Shark

## Basic Shark

Range: 10 (MIN 5) (MAX 90)

Sharks were one of the first guilds to perfect the move Bite to the point of being meta-defining, holding onto the top spot since then. They've been extremely relevant in every expansion since the Silurian, something very few guilds can claim and even when the terrestrial server was added to the game.

The main benefits of playing a Shark build include high Mobility, high Power, and most importantly, the ability to sense any player close by due to special abilities like Bloodsense , Lateral line and Electroreception. The main drawbacks include lacking Swim Bladder, an ability which allows the user to control their buoyancy at will, and also lacking Gill Flaps. Having Gill Flaps allows a build to passively regenerate stamina, and is also an ability unique to Bony Fish. So sharks can only regenerate stamina by constantly moving. But some of them can breathe without moving

## D Tier Sharks

There are genuinely no Shark builds that Patrick (OP) could justify as being bottom tier. Most Sharks don't deviate too far from the basic Shark concept, which is good because it's a great guide for success. With that being said, not all Sharks are created equal, and in D tier, there are the two builds that don't really capitalize on any of the benefits of the Shark class.

### Nurse Shark

First is the Nurse Shark. Low Mobility, sedentary playstyle, and a really weak bite. Instead of abusing the powerful kit available for Shark classes, Nurse Sharks rummage around the ocean floor looking for easy XP. However, they do have the strongest suction force of any Fish. And since they don't have many terrible matchups, they're definitely not F-tier.

### Saw Shark

The second build in D-tier is the Saw Shark. The Saw Shark's main weapon, its saw, is goofy, cumbersome, and impractical. Swinging the saw around uses up way too much stamina for what it nets the player and isn't very useful for defensive purposes.

## C Tier Sharks

### Filter-Feeding Shark (Whale Shark, Megamouth + Basking Shark and more)

In C-tier, there are all the Sharks that decided they'd rather AFK their entire game instead of making use of the best tools available to Sharks. This includes the Basking shark, the Whale shark, and any other shark who thought filter-feeding was a better idea than being a swimming doom machine. It may be easy if one makes it to the late game. But without good weapons and low Mobility, the majority of the playthrough is a huge risk, with mobile Fish players like the Marlin and Sailfish taking the player out quite easily.

## B Tier Sharks

In B tier, there are two unorthodox Shark builds that almost know how Sharks are meant to be played.

### Cookie Cutter Shark

    The first is a Shark who decided that despite being one of the smallest of its kind, it would attack the largest builds in the game, the Cookie Cutter Shark. Cookie Cutter Sharks are unorthodox in that instead of going for the predator playstyle, they function as a parasite. They simply latch on to a whale or other massive player, and by twisting themselves back and forth, they steal a Cookie shaped bite right off. This doesn't do much damage to players. But interestingly, this build was a secret among the Shark guild up until a few Cookie Cutter players accidentally attacked human submarines and actually caused their sonar to malfunction.

### Thresher Shark

    In B+ tier, there is a Shark that uses one of the only AOE stun seen in the entire game, the Thresher Shark. Attacking a school of Fish is difficult. Due to their advanced evasion and diversion tactics, one has to be fast, lucky, and clever to even catch a single Fish. That is unless the player can hit them with a flashbang, which is essentially what Thresher Sharks do. Thresher Sharks have tails as long as the rest of their bodies. They use them as a whip, creating shock waves that stun small groups of Fish, negating their normally excellent evasion abilities. They do all of this without deviating too far from the great base stats of the Shark build. So they retain decent Mobility and Power while wielding this weapon.

## A Tier Sharks

In A tier, there are the famous core Shark builds everyone knows, loves, and fears.

### Tiger Shark

     First up, there is the Tiger Shark. Tiger Sharks have higher Stealth than most of the well-known Shark builds, and also have uniquely shaped teeth that make them more effective at cutting through armor and bone. Similar to actual Tigers, the main strategy of a Tiger Shark is to get close to its target with its high Stealth and then use a quick burst of speed to snatch it before it can react.

### Mako Shark

     On the opposite end of the spectrum from this strategy, there is the Mako Shark, which has the highest Mobility of all the Sharks and uses this to chase down its targets. This playstyle requires a lot of stamina. So, this build breaks the mold and opts for Warm Blood instead of Cold Blood like most other Fish. This gives the Mako Shark the benefits of fast stamina regeneration, allowing it to keep up a pursuit longer than most other hunters. Since the speed comes at a cost to size, it doesn't quite have the monstrous weight advantage over its targets. And so, Mako players need to be careful and not get too greedy. The ocean's other premier speed demons, the Swordfish and Marlin, can be tough matchups for them.

### Bull Shark

     At the top of A tier, there is the Bull Shark, which has two unique and powerful abilities. The first is that they have the highest bite force of any Shark, meaning that even though they have average teeth in terms of slicing and cutting utility, they can still deliver an extremely potent bite. The second ability, Adaptable Gills, allows Bull Sharks to enter freshwater servers without receiving the energy-sapping and damaging debuff that obligate saltwater builds do. This allows them to travel into rivers and streams, where they have no real competition. This makes Bull Sharks the best build for griefing low-level players. And judging by the Bull Sharks reputation for being the most aggressive Shark, it's clear that this is exactly the type of player that this build attracts.

