Fishing is infuriating, stressful, and inconsistent

[Acheron.1580]

I got my achievements done and don't fish at all now. It isn't a bad way to pass time if you are waiting for a meta, or looking for raiding queues, but in general if you aren't doing it for ambergris there really isn't a point to fishing. Any time spent fishing is time not doing anything else in the game, and by itself it isn't a fun enough addition to want to do.

Also because of the whole skiff / fishing stacks interaction, the only viable fishing spot when everything is done is end of dragons fishing since it requires the least amount of fishing power and there's no reason to make it harder for yourself.

Edited July 26, 2023 by Acheron.1580

[Farohna.6247]

I can appreciate that one would wish to level up fishing like in many games, and not have to go to specific fishing spots.  However, it gets people to go to maps they might not otherwise visit, there are many fishing groups that are quite lovely to join at your leisure, and while mobs are annoying, there are many, many locations where this is not an issue.  You can fish in guild halls if you want total quiet and no mobs even.  

I enjoy fishing, I like that there is something to do besides just stand.  Ever been fishing in real life...yeh it's not always a cup of tea either.  

[Thormano.7806]

Fishing is a total waste of time here and to what rewards? A long time ago I used to fish in Star Wars Galaxys. It was as it should be. A relaxing fish by the river bank and you could hang trophies on your walls. In GW2 it is a stupid left right quick quick slow exercise. I gave up. And don't get me started on skiffs or turtles. A complete waste of space. Makes me shy away from the next expansion until I hear good feedback

[Holmindeboks.3490]

18 hours ago, leila.7962 said:

I assume they did this so people wouldn't just be stacked on an empty corner of the map afk and earning fishes like it is on most games. If you just want to fish for the sake of fishing, anywhere works. Now if you want to get specific fishes, you will have to earn it.. you need to go to specific places, at certain times of the game's day, use specific baits.. just like IRL lol.

People that like to fish often will probably have a geared character to only fish. I have a DH that's just for that.. her bags have everything that I need to fish anywhere on the game AND I can kill things without leaving my boat using a ranged weapon. You are just overcomplicating things.. the achievements even tell you when to fish, where to fish, which bait to use.. everything is handed to the players.

Then they have to punish the afk players who fish/bot for gold. And not punish the players who actually like fishing and asked for this feature ingame. But looks like the afk players bring them some money so they dont get punished. 
and i think its often ppl who has an office job who afk farm. They are always near their pc. So thats free gold while at work. 
 

and i think ONE big reason for afk farm is the effort/reward ratio. I mean, if you do whatever meta and never get rewarded for your time spend thats always a disappointment, every day, every event. For your awesome support. Back then i worked my … off on dragonstorm and never got the infusion part or an aurene chest, while afk players got a reward. I am not like that and i always want to help to make the event finish. But if i get an big middlefinger (junk loot) for my effort i dont do the event again. 
 

but what i wanted to say is. By playing events without a reward besides a few silver it feels bad and so is a disappointment. BUT if you afk farm and so getting the same reward (a few silver) as when you doing your very best at an event. THEN THE effort/reward ratio is balanced. 
 

so after all. Its greed. Infusions are the only reward but is a mythe. 

[Bollocks.4078]

On 7/25/2023 at 9:13 AM, Krajtin.8956 said:

I get that you want a laid back activity like WoW fishing, but I think Anet has done it this way to avoid the large amounts of "players" farming AFK and killing TP.

 

23 hours ago, leila.7962 said:

I assume they did this so people wouldn't just be stacked on an empty corner of the map afk and earning fishes like it is on most games.

 

I'm not sure why anyone should think ANET doesn't want people to AFK/Inattentive/Auto farm.  It's been going on for a while in many areas both in out of the way corners and right out in the open.  They also easily could have just had any number of required interactions (like they currently do) that would make AFK fishing not possible.  I just don't buy that preventing AFK farming has anything to do with how they designed fishing.

