Wildlife¶
The island's animals have given me company, supper and several hurried changes of direction. Watch them before deciding what kind of meeting you are having. A warning can leave time to walk away; an offering can make a future visit rather more pleasant.
Read nearby warning messages as well as movement and sound. Some territory warnings arrive as text. Stop approaching when a predator watches, warns, or starts following you; make distance while you still have a clear route. Crouching can reduce the chance of attracting an animal's attention, but it does not erase an attack you started.
Check /fx after using a wildlife-related tea, scent, or elixir. Different preparations do different jobs, and attacking an animal can revoke its protection against that particular animal. Great Stag Musk covers ordinary land predators, sharks, and snakes while active; Dire Wolves have their own rules. Check the remaining time before entering the habitat.
Wolves¶
Wolves gather around dens and move as family groups, territorial pairs, hungry packs, and solitary scavengers. Some watch first; others shadow a traveller before committing. When a pack faces you and howls, stop closing the distance and back away from its den or feeding area. Keep the other wolves in view while doing so.
Shooting a warning wolf or a family guardian can escalate the pack and trigger a visibly larger, more aggressive phase. Juveniles are defended. A wolf that runs from thunder may rally afterward, and darkness or fog makes shadowing more likely. An active ghost frightens wolves that can see it; the protection you receive after resurrection does not make you a ghost.
Wear a Wolf Headdress or drink Blackmuzzle Tea for wolf avoidance. Ordinary den defenders and Red Moon wolves respect that protection too. A bonded Dire Wolf companion also makes nearby ordinary wolves yield. Those are specific preparations; carrying unrelated wolf meat or a wolf-themed item does not establish the same protection.
The Wolf Headdress also has a chance to calm other naturally aggressive animals. That animal's response to you stays consistent; repeatedly approaching it does not buy another chance. Jungle cats, sharks and Dire Wolves are excluded. Blackmuzzle Tea remains wolf-only. Damaging a calmed animal lets that particular animal retaliate, so keep your weapon quiet while relying on its restraint.
When a wolf kills a player, it can eat carried meat and leave leather, hide, and boots chewed and damaged. During a Red Moon, ordinary packs give way to a progressive hunt. Pay attention to the event announcement and howls, shorten exposed journeys, and have shelter or protection ready before leaving home.
Dire Wolves¶
The exceptionally large pale wolves belong to the Arctic wilderness. A nearby unbonded Dire Wolf can produce the message “You feel a shiver down your spine.” The corresponding notice for your bonded visitor is “You feel a friendly presence.” Give a wild one time to observe you, and keep your weapon quiet if you want a peaceful encounter.
To offer food, drop a small amount of ordinary eligible meat yourself and let the wolf finish eating. Human, spoiled, and burnt meat do not qualify. A completed meal consumes one unit; approaching the food or starting its animation is insufficient. Combat, picking the offering up, or otherwise interrupting the meal prevents feeding credit. Make a second separate offering while the wolf remains calmed by the first if you are trying to establish a bond. An existing stack on the ground is not a series of separate offerings.
A bonded wolf visits intermittently and follows its owner. Keep offering successful meals between visits; neglect can end the relationship. Another player cannot take ownership by feeding it. Attacking your own wolf interrupts peaceful actions and accumulates damage against the relationship; a completed owner meal can repair that grievance. Do not test the limit with pellets or repeated small hits.
When your available visitor is close, look directly at it and use the displayed Press E to pet your Dire Wolf prompt. It can settle and sleep while you remain nearby. Petting is silent. A warning growl means it has noticed a potential threat; a growl alone does not mean it has permission to attack. Actual owner protection can interrupt sleeping or eating immediately, and an unreachable enemy can provoke a ranged response. Give the resulting fight room.
Holding a building plan or deployable asks a visiting companion to give you room to work. /direwolf dismiss ends your current visit through its normal departure while preserving the bond. Convoy fighting has a separate rule: the bonded owner must first participate through an accepted damaging hit; another person's fight does not enlist your wolf for you.
A visiting companion can help with metal detecting. Mark a normal find yourself and stay nearby while the wolf approaches it. It can bark and complete the digging with one strike, leaving the ordinary find credited to you. Another player's flags and mission markers do not qualify; feeding, defense or an unreachable route can interrupt the work.
