Pearl Defense Tips

## Goals

The goal of Pearl Defense is to win the game for your team, You do this by bringing 1 of 2 pearls from the enemy's side to your respawn point. You and your team must do this twice to win. But, the pearls are not just out in the open. You must break two shells in order to be able to access the pearl and score. The shell has a lot of health and has remoras circling it. These remoras are set to go after any enemy within a certain range of the pearl and are very dangerous .You need two teammates to break them.1 teammate should distract the remoras while on breaks the clam. Once the shell is broken, the remoras disappear, leaving it up to the team to protect it. If you move over the pearl, you will grab it. Then they should take it to the respawn point. Remember, if the enemy touches the pearl, it goes back to the clam.

## Mechanics/Other Information

### The Pearl Mechanics

When you have the pearl in your control, you will not be able to boost or use an ability. Whenever you try to boost, you will instead throw the pearl. When you die or the pearl is out of your grasp, anyone on your team can grab it and carry it around. If the pearl touches an enemy (both when grabbed or not), touches the border of the skybox, or hits the ground it will teleport back to its original clam.

Remoras can easily kill you, and keep in mind that the amount of remoras replenishes quickly. When the remora attacks, it deals 100 damage and disappears. The shell of the pearl regenerates very slowly.

You cannot carry the Pearl underground!!! (Anymore, early versions of PD allowed the pearl to be carried underground)

### Miscellaneous Mechanics

* You gain more experience per food item.
* When dying, you will keep all your experience but you will have to wait 5/10 seconds (Depending on your tier) before resuming the game
* Players who like to play aggressively in this game mode typically play Shark as they do fairly well at breaking the clam and bringing the pearl back.
* It's common to see players block the pearl with their animal's body. This is done to make it harder for the enemy to get their hands/fins/paws/non-existent hands/claws/flippers/wings/tentacles/etc. on it.
* Tier 1 animals cannot grab the pearl, but they are also unable to be targeted by the Remoras
* You can help your opponent to break the clam of your team by having a lamprey latched and stay on the pearl you intend to destroy, though this will help your opponent win
* There can only be one of each tier 10 animal on each team

### Map/servers

Currently with three servers: Asia (JP) #1, Europe (Amsterdam, NL) #1 and North America (NY, US) #1 and two maps: [morty\_pd] and [Tacoco\_pd].

## How to Win (Guide)

*Disclaimer: Most strategies are up to personal opinion, and preferences will vary from player to player. I (HumoresqueACEO) am giving my best advice, based on current maps and statistics.*

### Early Game

   Early Game is the very beginning of the game, after or within the first few minutes of spawning. Most experienced players are around level 1-levelingng an advantage over the over team at this time can make the difference between a win and a lose. So, it is advised that you try to **level up your animal as fast as possible**. Starting out with your best animal is important. My personal suggested route is: Worm, Crayfish, Flying Fish/Horseshoe Crab, Catfish/Hermit Crab, Barreleye/Seal, Lobster/Goliath Bullfrog/Bobbit Worm, and Penguin. If starting out with worm, go up through the land to the bushes above spawn and eat berries (see image to the right). After that, farm plankton. Doing damage to a pearl during this time is very hard/rare, so see below (Mid Game) for that.

I, another person who's seen and edited this page, have a different approach. I start with clownfish, and take advantage of the speed boost at the beginning from other clownfish to head near the seabed. This way, I can eat both the floating plankton and the bits on the ground. I'd recommend staying as clownfish for a little longer, as crab's mobility isn't great. Then evolve twice into Flying Fish, as it's speed helps with evolving faster, after that, turn into Catfish and stay there for as long as possible to take use its suction ability. If attacked during the Catfish stage, quickly press numbers to evolve with all your stockpiled points, and keep going from there. If this happens early, my preferred path is Seal->Lobster->Gulper Eel. Gulper Eel has slightly higher damage than Penguin, so you can win a 1v1 if needed.

This is a reminder that all strategies are viable, and to play the game to your liking. If these plans aren't to your liking, then make your own! Early game is very light, and as long as you know what works for you, you'll do alright.

### Mid Game

Mid Game is when the first damage to the pearl or attacks happen. Most experienced players are around level 5-9. Doing major damage to the other team at this time can also be a big deal, but it's not as important as earlier in the game. During this time you should **continue to level up your animal, and start attacking the enemy**. Choose what Tier 10 you want to be (see below for tips), and how you want to play (defense, offense, troll, etc). Make sure to get an estimate of how good your team is vs how good the enemy is. This will/can determine how you play. If you decide to attack the pearl, try to make a mark and give it all you've got! Go in teams of 2-10 to do more damage. If there is only 2 of you there, than take turns attacking the pearl, with each person distracting the remoras for a second while the other does damage. This only works if there are 0-2 players there. If your on defense, make sure the shell isn't broken, and don't give up. Your team counts on **you**!

### Late/End Game

Late/End Game is when most people are at their final animal for the game. Most players are around level 9-10. Doing major damage to the other team at this time is normal, and nothing special. More coming soon!

### Note

Its really important to have fun in Pearl Defense. Remember that its only a game, and take losses lightly. Respect other players and it is recommended to type “gg” in the post-game chat. Enjoy yourself, and play in **your** own special style. Try new strategies (maybe under a different name) and new animals. Just remember that whatever happens, it's just a game!