[Linken.6345]

30 minutes ago, Bollocks.4078 said:

 

 

I'm not sure why anyone should think ANET doesn't want people to AFK/Inattentive/Auto farm.  It's been going on for a while in many areas both in out of the way corners and right out in the open.  They also easily could have just had any number of required interactions (like they currently do) that would make AFK fishing not possible.  I just don't buy that preventing AFK farming has anything to do with how they designed fishing.

Considering there was a guy on the forum recently complaining that 3 out of his 4 accounts got peramnently banned for afk farming.

I do think Anet dont want it in the game.

[IAmNotMatthew.1058]

6 hours ago, Bollocks.4078 said:

I'm not sure why anyone should think ANET doesn't want people to AFK/Inattentive/Auto farm.  It's been going on for a while in many areas both in out of the way corners and right out in the open.  They also easily could have just had any number of required interactions (like they currently do) that would make AFK fishing not possible.  I just don't buy that preventing AFK farming has anything to do with how they designed fishing.

Half my old guild has been banned and most of their time spent in GW2 was AFK farming. Anet does care. If you squish 10 ants next to an anthill you don't see much of a difference.

[Cuks.8241]

6 hours ago, IAmNotMatthew.1058 said:

Half my old guild has been banned and most of their time spent in GW2 was AFK farming. Anet does care. If you squish 10 ants next to an anthill you don't see much of a difference.

Sorry for offtopic, I'm just curious, how long were they banned for if you know? Hope this doesnt lock the thread. Because if they ban them for 3 days, not much was done.

[kharmin.7683]

8 minutes ago, Cuks.8241 said:

Sorry for offtopic, I'm just curious, how long were they banned for if you know? Hope this doesnt lock the thread. Because if they ban them for 3 days, not much was done.

Better off asking in a personal message as this discussion would go against the CoC

[Randulf.7614]

On 7/26/2023 at 5:30 PM, Sobx.1758 said:

I think it still wasn't explained by anyone: what stands in the way of anyone "just wanting relaxing fishing" to fish in open water (or random fishing holes), at random times with random baits?

Nothing. I do it on occasion when I’m between things to do in game

[Ashen.2907]

Fishing, very clearly IMO, was never intended to be a relaxing or "chill" activity. 

[Efar.8153]

maybee ... - make the skiff/player invulnerable - when we park the skiff we always aggro mobs. And mobs are everywhere, there are very very few safe spots; i died many times while fishing lol - and ofc i lost my fishing stacks;

- remove the time gate pls - improved fishing skills that we buy from seitung province only lasts for 1 hour - it is not enough;

- put some fishing points in the fishing rod, pls - it is very rare to find ppl to fish in for the silly buff;

- the maps are closing pretty fast, pls do something about us not losing the fishing stacks when we switch maps - or die from mobs that aggro us

other than that, fishing is pretty nice. i enjoy it a lot -  is very chill and relaxing plus rewarding^^

Edited August 4, 2023 by Efar.8153

[Lucy.3728]

On 7/25/2023 at 3:08 PM, zallesz.1650 said:

Basically, you have a super convoluted system designed to sell something as complex and deep, when in reality it's just a bunch of hassle and inconsistent RNG hell. 

I just can't see how anyone is okay with this. 

It's not even satisfying to complete a collection because either the ascended and legendary fish were caught after 1-3 tries and I had to struggle forever with rare and exotic fish; or the process of getting THE last ascended or legendary fish took so long and was so annoying that it ended with a "thank god it's over" and not a "yay, I'm done".
And then you're not done at all when you're done with the collections; then you learn you have to do them all again - looooool

I also don't know why I can't just throw my line in the water (like when I'm waiting anyway) and do some fishing, but have to mess with 20 different lures and floats and reach a certain level of fishing power, which requires food and even fishing for a while for the boat to gather power.

Fishing in the game is no walk in the park.

And when you're done, you'll find out about the turtle that wanted the legendary fish you salvaged. Not to mention the guy who wants your rare fish. That's what made me want to fill up a character with fish. Do I know if Anet doesn't want certain fish for anything in a later update? I kept all the rare+ fish after I failed once. Better to have them than have to fish again.

