Arapaima

The arapaima, pirarucu or paiche is a heavyweight build of the bonytongue class.It is a build which lives in the Amazon River server, along with builds such as the Giant Otter, Boto, and sometimes, the Jaguar. It has a variety of abilities at its disposal, one of the being the basic [Bonytongue] ability. Along with all bonytongue builds, this ability allows them to gain as much XP as possible.

Normally playable in the Amazon River,but also having been introduced to other tropical servers,especially the Kerala server along with the Alligator Gar, the **Arapaima** is one of the largest freshwater fish builds in the game. It's kinda like a jack of all trades, master of most.  Not only does it have very high Health, its stats also make this build a great build to play. Their [Bonytongue] ability allows them to gain a lot of XP from loot., a necessity when playing as a Tank. Their [Bulletproof Scales] gives them some of the highest Defense stats, and combined with their streamlined design, gives them a very high Mobility stat. Their high Mobility, combined with the [Cranial Cushion] ability, allows them to unlock the [Skull Bash] move, an ability normally seen as exclusive to the Goat build. Along with their vacuum attack, it gives them a high [Power] stat. It can also breathe air, allowing this build to take advantage of hypoxic, murky water and allows the to survive the dry season world event. However it has to surface for air due to this ability. The head is also completely unarmored, making this an easy weak spot. This weak spot can be exploited by Jaguars, Otters and Humans, earning them only a high A-tier spot in the Amazon River meta. However, outside its native server, it does not have the same problems with bad matchups, making them S-tier.

## Abilities

### Bony Tongue

Type:Utility

Effect:Increases XP gain from kills.

Type:Support

### Bulletproof Scales

Type: Defense

Effect:Provides the highest Defense stat that sdales can give to Fish builds without any debuff to Mobility.

### Modified Swim Bladder

Type:Utility

Effect:Allows purely aquatic builds to survive outside water for a long time.

### Cranial Cushion

Type:Defense

Effect:Grants total immunity to oncoming attacks as long as the user blocks the attack with their head.

## Tier Placement

Not only this build has superior stats, but also tons of unique abilities that will make most builds have a hard time, thus giving them an instant S tier. It has also spread to other servers, where it easily bodies native builds. The [Dry Season Survival Kit] also gives it an advantage in the dry season event. However, in its home server, this build is considered as an A tier because its habit of surfacing exposes it to many predator builds.

## Summary

**Pros:**

* High PWR
* Very high MBL, HP, and DEF
* Gains more XP from kills
* Capable of swimming in muddy water without a reduction in MBL
* Can stun targets with Skull Bash
* Can leap out of the water for access loot above the surface
* Bony scales can break the attacker's teeth
* Able to survive out of water

**Cons:**

* Low INT
* Medicore STL
* Needs to surface because it has to breathe air, leaving it vulnerable to attacks from below

## Strategies

### With it:

Balance time spent underwater and on the surface. Since you have the [Air Breather] trait, you have to get to the surface of the water sometimes. But this also puts you in a disadvantageous situation as Human mains can easily give you a game over. As much as possible, look for prey below the murky waters. This makes you breathe air easily while also potentially avoid getting bodied by Human mains. Use your superior Mobility to evade other predator builds. Since you are a Tank build, losing will make you worth a lot of XP to your enemies.

### Against it:

Wait for it to come to the surface of the water, as that is where this build is most vulnerable. If the player is leaping, you have to attack it in time before it comes back into the water. Pierce-type damage is most effective against this build, which is why Human players can grief them hard. [Jungle Tooth] works just as well, as the ability makes critical hits ignore armor.