Sunken Depths — Endgame Walkthrough

Sunken Depths — Endgame Walkthrough

The Sunken Depths is SpiritVale’s Lv 95+ endgame zone: a drowned coastline, a sealed cathedral, and the final descent into the Kraken’s arena. This walkthrough covers the safest route through all three sub-areas, the Drowned Order questline, and the gear checks that matter before you challenge the world boss.

The two most important encounters have their own pages: read the Kraken wiki for its complete loot table and the Drowned Acolyte wiki for the elite’s stats and drops. This guide is the map route and preparation plan, not a replacement for the dedicated Kraken strategy guide.

Overview

Sunken Depths is split into three connected sub-areas. The route moves from the shallow Tide Pools, through the flooded Sunken Cathedral, and finally into the Maw, where the Kraken’s stationary arena waits. Enemies are packed closely in the first two areas, while the final approach uses stronger elites and a mini-boss to test your endgame setup.

Key facts:

• Tide Pools: Lv 95-100, 6 quests, open shoreline paths and dense normal-mob packs
• Sunken Cathedral: Lv 100-105, 7 quests, interior corridors and the Drowned Order investigation
• The Maw: Lv 105+, 5 quests, elite patrols, the Abyssal Serpent, and the Kraken arena
• Total: 18 quests in the Drowned Order questline
• Recommended clear level: Lv 95 to begin, Lv 105+ before entering the Maw
• Final encounter: Kraken, a world boss on a circular platform surrounded by water
• Recommended builds: Priest Full Support PvE, Necromancer Summoner PvE, or Wizard Elemental Range

The zone is designed to reward deliberate pulls rather than speed-running. Let patrols separate before engaging, keep an escape route behind you, and return to the last waypoint whenever your consumables or durability run low.

Quest order — Tide Pools (Lv 95-100)

The Drowned Order begins at the broken tide gate. Follow the shoreline clockwise; this keeps the early collection objectives close to one another and opens the cathedral entrance without unnecessary backtracking.

Act 1: The Broken Tide Gate (Lv 95-97)

1. Salt on the Waystone — activate the flooded waypoint at the zone entrance.
2. The Drowned Order — inspect the order’s barnacle-covered marker stones along the eastern shore.
3. Tracks in the Kelp — defeat 12x Tide Crawlers near the first tide pool.
4. A Bell Beneath the Waves — recover a cracked bell clapper from the southern pool.
5. Tide-Worn Seals — collect 6 Order Seals from the shoreline ruins.
6. The Gatekeeper’s Warning — speak with the surviving Waybinder at the broken gate.

Route note: Complete the seal collection before entering the northern pool. Tide Crawlers respawn quickly, but crossing the water twice adds more danger than experience. Save your strongest area attack for the clustered packs around the bell objective.

Act 2: The Low-Tide Records (Lv 97-100)

7. Acolytes at the Waterline — investigate the fresh footprints leading toward the cathedral.
8. The First Vigil — defeat 1x Drowned Acolyte guarding the low-tide shrine.
9. Ink That Will Not Wash Away — retrieve 4 sealed pages from the drowned archivist camps.
10. A Question of Faith — read the recovered pages at the tide gate.
11. The Pool Below — defeat the elite patrol blocking the western descent.
12. Open the Flood Doors — use the Order Seals to unlock the Sunken Cathedral.

The Drowned Acolyte is the first serious gear check in this zone. It is a Lv 100 elite with approximately 85,000 HP, so avoid pulling it together with Tide Crawlers on a first clear. Its Drowned Acolyte’s Robe is a rare chest piece with +6% shadow damage; it is a useful milestone for shadow-focused characters, but the encounter is not required to be rushed.

XP target: Reach Lv 100 before taking the Flood Doors objective. If you are still below the target, clear the eastern Tide Pool loop once more instead of pushing into the cathedral underleveled.

Quest order — Sunken Cathedral (Lv 100-105)

The cathedral is a compact interior with three loops: the nave, the submerged archive, and the bell tower. Clear each loop before advancing the story so that the unlocked shortcuts remain available on future runs.

Act 3: The Submerged Nave (Lv 100-102)

13. Through the Flood Doors — enter the cathedral and light the first sanctuary brazier.
14. The Silent Procession — defeat 10 Order-bound guardians in the nave.
15. The Drowned Oracle — defeat the Lv 102 elite in the western transept.
16. Read the Last Litany — recover the oracle’s tablet and learn of the order’s pact.
17. The Bell Tower Path — open the interior shortcut to the upper galleries.

The Drowned Oracle is an elite, not a required boss for the world-boss unlock. Fight it in the transept rather than in the central nave, where its area effects can pull additional guardians into the encounter. Ranged characters should keep a clear line to the exit; melee characters should disengage when the floor begins to flood.

Act 4: The Order’s Bargain (Lv 102-105)

18. Names in the Archive — search the submerged archive for the three founding names.
19. The Acolyte’s Confession — return to the shrine and defeat the renewed Drowned Acolyte patrol.
20. A Crown Below — follow the bell’s resonance to the cathedral’s lower crypt.
21. The Maw Opens — break the crypt seal and unlock the final descent.

The Cathedral’s last objective is a transition, not a point of no return. Once The Maw Opens is complete, the Maw waypoint becomes available and the Tide Pools and Cathedral remain accessible for farming. Finish any unclaimed collection objectives before leaving if you want the cleanest first-clear record.

Quest order — The Maw (Lv 105+)

The Maw is a narrow descent around a deep central sinkhole. Its enemies are stronger and its safe retreat points are farther apart, so bring a full supply of healing items and repair before starting this section.

