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Hungry Shark Evolution Guide (2021 Update): Tips, Tricks & Strategies to Become the Most Feared Predator in the Ocean

Hungry Shark Evolution is the fifth installment of the Hungry Shark series of games produced by developer Future Games of London (which is part of Ubisoft). Despite being released almost ten years ago, the game still continues to attract a large share of gamers because it’s incredibly addictive.

hungry shark evolution tips

Hungry Shark Evolution is an aquatic adventure where you play with a variety of sharks (and other aquatic creatures) who are constantly looking for their next dinner. The general aim of each game session is to survive for as long as possible, without getting yourself killed or running out of food to eat. It sounds simple enough, but managing to keep your shark alive is not an easy feat. 

The game is populated by extensive menagerie of sea creatures ranging from the tasty kind to the most deadliest. Apart from being engaged in a perpetual eating session and earning gold in the process, the game also offers several side quests. Your sharks have a set of missions to complete – specific tasks which are listed in the lower left side of the display and produce additional profits when finalized. In addition, there’s a treasure hunting component to this game, as your sharks can stumble upon numerous artefacts throughout their explorative sessions. 

hungry shark evolution sea creature

All these elements combined are sure to provide you with countless hours of engaging fun. Whether you’ve just stumbled upon the game or have been playing for quite some time, you might still be wondering what are some of the things you can do to become a more efficient eater so that you can expand your shark collection faster and dominate the oceans.

1. Understand The Basics Of Survival

The most important thing you need to do in Hungry Shark Evolution is to stay alive. Make sure you’re constantly devouring things – small fish, bigger fish, scuba divers, people swimming in the sea (yes, the game is quite gory, so it might not be a good choice for the faint of heart), turtles, seagulls etc. You can eat most of the stuff in your environment, so your shark shouldn’t just swim around without actually attacking something.

These predatory fish have a low threshold for hunger, so unless you constantly pump them full of fish, they will starve quite quickly. You must do everything in your power to prevent starvation, because that means losing your shark and ending the play session.

hungry shark evolution basics

Mind you, not everything you come across is edible (at least at first), so pay attention. Some things like jellyfish will actually harm you and will drain your life bar (always keep an eye on it in the upper right corner). Staying away from these things is easy at first, but it gets more complicated as the ocean becomes increasingly crowded. If you have a bigger shark, than you won’t have to worry about avoiding jellyfish anymore, but you will only be able to unlock these later on. 

Other antagonists will emerge as you keep on exploring, like for example the pesky Submarines that can are quite aggressive in hunting shark downs. Once you spot one, you should either flee for your life or learn how to defeat them (more on that later in the guide). 

hungry shark evolution seal

But just because you can eat certain creatures, doesn’t mean they can’t inflict a degree of damage on you. Seals can nip you and drain your life and so you must ensure you can get them first. Don’t let them gang up on you, or you might end up dead in no time. Boost in order to escape their clutches if you happen to stumble among them. 

As we already mentioned above, depending on your size, you won’t be able to eat certain creatures/objects, so you’ll just make sure to dodge them as they appear. If you want to be worry free, upgrade you sharks quickly. You can do that by continuing to eat and unlocking new types of sharks which can venture out deeper into the ocean and eat a wider variety of animals. 

Unfortunately, the upper-tier fish like the Darkhammer are the only ones that can eat certain types of objects. If you are yet to unlock one of these powerful fish, it’s best to abstain from trying to consume jellyfish, boats, or mines. If you happen to bump into one accidentally make sure to eat something quickly afterwards, as to restore your health and prevent demise. As the fish get bigger you’ll be able to aim for larger pray. For instance, Moby Dick can eat full submarines. 

Alternatively, you can spend resources on equipment to make yourself immune to the effects of harmful creatures and objects, but we’ll talk more about that in section 7. 

2. Trigger The Gold Rush

Consuming many creatures in a short span of time will activate earnings multipliers. These can give you x2, x3, x4 (and so on) the amount of gold you’d normally get for eating a certain creature. With the multiplier enabled go on ahead and continue feasting. Hopefully you’ll quickly fill up the bar at the bottom of the display which when full will trigger a Gold rush.

hungry shark evolution gold rush

During the Gold rush go nuts! You’ll get a boost in stamina/attack force and will be able to score a lot more points for eating every creature in sight. Exploit these sessions to the maximum, and gulp down whatever you can for maximum rewards. Make sure you travel to a populated area, when you see the gold rush bar is close to being full. You don’t want to end up in a remote part of the ocean where there is nothing to eat. It would be a pity wasting a good eating frenzy like that. 

3. How To Unlock New Sharks Quickly

There are multiple sharks you can play with in Hungry Shark Evolution. You start off with a basic smaller one that prefers shallow waters and eats tiny pray. Later, you’ll be able to unlock new and larger shark (and later on other sea monsters too) which can take on larger type of creatures and can dive deeper.

