Each shark plays differently to the others and have their own nuances that it's best to learn through practice and time, but as a general rule they either specialise in damage, defence or 'counter measures'. Sharks that deal with counter measures typically have skills that specifically counter certain diver items or benefit them in certain maps and are not as specialised in HP or damage as other sharks that don't have situation-specific skills.

There are other guides to go more in-depth on this (pun not intended), but the first and most important tip I can offer is this: ask yourself whether you prefer to keep fighting until you're dead or take out one diver and then run to reassess your targets? This will give you an idea of which sharks suit you better. Over time, you will be able to get a feel for what specialists within the damage or defence categories are your favourites.

Each map has different nuances that make certain sharks and even certain skins more effective, though of course an experienced player can use any shark or weapon on any map if they know what they're doing.
For example as a general rule, use dark skins on dark maps and light skins on light maps. This helps make you less obvious of a target. Additionally, tighter-spaced maps are easier to navigate as a smaller shark, but you have less places to run when low on HP, whilst larger sharks find it easier to get around on more open maps, but struggle to get in close before they're spotted and killed.

This brings me to my next point: maps will generally divide into two types: open plan and close quarters. Open plan maps are weighted towards long-range weapons for divers, so it can be a good idea to keep obstructions between you and the divers until you're close enough to attack, just in case of night-vision scopes. Conversely, close quarters maps favour high-damage, close range weapons and usually have few good escape routes, so it's often easier to just commit to attacking rather than trying to run for one of your limited (and often fatally linear) exits.

Another important map-related tip is to make note of where the food is: some maps have seals spread throughout, so its easy to heal; others (such as breach) have a pocket of seals on one side and few to none elsewhere, making it harder to go and heal when you need to.

Whilst every shark has its own tricks that are unique to them, there are a number of techniques that apply to them all and utilising them can really improve your effectiveness!

• All sharks have a shorter dart and a longer lunge attack: when "sprinting", there's almost never a need to lunge, so save those for attacking from a standstill whenever possible, to minimise your stamina usage. This is particularly true for some species above others, which have more expensive lunges, such as the Great White.
  
• Sharks can breach! If you find yourself in an enclosed space near the surface and need a quick get-away, breaking the surface with a lunge can not only help you clear low walls that would otherwise block you, but you're also harder to see from below the water, so it's harder for divers to get a clear shot. Just be careful not to beach yourself on land, or you'll die.
  
• Related to the above point: it's often effective to occasionally attack from above in zones that are largely horizontally-arranged, just don't overuse this technique or they'll get used to it and start watching for you. Less experienced divers often forget to look for sharks above them.
  
• You can damage walls without darting or lunging: just 'sprint' into them! A wall that's about to break is a great opportunity to use this, as it allows you to immediately re-aim and attack a target on the other side without the worry about the attack cooldown after breaking through or ping spikes causing you to not grab a diver immediately behind the wall.
  
• Try to avoid getting into a routine: attacking from the same door over and over will cause alert divers to start placing mines there, or waiting with their crosshairs on that door for you to inevitably arrive; staying unpredictable is vital.

If playing as a fast, high-damage, low-HP shark (such as the mako) the most important tool you have is your raw speed.

• Make use of open-water sections: your speed makes you a great open-water hunter, able to grab a diver, kill them and then dash behind obstacles or just out of sight. Larger, slower sharks are likely to be spotted before they can reach their target and get away. Combining this technique with Stamina boosting evolutions and/or Blood Feast can make you a nigh-unstoppable torpedo of death in the open.
  
• A high-speed dart or lunge past a mine at the right distance will set it off without damaging you; mastering this can be an extremely valuable skill.
  
• Remember to chase the gold-grabbers when you can: if your ally is a slower shark, they won't be able to keep up with a DPV, so it's up to you to stop them from bankrolling the team to top-tier weapons like explosive harpoons!
  
• Always assess your biggest threat or best target before entering a room, so you don't catch an unwanted spear to the face mid-thrash or miss an easy kill. Strategy pays for speedy sharks!
  
• Bleeding will kill you very quickly, get out of sight and hold still to get rid of the status before running for seals, or you'll die before you get there! However, remember that divers will often chase bleeding sharks to finish them off.
  
