Every MMORPG has a crafting side. In some games, gathering resources and making stuff is so important that players skip the questing and even the storyline to do nothing else than chop, farm, mine, hunt, or fish. New World is using this feature to the hilt, and players can even equip special armor sets that have little or nothing to do with battle or combat and everything to do with gathering and building. Fishing is a popular gathering activity in a variety of games, and in New World it's even easier and more accessible, requiring little more than a fishing pole and a body of water to get started.
The setting of the internet's latest great big MMORPG is a mysterious island continent known as Aeternum, and there's plenty of rivers, lakes, and seashores that players can use to cast a line. Most games have some surprises when it comes to what players can fish up, but New World is trying to take this to another level, and the same can be said for other parts of this expansive game as well. There have already been reports of bots taking advantage of this lucrative pastime, but thankfully, the creative and often outright vicious nature of gamers seems to be handling the issue.
Fishing In Aeternum For Fun and Profit
It's not just fish that players can pull out of the murky depths, and even the smallest perch can be used for something. Everything the player fishes up can be converted into food, which is obvious, but the marine life of New World yields a variety of useful items that are handy at any crafting table. After all, this is about survival as much as it is about getting rich.
- Types of Fish. The fish of Aeternum make an extensive list. The variety includes, but is not limited to, salmon, perch, mackerel, flounder, and many others. These can be prepared as food or bait, but many of them can also be salvaged for crafting materials like fish oil. Some larger, higher-level fish can be used to create trophies for players' homes.
- Other Marine Life. Squid, clams, and shrimp are examples of other useful critters that line the beaches and riverbanks. Squid can be salvaged for ink and clams can yield fish bait or even pearls.
- The Fisherman's Set. Most professions in New World have specific armor sets, and this one is acquired by completing fishing quests.
- Salvageable Junk. Expect to fish up a lot of junk, just like real life, but the difference here is that these old boots and rusty anchors can be salvaged for useful materials such as iron.
- Treasure Chests. Randomly fished up from anywhere by fisherfolk of any level, they are often of blue quality or better.
The Fishing Skill
Unlike most other RPGs, characters don't need to reach a certain level or get training from an NPC in order to acquire the Fishing Skill. This is one of the covert ways that realism sneaks into the New World game mechanics once in a while.
It's entirely up to the individual as to when they want to get started, and there are a lot of players that outfit their characters to do nothing else but fish. It's lucrative, easy, relaxing, and fun.
Where To Fish
Some open-world games restrict fishing to certain designated places. These kinds of restrictions don't exist in New World, but some places are much better to fish than others.
Water ranges from very shallow to very deep, and the line on the fishing pole gives the player some idea of the terrain. Certain types of useful marine life prefer different environments. Clams, for example, are found in shallow water.
The Mechanics of Fishing
The game actually makes this process fairly idiot-proof, giving the player instructions on how to fish as soon as they get close enough to water. Press F3 to equip the rod, and a few other options can come up.
Either cast at this point or take an extra moment to equip some bait, which will vary depending on where the character is and their fishing level. Cast and tell in using the left mouse button, but be careful the line doesn't break. A spool appears on the screen to help with this, indicating red or orange when the line has too much tension.
Fishing Achievements
There are currently five fishing achievements in New World. Given how popular fishing is turning out to be, however, it's likely that the fishing activity will get more development attention as the game evolves.
- A Reel Expert. Awarded after catching 5000 fish.
- Feeling Crappie. A nice consolation prize after ten hooked fish snap the line and get away.
- Fish Weightlifter. Catch 20 000 weight units of fish to get this achievement.
- Fishing for Life. A reward for catching 10 000 fish.
- Heavy Scale Expert. Catch 10 000 weight units of fish to get this achievement.
Raising Your Fishing Skill Level
How fast a player levels up in fishing depends on much fish they get and the quality of their catch. Bigger fish of uncommon or quality reward more fishing experience with every catch, and the chance of that increases if the fishing pole is equipped with some kind of bait. It's strongly recommended that players craft or cook fishing bait to help speed up the process, and even a simple Tier I camp can create some if needed.
