Something Fishy..

 Crafting and Gardening have seemingly always been a part of Wizard101 (5 and 3 1/2 years, respectively). It's a wonderful surprise, then, that a major new system has been introduced nearly six years into the game. It goes withot saying that I'm jumping at the bait for ... fishing!

  

As any friendly pelican will tell you, fishing is a pretty simple task while going through the motions. However, it takes a truly patient wizard to collect some of the more unique fishies out there. In fact, Swordroll and Kelsey Fireheart are already compiling a list of fish found from just outside Ambrose's Office to the distant wilds of Grizzleheim.

My personal reaction to the news was immediately thinking of Animal Crossing, a completely different game. There, going fishing is also an easy-to-grasp task, consisting of reeling in the fish at *just* the right time. The rarer the fish, the quicker the reaction time necessary. Wizard101 has taken a somewhat different path, though. For one thing, there are trained fishing spells (much like gardening), giving wizards better output at the cost of some energy. Naturally, there will be some complaints, with what little energy we have now surrounding three different tasks. But the whole purpose of fishing lies in giving wizards something more to do, and the community has been eel-ectric with excitement ;)

New fish species are still being revealed, which makes one wonder. What will be the ultimate prize out of this venture? In Animal Crossing, catching every fish is a big accomplishment, as the list goes beyond one hundred species. The fisher's bane there is the Coelacanth - in real life an extremely reclusive ancient fish that was once thought to be extinct since the dinosaurs. It can only be caught in certain conditions, and has a size very similar to that of the most common fish; the Sea Bass.

Kingsisle is following a similar track, putting forth the Dekoi, a sort of joke fish to frustrate everyone looking for something a little rarer. The description even says "find them wherever more impressive fish are hiding." But what will be our Coelacanth? So far, two particular fish have been giving wizards quite the fit - the Owl-Eyed Pike and Fish Sandwich. They're rare, but are found in Wizard City as part of Lucky Hookline's second quest. Thus, they're necessary to rank up in fishing (although word from the KI devs is that this will be fixed <--). Aside from those, not enough time has passed to gauge the rarity of many fish. Not all fishing holes have been thoroughly checked, and it is quite likely that not all fish have been discovered.

 

Last in the simple yet complex fishing spectacle, the obvious matter of luck comes into play. The school of the fish factors into it here - 'fire' bait is most likely to catch a fire-based fish, for example. Even when a perfect attempt (reel completely underwater) also occurs, the fish can still get away. A new elixir even supplements 25-50% more luck for an hour. Without the elixir, many wizards have experienced frustration, so going fishing may become a little easier before it goes live. Difficult or not, fishing does promise to be a lot of fun. Even if you're not an experienced crafter or gardener, it won't be hard to get your feet wet with fishing :P

 

No, Medusa, your gaze won't help me catch a Troll Trout.

Remember to look at the Update Notes for more instructions, including information about new housing crafting recipes! This is a great update for the busy crafter as well :)

Happy Angling!