Ah, the joys of fishing. Standing on the dock, or relaxing on a boat,
watching the waves roll and hoping against hope that today's the day
you finally catch "the big one". It may be possible in the real world
to have a friend give you some tips and be ready to reel in the
Creature from the Black Lagoon with the help of a net, but it's going
to take time and reflexes to get a solid catch in
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/vanguard">Vanguard: Saga
of
Heroes.
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All the
stats you could ever want about your catch.
In some ways, the fishing in Vanguard is exactly like that in real
life, at least in the beginning stages. You'll yell, you'll moan, and
you'll curse the gods and all existence for never granting that catch
of a lifetime. Alright, maybe you won't devolve into a screaming mass
of rage quite like that, but that's only because a journal I found may
save what small shreds of sanity you have left.
Before you can do any fishing at all, you need to find a trainer that
can give you the skill. To do this you're going to have to track down
Tien Hou in Tanvu, Nafis Karam in Qa Riverbank, or Wilhelm Runge in
Three Rivers. Any of them will give you a set of quests (which can be
completed in just a few minutes) and although the wording of each may
be a little different because of the region, they'll all have the same
results so choose whichever area you feel most comfortable in.
After a rather rough period of utter frustration and lack of
understanding in my fishing attempts, I finally managed to snag an old
leather rune-covered tube, sealed with wax at both ends. Curious, I
opened the container and found a bound set of parchments, forming the
journal I sit translating for you now. I've read through it multiple
times and it appears its author gained what knowledge she could from
Nafis Karam in Qa Riverbank. Rather than mangle the texts, I'll let the
author explain things in their own words.
You can
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/66156/page/4">skip
straight to the nuts and bolts of fishing
or continue
reading!
The Art of Fishing
After wandering around for a short time, I found my quarry standing at
the edge of a dock. Nafis had seen better days and was looking a little
haggard, but as I approached, he looked up and smiled. With a twinkle
in his eye, he told me how his fishing days were over, but if I really
wanted to learn the secrets of the art, he would go ahead and teach me.
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You'd be
amazed at what you can pull out of the water!
As he continued talking, it quickly became clear that he (and
apparently everyone else in the small village) lived in fear of the
Sultan and refused to teach me until I returned to him with a fishing
license. Fortunately, a local trader by the name of Emel Hadiyah had a
ready supply and sold one to me for only a few silvers. Rather than
paying for permission to fish, I would have preferred to introduce the
local Sultan to the tender affections my abomination pet could bestow,
but that simply wasn't to be. Perhaps another day? One can certainly
hope.
With license in hand, I made my way back to Nafis in hopes of gleaning
what wisdom I could from the words he would impart to me about the art
of fishing. Wasting no time, he dove into my lessons at a pace I'm
ashamed to admit I had trouble keeping up with. There were many words
he referenced that I had little understanding of. I was quick to take
copious notes and have been gracious enough to simplify them into terms
far more accessible to the minds of land-locked mortals. In time, I
have faith the terms he used that day will seem as second nature and
cause me no more confusion than my first set of spells does today, but
until then, the use of such unfamiliar words serves no other purpose
than to confuse and frustrate.
The first thing Nafis began explaining was the preferred tools of a
fisherman. While a spear or rod could be used (though he never
explained how), a rod and reel would prove far more effective. The fact
that I had no instruments with which to attempt to follow his words
seemed to bother him not at all, though it was quickly driving me to
the brink of sanity. I'm not sure whether it was his own memory that
eventually spurred him into finally giving me a rod and reel or the
slow swirling of bones that began flowing around me as my patience wore
frighteningly thin. In either case, once I had the aforementioned
fishing implements to examine in detail, Nafis' words slowing began
making more sense (minus the nautical jargon of course).
Next in his explanation came the topic of bait. Again, rather than
giving me some to examine right off, Nafis insisted that I listen to
his long winded explanations before seeing fit to grant me a handful of
worms. I'm not sure whether Nafis had rarely had the chance to deal
with one of my race or not, but as the temperature around us rapidly
dropped in direct correlation to my mounting temper, I think he quickly
understood that I found his jokes of girls and squeamishness unamusing
to say the least. Fortunately for him, his knowledge was worth far more
than his death at this point and I was in little mood to pry the
answers from his undead soul. The undead may be unable to lie, but
they're staggeringly stupid and gaining any useful information from
them is a long and arduous ordeal.
