The Triassic Expansion

The Permian-Triassic Balance Patch (or patch 2.1.1) was a major balance patch in the game's history. It is also known by its community name, "The Great Dying." This update was heralded by one of the largest volcanic eruptions in the history of the game, which led to a cascade of other world events that drastically increased the difficulty of the game on every single server. Spawn rates for plants, water, and even essentials like oxygen were at record lows. As a result, around 90% of the playerbase quit. This marked the start of the Triassic update (251.9 MYA - 201.3 MYA).

## Backstory

### Separation of the Amniotes

Just before the Great Dying, the all-powerful Amniote faction had separated into 2 groups, the Synapsids (the group that started with stem-mammals and was proceeded by mammals) and Sauropsids (the group that started with reptiles and later added birds). But during the Triassic, there was a competition between guilds of the two groups. The Therapsids(part of the synapsid group) and the Archosaurs (part of the sauropsid group)**.** Each of these guilds had started to innovate in their own unique ways in an attempt to claim the top spots in the meta.

Therapsid players had already been experimenting with new builds before the Great Dying. They already had builds like the Lycaenops and Gorgonops destroying the competition. Mobility-based builds were still in their infancy and weren't well optimized at all. But the gorgonopsids were the most mobile at the time. While this allowed them to body their competition at the time, it was the cooperative survivalist strategy of the Diictodon build that carried the Therapsid guild through the balance patch. Diictodon was able to deal with the extreme difficulty of the Great Dying because they could hide underground to avoid the atmospheric changes and could use their tusks to access loot contained in the heavily armored plant roots. But aside from them, just about every other Therapsid build became obsolete during the Great Dying.

### Dominance of Therapsids

   After the difficulty was lowered again, the remaining Therapsids put most of their evolution points into refining their most successful builds into the best versions they could be. They unlocked traits like Fur, Warm Blood, Milk, and Whiskers during this time, laying the groundwork for some of the extremely important builds much later in the game's timeline. However, during the Triassic expansion, the Therapsid guild didn't really go for any of the riskier, more wild changes to their build.

An interesting build during this time was the Therocephalian build, one of the first-ever builds to invest in the Venom skill tree, though other than that, it was a relatively ordinary build. Another intriguing thing is that non-mammalian synapsids were once known by data miners as "mammal-like reptiles." But now it's been confirmed that they're are not reptiles as reptiles are only exclusive to the sauropsid group. The non-mammalian synapsids most likely belonged to an unknown class of vertebrates that would act as a counterpart to reptiles, thus making mammals a counterpart to birds.

### The Comeback of the Archosaurs

Meanwhile, the Archosaurus chose a different route. At the start of the expansion, they were heavily unfavored in the Therapsid matchup. Their only option was to try some of the more drastic changes to their game plan in order to keep up with the competition.

A group of them elected to complete directly with the Therapsids and specced into similar land tank abilities. The only difference was these players also put a few points into aquatic abilities, such as holding their breath and diving, which allowed them to retreat into the water if things got tough. They would be later be known as Crocodilians.

Another strategy they used was to put hardly any points at all into Health, and instead invest heavily into upgrades related to skin aerodynamics, which allowed them to be the second guild in the history of the game to ever unlock the Flight ability. This worked because they didn't really need Health, seeing as the only other areal builds were lower weight class Insects like beetles and grasshoppers. Their massive mobility advantage was all they needed. They would later be known as Pterosaurs. Around the same time, another group of Archosaurs started to use an extremely off-meta technique that had never been done effectively. They switched from quadrupedalism to bipedalism. Obviously, this control scheme is more difficult to master, but it does allow for some very unique builds, and it gives access to some extremely powerful and advanced techniques. Freeing up your front limbs allows them to become more specialized for other uses. In addition, the height advantage is excellent for countering stealth, especially against builds that use tall grass, shrubs, or other foliage for cover or camouflage. This one change allowed the Archosaurs to gain a massive advantage against the Therapsids. Certain archosaurs would stay quadrupedal but would become tanks with overpowered defensive and offensive capabilities. These last archosaurs (saurischians and ornithischians) would later be known as Dinosaurs.

## Triassic Tier List

### F tier

#### Placerias/Lystrosaurus

Placerias and Lystrosaurus were therapsid builds of servers worldwide. At the start of the Triassic, there was enough of

them to form herds. They were amphibious and had a shovel nose similar to pigs, so they were okay at the start. By the end of the Triassic, though, this build was rare, and there was not enough of them to form herds. These builds got griefed by archosaurs and got banned.

#### Tanystropheus

Tanystropheus specked into a very long neck for catching fish by the store. One problem with this build is that it wasn't amphibious and mainly terrestrial. This build was viable at the start of the Triassic, but it was griefed very hard as the expansion rolled along.

### D tier

#### Cyongnathus

Cyongnathus was one of the few Therapsid builds in the game at the time. This build mainly played in underground burrows, only venturing out at night. However, during the night, builds like the Postosuchus preyed on them, and builds, like the Coelophysis, preyed on them during any time of day using their long necks.

#### Pisanosaurus

These builds were similar to other dryosaurus builds, and they definitely had it better than dryosaurus builds in the Jurassic expansion due to fewer predators present in Triassic South America. However, it still struggled, being griefed by builds like Eoraptor and Herrerasaurus.

### C tier

#### Ornithosuchus

Ornithosuchus is pretty much just postosuchus shrunken down. With a good mobility stat and decent power, this build was fine. They did pull off bipedalism but only really used it when having to run.

#### Sharovipteryx

Sharovipteryx didn't speck into the ability to fly but instead specked into gliding and climbing. Gliding is a lot slower than flying and requires a sacrifice to defense and HP to use. However, they could sometimes climb to escape situations, but still, this build is not top tier.

