A lot of MMORPGs have a fishing minigame, andWorld of Warcraft: Classichas a profession, contests, and gear dedicated to the activity. The flagship of the MMO world has taken the concept up a notch with two weekly events in which the best fisherfolk in Azeroth can compete for fun and prizes.
RELATED:World of Warcraft Classic: Argent Dawn Tournament GuideWorld of Warcraft: Classichas two different fishing contests that players can enjoy, and they only take place on weekends. Players that are bored on a lazy Sunday afternoon can travel to a tropical beach and test their fishing mettle against other players in theStranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza. Those that are level 68 or later and have been trained at least in Fishing Mastery have access to theKalu’ak Fishing Derbyin the chilly reaches of Northrend.
InWorld of Warcraft: Classic, both contests will show up in the player’s calendar, butthat’s not the case in retail. The Northrend fishing derby doesn’t exist inWoW: Dragonflightand the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza is now a World Quest, so timing is no longer relevant.
The Fishing Set
Not every activity connected with Fishing needs a maxed-out level, but for the best chance of winning the contests, this is essential. Some of the items listed are only available to higher-level players, including some of the best fishing poles and lures.
TheFind Fishability allows the player to see schools of fish on their minimap inthe same way they see resources. This isn’t learning from a trainer but from a book that drops randomly from various nodes throughout Azeroth and Outland. It’s not a requirement to win, but it’s helpful, especially with the Stranglethorn Fishing Contest.
The Salty title isone of the toughest Achievementsto get inWorld of Warcraft, and winning at least one of these contests is a requirement for winning it.
Fishing Poles
Every gear set starts with a fishing pole. Most players build a whole gear set to stack their buffs and give them an even higher Fishing skill than the normal max level. This helps give players an edge in either fishing contest. There’s also an enchant that puts an extra +3 on any fishing pole.
Description
Arcanite Fishing Pole
One of the prizes for the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza and stat-wise, it’s the best pole in the game with a +40 to Fishing.
Big Iron Fishing Pole
A common quality item, this is one of the best available from a vendor and gives an +10 Fishing buff.
Bone Fishing Pole
A random reward for completing the Northrend fishing quests, it gives a +30 to Fishing and has a neat skull face on the spool.
Jeweled Fishing Pole
It really is bejeweled and covered in solid gold, a random reward for the Marcia Chase fishing quests that gives a +30.
Mastercraft Kalu’ak Fishing Pole
The only Epic-level fishing pole in the game is available from the Kalu’ak Quartermaster once the character is Exlated with their faction. It gives a +30 to Fishing and allows the character to breathe underwater.
Nat Pagle’s Extreme Angler FC-5000
A reward for a quest in Zangarmarsh in the Outlands:Snapjaws, Mon!for Horde andSnapjaws, Lad!for Alliance. Adds a +10 to the Fishing skill.
Seth’s Graphite Fishing Pole
The quest that unlocks Outlands Fishing also rewards a decent fishing rod that adds +10.
Consumable Lures
Some lures are attached to pieces of gear that are reusable as long as the item is equipped, but these are the types of lures that are kept in the player’s inventory and can run out. There’s a variety of ways to get them, some of which depend on skill or character level.
They can be purchased from vendors or crafted by Engineers.
Drops from undead enemies or purchased from vendors.
+20 for 10 minutes.
Available from Fishing supply vendors.
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Clothing And Accessories
There’s a much wider variety of options available in retail WoW when it comes to Fishing clothes. InClassic, choices for gear are limited to hats and boots.
There aren’t any Fishing gloves inWotLK, but there is the Angler Enchant, which gives a +5 to the Fishing skill, and the Fishing Enchant, which gives a +2.
Beverages
Consideringthe number of buff foodsinWoW: Classicand how important they are, very few offer buffs to the Fishing skill.
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The Stranglethorn Vale Fishing Extravaganza
This contest takes place along the coastal waters of Straglethron Vale every Sunday. It normally takes 12 to 15 minutes for a player to win by collecting a total of 40 Tastyfish and bringing them toRiggle Bassbait. He’s located in Booty Bay, standing on a crate near the main floor entrance to the tavern between Jang the Fishing Apprentice and the Fishbot 5000.
Stranglethorn Vale is a common zone for open-world PvP, which makes this contest even more difficult to win on a PvP server or for lower-level players.
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The Kalu’ak Fishing Derby
There are fewer competitors in this contest because it’s only open to players high enough level to access Northrend and they have a whole continent to share. However, many of these frozen zones don’t have any open water and there’s no place to drop a line.
Unlike the Stranglethorn contest, the Kalu’ak Fishing Derby is only available to players that canaccess the icy continent of Northrend, which means level 68 and up. Instead of a quota of fish, characters are searching for a special kind of beast called a Blacktip Shark. Even after the first one has been brought toElder Clearwater, other players that manage to get one can also turn it in for a prize.
There’s no such thing as a school of pygmy suckerfish, but they appear randomly in schools of fish all over the continent of Northrend. That means there’s a chance to find a Blacktip Shark anywhere these fish are found, which is virtually any node in Northrend. Fresh or salt water doesn’t matter but they are more common in rivers and lakes.
World of Warcraftis available now for PC.
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