Fishing Derby PSA

Community General Discussion
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So, I always get a bit peeved when I do the Hallowfall Fishing Derby because it seems like I’m the only one actively trying to clear out the bad pools so good ones can spawn.

But I got to thinking … maybe people aren’t being selfish. Maybe they just don’t know how this works. O.o Totally possible. So, let me explain - very vaguely because I’m not a programmer and don’t know the very fine details - how this works.

(Disclaimer: This could’ve changed, but it used to function like this when I last researched it expansions ago, and it does appear to be consistent with present day. But if you’re a numbers person, feel free to correct me.)

If Westfall is full of Copper and there’s no Tin, you do have to mine some of the Copper to wipe the nodes and give Tin nodes a chance to spawn in their place. Fishing nodes work the same way.

So if you’re trying to find a rare Blood in the Water pool, and all you see is Glimmerpools in half the zone, the best thing you can do for yourself (as well as your fellow players) is start clearing out some of those pools.

And like, I do understand if there’s a rush. If you only have 10 minutes left and you really need a specific one, and there are a lot of people fishing and other people clearing, then I get it - I do. Totally understandable.

But if you have 2/3 fish already and have 40+ mins left, hey, start getting every second or third “bad” pool you see. It does really help.

I mean I can’t tell you what to do, obviously, and it is your choice if you’d rather just get your quest done and be on your way. This is to be simply a request / suggestion.

But I do think if more people did this (or were simply aware this is how this works), then the overall experience would be better for the whole.

Also! As a bonus: Don’t forget that lures exist for some of the rare fish. One of them is broken atm (I can’t recall which. XP) But the Rainbow fish one works. They’re cheap on the AH and will save you a ton of time. Heck, I give relevant ones out for free on Saturday when I’m on. :sweat_smile:

Annnnd … It’s … also considered bad manners by many to fish from “claimed” pools. The old school fishing community is the best in WoW. But I do think some newer people aren’t aware of the unspoken etiquette or don’t care. And again, I’m not insisting you follow said customs. I do not like controlling people or implying you should be restricted in choice. You do you.

I just wanted to make people aware of these things they may not have been. You are free to do with this information what you will.

… And even if you “steal” my pool, I’ll still give you a lure. :sweat_smile:

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You aren’t…but there are very few of us.

Most of them do and figure it’s faster to poach the respawns people like you and me are creating by doing it the right way.

BUT…you are on to something here because the mount achieve has a lot of people who don’t fish in the game otherwise doing it for the mount. There have always been players who don’t understand shared spawn.

It’s been this way since Vanilla. There is an area in Western Plaguelands where a quest asks you to kill a bunch of diseased bears. The bears share spawn with a spider mob, and when you ride through there, it’s nothing but spiders b/c they do NOT kill the spiders. They refuse to kill the spiders. They will only kill their quest mob. People would even get into chat complaining, “I have this quest for bears…where are the bears?”

You gotta kill the spiders, man, and you have GOT to fish out the Calm Surfacing Ripples to spawn the Royal Ripples. Has to happen.

Good luck out there, Crepsly. /fist bump

From one Azeroth Angler to another…I share your frustration on the regular.

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So I have a question: is their any form of statistical or recorded proof that this is true?

I ask as I know from observation that the Blood pools seem to have specific spots or general locations where they spawn. I can go to those locations and there are no pools there at all, Bloods or otherwise. My feeling is that it is more likely that when someone fishes in a Blood and it disappears, it will reappear either at that location or at another pre-recognised location after some set time. And not necessarily because someone has fished in another type of pool to ‘clear a spot’, as it were.

I’m not saying you are wrong but I’m not sure you are right, either.

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There are areas where the Blood pools spawn, kneeshooter, but if there are glimmerpools or calm surfacing ripples where the blood pools spawn, you have to fish them out first. Same with the Royal Ripples.

They are absolutely shared spawn nodes.

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On the flip side I’ve seen people fish one out and leave the rest for others who might need that fish type.

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Those who do this altruistically are your solid hardcore WoW fishing anglers b/c we KNOW.

Also…it could be people who are ticking off their achievement list for the derby or the mount and will immediately leave to search for the next one on the list as soon as they catch the one they came for because sticking around to deplete the pool just wastes time on their countdown.

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Again, I think that’s possible but not guaranteed. I’ve got no way to prove it but its just my observation that there are frequently no other types of pools at a spot where I know I’ve previously found Bloods. It could be I’ve just not seen someone fishing another pool there but its impossible to know.

When the Derby includes the need to get something from a Blood pool, I tend to do the easy ones first to get them out of the way and leave the Blood to last. Next time I do a Derby I’ll test out the OP’s theory and see if it helps. I’ve not done it because I’m thoughtless, it simply didn’t occur to me to be helpful. No harm trying it to see if it does work.

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Aww, <3. See, this is why I made the thread. Not to complain and call people bad human beings, but to inform. lol

As far as proof, I don’t have any now, but back in the day there used to be an amazing fishing site called El’s Anglin, and it had this info.

I know there are definitely spots where multiple pools can spawn. Like near the giant bridge before the waterfall as you’re getting ready to go into Azj’kahet, there seems to often be a Blood pool there, but I’ve also seen that one as other things (and a Royal).

