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Player sweeps all three Stranglethorn Fishing winning spots in one day
Relatively few WoW players will ever experience the alignment of timing and luck required to nab a win at the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza. Contestants vie for only three prize-winning places that award a handful of coveted items including unique fishing trinkets and baubles and an experience-boosting account-bound ring. The weekly tournament tests anglers' efficiency and resolve with a race to the turn-in in neutral Booty Bay. Particularly on a PvP realm, a win can be less about catching 40 Speckled Tastyfish than surviving the combat on the way to turn them in. So it was a great surprise to everyone involved when early this summer, Nirad of The Underbog (US-PvP) snagged not only first place in the tourney but also second place and then third as well -- all in a single day. "The contest wasn't a ghost town event," Nirad says. "I was killed once and had to avoid seven or eight Horde. I fished around Yojamba Isle and Grom' gol Base Camp, as well as inland. I set my hearthstone to the inn and teleported in all three times. I stealthed to hand in the quests all three times, as there were 5 or 6 horde immediately around the NPC you hand in the quests to. Later I heard that a number of Horde were also at the entrance to the tunnel heading into the city to keep people from running in."
Party hearty at Lord of the Rings Online's summer festival
It's that time of year again, when the Men, Hobbits, Dwarves, and Elves of Middle-earth come together to celebrate the summer with -- you guessed it -- the summer festival! This annual Lord of the Rings Online event runs from July 24th through August 6th, giving revelers two weeks to get down and party it up. Festivities include horse races, fishing challenges, scavenger hunts, and more. Players can guess which Hobbit can eat the most the fastest in the Taste of Hobbiton competitions as well as which Dwarf can navigate the keg races while inebriated. Want to cut the rug but don't know how? Learn a jaunty step or two from the dance masters. And, as always, gain reputation with either the Inn League or the Ale Association as the rivals vie for top dog status. Participation in the various events nets a player festival tokens, which can then be turned in for rewards like cloaks, robes, and new steeds.
Get the scoop on ArcheAge's fishing and factions
Who are we to say that the fellow in the above picture is doing fishing wrong? After all, this is ArcheAge, and a new fishing technique or two is to be expected from this next-gen sandbox. If you're interested in fishing or the player faction system, there are a pair of articles for you to check out today. While fishing in ArcheAge isn't as time-consuming as it is in real life, it definitely requires some preparation and know-how to do it effectively. Players can choose to fish in fresh water or salt water, and they'll need to get the right gear before angling for a good catch. There's also a helpful auto-fishing function to help cut down on some of the grind. A second guide has more information on making player factions. To create a faction, you have to accomplish a series of tasks. This costs you a significant amount of gold (26,000 or so) and requires you to go on a scavenger hunt across the world. Good luck with that! [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
A beginner's guide to WoW's secondary professions
We've talked about WoW's crafting and gathering professions which only leaves the game's four secondary professions left to discuss. Unlike primary professions, you can take as many secondary professions as you want, so there are no hard choices here: if it's interesting to you, take it, and if not, ignore it. So just what are these secondary professions? Cooking, fishing, first aid, and archaeology. And, we know, these might sound a bit on the dull side -- do you really want to spend your video game time cooking? But whatever you do, don't write secondary professions off as optional or unimportant, because they can definitely come in handy for players of all types. So let's take a look at the secondary professions and just what they can do for you.
Elder Scrolls Online elaborates on crafting and exploration
ZeniMax scooped up all of the questions that fans had after seeing The Elder Scrolls Online's crafting and exploration video, and answered several of the most pressing of them in a new post. TESO will feature five crafting professions: weaponsmith, armorsmith, enchanter, alchemist, and provisioner. Of these, players are able to train in two fields so that a robust economy will develop between crafters. While there aren't any recipes in the game, players have multiple avenues to combine ingredients and make the same item. The studio indicated that those who have played previous Elder Scrolls games might have an advantage in knowing familiar plants and crafting ingredients and how they interact. Other topics in the AMA include fishing lures, how big your library can get (there's no limit, basically), the use of Mundus Stones, and the difficulty of lockpicking. "Your lockpicking will automatically improve as you level, gradually making chests that were once very difficult to open a much easier prospect. Though your lockpicking skill will increase as you level, the chests you encounter in higher level areas will also be more difficult," ZeniMax explained.
XL releases ArcheAge fishing trailer
Ho hum, fishing in MMOs. Who cares, right? Wrong! XLGAMES cares, and the company apparently thinks enough of its ArcheAge angling mechanics to make a gameplay trailer out of them. MMO Culture has uploaded the trailer to YouTube, and in it you'll see over a minute's worth of deep sea fishing plus the transporting of the day's catch back to land, presumably to sell or cook. ArcheAge is gearing up for its Chinese closed beta phase, a date for which will be announced later this month. The game has already released in its native Korea and will be published in the west by Trion, though no date has been forthcoming. You can view the trailer after the break.
