How to Fish in 'Final Fantasy 15': Full guide, tips and tricks
Everyone in your party in Final Fantasy 15 has a special skill. Gladiolus' is survival, Ignis cooks those obscenely delicious-looking meals and Prompto takes a lot of pictures of Noctis looking uncomfortable. Noctis' skill is fishing. That's not a particularly useful skill in the game's first Cars-like desert area, but you'll find a good fishing spot at Galdin Quay, a location you'll visit as a part of the main quest line in chapter 1.
Here's everything you need to know about fishing in Final Fantasy 15 based on my experience playing the game so far..
How to fish in Final Fantasy 15
First off, let's discuss why you'd want to fish in the first place. Not only does fishing provide Ignis with ingredients he needs to cook meals for your squad at campsites but it also earns you ability points, which you need to gain new abilities in the "ascension" menu. If you're running low on Gil, you can also sell fish you catch to make some extra cash.
Okay, onto fishing itself! You'll know if you can fish in a specific area if there's a little blue fish icon on your map near a body of water. The first area you can fish is at the end of a dock at Galdin Quay, which looks like this:
Once you start fishing, you can choose where to cast your line with the left thumbstick. Make sure you throw it in an area populated with rarer fish, which you can check by referring to the mini map in the upper-right corner of the screen. (A guide for what the different dot colors mean is embedded below.) Additionally, the icon in the water itself will change color based on the rarity of the fish that occupy that area. When it changes from blue to gold, that means there's an edible fish in that area. Use both the mini map and this indicator to make sure you're casting your line in the right spot.
If you've thrown your line in a spot populated with fish, you should get an on-screen indication that a fish is interested in your lure. To get the fish to bite, you can lightly tap the right trigger to make the lure bob through the water in a jerky motion, which will entice the fish. You can typically see where the fish is in the water, so that should help you know how much or how little to move the lure. If you get too far away, the music indicating that a fish is nearby will fade out and you'll have to cast your line again.
Once the fish bites, you'll enter an automated mini game where you have to simultaneously move the left thumbstick in the direction indicated on screen while reeling in your line with the right trigger. Be careful, though. When the horizontal line on the bottom of the screen changes from white to red, that means your line is under too much stress and might break if you keep holding the right trigger. Only reel in your line when the indicator is white. If it changes color, back off for a few moments.
If you're following the on-screen indicators, eventually you'll reel the fish close enough to complete the catch.
Final Fantasy 15: Fishing tips and tricks
If you're having trouble getting a fish to bite, make sure you have the right type of lure equipped. Each lure is suited to catch specific types of fish, so check to see if the lure you're using corresponds to the type of fish that occupy that specific body of water.
If you're not sure which type of lure to use, look out for signs near bodies of water that indicate what types of fish are in the area and equip a lure that will attract those specific varieties. For example, a sign right next to Bob's Tackle Shop at Galdin Quay indicates that Giant Trevally and Galdin Trevally occupy the nearby waters, so the lure called "Poppeck: Chocobo" — which you can buy at Bob's Tackle Shop — would be a good option.
To equip a lure, just follow the onscreen instructions once you've started fishing, but before you cast your line. On PS4, you just tap the touch pad and select your lure.
If you're really having a tough time — or if you're just not great at paying attention to the stress on your line when you're reeling in a fish — you can also swap out the default fishing line for something sturdier. You can buy stronger fishing lines at Bob's Tackle Shop. You'll equip them in the same menu where you pick between lures.
That's all there is to it! Good luck!
More Final Fantasy rumors, updates and news from Mic
If you're ready to get your bromance on, you'll want to read up on all of Mic's Final Fantasy coverage, including a review roundup of Final Fantasy 15, the juicy details on gay Noctis/Prompto fan art, Conan O'Brien's reaction to the game on his show, its psychedelic "Omen" trailer and information about the other big Final Fantasy game out this year: World of Final Fantasy.