I stayed and talked with Nafis for what seemed an eternity as he
explained the nuances of the denizens of the deep. Some preferred
different baits, while most would try to snag anything from your line.
While different baits could be bought from various vendors, he also
explained how they could be found by foraging (despite the fact that no
Necromancer I've ever dealt with had such an ability), or even in the
very sea I was attempting to strip of its fish. Not only was the choice
of bait apparently so important, but the choice of location as well,
for while most fish could be found by the shores, some could only be
discovered by sailing a boat over the deepest parts of the ocean.
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The one that
got away.
As we stood on the dock, the sun slowly dropping below the mountain
range behind us, Nafis suddenly quieted and looked deep into my eyes.
Time seemed to freeze as his piercing eyes gazed within me and I could
feel him searching for something, though what I couldn't say. Finally,
he let out a long sigh and leaning in close, in a voice just within the
range of my heightened hearing, whispered in my ear. "Malyss," he said.
"I know the darkness you carry in your heart. Your soul is blacker than
the darkest onyx and just as hard. Yet, for all your evil, there lies a
flickering emerald of blue and green within you. That's the mark of the
Lady of the Sea and that's why I've chosen you. For longer than I care
to think of, I've taught travelers the basics of fishing, but today,
I'll teach you what no one else has ever learned..."
Hours passed as Nafis spoke with a strength and fervor I had yet to
witness in the old man. He explained how each species of fish could be
mastered and how if you weren't careful, a fish could master you. "Any
fool can cast their line, hook a fish, and follow it in the direction
it travels to wear it down," he said. "It's the fisherman that studies
his prey and pays attention to thier intuition that will allow them to
discover a mystic pattern that wear a fish down. But beware, for if you
guess wrong, the fish can begin to learn your weaknesses! Master the
fish, or it will master you. Only then can you hope to become Mistress
of the Seas, Malyss."
The next day, I said my goodbyes to Nafis. For a human, he had an
astounding amount of knowledge and depth of spirit. I had initially
planned to kill the old man after my lessons, and while I told myself I
only allowed him to live in case I later found he had withheld some
secrets I may require, the truth of the matter was that he had earned
his life. He had lived long and mastered one of the mysteries of Telon.
Many a Dark Elf could not claim the same and for that, he deserved
honor, rather than death.
As the days continued, I practiced the lessons taught to me by Nafis
and slowly began improving my new found talent. My skills have grown
steadily, but at a far slower pace than I had expected. It is obvious
why the ancient fisherman had grown so old. Time and patience are just
as important as knowledge in this endeavor. I write these lessons down
not to dishonor the faith Nafis placed in me, but to carry on his
legacy. Such knowledge should not be lost to the world, but rather than
giving it freely, I've decided to hide it in the only place a worthy
successor would find it - the sea.
-Malyss, Head Mistress
of the Necromantic Arts, House of Haelufir
Continue on
for The Nuts & Bolts of Fishing guide!
The Nuts & Bolts
of Fishing
First things first. Before you can fish, you have to be taught, so seek
out Tien Hou in Tanvu, Nafis Karam in Qa Riverbank, or Wilhelm Runge in
Three Rivers to get the required skill. Complete the quests they give
you. Fortunately, they consist of little more than hitting
“continue” on the quest content screen. The only
time you’ll have to move will be to seek out a fishing
license. Search the area around your fishing quest giver. There will be
a fishing merchant nearby who can sell you a license for only a few
silver. After this, continue the quests until you have completed them
and received your new equipment.
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Check out
your handy dandy fishing journal!
Once you have a rod, equip it in your primary hand. Equip your bait in
your secondary hand. Open your skills set and under the general tab,
locate your new fishing skill. Move it to any hotbar location for
convenience and get ready to fish!
To cast your line, click the fishing skill button you just made. If you
just click it once, it will go its maximum allowable distance. If you
click it again while it’s in the air, it will stop and drop
where it is. This is very useful for getting your fishing line exactly
where you want.
While you’re fishing (and only while doing so),
you’ll see a number of fish begin appearing in the body of
water you’re currently in. The idea is that your bait is
attracting fish, but in reality, it’s a nice way of allowing
you to see all the fish (with the name “fish” above
all their heads) without ruining the immersion factor for any players
that may be hunting in the area.