I think there are definitely some pool nodes where certain fish either can’t spawn, or some spawn more frequently, sure. Like on the coast is where that one fish is… god I’m bad with names. XD The A something. But yeah, in Hallowfall, those only spawn on the coast, but I’ve seen Calm pools in their stead, too.

But yeah, this wasn’t really a personal theory as much as old info I remember from a site long gone. If someone can pull up El’s Anglin archives, that’d be awesome.

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Would the same effect apply for those spots where the floating wreckage thingy always appear? If you fish up other pools in the same location would that trigger the wreckage to be there (they can have some nice valuable stuff).

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Possibly. I wish we could have actual raw data for how this works now. I’d love to do some testing.

How I personally assume it works is that wreckage does have a specific node where it’s more likely to spawn (or a few of them), so I guess the system either does one of two routes:
It either A.) Says ok, I did a RNG check. It’s time for a wreckage to spawn. Let me see if any of the spots are clear… yes! Cool, spawn that in. Or “Oh, nope, none clear. Guess I’ll spawn something else.”

Or B:
Pool #47 was cleared out. Time to spawn a new pool. RNG check: Pool #12, you’re up! What can spawn there? RNG Oooh, wreckage, nice. (Or, you know, Glimmer, or whatever. XD)

I’m not a programmer and I don’t remember enough details from the OG article to recall how exactly it works. But probably one of those ways. But I guess either way clearing out junk pools still increases the odds of rare ones spawning.

Edit: Oh, and this does only apply to each zone independently. I know that’s obvious, but I wanted to make sure to state that since I do recall that being stated in that old article. So fishing in Hallowfall shouldn’t affect Isle of Dorn spawns at all, etc.

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Didnt even know HF had a fishing derby. Nevermind how it works.

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Yes. The floating wreckage pools are just rare spawns. Now, I’m sure there are some nodes where they are NOT on the potential spawn table, but they do share spawn with other pools in the nodes where they do spawn and simply spawn at a reduced rate.

I know this for two reasons: 1. It has always been this way for the treasure pools, all the way back to Vanilla. 2. I have personally fished out the shorelines in Hallowfall where I know these pools appear to generate treasure pool spawns…and it works every time if you stay long enough and continually fish out the area to keep spawns rolling.

It’s the same thing I used to do back in the olden days by fishing out Lake Lordaeron Greater Sagefish pools and Tanaris’ pools along the coast to generate the treasure pools.

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I’m so thankful someone with a more detailed understanding (and memory XD) of this came to polish off the info. lol I couldn’t remember exactly how the RNG was rolled / calculated. But I do remember that being known and published info on the site at one point.

Ty. :smiley:

:rofl: Well now you have no excuse - we better see you next Saturday at the crack of dawn. :stuck_out_tongue:

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I’ve reached a point where I go to the first (unclaimed) pool I can find then just keep fishing from the open water once it despawns. So I’m neither helping nor hurting the situation very much.

I’m done all my fishing goals for the expansion (unless I run out of mats for cooking) so the derby’s just a nice little excuse to go and spend some time relaxing in the world.

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I’ve gotten all the rewards (I wanted) from doing the fishing derby months ago. It is beneficial for people doing the derby to clear random pools because they get a Mereldar Derby Mark for each type of fish caught + they’re looking from the special out of specific pools.

I myself am fishing on Saturdays for Kaheti… because not only are people clearing the trivial pools, but the actual spawn timer feels increased and blood in the water is everywhere. I usually only clear out pools if no one is fishing at all (during the week) and I need more to spawn, it is much slower and fewer spawn in general though.

It is, I will fly on by usually if someone is already fishing at a node with a few exceptions… the main one being if they’ve been up in my pools it’s all fair game. I had three other people literally trying to fish out of a pool I had gotten to first yesterday… which means absolutely nothing I know, but what’s the point in “getting” a node when at best you’re going to pull one fish out of it? I move along right quick when I see multiple people at it… not hunker down and look like a douche who isn’t going to get much.

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See! Yeah, it felt that way to me, too. I’m glad I’m not crazy and others see it as well. Smart, Jeje. Smart.

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I think there’s definitely some kind of increased spawn timer in play when zones are active, or at least gathering in zones is active.

I’ve noticed this with mining and herbing too. It could just be zone population, but I bet the system does track how many nodes are being cleared per minute and adjusts spawn times (or just active available nodes) to compensate.

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Honestly, Crepsly, I think the anglers and battle pet people are just the most fun to be around and most helpful people in all of WoW.

The people into WoW fishing are typically very happy to help other people figure things out, and so are the battle pet folks.

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Thank you!

I think it has to be increased due to the fishing derby specifically, they needed to find a happy balance between people farming for fish and those “just doing the quest”. However it’s being manipulated doesn’t function the same during the week and that’s probably a bad thing actually because it’s way more fun when the spawns aren’t stingy.

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This drives me nuts. It’s better for everyone if everyone just fishes their own schools. Instead of stealing half my fish, and only getting half the fish yourself before having to mount up and find a new pool, everyone gets the full complement before remounting. But stupid people often can’t see past the end of their noses, much less the logical consequences of what’s beyond it.

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