The Fish Tier List

[Music] was this video was made in partnership with curiositystream fish are one of the most diverse factions in the entire game they are extremely popular among both casual and competitive players and make up the vast majority of the aquatic player base and with so many different potential fish bills to choose from it can be difficult to know which builds are actually competitively viable in the current meta so today we're going to go through the tier list of fish this will by no means be a comprehensive tier list i mean there are more than 3 000 variants of the catfish built alone still by highlighting the standout builds in both high and low tiers hopefully i can give you a good understanding of where the fish faction fits into the current meta and if there's a fish i didn't include hopefully by seeing my logic in this video you'll be able to evaluate that fish build yourself oh also quick disclaimer since i've already made a shark tier list i'm omitting sharks from this video but before we dive into the tier list first i want to give you an overview of the abilities commonly found in the fish faction as well as some background on the history of the fish build so the basic fishbuild doesn't have much in terms of unique perks or abilities which is actually great as it means that each player has a lot of room for customization the basic fish build is most famous for its use of the fin and gill abilities both of which offer huge advantages in water while predictably being entirely useless on land back during the devonian expansion long before the vertebrate faction had unlocked terrestrial builds fish were the top tier build in the game having a crushing match up against the top arthropods their main competitors in today's meta though fish have to compete with a lot more than just arthropods and typically placed below the top marine builds like cetaceans and cephalopods and with the nerfs to the plagoderm armor ability that fish used to have access to fish have had to get creative with their game strategies in order to survive the current meta now let's get into the tier list to see which strategies and abilities are worth specking into if you're a fish player [Music] seahorses are an extremely strange build with the lowest mobility stat of any fish in the game this mobility stat is due entirely to their strange choice to spec into the prehensile tail ability at the cost of all but one of their fins now don't get me wrong the prehensile tail ability can be extremely useful especially for arboreal builds that use them to tether themselves to trees while keeping their hands and legs free for foraging for a marine build though i think there are better choices available all the prehensile tail does is allow the seahorse to anchor itself to plants and rocks preventing itself from getting tossed around by the current which again it wouldn't need to do if it didn't lack fins now they do have pretty solid armor which can make them difficult to actually take out but their extreme lack of mobility means the seahorse cannot dodge attacks this leads them to getting smacked around by any player who feels like it even ones without any special combat perks and with their best matchup being against plankton to me there's no way the seahorse places any higher than f-tier [Music] also in f-tier we have the ocean sunfish this probably isn't too shocking given that the sunfish is famously bad at defending itself but for those unaware the ocean sunfish has the highest hp stat of any fish in the game and relies on its giant size for protection similar to the seahorse the sunfish's other stats are all extremely low and because of this the sunfish gets bullied hard by many of the common marine threats both large and small they get torn to bits and tossed around particularly badly by the mammalian playerbase sea lions and orcas in particular love flexing their superiority over the largest fish build in the game but the sunfish has another huge weakness parasites see the sunfish has soft mucous coated skin instead of the scales traditionally used by fish players this makes the sunfish more vulnerable to parasites which unfortunately means that even the best sunfish mains have to play while suffering from a wide variety of debuffs from parasite infestations the sunfish players often solicit the help of support mains like the ross and shrimp to help cleanse themselves and may even sit at the water's surface to give birdman's the chance to attack the parasites the gigantism strategy is usually a pretty reliable strategy for avoiding attacks elephants whales hippos and rhinos are generally safe from attacks once they reach their max size however i think in order to make the strategy work you need to actually be able to strike back to discourage repeated attacks otherwise you're kind of just a damaged sponge and will have your hp slowly whittled down as we often see happen to the sunfish mains so because of all these vulnerabilities and over reliance on support players for help i have to place the ocean sunfish in f-tier [Music] the flying fish is a build with an extremely unique playstyle centered around maximizing mobility by putting a huge amount of evolution points into their fin trait and mobility stat they've actually gained the ability to glide through the air for surprisingly long distances this is useful as an escape option when being attacked by a larger fish player however as unique a move as this is i actually think this is a pretty poor strategy overall being airborne might put you out of range of an attack from another fish but it's by no means a safe position and in many cases is actually seriously disadvantageous without any way to dodge attacks midair flying fish are extremely vulnerable to bird attacks which kind of nullifies the benefit of escaping an aquatic pursuer and in addition with no way to change direction mid-air