• Don't take evolutions that chew up your stamina! As a high-speed hunter, you need to be able to stay at top speed.
  
• If playing with another speedy shark as your ally, try staggering your attacks if you can, to avoid accidentally going for the same target: a missed lunge can fast spell a wasted life!
  
• If playing with a tanky shark as your ally, allow them to enter a room first unless you have a really prime target, ripe for the picking, as they can draw fire off of you and make both of your attacks more successful.

Big, slow, high-HP sharks are at their best in a gruelling head-to-head fight and as bullet-sponges for low-HP allies.

• Make use of terrain: being slow, you can't afford to be seen too early and take shots before you're ready, so stay behind obstacles until you're within attacking range to save all that chunky HP for the fight.
  
• Take out P.A.Ts tucked in corners when you can; having that extra HP means you can afford the detour more than squishier, faster sharks. P.A.Ts in open water are just as easy for anyone to destroy, however.
  
• When in open water with a fast ally, hit S.T.E.V.E if you can: this prolongs the time the divers are stuck in the open, where faster sharks are most lethal and (as mentioned above) tankier sharks can afford to make the attack on S.T.E.V.E more than the squishier ones.
  
• Try not to 'sprint' whilst in a room on an attack run: whilst 'sprinting' you don't regen stamina, which you need to keep attacking (and for certain evolutions' effects, such as damage reduction). The more damage you can deal before death, the better, even if you don't kill every diver you grab.
  
• Toxic will eat away your HP over time and can only be negated by eating seals or out-healing the toxic damage that was dealt (you can tell if you have done this if your HP bar turns partially red, indicating HP beyond the remaining toxic damage). This damage is only reduced by placoid scales, so it pays to get rid of it, fast!
  
• When in a closed space with a squishier ally, it's wise to be the first to attack and thus draw fire, to reduce the risk of wasting lives on failed attacks.
  
• Tankier sharks benefit greatly from the chaos of cooperative attacks, so it's often best to stay with your teammate where possible.

I won't go too wordy here, as there are other guides for that, but here's a few handy notes for certain species of sharks.

• Mako: Don't panic if you miss your marked target and waste precious time trying again to grab them specifically, as you'll get the bonus points even if your teammate kills them! Just grab whoever is most vulnerable.
  
• Thresher: Whenever you can, target grouped up divers in corners, as your tail deals more damage than your teeth and a corner makes it harder to flee from your AoE range. Also remember that you can use your 'E' ability to destroy mines and sonars or damage walls at higher levels, to distract divers from other doors.
  
• Bull: Remember that you gain rage faster the more active the divers are, so sometimes it can pay to briefly show yourself, to trick the divers into firing some wasted rounds and thus increase your rage gain.
  
• Tiger: Remember that your 'E' ability makes you harder to see and immune to tagging, sonars and flares for a few seconds: it doesn't make you invisible and it doesn't last long! Save it for the opportune moment and don't rely on it too much or you'll get complacent and make a mistake.
  
• Hammerhead: One of your most valuable evolutions is Powerful Tail; invest in it as soon as you are able to, so that you can take out divers quicker by lunging them into more walls after grabbing them.
  
• Great White: Don't lunge unless you have to and don't dart to gain ground after spawning unless you have Hangry, you don't use much stamina at all when sprinting and your lunge is extremely expensive. A dart is usually all you'll need!
  
• Oceanic Whitetip: Mastering when to trigger your stance change is key; Oceanic Whitetip doesn't necessarily favour a 'rush in without thinking' mentality. For example when working with a bull, using your defence stance to draw some extra fire helps your ally to gain rage! And your defence stance can be useful for removing sonars on mass and then running to heal.
  
• Goblin: It pays to study your decoys and learn how they behave, for example breaking a wall, sitting still or strafing instantly gives you away as being the real goblin. Try to avoid obvious tells when your decoy is in the room with you, or the divers may divert their fire away from your decoy and onto you.

If you have any other tips you think I should add, feel free to pipe up in the comments! I'm happy to add them and credit you for the advice :) together we can help make new players feel supported, so they'll stick around and keep the game alive!

If you are able to translate into another language, please feel free to repost this guide in your language and link me to the translated guide, so I can provide a link to your version below.

Other languages:

• Pending! Please comment below if you'd like to help.