Back to the lesson! Face a direction toward some fish and cast your
line. Being careful not to drop the lure too close to any fish
(they’ll swim away in abject terror), hit the fishing button
again to drop it where you want and slowly begin really it in to
attract a fish. Do this by using your down arrow or
“s” key by default. The easiest way to think about
moving the line in the direction you want is just like moving
– arrows or wasd configuration. Either one works just fine.
Once one of the dozen fish out there grabs your line, the name will
change. It will either turn into “Unknown” or the
name of an actual fish, such as small mouth bass, squid, etc. If
it’s an actual fish, you can learn combinations for it. If
it’s not, then the standard method of fishing applies without
the complications of the combos. For ease of learning, let’s
go ahead and pretend your first catch of the day is an unknown since
the lessons learned here apply to both unknown and actual fish.
The secret to a successful fishing career is to not only pick the right
bait (most will do just fine, but some fish are finicky), but to also
watch the fish (or the name above its head) like a hawk. Once I
realized this tiny aspect, everything became much easier.
When anything grabs your line, it will move in one of four directions
every few seconds. When it begins to move, hit the key that corresponds
with that direction. For example, if the fish (or in this case, the
unknown) moves to the right, hit the right arrow key or the
“d” key, just as if you wanted to move your
character in that direction if you were walking.
If you move your rod in the right direction, your target will lose some
endurance. This looks like the standard health bar of all mobs in the
game. If you move your rod in the wrong direction, the target will gain
some endurance back. It’s possible to keep up this back and
forth battle for an extremely long time if you’re not paying
attention or just hitting keys at random. Remember to watch the fish
though, and you’ll do just fine. Once your target’s
endurance has been depleted, you’ll automatically reel in
your catch. If it’s a fish, you’ll get it delivered
every time. If it’s an unknown, you’ll sometimes
end up with nothing.
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Combos can
be hard to figure out, but they're well worth the effort!
Catching unknowns may not sound like a lot of fun, but you’d
be amazed at some of the things you can get that way. While there is a
very small chance you can end up pulling a monster you’ll
have to fight or flee from (during one three hour session of fishing, I
never had this happen), you can also get some highly coveted items as
well. One of my first unknowns produced a bag which contained a Silver
Masterwork Sigil. As
all the crafters out there know, these can be an insane pain in the ass
to try and accumulate in crafting (unless they’ve finally
altered the drop rate), so fishing can have its benefits.
When it comes to catching actual fish, everything stated above still
applies but there’s one more important difference and
that’s combinations. Combos allow you to deplete the
endurance of a fish extremely quickly. Each species has its own
combinations. Once you learn them, they’ll be kept in your
journal so you can always look them up later.
Even if you know a species’ combo though, you can’t
just use it whenever you want. You have to wait for the fish to move in
a direction, and then hit the corresponding key. If that direction is
the first part of the four-part combo, then the combo will begin. This
is also how you learn new combos. When a combo begins, an icon will pop
up on your screen letting you know it has begun. At that point, you
only have a couple of seconds to complete the sequence before the fish
moves again, so hit your keys quickly. After you get the first part,
hit directions at random if you don’t know the correct
sequence yet. If you’re right, the icon on the screen will
change and show you if you’ve gotten the next part correct,
so pay attention and remember them! If you get part of the sequence
wrong, you’ve ended the combo attempt.
Alright, you’re almost ready to go out on your own, but
there’s one last thing you need to be aware of. If you mess
up, fish can get a combo on you and gain a significant amount of their
endurance back. If you get a fish’s initial direction wrong,
a fish (unlike an unknown) has a chance to begin a combo. Each fish has
a different combo against you and it works the same way. They
can’t just do it any time. You have to mess up, and mess up
in the “right” direction.
The stronger a fish is, the faster it will be, so until you get your
skill up, there are some fish that even though you got them on your
line, you’re simply not going to be able to catch them. Keep
at it though, because you never know what surprises the sea has in
store for you. Be sure to go fishing on a boat too, rather than just on
the docks. Some fish can only be found in the deepest parts of the
ocean. Who knows what terrors of the deep are waiting out there for you?
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