Suchomimus guide & review

[rustyOkin]

So I've pretty much mained Sucho back in the days of old v3, Terra Vitae and new v2, those who remember that time know that Sucho was basically hot garbage =)
I don't know why but I still loved and played the crap out of that weird Duck-Boi
Since the last patch a lot has changed for my favourite The Isle Dino though and after I've spent a good amount of hours playing as it I thought it would help especially new players who want to try out Sucho.
I will only discuss the adult stage for long term survival. The juvie stage is pretty much all about sitting around and waiting which I assume will change sooner or later.

pros:
+ good weight + dmg / strongest mid-tier dino in terms of raw power
+ soft aquatic skills, more about that later
+ very fast alt turn for its size, useful against packs
+ powerful enough to one-shot Dilos and Utahs
+ can last forever without food (and water, especially as juvie)

cons:
- horrible trot, still rockin' the old duck-walk xD also mediocre stamina recovery
- even worse sneak-speed (pretty sure that will change)
- bad run speed > results in a mediocre ambush at best
- bad bleed recovery
- not the greates bleed damage but sort of compensates that with weight

Sucho is a pretty bad hunter, bad at escaping and even worse at traveling across the map, the trot is an absolute chore (I'm just used to it).
While Allos can be a threat due to their bleed-dmg, Suchos clearly have an advantage in a fight.
I killed 3 Allos who ambushed me in a 1v3 (one of them wasn't fully grown though). Luckily they seemed to be very inexperienced players and traded blows. Sucho's power lies in bullying everything but Apex simply because it outweighs every other mid-tier dinosaur by a good amount. So as Sucho you always want to force the raw fight instead of hit and run, don't fear to just trade blows!

If you want to take down a Sucho especially as Allo you gotta abuse it's bad bleed recovery. Packs of Dilos can take down Sucho as well.
Utahs will have a much harder time simply because Sucho's weight helps it a lot.
Small pack hunters should be very careful in general since Sucho's alt-turn is VERY FAST and one bite is an instant kill.
A smart Sucho player will take a defensive stance and wait for mistakes. I once managed to fight off a large pack killing about 8 Utahs or so.

aquatic skills:
Sucho swims faster and drains less stamina while doing so than any other dinosaur in the game which is pretty much the only reason why it is somewhat viable. It's the only way to escape Gigas (their fast trot is a death sentence if you have no deep waters nearby). Rex is a problem too but you have far more room for mistakes cuz it runs out of stamina quickly and their trot isn't as fast as Giga's (still much faster than yours). If a Rex gets within ambush range you are food though - but that's just your own fault.
Run as soon as you see an Apex, create some distance and head for the water! Swim from shore to shore if they follow you there. The wide river south of the map near Utah rock is probably the safest place for Suchos.

Tips:
Sucho fully submerges after a few seconds of swimming (no clue if it's intended but it is f****** amazing). This is even more useful in those big rivers. Swimming makes no sound and doesn't create waves in floating waters (which I assume will change at some point). Couple that with swimming under the surface and you might abuse that to sneak up on unsuspecting prey - I managed to do that once to catch a Cerato which would normally highly outspeed a Sucho

conclusion:
Overall Sucho is somewhat viable but I still can't recommend playing it especially if you are a new player. Sucho requires a lot of awareness and planning your escape route. Travelling in general is brutally slow and without water nearby it's also very dangerous. Gigas are just your worst nightmare, and there are a lot of them these days...
Being slow and a lousy hunter is pretty balanced considering Sucho will one day be able to fish!
I wish it had more bleed recovery but even that seems fair to counter it's sheer weight advantage as mid-tier dino.
The aquatic skills are noticeable and your only reliable tool to escape Apex predators but that's about it.

suggestion:
Many people suggest to simply buff Sucho's speed overall and especially its trot to be able to escape/hunt a little better but I don't think this is the best idea. Sucho shouldn't be able to compete on land vs Allo and the other mid-tiers. Like I said Sucho is bad at hunting on land and I think that's fine.

In my opinion its aquatic skills need some improvement.
1) buff swim speed slightly, a little bit faster than it is now
2) highly reduce stamina drain while swimming

First of all this would encourage and reward Sucho players who live near water even more.
It would be cool if swimming was a very efficient travel-tool for Sucho. It would also mean that Sucho might be able to chase down and out-stam prey along those large rivers while swimming turning these areas into more interesting and dangerous zones (right now they are just boring)

Aquatic creatures in general shouldn't be able to afk in water forever so stamina drain while swimming is necessary - I had a different opinion before, this is why I mention it (maybe Deinosuchus should be the exception)

Overall the recent patches have been very good for the game and I'm very happy that so many dinos, not only Sucho, are heading to a decent spot balance wise (herbis need some love though)

I know that post is a long one but I hope it's helpful for some of you
cheers =)

[Zebrafreedom]

Great ! I exited the more people would understand that sucho is niche dino, not a buffed allo or low quality giga,cause a lot of people are thinking like that.

[BAD_DATA]

Amen. I'm somewhat of a sucho main myself and this sums it up perfectly. Sucho is almost in the perfect spot right now. Not a buffed allo, but a niche dino which only needs fish to be perfectly balanced.

[BurnOtop]

i don't know why but as a full sucho, i notice that giga swim faster than us, they just follow you in the lake, your only chance is that they burn there stam, but a lot of lake are too small
they need a little nerf for that. sucho should be the faster.

[[Ravenous]]

Interesting read, and it seems very thought through and well put :)

I’ve been trying to get around to giving the Sucho a try, and this just makes it seem even more interesting for some reason Oo
Will force myself to test it out next time I do something stupid and get myself killed :)

[rustyOkin]

Originally posted by BurnOtop:

i don't know why but as a full sucho, i notice that giga swim faster than us, they just follow you in the lake, your only chance is that they burn there stam, but a lot of lake are too small
they need a little nerf for that. sucho should be the faster.

it is indeed a bit wonky and there isn't too much difference between Sucho's and other dinos' swim speed! the stamina drain is what keeps you alive - this is why large and wide rivers are the safest spots. you gotta force the Giga to swim for a while as well to really abuse your advantage, sadly most lakes are too small for that