Oh boy I’m back with an overly-detailed, overly-thought out suggestion post!
Reason? I love fishing in video games, and TU’s fishing is no different. There are parts of it that aren’t implemented yet, parts that are weak and parts that are fun. So this thread is just a place to dump all my thoughts into one. Enjoy!
Bait right now is pretty basic, offering very weak control on what kind of fish you’ll find. And if you have a decent amount of money you’ll ignore majority of the bait and default to rotating the same 3 types of bait. That being Curly Grub for items, Worm for fish, and Lure for XP.
I feel this could be improved massively by tweaking the existing bait:
- Lure: Unchanged. Cannot catch rare fish or rare item fish. Difficulty is random. Unlimited use.
- Clump: Attracts item fish. Difficulty is always EASY.
- Curly Grub: Attracts item fish and rare item fish. Difficulty is always MEDIUM / HARD.
- Maggot: Attracts item fish and rare item fish. Difficulty is always HARD / VERY HARD.
- Magnet: Attracts item fish that will always give trash items or seasonal coins. Skips minigame on bite. Gives EASY XP.
- Meatball: Attracts only small fish. Difficulty is always EASY.
- Gummy Worm: Attracts small and big fish. Difficulty is always MEDIUM / HARD.
- Worm: Attracts small and big fish. With a chance for rare fish. Difficulty is HARD / VERY HARD.
- Minnow: Attracts only big fish. Difficulty is always VERY HARD.
- Mighty Ball: Only attracts rare fish and rare item fish. Items will never be trash. Difficulty is random.
Seasonal Bait
That’s right, bait that appears in the seasonal shops!
What use would these baits have? Well, seasonal fish of course.
Halloween:
Cursed Eye Bait: Seasonal bait that catches only spooky themed fish.
50% chance to not consume bait. Difficulty is random.
Costs: 1 Ghoul Coin
Holiday:
Candycane Bait: Seasonal bait that catches only holiday themed fish.
50% chance to not consume bait. Difficulty is random.
Costs: 1 Holiday Coin
Both baits could be added as rewards for seasonal characters / event item pools.
Perfect time to move on to events! Which I feel is something missing from fishing…
Events for fishing are times when the fishing spots are manipulated in some way, through player intervention, time of day, weather or the date!
Raining
While weather is not currently implemented for plaza; Rare fish and Rare item fish odds are globablly given a significantly increased chance of appearing. Across all baits, unless stated otherwise. (such as they would not appear for Magnet for instance). Spawn / Bite rates are also increased so there’s less wait time from casting and getting a catch.
Seasonal Fish
Fish that can be fished during a seasonal event such as Halloween or Holiday. They can also be fished any time of the year with their appropriate seasonal baits.
Whirlpools
Whirlpools would be temporary rare spots at fishing areas that offer x1.5 exp multiplier and faster bite rates for casting into and successfully catching within it. Great for experience grinding or general collection hunters.
Sunken Treasure
Would appear rarely as rising bubbles to the surface, with a small ring of water foam expanding outwards. Fishing into it would be an instant bite. Skips the minigame and offers an item from the Treasure From the Sea event item pool.
Player Activated
With the cooking update, or even optionally as items to be bought or traded for sea dollars. Players could equip or use items on or near fishing spots for bonuses.
Maybe spending sea dollars on an equippable fishing chair gives a faster bite rate while it is equipped and sat on (think the throne item for how it’d be implemented).
Or throwing an item into the current fishing zone, forces a whirlpool to spawn globally.
Long ago some of you may remember models made for different bobbers and fishing rods.
Although sadly not implemented, perhaps some could give subtle or drastic changes to gameplay.
Fishing Rods:
Standard Fishing Rod (current Fishing Rod)
Standard fishing rod we all already own. Does nothing special. Just a rename for clarity.
Experienced Fishing Rod:
Locked behind ‘Cast Away’ Achievement.
Bought from Gone Fishin’. Slight chance of bait not being consumed.
Masterful Fishing Rod:
Locked behind ‘Gone Fishin’ Achievement.
Bought from Gone Fishin’. Slightly better chance of bait not being consumed.
Sir Reel’s Fishing Rod:
Locked behind 1,000,000 Fishing XP.
Milestone item. Purely cosmetic difference.
Maybe has some magical particles coming from it, different SFX.
Cursed Fishing Rod:
Bought from the Ghoulcery for 20 ghoul coins.
Slight chance of catching spooky fish. (Does not work with item fish).
Perhaps has unique SFX tied to casting, reeling, minigame and catch.
Only minigame is not globally heard by other players.
Festive Fishing Rod:
Bought from the Santa’s Workshop for 20 holiday coins.
Slight chance of catching holiday fish. (Does not work with item fish).
Perhaps has unique SFX tied to casting, reeling, minigame and catch.
Only minigame is not globally heard by other players.
16-Bit Fishing Rod:
Sold by The Asteroid Belt for 75,000 tickets.
2D pixel fishing rod. Glows in the dark.
Plays bit crushed RPG SFX for casting, reeling, minigame and catch.
Only minigame is not globally heard by other players.
Lunar Fishing Rod:
Bought from Kalleira for 100,000 units.
High chance of fishing up gems from item fish during night.
(this is disabled if ‘Always Day’ is enabled).
Bobbers:
Standard Bobber (current Bobber):
A classic. Does nothing special. Just a rename for clarity.
16-Bit Bobber:
Sold by The Asteroid Belt for 7,500 tickets.
2D pixel bobber. Glows in the dark. Rotates towards the camera like a flat plane.
Sir Reel’s Bobber:
Locked behind 1,000,000 Fishing XP.
Milestone item. Purely cosmetic difference. Magical whirlpool orbits itself.
Lunar Bobber:
Bought from Kelleira for 50,000 units.
Is a glowing crescent moon. Glows in the dark.
Sir Reel has took interest in your catches, and will reward you for offering them to his care.
Every 2 hours, Sir Reel will have a bounty request for giving him a certain fish.
The reward will be experience and units, multiplied by the rarity of the requested fish.
Less Common: 2x unit value
Common: 2.5x unit value
Uncommon: 3x unit value
Rare: 4x unit value
Super Rare: 5x unit value
Ultra Rare: 6x unit value
Experience is equal to unit value after the multiplication.
So for example:
We hand in a requested Fangtooth.
Fangtooth is a Rare; valued at 475 units.
We’ll receive 1,900 units + 1,900 experience.
Bounties could also have achievements tied to how many fish you’ve given Sir Reel.
And said achievements having items locked behind them.
Bounties could also have seasonal fish be requested, if the current seasonal event is active.
But never outside of the seasonal event.
