This chapter summarises fishing changes in the Cataclysm, the 3rd expansion of World of Warcraft. In this chapter:

In other chapters:

Also new in Cataclysm:
  • The Limnologist - Guide to completing The Limnologist fishing achievement, which requires over 40 different freshwater (inland) fish to be caught.
  • The Oceanographer - Guide to completing The Oceanographer fishing achievement, which requires 33 different saltwater (coastal) fish to be caught.
Looking for the Aquarium? The Aquarium is not part of Cataclysm. Really.
El Pointing Cataclysm is the first expansion to make major changes to the old worlds of Azeroth.

Comments about Cataclysm

Below are readers' comments about "Cataclysm":

Realm First

  1. NiceBloke, October 2010:

    Hi All,

    I've not been in the Beta or PTR but was curious about the race for a realm first in fishing on my server.

    Does anybody have any tips/ideas/theories about the best way to go about it?

    I'm not sure if standing in Orgrimmar/Stormwind and just fishing is the best, or should I head to the higher level areas? Do you get quicker skill ups from the higher level areas?

    Where are the fishing trainers that teach the Illustrious skill? Could I log out next to one of them before Cata hits and be first when the realm comes back up?

    Any thoughts my little Fishing Buddies? ;)

  2. el, October 2010:

    As far as we know, the skill-up formula is the same everywhere, so it doesn't matter where you fish. All fishing trainers should teach Illustrious (once you have Cataclysm). If realm (server) stability is an issue, then consider Outland (which is the one continent guaranteed to be quiet).

    In WotLK, so much depended on how fast you managed to get the box open, and who else was attempting the realm first on your realm. I've not seen any details about how they plan to sell Cataclysm. For example, if digital downloads are available immediately (rather than later on launch day), then the realm first could be more of a contest.

  3. Torture, October 2010:

    The only other thing one may want to consider is doing the first Org/SW daily, it'll reward 1-2 skill ups while also being able to fish (that will result in only 10-20 less lines cast of course to get those 1-2 skill ups anyways). The only downfall of this will be the time it takes to get to and from each place to complete the quest and the lag that may be present in both home cities.

  1. Belleflop, October 2010:

    el is right, it really depends on how fast you can get the box open and start fishing (a lot of venues do midnight launches). I'd recommend fishing in a quiet area with little to no people for lag reasons. Get yourself positioned to be able to sit and not move for about 3 or 4 hours straight! Good luck and have fun!

  2. Daggor, October 2010:

    I will try to get this allso.

    Does Old man barlov teach Illustrious skill?
    Any other ideas on how this is achived? :)

  3. Torture, October 2010:

    No Old Man Barlov is not a trainer, here is a list of some trainers;
    http://www.wowwiki.com/Fishing_trainer

  4. Daggor, October 2010:

    Thanks alot.

  5. Daggor, October 2010:

    el wrote:

    . All fishing trainers should teach Illustrious (once you have Cataclysm). .

    I hope so.
    This is how im gonna do it:
    Before cataclysm ill log out next to a fishing trainer in Outland. When I get in ill train the skill and just fish my brains out.

    IF the outland fising trainers dosnt train Illustrious ill set my HS to stormwind and speak to the trainer there and begin to fish - at the harbour. Anyone knows which fishes can be cought in SW harbour?

    Brgds

  6. Sipadan, October 2010:

    Sadly it seems once again this will be awarded to whoever logs in fastest, meaning your method of purchasing/delivery/installing of cata will decide wether you have a shot or not...
    As others have posted getting a 5 mins headstart/latestart may make all the difference

  7. Pipre, October 2010:

    I actually find the install/login stuff highly frustrating.

    For example, I'm buying the collector's edition, so I'll be able to purchase the game at midnight launch night. Meanwhile (if they follow what they did for wotlk) my server (in my time zone) will go live at midnight. Meaning that people on the east coast who were able to buy the game three hours before me will have already finished downloading and patching before the servers even go live.

    By the time I was able to log in last year the fishing, and skinning realm firsts were already done. I didn't even have a chance.

  8. el, October 2010:

    At BlizzCon Mike Morhaime announced that Cataclysm would be also sold as a download, pre-loadable (actually, most of it is already in the 4.0.1 download, just unused), and unlockable at midnight Pacific Standard Time. It wasn't clear how that will influence other timezones: In Europe that could still give store purchasers a 8-12 hour advantage, but maybe he was addressing a US audience, so EU has different arrangements. In North America, perhaps East Coast sales still won't unlock until West Coast midnight, even if the boxes go on sale a few hours earlier? One of those announcements that just leads to more questions...

  9. Belleflop, October 2010:

    Pipre wrote:

    I actually find the install/login stuff highly frustrating.
    For example, I'm buying the collector's edition, so I'll be able to purchase the game at midnight launch night. Meanwhile (if they follow what they did for wotlk) my server (in my time zone) will go live at midnight. Meaning that people on the east coast who were able to buy the game three hours before me will have already finished downloading and patching before the servers even go live.
    By the time I was able to log in last year the fishing, and skinning realm firsts were already done. I didn't even have a chance.

