Best Race for Beginners in Abyss

Who This Guide Is For

You just started Abyss and got assigned a race you are not sure about. Or you have been playing for a bit but keep hearing about rerolling and want to know if it is worth doing — and what to reroll for. This page is written specifically for players who are not yet at endgame and want a clear, practical answer rather than a full tier list or race database.

Short Answer

Early game: Use Monkey. The 10% Speed bonus helps you move through Forgotten Deep faster while your gear is still weak, and the 5% XP bonus gets you to your first Artifact slot faster. Mid game: Switch to Spirit. The cooldown reduction, 5% cash bonus, and second-wind passive make it the most consistently useful race across the widest range of activities. Late game / goal race: Kraken if you can get it — it is widely rated as the best overall race in the game. Vampire Squid is the most accessible S-tier alternative.

Both Game8 and VG247 recommend Monkey as the practical early-game choice. Here is the reasoning:

• 10% SpeedMoves you through Forgotten Deep faster without needing a high-tier tube. In a zone where you are still weak, covering distance quickly matters.
• 5% XP GainGets you to your first Artifact slot faster, which compounds into better gear earlier. Game8 specifically cites this as the XP gain rationale.

Game8 rates Spirit as “the best and scales well into late game” for mid game, and VG247 places it in C-tier — which on the surface looks low, but their tier system weights rarity heavily. The distinction matters: Spirit is an epic race that is significantly easier to obtain than Kraken or Sea Angel, making its practical value per Star Shard spent very high.

• 5% Cash BonusSmall but consistent boost to every catch sale. Compounds meaningfully over a long session.
• Cooldown ReductionReduces the delay between catches, effectively increasing catches per unit time.
• Second Wind PassiveLets you survive a deadly hit. Game8 describes this as a significant survivability edge in mid-game zones where fish damage increases.

Both Game8 and VG247 rate Kraken as the best overall race in the game. VG247 places it in S-tier alongside Sea Angel. Game8 describes it as having “XP, Cash, and Weight passives allowing you to farm effectively, plus two unique passives that scale into a monster.” The tradeoff: Kraken is a legendary race with a correspondingly low drop rate, which makes it difficult to obtain through rerolling alone.

Rerolling costs Star Shards, and Star Shards are also used for race upgrades, artifact slots, and other progression investments. Public guides consistently advise against spending Star Shards on rerolls before you have a solid gear base.

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  Do not reroll before your first gun upgradeYour race matters less when your gear cannot handle the content you are trying to farm. Sort out your core gun and tube first.
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  Do not reroll with low Star Shard reservesSave enough Star Shards to make multiple reroll attempts. Running out mid-reroll session wastes the Shards you already spent.
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  Spirit is worth rerolling for if you can afford itIf you have the Star Shards and want a meaningful mid-game upgrade, rerolling to Spirit is widely described as a solid use of resources.
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  Do not chase Kraken without a large Star Shard budgetKraken is legendary rarity. Community discussion suggests the expected Star Shard cost to reliably obtain it can be very high. Vampire Squid is the better target for most reroll budgets.

• ✕Treating your starting race as permanent — rerolling is part of the progression loop, and waiting too long to reroll wastes the early XP and cash you could be generating with a better race
• ✕Spending Star Shards on rerolls before your first gun upgrade — gear unlocks new zones; a good race does not
• ✕Chasing S-tier races without a realistic budget — Vampire Squid is a better use of Star Shards for most players than gambling for Kraken
• ✕Using Human or Poop as a long-term race — both are rated F-tier by VG247; the passive bonuses are minimal and actively hold back progression
• ✕Ignoring the cash bonus races (Kraken +15%, Sea Angel +15%, Shark +10%) when actively farming money — the multiplier compounds over a full session

Strong support — confirmed by 2+ sources

• ✓Monkey as early-game recommendation (Speed +10%, XP +5%) — Game8 + described consistently in community discussion
• ✓Spirit as best mid-game general pick (Cash +5%, Cooldown reduction, Second Wind) — Game8 + VG247
• ✓Vampire Squid as best accessible late-game (Blood Siphon, 20% Oxygen) — Game8 + VG247
• ✓Kraken as overall best race (XP, Cash, Weight, scaling damage) — Game8 + VG247, both S-tier
• ✓Sea Angel as S-tier alongside Kraken — VG247 tier list
• ✓Coral as early defensive alternative (Oxygen +10%) — Game8
• ✓Race reroll costs Star Shards — consistent across all sources

Community consensus only — single-source or qualitative

• ⚠Narwhal as damage-focused C-tier alternative — Game8 only; not independently verified
• ⚠Poop and Human rated F-tier — VG247 only; other sources rate them low but not always F
• ⚠Exact Star Shard costs for reroll attempts — not consistently documented; check in-game
• ⚠Shark "overkill" framing — VG247; other sources rate Shark as solid B-tier