Final Fantasy XV Fishing Guide: How to fish properly to raise your fishing level and earn AP quickly

by RPG Site Staff on 29 November, 2016

Final Fantasy XV is full of fairly interesting side activites to partake in, and one of the main activities is fishing. Despite that fact by the time we finished the game in our review play-throughs Noctis' fishing level was still remarkably low - fishing just isn't often surfaced to you in the game beyond a few side quests that'll get you started.

We muddled our way through in the review process so that you don't have to now, post-release. As such, we're here to give you some tips for how to get kicked off right on FF15's fishing mechanic - how to get started early and keep it up to ensure Noctis' skills aren't neglected compared to the others, who'll largely level up arbitrarily.

So... here we go. Just how do you fish?

Need more FF15 help? Check out our full guide homepage, which features many more pages like this on several aspects of the game.

How to fish in Final Fantasy XV

You can actually get to fishing right from the game's opening, more or less. One of the first story objectives is the game is to head to Galdin Quay, and that's actually the first available fishing spot in the game period.

Right in front of the Quay is a parking area. There's a gas pump here, and in front of you is one large marina just off to the left. That's where you'll first meet Ardyn in the story, but just off to the right is a much smaller jetty with a shop booth at the land end of it. This is a fishing jetty. Take in what this looks like on the map - this is what you'll be looking for in the future to find additional fishing spots.

The shop sells all the paraphernalia you'll need to replenish every now and then to fish - rods, lines, reels and lures - and simply walking up to the end of the jetty will pop up a prompt to begin fishing.

If you want to be guided to this fishing spot even more simply, look out for a cat that can kick off a side quest on the pier that leads out to the hotel over the water. This quest will direct you to fish.

Once you're actually into the fishing mini-game your primary initial concern will be what kind of bait to use. In FF15 different kinds of bait actually fully correlate to different kinds of fish, so the bait you use will have a large impact on what you're able to catch alongside the location you're fishing in. Fishing supplies can be found in shops around FF15's world, so keep an eye out and be sure to remain well-stocked in case you spot a fishing point out in the wild with no shops nearby - you'll want to have plenty of equipment to hand.

So you've picked your bait - next up is the actual act of fishing itself. To do this you'll want to cast your line out, but you'll want to do it in a place that makes sense. Take a look at your mini-map: on the map you'll see yellow dots. These dots are hotspots for fish, so use them to guide you and cast your line directly into those areas.

When you get a bite the fishing mechanics should be pretty familiar to most, as it's not dissimilar to the fishing mini-games in myriad classic games. Hold R2 to reel in but keep an eye on the growing red bar on screen. This represents the tension on the line - if there's too much tension the line will snap and leave you fishless and with a broken wire, so be patient.

You can tilt the rod left and right to reduce the strain on the wire, but don't be afraid to stop reeling for a few moments to reduce the tension if it comes to it.

Each type of fish you catch rewards you with a specific amount of AP based on its size and rarity.

Fishing bonuses per level for Noctis

As you fish more Noctis' fishing still will level up when you camp. The bonus at each level will improve your chances of catching bigger fish which in turn improves your chances of getting big AP bonuses from fishing. Remember to pick up the associated skill on the growth page of the ascension tree to maximise these bonuses, too.

Level 1: No Bonus
Level 2: Fishing line wears down less quickly
Level 3: Fishing shops offer a 10% discount
Level 4: Chances of hooking a fish increased
Level 5: Catch bigger fish
Level 6: Fishing shops offer a deeper discount
Level 7: Fishing line wears down slowly
Level 8: Chances of hooking a fish increased even further
Level 9: Maximum discount at fishing shops
Level 10: Ability to catch the biggest fish

Each fish in the game has a specific experience and AP bonus associated with it, so do your best to track down all the fish in the game!

Need more FF15 help? Check out our full guide homepage, which features many more pages like this on several aspects of the game.