This is important, as entry-level sharks can’t go swimming in the depths – not for long anyway. If pressure gets too high, your murderous fish pet will get squashed, which is something to be avoided. 

Only more advanced predators can explore the dark depths of the ocean. For example, the Great White Shark can go as low as 300m and eat nasty sea life like those jellyfish that can sting, as well as other Great White Sharks. 

hungry shark evolution shark info

How can you start equipping new sharks? Well you’ll have to level up the shark you’re playing with to the maximum (level 10 for entry-level sharks) and then pay a fee in gold coins to get the new onboard. Alternatively, you can pay in Gems, but these are usually in short supply. Not to mention, that you’ll need Gems to prologue your feasting sessions in case you get yourself killed.

So keep your Gems, and work on upgrading your shark using coins. We should note here that it’s possible to skip some sharks and go straight to the more powerful ones by unlocking them with Gems. The sums are big though, so it will take you quite some time to put together as many Gems. 

4. Buy The Map

Don’t get stuck roaming the same areas. The ocean is big and you should explore as much as possible. Remember that all kinds of creatures can be found in the waters, as well as other curious objects, so it’s worth expanding your patrolling area.

For example, there’s a portal which can transport you to a Titanic-inspired alternate world that’s teeming with humans who are fleeing the shipwreck and trying to save themselves. Your shark can make sure they never escape the watery hell. That sounds like a feast, indeed! You can go through the portal once a day. 

hungry shark evolution map

Anyway, to make sure you can don’t end up swimming in circles, you should purchase the Map using the Equip button in the menu that lets you select the shark you want to play with. This way you won’t be swimming blind anymore, and will be able to direct your shark to new areas, especially those that might be hiding treasures and new types of creatures.

Once you get the map for one shark you’ll be able to use it with every new sea creature you unlock. It’s a moderate coin investment, so go on ahead and spend the cash. You won’t be sorry.

Alternatively, you can opt to buy the Treasure map which highlights all the sunken items and other surprise goodies, so you can be a big rich shark!

5. Use The Ads To Your Advantage

We know, we know no one likes ads interrupting their game play. But unless you want to pay to get ahead, you will just have to put up with watching quite a lot in Hungry Shark Evolution. First of all, always make sure you double your rewards.

Every time you finish a gaming sessions you’ll get a sum of cold coins as reward. This varies depending on what happened during the stint. For example, you’ll get more coins if you managed to eat some of the invading sharks (other players) that were trespassing your environment. 

hungry shark evolution high score

Anyway, never pass on the offer to double your coins after each round. You need all the gold you can get to buy new sharks, as well as equipment for them, so don’t ignore these opportunities. 

Logging into the game daily, even if you don’t have that much time to invest in playing, it’s also super important. Again, use the tip we described above and double that sum by watching a quick ad. 

hungry shark evolution coins

Moreover, you can get extra Gems and coins by visiting the shop and watching a number of ads. This is a great way to get your hands on extra Gems. Actually, we recommend that you initiate an ad-watching session daily, to make sure you boost your meager Gem reserve. Alternatively, you can watch ads in exchange for coins, but the sums aren’t all that big, so it’s better to just venture out into the ocean instead and use the available ad offers in order to get Gems. 

hungry shark evolution rewards

Ads will also show up the first few times you get yourself killed in the ocean. Watch a quick ad in order to go back to playing. Make sure to jump on these offers, as the alternative is to pay with Gems. 

6. Aim To Complete Missions And Achievements 

Check out the available missions by tapping on the Missions button in the lower right corner of the display. Browse through the list and see what is available and what you have to do. Some missions are a bit tricky, but they are nothing you can’t handle. For example, finding those Angler fish can prove to be quite challenging. 

hungry shark evolution missions

You’ll need a more advanced shark because you’ll have to dive deeper into the waters to actually find them. When you do, watch out, they like to bite!

In addition, when you’re in the Mission tab also tap on Achievements to see what that list includes. You can gain additional XP for completing those, while missions get you extra coins.

7. Invest In Extra Equipment

If you’re looking for ways to make your shark better, go check the Equipment tab. Here you’ll find countless of items you can equip your shark with. We already invited you to purchase the map from here, but there are other countless options to choose from.

For example, you can buy the Eye Patch which improves the amount of gold your shark gets when gulping up creatures by 5%. Alternatively, the Firework can boost your speed by 50%. 

hungry shark evolution equipment

Some items can make you immune to the harmful effects of creatures such as the jellyfish. You’ll need the Antidote for that. If you don’t have a more advanced shark yet and you want to protect yourself from mines you can buy the Flat Jacket, provided you have the necessary resources of course. 

