(The Side of the Angels)
AfAP
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13 July 2001
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Mike Ryan
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Mike Ryan has provided illuminating information on how to get the most out of the
fishing minigame in Dark Cloud. Spoilers ahead.
First, having "defeated all the bad guys" and now moving on to "killing
everything that moves," I have the following observations for you.
- Damage is not limited to 3 digits.
- Weapon HP, endurance, speed, elements, and anti-creature attributes appear to be limited to 99.
- Attack and magical power, however, are not.
- The Demon Shaft has new monsters, and they hurt.
Anyway, on to fishing.
I find the most beneficial place to fish to be the oasis lake in Muska
Lacka. The best time of day to fish would be dusk. The two most worthwhile
fish, Maran Garayans and Baron Garayans, are both catchable at this time and
place.
For your fishing kit, I suggest your fishing pole (one apparently isn't
allowed to use Ruby and Xiao in some bizarre combination of grenade and
spear fishing), a supply of Poisonous Apples and Potato Cakes, and some
Throbbing Cherries or Bomb Nuts (I'm still looking for the item that lets
you turn Xiao into a Cabbit for fishing purposes). The Cherries and Nuts
are not being used as bait, per se, but as a means of differentiation, so
don't go nuts (sorry) with them.
Maran Garayans
Maran Garayans are an uncommon fish found only in the waterfall pond of
Matataki Village and the oasis of Muska Lacka, and ONLY at dusk. The only
bait they will go for are Poisonous Apples, and the only fish that will go
for Apples are Maran Garayans. Basically, if it's going for an Apple, it's
a Maran Garayan. They tend to be medium to large in size.
Maran Garayans are worth between 200 and 250 FP. In addition, catching at
least one Maran Garayan will make the Maran Eins sword available for
purchase with FP. This is apparently a decent sword, that only builds up by
catching more Maran Garayans. In addition to the sword, catching at least
one Maran Garayan gains you the help of Maran Garayan with treasure chests
(the big ones). You will never need a Treasure Key again, as any attempt to
disable the trap on a chest will benefit from "Maran Garayan pointing the
way." You will see a little fish icon pointing at the highlighted trap that
the chest is trapped with.
Baron Garayans
Baron Garayans are more rare than Maran Garayans, but are also a little
trickier to catch. They can be found only in the Muska Lacka oasis, but
they apparently be found at any time of day. The only bait they will go for
are Potato Cakes. Unfortunately, so will pretty much every other fish found
in the oasis. Baron Garayans tend to be large to huge in size. As Dens
grow to a large size and will go after Potato Cakes, you will need a way to
differentiate Baron Garayans from Dens. This is what the Throbbing Cherries
or Bomb Nuts are used for.
BTW, I recommend Bomb Nuts over Throbbing Cherries, as Negi don't go for
Cherries, and sometimes one might think "that fish looks like it might be a
small Baron."
Baron Garayans are worth 700+ FP. Catching them provides no other benefits,
but I think that's okay, given how many points they're worth.
Technique
I like to start right at the beginning of dusk, so as to maximize my fishing
time. I'll start fishing, and the fist thing I check is whether or not
there are any fish in the pond that are large enough to be either a Maran or
a Baron (you'll develop a feel for what's big enough, but starting with
medium size or larger is good). If there isn't, I just exit fishing and
re-enter, as this creates a new set of four fish. If it looks like there's
a likely candidate, I start off with a Poisonous Apple (Marans are more
common and straightforward). I just cast for the likely candidates.
If a fish doesn't show interest by the
time Toan's done doing knee-bends, I figure there isn't one there (just make
sure you've cast close enough to the likely candidates).
Then, if there are any large or huge fish (Marans and Barons can be found
together), I'll then move to a Cherry or Nut. I'll cast for the large/huge
fish, and see if it goes for it. I don't wait long enough for the fish to
nibble (just long enough for the fish to drift up and pause), as this winds
up being a waste of bait (I'm not interested in them). If a large or huge
fish goes for it, the fish isn't a Baron. If it ignores the bait, it's a
Baron, and I switch over to a Potato Cake.
This is where patience comes into play. Pretty much every fish in the oasis
is willing to go after Cakes. The trick is to wait for the Baron to get
isolated. They'll drift around, and using other baits to lure off the other
fish is always an option. Hell, if a non-Baron is being a particular pain,
I may just decide the hell with it and catch it. If you've got a Cake in
the water, and another fish comes over, it's usually a good idea to pull
out, as long as the Baron isn't nibbling on it. If you've got a fish
nibbling (Baron or otherwise), pulling out is purely a judgement call (since
you can lose the bait). With enough patience and guile, you can get a Baron
alone long enough to get a hook into him.
When exiting fishing to restock the pond, I suggest walking over to the sign
before exiting, so that you can re-enter fishing right away without wasting
any real amount of "dusk time."
I find 5 x Poisonous Apples, 5 x Bomb Nuts (have a few just in case you get
some eaten), and 5 x Potato Cakes to be a good mix. This lasts me about a
half hour of real time (which, to me, is a reasonable amount of time to work
on building up resources), and should net you about 5000 FP, not including
anything you catch with leftover Nuts.
I find FP to be good for buying gems, and either selling them for cash or
weapon development. Try this approach to weapon development: use only
gems. O_o It's much faster than attachments, and gives you better-rounded
weapons.
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