Fishing is one of those systems that looks like a minigame and turns out to be a crafting supply chain. You catch fish, you grill the fish, you eat the grilled fish for buffs. The whole loop is worth understanding if you plan to run dungeons or PvP where the HP and MP regen dishes matter.
Requirements and the basic loop
Fishing unlocks at level 30.[1][2] You need a fishing rod and bait. The rod goes in your weapon slot. You right-click the bait to attach it, then press spacebar while facing water. The minigame opens.[1]
The minigame is a reaction test. A fish appears in a red circle and you need to click it three times before the yellow time bar at the bottom runs out. A successful click shows "Hit", a failed click shows "Miss" and reduces your remaining time. Three hits gives you a chance to catch the fish.[1]
Fishing rods
Two rods exist:[1]
- Fishing Pole: bought from the Fisherman NPC for 5000 Yang. This is the starter rod.
- Carbon Fibre Fishing Rod: crafted by the Fisherman from materials you bring him. Lasts 30 days from receipt.
The regular Fishing Pole can be upgraded by the Fisherman once it accumulates enough mastery points from successful catches. Upgrades go to level 20. The success rate is 100% for level 1, then 39% for every level after that. A failed upgrade costs 10% of your accumulated points but does not drop the level.[1][2]
Bait types
- Worm: bought from the Fisherman
- Paste: bought from the Fisherman
- Minnow: obtained from fishing
- Freshwater shrimp: obtained from fishing
Fishing support items
- Fishing Marble: lasts 20 minutes. Shows you what is on your hook when something bites, so you can time your reaction.[1]
- Fishing Book: increases your chance of attracting rare fish and doubles your chance of catching them. Lasts 3 hours and only drains while active. Also shows what is on your hook.[1][3]
- Grill: bought from the Fisherman for 20000 Yang. Used to cook dead fish into grilled fish.[2]
What you catch
Fish are not all equal. Each fish type has a difficulty rating and a fishing rod level requirement. The fish you can catch depends on your rod level.[1]
The fish that matter for buffs:[1]
- Crucian Carp: +180 HP
- Mandarin Fish: +180 MP
- Grayling: +350 HP
- Salmon: +350 MP
- Grass Carp: +20 Attack Speed
- Brook Trout: +600 HP
- Eel: +10 STR for 10 minutes
- Pikes: +10 Agility for 10 minutes
- Perch: +8% vs Metin Stones for 10 minutes
- Loach: +30% EXP Bonus for 30 minutes
- Gold Crucian Carp: +70% EXP Bonus for 30 minutes
Non-fish items also come out of the water: hair dyes, pearls, keys, chests, and the Kelpie Chest.[1] These are all tradeable or usable, so even a "bad" fishing session can pay for the bait.
Golden Tuna
The Golden Tuna is an extremely rare catch that can happen once per 24 hours.[1] You get three options when you catch it:
- Release it: you get either a buff (increased rare fish chance for 60 minutes) or a debuff (movement speed reduced to 50 for 5 minutes)
- Open it: possible contents include Clam, White Pearl, Blue Pearl, Blood-Red Pearl, Kelpie Chest, or a Carbon Fibre Fishing Rod (30 days)
- Use as bait: gives you a buff that increases rare fish chance even higher than the 60 minute version, but only lasts 5 minutes
The cooking step
Live fish die in your inventory after a while. Once dead, you can grill them on a bonfire. Different fish give different grilled dishes with different buffs.[2]
This is the part most new players miss. Catching fish is only half the system. The buffs come from the grilled version, which means you need access to a bonfire and you need to cook the fish before you plan to use them. Fishing an hour before a dungeon run and cooking at the entrance is the standard workflow.
Sources
[1] Gameforge Metin2 Wiki: Fishing
[2] Gameforge: Metin2 Fishing Guide
[3] Gameforge Metin2 Wiki: Fishing Book