Act 5: Descent to the Arena (Lv 105+)

22. Below the Cathedral — activate the Maw waypoint and descend along the western ledge.
23. Abyssal Coil — defeat the Lv 104 Abyssal Serpent at the split in the path.
24. The Last Acolyte — clear the elite shrine and recover the final Order Seal.
25. The Drowned King’s Door — place the seal at the arena approach.
26. The Kraken Stirs — enter the circular platform and unlock the world-boss encounter.

The Abyssal Serpent is a mini-boss rather than a world-boss gate. Defeat it before opening the final door: its arena is wider than the surrounding ledge, giving ranged builds room to work and giving supports a safer place to heal. Do not pull the nearby Drowned Acolyte into the serpent’s arena unless your party is already comfortable with both targets.

Monster highlights

The zone’s normal packs are most dangerous when mixed across level bands. Tide Crawlers are manageable on their own, but letting them follow you into an elite shrine creates unnecessary stagger and interrupts. Reset a pull rather than spending a revival token to finish a bad engagement.

Gear milestones

Sunken Depths expects a finished endgame build rather than a freshly leveled character. Upgrade at these points before pushing farther:

1. Lv 95 — entry defense: Replace leveling pieces with gear that gives a stable HP pool and enough resistance to survive the first Tide Pool pulls. Do not trade all survivability for clear speed.
2. Lv 100 — shadow option: The Drowned Acolyte’s Robe adds +6% shadow damage and is a strong rare chest for shadow-oriented setups. Keep a defensive alternative if your class cannot safely stand in elite area effects.
3. Before the Maw — mandatory HP: Equip the Pact of Stone card. Its HP contribution is mandatory for Kraken preparation; the Maw’s elite damage is not forgiving of a glass-cannon setup.
4. Kraken farm — weapon chase: The Trident of the Drowned King is legendary, drops from the Kraken at 10%, and is the BiS Wizard weapon for this endgame tier. Treat it as a long-term farm rather than an entry requirement.

For a ranged clear, the Wizard Elemental Range build makes the Cathedral’s narrow sightlines easier to manage. Supports should use the Priest Full Support PvE build, while players who prefer solo farming can use the Necromancer Summoner PvE build.

Endgame content — the Kraken

Completing The Kraken Stirs opens the stationary world-boss encounter in the Maw. The arena is a circular platform surrounded by water, so falling or being knocked back is a positioning failure rather than a route mechanic. Enter with a party that can sustain damage for the full attempt and reserve burst cooldowns for the boss’s vulnerability windows.

The Kraken has a 12-minute hard enrage. Drowned Acolytes appear during the encounter, making reliable area damage and add control as important as single-target damage. Ranged characters can work from the outer edge, supports should keep a path around the platform clear, and melee players should avoid standing in warning zones longer than necessary.

The loot table includes the 10% legendary Trident of the Drowned King, the Drowned Acolyte card, the Abyssal Helm, Tidal Chestplate, and Coral Ring. Review the full Kraken strategy guide before your first pull for party roles, positioning, and vulnerability-window timing.

Strengths & weaknesses

Strengths

• Three distinct sub-areas provide a clear progression from Lv 95 to endgame.
• The Drowned Order questline keeps the route cohesive instead of sending you back and forth between maps.
• Tide Pools offer a reliable leveling loop while the Cathedral provides elite and rare-gear targets.
• The Maw leads directly to a valuable world-boss farm with multiple relevant endgame drops.
• The zone supports solo, ranged, support, and summon playstyles when pulls are controlled.

Weaknesses

• The level jump from the Tide Pools to the Cathedral punishes characters that arrive without a real HP pool.
• Elite shrines are positioned near normal packs, so careless pulls can snowball quickly.
• The Maw has fewer recovery points and is uncomfortable to learn without a party.
• Kraken attempts are time-limited by the 12-minute hard enrage and require consistent add control.
• The Trident of the Drowned King is a 10% drop, so Wizard players should expect repeated clears.

FAQ

Q: Can I enter Sunken Depths before Lv 95?

A: You can reach the approach, but Lv 95 is the intended starting level. Underleveled characters take too much damage from Tide Pool elites and gain little from rushing past the opening quests.

Q: Do I have to defeat every Drowned Acolyte?

A: No. The Acolyte is an elite encounter placed beside several objectives, not a required full-map clear. Defeat the one tied to your quest step, then farm additional copies only if you want the robe or practice before the Kraken.

Q: When should I enter the Sunken Cathedral?

A: Enter after completing the Tide Pools and reaching Lv 100. The Flood Doors can be opened at the end of Act 2, but waiting for the level target makes the Drowned Oracle and guardian packs much safer.

Q: Is the Pact of Stone card really mandatory?

A: For Kraken preparation, yes. Its HP is the baseline defensive milestone for this route. You may clear the first two sub-areas without it, but do not treat an under-HP character as ready for the Maw or repeated world-boss attempts.

Q: Is the Trident of the Drowned King useful outside Wizard?

A: It is the BiS Wizard weapon for this tier. Other classes should still check its stats and their own weapon scaling, but the 10% Kraken drop is primarily a long-term Wizard upgrade rather than a universal requirement.

References

• Kraken wiki — world-boss details and full loot table
• Drowned Acolyte wiki — Lv 100 elite stats and robe drop
• Kraken strategy guide — encounter positioning and party roles
• Drowned Acolyte guide — elite encounter strategy
• Trident of the Drowned King wiki — legendary Wizard weapon
• Pact of Stone card wiki — mandatory HP milestone
• Priest Full Support PvE build — party support setup
• Necromancer Summoner PvE build — solo and summon setup
• Wizard Elemental Range build — ranged clear setup