    I got the USA Realm First Fishing title and I was on a central time zone realm. The first boat to northrend came at 12pm PST, which was 2am server time (which means all servers in the usa got opened to northrend at the same time). I'm not sure how they are going to do it this time around but I think the digital purchase will allow you to have all the files/info downloaded before 12pm PST so as soon as Cata unlocks you can jump right in like everyone else!This will avoid the complication of not having to rush home from the store 12pm PST if your on the west coast and panic install while others on the east coast have had 3 hours to install and be ready to play.

  10. Pipre, October 2010:

    Belleflop wrote:

    I got the USA Realm First Fishing title and I was on a central time zone realm. The first boat to northrend came at 12pm PST, which was 2am server time (which means all servers in the usa got opened to northrend at the same time). I'm not sure how they are going to do it this time around but I think the digital purchase will allow you to have all the files/info downloaded before 12pm PST so as soon as Cata unlocks you can jump right in like everyone else!This will avoid the complication of not having to rush home from the store 12pm PST if your on the west coast and panic install while others on the east coast have had 3 hours to install and be ready to play.

    That's good to hear, but it's not how it happened on my server (Cenarius). I logged in at around 0130 and as I said fishing and skinning achievements were already complete.

    Hopefully this time around they do something to even the scores, because I would LOVE to have a chance at realm first fishing.

  11. Miraclemaxx, October 2010:

    So i'm Pretty sure im will lose out to the time zone difference ... Im on a central time zone server and live in the central , im just not sure if they will have the server up for those in the pacific time zone before us or not .

    I do plan to try for the Server first , but my biggest question is , is there any way to tell if the sever first is gone when i log in ? i dont want to waste my time fishing if its already over ?

    I am hopeing ill at least have a chance at it =)

  12. el, November 2010:

    Official clarification on the timing:

    http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?sid=1&topicId=15110913705

    "Q. In what regions is the Cataclysm pre-sale available? What day/time is Cataclysm launching in my region?
    A. The pre-sale is available in the following regions, with realms scheduled to launch at the following times:

    Americas, Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia - December 7 at 12:01 a.m. PST Europe and Russia - December 7 at 12:01 a.m. CET"

    http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=27497533857&sid=1

    "On all North American realms, World of Warcraft players who upgrade to Cataclysm will be able to begin experiencing the new content at 12 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (3 a.m. Eastern Standard Time) on December 7, whether they purchase the digital download through Battle.net or buy a physical retail boxed version in stores. Players will not be able to access Cataclysm expansion content prior to 12 a.m. PST, regardless of how they upgrade or what time zone they’re located in."

    Basically everyone who pre-downloads a digital copy can start playing when their realms go live with Cataclysm, regardless of their timezone. Well, assuming they don't wish to sleep...

  13. Pipre, November 2010:

    That's interesting. When I bought my digital download version it said Purchase now and play at 1:01AM December 7th, and I'm on PST. If that post turns out to be right I don't stand a chance at getting the FOS on Pipre. Frustrating indeed. I guess this is the punishment I get for buying the Collector's Edition. >.<

    Edit:
    US confirmation from Bashiok: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=27497533857&sid=1

  14. Torture, November 2010:

    Pipre you'll have an upper hand as far as I'm concerned then, I'm on est so the servers according to that blue post will be up at 3am for me which is 12am for you, the reason I say that you'll have the upper hand is that you'll be less tired than me, lol. Just realize the servers open up for all to play regardless of the time zone you're in at a set time (12am pst), that time is just different depending on where in the world you live, good luck with your server first.

  15. Enarka, November 2010:

    Heh!

    Salty Enarka, the Fishy Lady, reporting in

    I'd be very much bummed if I couldn't get the Realm First on the fishing achievement; nobody cares about fishing on my server. Literally.

    But some people will want to fish just for the sake of having a Realm First that means NOTHING to them. It means more to me than it does for most people, simply because I've given up on everything in WoW for the sake of fishing, since it's all I actually have left to enjoy =)

    I've had my share of PvP through High Warlord/Gladiator grinds from Vanilla through to BC, and having my guild disband 10/12 into Sunwell was just exasperating. I'm done with all the fancy, "meaningful" stuff. I'm now on a Roleplaying server, and fishing's my specialty!

    The Realm First would be very fitting for my character, considering what I do with her. But 3AM, ouch! If I work, that means I'll have to call sick, and if I don't, well I better get the darn achievement, yeah ? Would suck staying up all night to powerlevel fishing without enjoying the new sceneries, only to come behind someone else .__.

    For said reasons, I'm considering giving up on the idea.

    It seems so unlikely. Assuming an 11.5 catches per fishing level average, this means I'd have to go through 862 fish! At 4.2 fish per minute (my personal average, calculated over a 40k sample =l), that's four hours of constant clickyclickclick.

    I've done worse, but is it worth it, given the odds I don't even come in first ?

