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Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Comments
I see what you mean, and what could help creating this sort of feel would be a few things. First, Increase the time it takes to hook a fish. I know people don't like waiting around forever but you chose fishing so this is supposed to be your forte. Patience. This does multiple things for the game. It makes Fish more valuable, should reduce the amount of fishers, and gives you time to relax and enjoy the next suggestions.
Ingame magic-box radios to bring with you to listen to ingame in addition to the ambience and background sounds of the world. This might not sound great for those that would rather listen to their own music through pandora or whatever, but this would be a neat tool to have to get immersed in the game for a good while.
The last one i would suggest (for now) would be to let us set the poles down in the game, rather than being stuck in the fishing animation. It will allow us to do other activities and once a bite happens we run back to the pole and try to wrestle the fish in. This gives you so much freedom unlike other gathering professions and could make fishing more of a social gathering than an awkward group of silent people occasionally attempting to type to each other inbetween hooking fish.
It shouldn't be the devs priority or any way near it...
Let the devs decide what to prioritize. The thread is about how to make fishing great.
Im not deciding anything? It is my opinion...
Didn't know that it was illegal to add a new layer on top of the discussion. I will try harder to stay strictly to the topic at hand next time im reading one of your post.
Or dynamite magical explosive stuff fishing!
Forgot that Steven already mentioned that there will be no gunpowder.
Oh but we do have the potion launcher
I agree with this! Maybe Ashes will let us craft small to medium sized fishbowls to keep the smaller ones as decorative pets. And let us craft bigger aquariums for display purposes for if we catch a whopper ol'jackjaw!
I have to say Archeage was the only MMO I've played that did fishing right. "Sports Fishing" was extremely engaging and the amount of PvP over fish was so much fun. I remember going out with about 10-13 fishing boats just hanging out for hours. Really hoping AoC does something along those lines as AA sports fishing.
Ah archeage. I to can agree that its fishing system was definitely up there in terms of keeping you entertained. Though it wasn't very difficult i had 2-3 accounts going fishing all at once while guildies grabbed em but that was way back when you could effectively multibox. Anyway i agree the mechanics should be entertaining, and engaging i want progression, plain and simple we should scale up and get to the point we can catch damn near anything if we put in the effort. Adding in different levels where we might start with a wooden rod then move up to a metal rod and one day reach a worth adamantite or mithril rod would be awesome also with the lure's or bait we can only craft low tier bait until we raise our ranks and gain the knowledge to make better lure or bait. We are gonna have PvP arena id honestly like to see a fishing arena of sorts. Or at least a large swath of sea for it or lake whatever. But tournaments would be great.
And yes grouping up with friends to all sail on the same boat was a massive amount of fun. Id actually like to go larger on this and have a fishing boat down the road. One that you could go out and fish on for hours and bring in the haul for bigger and bigger rewards. For example in Archeage, you had these fishing boats but could only hold like... 7 fish that's not many if you add one to your back that's 8 fish total you could get and take in. I would love to see some fishing boats at multiple tiers, for example
T1 a small fishing boat the most basic of basic only big enough for 1-2 people and not much if any storage.(no requirement for node other then level 1 or 2)
T2 a modest upgrade big enough to comfortably take 4-5 out as a small group. Would offer the first tier of big game fishing sportfishing for marlin, shark, swordfish things that bring in more then standard fish. (node level requirement would be 3+)
T3 this is where it starts to get good a boat big enough for 10-20 people depending and enough storage to hold a nice cargo hold worth of fish, also a nice juicy target. And would offer bigger targets for big game, like smaller whales, giant squid or octopus and big sharks ones large enough to take a bite from your hull if your not careful. (would require a certain level node 4-5
T4 this ship... would not be achievable alone... not without many many many hours of solo work. so many you'd give up probably. This behemoth would be made for full raids of 40+ if they dont have a hard limit on weight maybe double that, with a cargo hold that would take hours to fill up even with a full raid truly monstrous. The reward could be scaled with percentage filled, so you only go back with 20% reward would be decent but not all that great. Go back with a full ship you get paid handsomely have bonus's as well perhaps add a way to overstock the ship with fish and get a increase, But this also makes you a HUGE target much like bounty hunters youd be hunted at sea. Risk v Reward is a huge part of the game, So you might make huge stacks of money or you might get your ship destroyed and all your hard won loot taken. Im sure piracy will play a large role in economics of sea trade and on regular trades fishing/diving etc. At this tier you would also fight for the biggest targets on the sea. You can add a special harpoon or fishing ability on this ship only with spots out on the sea that could be highly contested because at the "whirlpool" or point of spawning the raid bosses which should not be static it should change even if its a few in game kilometers. But you have a chance with the ship and right bait to lure out a true monster a raid boss leviathan or some similar monster. Which killing it could offer not just unique drops but rare and highly sought after cosmetics/fishing rewards. Archeage had a fun mechanic to one specific raid boss took many groups working together to kill it. Then transport the corpse to a specified location to receive further rewards. (This tier would require a level 6 metropolis node)
T5 ? Would this gargantuan beat even be needed at this point? NO IT WOULD NOT! which is why its fun to just speculate. Now T5 could be introduced a few ways, this could be a legendary drop in the future or one you find as a incredibly rare item drop from say exploration or from one of the above raid bosses maybe they drop fragments or a blueprint with a 0.005% drop chance... as a example. This fishing vessel would "require" multiple people to pilot and use, Not just a pilot it would take skill and communication. It would dwarf all other boats and offer unique bonuses or have unique rods on the boat to fish with that would both speed up and increase the yields maybe even have "nets" of some kind to drag the waters and haul in specialty fish used in rare crafting/cooking etc. Its a reward can also add in the highest fishing level as a requirement to craft it. So you will really limit those that wanna go for it. I also think that IF it was added to create it would require risks as well. It would need INSANE amounts of resources and it should be crafted out in the open water near the node but slightly away where it was attackable. Risk and reward lovely isnt it. (requirements... possibly raid boss rare drop significant risk while trying to make it, Significant resource allocation to make and repair.)
