Fishing Mechanics

Fishing is a primary survival activity provided in Last State, offering a renewable source of food and crafting materials. It involves finding suitable locations, managing resources (bait, gear), and mastering a tension-based minigame.

1. Requirements

To begin fishing, you must meet the following conditions:

• Location: You must be on a Shore, River, or Lake tile (or a tile adjacent to a Lake).
• Position: You must be close to the water within the tile (sub-position check).
• Equipment: A Fishing Rod, Fishing Kit, or Gill Net is required.
• Bait: You must have bait or a lure in your inventory.

2. Core Mechanics

Success Chance

Your base chance to hook a fish is calculated from several factors:

• Skill: Higher fishing skill increases success chance significantly.
• Gear Bonus: Different rods provide different bonuses (Simple vs. Reinforced vs. Master).
• Bait Quality: Lures > Live Bait (Minnows/Frogs) > Organic Bait (Worms/Grubs).
• Season: Spring is best (Spawning), followed by Autumn and Summer. Winter is difficult.
• Time of Day: Dawn and Dusk provide a 15% bonus. Night has a penalty unless you have the Night Owl perk.
• Weather: Light rain helps (+8%), while heavy rain, strong winds, and freezing temperatures hinder success.
• Fatigue: High fatigue reduces your "patience bonus" and can cause failure due to lack of focus.

The Minigame

When a fish bites, a minigame begins:

• Tension: You must keep the line tension within a moving "Safe Zone".
• Actions:
  • Hook: Sets the hook to start the struggle.
  • Reel: Pulls the fish in, increasing tension but reducing fish stamina.
  • Slack: Lowers tension to prevent the line from snapping.
• Goal: Deplete the fish's Stamina to 0 before your line snaps (Strain reaches 100%).
• Difficulty: Larger and rarer fish have more stamina, fight harder, and have smaller safe zones.

3. Resources & Loot

Fish Yield

Catching a fish provides raw resources based on its weight and your butchering skill:

• Raw Fish: Primary food source.
• Animal Fat: Used for crafting, fuel, or cooking.
• Bones: Used for tools and broth.
• Offal: Used for bait or compost.

Stock & Depletion

• Local Stock (rodStock): Each specific water cell has a limited number of fish. Depleting it leads to a ~10-day recovery period.
• Chunk Stock (chunk.fish): Over-fishing an entire map area (chunk) reduces the global catch quality and rate for that region.

4. Fishing Gear

Rods

• Simple Rod: Basic effectiveness.
• Reinforced Rod: Better durability and safe zone control.
• Master Rod: High durability, massive safe zone bonus, and reduced line strain.

Bait & Lures

• Worms / Grubs / Crickets: Basic organic bait. Can be dug up from ground (Forest/Swamp/Plain).
• Minnows / Frogs: Live bait. Effectiveness: Medium. Found by digging in Shore/Swamp.
• Lures (Shiny, Iron, Steel, Gold): High effectiveness. Not consumed on use (unlike organic bait), only lost if line snaps or durability fails.

5. Fish Species

Fish availability depends on the water body type (Lake, River, Shore).

Common Species

Uncommon Species

Rare & Legendary Species

6. Experience & Progression

• Fishing XP: Gained on successful cast (small) and catch (large, based on difficulty).
• Unlocks: Higher levels grant passive bonuses to safe zone width, visual indicators for fish size, and chance to catch rare species.