Fishing is one of the latest additions to Destiny 2, coming to the game with Season of the Deep, and can be as relaxing as you’d expect of the activity, though you’ll need to pay at least a little bit of attention to get the most out of it. In this guide, we’ll cover how Destiny 2 fishing works, how to catch the highest-rarity fish and more.
How to Fish in Destiny 2
Destiny 2 fishing is a simple process. You approach a fishing pond, and while standing on the platform around the pond, press your Interact button (default E on PC, Square on PlayStation, and X on Xbox) to cast a line, then you wait.
When the bobber drops, another prompt will appear on your screen. If you press interact again as soon as the prompt appears, you’ll get a Perfect Catch, but if you’re a little late, you’ll still catch the fish. The fish you catch will fly into the air and land in a random location near you, and you’ll need to pick it up for credit for the catch. A Perfect Catch slightly raises your chances of a higher rarity fish, but like everything in Destiny 2, it isn’t a sure thing.
How to Unlock Fishing in Destiny 2
Before you can start fishing, however, you need to finish the Descent Season of the Deep opening mission, which will then grant you the Gone Fishin’ quest. The quest itself is easy and consists of the following steps:
- Speak with Hawthorn to collect your Fishing Tackle.
- Collect 20 units of Bait by completing Salvage, Deep Dive, playlist activities, public events, patrols, and collecting planetary materials. You get the most Bait from Strikes and Seasonal activities, so the best way to farm Bait is to double or triple up as much as possible. If you’re farming public events, always have a patrol up, for instance.
- Catch five fish in the Outskirts of the EDZ.
- Catch five fish in the Cistern on Nessus.
- Catch five fish in the Miasma on Savathun’s Throne World.
- Release your fish at the aquarium in the H.E.L.M.
- Return to Hawthorne.
Your fishing tackle can hold 500 Bait and 500 fish, so your main limitation is how much patience you have for the grind, but thankfully even as simple as fishing is in Destiny 2, it’s quite relaxing and enjoyable.
Where to Fish in Destiny 2
As you learned during the Gone Fishin’ quest, there are three fishing holes currently available in Destiny 2. While they are all in the same basic location, depending on when you enter the area, the pond might be in a slightly different area of the coastline.
You’ll see a beam of light shining into the sky if you’re far from the pond, but be aware that public events will cause the fishing ponds to despawn until the event passes. You can game the system a bit when a public event appears by fast traveling to Trostland or the Winding Cove (if you’re in the EDZ), waiting a minute or two, then traveling back to the pond. It should be back.
The ponds themselves are:
Fishing Pond in the Outskirts in the EDZ
Fishing Pond in the Cistern on Nessus
Fishing Pond in the Miasma on Savathun’s Throne World
I’d recommend sticking to the EDZ for most of your early fishing, primarily because it’s the easiest to get to. Which you spend your Bait on will depend on how active the pond is, and if the chances of a rare Exotic Fish are up.
How to Catch Exotic Fish in Destiny 2
Fish in Destiny 2 come in the same rarities as all other kinds of loot: green Uncommon, blue Rare, purple Legendary, and golden Exotic. You’re liable to mostly catch Uncommon and Rare fish, but there are a couple of ways to increase your chances at a Legendary or Exotic fish.
- Fish at the currently active exotic fish pond. You’ll know which to fish at because you’ll see an (Exotic) label next to it.
- Raise your Focused Fishing bar as high as possible.
If you do both of these things, your chances at Exotic fish goes up, but they aren’t guaranteed.
How Focused Fishing Works in Destiny 2
The Focused Fishing buff is a simple buff to the rarity of the fish you’re catching, and raising it will take both time and a bit of luck. The higher your bar, the more likely you are to catch Legendary and Exotic fish, so you’ll want as much of it as possible.
The main way to increase your Focused Fishing is to pick up every fish you catch, especially Legendary and Exotic fish. The more and higher-rarity fish you collect, the more the bar will fill, and the better your RNG will be. If you’re fishing with a fireteam or several random Guardians, any fish they collect will also count.
Fishing Rewards in Destiny 2
When you want to turn in your fish for rewards, head back to the H.E.L.M. and go through the portal in the Deep Wing (the leftmost wing). You’ll see a bright blue deposit station, where you can dunk your fish.
You dunk based on rarity, and you get two main rewards for depositing: Seasonal reputation and Seasonal weapons and armor. If you have a lot of Legendary and Exotic fish, you have a good chance at Exotic weapons and armor, and even though I didn’t have that many of either, I managed four pieces of Legendary gear and a pair of Lunefaction Boots.
The chance for an Exotic gear drop is probably quite low, but the more fish you have, the higher the chance becomes.
And that’s about everything you need to know about fishing in Destiny 2: Season of the Deep. It’s not the most complex of new systems, but it is fun, chill, and plenty rewarding for the small amount of effort you put into it. If you’re looking for help with the other Destiny 2 content, check out our guides on how to unlock Deep Focusing, earn the Epochal Integration Hand Cannon, and more in our D2 guides hub.