Stationary monument ambushers have to fire at a player before a Dire Wolf can join that fight. A guard aiming from a ledge, or the companion growling at it, does not establish permission. Keep your own cover while waiting for the situation to change.
A badly hurt Dire Wolf retreats to recover. It does not become a normal harvestable wolf corpse. Losing sight of a visitor, entering an unsuitable place, or ending a visit does not by itself erase the bond.
Deer¶
Ordinary deer appear as scattered animals and as a local herd. Herd members graze and make short movements around familiar ground, so a group may remain in the same general area. Watch the whole group before selecting a shot, and leave room to follow a wounded animal without running into another predator's territory.
The Dolittle Effect can occasionally bring deer to a skilled player's aid against a hostile creature or NPC. Those defenders focus on the original attacker and disappear when their intervention ends; they are not a new herd to harvest. The skill can also make unprovoked jungle cats neutral, but harming a tiger or panther suspends that protection against both species.
Identify an Arctic stag before attacking it. The Great Stag below behaves very differently from ordinary deer.
The Great Stag¶
The Great Stag is an exceptionally large Arctic encounter with conspicuous lights and effects. It can idle peacefully until attacked. Damaging it identifies you as its pursuit target and can trigger fast pursuit, heavy close-range retaliation, and fire near the encounter. Prepare healing and a clear escape route before taking the first shot.
Use substantial cover and keep clear of its melee reach. A small rise in the ground is not a reliable end to pursuit. Great Stag Musk prevents its ordinary pursuit while the effect applies, but damaging the stag permits retaliation even if the musk is refreshed afterward. Do not shoot it merely to see whether the effect is working.
Bears¶
Bears occupy feeding grounds, fishing places, carcasses, and dens. A brown bear watching you is a reason to change course. The message “A bear huffs nearby.” is a warning to leave its space. Back away from the bear and its food instead of continuing toward the same point.
A brown bear may bluff charge and then break off. Give that movement room; firing at it or moving into contact can turn pressure into an attack. A maul adds bleeding and temporarily prevents sprinting, so treat the wound and use the separation when the bear breaks off. Do not depend on immediately sprinting past it after being hit.
An actively held shovel, paddle, spear, torch, or flare can deter a brown bear. Nearby fire and a group of players can also make it back away. Bear Spray is a more deliberate option: equip the can, face the nearby visible bear, and use primary fire. The spray works in front of you, and an obstruction can prevent it reaching a target. Use the resulting retreat to move to safety.
Fish activity, carcasses, and bait can bring bears to a place. Inspect the bank before settling into a salmon run, and avoid standing between a feeding bear and its food. Harvest animals you deliberately hunt; wasted adult carcasses can harm your wildlife standing, while self-defence has its own allowance.
Polar Bears¶
Polar bears are more persistent and more likely to commit than brown bears. Their home territories are Arctic, but a food-scent pursuit can follow a carrier through Arctic and Tundra ground. “A polar bear is closing distance.” means you should act immediately. Plan for cover or a deterrent rather than waiting for a reassuring bluff.
Carried meat and fish can draw an existing polar bear toward you. Cooked food is not automatically safe: cooked meats, canned tuna, and meat pies can qualify too. Main inventory, belt, worn storage, and backpack contents all count. Moving the same food into your backpack does not hide its scent. A temporary effect can also mark you with a food scent; check /fx if the interest persists unexpectedly.
Store qualifying food in fixed storage before a cold-country trip when practical. Removing it from carried inventory ends the inventory-scent reason for pursuit when the bear rechecks, but ordinary territorial aggression can still apply. Dropping it at your feet can create a separate bait attraction, so that is a poor emergency plan.
Solid walls and closed doors block the scent-tracking bear's physical route and attacks. It can wait outside and try again when a usable entrance opens; cover does not remove the scent. Get fully behind the barrier and close the entrance. A narrow gap that you fit through may still hold the bear outside.
Torches and flares can make a polar bear hesitate, but they are weaker protection than they are against brown bears. A shovel is not its configured held-item deterrent. Aim Bear Spray at a nearby visible bear and use the temporary flight to gain safety. Snow and blizzard conditions can increase polar-bear pressure, so leave extra room on poor-visibility coastal journeys.
Boars¶
Boars can leave you alone, particularly when you keep distance. Crouch and pass around one if you are travelling rather than hunting. There is no need to hit it to test whether it is aggressive: a damaging hit permits retaliation, and the boar can chase the attacker.
