Mustelid

Mustelids are a unique guild of carnivore players that were forced to get creative with their strategies in order to stay relevant. The caniform build, which a large amount of the mammal playerbase was based on, already had two high tier builds take hold in the meta, those being, the Dogs and the Bears. These builds were too powerful to compete with directly and so more poor and unreliable strategies started to crop up. The Mustelids opted for a unique combination of Defense abilities and Mobility perks that somehow allowed to directly compete with the Dogs and the Bears and in some instances, granted them favorable matchups with builds that canines struggle against. They also have particularly dense fur that offers them defense from attacks and also negates frost damage. However, they aren't without their weaknesses. Their short limb length means that their Mobility caps out lower than other caniforms which makes it difficult for it to flee from a battle. Mustelids are also the most diverse carnivora guild in the game, though many of them are mid-tier at best.

## Notable Mustelid Builds

### Badger

Though not officially tiered, the Badger likely falls into B tier. One effective strategy Badgers use to gain XP is to team up with Coyote players. The Badgers are able to dig into Prairie Dog burrows, but do not have the mobility needed to catch them. Working together, the badgers can grab Prairie Dogs scurrying back to their burrows, while Coyotes have the speed and agility to eliminate Prairie Dogs fleeing from the burrows. However, they're not very oppressive compared to the Wolf, Cougar, and Bear builds whom the Badgers get ganked by. European badgers are even less oppressive. Also, some players tend to have some PvP, and sometimes win, against badgers, like the Groundhog.

### Weasel

In B tier, there is the base Mustelid build,the Weasel. Their lack of bulk and short legs makes their Health and Mobility stats quite low, even for their size. But their slender build grants them a unique and important advantage, allowing them to follow prey into their burrows. Rabbits, snakes, and moles are all safe from most larger predators below ground. But Weasels are completely unfazed by this defensive tactic. With that said, they're easily bested by even mid-tier carnivores such as Foxes and Coyotes. They also haven't got much defense against Birds of Prey.

### Honey Badger

Honey Badgers are quite effective in the current meta, owing most of their success to two abilities. The first is Stink Bomba AOE morale debuff that creates a noxious zone around them which inhibits aggressors. Its also good at pacifying large groups, making it extremely useful for dealing with the swarms of Bees they have to deal with when looking for honey. The second ability is their Loose Skin, Thick Fur combo that makes dealing significant damage to a Honey Badger extremely difficult. Their small eyes and wide necks make landing a critical hit nearly impossible, meaning they have no problem challenging builds that normally rely on critical hits to win such as Big Cats. It also helps defend against builds that utilize venom, because getting fangs or stingers though thick fur and hide isn't easy. This is further enhanced by their strong poison resistance, making them able to tank a few hits from cobra and a countless hits from bees. Honey badgers also have strong intimidation ability, allowing them to reduce resolve of players with higher weight class. Finally, honey badgers have a limited tool use ability which they use to reach new locations. The Honey Badger belongs to low A tier.

### Wolverine

The Wolverine is the strongest of all Mustelids. It is also perhaps the most effective intimidation build in the game. Because while it can deal enough damage to bring down prey on its own, its primarily a scavenger that uses its extreme durability and power to scare more conventional predators away from their own loot. Birds, Wolves, and Panthers all get their kills stolen from Wolverines quite frequently. One Wolverine player allegedly even bested a Polar Bear player in battle. They also have wide feet that allow them to negate the Mobility reduction caused by deep snow. They also have access to the same Stink Bomb AOE move that the Honey Badgers do. All this combined makes the Wolverine a high A tier tundra survivalist class.

### Otter

Otters are the most intelligent Mustelids and the only one that is aquatic. Because of their special ability Webbed Feet, Otters get a huge Mobility bonus in water, turning what would be a relatively average build on land into a apex predator in the water. What really makes them impressive is that Otters spent their evolution points on higher Intelligence. It is one of a very short list of builds that have access to the Tool Use perk. Otters can deal with extremely high Defense levels by cracking their target's armor using stones, which grants them an exclusive food source other carnivores simply don't have the skills or tools to access. Because of all of this, Otters are the only S tier Mustelids.