  16. Peralas, November 2010:

    Greetings,

    I'm already in with the digital download, so I'm hoping to be fishing at 11:01PM December 6th (I live in Fairbanks, Alaska). As with Enarka, I average 4.1/minute but I've seen different numbers on amount per skillup. In any case it will take a few hours. Good thing I have a comfy chair to sit in :) Realm-first in fishing would be nice as I'm sure this expansion will be my last. I love fishing and cannot count how many people think I'm nuts. But those same people don't seem to mind when I'm the one who always puts down a fish feast in ICC.

    In any case, here's a toast to all of us -- may we all get Realm-firsts on our respective servers!

    Have a great day!

  17. joline, November 2010:

    Anyone on Beta willing to check if Juno Dufrain will train Illustrious skill for Alliance? He is out in Zangarmarsh just south of Cenarion Refuge ( http://cata.wowhead.com/npc=18911 ).

    If he, and his horde counterpart, provide the Illustrious skill, then logging out there and fishing in Outland is the way to go. It would be best to go to a spot where you won't aggro any creatures, perhaps over on the parts of Coilfang Reservoir that poke out of serpent lake.

    Hopefully nobody else on my server is noticing my devious plan!

  18. 159 more comments. Continue reading or reply »

Cata fishing

  1. Hoddie, September 2010:

    El says: Please see Cataclysm for a summary of known changes. Original post:

    Fishing in the new zones has been enabled in the latest Beta build.

    35 casts in Mount Hyjal and I've received:

    13 x Sharptooth
    11 x Striped Lurker
    3 x Mountain Trout
    1 x Volatile Water (x2)
    7 x casts with no loot window (assume junk not yet implemented)

    Fishing skill of 450 + 30 hat + 30 pole + 75 lure = 585 total.

    Gained 1 skill point from the 10 casts.

    Tried fishing in Uldum, it works but no loot windows yet, again I assume junk.

  2. el, September 2010:

    Thanks again Hoddie. I wonder what else there is to be found. For reference, Kaliope also posted something similar.

  3. Hoddie, September 2010:

    10 minutes fishing at The Cursed Landing in Uldum:

    21 Sharptooth
    7 Volatile Water (3x twice, 1x once)
    12 Lavascale Catfish
    5 Blackbelly Mudfish
    1 Weeds

    I used the 12 Lavascale Catfish to level cooking to 462. Recipe for Lavascale Minestrone remained orange throughout, and only 1 point gained with each craft - supposedly orange recipes will give more points but maybe not in secondary professions?

  1. el, September 2010:

    Lavascale Minestrone is worth flagging as a bug, because the recipe uses the same skill-up profile as the recipes learnt at 500, hence remains orange for 65 points. Instinctively it doesn't feel right.

    Added: I assume Weeds were your only junk item? That's curious, because it would suggest lower skill than Mount Hyjal.

  2. Hoddie, September 2010:

    10 minutes at the Lost City of the Tol'vir in uldum:

    2 Blackbelly Mudfish
    16 Sharptooth
    14 Lavascale Catfish
    9 Volatile Water (3x once, 2x thrice)

    Fishing now at 462, cooking at 476.

  3. el, September 2010:

    Looking at Kaliope's junk, Hyjal's skill is probably 525, so your empty loot windows probably weren't junk at all. Weird theory #1 is therefore that being in excess of the no-junk skill will give you a chance to catch something special, which is not yet implemented. That weird theory obviously needs testing...

  4. Hoddie, September 2010:

    el wrote:

    Lavascale Minestrone is worth flagging as a bug, because the recipe uses the same skill-up profile as the recipes learnt at 500, hence remains orange for 65 points. Instinctively it doesn't feel right.
    Added: I assume Weeds were your only junk item? That's curious, because it would suggest lower skill than Mount Hyjal.

    Yes weeds was the only junk catch that time, and no junk at the Lost City. I'm beginning to think the 'no loot window' casts were because game data hadn't finished downloading? It finished while I was flying from MH to Uldum. Strange though.

    And aye, the Minestrone is still orange while all the other new recipes I grabbed at the trainer are now yellow.

  5. Hoddie, September 2010:

    I'm gonna try out the west side of Silithis now, because I'm curious, then the boiling lakes in the hills of Feralas, then hearth should be available so I can try out Deepholme or Vash.

  6. Hoddie, September 2010:

    OK the coast of Silithus is actually flagged as Feralas so same fishing. I did find a tiny bit of coast marked as Silithus but casts were no different. Nothing exciting at the boiling pools in Feralas either.

  7. Hoddie, September 2010:

    No fish in Vashj'ir, either on the island or inside caves, etc. Oh yeah, and Deepholm doesn't have any water lol

  8. el, September 2010:

    Were the Uldum locations inland or coastal, or is there any difference?

  9. Hoddie, September 2010:

    The Cursed Landing is on the east coast, and the Lost City is inland. Run out of places to go, have another hour if you have any requests lol

  10. el, September 2010:

    So there is no difference between inland and coastal - interesting.

    Any of the new zones (including Gilneas, etc) are useful to know about. Are there any new pools? There are plenty of more specific things, like what happened to Deviate Fish, what sort of fish does (coastal) Thousand Needles have now?

