How to Fish Weapons & Upgrades Guide

Bow and euro purchases in 1.1.0

The Islet Update adds a weapon. Players report a bow at a castle-like small island, bought with euros, and Steam adds Hobin Rood for an arrow kill. Use the bow and euro guide for the sourced landmark and goal. The announcement does not supply damage, reload, headshot or attachment values for a numeric comparison with the sniper.

A player asking whether the bow “replaces” the sniper is not an official removal notice. The pre-Islet weapon advice below retains its historical scope. If ordinary shop purchases fail with MissingMethodException on a modded setup, use the interaction-error checks instead of assuming a currency shortage.

Equipment shown in the game

The Steam media and attributed launch walkthrough show several equipment families: fishing rods, a knife, pistol, compact automatic weapon, shotgun, sniper rifle, dynamite and weapon attachments. The game also includes boat engine upgrades and multiple lure tiers for larger encounters.

Those items are visible, but the official store page does not publish a stable damage-per-second table. This guide therefore focuses on use cases—range, safe damage windows, crowding and travel—rather than presenting guessed values as facts.

A problem-first buying order

Attachments and “Fully equipped”

The official achievement wording is exact: apply all attachments to a single weapon. That makes scattered purchases inefficient if achievement completion is a goal. Choose one weapon that already fits your boss and normal-catch rhythm, then complete its attachment set before branching into a second build.

Patch 1.0.11 removes Iron Sight as a purchasable item because players bought it by mistake and lost expensive attachments. The same patch prevents a downgrade from Suppressor to Compensator. Old guides that tell you to buy Iron Sight or step backward from Suppressor no longer match the current shop.

Do not assume that attachment icons seen on one weapon transfer to every other weapon. Check the purchase interface and the currently selected weapon before spending. If the achievement does not pop, recheck that every remaining attachment slot belongs to the same weapon rather than counting attachments across your inventory.

Why does TNT kill me with Friendly Fire off?

Friendly Fire does not protect you from your own explosives after Patch 1.0.11. This is an official rule change, not evidence by itself that the lobby setting is broken. A September 3 forum post shows the exact confusion during a Bean attempt: the player used large TNT clusters on bosses, stood too close and expected Friendly Fire off to prevent the death.

1. Throw or place TNT from a route with an exit. Do not wait inside the expected blast area.
2. Move before detonation. Treat your own explosive as lethal in solo and co-op.
3. Keep player-versus-player damage separate. Friendly Fire can govern damage between players without granting blast immunity to the thrower.
4. If you die outside the expected area, record the distance and build. That is a different report from simply standing too close under the new rule.

Where should you store weapons?

A current Steam discussion asks for weapon storage, but Patch 1.0.11 does not announce a separate unlimited gun locker. The Patch 1.0.10 rule still persists up to 64 items dropped on the ground and gives weapons save priority. Priority improves the odds that important loose objects are included; it does not remove the shared cap.

1. Keep the active and expensive weapon in a supported slot. Use inventory or equipment space when available.
2. Confirm attachments and skin before saving. Make sure the intended item is actually selected.
3. Press Save after a purchase or upgrade. Then leave through Main Menu or Quit.
4. Keep loose-object clutter low. Do not turn the boat deck or ground into an assumed unlimited warehouse.
5. Check the first load. If a weapon is missing, stop changing the state and use the save-preservation steps.

Sold a fully upgraded gun by accident?

A September 7 player reported that placing a fully upgraded sniper rifle on the ground beside the Island 4 gun dealer sold it for very little. Patch 1.0.11 requires an item to have been held before it can be sold; that does not make previously held equipment immune to an accidental sale.

Check the same dealer for a buy-back option and inspect the listed item and price before spending. One reply suggests it, but the thread does not confirm that the rifle was recovered or that upgrades, attachments and the applied skin survive. Keep other valuable gear away from the dealer while sorting slots. If the wallet did not change and the item vanished after death or loading, follow the missing-item branches instead.

Was the Sniper Rifle nerfed in Patch 1.0.10?

A fresh Steam discussion title asks about a Sniper Rifle damage nerf. The official 1.0.10 announcement does not document a Sniper Rifle change. Its named balance adjustment is a slight health reduction for the Anglerfish.

Until Dazed Games publishes a weapon change or reproducible before-and-after testing establishes a value, do not quote a new Sniper damage number. Record the patch, target, difficulty, player count, attachments, hit location and number of shots before calling a difference a nerf.

Boat engines and “I am speed”

Two official achievements define the engine path: “Getting an upgrade” for upgrading the boat engine, and “I am speed” for buying the best engine. An early engine purchase is sensible when island travel dominates your playtime, but the top engine is a longer savings target. Keep a separate engine fund if you want the achievement instead of treating every new weapon as urgent.

The best engine is not a substitute for preparation. Faster travel helps you reach the arena and return quest items; it does not shorten a boss’s damage phase.

Loadouts for fast bosses

For the pufferfish and later encounters, choose equipment around the safe window you can consistently create. If the boss forces constant movement, a weapon with awkward timing may underperform even if it looks powerful. Use terrain to create a predictable path, fire during the opening and move before the boss re-establishes contact.

In co-op, different roles beat duplicate positioning: one player draws the route while the others maintain angles. Dynamite is tied to the “Everyone’s dream” seagull achievement, but Patch 1.0.11 changes the safety rule: your own explosives can kill you even with Friendly Fire disabled. Throw from cover with a clear retreat and never use the lobby setting as blast protection.