Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons is finally here, and with it comes a ton of new stuff to explore. And with the new expansion comes a mountain of new content. Players can take to the waters in new ways, with boats and fishing being big parts of the new setting. One of the newest additions to Guild Wars 2 is the ability for players to fish, and it’s actually surprisingly deep. Keep reading to find out more. But first, a word about the new Masteries, as they’re kind of important.
Also, there’s a bunch of new Mastery Points to collect. These special bonuses are spent on leveling up your character after they hit the level 80 cap. The Mastery system is an account-wide progression system for level 80 characters that provide players with account-wide benefits. In simple terms, it’s a way to make your life easier in GW2. Masteries for Guild Wars 2 are normally unlocked via completing certain goals. The three main story tracks are unlocked by completing the first story arc in each expansion. You can unlock these three Mastery Tracks by completing the following:
- Heart of Thorns, Act 1: Torn from the Sky
- Path of Fire, Act 1: Sparking the Flame
- The Icebrood Saga, Episode 1 (Whisper in the Dark): Silence
With the introduction of activities like Fishing in Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons, you can get your hands on even more. The Fishing Mastery is the first of the Masteries that’s been added in the expansion, and getting started on it requires a bit of work. Boosting your Fishing Mastery levels grants more useful fishing abilities, as well as chances at better loot. Once you get into the End of Dragons story, you will encounter a chapter called “Old Friends“. From there, you can encounter Cantha, the first NPC that teaches you fishing in the game. Nearby you will also find Fisherman Benyo, who sells fishing supplies such as bait, as well as related crafting recipes.
This NPC sends you on a quest to find a basic fishing rod and some bait, teaching you how the new system works. Once the fishing pole is unlocked, players can go to any source of water and cast a line into it. From there, you’re free to fish as you like. Here’s how the mini-game works.
How to fish in Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons
With the rod in your inventory, you will notice two new icons on your skillbar. The one on the left will equip your pole and bring up the relevant menu to check out your other fishing-related skills. Once you’re near a body of water, you can press the button to cast your line. This will bring up an AoE marker similar to the one used for AoE attacks, place this marker over where you wish to cast your line.
While cast, you will notice the bobble in the water start to move, along with the audio cue that plays, this tells you that you have a bite. That’s your cue to start reeling. When you reel in your line, the fishing mini-game kicks off. Using the buttons on your skill bar, move the marker back and forth to keep it inline with the marker on the UI. Letting the marker drift outside of the marked zone too long will result in a line break, and your catch is lost.