  11. Hoddie, September 2010:

    Stuck in Deepholm waiting for HS. There's a new fishing achievement: http://cata.wowhead.com/achievement=5036

    No fishing pools anywhere in Mount Hyjal. All lakes there offer the same fish.

    Azshara inland now offers Raw Redgill, Raw Nightfin Snapper, Raw Mithril Head Trout, Oily Blackmouth.

    Deviate Fish schools remain outside the Wailing Caverns.

    The lava in Mount Hyjal and Southern Barrens offer normal fish.

    I'm wondering if the fishing spear is what you need to fish underwater in Vashj'ir. Anyone know where to get it?

    Thousand Needles offers Raw Mithril Head Trout and Raw Bristle Whisker Catfish only. Both at the coast, the inland 'lake' (which is technically sea) and the lakes in the mountains.

  12. el, September 2010:

    Sounds like it's either unchanged or messy...

    As I understand it (which is partial, since I'm not a Blizzard programmer), originally zones were separately defined for coastal and inland. That was forgotten in TBC (because it wasn't relevant) and by the time Northrend zones were drawn, there was only one region per zone, unless a specifically named sub-zone. Hence coastal fish were only made coastal when they were in a named sub-zone. Now, it looks like we're seeing the same thing again, but only for new or changed zones.

    This is dreadfully confusing, so I hope it is temporary. Even if only one zoning was possible, Thousand Needles would now be much more logical as all-coastal fish. Azshara still has mid-level fish, even though it is now a low-level zone. (Any information about Bilgewater Harbor?) Gut feeling is that this is all very incomplete.

    The Fishing Spear was "NYI" (Not Yet Implemented) data-mined. Highly likely that it isn't available.

  13. Hoddie, September 2010:

    10 minutes at Loch Verrall (inland) at the Twilight Highlands:

    10 Striped Lurker
    1 Tangled Fishing Line
    13 Sharptooth
    11 Volatile Water (6 casts)
    1 Tattered Cloth
    1 Weeds
    1 Sickly Fish
    6 Highland Guppy
    1 Driftwood

    and 2 of those casts with no loot and no loot window. Very strange.

    Finished with skill 476 plus the bonuses I mentioned above.

  14. Yoco, September 2010:

    I just tried a little fishing on a character that has decent fishing skill and is on the beta as well. I didn't keep track of catches, as the first few catches were 'nothing' - after that most catches 'caught' something. It is very well possible that the train of nothings at the start was just coincidence; it may also be that there is something strange with caching of fished up items the first time you catch them. (for reference: I fished at the lake at Nordrassil, mt Hyjal, fishing skill 450 + kalu'ak rod plus lucky fishing hat)

    The thing I noticed was that my character that was able to learn the illustrious grand master fishing rank was retaining the fishing skill through zoning and logging out. Another of my characters who is a little lower in skill (only just above 400) still loses her fishing skill every time she logs out or sees a loading screen.

  15. Lilitheen, September 2010:

    Please keep posting new info...it's a bit like a peek into christmas presents.

  16. KaliopeLlane, September 2010:

    Just to add to the data collection efforts, I did another round at Mount Hyjal, this time at the Ashen Lake. Got cut off at 45 casts before a server reboot. Here's the booty:

    16 Sharptooth, 13 Striped Lurker, 9 Mountain Trout, 1 volatile water
    6 Junk (2 weeds, 2 tangled line, 1 tattered cloth, 1 driftwood)

    I know this is a small sample, but it looks like I got twice as much Mountain Trout this time than my first round at Nordrassil. It may not be statistically significant, but it could be worth more investigation.

    Previous numbers from Nordrassil were:

    Catch: 22 Sharptooth, 14 Striped Lurker, 5 Mountain Trout, 5 Junk, 4 Volatile Water

    With both data sets was using only Kaluak Fishing pole and personal skill level of 455-465.

    I'd be happy to do more rounds of testing as it looks to be a slow week for professions. At this point I only have cooking/fishing on the table, so I may as well collect some useful data while I'm building up my fishy stash for Cooking :)

    Just let me know what I can do to help out!

  17. el, September 2010:

    An immediate todo-list looks something like this:

    1. Other new zones. Probably not yet, but there is still a lot of ocean seafood missing (Abyssal Clam, Algaefin Rockfish, Deepsea Sagefish and Fathom Eel). I can't imagine it will all come from Vashj'ir, and fishing doesn't fit Deepholm. So I wonder if there is a new equivalent of the Frozen Sea somewhere?
    2. Hard to spot variations. At the very least we're missing details on coastal Twilight Highlands. Unlikely, but possible is variation betwen sub-zones. Highly unlikely is variation by time or something similarly non-obvious. I'm still intrigued as to why Hoddie is getting empty loots and Kaliope isn't.
    3. No-junk skill. Simply more samples, especially with different sets of gear needed to improve the estimate. More samples are good anyway, since catch rates should ideally be based on a couple of hundred catches. In this case, the pattern already looks fairly simple, so not much more is needed here.