#### Nothosaurus

The nothosaurus build was good at taking down fish players. It could return on land to avoid marine predators. However, once the archosaur mains accessed its coastal server, it was basically game over for them.

### B tier

#### Henodus

Henodus was one of the ancestors of sea turtles of today's meta. With armor piercing abilities and armor, this build was a good one to run in the Triassic ocean. This build also had a filter, so it had a reliable XP source. Few builds could pose a threat to it.

#### Euparkeria

Very mobile and was one of the first bipedal builds in the game. They could climb most surfaces due to their bipedalism. They could also hunt at night due to their night vision. The only builds that could pose a threat towards them are builds in their weight class because builds above its weight class were too slow.

#### Drepanosaurus

Drepanosaurus was an arboreal build that feasted on insects in trees. With their prehensile tails, they could hang from trees, and their powerful claws can be used for digging up insects in trees. Their only downfall is that Coelophysis had a long enough neck to sometimes prey on them.

#### Eoraptor

Small and mobile, Eoraptor laid the groundwork for other dinosaur builds to come later. They were also omnivorous, giving them a more versatile diet, though they did have problems with Herrerasaurus and other archosaurs, so they're not top tier.

#### Mussaurus

Mussaurus is smaller compared to other prosauropod builds but still was pretty bulky and can tank a few hits. However, a pack of Staurikosaurus or Herrerasaurus could mean game over.

#### Arizonasaurus

Arizonasaurus is similar to Dimetrodon in terms of design and used its sail in the same way. However, unlike Dimetrodon, it didn't dominate its server, due to its lower power stat.

### A tier

#### Desmatosuchus

Desmatosuchus was an Aetosaur build that played in the North America server. With its high defense stat due to the armor running on its body, this was a viable build to play in the Triassic. No build could kill it at the time unless it was flipped over, which was very rare.

#### Postosuchus

Postosuchus was basically Ornithosuchus but on steroids. They sacrificed their mobility with power giving them a powerful bite perfect for griefing other builds like Placerias. Their bipedalism does grant them an advantage over stealth builds, but their bipedalism does lower their mobility.

#### Placodus

Similar to other Placoderms, Placodus had armor running along its body. Not much in the ocean aside from builds like Thalattoarchon could pose a threat to it.

#### Staurikosaurus

Staurikosaurus also laid the groundwork for dinosaur builds as Eoraptor did, but Staurikosaurus was larger, so it could prey on other builds. They were also mobile like Eoraptor.

#### Eudimorphodon/Peteinosaurus

Very mobile in the air due to being the first vertebrate unlocking flight. They had an excellent loot source and could pretty much escape most bad situations unless being ambushed.

#### Cymbospondylus

This build is a decent tank build (but not as great as Shastasaurus) good at bodying fish players. Its only bad matchup is against Thalattoarchon.

### S tier

#### Plateosaurus/Riojasaurus

Two bipedal builds that later would become some of the best builds in the game. With a long neck used for feeding on trees and bipedalism to detect stealthy builds, they were very viable in the Triassic. They even had claws, giving offensive abilities.

#### Herrerasaurus

This build was very viable in the Triassic meta with one of the highest power stats for a land build at the time and moderately high mobility. This build also hunted in packs and dominated its server at the time. Later this build would become one of the strongest builds in the history of outside.

#### Mastodontosaurus

Like most temnospondyl builds, Mastodontosaurus was high tier. They spent most of the time underwater and could ambush most builds from the water. Nothing could really kill them.

#### Coelophysis

While compared to other builds, they are D-tier, but in the Triassic meta, they were top tier. They starved and dehydrated slower than other builds and did live in groups meaning safety in numbers and pack hunting. However, they did cannibalize other Coelophysis players, but their mobility could help them escape most situations.

#### Liliensternus

Lilienstrenus was one of the only builds that could prey on plateosaurus. With a high power stat for the time and a crest that gave it intimidation, nothing could really kill them in Triassic Europe. This build would later evolve into Dilophosaurus.

#### Shastasaurus

With max HP and high power, this build completely dominated the Triassic oceans. They also specked into warm blood and live birth, so this build had even more viability in the Triassic ocean. They also have the parental care ability so the young ones can be protected.

## The Reign of Dinosaurs

    By the end of the Triassic expansion, Dinosaurs, Pterosaurs, and Proto-Crocodilians absolutely dominated every server in the game. The first dinosaur builds to make waves in the meta were Herosaurus and Eoraptor. However, the real breakout came with the Coelophysis build. By trading a little of their Power and Health, they gained traits that led them to be the former champions of the Permian meta.

Therapsids at this point had all but abandoned their former mains, with a few persisting until the Jurassic and possibly even Cretaceous. They were now trying their best to play small survivalist classes that could avoid the dinosaurs. However, this new strategy did not protect them from the Coelophysis build. Their high Mobility allowed them to keep up with these smaller builds, and their long necks and slender snouts allowed them to reach through barriers and into cover.

At this point, the Therapsid guild had mostly dissolved, having been almost completely eliminated from every niche they once held. A few loyalists remained, though, hiding underground or in trees during the day and only daring to venture out at night. They adopted a new guild name, "Mammals."

At the end of the Triassic, another less harsh extinction patch was rolled out. However, this update only further cemented the dominance of the Dinosaurs, Pterosaurs, and Crocodilians. This patch eliminated Temnospondyls, Conodonts, Dicynodonts, Rhyncosaurs, Aetosaurs, Phytosaurs, Rauisuchians, and Placodonts from the game, with a few exceptions. The dinosaur's reign lasted the longest continuous time period from Triassic to Cretaceous. During this time, Dinosaurs would own every top-tier niche in the game, branching out into pack hunters, solo tanks, team defense builds, and unstoppable DPS builds.