Daily iPhone App: Ridiculous Fishing is ridiculously good
Vlambeer's Ridiculous Fishing is finally out on the App Store today, after a long and rough development cycle that included a well-publicized battle against a clone. But in my humble opinion, the guys at Vlambeer should never have worried. No clone could ever match up to the design talent, brilliant wit and just plain love that's been put into this game. Ridiculous Fishing lives up to its foolish title and then some. You play as a fisherman. To begin, tap to toss a hook into the water. The game then runs in three phases. First, as your hook descends, tilt the iPhone back and forth to guide it past as many fish as you can, as deep under the surface as possible. As you reel it back in, you switch tactics. Tilt to grab as many fish as possible, trying to avoid the jellyfish if you can. Finally, the game gets really silly when your hook reaches the surface. The fish fly up into the air, and you've got to take them out of the sky with whatever firearms you have lying around. Each fish you kill earns money for line and equipment upgrades and finding new species can unlock new areas with new fish to hook and deeper waters to plumb. It's a very addictive gameplay cycle, and it's all backed up with some brilliant art, great sound effects and very catchy music. I've been playing the game for about a week now, and have found it hard to put down. Ridiculous Fishing has seen a little drama even before release, but the team never needed to worry, in my opinion. This is a great game that is among the best we've seen on the iPhone, ever. It's well worth the purchase at US$2.99, though I'll bet we'll see Ridiculous Fishing (and with any luck, more of Vlambeer) around the App Store for a long time to come.
Only one week left to get your Winter Squid
Fellow fishing achievement-seekers and completionists, it's that time of year again! The time when birdsong fills the treetops, daffodils bloom merrily on hillsides, and clouds of pollen return to punish your sinuses for daring to survive another winter. Oh, and it's also the time that Winter Squid turns into Summer Bass. Fishing up both Winter Squid and Summer Bass is a requirement of The Oceanographer achievement. Much like the world event and holiday achievements, though, you need a certain time of year to be able to complete The Oceanographer. Winter Squid is fishable from September 23rd to March 20th, and Summer Bass from March 21st to September 22nd. Both can be found in normal waters (no schools or pools needed) in Sunken Temple, Feralas, The Cape of Stranglethorn, Badlands, Tanaris, Blasted Lands, and Swamp of Sorrows. Swamp of Sorrows appears to have the highest drop rate for the squid, and Blasted Lands is the best for bass. If you're a squid away from The Oceanographer, now's the time to cast your line! This has been a friendly reminder from your neighborhood WoW Insider columnists. Happy fishing!
The Art of Wushu: Making silver through harvesting
I got a lot of backlash over the last installment of The Art of Wushu. While the issues over pay-to-win are understandable, an overwhelming number of you seemed to disbelieve the amount of silver I was able to produce daily. Some of you protested my 1D/daily figure (which is on the high side), while others questioned whether I could make even 500L per day. My email was flooded with people asking me to share some of my secrets. I was going to talk about movement and parkour this time, but because you guys asked, you'll get an answer. "How do I make money in Age of Wushu," you ask? Let's cover the easy ways to make money. These are methods that literally any player, regardless of subscription status or level, can take advantage of. This time we're going to cover harvesting -- what sells and what doesn't. Let's get started.
Changes coming for fishing and leatherworking ... but not in patch 5.2
When asked on Twitter whether any changes were on the horizon for grind-tastic professions fishing and leatherworking, everyone's favorite crustacean (Ghostcrawler, not Sebastian) replied: @timparrish Odds are high, but not for 5.2. - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) February 13, 2013 While we already saw the number of catches required to max out fishing halved in patch 4.3, the profession is still heavy on the tedium. And, as someone currently trying to level leatherworking, it's probably best that I not get started ranting about how much leather farming (or buying) that needs to be done to get to max level. Whether either of these professions will see a quick level up option like cooking has and blacksmithing is getting in patch 5.2, we can definitely hope. Regardless, knowing that revamping these professions is on Blizzard's agenda is heartening.
Patch 5.2 PTR: New fishing events, battle pets, and El
Fishing has seen a few changes in patch 5.2, including a new fishing event that has been added on the PTR. El from El's Extreme Anglin' has all the details, as well as an NPC in game as a nod to the fishing expert. But those that were dreading the thought of another tournament can breathe a sigh of relief, as there doesn't seem to be any contest involved with the new fishing event -- just a whole lot of fishing. Dubbed "pool migrations" by El, the new fishing event spawns multiple pools in one of eight different areas across Pandaria. Seven of these locations are marked on the minimap by a red x, shown on the map above. Each spot has a multitude of rapid-spawning pools that contain the same fish as usual, but occasionally you'll encounter one very, very large pool, home to Krakkanon, a giant sea monster that can be engaged and defeated for rare rewards and a multitude of fish.
