Barracuda Shark

"The only creatures indigenous to water on Stroggos. Their blade-like teeth and spiked tail are capable of disemboweling you."

- Quake 2 Manual

Barracuda Sharks are small, vicious, shark-like creatures appearing in Quake II and The Reckoning. They can only attack by biting, but as they are usually found in packs, they are quite dangerous. A Barracuda Shark will come at you fast, and they are often found in waterways both inside and outside Strogg facilities, so be extremely careful when entering any pool of water of reasonable depth. They often lurk close to the surface, so try to look out for their backs and tails poking out into the air, and prepare your approach accordingly.

The Barracuda Shark is notable for being one of only three currently known examples of native Stroggos fauna (the other being the Mutant, encountered in Quake II, and the Gekk, found in The Reckoning) to have survived the global industrialization program of the Strogg, which has heavily polluted half of their planet.

Strategies

 * Alone, a Shark is easy to kill. Take out your Shotgun and kill it with 2 hits or take out your Super Shotgun and blow it away.
 * A group of Sharks can be a problem depending on your location. If you can get onto ground, jump up and kill them from the ground. If not, take out your Machine Gun, Chain Gun or Hyperblaster and open fire. Make sure to check your back, because Sharks tend to surround you if you're in water.
 * If there is an incline leading out of the water, wait by the water's edge for the Shark to come to you and back away, it will try to attack you and force itself onto the land, starting to suffocate and eventually dying.

Death Message

 * Player was chewed up by a Barracuda Shark

Trivia

 * Barracuda Shark has no idle animation.
 * Barracuda Shark is referred to as "flipper" in the game files.