How to play Elderwild Fishing

Getting started

Elderwild Fishing runs in your browser: open the game, make an angler and you're in. A new character can play straight away as a guest, with no password. Set one from the pause menu whenever you like, to play the same angler from any device.

You start at the end of the dock with a rod in hand, and the tutorial walks you through your first cast. Keyboard and mouse, a controller and touch screens all work, and every key and button can be rebound under Controls.

Casting and the bite

Cast into the pond and wait. A fish within reach comes over to your lure and may nibble a few times (up to five) before it really bites, so don't strike at the first twitch. With the starter rod and lure a bite takes around fifteen seconds; the best gear brings it down to a few.

Spot the fish. Crouch and keep still at the water's edge, and the fish nearby show themselves: what they are, how big, and a glint on the rare ones. A cast lands nearest the fish you aim at, and that one is the keenest to bite.

Hot spots are patches of churned water where fish feed and leap. Cast into one for a better chance.

Bait makes fish bite sooner, nibble less and give you longer to strike, and rarer fish go for it more. Worms are the everyday bait; crickets, shrimp and glow grubs are each made for one kind of fish. See the gear guide.

The fight

Once a fish is hooked, a timing bar appears with a marker sweeping across it. Strike while the marker is on a green zone to wear the fish down; misses strain the line. Every species fights in one of eight styles:

🐟 Steady

Strike when the marker is on green; misses strain the line

💨 Darter

The green zones swim about: chase them

🌊 Leaper

Don't strike while it leaps; it tires when it lands

🪨 Digger

It digs in: the zones shrink, so strike early

🌀 Slippery

Near green it may flash purple and dodge back: wait for the next pass

👻 Elusive

Zones fade in and out; only solid green counts

🛡️ Armored

Green barely scratches it; hit the gold weak spot

💢 Brawler

When it thrashes, land a hit to counter

Each fish page in the almanac says how that fish fights. Light rods suit darters, the elusive and the slippery; heavy rods bite through armor.

Time and weather

A day-and-night clock runs in the corner of the screen, and the weather changes every few minutes. 58 of the 100 species keep their own hours or only come out in some weather, so the same spot gives different fish through the day.

• ☀️ Day fish
• 🌅 Dawn & dusk
• 🌙 Night fish

The weather changes how quickly fish bite, too:

Rarity

Every catch rolls a random name, with a prefix and a suffix, and one of seven rarity tiers. The rarer the tier, the more the fishmonger pays:

Bigger fish of a species fetch a little more on top.

Coins, levels and diamonds

Sell your catch to the fishmonger by the campfire for coins, and spend them on better rods, lures and bait. Bounties ask for particular catches and pay extra. Catching fish earns XP, and levels unlock new tackle: the shop shows what comes at each level, from the Twig Rod up to the Eclipse Rod, and 18 lures.

Diamond coins are the rarer currency: one for every level you reach, one for each catch of 1 in 100,000 or rarer (up to three a day) and one for each rarity bounty (up to three a day). They buy premium rods and lures, the glowing outfits and the fanciest pets.

Around the pond

• The aquarium. Keep your best catches, feed them bait from your bag so they grow, name them, and hang one on the wall.
• Favours. Old Walt by his bench, Pip out on the dock, the fishmonger and the Pet Keeper all have things to ask. Each chain pays coins and XP, and a title at the end.
• Titles. Earn them for big catches, rare fish, levels and bounties, and wear one on your name tag from Stats › Titles (K).
• The Stylist by the cottage changes your look any time. See every outfit.
• The Pet Keeper in the barn sells pets that follow you around.
• Benches, a porch swing and a hammock. Press E to sit, and fish from your seat.
• Photo mode (P) hides the interface and lets you fly the camera for a picture.
• Friends. Everyone fishes in one shared world: chat, wave, hug and high five on the dock.

The Elder

Once a day, for the whole server, a legend the size of a rowing boat rises in a secret hour and weather. Messages in bottles carry the clues. Read about the Elder.