Patch 5.2 Prep: Get ahead of the game
Patch 5.2 will bring new dailies, new factions, another raid, and a kitchen sink. It's pretty much a super patch. With so many additions, you may start to feel overwhelmed at the thought of class changes on top of new grinds -- and you know, pets and stuff. Never fear, we're here to help you prepare! Before we get too deep into this, remember that everything we've learned about patch 5.2 is from the PTR. Things can change! Farm (or buy) Ghost Iron. Both blacksmithing and engineering will see new unique crafting materials similar to the scribe's Scroll of Wisdom -- Lightning Steel Ingot and Stabilized Lightning Source, respectively. Both require 10 Ghost Iron bars, so snag some Ghost Iron now, and use some of it to transmute into Living Steel. Many new crafted items will require it. Get ahead in your Wrathion quests. In 5.2, Wrathion will ask for 40 Trillium Bars in a quest on the way to the legendary meta gems, so start gathering the ore now to get a head start. Get your Tillers rep to Exalted and unlock all plots. Although farming may not be appealing to everyone, Tillers rep is one of the easiest to max out. At Exalted, we'll be able to use work orders to gain rep in patch 5.2.
Patch 5.2 honors El's Anglin', adds sea monster and new battle pets to fishing
Professions are beginning to get some love in recent patch 5.2 PTR builds, and fishing is seeing a whole lot of that love. Most interesting among the new changes is that El of El's Extreme Anglin' has been honored with an in-game NPC who is joining the anglers as of the upcoming patch. El's doppleganger can be found at Sri-La Village in the Jade Forest. Sri-La Village is also home to another new fishing addition: the Engorged Sea Monster. By fishing in a Large Swarm of Migrated Reef Octopus (what triggers the spawn of this pool, we don't yet know), you might fish up the sea monster and its 39 million health. While currently bugged to do no damage on the PTR, it's unlikely to go live that way, so you probably won't want to try soloing this fellow. The sea monster's loot is not yet implemented.
Patch 5.2 PTR: More hats!
Perculia of Wowhead has been very busy indeed dealing with the denizens of the Darkmoon Faire on the patch 5.2 PTR. Her hot topic of today is hats, including this fetching headgear in the header image. This is the Darkmoon Top Hat, a recently discovered headpiece which grants the wearer a 10% buff to reputation and experience gain that lasts one hour. Quite apart from that, it looks marvelously fetching, don't you think? Upon using said hat, as Perculia adeptly displays in the image above, the wearer will briefly experience the hat's built in firework display, which will sporadically reappear throughout the hour it lasts for. Note that we said using, not equipping, because the wearer only appears to be wearing the hat. There is no need to remove your existing hat, this hat is naught but an hour-long illusion. Alas, the hat is consumed upon use, but fear not, a fresh hat can be purchased from Gelvas Grimegate for the princely sum of ten Darkmoon Prize Tickets. The hat can also drop from the Darkmoon Game Prize awarded by the Darkmoon daily quests, such as The Humanoid Cannonball. In other Darkmoon hat news, Wowhead has also datamined the Darkmoon Fishing Cap. While it doesn't sound nearly as dapper as the Darkmoon Top Hat, the Fishing Cap grants the wearer an additional five fishing skill, and has a very handy on-use effect, summoning a pool of Shipwrecked Debris -- the Darkmoon fishing pool. Gone are the days of searching for fishing pools, now they come to you, as long as the Darkmoon Faire is in town, and you don't mmind waiting an hour between pools. On second thought, your fishing may be more time-efficient if you do also search for pools. The source of the Fishing Cap is, as yet, unknown... Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Patch 5.1: The Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza returns
This Sunday at 2 p.m. PST, the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza returns to Azeroth. Due to the normalization of event times to counteract cross realm zone issues, the tournament will go back to being held every Sunday. Other changes have been implemented as well. Three winners for every tournament Kalu'ak Fishing Derby rewards will be available as the Derby will no longer be held Tastyfish can be caught from any fishing nodes, even wreckage and inland ones No more nodes that are only tastyfish For Oceanic realms, the Extravaganza will begin at 2 p.m. EST. According to Zarhym, a similar system is already in place in the EU. So put on your fishing hat and mosey on over to STV this Sunday if you want to participate in some competitive angling.