[Lucy.3728]

On 7/25/2023 at 4:04 PM, Shuzuru.3651 said:

Also, don't park your boat near ennemies if you don't want to fight them, the density of ennemies in the water is pretty sparce, for all I fished, I could count on one or two hand the number of time I got attacked... 

I would need your hands, my hands, and the thread starter's hands to count.

If the mobs are where the fishing hole is, or if they show up in their patrol... the last time I fished in Kaineng, my boat disappeared under my feet.

[starlinvf.1358]

(laughs in Nier)

[Nate.8146]

As someone who completed the fishing achievement and spent countless weeks of fishing time in this game, I can say that fishing in general is quite relaxing and it doesn't have to be stressful. I can understand the OPs complaint when it comes to completing the fishing achievement. It can be stressful looking for specific fish at dusk/dawn and you only have about 5 minutes. However, that actually gives value to the achievement. Something to be proud of your accomplishment. If the achievement were handed out like Halloween candy, it would be a pointless venture. When I see someone wear the most prestigious titles in this game, I know they earned it. And that's 100% fair game.

There are lots of great, calm places you can fish at for the simple act of just... you know, fishing. Crystal Oasis IMO is one of the best with its crystal clear waters and relaxing desert theme and music. The Isle of Reflection is very peaceful and allows you to decorate the area to give it a more surreal fishing experience. Draconis Mons has boiling turbulent waters, giving you that dangerously adventurous fishing experience. Seitung Province has a lot of calm places to fish at, plus fishing tournaments to change up the pace. Interestingly, fishing near the leviathan is one of the best places because it's more social and engaging to fish with others. Fishing in New Kaineng is also relaxing and offers plenty of safe places to fish at. So in general, fishing is not infuriating, stressful, or inconsistent. It's only if you're chasing the achievement, which stressors are to be accounted for.

[SpyderArachnid.5619]

I think I mentioned this before but my only problem with fishing is it goes against Anet's design philosophy.

One of the many quotes that Anet said was, "Play the game, not the UI". It was a subtle jab at all those games that use addons and such. Players constantly staring at their UI instead of the actual battle, watching meters and timers, popups for abilities going off, and things like that. Anet didn't want that. They wanted players to play the game itself, not stare at the interface.

Fishing goes against that ideal, by introducing a UI minigame that you have to do in order to catch fish. So now you're no longer playing the game, you are playing the UI. Exactly what Anet didn't want us to do. Instead of admiring the world around us, we are instead stuck staring at our UI and playing minigames on it.

[The Boz.2038]

On 7/25/2023 at 3:08 PM, zallesz.1650 said:

For a mechanic that is usually supposed to be about relaxing, this is absolutely not the case with this game's implementation of fishing. 

So once you filled your inventory with dozens of different types of bait and whatnot (further inventory clutter), you go out to try to find some fish. Either for the daily, or because of an achievement, the elite spec collection, gold farming, or maybe even to just have fun. 

Instead of finding a nice looking, cozy spot, you "need" to go to a designated location (fishing spot), which immediately limits the player freedom associated with a chilling activity. 

Then if you are lucky, and managed to find a spot AND the exact daytime required for X fish, it's time to actually start fishing. 

NOPE. Sorry, you just aggroed a bunch of enemies that you need to kill. Yeah, they're a group of veteran naga, it's fine, it's not like you already spent 10 minutes on preparation and searching for an ideal spot, you can deal with a group of enemies, right? Oh you need to get off the boat to kill them sorry. 

Ok, so now onto fishing. The mechanic itself is not terrible, it requires some skill, but it's still not as relaxing as fishing usually should be. 

Right, so you need to move after fishing 3 times?? Like... my 10 mins of preparation + getting rid of enemies, and now I need to move again? Fine. 

You found the perfect spot, there is some time left of your desired daytime. 

Something is hooked. This one, as opposed to all previous fish, is moving super fast, it's changing directions every millisecond, accelerating with 1000km/h. After 1 minute of wrestling, you finally get this mysterious, hopefully rare fish. 

NOPE, it's just a blue Mr. Fishy McFish Regularis. The one that you have been catching in the last 30 minutes (meaning, if you were lucky: 10 fish). 