## S Tier Shark

At the top of the tier list are the head honchos of the shark guild. There's two builds here that occupy low S tier. What makes them so excellent is how well they use their tracking abilities, Bloodsense and Electroreception.

### Great White Shark

     The Great White Shark is no doubt the most feared ocean build in the current meta and the closest thing to the god tier Megalodon still in existence. They take everything that makes sharks so strong and push all of those things to their limit. They don't have as high bite damage as the Tiger or Bull Shark, but the force of a Great White's Charge attack slamming into their target more than makes up for it. And usually, it takes the stock no problem. Hunting Seal players is difficult because they're intelligent and try to avoid putting themselves at risk when they don't need to. This is why the Great White's ability to see above water is so crucial. Because they can see which islands and reefs their targets are hiding on and camp them out. Their Bloodsense ability is through the roof. And their Electroreception ability is quite polished as well, but nowhere near to the extent of the Hammerhead.

### Hammerhead Shark

     Hammerhead Sharks have the best, most well optimized, sensory abilities in the game. They have full Panoramic Vision and have Binocular Eyesight ahead and behind them, which gives them a massive accuracy bonus on the attack, and a huge evasion bonus if they're being chased. With the chemo and electroreceptors on the front of their face, they essentially have 3D Smell and 3D Electroreception, making their spatial awareness as high as dolphins and bats. Their snout shape also lets them turn very quickly, which makes their attacks seldom miss. Furthermore, while they don't hunt together, they do travel in schools, providing safety in numbers and causing an intimidation debuff on the entire surrounding area.

## Notable guilds

### Galaeomorphi

#### Lamniformes (Mackerel Sharks)

##### Pros:

* Tail Weapons
* High Power
* Decent Health
* Access to The Abyss server
* Great Mobility
* Endotherm (Have warm bodies as well as partial warm blood)
* Good Intelligence.

##### Cons:

* Average Stealth
* High Mobility builds have low Health (except the Great White Shark)
* Abyssal builds have low Mobility
* Endothermy requires high XP cost

#### Carcharhiniformes (Ground Sharks)

##### Pros:

* Best Electro-Reception of all builds.
* Good Stealth.
* Best access to the reef server.
* Access to the freshwater servers.
* Good Power.
* Decent Intelligence.
* Omnivory.

##### Cons:

* Average Mobility
* Average Health
* Can't access The Abyss server.

#### Orectolobiformes (Carpet Sharks)

##### Pros:

* Ability to stop without drowning.
* Access to the reef server.
* Great suction force.
* Highest average Stealth of all shark guilds.
* Tank builds (Whale Shark)
* Can get in relatively tight spaces.
* Human support mains.

##### Cons:

* Includes some of the worst shark builds in the entire game, the Nurse Shark.
* Nearly nonexistent bite force.
* Average Mobility.
* Weak access to the abyss server.
* Can't access the freshwater server.

#### Heterodontiformes (Bullhead Sharks)

##### Pros:

* Good matchup against builds that specced into armor.
* Good Stealth.
* Spine deters most predators.
* Access to the reef server.

##### Cons:

* Lowest Health stat out of all the shark guilds.
* Can't access freshwater, open ocean or The Abyss.
* Mainly full of shellfish specialists.
* Low Mobility.
* Mostly full of bottom-dwelling builds.

### Squalomorphii (Sawsharks, Bramble Sharks, Dogfish, Sleeper Sharks, Angel Sharks and Sixgill Sharks)

#### Pros:

* Best access to The Abyss server.
* Good Intelligence.
* Access to the arctic server.
* Spines.
* Long play time.
* Parasites.
* High Stealth.
* Can body prey many times its own weight class.
* Preety unpalatable to loot.
* Few bad matchups.

#### Cons:

* Plagues by parasites themselves
* Below-average Mobility
* Mostly full of Abyssal and bottom-dwelling players.
* Can't access the [Filter Feeding] playstyle.
* Can't access freshwater or reef servers.
* Includes some of the worst shark builds in the game, the Sawshark.

### Banned guilds

#### Ctecanthiformes

##### Pros:

* Good Suction power
* Good Mobility
* Few bad matchups
* Able to switch between freshwater and saltwater
* Powerful Electro-Reception.

##### Cons:

* Average Health
* Nonexistent Jaw Power
* Can't access open ocean servers

#### Cladoselachiformes

##### Pros:

* Generalist diet
* High Mobility
* Can take down builds Dunkleosteus cannot

##### Cons:

* **Cladoselache,**only Cladoselache
* Low Health and Defense
* No apex predator variant
* Cannot access the freshwater server.

#### Xenacanthiformes

##### Pros:

* Spine protects head from getting hit, giving it good Defense.
* High Stealth
* Good Power
* Access to the freshwater server.
* Adaptive Gills.
* Can fit in tight spaces

##### Cons:

* Below-average Health
* Average Mobility
* Spine only protects head
* Can't access the open ocean.
* No [Bloodsense].

#### Hybodontiformes

##### Pros:

* Acess to freshwater and Abyss servers.
* Generalist loot source
* Includes a build that lasted three balance patches
* Most diverse out of the banned guilds
* Good matchups against armored builds.
* Tank builds (Ptychodus)
* Spines

##### Cons:

* Below-average Mobility
* Can't access the [Macropredator] and [Apex Predator] playstyles.
* Other than Ptychodus, most builds have below-average Health.