Where to reel in Pandaria's delicious fish
There are a few purposes for fish in Mists of Pandaria. You can cook them to eat for a Well Fed buff or to give to a Tillers NPC for personal reputation. There's a fish for alchemy oils and even the "vendor fish" this expansion is pretty useful. You can bag extra stacks of fish together for a currency. The catch is (pun intended) that many raiders aren't used to fishing their own Well Fed buffs. This leads to many questions on where to find which fish. Jump behind the cut and I'll summarize for you the pools and catch rates of open water fishing in Pandaria.
WoW Insider's Guide to the Anglers
The entire continent of Pandaria seems to ravaged by war, doubt, and uncertainty, but you wouldn't know it by visiting the Angler's Wharf. There you'll find a crew of light-hearted folks that are too busy sitting on a dock by Krasarang Bay with a fishing line tied to their toe. The humble fishers there have a variety of dailies and rewards that make it a breeze to level fishing -- and worthwhile to boot. If you're like me and actually enjoy the quiet solitude of casting a line in some far-off corner of WoW then this faction is just icing on the cake. A soggy introduction Before you hit level 90 and begin the interminable grind that is the Pandaria daily shuffle, your first introduction to the Anglers will be in Soggy's Gamble, in the southeastern corner of the Dread Wastes. All of the quests in that hub reward reputation with the Anglers, and in total should be enough to put you in striking distance of Friendly before you ever do a single daily. Make sure you complete these for an early boost to the rep. Now, let's dig into what the Anglers have to offer, exactly.
How do I cook that? Let me count the Ways
How do I cook that? Let me count the Ways. I cook that with a Pot, an Oven, Grill, Steaming, Brewing, with hoak and Wok, zen skill With meats, fish, veggies from my soil arrays. I cook that rice pudding and turtle braised With help from my bee-eff-effs at Halfhill. I cook that bloodied, as toons seek for kills; I cook that patiently, with Pagle's praise. I cook that with a focus I often use In my endgame and with my guildmates phased. I cook that for a dish I must not lose For my buff -- I cook that with the great grasp, Chaos of all my taps! -- and if say Blues, I shall cook that better in Legion's clasp. My apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I haven't attempted to write a sonnet in five or six years. But the first line got stuck in my head after I summarized for my guildmates how exactly the 525-600 cooking process works.
Fishing no longer requires poles
Notice anything, well, fishy about the paladin in the header image? No? Well, look again, more closely. Do you see how she's fishing, but also holding a shield? Impossible! Hackers! Cheating! No, my friends, it's not. Why not? Well, let me tell you. Since the arrival of patch 5.0.4, there's been a change to fishing. You no longer need to equip a fishing pole to use the Fishing skill. Did you notice how the tooltip has changed? How it now says "Equip a fishing pole?" Well, the skill now does that for you. It's rather a downrgade on the old basic fishing pole, as it looks like little more than a fairly straight tree-branch with a piece of string tied to one end. To use it, you'll need to find the spell in the professions section of your spellbook and drag it onto your bars, as for me at least, the old one didn't work. But once you've done that, you no longer need to worry about remembering to re-equip your sword and board, your staff, your two-hand axe. The fishing pole doesn't replace any of your usual weapons when it appears via the new spell, so they're never un-equipped in the first place! Gone are the days of my trying to tank Morchok by waving a fishing pole at him in a semi-threatening manner. I'm a little sad about that, actually. What's more, you don't even need to have a fishing pole in your inventory. That's right, with the new Fishing spell, you have a fishing rod mysteriously stored about your person somewhere other than your bags, which you can magically whip out whenever you want to fish. I'll let you make the jokes. However, if you are the proud owner of one of the many upgraded fishing rods available in the game, and want to use it for the skill bonus, you will still need to equip it. The new fishing skill isn't smart enough to equip an upgraded rod, and as a result those who use them will need to keep them in their inventory and equip them like they did before. It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
Mists of Pandaria: Ancient Pandaren Fishing Charm and new crates
El's Extreme Anglin' has more details on fishing in Mists of Pandaria for us all. First up is this tidbit: Apparently, you'll be able to get the Ancient Pandaren Fishing Charm (called Ancient Pandaren Fishing Lure in the beta so far, but the comments seem to indicate it's being changed to charm) by speaking to the Ghostly Pandaren Fisherman, a rare spawn in the Valley of the Four Winds. I don't know why, but I find the idea of getting a fishing lure by talking to a ghost charming. I also regret that inadvertent pun but not enough to take it out. El's has a map of spawn points for the Ghostly Pandaren Fisherman to help you find him. Also worth noting are these tidbits about Nat Pagle and fishing crates in Pandaria. Apparently, becoming best friends with Nat grants you this spiffy chair, and Sealed Crates native to Pandaria now contain a mix of crafting materials and Darkmoon Faire food and drink, which El seems to believe indicates that the Darkmoon Faire crates will be upgraded once patch 5.0.4 drops. Is she right? I have no idea, but we'll find out next month. It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
