Ever since The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, it’s very hard to find an open-world title that dares not to include a fishing mini-game. Usually, in-game fishing is associated with a chill-out time, often near a beautiful vista amidst bustling wildlife.
Destiny 2 is action-oriented, there’s no doubt about that, but even this Bungie-helmed looter-shooter MMO caved in and added fishing-centered mechanics with its 21st season. However, even if Destiny 2’s Season of the Deep is aqua-themed, the fishing activity is not readily available for players.
In this guide, we’ll explain how to fish in Destiny 2, one step at a time!
How to Fish in Destiny 2?
First things first: Destiny 2 fishing is a gated activity, and it’s not available in the free-to-play portion of the game. To be eligible to fish, you must have the Season of the Deep Season Pass purchased on your account. Next, you need to initiate the Into the Depths quest. If you feel a bit outgunned at that point, take a look at the various Destiny 2 boosting options at our secured store.
Once you finish the first week of that quest, you’ll gain access to the Deep Dive and Salvage activities, as well as get the necessary Destiny 2 fishing equipment.
Destiny 2 Fishing Tackle
The Season of the Deep intro sequence and the first inning of the Into the Depth quest reward the player with the Destiny 2 Fishing Tackle item. This is the first prerequisite for Destiny 2 fishing, and it’s essentially a container for safekeeping up to 500 fish and up to 500 fish baits.
Equipped with the Destiny 2 Fishing Tackle, Destiny 2 players will have to find Hawthorne at the Tower and complete the next steps required for unlocking the fishing mini-game.
Where to Fish in Destiny 2?
Upon approaching Hawthorne, the Destiny 2 fishing tutorial starts in earnest. As the name implies, the “Gone Fishin’” quest does just that – introduce the player to the joy of fishing and how it benefits Destiny 2 players.
The Gone Fishin’ quest tasks the player to:
- Collect 20 bait;
- Catch 5 fish on the outskirts of the EDZ;
- Catch 5 fish in the Cistern on Nessus;
- Catch 5 fish in the Miasma in Savathun’s Throne World;
- Release your caught fish at the Aquarium in the H. E. L. M.
The three in-game locations listed above are actually the only three spots where Destiny 2 players can practice their fishing skills. Thus, this quest smartly communicates all necessary Destiny 2 fishing info to the player at once.
However, there is a slight catch that you should always keep in mind. Namely, fishing shares the public event status with many other Destiny 2 activities, so it’d be wise to mark your chosen fishing location with a beacon. Otherwise, it might be difficult to find it on your map.
Another inconvenience is that fishing will not be available at a given location if there’s an open event currently taking place there. If that’s the case, the fishing pond will not appear at its usual place, meaning you’d have to wait for the event to complete, which will make fishing available again. The bell sound will go off then, which is a signal you can reliably orient by.
Best Bait Farms in Destiny 2
Although possessing bait in your Destiny 2 Fishing Tackle is not a necessity for fishing in Destiny 2, it severely bumps the chances of you catching fish in the first place, as well as the chances of it belonging to the higher tiers of rarity.
To collect 20 baits and progress the Gone Fishin’ quest, players won’t have to alter their habits by much – many Destiny 2 activities yield bait as a side-reward. The list includes completing patrol missions, playlist activities, seasonal activities, gathering destination materials, etc. Still, embarking on the tougher Heroic Public Events seems to be the most effective bait-collecting activity, as each event can earn you up to eight baits.
Mastering Focus Fishing in Destiny 2
Equipped with both Fishing Tackle and Destiny 2 fishing bait, it’s time for you to put all that theory into practice. Like in similar titles, Destiny 2 features an intriguing, rhythm-based fishing mini-game where your chances of a finer catch rise with how nuanced you handle the fishing rod.
Arriving at any of the three fishing ponds (at the Outskirts in EDZ; the Cistern on Nessus; or at the Miasma in the Savathun’s Throne World) will prompt your Guardian to holster their weapon and automatically equip a fishing rod. If you have baits in your inventory, one bait will also get used when you attempt to fish.
Once you press the action button you’ll cast the rod, which will gradually sink into the water. The goal then is to carefully observe exactly when the float goes underwater – indicating a fish has just bitten on it. That is your prompt to press the interaction button again, though timing is crucial during that small window of opportunity.
Mistiming that press might result in the fish breaking free and you spending bait for nothing. A little practice goes a long way here, and once you get the hang of it, you’ll start catching fish more frequently. An important thing to note is that if you manage to do it just right, you’ll perform a Perfect Catch, which further bumps the chances of a rare catch!
Destiny 2 features another mechanism essential to fishing, called Destiny 2 Focus Fishing. Getting the most out of it requires fishing in a group since each successfully caught fish fills up the meter at the lower left corner of the screen. As that bar grows, all nearby Guardians gain increased chances of catching rare fish, which leads us to the next point…
How to Obtain Exotic Fish & Legendary Fish?
There are 24 types of fish in Destiny 2, and they follow the same gradation as other “items” in the game, being divided into Green, Blue, Legendary (purple), and Exotic (gold) tiers of rarity.
While most types are easy to come by, crossing paths with any of the top two tiers is a cause for celebration indeed. To maximize your chances, the best course of action is this:
- Collect as much bait as you can (at least 70 baits)
- Train until you often score Perfect Catches;
- Form a team of Guardian “fishermen” to properly leverage Destiny 2 Focus Fishing;
- Get into a rhythm and catch many fish as fast as possible!
Rewards and Benefits of Fishing
Working on those skills will not be in vain in Destiny 2. Legendary and Exotic fish can be exchanged for rare gear at the Aquarium in the H.E.L.M. These rewards include Reckoning weapons, Exotic armor, Ascendant shards, Deep Dive keys, etc. – all of which are quite difficult to come by, as any Destiny 2 player knows.
Learn more about Destiny’s 2 most sought-after items at our store!
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is fishing F2P in Destiny 2?
– Unfortunately, no. Fishing is an integral part of the Season of the Deep, meaning you’ll have to purchase the corresponding Destiny 2 season pass to gain access to the fishing mini-game.
2. Where can I fish in Destiny 2?
– At the moment, there are only three fishing ponds in Destiny 2: at the Outskirts in EDZ; the Cistern on Nessus, and near the Miasma in the Savathun’s Throne World. Different groups of fish live in each of those locations, and you can look for a specific fish to catch in the fishing tab under Season Triumphs.
3. Can I get the Just in Case sword via fishing?
– Yes, that Legendary-rarity sword can be earned as a reward for bringing a fish of Legendary or Exotic rarity at the Aquarium in the H.E.L.M.