Boats aside i think that we should have to work hard on any skill in the game fishing included. I think leveling from 0 up to whatever the top tier is lets say 7 should take weeks and months of playing often to get there. I want rewards to be equal to the effort you put in and at T7 you should catch fish in your sleep and do it quickly. Being able to use and craft the best. When i catch "ol'jackjaw" love that name btw. But i want a sense of feeling like it was all worth it. When i hang a massive picture on my wall and just sit in my chair and admire it for a bit and remember it months/years down the road seeing it.
I also would enjoy seeing the bigger beasts have treasure in their belly like sharks in reality are known for sometimes eating strange things. Same deal have a chance on big catch to carve it up for "fish meat or tentacles" but also drop a chest on the deck of the ship with loot or a small pile of coins to loot etc aesthetics really. But you can keep expanding. And the raid bosses can always drop parts of itself. Large slabs of shark or squid to be sold at a high price... if you make it back to shore. If they add raid bosses like this id enjoy some way to know. For example a system message saying what's been engaged and a rough location which sea etc.
Id enjoy seasonal fishing to. Maybe catch rare/divine fish depending on time and where you catch them. Maybe with the highest fishing rank, Rare area's become accessible only fishermen of legend can fish in the sacred shrine and only once a day for a hour to get unique fish prints or perhaps turn in for special coins etc. i don't know, its rewards for specing up into it. And can even add very unique types of fish this is a fantasy game why not creatures in lava lakes... climb up into a volcano to fish down into it only with a highest level rod made of powerful materials. You can even add in special unique rods that are made with very specific materials for specific needs or wants.
In short there are a mountain of things they could do to add to the game sorry this turned into a small book.
Bruh the deep sea fishing in Archeage was so fun. I hope it's similar in Ashes.
I love fishing in almost every game I play and usually always have that skilled maxed or highest in them. On that note my plan for Ashes is the same and my goal is to Master fishing before any other gathering skill.
On the idea about engaging gameplay I usually found that I enjoy a mix of different styles. The simple bob and click style in Minecraft is usually fun when I want to mellow out, while the hold and follow method in Stardew Valley is a fun challenge when I’m more focused on the game. But I’ve never been a fan of the spam clicking type of fishing because it seems less about skill and more about just smashing your mouse. Not to mention I usually enjoy fishing late into the evening so the less overall noise I can make doing it the better.
As for the progression the wiki says there may be different types of fishing and with the fish variety they’ve been showing on the streams I’d be shocked if there wasn’t. Also there should be upgradeable tools and such like any gathering/crafting profession so I think progression will be pretty well covered from the get-go.
For the rod and bobber comment, I’m not sure how I feel about some of those perks (like underwater breathing) but I think a little special bonus could be neat. Or perhaps a specialized rod that is like a super magnet for a certain type of fish rare or otherwise.
As for tournaments and quests I remember them saying there might be some kind of like fishing contest every once in a while where you have a time limit to catch X amount or the biggest or whatever the criteria was for the contest.
As for team effort fishing…that could be so cool! Like imagine it’s like “yo I caught a big one” and then your team mates come behind you (“click on you”) and help you reel it in/perform that task. That’d be pretty nifty.
And the comments about fish spoilage I think could really enhance the fish market. I really hate fish having to deal with it, but it’d make fish a commodity in certain landlocked areas and could make for a very interesting market. Not to mention there could eventually be down the line more fishing related items like a tackle box or cooler to help preserve them and maybe if you put it on your boat/mount it’d help preserve fish for longer at the con of losing some inventory space.