Fish Tier List

## Overview

Fish are characterised as gill-bearing aquatic creatures that lack limbs with digits. Certain fish species speck into having toothless beaked jaws, mimicking that of larger predators, such as Birds. Most fish have the trait of laying/releasing thousands of eggs, scattering them in the water where the male fish fertilise them. The eggs develop and hatch into larvae. With most fishes having a lateral line which can sense vibrations in the water .

## F Tier

### Seahorse

Seahorses are a weird build with a remarkably low mobility stat in the game. This is mainly because of their body type and the mutation ability, prehensile tail. They evolved these tails to is grapple themselves to objects such as rocks and plants. Lastly, we need to acknowledge the fact that they have a decently high defense stat.

### Sunfish

The ocean sunfish has one highest HP stat, but their other stats are awful, and because of this, the sunfish gets bodied hard by other builds. Another negative is their low defense. The sunfish defense is abysmal, and they don't have the classic fish attribute, scales. So, their player base is mainly an easy target for sweats and parasites. They mainly rely on support builds to heal them.

## D tier

### Flying Fish

The flying fish build has an interesting playstyle. They mainly rely on mobility to escape situations. Thanks to spending evolution points on their fins, they gain the ability to glide for a long time and distance, but this isn’t without its risks. There are many ways for a flying fish to die from gliding. They can be cut off by a bird or another fish, land on dry land, or into another fish's mouth. There are just so many variables to consider this build a top tier.

### Salmon

The salmon build has pretty good stats and good mobility. Similar to flying fish, they are very predictable and can be griefed by carnivore builds. However, they can breed an insane amount of eggs compared to other fishes and jump high.

## C Tier

### Catfish

The catfish build is bulky, and most people see them as low-tier trash because they're bottom feeders, but they do have unique abilities, like venom. Unlike most builds, the catfish specks their evolution points into venomous spines on their fins, but can be countered by long, disjointed hitboxes, such as the beaks of herons.

### Archerfish

Archerfish are the only fish builds that use Projectile attacks. They use a water gun to knock down lightweight builds, but the fact that they need to be near the surf of the water can mean a game over if a bird builds is near and also fishes from below and since they have no defensive abilities to protect them from either they are screwed.

## B Tier

### Bass

The bass is a large fish known for the saying 'big fish in a little pond.' They have solid stats and can dominate a pond or a lake. This is getting to the point where they can lower resources for other builds.

### Cleaner Wrasse

Cleaner wrasses are builds that are famous for going with the support type build. Parasites are a constant threat in the underwater meta, so even larger builds like sharks will find a wrasse to help them get rid of parasites. They do have to rely on their reputation and have to be careful when entering a mouth, even though betrayals are rare. This combination of abilities makes the cleaner wrasse a solid B tier.

## A Tier

### Muskellunge

Now we're in A tier, and this is where things get a bit overpowered. First, we have the Pickerel Faction, which includes the pike and muskellunge, the most fearsome freshwater fish in the game. This vicious fish is highly aggressive and will attack anything in or around its domain, from fish to birds to mammals to even humans. Their powerful jaws sport shark crocodile-like teeth, which deal serious damage and grip their targets, preventing their escape. But it's just not about power with these fish; their slender body and camouflage allow them to hide in cover, waiting for the perfect ambush opportunity, and unlike trout, when these fish jump, it's not just to clear an obstacle; they jump to attack. Their only weakness is a slow growth rate and long respawn timer, but even at low levels, they are adept hunters. While not part of the Pickerel Faction, we'd put barracudas in the same rating as they have a very similar playstyle.

### Piranha

Piranhas are proof that you don't need to be big to succeed. They use some of the best teamwork of any fish and can take down even humans. They deal devastating damage because of their ability **[Feeding Frenzy]**. Another one of their dominating factors is their advantageous location. Many mammal players have to cross a river or stream or any body of water to find food/shelter, which is why they are so good at camping for mammal players. Their main weakness; they have no defensive capabilities, so DPS mains could easily take out even whole schools of piranhas.

### Lionfish

The Lionfish has an excellent defense stat as they are like urchins but with deadly venomous spines, granting them the **[Venomous Barbs]** ability. Most predators usually avoid them. Their other stats being unremarkable hasn't buffered their success. They don't have many dietary restrictions as they're generalists. Their high respawn rate also raises their viability, but they can be taken down by Moray Eels consistently.

## S Tier

### Moray Eel

The Moray Eel is a slender and nimble bony fish that has huge bite strength that is almost as strong as Orca, sharks, and box jellyfish. Don't be fooled by their body as they are still quite mobile without pectoral and palette fins with a burst of speed. Their flexible body allows excellent maneuverability through narrow paths and reefs. Their colour palette can range from dull to bright, and this did not sabotage their stealth as bright colours are common in marine and ocean servers and this, paired with their maneuverability gives them an advantage at ambushing players. The Moray Eel also has a **[Slimy Coating]** to reduce abrasion and puncture damage, especially bite attacks. Not only can this ability help them defend against sharks, but it means that it is one of the only builds able to slay Lionfish.

### Billfish

The Bill Fish is another S-Tier group that includes Marlin, Swordfish, and Sailfish, which have similar playstyles with the highest swimming speed. Their large dorsal fins make it easier for them to quickly change direction. Their bill is effective at slashing and stabbing multiple targets simultaneously, which capitalises on the "safety in numbers" strategy often adopted by small fishes. Not only that, but they also hunt in packs for a fatal combination that would rival dolphins.
]]