I love fishing in WoW. I mean, I enjoy it beyond all reason. The following is a brief historical outline of each expansion’s additions to the systems and utility of angling in Azeroth followed by my hopes for what fishing might bring in Shadowlands.
TLDR: scroll to the bottom of the post for Shadowlands ideas.
In Vanilla, fishing for a fantasy RPG was a new concept for me, and I fell in love with it as a farming habit from way back in aught six.
- We had a few poles we could go after (Big Iron, Nat Pagle’s Extreme Angler, Arcanite Fishing Pole, etc.).
- We had the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza, with a water-form & +fishing gear as prizes.
- Zul Gurub added a fishing quest and boss fight.
- High-end buff foods made fishing a gold-maker (Nightfin, Winter Squid).
- In the second half of Vanilla, we got the addition of schools.
In Burning Crusade, fishing was elevated in importance.
- We got a new fishing pole.
- We got highly desired buff recipes that required a maxed-out fishing skill for mats, and more of the “good food” required fish than in Vanilla.
- We got new lures that could be crafted (I miss those), and the schools became more diverse & necessary.
- BC gave anglers easier access to engame mats with mote fishing.
- We got another raid encounter that required fishing skill.
In Wrath of the Lich King, fishing really took off. The devs got creative with it and really set the tone for what fishing would expand into. Fishing officially became “a thing.”
- We got achievements for the first time, and fishing became a challenge for collectors.
- We got the Salty title.
- Rare fish became important for the first time ever.
- We got novelty fish in the sewers, coins in the fountain, and a new alchemy ingredient to sell.
- We got our first faction with rep-based fishing prizes.
- We got the Sea Turtle mount (still the best underwater mount available), which could only be obtained through a rare drop while fishing.
Cataclysm felt like a step backward in fishing to me. For the first time, an expansion disappointed with the lack of new fishing challenges or systems to tackle. Everyone had access to underwater mounts, now (though the sea turtle still feels faster to me than all the other underwater mounts in the game).
- We got fishing dailies with bags of loot and skill points, but nothing new of note seemed to happen.
Mists of Pandaria was a dream for those of us who love fishing in Azeroth. They blew the lid off of fishing in MoP and really blew my mind.
- The Anglers faction made an entire minizone dedicated to fishing.
- The daily fishing spot location where lucrative fish could be caught by the hundreds with ease.
- The rare fish daily turn-ins for reputation and rewards were a new concept that got done even better in subsequent expansions.
- The Anglers Raft (which revolutionized the way I travel in non-flight areas–not just for fishing)
- The multiple fishing pole & gear options.
- The Water Strider mount.
Warlords of Draenor added a whole new system for “how fishing works” in the game, and despite that expansion’s lack of popularity in general, the fishing system was brilliant–truly novel and genius.
- The Garrison Fishing Shack, with its 3-tier upgrade system is still my favorite way to fish. Sitting on the log in my own garrison, with every fish I’ve bothered to stock right there where I want it.
- The concept of bait for catching certain fish got introduced to the game.
- Fishing with the idea of “filleting” the catch for cooking meat brought “small, regular, and enormous” catches that raised with your fishing skill or the rank of your shack.
- Cooking could not be maxed without the fish meat in WoD.
Just when I thought fishing had reached its creative zenith in the game, Legion brought us something entirely new.
- The Underlight Angler artifact, with it’s comical quest chain, put fishing on par with our artifact weapons while making light at the same time. With waterwalking, a water form even faster than Druid aquatic form, and the ability to port between schools of fish at will, this fishing pole indeed takes the cake as a fishing reward.
- Bait as the means to catch the rare fish for leveling AP added a different kind of grinding to the fishing system.
- Arcane Lures attached to a rep system for various other water-related rewards.
Battle for Azeroth had me waiting with anticipation for what on earth they could come up with next for my favorite time-waster in WoW. But we got nothing. We got new fish and new cooking recipes, but for the first time since BC, fishing could be ignored altogether. Despite the very sea-centric storylines, fishing felt like a tacked-on afterthought.
- No special dailies or world quests.
- No meaningful achievements or titles.
- No new special poles or special bait or special…anything.
- The fish were important for cooking and raid feasts, but for the first time since Vanilla, they couldn’t compete with herbs for pricing on the AH.
- The addition of Fish Oil in cooking recipes was the only gold-making concession for fishing in BfA, but since even the lowest-level fishing skill can obtain it, it failed to materialize as a true incentive for sinking in the time.
Edited much later (after the thread was revived by others) to add:
Yes, I’d forgotten the fishing additions to Darkmoon Faire, as well–at some point (not sure when), the stingray underwater mount and a small set of fishing rewards/gear were added in a small fishing currency system inside the faire. you can get a ridiculous and fun fishing hat, the mount, and various other rewards for catching the Darkmoon Faire fish. I’d completely forgotten that until you mentioned the stingray.
Mechagon also has the “secret fish” fishing goggles and achievements, but compared to previous expansions…it’s totally lackluster and has no proper incentive. It honestly felt like they had a meeting and some poor guy named Bill raised his hand in the back and said, “Hey guys, we should give them at least SOMETHING for fishing,” and everyone rolled their eyes at Bill and said, “fine…we’ll add something.”
I mean, that’s truly what the Mechagon addition felt like, and it was a bolt-on bandaid that didn’t offer anything exciting…unless, of course, I missed something (which is entirely possible). I had honestly forgotten about it by the time I wrote this. Ha ha! Sorry, guys, and thanks/credit to Darth for reminding me!!
Also, Naz’jatar–a literal sea zone–was a pitifully missed opportunity. We gave the nod to fishing to the engineering zone instead of…the fish zone. What?!!
For Shadowlands, I hope for a renewal of creativity with fishing. I’m not hearing anything from the alpha testers about it, yet, but I hope to see something exciting before beta. I’d like to see:
- Covenant rewards for fishing or covenant-related privileges for the fish in relevant zones.
- New mounts, titles, poles…something. Give us rewards we will really want to work for.
- Fishing Pole Transmog.
- Fishing Outfit Transmog (the items are generally white quality such as overalls and vendor hats).
- Creative Enchants or Gem Sockets to enhance Fishing.
- Give us a zone/sub-zone/area devoted to Fishing that one cannot gain access to without the fishing skill or rep necessary to enter.
- Boats that operate as the raft does…the raft 2.0. We want some river-worthy vessels to fish from. Make them creative and special!
- Bring bait back or special lures.
These are just my ideas. What do you think?