    Beyond that (probably once things seem to have been more implemented):

    • Checking of old zones - catches, skill (via junk), variations, weirdness. Especially split/rejoined zones, where things are very likely to change - Zul'Gurub/Stranglethorn, Alterac Mountains/Hillsbrad (Hoddie didn't see any changes in the Barrens). Or anything like the Eventide Fountain - check sub-zones in cities.
    • Booty Bay contest - what's happened to it? Does it spread over zones?
    • Pools when they are implemented.
    • Rare, 1-in-thousand catches that everyone will want to know about, but are really hard to find.
    • Trainer changes. It will also be interesting to see if anything happens to cooking recipes or the Dalaran Cooking Awards.
    • Quests - especially Pagle (pole and Gahz'ranka), Katoom, etc. Can Darkshore Grouper only be caught with the quest now, rather than being general zone catches? And what happened to Wizbang Cranktoggle? I'm guessing the Craftsman's Writs are history.
    • Skill-up values. Potentially plus any other changes to the mechanics - but it doesn't feel like there are any yet. Oh, and don't forget dynamite...

    There's a Fish Finder Status Page which I plan to help keep track of what's known and what's not - but currently that's fairly useless because nothing is obviously complete.

    Really, anything you can discover is useful at this point. My list is just there to give ideas. Please keep on posting plenty of details, like precise location, your skill/gear, unexpected weirdness, as you have been doing. Sometimes that's very useful to know. Thanks again for all the contributions - I'd be lost without you!

  18. 156 more comments. Continue reading or reply »

Shatterscale Mightfish : Interesting.

  1. Enarka, November 2010:

    http://cata.wowhead.com/item=68050#comments

    Any news ?
    Could this be one of all the Dustbringer/Broken Wine Bottle items we have been trying to discover ?

  2. el, November 2010:

    Interesting. It fits inside the Lure Master Tackle Box, so logically is caught by fishing. It could be another Dustbringer - a fish so rare that it wasn't caught until the expansion was released. Seeking further confirmation (especially water/location) from anyone in the beta...

  3. Enarka, November 2010:

    Binds when picked up.

    o.O

    That's more than interesting, it would Dustbringer a common merchandise next to it. Nobody can acquire it unless they would put in the hours.

    Long hours.

    Long, long hours.

  1. Torture, September 2011:

    Has anyone caught this? I'd like to get it just to put a power torrent enchant on it, would be a really cool look.

  2. Enarka, September 2011:

    As far as I can see, over every WoW database and every WoW forum, and every Fishing-related location I can find, this has never been fished.

    However, a GM I talked to earlier told me the fish could be caught in what his database showed as Lava Pools. From his side, it seemed as if :

    a) The item is in-game, and just has a stupidly low fishing rate
    b) It was implemented in Beta, and never made it through

    However, the change from BoP to BoE on the fish makes me believe it might have made it to Live. If that is the case, I guess we'll know. I'll be trying to get a total of 20k~ catches in Mount Hyjal's lava area, and we'll see what happens.

    [Melted Cleavers can actually be pretty profitable]

  3. Enarka, September 2011:

    Well, now THAT is interesting. I found a trace of the Mightfish where I never thought I would :

    http://game4item.com/Store/buyitems.php?item=68050&id=314

    Apparently, it is sold online from one of those "fishy" sites. Then again, I suspect they may have listed every rare "Cata" item without making sure they had them.

  4. el, September 2011:

    I should highlight that Enarka's link breaches the "Ownership/Selling of the Account or Virtual Items" section of the game's terms of use, and is not encouraged. However Enarka clearly wasn't posting with the intent of encouraging people to use their service, so I'll leave the link there for now.

    The "Lava Pools" information is very interesting. It could have 3 meanings:

    1. Pool of Fire - but this seems unlikely because those pools have been pretty intensively fished for Volatile Fire, so even an ultra-low drop rate should have been noticed by a few people. And this is the kind of catch that would cause excitement. This is what a Wowhead comment suggests - "this fish is supposed to drop from Lava fishing pools in Mount Hyjal & Twilight Highlands" - the only zones with Pool of Fire.
    2. Any area of open lava - lava tends to occur in small inland areas, which in English can also be referred to as pools. There are 2 distinct types (high level areas with rare Melted Cleavers and lower level areas with rare Essence of Fire). These probably are less fished than Pool of Fire, especially the second type, but still this seems unlikely.
    3. "Lava Pools" are simply unimplemented - Cataclysm's professions were terribly incomplete and buggy at release, which makes it entirely plausible that a designer planned to add this, even documenting and "fixing" it - but for whatever reason the item never made it into the game to start with.

    Gut feeling is the third, but that's mostly because it fits the mystery of who killed Jon LeCraft. Wowhead usefully reports, "The location of this NPC is unknown." Ok, he's actually still alive, and still working for Blizzard. But I suspect on project Titan, not on WoW. Which is logically what happens when you struggle to redesign a major game system (like the fishing mechanic) in a live game (the management move you onto a new game instead). That would be why Cataclysm's fishing wasn't finished, and hasn't been innovated upon since: I suspect that only a couple of people in Blizzard ever understood fishing... Lots of conjecture, but it fits the observed pattern.