Carried or dropped meat can attract a boar in suitable country. Before harvesting or sorting a meat-heavy inventory, check the land around you. If you choose to hunt one, keep a clear retreat and enough stamina to move; do not make your escape depend on jumping over the animal at close range.
Chickens¶
Wild chickens travel in flocks across arid, temperate, and tundra country. They roam together and shift their home area over time. These roaming flocks stay out of Arctic and Jungle biomes; a different chicken encounter or domestic bird has its own circumstances.
Leave a flock alone and it remains neutral. Damage one chicken and that bird retaliates; some flockmates may join. They can dart around the attacker and peck repeatedly, so a simple hunt can interrupt looting or treatment. Move away from the flock and stop refreshing the fight with more hits if you want to disengage.
Domestic coop chickens need regular care at home. Give them normal food and fresh water, and keep the output slot available. Egg production is reduced from ordinary Rust expectations, so allow time. A sprinkler with a clear path to the coop can add fresh water. Saltwater, radioactive water, and other non-fresh liquids can kill the live chickens. Check the actual sprinkler input before turning it on; putting fresh water in the coop does not make an unsafe sprinkler harmless.
Tigers¶
Tigers can watch, stalk, warn, test a charge, or commit to an attack. They use jungle cover and can follow beyond its edge. Messages such as “Something wants you to leave.” or “Something is keeping pace with you.” are reasons to move toward known open ground or a safe route, not to search deeper into the brush for the sender.
Firelight from a held torch or flare, or a nearby campfire, can make a cat give ground. Storms and thunder can send cats to shelter. Ordinary dropped meat, fish, or animal fat can draw food interest, and nearby carcasses can do the same. Use small offerings if testing a distraction; one drop does not establish a dependable companion, and food does not clear an existing provocation.
Use an active Laser Sight¶
Equip a firearm that actually has a Laser Sight attached and switch the sight on. Aim at a clear patch of terrain in front of a nearby tiger or panther. The cat must be close to the spot, facing its general direction, and able to see it. A flashlight alone, a sight on a holstered weapon, a dot aimed into the sky, or aiming directly at an entity does not supply the same ground spot.
An interested cat can run after the moving point, settle near it, circle, and swipe. Move the point across reachable ground while you keep your own escape clear. When the beam disappears, the cat briefly looks toward its source and then resumes normal behaviour. The distraction ends with the encounter; keep your weapon quiet while trying it.
Choose the right preparation¶
Sex Panther Cologne is used by equipping its spray can and pressing primary fire. While active it makes unprovoked tigers, panthers, and snakes ignore you. It does not protect against crocodiles. Attacking a protected animal permits that animal to retaliate, and another spray does not forgive it.
Tiger Piss is consumed as a tea and has a different effect. Affected cats can still approach, sneak, watch, roar, and growl while their attacks against the drinker are suppressed. It does not create or summon a cat. Treat visible stalking as compatible with the effect, check /fx, and avoid provoking the animal.
The Dolittle Effect is learned knowledge, with its own big-cat protection. Damaging either a tiger or panther suppresses that neutrality against both species for a real-world day. Temporary scents and learned neutrality have different rules; do not assume that one refresh repairs every consequence.
Use gathered Catnip in its recipes. Loose Catnip has no taming or distraction effect on these cats.
Panthers¶
Panthers share the jungle cats' food, fire, weather, and scent responses. They are more inclined to test a charge or break away than tigers. When one gives ground, continue leaving its area; do not follow it into vegetation to complete the encounter at close range.
The active Laser Sight method above works on panthers too. Keep the dot on visible ground in front of the animal and the weapon equipped. Sex Panther Cologne, Tiger Piss, and learned Dolittle protection retain their separate conditions. A quieter cat or a temporary distraction is still a reason to watch your surroundings.
Cats can fight other animals that injure them. A laser dot will not draw one away from that immediate self-defense. Wild cats can also hunt nearby inhabitants and Wanderers; a cat occupied with somebody else may give you room to leave, but attacking it can turn the encounter toward you.
Crocodiles¶
Crocodiles occupy water with usable banks: crossings, swamps, flooded places, and feeding sites. They can bask visibly or wait submerged for an ambush. Arctic habitat is excluded, but tundra swamp areas can still contain them. A tool cupboard in a swamp does not turn the surrounding water into a crocodile-free area.
