Sauropterygian

Sauropterygians are a banned Faction that includes the Nothosaurs, Placodonts, Plesiosaurs and Pliosaurs. They were playable all throughout the Mesozoic and are most closely related to Lizards. Like marine mammal builds, they move their tails up and down but with the addition of two more flippers. Like Mustelids, they are a wildcard Faction, from Defense-based placodonts, to the amphibious glass cannon Nothosaurs, the fish-griefing plesiosaur mains with an exposed weak spot, and the lightning bruiser, top-tier Pliosaurs.

## Tier List

### F/D tier

#### Nothing...somehow.

There is not really a single Sauropterygian that could qualify as below-average. An exposed weak spot in plesiosaurs did not seem to bring them to these tiers.

### C-tier

#### Nothosaurus

This build had the [Amphibious] trait and could easily deal with Fish players fairly easily along with good Mobility. It did not have any PvP potential against gankers, both at land and at sea. Still, it was still great, edging at Mid C-tier.

### B-tier

#### Henodus

This is a build which could not only break the armor of other builds, but also filter-feed. It had a shell with a large hitbox as well as stout limbs, effectively increasing Defense while reducing XP gain at the same time. However, it is not as oppresive as there was no penalty for repeated attacks. Because of its lack of bad matchups, it sits comfortably in B-tier.

#### Dolichorhynchops

This build traded its neck for a greater Mobility stat while still continuing with their fish-griefing playstyle. However, its small size means gankers like Xiphactinus, Tylosaurus,Cretoxyrhina and Brachauchenius could body them.

#### Peloneustes

One of the smallest Pliosaur mains, it had to rely on armored builds for lootbecause of its [Armor Crusher] ability. It still had good Mobility, though.

### A-tier

#### Leptocleidus

A plesiosaur build with the the [Salt And Fresh] ability,thus easily avoiding its potential competitors. It reduced its neck in exchange for greater Mobility. However, it has new bad matchups in the form of builds like Baryonyx and Sharks due to its low Health stat.

#### Styxosaurus

A plesiosaur build, known for their Stealth while huntingbut with the drawback of an exposed weak spot and lower Mobility, making it vulnerable to gankers. In this case they were Cretoxyrhina and Tylosaurus.

#### Basic Pliosaur

Your typical Mesozoic-grade Pliosaur main, with short necks, large heads to support a high Power stat, high enough to play as a [Macropredator] and high Mobility. The large builds, like Pliosaurus and Kronosaurus, deserve an S-tier spot on this list, as well as....

### S-tier

#### Rhomaelosaurus

Intermediate between a plesiosaur and a pliosaur build, it had the best of both worlds, having a long-range grab, and at the same time, the Power stat required to deal with builds its own weight class or higher. It is capable of the [Death Shake] ability and [Bloodsense] and it is also fairly tanky, thus ensuring it is top-tier.

## Referrences

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://palaeos.com/vertebrates/sauropterygia/sauropterygia.html#Sauropterygia
2. ↑ https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-020-0778-7
3. ↑ https://comenius.susqu.edu/biol/202/animals/deuterostomes/craniata/lepidosauromorpha/lepidosauromorpha-description.htm
4. ↑ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134%2FS1062359019070100
5. ↑ https://www.factmonster.com/dk/encyclopedia/science/below-waves
6. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/science/seamonsters/factfiles/nothosaur.shtml
7. ↑ http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/n/nothosaurus.html
8. ↑ https://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/braingames/iknowthat/Stickerbook/sbr/Dinosaurs/Marine%20Animals/DiscoverMore/Henodus.htm
9. ↑ https://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2010/11/04/henodus-the-placodont
10. ↑ http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/h/henodus.html
11. ↑ http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/articles/placodonts.html
12. ↑ https://comenius.susqu.edu/biol/202/animals/deuterostomes/craniata/lepidosauromorpha/lepidosauromorpha-taxonomy.htm
13. ↑ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/prehistoric/dolichorhynchops/
14. ↑ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/prehistoric/dolichorhynchops/
15. ↑ https://www.thoughtco.com/plesiosaur-and-pliosaur-pictures-and-profiles-4043335
16. ↑ https://blog.everythingdinosaur.co.uk/blog/\_archives/2009/02/23/4103490.html
17. ↑ http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/d/dolichorhynchops.html
18. ↑ https://www.mindat.org/taxon-4968414.html
19. ↑ https://www.thoughtco.com/plesiosaur-and-pliosaur-pictures-and-profiles-4043335
20. ↑ http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/p/peloneustes.html
21. ↑ https://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/glossary/indexp2.shtml
22. ↑ https://phys.org/news/2019-03-small-plesiosaur-spain-million-years.html
23. ↑ https://www.agenciasinc.es/en/News/A-small-plesiosaur-lived-in-Spain-125-million-years-ago
24. ↑ https://www.deviantart.com/paleosir/art/Wessex-formation-biota-656245250
25. ↑ https://www.newdinosaurs.com/leptocleidus/
26. ↑ https://www.sachspal.de/styxosaurus/
27. ↑ https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781426301766/sea-monsters-a-prehistoric-adventure/
28. ↑ https://www.kronosrising.com/plesiosaur-long-necks/
29. ↑ http://www.eartharchives.org/articles/plesiosaurs-and-their-absurdly-long-necks/
30. ↑ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/prehistoric/styxosaurus/#:~:text=The%20long%2C%20pointed%20teeth%20of,and%20the%20giant%20mosasaur%20Tylosaurus.
31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 https://www.britannica.com/animal/pliosaur
32. ↑ https://www.kronosrising.com/did-russian-pliosaur-rule-cretaceous-seas/
33. ↑ http://palaeos.com/vertebrates/sauropterygia/rhomaleosauridae.html
34. ↑ http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/r/rhomaleosaurus.html
35. ↑ https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-to-resurrect-a-sea-dragon.html
36. ↑ https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.1992.0022
37. ↑ https://gramho.com/explore-hashtag/pliosaur
38. ↑ https://www.ucd.ie/cabinets/exhibit4/exhibit4-11.html