There are many aspects to Of Ash And Steel that make it feel like a classic RPG. You have to work hard to progress and fight some dangerous enemies along the way. Survival will sometimes come down to catching a fish with your last piece of bait and cooking it on a fire.
To add a bit more realism to Of Ash And Steel, fishing is tricky and involves perfect timing to lure, reel, and land the fish. Bait is hard to come by, especially at the start, but eventually the fish will be throwing themselves at your hook.
How To Catch Fish In Of Ash And Steel
After you wake in Nerest’s hut and complete some chores for him, you can start to explore the world around you. As you leave the hut, turn left to find a fishing pond, complete with bait, some extra supplies, and a rod to use.
Fishing rods are not a tool you can pick up and take with you in Of Ash And Steel. Instead, you use the rod that sits at the fishing spot, and leave it there when you are done. This is also a good way to spot a fishing spot on your travels: just check the edge of the body of water for a fishing rod and hopefully a box of bait nearby.
To start fishing, pick up any bait left there. To start with, bait is hard to come by, so you may as well grab any you see. Pick up the fishing rod, and Tristan will begin to fish.
You will see two bars to his right: one shows the rod and line durability, and the other shows the chance of successfully landing the fish. It is important to keep an eye on both of these while attempting to catch a fish.
The fishing controls for the mouse and keyboard, or controller, are:
- Hook: Left mouse button/LB/L1
- Reel: Right mouse button/RB/R1
- Land Fish: Space/A/X
As is the case with many RPGs, fishing is not simply a case of throwing the line and reeling in a fish. Timing is key here, or you risk snapping the line or losing the fish and losing that bait in the process.
Hooking a fish requires a single tap, while reeling it in is a tap-and-hold mechanic. When you hear the ‘plop’ sound of the fish grabbing the bait, tap Hook. When the line starts to move, tap and hold Reel. Click Land Fish when the success rate bar is high.
If you press the wrong button, try to reel in a fish for too long, or try to land the fish when the chance of success is low, you will lose the fish.
Only try to land the fish when the chance of success bar is high, or you will lose your bait and have no fish for your efforts. Sometimes you do all you can to land a fish, and the game just decides it wasn’t meant to be. The durability will decrease before you get a chance to reel in and land the fish, or the chance of success won’t increase enough to allow you to land the fish.
You can keep the fish to cook, or you can trade them with vendors. It is also worth keeping them in case you stumble upon any NPC side quests that ask you for spare fish.
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