Treat “A crocodile hisses nearby.”, a nest-distress message, or a feeding cue as occupied ground. Back away from that bank and choose another crossing. Night, fog, and storms can send a visible crocodile underwater, so losing sight of it does not establish that the crossing is clear.
Hold a shovel, paddle, spear, or torch, or use nearby fire, to intimidate an ordinary unprovoked crocodile. These work best on banks. A recently attacked crocodile can ignore them; a nest guard may hold its ground and an unusually large old bull is less easily deterred. Do not close the remaining distance to test the response.
Voice chat near water can attract crocodile interest. A playing cassette in a boombox can do the same; ordinary streamed radio is not this particular attraction. Carcasses and dropped bait also draw attention. Move conversations and inventory sorting away from the waterline when you want a quiet stop.
Crocodiles can hunt inhabitants, Wanderers and Aberrations. A seized victim can be dragged toward water while trying to fight back. Watch from safer ground if you want to learn anything from the encounter; firing at the crocodile gives it reason to abandon that prey and turn on you.
A waterline bite can add severe bleeding and temporarily prevent sprinting. Get onto safer ground and treat the wound before trying another crossing. Sex Panther Cologne does not protect against crocodiles. Great Stag Musk can suppress unprovoked aggression, but the crocodile you damage may retaliate.
Another view at the waterline¶
Snakes¶
When a snake hisses at you, jump immediately. Jump is the native reaction that can avoid its hazard attack. Keep watching the ground afterward; a missed reaction can cause a bite and venom, and a living snake can reposition for another encounter. Move clear before stopping to sort medicine or loot.
Drink Snake Catcher Elixir before deliberately handling a snake. It blocks bite damage and venom for the drinker. An attempted bite can immobilize the snake while that protected drinker remains close; moving away or losing the effect releases it. You can kill and harvest the immobilized snake normally. Nearby friends do not inherit your bite immunity.
Sex Panther Cologne and Great Stag Musk provide their own unprovoked-snake protection. Read the item entry and check /fx before stepping into range; an old application or another player's effect is not your protection.
Horses¶
Feed a horse before a long ride and watch its stamina during the journey. Supply suitable food through the ordinary horse feeding or hitching arrangement, and allow recovery before another hard sprint. Keep a way to secure it at your destination instead of leaving your return journey beside a predator's feeding place.
The Riding skill improves speed and effective stamina for the current rider and develops through riding. Learning The Divine Equine supplies a separate horse-speed and stamina benefit. Both apply through the rider's knowledge or skill; food and ordinary horse care still matter.
Sharks¶
Carried raw or cooked meat while swimming can attract sharks. Dropped meat in water can also attract one when the water is suitable. Store unnecessary meat before diving, and do not throw a bait stack beside the ladder you intend to use on the way out. Cooking the meat does not remove this attraction.
Keep a lookout and an oxygen reserve while crossing open water. A shark can commit to a charge, so begin your escape when you notice it rather than waiting for a full circle around you. Scavenger's Stew can create an additional shark risk during an ocean dive.
Learning A Nose for Punching gives shark attacks a chance to be turned aside and can make that particular shark retreat and remain reluctant to attack you again for a while. It is an automatic defensive opportunity when attacked, not a requirement to equip a fist or land a manual punch. Another shark is a separate threat. Great Stag Musk offers broader temporary protection until you provoke the animal.
Salmon¶
A nearby salmon-run message, fish activity, and repeated splashes identify a temporary fishing opportunity. Use a rod near the active river segment. The run changes local fish selection and can feature other fish as well as salmon. Managed traps in the active area can share that local influence, while keeping their own exclusions and neutral player bonuses.
Bears can arrive on valid nearby banks, with polar bears appropriate to Arctic ground. Check the bank and both retreat directions before casting. Keep your deterrent accessible, leave room to move, and treat a huff or closing-distance message as a reason to pause fishing.
Crabs¶
Living crabs can pinch a player who lingers close, and the danger moves with them. Underwater pinches are more damaging, with deeper water adding further pressure; a pinch can also cause bleeding. Move clear of the animals before stopping to heal or inspect your inventory. Looking away does not stop a nearby pinch.
A crab within tool-cupboard coverage leaves that cupboard's authorized players unpinched. Visitors without that authorization and nearby inhabitants still need to give it space. The protection follows the crab's current position; a crab walking beyond the cupboard's coverage can pinch again.
