Harpoon. Shoot the Harpoon and hold the aiming button to reel the line in. This can be used to get closer to the pier to disembark or to make hard turns in the open sea using nearby rocks.

One of the latest things you can do with the Harpoon Gun is create a tightrope to walk on. Shoot the line at a surface and press the Balance on Rope button to start walking on it. You can’t shoot while walking because you have to balance using moving keys, but you can move loot this way. If you create a tightrope at a steep angle, you can even slide on it from top to bottom.

Author
Image of Edward Strazd
Edward Strazd
Freelance News and SEO Writer for Dot Esports, covering everything from live service games like Destiny 2 and Fortnite to new releases. Writing about games since 2021. When he's not writing, he's probably grinding for loot in Destiny 2.