The best weapon in the game is inside the thing you are running from
The katana is not in a chest at the end of a dungeon. It is sitting in a hidden area you can only reach during the part of the game where you are being hunted.
After the boss fight in the Sunken Vault mission, a frankly ridiculous number of navy ships start closing in and you are chased out of the southern half of the world map.
The katana is behind you. Getting it means turning around.
Why it is worth the detour
| Type | Unique Flanker weapon |
| Melee damage | 7 |
| Critical hit damage | 2 |
| Bonus movement | +2 |
| Passive | On a killing blow, the wielder turns invisible — and is therefore immune to all damage for that turn |
That passive is the reason to care. On a Flanker, which already wants to be in close and does more damage from behind, killing something and then being untouchable for a whole turn is not a defensive bonus — it is a free second engagement. In the right hands it is game-breaking.
The route, exactly
- Finish the Sunken Vault boss. The escape sequence begins immediately after.
- Make your way back to the Flooded Burrow bar.
- Continue past it — not into it — heading south-east.
- You will find a whirlpool. Use it.
- The crew ends up in an unfamiliar area. The katana is here, in a box.
- Use the second whirlpool to return to the main area and resume your escape.
The lockout
This is the part that costs people the weapon.
You can only get the katana during that escape sequence. If you flee north of the wall first, you cannot get it again without starting a new game. Not a new run — a new save.
And there is a trap for anyone who tries to come back later: using the same whirlpool outside the escape sequence is not useless, but it is not the katana either. You get sent to a lighthouse with some loot. The weapon is only in that spot during the chase.
How to make the armada survivable
Escaping is not easy even with the ability to sink beneath the waves, which you will have unlocked by then. Two settings make it manageable:
| Custom difficulty setting | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Naval combat difficulty | Reduces the armada’s damage |
| Naval enemy density | Reduces their numbers |
Turning both down is the clean answer if you want the katana without fighting the whole navy to get it.
This matters more than it sounds in general play, because getting your ship wrecked has a real cost: you respawn at the last bar you visited, but you lose every gallon you were carrying. The official guidance on the patrols is blunt — there is no shame in running away.
The world the escape happens in
Worth knowing the shape of the map, because the escape and the katana both sit inside it:
- The Royal Navy patrols the waters of East and West Caribbea and will attack on sight.
- The Great Wall separates Caribbea from Artica, and the Navy has armed it heavily.
- Beyond the wall is Rattler territory, and beyond that the deep.
Your submarine is how you clear the fog and discover locations, missions and secrets — so exploring is not optional, it is the progression. Sinking navy ships is also the main way to gather Gallons, which is what funds your weapon upgrades.