Arctic Crabs caught on the line have a second career available. Intentionally drop a catch onto suitable ground at a home covered by your tool cupboard and it can become an individual saved pet, subject to the home's existing crab limit. An unsuitable release returns the unconverted catch. Releases outside home privilege are temporary, so choose the place before dropping it.
Lobsters¶
A Live Lobster carried in main inventory, belt, or worn storage can pinch its carrier repeatedly. Each lobster in a stack can do so. Keep duct tape in those carried containers to secure claws automatically without consuming the tape. Without tape, carried rope can be used automatically, consuming one rope for each unsecured lobster. Tape takes precedence when you have both.
Tape or rope stored only inside backpack contents does not supply this protection. Dropping, splitting, transferring, or otherwise moving lobsters can release their temporary ties; retain the materials and watch the feedback when handling the catch again. Use the lobster's Gut action when you want Lobster Meat instead of a live animal in your pockets.
Custom Fish¶
The island's custom catches are collected below, with their own portraits, habits, and reasons to examine a fish before calling it lunch. Nets, bait, magnets, lines and diving lead to different catches.
The Fishing guide explains equipment, every bonus source, the complete bait reference and magnet fishing. Scavenging covers nets, reef cargo and underwater salvage.
Fish the place you are in¶
Water type, depth, biome, time, bait, and local stock shape what can take the line. An unfamiliar fish can have its own fight and Gut result. Strength, stamina, tension, and the rod's condition are worth watching before you decide to force the last part of a catch.
Custom catches will not serve as bait. Use ordinary fish or raw fish from gutting instead; keep ordinary bait available for the rod.
Traps share parts of that ecology, with their own species exclusions and ordinary trap timing. Rod-only fish, limited populations, angler bonuses, and encounter catches deserve a rod. The Improved Fishing Rod, bait, tackle, fishing skills, and special food affect different parts of the work.
Read a custom catch before gutting or dropping it. Some releases become living animals, some catches bring a very bad surprise, and some rewards are useful long after supper.
Arctic Crab¶
The Arctic Crab takes the line sideways while I would prefer it came ashore. Keep control through that crosswise pull. Raw chicken is a useful choice in Arctic fresh or salt water; a suitable trap can wait while I do something about my fingers.
Gutting yields plenty of fish meat and occasional Gems. Or bring it home alive: drop it on supporting ground within authorized cupboard coverage to establish a saved crab household, if there is space. Outside that coverage the visit is brief. I decide whether it is dinner before naming it.
Habitat: Freshwater or ocean; Arctic biome
When and where: Any time of day
Bait: Favored bait: raw chicken
Battery Eel¶
I watch for the sharp pulses between a Battery Eel's ordinary pulls. Fresh water and suitable bait are enough; there is no special hour or offering to arrange.
The landing gives a spark show, but it is no substitute for properly dangerous island electricity. Gutting can supply fish meat, a small battery and occasional electrical salvage. The Electrician's Primer explains what to do with the battery after I have dried my hands.
Habitat: Freshwater
When and where: Any time of day
Bait: Ordinary usable fishing bait; no special bait is required
Bog Gar¶
A Bog Gar stays low and makes the line work for it. Try the swamps or Bandit Camp water with ordinary fishing bait; a trap can catch one too. Its meat, bones and fat make a useful kitchen haul.
Gut it with a little room around you. Several frogs can follow the meal onto the ground, and none of them seems particularly interested in an explanation.
Habitat: Swamps and the Bandit Camp's waters
When and where: Any time of day
Bait: Ordinary usable fishing bait; no special bait is required
Chrome Snowfish¶
The Chrome Snowfish seems content to remain at the far end of my line all afternoon. Its slow, heavy pulls leave pauses worth using. Try raw meat in Arctic water; raw bear meat is especially persuasive. A rod works in fresh or salt water, but only the coast offers a suitable trap route.
Meat and Brindas are useful returns. Sometimes there are swallowed fish or other odds and ends too. I check the catch before treating the whole weight as supper.
Habitat: Freshwater or ocean; Arctic biome
When and where: Any time of day
Bait: Required bait: raw meat, Favored bait: raw bear meat
Fieldcraft: Use a fishing rod in freshwater; traps cannot catch it there
Cobalt Glassfish¶
I don't trust a quiet line. Cobalt Glassfish pause, then dart; an apparently empty hook can still be occupied. Try fresh water after dark with ordinary suitable bait. Expensive bait at noon will not improve the hour. The meal is small, but an occasional gemstone or Island Phone gives me a reason to inspect it before discarding the remains.
