One of the big surprises introduced in Season of the Deep in Destiny 2 was fishing. Teased during the reveal trailer for Season of the Deep, fishing is a new activity in patrol areas of Destiny 2. Fishing does not require matchmaking and all players need is some Bait, which is acquired by completing almost any activity in the game.
While fishing, players will notice a buff appear in the lower left-hand corner of the screen with a bar that periodically fills up. This buff is called Focused Fishing, and this guide will explain what the Focused Fishing buff does when players are fishing.
Focused Fishing Explained
When players approach a Fishing Pond and begin to fish, they will notice a buff appear that is called Focused Fishing. At first, it may seem like this buff isn't doing anything as it doesn't change often. The only way to increase the bar of the Focused Fishing buff is by catching Legendary quality fish. Catching a Legendary quality fish is very random, but Destiny 2 players can influence the outcome of what they catch to some extent.
When fishing, players must carefully watch their bobber. The moment that it goes completely underwater, players must immediately press the button prompt to achieve a Perfect Catch. If players are a second too slow, it will be a Nice Catch instead. A Perfect Catch combined with having Bait will result in a much higher chance of getting better quality fish. As such, this is the best way to catch Legendary quality fishes by chaining Perfect Catches.
Any Legendary quality fish that are caught will add progress to the bar for the Focused Fishing buff, including fish caught by nearby players and those who may be in a Fireteam. As the bar slowly fills, fish will begin to bite progressively more often. Once the Focused Fishing buff is maxed out, players will catch more fish more quickly and thus have a much better chance at catching higher quality fish. This also affects the catch rate for the Exotic fish.
Unfortunately, getting a Legendary quality fish is entirely random. Even with the Focused Fishing buff. To make matters worse, Fishing Ponds also have a hidden time limit. The moment a public event begins, the fishing pond will despawn and players will lose the Focused Fishing buff. Once the Fishing Pond respawns, players will have to start all over.
How to Catch Exotic Fish
There is one Exotic fish currently in the game, but it is also at the mercy of RNG (random number generation). Even with the Focused Fishing buff at maximum, it is still random. Some players will get the Exotic fish right awhile while others will not see it for a very long time, just like with other Exotic items throughout out the game.
Destiny 2 is available now on Epic Games Store, PS4, PS5, Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.