Fresh Water
- Bread Bait. Small boost. Make this in a kitchen with the Tier II level skill.
- Clam Bait. Medium boost. Salvage a clam for bait or other useful items.
- Firefly Bait. Large boost. Comes from Bulrush or Briar plants that are found near freshwater.
- Meat Bait. Small boost. Like Bread bait, this is prepared in a Tier I or II Kitchen.
- Oyster Bait. Large boost. Salvage an oyster to get oyster bait.
- Woodlouse Bait. Medium boost. Find this bait while collecting green wood from bushes.
Salt Water
- Cheese Bait. Small boost. Make cheese in a Tier I Kitchen and use it for bait or other dishes.
- Electric Eel Bait. Large boost. Salvage from electric eels.
- Fish Bait. Small boost. Can be made at a Tier I camp or Tier II Kitchen with fish meat and seasoning.
- Glowworm Bait. Large boost. Search for these at night while collecting flint. This healthy buff is worth the effort.
- Nightcrawler Bait. Medium boost. Collecting flint during the day can also yield nightcrawlers.
- Snail Bait. Medium boost. Salvage the snails from freshwater to create this saltwater bait.
Tracking Hotspots
As players wander further into the wilds of Aeternum, their levels will climb and so will their fishing skills. After reaching Fishing Level 2, players will be able to track fishing hotspots. These are special fishing spots from which valuable and rare fish, and sometimes other items can be dredged from the depths.
Players need to remember to repair their fishing poles to make sure they're as effective as possible, and to upgrade them when they reach higher levels. Fishing poles can be repaired the same way as the rest of the tools and gear, and it's easy to craft better ones as other professional skills progress.
Making a Fishing Rod
Tools that are intended for harvesting are some of the earliest items players are able to craft. The fishing pole is among these, however, it takes extra material to make so it's often not the first tool players make.
The harvest sickle, the skinning, knife, and the mining pick only require wood and flint, along with a bit of leather. A fishing pole requires these ingredients along with a fishing line, which is crafted at a loom using hemp fibers. Hemp is not as easy to find as wood and flint which is why some players have a wood ax before they have a fishing pole.
Like other tools, the fishing pole will need to be repaired and upgraded after a long period of use. It's also possible to break a fishing rod, either while trying to reel in a big catch or by an enemy attack.
Types of Fishing Poles
- Wooden Fishing Pole. The first pole most players craft. It has a maximum cast distance of 12 meters and is a common item without any perks.
- Treated Wood Fishing Pole. The wood is stained and reinforced with some iron. It often has one perk and has a maximum cast of 14 meters.
- Aged Wood Fishing Pole. More durable, with a longer cast of 16 meters and two perks.
- Wyrdwood Fishing Pole. Capable of an 18-meter cast distance and no less than three perks.
- Ironwood Fishing Pole. Currently available only to max-level characters, this has four perks and has a cast distance of 20 meters.
Fishing Perks
When crafting a pole, there are several useful perks that a player can either randomly get or assign using a special item. New World currently has eleven perks that can help players pimp their rod. The perks start at a small boost for Tier 1, medium for Tier II, and large at Tier III.
- Daytime Colossus. Improves the chance of catching larger fish during the day.
- Freshwater Colossus. Improves the chance of catching larger fish in rivers, lakes, and streams.
- Lucky Day. Improves the chance of catching higher-quality fish during the day.
- Lucky Night. Improves the chance of catching better-quality fish at night.
- Freshwaters Brawn. Better line strength in freshwater.
- Moons Reach. Improves cast distance at night.
- Nighttime Colossus. Improves the chance of catching larger fish during at night.
- Saltwaters Brawn. Better line strength in saltwater.
- Saltwater Colossus. Improves the chance of catching larger fish in estuaries or the ocean beaches.
- Sturdy. Improves durability, making it less likely the pole will break.
- Suns Reach. Improves cast distance during the day.