Habitat: Freshwater
When and where: Night only (18:00–06:00 game time)
Bait: Ordinary usable fishing bait; no special bait is required
Copperbelly Carp¶
Heavy drag followed by a thrash near shore is the Copperbelly Carp's contribution to my afternoon. Fresh water, ordinary suitable bait and patience will do; there is no special hour to observe. A trap can handle the waiting.
Fish meat and scrap are useful returns, with occasional metal or a fuse besides. Check before selling the whole catch as supper. The fishing notes cover the equipment; the carp has already supplied its part of the recycling.
Habitat: Freshwater
When and where: Any time of day
Bait: Ordinary usable fishing bait; no special bait is required
Deep Tuna¶
For Deep Tuna I plan the return before the cast. This is a rod expedition into deep offshore water, with Fishing Tackle, high-quality bait and enough fishing experience or active help to qualify. Canned tuna meets the bait requirement. Long runs and brief recoveries make control matter more than impatience.
The meal is large. Scrap and an occasional targeting computer are useful; an AC-130 Beacon is much rarer. If one turns up, read the air-support instructions ashore. I would rather bring home a fish than turn the boat into a test site.
Habitat: Ocean
When and where: Any time of day, Water at least 20 m deep, At least 150 m offshore, Fishing Tackle must be carried in your inventory, Species eligibility of at least 3 from your fishing bonuses
Bait: Required bait: high-quality bait, Each bait item needs a quality of at least 10; a larger stack does not meet this requirement, High-quality bait needs a per-item quality of at least 10, Canned tuna meets these quality requirements
Fieldcraft: Use a fishing rod; this ocean species cannot be caught in traps
Desert Sunfish¶
I find the Desert Sunfish's slow tugs almost civil. Try fresh or salt water in arid country during daylight with ordinary suitable bait. Standing beside the water does not make the rest of the desert cool, so I still plan shade and drinking supplies.
The fish provides a substantial meal, sometimes with metal, cactus flesh or blueberries inside. It appears to have managed a more varied diet than mine.
Habitat: Freshwater or ocean; Arid biome
When and where: Day only (06:00–18:00 game time)
Bait: Ordinary usable fishing bait; no special bait is required
Ehrman Trout¶
Bandit Camp's water holds a trout with an unusually broad idea of a diet. Use a rod and ordinary bait; night improves the opportunity. Keep control through its sideways runs.
Gutting an Ehrman Trout brings two different salvage finds in place of the usual meal. Rope, ammunition, machinery and less ordinary recoveries can share the catch. I leave room for the result before opening it.
Habitat: Freshwater
When and where: Any time of day, Requires the Bandit Camp's waters
Bait: Ordinary usable fishing bait; no special bait is required
Fieldcraft: More likely at night, Use a fishing rod in freshwater; traps cannot catch it there
Glossy Black Piranha¶
Rapid reversals make a Glossy Black Piranha feel like a small saw on the line. I keep control rather than trying to haul it straight through the changes. Look in jungle rivers; night favors it without excluding a daytime catch. Suitable ordinary bait works. Chumming can improve its interest where it already belongs.
The meal comes with a disturbing assortment of other meat and remains. I keep my fingers outside the demonstration and inspect what can go into the cooking pot.
Habitat: Rivers; Jungle biome; outside swamps and the Bandit Camp's waters
When and where: Any time of day
Bait: Ordinary usable fishing bait; no special bait is required
Fieldcraft: More likely at night
Indigo Arrow¶
An Indigo Arrow spends much of the fight trying to reach another part of the horizon. Quick turns and short pauses keep me occupied. Ordinary suitable bait in sea water is enough; no special hour or deep-water expedition is required.
The swallowed extras can include logs, keycards or plushies. A successful landing can also produce startled chickens. On a boat, I would count the passengers again before deciding the fishing is finished.
Habitat: Ocean
When and where: Any time of day
Bait: Ordinary usable fishing bait; no special bait is required
Latinum Emperor¶
The Jungle Ziggurat's pool holds the rare Latinum Emperor. Bring a rod, ordinary bait and patience for its armored runs. Chumming that pool can improve its interest; a trap will not bring one home.