Basically, you have a super convoluted system designed to sell something as complex and deep, when in reality it's just a bunch of hassle and inconsistent RNG hell. 

I just can't see how anyone is okay with this. 

I outright refuse to engage with this half-baked excuse of a feature.

[Lairin.4528]

3 hours ago, Nate.8146 said:

As someone who completed the fishing achievement and spent countless weeks of fishing time in this game, I can say that fishing in general is quite relaxing and it doesn't have to be stressful. I can understand the OPs complaint when it comes to completing the fishing achievement. It can be stressful looking for specific fish at dusk/dawn and you only have about 5 minutes. However, that actually gives value to the achievement. Something to be proud of your accomplishment. If the achievement were handed out like Halloween candy, it would be a pointless venture. When I see someone wear the most prestigious titles in this game, I know they earned it. And that's 100% fair game.

There are lots of great, calm places you can fish at for the simple act of just... you know, fishing. Crystal Oasis IMO is one of the best with its crystal clear waters and relaxing desert theme and music. The Isle of Reflection is very peaceful and allows you to decorate the area to give it a more surreal fishing experience. Draconis Mons has boiling turbulent waters, giving you that dangerously adventurous fishing experience. Seitung Province has a lot of calm places to fish at, plus fishing tournaments to change up the pace. Interestingly, fishing near the leviathan is one of the best places because it's more social and engaging to fish with others. Fishing in New Kaineng is also relaxing and offers plenty of safe places to fish at. So in general, fishing is not infuriating, stressful, or inconsistent. It's only if you're chasing the achievement, which stressors are to be accounted for.

Thanks for this! I randomly fish for fun on my alt when I'm exploring. Maybe one day I'll try for the achievements because I like the silly titles.

[Kozumi.5816]

I have fished for thousands of hours in FFXI(11, not 14).

I fished for hundreds of hours in WOW.

This games fishing is terrible, stressful, not relaxing, and boring.

Edited August 3, 2023 by Kozumi.5816

[Yaki.9563]

On 7/26/2023 at 11:58 AM, Thormano.7806 said:

Fishing is a total waste of time here and to what rewards? A long time ago I used to fish in Star Wars Galaxys. It was as it should be. A relaxing fish by the river bank and you could hang trophies on your walls. In GW2 it is a stupid left right quick quick slow exercise. I gave up. And don't get me started on skiffs or turtles. A complete waste of space. Makes me shy away from the next expansion until I hear good feedback

Fishing can earn you 30+ gold/hour independent of boss timers, forming groups, etc. You can hop on for 5 minutes and spend the entire time earning the full expected 30+ gold/hour. I would argue that fishing is too good. So your saying it's a waste of time shows a complete lack of understanding of anything related to fishing.

[Yaki.9563]

13 hours ago, Kozumi.5816 said:

I have fished for thousands of hours in FFXI(11, not 14).

I fished for hundreds of hours in WOW.

This games fishing is terrible, stressful, not relaxing, and boring.

Fishing in FFXI was amazing (if it weren't infested with bots) but saying it was relaxing while GW2 fishing is stressful is a laughable statement. And unless WoW fishing has dramatically changed since release, it was about as boring and pointless as one could make it.

[Yaki.9563]

IMO the only thing fishing needs is randomization of the drop rates of legendary fish and having the fishing party buff carry over on map closure. It is stupid that we'll be fishing Domain of Kourna for the next 10 years. It would be cool if every week there was a different (unknown spot) that had the best gold/hour.

[Infinity.2876]

I feel like fishing itself is not annoying it's having to get the masteries, get the bait, get the hook, get the friends. And all of this without a tacklebox.

It's more than one soul can bear. Thankfully, I am the commander, slayer of gods and dragons, cod amongst mere minnows. (Oh, wait.)

[IndigoSundown.5419]

Oh, woe is me.  I though fishing in WoW was a pain.  GW2 fishing is an order of magnitude worse.  I'm pretty sure, though, that was not the reaction ANet hoped for.

I recognize that not every feature or gameplay element is going to be for everyone.  That said, though, I'm trying to find something in EoD that was for me -- and failing.