How to Find & Defeat the Truck Hermit Crab in Dave the Diver

Diving into the depths of the Big Blue Hole in Dave the Diver always promises some new surprises for players and Dave alike, and among them include some particularly fearsome and unique creatures of the deep.

One such one is the hilariously-named Truck Hermit Crab, and as the first part of its name suggests, it’s not exactly small in scale.

Dave has the chance to happen upon this aquatic foe during his Marinca sidequest adventures with Sato, and is tasked with defeating it and collecting its incredibly rare Marinca trading card. If you’re wondering where to track it down and how to topple this giant crustacean, here is our handy guide for how to find and defeat the Truck Hermit Crab in Dave the Diver.

Where to Find the Truck Hermit Crab in Dave the Diver

Similar to other unique mini-bosses in Dave the Diver like Klaus the Great White, the Truck Hermit Crab will only spawn under specific conditions. In this case, Sato will approach on his goofy paddle boat and inform Dave of the creature’s sighting, which only happens at night, and to not miss a golden opportunity for glory, and above all a new trading card.

Sato will tell Dave to dive and look for a familiar-looking, churning vortex, which is a portal that often leads to special encounters like these. Upon nightfall, make sure Dave is properly equipped, particularly in terms of his oxygen stores. Buy some ahead of time from Cobra if he has it available, and have your tank well-upgraded. This battle can be a test of patience, so having plenty of air/health is essential.

Upon diving into the water, be sure to swim with caution as you probably know by now that the depths tend to be more dangerous at night. Open any yellow dispatch cases you can easily get to along the way for other sources of O2 tanks and Scooters to help you move quicker without expending air. Weapon upgrades aren’t really needed for this, as the Truck Hermit Crab is going to be impervious to any bullets you send at it.

It shouldn’t take long to find the vortex, and you’ll likely hear it before you see it. Swim up to it, and it’ll prompt you to enter. Do so, and the cutscene that triggers the boss battle will begin.

How to Defeat the Truck Hermit Crab in Dave the Diver

Just as Dave thinks there’s nothing to be found, a capsized dump truck starts to move and reveals a gargantuan hermit crab living inside of it..sort of. This particular type of shell-ter it’s chosen makes the Hermit Crab a difficult foe to tackle, and as we mentioned before, bullets won’t work on this hefty crustacean or its armor.

As the battle begins, the Hermit Crab will flex two main attacks towards Dave. One involves it slamming its giant claws into the seafloor, causing metal debris to tumble down from the ceiling (as seen above). For its other attack, the Hermit Crab will shove its claws into the sand and fling more debris towards Dave in an arc direction. Both of these moves you’ll want to dodge as much as possible, especially for when it comes to going on the offense.

In order for Dave to actually defeat this creature, he’ll need to make use the red barrels that sprout up from the ground during the slam attacks. These barrels are quite explosive, and the only way to break through the Hermit Crab’s truck-shaped shell.

Swim to the closest one you can as soon as they appear, and grab it like you would a rock (the ones you drop on Spider Crabs, etc). Haul it up and over the top of the Hermit Crab while making sure to evade all the debris that comes your way. If any hits you, the barrel will explode and knock off a chunk of your health/oxygen. This is why we insist on having as much O2 as possible.

Once overhead, drop the barrel down on the Hermit Crab’s “shell”, which will cause a good amount of damage. You’ll need to do this a total of 5 times, and then the shell will fall appear, revealing a far more skittish Hermit Crab underneath. It’ll scurry under the sand, never to be seen again, accepting defeat.

Before leaving, be sure to collect your bounty of Truck Hermit Crab Legs and Hermit Crab Pincer Piece.

After you’ve claimed victory, a surprised Sato will offer his congratulations, and of course encourage Dave to keep his eyes and ears peeled for the next epic Marinca challenge (much to Dave’s chagrin). Truck Hermit Crab’s Rank 99 holographic “Super Rare Boss Card” will be added to your collection, which can be viewed at any time on the Marinca app on your in-game phone.

That concludes our guide for how to find and defeat the Truck Hermit Crab in Dave the Diver. We hope you found this helpful, and let us know which giant oceanic beast was your favorite to battle in the game, or the most challenging.

Be sure to check out all of our other guides for Dave the Diver, including our official review of the game.