Gutting it deals 25 damage and can kill you. Recover first. The return is one Gold-pressed Latinum, sometimes accompanied by Gemstones, rather than an ordinary fish supper. Read the preparation's effects before consuming it.
Habitat: Freshwater
When and where: Any time of day, Requires the jungle ziggurat's pool
Bait: Ordinary usable fishing bait; no special bait is required
Fieldcraft: Use a fishing rod in freshwater; traps cannot catch it there
Lockjaw Pike¶
I don't take a shortening distance as victory over a Lockjaw Pike. It ambushes, zigzags and can charge toward the angler. Bring a rod to fresh water; freshwater traps won't deliver this one. Small ordinary fish or raw fish meat are better bait choices than an indiscriminate handful from the bag. The gut can supply useful springs or gears along with the meal. Check the contents before deciding the jaw was its only mechanical feature.
Habitat: Freshwater
When and where: Any time of day
Bait: Favored bait: small fish or fish meat
Fieldcraft: Use a fishing rod in freshwater; traps cannot catch it there
Martyrdom Shark¶
Move when the Martyrdom Shark arrives. The armed grenade beside the landed fish is more urgent than any account of my fine technique. Its runs, hesitations and charges already make the fight lively; I leave room for the ending too.
Use a rod in sufficiently deep ocean water with Brains, Entrails or raw human meat. Those bait types are requirements. Daylight favors it.
The landing scatters meat and the catch can still be gutted afterward. I wait until the explosion is settled before attending to either.
Habitat: Ocean
When and where: Any time of day, Water at least 5 m deep
Bait: Required bait: Brains, Entrails, or raw human meat
Fieldcraft: More likely by day, Use a fishing rod; this ocean species cannot be caught in traps
Mud Devil¶
The Mud Devil goes limp and waits for me to believe the argument is over. I keep watching the line. Fresh water and unpleasant bait suit it: Brains, Entrails and spoiled meat are particularly persuasive, while raw human meat helps too. Ordinary suitable bait can still catch one.
The remains may include a firecracker, trophy jar or cassette. I would wash the cassette before letting it anywhere near the household equipment. It has already survived one digestion.
Habitat: Freshwater
When and where: Any time of day
Bait: Favored bait: Brains, Entrails, or spoiled meat or fish, Also attractive: raw human meat
Platinum Gar¶
A Platinum Gar has enough endurance to make me reconsider the reel. Use its short rests. Fresh water and a rod are essential. Lobster Meat is the useful bait: it can qualify the angler before ordinary fishing bonuses would, and strongly favors the gar among eligible high-value catches.
It still does not buy a guaranteed fish. Gutting yields a substantial meal and high quality metal; I remember what I fed it before deciding whether to spend the last lobster on another cast.
Habitat: Freshwater
When and where: Any time of day, Species eligibility of at least 2 from your fishing bonuses; Lobster Meat bypasses this eligibility requirement
Bait: Favored bait: Lobster Meat
Fieldcraft: Use a fishing rod in freshwater; traps cannot catch it there
Powderfin¶
I try to finish a Powderfin fight when the opening appears. Its runs become harder as the fight continues, and a prolonged struggle can include an underwater explosion. Ordinary suitable bait in fresh water can find one; there is no special bait unlock. The gut supplies fish meat and specialist ammunition. Inspect the ammunition before choosing a gun. The fish did not arrange its contents around my equipment.
Habitat: Freshwater
When and where: Any time of day
Bait: Ordinary usable fishing bait; no special bait is required
Propane Gnip¶
The Propane Gnip jerks and pauses like an engine someone insists only needs attention. A longer fight can bring an underwater explosion; I watch the final approach as well. Try ordinary suitable bait in the ocean. Shallower water favors it, though greater depth does not rule it out.
Fish meat and low grade fuel are useful returns, with occasional propane tanks or crude. I keep those out of the supper pile.
Habitat: Ocean
When and where: Any time of day
Bait: Ordinary usable fishing bait; no special bait is required
Fieldcraft: Prefers water no deeper than 20 m; other eligible depths are still possible
Rustjaw Catfish¶
Long, heavy pulls make the Rustjaw Catfish feel like an abandoned workshop crossing the riverbed. Short rolls and rests are the time to regain control. I use a rod in fresh water; a trap leaves this one to the angler. Raw meat helps, and Entrails make a stronger invitation.
