Destiny 2 fishing is perhaps the most surprising addition in Season of the Deep. That’s right, Season 21 added a new fishing mechanic to our favourite looter-shooter, letting us kick back and relax with some fish without the thrill of the rather large fish taking centre stage in the Season of the Deep story. Here’s everything you need to know about Destiny 2 fishing in Season 21, including how to fish, Focused Fishing, and all the Destiny 2 Exotic fish you can catch.
While it won’t be for everyone, Destiny 2 fishing is one of the most unique additions to the game yet, letting us take a step back from hunting for the best Destiny 2 PvP weapons or best Destiny 2 weapons and relax.
How to fish in Destiny 2
To fish in Destiny 2, press the interact button to begin fishing at one of the fishing spots with acquired bait. When the prompt appears to catch the fish, press the interact key again to reel in the fish.
Fishing is unlocked by completing the Destiny 2 Gone Fishin’ quest steps, awarded after you have completed the first six steps of the Into The Depths Destiny 2 quest, which is the Season of the Deep’s seasonal story quest. This involves:
- Speaking to Suraya Hawthorne in the Tower Bazaar area
- Collecting 20 bait
- Catching five fish in the EDZ Outskirts
- Catching five fish in the Cistern on Nessus
- Catching five fish in the Miasma in the Throne World
- Depositing these fish in the aquarium at the H. E. L. M.
Before fishing, be sure to check your Fishing Tackle in your inventory to find out which location has the ‘increased activity’ buff. This effect will increase your chances of earning high quality fish, such as Legendary fish or Exotic fish.
Destiny 2 where to fish – fishing locations
The three fishing locations in Destiny 2 are:
- EDZ – Outskirts
- Nessus – The Cistern
- Throne World – Miasma
These locations where you can fish will be marked on your map by the blue seasonal activity icon. Do note though, that any active public events in the area will cause these fishing spots to despawn until the event is over. If you’re struggling to find where to fish, then this is likely why.
Destiny 2 Focused Fishing
In Destiny 2, Focused Fishing is a buff that will increase your chances of catching higher rarity fish. The Focusing Fishing meter will fill up with each Legendary or Exotic fish you catch, meaning lower rarity fish will not increase the meter.
How to get Exotic fish in Destiny 2
To get Exotic fish, you will need bait and the Focused Fishing buff meter full. Fishing with other players will increase the speed at which you increase the Focused Fishing buff.
Exotic fish are the highest quality fish you can catch and they will grant surprisingly great rewards. As they are consider Exotic items, these fish will reward you with Exotic quality items in return, including Exotic gear and Ascendant Shards, along with lots of Sonar Station vendor reputation.
All Destiny 2 Exotic fish
The Destiny 2 Exotic fish are:
- Aeonian Alpha-Betta
- Kheprian Axehead
- Whispering Mothcarp
- Vexing Placoderm
These will be required for the Destiny 2 Wicked Implement Exotic scout rifle as the first major hurdle in the new Exotic quest for Season of the Deep. Check out our guide on the latest secret Exotic so you don’t miss out.
All rare Destiny 2 fish
Here are all the rare fish in Destiny 2 that you can collect:
- Aachen Cichlid – Legendary
- Agronatlantic Salmon – Legendary
- Allegrian Jack – Legendary
- Cod Duello – Legendary
- Cuboid Cod – Legendary
- Cup Bearer Catfish – Legendary
- Cydonian Cichlid – Legendary
- Deafening Whisker
- Drangelfish – Legendary
- Galliard Trevally – Legendary
- Gnawing Hun Gar – Legendary
- Golden Trevallyhoo – Legendary
- Gusevian Gar – Legendary
- Ignition Toad – Legendary
- Koi Cirrus – Legendary
- Minueting Mackerel – Legendary
- No Turning Jack – Legendary
- Salvager’s Salmon – Legendary
- Servant Lobster – Legendary
- Temptation’s Haddock – Legendary
- Traxian Toad – Legendary
These are all the high quality fish you can collect right now in Destiny 2. While there are a lot of common quality fish, these won’t give you valuable rewards besides reputation. The fish in the list above, on the other hand, can give you weapons, armor, and more, so you’ll want to keep your eyes out for them.
How to get bait in Destiny 2
To get bait in Destiny 2, complete Salvage, Deep Dive, playlist activities, public events, patrols, or collect destination materials.
You can check how much bait you currently have by inspecting the Fishing Tackle in your inventory, which has a maximum storage capacity of 500 bait.
Bait farm
The best bait farm in Destiny 2 involves completing Heroic public events and patrols in a rotation around a zone, such as the EDZ.
This can be done incredibly quickly in zones with lots of public events such as the EDZ. Simply move from public event to public event, ensuring you’re making it heroic difficulty, while completing patrols and collecting destination materials. With this method, you’ll quickly reach the max of 500 bait in your Fishing Tackle which you can then use at the fishing spots to get Legendary and Exotic fish.
Destiny 2 fishing
Fishing is an all-new activity being added in Destiny 2 Season of the Deep, letting players visit specific fishing spots in the EDZ, Nessus, and even in Savathun’s Throne World. Fishing can be unlocked by completing the Gone Fishin’ quest.
The available fishing spots are marked by a small wooden platform with fish-themed flag poles to mark the area. You’ll want to pick your fishing spot carefully though, as only one of the fishing spots will have ‘increased activity’ per day, giving you a better chance of catching higher quality fish.
As for why our Guardian is fishing? It looks like it’s just to relax and bask in the aquatic theme of Season 21. With our collected fish being added to the aquarium in the H.E.L.M, it’s a fun pursuit to spruce up the place. Nevertheless, fishing is also involved in seasonal challenges and the seasonal title, so it’ll be worth putting your feet up and catching some fish. There’s also loot up for grabs for depositing Legendary or Exotic fish.
While Titan will be a hot destination in Season of the Deep as we look for ways to catch up to and defeat the Witness, we’ll also be learning more about the leviathan on Titan. Thankfully, it’s unlikely we’ll be fishing for that behemoth of the methane sea.
It’s worth noting that fishing will only be available to those who own the Destiny 2 Season of the Deep Season Pass, which has increased in price with Season 21. However, if you’re looking to partake in some fishing and the myriad of other exciting content in Season of the Deep, then it’s worth picking up.
And that’s all you need to know about Destiny 2 fishing, including how to fish and what the Focused Fishing buff means. When you’re ready to get back into the action, prepare the best Destiny 2 Titan build, Destiny 2 Warlock build, and Destiny 2 Hunter build to take on this season’s Ghosts of the Deep dungeon. No doubt they will come in handy as we brave the depths of Titan.