it's actually not that difficult for said fish player to just intercept the flying fish's landing so overall not that useful of an ability tacked onto an otherwise unremarkable build [Music] also in detroit we have the salmon family which includes the fish builds like the trout and the char this build actually has some pretty impressive stats with high mobility being pretty much required in order to withstand the constant rushing flow of the rivers that they use as their respawn points similar to the flying fish this playstyle is also highly vulnerable to disruption from non-aquatic players as impressive as it is that salmon and trout mains are able to make these insane jumps the sad truth is that the thing that they're most well known for is being an easy source of xp for carnivore players now this jumping ability is also useful for attacking flying builds midair but the salmon's power stat isn't quite enough to be able to take down anything that isn't far below their weight class at the bottom of sea tier we have the catfish one of the tankier builds on this list with a bulky yet versatile stat spread a lot of players undervalue the catfish and seed as low tier trash due to it being a bottom feeder not realizing that they've actually got a few decent unique abilities most important of which is their venom rather than specking their fin appendages to do things like flying or flexing the catfish builds spec into fins that have barbs on them which can deliver a venomous sting while their venom usually isn't able to deal lethal damage it's still a decent defensive ability it does have its weaknesses though particularly to long disjointed hitboxes such as the spear-like beaks of some bird builds nonetheless the catfish is still a reliable and easy to play build being omnivorous and able to gain plenty of xp simply by digging through the mud for scraps [Music] also in seats here we have the archer fish the only fish build with the ability to use a ranged attack this projectile deals essentially zero damage but it's by no means useless this projectile has high knock back making it excellent for pushing players into vulnerable positions a water logged insect is one of the easiest targets in the game and being able to force that type of interaction is an extremely powerful ability this ability does have its limitations though as is the case with most projectiles this attack is unusable in the water meaning that the archerfish doesn't really have any good moves for pvp against other aquatic players i think the biggest weakness of this playstyle though is the position that you're forced into in order to make use of your projectile weapon being near the surface of the water leaves you vulnerable to both attacks from below and above and with no defense against either the archerfish is a high risk decent reward built in beetier we have the builds that are generally solid picks but lack any truly overpowered abilities first is the bass the poster child for the phrase big fish in a small pond with solid stats and the ability to grow larger than most other freshwater lakefish the bass can easily dominate their local scene even to the point of depleting the area of resources by gobbling them all up their generalist nature and large jaws mean they can prey upon just about anything from smaller fish to crustaceans to even builds like frogs and alligators while there's not that much that's flashy or unique about this strategy there's no denying that the bass is a consistent threat in the pond meta and i consider them the gatekeepers of the higher tiers [Music] also in beads here we have the fish factions premier support class the cleaner ross the cleaner ross specializes in cleansing larger fish players of parasites providing an extremely useful service in the form of removing debuffs from any fish player in need similar to the ox packer on land parasites are a major threat to fish players so it's no surprise that oftentimes even top tier builds like sharks will add cleaner ross players to their party ross do have to rely on their reputation to protect them though and while betrayals during cleansing sessions are rare swimming into a mouthful of dagger-like teeth is not without risk [Music] all right now we're in a tier and this is where things start to get a bit overpowered first we have the pickerel guild which includes the pike and musca lunch the most fearsome freshwater fish in the game these vicious fish builds are highly aggressive and attack anything in or around their domain from fish to birds to mammals and even humans their powerful jaws sport sharp crocodile-esque teeth which deal serious damage and grip their target preventing their escape but it's not just about power with these fish their slender body and camouflage allow them to easily 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 these fish are adapters while not part of the pickerel guild i also include the barracuda in this same rating as they have a very similar play style giant size is not a requirement to be a high tier predator though as exemplified by the next build on this list the piranha [Music] piranhas are one of the best if not the best example of how with the right combination of special abilities and team strategies size genuinely doesn't matter their special ability feeding frenzy boosts piranha shoal dps to one of the highest in the game able to absolutely melt through the hp of even the tankiest targets in contrast to the salmon and trout because of their favorable match-up against larger players piranhas are the only fish build on this list that i think actually make great use of its positional advantage in rivers as many mammals and birdmates will be forced to cross your territory over the course of their playthrough and fall victim to your frenzy attacks their main weakness is a lack of defensive capability meaning that they can still be easily one shot