Meat and scrap are dependable returns. A swallowed tin, attachment, knife or even a gun may turn up. I check before throwing away the evidence of somebody else's bad afternoon.
Habitat: Freshwater
When and where: Any time of day
Bait: Favored bait: Entrails, Also attractive: raw meat
Fieldcraft: Use a fishing rod in freshwater; traps cannot catch it there
San Francisco Puffer¶
The San Francisco Puffer gives me long pulls followed by generous recoveries. Use the pauses without forgetting the line. Take Brains and a rod into ocean water with some depth; Brains are required bait, not merely a preference.
Gutting produces meat and a ball. Intentionally dropping that ball starts a brief kickabout before its smoky departure. I would choose the ground before releasing it. The game is short enough without kicking it straight into the water.
Habitat: Ocean
When and where: Any time of day, Water at least 5 m deep
Bait: Required bait: Brains
Fieldcraft: Use a fishing rod; this ocean species cannot be caught in traps
Signal Ray¶
A Signal Ray glides through broad arcs, then arrives with sparks and a visiting scan drone. The sparks are theatrical. I pay closer attention to whatever the drone brings to the afternoon.
Bring a rod to sea water; greater depth favors the ray, but it can appear in the shallows. Ordinary suitable bait works, and traps cannot catch it. Tech parts, metal and occasional phones or pagers make useful gutting returns. The communications guide covers less eventful ways to obtain information.
Habitat: Ocean
When and where: Any time of day
Bait: Ordinary usable fishing bait; no special bait is required
Fieldcraft: Prefers water at least 5 m deep; other eligible depths are still possible, Use a fishing rod; this ocean species cannot be caught in traps
Sparkling Koi¶
I appreciate a fish whose landing has not been instructed to explode. Sparkling Koi turn slowly and reward a steady hand. Try a rod in fresh water with raw snake meat. The Jungle Ziggurat's pools favor that combination, but their stock is shared and limited; a hard-worked pool needs time to recover.
The meal is modest, with an occasional gemstone. Look at the terraces before settling in: the Needlers have a different use for the same venom country.
Swamps offer a separate nighttime chance with an ordinary rod. A Koi landed through that opportunity can leave an extra Gemstone ahead of the angler, separate from anything found when gutting it. Take a look at the bank before leaving; it is easy to watch the fish and miss the smaller arrival.
Habitat: Freshwater
When and where: Any time of day
Bait: Favored bait: raw snake meat
Fieldcraft: Use a fishing rod; this limited-population species cannot be caught in traps, Raw snake meat is especially attractive in the jungle ziggurat's pool, The shared local population in the jungle ziggurat's pool can be temporarily depleted; let it recover
A meal can invite wildlife¶
Read the meal before consuming it. Pookie Stew can bring shared critters and, where a safe route is available, a passing deer event. Hannibal's Hearty Stew starts a hostile hunt, so eat it only when ready to deal with approaching animals. Scavenger's Stew can invite shark attention during a valid ocean dive. Eating a meal and carrying a meat item are separate sources of wildlife attention.
Birds¶
Aircraft, gunfire, and damaging explosions can flush birds from nearby trees. A sudden lift of wings is a reason to inspect the sky and the surrounding ground before crossing an opening. Gunshots from inhabitants can cause it too; the birds alone do not identify who fired or whether the aircraft is friendly.
Circling seagulls over water can mark a fishing hotspot. They stay around the fishing ground, unlike a brief scatter from a tree. Check the water and the route to the bank before settling in with a rod.
What attracts trouble¶
Raw and cooked meat can attract land animals while carried or dropped. In water it can attract sharks. Polar-bear scent checks include backpack food, so hiding a stack there does not solve that particular problem. Store food you do not need for an exposed trip, and move away from bait you deliberately leave behind.
Spoiled meat and spoiled produce dropped on land can draw an Aberration. Dispose of it away from the place where you intend to work, fish, or recover. A quiet moment immediately after dropping bait does not mean it has finished attracting attention.
Use deterrents deliberately: hold the tool that a species recognizes, put a visible target in front of Bear Spray, keep the Laser Sight equipped and switched on, and check your effect countdowns. If you deliberately hunt an adult animal, harvest it. If a warning gives you room to leave, take the route while it is still open.
Weather · Survival · Encounters · Skills