    Added: On re-reading, the same logic can also apply to "Lava Pools" meaning "Pool of Fire", but the Shatterscale Mightfish being unimplemented within them.

  5. Torture, September 2011:

    Yeah is strange, someone did ask about this on the forums, hopefully we can get the real answer once and for all.

    http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/3196390796?page=1#3

  6. Enarka, September 2011:

    Exchange with a GM :


    Since the in-game response I was given was, to say the least, an admittance that the GM did not know FOR SURE the answer to my question, I'm re-opening, hoping there may be more information available, since the time of a LOT of virtual fishermen (who mostly frequent El's Anglin's website) is at stake.

    We have been helplessly seeking to fish out the elusive Shatterscale Mightfish since the release of Cataclysm and have had the worst of lucks. No one has EVER seen it. Ever. Not once. Not on WoWhead, not on Allakhazam, not on any WoW-related forum or website. Nowhere.

    Here is the link to its Armory page : http://us.battle.net/wow/en/item/68050

    Is it in-game ? If so, is it really from a Lava Pool ? And if so, by Lava Pools, do you mean "Pool of Fire", or the larger areas where lava is present (near the Throne of Flame, for instance) ?

    We are at a complete loss and no GM has given either of us all a clear answer stating "Yes, this item is in-game and is actually acquirable."

    Thanks for any help.

    <3

    Greetings,

    From what I have last researched, it is still in the game, but it is just a REALLY low drop chance from Lava Pools.

    However, keep in mind that the developers are the ones with full control over the content of the game, and they can change this at their discretion.

    I understand you want a more concrete answer, but the simple fact is the most concrete answer can only come from the developers, and it is their choice on whether they are willing to reveal this information.

    Regards,
    Game Master Hiarohz

  7. Enarka, September 2011:

    On top of this, it seems hotfixes were applied early Cata to change the fish's stats, as an attempt to make it relevant. Makes it likely that it actually is in-game ?

    http://www.wowheadnews.com/blog=176161/first-round-of-cataclysm-hotfixes-now-live

    Ctrl-F and type Shatterscale, you should see it come up.

    Either it simply wasn't caught because NOBODY fishes open lava in Mount Hyjal / Twilight Highlands, or because it wasn't implemented, as an oversight.

    I'll throw in 40k~ casts in Mount Hyjal and report. Let's pray I find something.

  8. Enarka, September 2011:

    This whole Lava Pool thing raises an interesting point : Heat-Treated Spinning Lure ?

  9. el, September 2011:

    From memory, the Shatterscale Mightfish was originally not a Mace, just a one-hand, hence could logically be dual-wielded. Keep in mind that items can exist in the game's data regardless of whether there is any way to actually gain them in-game. It's common for bugs to be fixed in "1 dimension" only - for example, fixing all weapon data quirks, without also checking that a weapon dropped somewhere.

    "Really low" drop rates can be implemented. For example, the original Darkwood Fishing Pole, when it dropped from creatures - most of us assumed it was legend. But such extreme drop rates (like 1 in a billion) are total lotteries, and should be regarded as bugs in skill or knowledge-based games.

    As for Heat-Treated Spinning Lure... I tested their "works in lava" property extensively (hundreds of samples), and found no significant change in the catch rate (for both open lava or Pool of Fire). Naturally, it would be improbable to prove such lures were required to catch a Shatterscale Mightfish... I'm inclined to see another unimplemented feature, or flavour text that has been interpreted rather too literally.

  10. Enarka, October 2012:

    I'm giving this guy a last run; I stocked up on 300 Heat-Treated Spinning Lure in the hopes of getting him. According to a WoWhead comment, which is in line with previous GM assertions, the Shatterscale Mightfish is catchable at a 1/1500 catch rate (103 Pound Mightfish rarity level), using a Heat-Treated Spinning Lure.

    Assuming a 200 fish per hour ratio (low number), and considering I have 300 Lures (75 hours), I'll be throwing away at least 15,000 catches worth of time. Good thing I have a solid 100 hours of biology lectures to go through.

    It's really odd of a thing to do, but I'm aiming for 1,000,000 fish caught anyway! Not even at 200,000 yet =)

  11. Enarka, October 2012:

    Also, I notice it has gone up tremendously in damage. It used to be a 409.6 DPS weapon, and now has a 819.1 value! What the hell? Was it added, perhaps, to Mists of Pandaria areas? If so, which area has lava in it (if any)?

  12. el, October 2012:

    The Wowhead comment attributes the information to "a Blizzard developer" at Dragoncon 2012, during an achievement hunting panel. According to the schedule, that featured Andrew Patton. That's not a name I'm familiar with. I've not managed to find any video or write-up of the panel. However Jonathan LeCraft was at Dragoncon, and he'd be a plausible source for such specific information. Good luck!