by other predator players the next build on this tier list does not share this weakness the lionfish is one of the most well-defended fish builds in the game relying on a huge arsenal of venomous spines to deal serious damage to attackers similar to the porcupine build on land because of this the lionfish is an infamously unpleasant target to attack and most predator players tend to either ignore or actively avoid them while their other stats are quite low this certainly hasn't stopped them from rising to dominance in their home server of the indo-pacific lionfish are also generalists who gobble up anything that their low mobility stat allows them to catch which can quickly deplete a server of its resources and because of their quick respawn rate lionfish have rapidly spread to other ocean servers without much pushback at least until they reach the tropical atlantic see there is one fish build that has been able to consistently take down lionfish and once i show you how broken some of their abilities are it'll be easy to understand why we've got two more builds to showcase in s tier but real quick i just want to point out that this is the longest video i've made so far and took a huge amount of time and resources to produce so if you're enjoying it and want more content like this please do consider subscribing thanks the mori eel is one of the most uniquely powerful fish in the game with a set of strange yet highly functional abilities and well-placed base stat allocations so first their stats while the highest aquatic power rating falls to sharks and whales a close runner up is the more their teeth resemble broken glass and can do similarly brutal damage in combat their mobility is surprisingly high for a fish that lacks pectoral and pelvic fins but in addition to having great maneuverability in the tight spaces of a reef they are capable of some pretty impressive bursts of speed too their stealth may seem low due to their vibrant coloring but honestly bright colors are everywhere in reef servers so they don't stick out too much in fact their ability to contort and fit into crevices and other tight spaces gives them a pretty huge advantage for ambushing other players where things get interesting though is with their defense the more has a slime based special ability which serves multiple defensive purposes it protects them from taking abrasion and puncture damage while passing through sharp coral and jagged spaces within the reef but perhaps more surprisingly it's great at deflecting damage from things like teeth and spikes not only does this give them a great matchup against sharks but it also makes them one of the only builds in the game capable of taking down the lionfish this excellent match-up spread makes placing the moray eel and s-tier an easy decision the final build on this tier list is the billfish this includes the marlin swordfish and sailfish all of which have similar play styles this group is top tier for two reasons first is that they have the highest swim speed in the game beating out not just all other fish but also mammals and birds in addition to having unmatched speed their large dorsal fins allow them to make tighter turns than most fish too making them extremely good at chasing down prey their most unique trait however is their bill one of the strangest offensive abilities in the game useful for both slashing and stabbing this attack is one of the few in the game able to hit multiple targets at once this makes it excellent for countering the ubiquitous safety number strategy many fish players adopt and since the billfish hunt in packs they can rack up insane kill counts rivaling the hunting prowess of even a pot of dolphins with busted stats and a signature move that's both flashy and downright broken to me there's no question that the billfish is the most overpowered fish build in the game regardless of where your favorite fish build falls on the tier list one thing's for sure adaptation is key to survivability in the current meta and it's important to always be exploring new strategies to stay ahead of the curve the same can be said for youtubers and this is why a bunch of creators and i have started an experiment called nebula a new platform that gives us the freedom to pursue the projects we want without needing to fear demonetization nor optimize for youtube's desired metrics in addition to posting ad-free versions of all my new videos days in advance on nebula there's also hours of original content on there that you can't get anywhere else on top of my let's play outside series which i've talked about before i've also recently put out a podcast with my friend alex from the channel low spec gamer where he interviews me about my creation process and how i started this channel i'd love for you to go and check it out so what does curiositystream have to do with this well not only have they been this channel's biggest supporter for quite some time now they've also partnered with nebula so that we can bring you both services for less than the cost of either one individually normally the annual subscription to curiosity stream is twenty dollars a year and the typical nebulous subscription is thirty dollars per year yet when combined you can get both for 14.79 easily one of the best deals in streaming and of course curiosity stream is also an excellent service with thousands of high quality documentaries to buff your knowledge stat if you want to learn more about fish i recommend their docu-series deep ocean narrated by the legendary david attenborough but if you're just in the mood for some nostalgia they've also got those awesome old bbc dinosaur documentaries too so whatever you're in the mood for this bundle has you covered to get started head over to curiositystream.comtearzu thank you all so much for watching and thanks especially to my patrons on patreon until next time good luck out there [Music] you

