Another Crab’s Treasure: How to beat the Polluted Platoon Pathfinder

The Polluted Platoon Pathfinder encounter in Another Crab’s Treasure might just have one of the coolest soundtracks of any boss fight in video game history. But, if you don’t know how to take down this frightful foe, you’ll be stuck listening to it on repeat.

To defeat the Polluted Platoon Pathfinder, you need to know all its choreographed attacks, dodge timers, and the best shells to take into combat with you.

Here’s how to defeat the Polluted Platoon Pathfinder in Another Crab’s Treasure.

Polluted Platoon Pathfinder fight, explained: Attacks and dodge times

The Polluted Platoon Pathfinder hides in the Moon Snail Cave and blocks your path to the Moon Snail. It also holds something shiny—the item the Duchess has sent you to find for her in exchange for returning your home. If you want to recover this precious object, you’ll need to defeat the giant crab monster that stands in your way.

This boss wields a giant glass bottle as its primary weapon in one hand and a bundle of green rope in the other. It uses a number of attacks, including:

• A Crushing attack (0:05 mark in our video above): In this attack, the Polluted Platoon Pathfinder will leap into the air, and you’ll see a blue Aggro symbol above Kril’s head. The crab will then slam back down to the ground with its bottle. This attack is a one-shot kill.
• A four-hit attack (0:10): The Polluted Platoon Pathfinder will strike out in a sweeping fashion three times before winding up a powerful downward strike. You can take a single hit from one of the sweeps if you haven’t upgraded your health, but the final strike will likely kill you in one blow.
• Single strikes (0:22) if you get too close: These attacks are much easier to dodge by simply avoiding staying outside of the boss’s melee range. They appear from either claw; a quick stab from the rope claw and a swing or a sweep from the bottle side.

For the crushing attack, you want to wait until the Polluted Platoon Pathfinder has reached the apex of his jump. Once you see the crab slow down at the peak of his ascent, begin your dodge by rolling away from him.

You can either dodge or block the four-hit attack with your shell (LB by default on controller or right mouse click on PC). The sweeping motions are fairly easy to dodge if you roll backwards. But to dodge the final blow, look for blue sparks appearing on the top of the bottle. This is your cue to move from wherever you’re standing.

Best shell to use in the Polluted Platoon Pathfinder boss fight

To increase your chances of defeating the Polluted Platoon Pathfinder, I recommend picking up the Party Hat shell, which you can find on a ledge next to a smaller crab enemy right before the boss fight. The Party Hat is, in my opinion, one of the best options out of all the shells in Another Crab’s Treasure at this early stage of the game.

The Party Hat comes with the Party Time! ability, which emits a small blast of confetti and pushes you backwards. This attack can be used in time to quickly get out of the Polluted Platoon Pathfinder’s area of attack if you end up too close to him.

At this point in the game, however, you’ll have access to a number of shells—including the Soda Can, Bottle Cap, and Shot Glass. You can’t go wrong with the Soda Can or the Shot Glass, both of which can damage the boss or, in the case of the Shot Glass, provide a bit of defense should you miss a dodge. But I don’t recommend the Bottle Cap for this fight, given its weak defense in combination with its weak ability; it’s attack won’t send this boss flying.

Polluted Platoon Pathfinder rewards

After you defeat the Polluted Platoon Pathfinder, you’ll receive the Pristine Pearl, which you’ve been tasked to recover by the Duchess. This item will automatically be given to you after the fight and will be added to your inventory.

“A gorgeous pearl, manufactured somewhere beyond the ocean,” the item’s description reads. Looks perfect for impressing royalty.”

Once you’ve acquired the Pristine Pearl, you can speak to the Moon Snail and teleport out of the cave to begin making your way back to the Duchess in her castle.