  13. Marlburo, January 2013:

    Thought id bump this thread since you got me thinking Enarka. It was my understanding that you had to fish in pools (admittedly I only quickly skimmed this thread). Is this what you're going for? If so, do you have a good idea where all pools are located? I'd love to hear how you're going about this.

  14. Marlburo, January 2013:

    Sorry el, getting a little clicky on the forums lately.....I always think I miss the button when it doesn't go through instantly!

  15. Enarka, January 2013:

    What I've understood was that you had to fish Lava, not so much the Pools of Fire themselves. If it was the Pools of Fire, I'd assume at least one Shatterscale Mightfish would've been spotted during the whole of Cataclysm, which, as far as I know, is not the case.

    I'm trying to get a hold of that Andrew Patton from Dragoncon 2012, so I'll keep you updated. I'm just currently fishing the Throne of Flame in Hyjal. A total of 12k casts so far, and about 2.5k gold from the Melted Cleavers (5.5G each, 5%~ chance to drop roughly).

    I still have 600-ish Heat-Treated Spinning Lures to go, so yeah...we'll see how it goes.

  16. Reply to this topic »

Cataclysm zone changes & fishing

  1. Gummo, January 2010:

    Cataclysm will change the levels of some current old-world zones, which will affect fishing.

    Azshara will change from a high-level zone to the (Horde) Goblins' second starting zone, about level 5-15, so it's unlikely that Patches of Elemental Water will still be there. This is the only location they spawn at now, so either they will move to a new zone or disappear. Thousand Needles is being flooded and will be a 40-45 level zone, so maybe they could reappear there.

    Stranglethorn Vale is said to be one of the most "heavily revamped" zones; will the contest change?

    Desolace is changing, but not as drastically, and appears to remain about the same level zone, so presumably the lobster traps will still give up Big Iron Fishing Poles.

    Stonetalon Mountains have a valley cut out by goblins to Ashenvale, but it looks like it will still have Oil Spills.

  2. Borokh, January 2010:

    Interesting speculations.

  3. el, January 2010:

    More speculation:

    It's possible professions will be completely re-worked. Currently Old Azeroth is full of old "endgame" materials which are more-or-less never used, because people leveling professions go straight to Outland, and many old endgame items are worse than Outland greens. Not to mention the old profession quests (which I suspect are only useful for pacifists...), and obscure limited-supply recipes.

    Cataclysm would be a perfect opportunity to re-arrange some of that old content, perhaps to make it slightly more useful again. Critically, the way Northrend is designed is quite different from Old Azeroth - it's a lot easier to find things in Northrend, to know what you have to do without someone telling you. So if Old Azeroth is being updated to Northrend-standards, things like limited supply recipes must surely go. Likewise the Big Iron Fishing Pole is far too well hidden for a mid-level pole.

    (For reference, 'fish' tags can be used to link to fishing gear, and give you a tooltip - basically any page or thing the Fish Finder search knows about can be placed in fish tags and is automatically linked. The forum simply requires the correct spelling, while the Fish Finder tries to guess if the spelling is wrong.)

    Beyond that, I'm unsure. We know that the level of many zones is changing. We don't know everything, because the BlizzCon presentations only showed about half of the zones. Logically, that means the fish caught in different zones will also need to change, because there is a loose relationship between zone level of fish level. It would make no sense for a newly-low-level Azshara to contain fish that can't be used until around level 50.

    But: A determined level 10 angler can already catch almost anything, so the purpose of restricting the best fish to high-end zones is less clear. In the past I've suggested that some worthwhile fish should be caught everywhere, requiring anglers that want to catch certain types of buff food (for example) to travel to specific zones. But travel isn't favored anymore (instant teleports to dungeons are the latest example). People used to flying from Dalaran to neighboring Wintergrasp to stock up on Fish Feasts, might get freaked out by traveling to Winterspring or the Western Plaguelands instead. (Members of the Linken's Boomerang Owner's Club will be less concerned.)

    The big unknown is the mooted change to the fishing mechanic, which could change everything. Of course, "Blizzard" have been talking about this for 18 months (it was first mentioned just before WotLK testing), so I'll believe it when I see it.

  1. Trokair, April 2010:

    I'm bumping this thread instead of starting a new one... I have been reading about the changes coming with Cataclysm and it has me wondering.... what fishing catches will completely disappear? We might have a "catch them while you can" situation on our hands here...

    With the extensive changes coming to Desolace, Ashzara, Southshore, Auburdine, STV, etc... it has me wondering about the fate of the following catches:

    Big Iron Fishing Pole
    Darkwood Fishing Pole
    Rockhide Strongfish
    22 Pound Lobster
    103 Pound Mightfish

    etc, etc....

    So I'm starting a "catch them while you can" list, and going after these items that might possibly go the way of the "Master Fishing - The Art of Angling" book once this expansion arrives. I started a few nights ago in Ashzara, but after about 850 casts have had no luck with the big mightfish or lobster. Wish me luck!

    Does anyone else have fish or catches that they could add to this list? Just mention things that you think could possibly disappear with the upcoming expansion.