There’s a lot of useful boosters here to choose from, the only problem is that some of them are quite expensive. For instance, the Firework will take you back with 300 Gems in a heartbeat. Other stuff costs gold coins, but they can also be quite pricey. So getting some items for your shark will not be possible until later in the game.

New stuff is constantly being added to the Equipment tab, so make sure you constantly check it for bargains (deals are available from time to time) and more. 

8. Get Yourself A Baby Shark

Equip a baby shark and you’ll have a trusty companion to swim with who will help you gulp up pray more easily, as they can boost your capabilities starting with stamina. 

hungry shark evolution item info

To get a baby shark on board you need to go to Equipment and then look for the miniature version of the shark you want to play with. The only problem is that baby sharks tend to cost quite a lot and more often than not they cost Gems. For example, the lower-level Baby Mako Shark who brings +10 Stamina will take you back with 20 Gems, but the upper-tier ones will drain hundreds of Gems from your reserve. 

Make sure you take advantage of the free ads available in the shop to expand your Gem collections. Do it diligently and daily, if you want to have enough resources to buy one of these awesome babies. 

9. Feast On The Large Green Fish

Occasionally, you’ll stumble upon a nimble Green fish. It’s a unique type of creature, so make sure you pursue it. Unlike the other meals you’ll be eating throughout this game, the green fish will shed a more distinctive reward once you devour it. Instead of coins, you’ll get a nice Gem as compensation for your efforts of chasing it down.

hungry shark evolution green fish

Since Gems are so scarce, we recommend that you do your best to eat the bugger. It may be fast, but if you use the Boost move on it, you’ll increase your chances of swallowing him. 

10. Evolve Your Sharks To Unlock Higher-Tier Ones Faster

Increase your current shark’s abilities by upgrading its qualities. On the main screen where you select which shark to equip, check out the yellow bar at the top of the display. Tap on upwards-pointing arrow to access the Upgrades panel. There’s three aspects to improve:

  • Bite 
  • Speed
  • Boost 

There are five layers of upgrades for each of these features and you’ll need to spend coins to purchase the improvements. This should help you level up your Sharks fasters and so unlock new and more advanced ones. 

hungry shark evolution upgrades

In addition, you might have noticed that sharks can be evolved by tapping on the purple Evolve button from the main panel. Evolving sharks is the easiest way to access higher-tier sharks without having to pay Gems. It’s true, these upgrades tend to cost a lot of gold coins, but if you devote enough time to the game you’ll eventually get there. What’s more, evolving a shark allows you to jump over several upgrades and unlock a more advanced shark without going through all the steps that would usually be required. 

hungry shark evolution tiger shark

For instance, if you evolve the Hammerhead Shark, you can be evolve into a Darkhammer which can eat mines, jellyfish and can do tremendous damage when the gold rush has been activated. You can swim freely without having to worry that you’ll bump into mines or get eaten by horrible deep-sea creatures. 

11. How to Ensure You Can Eat Most Sea Creatures

As we explained above, a lot of sea creatures you’re going to encounter in Hungry Shark Evolution have an aggressive streak. That means they won’t sit there and let you swallow them up. Some of them are actually hostile and will get in your face (the Seals are a prime example of this behavior), while others like the Sea urchins will reveal their spikes and sting you if they see you coming.

hungry shark evolution strategies

So the best way to ensure you can eat them is to sneak on them from behind and boost! This way you will take them by surprise and be able to devour them before they have a chance to attack you. This works with non-animals as well. For example, the Submarine which can be quite aggressive in pursuing you. If you can make sure you get to it from behind and boost towards it, you’ll be able to get rid of it in no time at all. You’ll just have to be quick enough to avoid its pesky missiles. 

12. Get Rid Of The Crab Boss By Exposing Its Weak Spot

You’ll find Giant Crab living at the bottom of the ocean, if you go exploring the left-most section of the map. Go through the dungeon entrance to meet the big guy.

If you’re playing with a higher-level shark like the Megalodon, taking on the crab shouldn’t be too problematic. It will be a lot more challenging if you’re playing with a lower-tier one, but you can still win. You’ll just need to make it expose its weak spot. To do that, do everything in your power to dodge its attacks 3 times in a row. This will expose its vulnerability. Once revealed, you need to charge at it while boosting to finish it off.

hungry shark evolution crab boss

Additionally, you can try and improve your chances of success by purchasing extra accessories from the Equipment section. For example, you can get the Necklace which gives you a Survive Boost of 10%.

With this final piece of advice, we wrap up our updated collection of tips, tricks and strategies for Hungry Shark Evolution. However, if you have come across additional tips for the game, feel free to let us know in the comment section below! 

Jay Harrison

Thursday 15th of September 2022

No so much a comment but a question. How do you earn gear bonuses?