Angels from Another Pin
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Magic is always the best solution -- especially reliable magic.





(The Side of the Angels)

AfAP
13 July 2001 Mike Ryan
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.





(The Other Side of the Angels)

Discussion

Original Information: Mike Ryan
HTML Conversion and Spellchecking: Jon Kilgannon