    Catch 'em while you can!

  2. Reynn, April 2010:

    Well, here's what I'm wondering: with all the changes coming, will the STV tourney still even exist? With all the zone changes it might now make sense any longer. Has anyone heard anything? Even rumors? (This is purely speculation and wonder on my part.)

  3. Christhina, May 2010:

    Trokair wrote:

    With the extensive changes coming to Desolace, Ashzara, Southshore, Auburdine, STV, etc... it has me wondering about the fate of the following catches:
    Big Iron Fishing Pole
    Darkwood Fishing Pole

    This reminds me of a question that some knowledgeable folk around here may know the answer to :)

    Whilst I consider myself extremely lucky, and have a Darkwood Fishing Pole (caught, not bought) in the bank - I wonder, is it possible for Alliance to obtain a Big Iron fishing pole? I have heard tell that it is lootable (with a low drop rate) from some clam/lobster traps off the coast of Desolace?

    I've been lucky enough to keep every fishing pole I've ever owned in my bank, from the "Fishing Pole", through the "Strong Fishing Pole", then "Blump Family Fishing Pole" etc... I'd love to add one of these (again, "earned", not bought) to my collection!

  4. Trokair, May 2010:

    Christhina,

    Yes, the Alliance can obtain a Big Iron Fishing Pole. In fact, farming that item is one of my favorite passtimes in the game... it is always eerily quiet and somewhat relaxing.

    45 minutes or so searching those clam/lobster traps off the coast of Desolace should win you the prize. Good luck, have fun!

  5. Xellros, May 2010:

    I'm kinda new to the game, only been playing since January, but I've become very "taken" by the joy of fishing. I've it maxed, and got my turtle (Teehee)

    But I'm wondering if there's going to be another fishable mount. If so, I'd really like to see a boat. Like a little row boat, that I could fish from >.< It doesn't have to be fast, no faster than walk speed. Just for some nice relaxing fishing trips out in the world. =]

  6. Christhina, May 2010:

    Trokair wrote:

    Christhina,
    Yes, the Alliance can obtain a Big Iron Fishing Pole. In fact, farming that item is one of my favorite passtimes in the game... it is always eerily quiet and somewhat relaxing.
    45 minutes or so searching those clam/lobster traps off the coast of Desolace should win you the prize. Good luck, have fun!

    Trokair,

    Many thanks for confirming what I suspected - seems I shall be off the coast of Desolace some time this weekend then - something tells me that these lobster traps won't be around once Cataclysm drops, and my pole collection wouldn't be the same without one of these in it :)

    Thanks again, and good fishing to you, and all here on these forums!

    (Xellros, as an aside, I think that would be an awesome idea - we can all wish, can't we?)

  7. DokBrown, May 2010:

    Christhina, good luck with the Big Iron Fishing Pole! It took me probably 60 or 70 traps, but wasn't too difficult. I am also super jealous that you have a Darkwood Fishing Pole, as I have been fishing for that pole for probably 2 straight weeks now (over 4000 casts) and have yet to see it!

  8. Nymrohd, May 2010:

    Just thought I might add that it seems that Stanglethorn is being split into two zones like the barrens was. We'll get the Northern Stranglethorn Vale zone that will include Zul'Gurub uninstanced and Cape of Stranglethorn zone.

  9. Christhina, May 2010:

    DokBrown wrote:

    I am also super jealous that you have a Darkwood Fishing Pole, as I have been fishing for that pole for probably 2 straight weeks now (over 4000 casts) and have yet to see it!

    I wish you much good luck DokBrown - I hate to say it, but (as I'm sure you know), that particular pole has a very very low drop rate :(

    I will keep my fingers crossed for good luck - please be sure to let us know when you catch it! :-)

  10. Christhina, June 2010:

    Trokair wrote:

    Christhina,
    Yes, the Alliance can obtain a Big Iron Fishing Pole. In fact, farming that item is one of my favorite passtimes in the game... it is always eerily quiet and somewhat relaxing.
    45 minutes or so searching those clam/lobster traps off the coast of Desolace should win you the prize. Good luck, have fun!

    Trokair,

    Many thanks indeed for this confirmation - tonight I finally had some free time to go looking for this, and, as you predicted, had an enjoyable 30 minutes of peace and quiet until a lobster trap yielded my Big Iron fishing pole :)

    Now, I think the only pole I don't have is the Jewelled Pole... I forsee many more fishing dailies ahead :)

  11. bluewire, July 2010:

    Looks like new dailies ...

    http://kaliope.crafterstome.com/2010/07/new-cooking-fishing-dailies-in.html

    Can't wait for more details

  12. Hoddie, July 2010:

    Old news :) I've linked some screens of the dailys further down the forum.

    In the latest beta build, the fishing ability has been removed from the professions tab of the spellbook. You can't actually fish any more, unless there's a /fish command or something I don't know about (the 'fish' ability was also removed from my bars) - I'm wondering if this heralds the famous change to fishing that has been dangled in front of us now and again.

  13. Reply to this topic »

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