Southsun Cove basically got “relaunched” and for a few weeks, we can enjoy the mini game “Crab Toss”. Unfortunately, this is just a temporary addition to the game. Either way, it’s there now for us to play. In order to enter, you speak with the NPC “Karlotta” on the small island north of “Sawtooth Bay” who will explain to you what the game is about. As seems to be typical for ArenaNet, this is just a very basic explanation with no way to see the skills you will get before entering the game arena. What I knew from others was that it’s a game where you need to carry a crab. That crab will be in the arena-like place you see next to Karlotta and it’s played against other human players. When you enter, you get tossed in an arena with other players randomly and it’s “free for all”. You can and need to steal the crab from whoever’s carrying it. The longer you carry the crab, the more points you achieve. After a certain amount of time, the player with the most points is chosen as the winner.
When I first entered, I just stood there doing nothing while reading the skill descriptions. Then I thought I was good to go… until I had a crab. I clicked something not knowing that my skills had changed and I tossed the crab to another player. Bah. It got really difficult once I saw the crates and the resulting extra items.
That was when I decided to take pictures of the different skills and read about them while sipping on a cup of coffee without playing the game, so I would not have to worry about reading, understanding, memorizing, and playing at the same time.
Regular skills
First, there are the four what I call “regular skills” that you have when the game begins and when you’re not carrying a crab or using an item found in the barrels and/or on the ground.
| Skill number | Skill name | Skill description | Other information |
| 1 | Swipe | Swipe at a competitor, and steal whatever they are carrying. | Range: 150 Cast time: 1/2 second Cooldown: 4 seconds |
| 2 | Find Rock | Pick up a rock. | Range: 150 Cast time: 1/2 second Cooldown: 5 seconds |
| 3 | Dash | Dash at foes. Hold down to increase the length of the dash. | Evade: 3 1/4 seconds Cast time: 2 seconds Cooldown: 8 seconds |
| 4 | Punch | Punch a competitor, dazing them and causing them to drop the crab. | Range: 150 Cast time: 1/4 second Cooldown: 4 seconds |
After using skill no. 2 “Find Rock”, you have a rock and can throw that one. The rock replaces “Swipe”. Skills 3 and 4 remain the same.
| Skill number | Skill name | Skill description | Other information |
| 1 | Rock Toss | Toss a rock, dazing your target. | Range: 600 Cast time: 1/4 second |
Skills when carrying the crab – Skills 3 and 4 are identical with the regular skills
The first two skills change when you can grab a crab. This is what confused me when I had first gotten the crab as I accidentally tossed it right to another player. Yeah, smart move. ;)
| Skill number | Skill name | Skill description | Other information |
| 1 | Crab Crack | Smash a competitor with the crab’s hard shell, knocking them down. | Range: 150 Cast time: 1/2 second Cooldown: 2 seconds |
| 2 | Crab Toss | Toss the crab to another player. | Range: 1000 Cast time: 3/4 seconds Cooldown: 1 second |
Skills from crate-items
At some point, crates will be thrown into the arena. The content will be random and I’m not sure I’ve found every item so far – so this part may be incomplete. For your convenience, I will edit it as soon as I find new items. :)
Southsun Punch – Skills 1 to 4 are identical to the regular skills.
| Skill number | Skill name | Skill description | Other information |
| 5 | Drink Southsun Punch | Drink a refreshing bottle of Southsun Punch to restore your health and endurance | Cast time: 1 second Cooldown: 4 seconds |
Plank – Skills 1 and 2 are different from the regular skills
| Skill number | Skill name | Skill description | Other information |
| 1 | Plank Smash | Leap at a competitor, causing knockdown on impact. Breaks plank. | Range: 600 Cast time: 3/4 seconds Cooldown: 6 seconds |
| 2 | Swing Plank | Swing a plank at a competitor, causing a blowout on impact. Breaks plank. | Range: 150 Cast time: 3/4 seconds Cooldown: 4 seconds |
Karka Egg – Skills 1 and 2 are different from the regular skills
| Skill number | Skill name | Skill description | Other information |
| 1 | Throw Egg | Throw your egg at the target area, immobilizing any foe within the blast radius. | Range: 1000 Cast time: 1/2 second |
| 2 | Deploy Egg Trap | Deploy your egg like a trap. Immobilizes targets | Cast time: 1/2 second |
Conch – Skills 1 – 4 are identical to the regular skills
| Skill number | Skill name | Skill description | Other information |
| 5 | Blow Conch | Blow the conch, causing the competitors to flee in fear. | Range: 400 Cast time: 1/2 second Cooldown: 6 seconds |
Fishing pole – replaces the first skill, no second skill. Skills 3 and 4 are identical to the regular skills.
| Skill number | Skill name | Skill description | Other information |
| 1 | Go Fish | Cast a line at your target, pulling it toward you. | Range: 1200 Cast time: 1 second Cooldown: 2 seconds |
Anchor – replaces the first skill, no second skill. Skills 3 and 4 are identical to the regular skills.
| Skill number | Skill name | Skill description | Other information |
| 1 | Anchor Fling | Throw your anchor high in the air. Knocks down your target when it returns to the ground. | Range: 5000 Cast time: 1/2 second |
Last but not least, don’t forget to avoid the big veteran karkas. If they roll over you, you lose all your health and will be unable to play for a few seconds. When you’ve got a debuff from the karka hatchlings (the kind of debuff that doesn’t wear off after a few seconds – see screenshot below), dodge to remove it. When your life would reach 0, you get stunned for a few seconds before getting your life back to 1000 which enables you to continue playing.
There can also be more than one crab at the same time, apparently. So choose wisely which player to follow when that happens. Maybe a crab-carrier is right behind you and it’d be a waste to follow the other one instead.
Once the time has run out, the player with the most points wins. This opens a score board right in the middle of the screen. Don’t forget to close this and walk to the middle of the arena because there will be a chest waiting for you to open it! :o) So far, I have only gotten green and blue items from it, but who knows what else can be in there.