## Tips

* Some animals are more suited for PD than others, for examples: a crocodile will be much more helpful than an Bald Eagle, but it's always better to have a variety of animals. See below!
* Some skilled animals can break a shell alone using their stats or abilities but it's rare and it's most of the time going to require team work, there are three main ways
	+ With a minimum of two players, one distracts the remoras while the other attacks, inverse and repeat
	+ One or more animal sacrifices themselves to the remoras, this will decrease remora numbers will allow following team members to heal of the food left by the killed team members.
	+ An experienced GPO player can break the shell all by themselves. This involves hitting the shell a few times, and teleporting away if the remoras get near.
	+ Basking Shark and Giant Softshell Turtle can break the shell with enough plankton/ice nearby to heal
	+ All the T10's that evolve from narwhal can break the shell alone. See below!
* It's better to evolve fast (some animal abilities help such as catfish's suction or seal's speed) and directly head to the adverse side with a stronger evolution, this will allow you to evolve faster by killing and slow down enemy progress.
* Avoid heading alone head first into the enemy remoras, even if your health is full, they will most likely kill you
* When your pearl is taken and you are now in your enemy’s territory, guard the goal, it works often. However, stay “invisible”(like bending into environment or hide in seaweed or avoiding animals or just being invisible) while guarding , because the goal is just next to the enemy’s spawn point.
* When your pearl is taken, retrieve it by hitting the head of the thief or grabbing it. Stealthy and fast animals or grabbers are good for retrieving the pearl.
* Always check the map in the bottom right corner on the screen, it tells the information about the location of you, your teammates, your enemies, and the pearl, useful in many ways. Keep in mind map does not display all enemy positions at all times, and only marks enemies that other teammates can see currently.
* You can throw the pearl ahead of you to pass it to a team member or activate your boost, a powerful method is to throw it and surface boost.
* If you see a pile of meat or kill an animal, it is better to leave the food for a less evolved teammate, this will allow them to evolve faster and benefit the whole team. However, please note that food will degenerate over time. Also, food heals you, so if you are on low health eating it will help you
* Check the members list on the top about both yourself and your enemy’s, then you know what your team lack of and your enemy lack of.
* When a teammate is carrying the pearl and there's no foe in front or needs to move or escape and you are faster than them or have boosts, push him in the direction they need to go, it won't slow you down and will help your team
* level up early and destroy the pearl earlier, then wait in the second pearl, then after your team scored, quickly take down the second one, it mostly easier because everybody are busy with the first pearl. Taking down the second one will make the enemy lose their hope because it is hard to get a win when they have break both but you have break none, then some of your enemy members will start either AFK or leave the game, leaving you a good chance to win.
* Don't be afraid to chat using the enter key, you can form tactics and give orders, at chatting to all is also helpful
* Some classes do a good job at preventing enemy rushes, many grabbers are in this category, as they can completely shut down an enemy player, and allow time for the remoras to kill the other rushers.
* Most birds aren't suited for PD, but bat is a good choice in early games. That said, there's nothing wrong with trying new methods!
* As the pearl tells the enemy your position, a grabber can easily retrieve the pearl
* You can wait at the other team's goal to retrieve the pearl, but this is seen as very annoying often. On a related note, if your team is close to scoring, make sure to check by your goal and kill any animals that are camping by the goal. Often, an enemy might be waiting at your goal to snatch your pearl back.
* Strategies for stopping enemy camping include: Using Giant Squid to drag them into your spawn, boosting them into your spawn with a stunning ability, grappling them until your team scores...
* As a giant pacific octopus, you can wait for clam to be broken. Then you can go to the clam. When enemies attack you teleport to the pearl and escape in an another route
* If you are a Shark and a teammate is in front of you when attacking the Clam, boost against your teammate’s rear to mitigate recoil and damage the pearl faster

## What Animals are Best at Doing What

This assumes there is lower lag, you have a bit of experience with the animal you're using, and that there are no hackers.

### Charging and killing

Humpback whale, Atlantic Torpedo, giant and colossal squid, piranha, cachalot, polar bear, basking shark, whale, orca and mantis shrimp,

### Charging and breaking the clam

Giant and Colossal squid,Leatherback Turtle Softshell Turtle, Whale,Sunfish Basking Shark and Humpback Whale

### Distracting/Tanking the Remoras

Horseshoe Crab, Olm, Seal, Penguin, Leopard Seal, Dolphin, Manatee, Whale, Humpback Whale, Basking Shark, Marlin, Moray Eel, Sunfish,Piranha and Cachalot

### Halting a charge

Hippo, Giant and Colossal squid, Humpback Whale, Atlantic Torpedo, Manatee, Whale, Thresher Shark, Basking Shark, Octopus, Megamouth Shark and Piranha

### Defending the Clam

Humpback Whale, Whale, Manatee, Cachalot, Polar Bear, Piranha, Basking Shark,Napoleon Wrasse Goblin Shark, Alligator Gar, Whale Shark and Colossal Squid.

### Retrieving the pearl

Bobbit Worm, Penguin, Barracuda,Mahi-Mahi,Dragonfish,Mantis Shrimp, Leopard Seal, Marlin,Halibut, Moray Eel, Bald Eagle, Piranha, Frilled Shark,Coelacanth Giant Salamander, Tiger Shark, Wobbegong Shark, Humpback Whale, Alligator Gar ,Beaked Whale,Whale, Orca, Giant Squid,Bowhead Whale

### Killing individual targets

Mantis Shrimp, Crocodile, Alligator Gar, Gulper Eel, Cachalot, Humpback Whale, Atlantic Ray, Piranha, Sawfish, Giant and Colossal squid, Alligator Snapping Turtle, Electric Eel, and Anaconda

### Scoring

Marlin, moray eel, shark, stonefish, piranha, anaconda, penguin, leopard seal, flying fish and frilled shark

### Trolling (not suggested unless you are willing to take the risk of being shut down)

Worm, Horseshoe Crab, Squid, Bat, Archerfish, piranha , Goliath Bullfrog, Bobbit Worm, Beaver, Penguin, Octopus, Marlin, Pufferfish, Thresher Shark, orca, bald eagle, Atlant