Channel: TierZoo

Views: 5,869,148

Rating: 4.9720802 out of 5

Keywords: moray eel, marlin, sailfish, swordfish, bass, northern pike, muskie, seahorse, catfish, sunfish, mola mola, trout, piranha

Id: cFMkZ1nHcWo

Length: 17min 28sec (1048 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 05 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/Theraimbownerd]

I love the new, longer format. I understand that this is a massive effort on his part, but it allowed his to showcase much more of the diversity of the Fish class, especially since the last tier list video was a while ago. It was fun and polished, absolutely worth the wait. Also, i loved the Among Us reference, especially since the underwater cleaning stations have impostors too...

However, since i am contractually obliged to complain about something on every tier list, i have one nitpick to make. How can you relegate catfishes in C tier without at least mentioning the Wels Catfish, invasive king of freshwater ecosystems. They can attack birds on the shore, and destroy the competion by simply growing bigger than any predator can attack, with incredibly fast growht and respawn rates. No way they are below the Pike.

[u/RequiemArrowCrab]

Kind of mixed on the fish tier list. Could've been split into smaller videos like a freshwater tier list or into there smaller factions instead of just one large video with a few of the wonderful builds the faction has to offer. Besides that certain builds feel odd with there placements or you left out some information that would've been cool to show. The ocean sunfish does something unique among fish builds and preys on organisms in the abyssal server. There its hp is too much for most players can handle. While also boasting a wide variety of abilities. The tier placement is odd for me but I can let it pass. But the one that weirds me out is the Moral Eel being S tier. The Moral Eel doesn't feel even close to S tier, as it's very long hitbox makes it an easy target when traveling outside of the corals. They have a terrible match up with Sea Snakes which are in general a bottom tier pick. Due to the there long body forcing them to stay in coral or rocky areas or they'll get attacked by larger builds and that they have a terrible matchup against a bottom tier build would make them at least A or B. Moral Eels are not oppressive by any means.

Besides all of that, I personally loved that we finally got a new tier list video for so long. I've been dying to see one. I'm also happy that the underrated catfish build got some love for once.

[u/Iamnotburgerking]

The sunfish ranking is massively flawed and is based largely on false but memetic claims. I'd bump them up to C or even B tier. Catfish were also underrated (to a much smaller extent), the video ignores that a number of catfish builds are NOT bottom feeders but active predators with better MBL than often given credit for. Their sensory suite is also noteworthy.

Piranhas were significantly overrated; their teeth and bite force do give them high DPS potential for their size, but they still focus mainly on small fish (up to their own size) for XP. And their smaller size gives them awful matchups against basically every decent-sized Amazon predator, including large catfish, arapaima, giant otters, river dolphins, electric eels (granted, even large builds can't beat this one), etc. I wouldn't put them any higher than C-tier.

No mention of morays having another set of jaws and teeth in their mouths? I agree morays are high-tier but it seems like a missed opportunity.

Also, the INT level on a number of these builds are too low. Most large predatory fish are in the 40-60 range in terms of INT (pack hunting is surprisingly common, for example).

[u/FirstChAoS]

I agree that piranha ranked too high and catfish too low.

I am curious on how grouper rank. They seem to have a bass build scaled up, but they can take down higher tier lionfish.

I am also curious on the Colorado Pikeminnow, a minnow evolved into a top predator and one of the few large freshwater fish in North America who get no respect.

[u/Serial-Killer-Whale]

While I don't disagree with the position of the flying fish, I must point out the noncombat advantages of jump strats.

Once you reach a certain point when it comes to speed, jumping repeatedly actually becomes more efficient energy-wise than swimming normally, allowing you to go further while migrating or looking for better xp drops. While this is most commonly used by lung-based hybrid builds like the Penguin and Porpoise, not to mention my own main, the Orca, the ability for a flying fish to perform repeatedly leaps out of the water lets it move further than you'd think.

[u/webbess1]

I wonder where tuna would rank.

[u/kvetchinghobbit]

What tier would Coelacanths be in?

[u/FujimuraRitsuka]

Damn he forgot the giant catfish main

[u/ghostpanther218]

YEESSSSS! I been waiting a long time for this!