Here's some basic info for the trident (obtained from the wiki):
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Tridents start with 30 charges.
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A level 1 bubble consumes 1 charge, causes 30 damage to players, and has no AoE.
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A level 2 bubble consumes 2 charges, causes 60 damage to players, and has a small AoE.
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A level 3 bubble consumes 3 charges, causes 90 damage to players, and has a medium AoE.
Most players are quick to dismiss the trident as a weapon because you can't run or block while carrying it, nor can you one-shot a player at full health (even if you hit them with a fully charged bubble). Since you can't sell them either, many players disregard tridents and don't even bother to bring them on board.
However, I've run across several situations where a trident is surprisingly useful:
The trident is a powerful tool against PvE threats. There must be a large damage multiplier being applied, because you can take down high health enemies (such as skeleton captains and ashen lords) in very short order. My crew took out a megalodon in roughly 20 seconds from simply firing level 1 bubbles at it.
A level 3 bubble will sink a rowboat in one hit cause massive damage to a rowboat. Keep this in mind next time you see a downed crew trying to escape with their loot, or whenever you use a harpoon rowboat to drag loot into the reapers hideout.
Are you being chased? Fire some level 3 bubbles at your pursuers from the stern of your ship to provide cover for your crewmate to board (or shoot them from the water as you try to board yourself).
You and your crew are immune to the bubbles' splash damage, so try aiming at your feet if you can't hit an agile target that's nearby.
Have you discovered other uses for the trident?
