Tarpon

The tarpon is a elopiform fish build related to the ladyfish. This build is featured in River Monsters, a documentary hosted by Human fish beastmaster Jeremy Wade. These builds can grow up to 280 pounds in weight. The guild it belonged in has been playable since 100 million years ago.

## Overview

The tarpon, being a schooling build, has decent Intelligence. It also has a high Health stat, allowing it to take a lot of damage. It has a high Mobility stat for a Fish build and is also surprisingly stealthy. These builds have thick scales that serve as decent Defense. Last but not the least, it has a great Power stat, able to effectively grief small builds.

## Moveset

**Adaptive Gills (Passive, Support)**- No penalty for switching between freshwater and saltwater servers.

**Cranial Cushion (Passive, Defense)**- Protects the build from all attacks if they block it with their head. Also allows access to [Skull Bash].

**Modified Swim Bladder (Passive, Utility)**- Allows you to gather oxygen respawns from the air.

## Tier Placement

A-tier, or to be more specific, low A-tier. This build, like the Bull Shark, can switch between freshwater and saltwater servers easily due to their [Adaptive Gills] ability. When oxygen spawns are rare, they can get oxygen spawns from the air, due to their [Modified Swim Bladder] ability.Their top speed of 35 mph also gives them one of the highest Mobility stats of any fish in the game. It also speccs into countershading, giving them decent Stealth, rendering them undetectable to many builds They still have bad matchups against Crocodiles and Hammerhead Sharks. Like the Arapaima, they have to surface for air since they are obligate air-breathers, otherwise its game over.

## Summary

### Pros:

* Well-rounded stat spread.
* Above-average Intelligence, Stealth and Health.
* High Defense, Power and Mobility.
* Can breathe atmospheric air, allowing it to take advantage of the low-oxygen meta.
* Euryhaline.
* Can attack other players using [Skull Bash]].

### Cons:

* Vulnerable to certain predators.
* Has to constantly surface for air., making it vulnerable to attacks from below.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.britannica.com/animal/tarpon
2. ↑ https://www.saltstrong.com/river-monsters-tarpon/
3. ↑ https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/tarpon/information/facts/
4. ↑ https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/elopiformes-ladyfish-and-tarpon
5. ↑ https://www.aquarium-larochelle.com/en/species-encyclopedia/atlantic-tarpon/
6. ↑ https://www.dimensions.com/element/atlantic-tarpon
7. ↑ http://www.china.org.cn/top10/2010-12/28/content\_21633018.htm
8. ↑ https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Megalops\_atlanticus/
9. ↑ https://clearwaterinshorefishing.com/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-tarpon/
10. ↑ https://eol.org/pages/46561200/articles
11. ↑ https://www.gumbolimbo.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.details&ArticleId=500178&returnTo=pressreleases
12. ↑ https://www.tarponfish.com/handling-and-releasing-tarpon/
13. ↑ https://www.saltwaterexperience.com/blog/2014/12/14/low-oxygen-tarpon
14. ↑ https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/megalops-atlanticus/
15. ↑ https://www.britannica.com/animal/elopiform