Content of Fishing Guide for Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV)

Introduction to the guide

This is an attempt to gather all the information needed as a fisher in Final Fantasy XIV. We will cover the most basic things; how to fish, how to spearfish, how to find fishing schools, what attributes are needed, what to do with all those fish that can be obtained and then try to give you advice on the shortest route to rank 50. A lot of the information does also apply to Final Fantasy XIV in general so some aspects can be applied to mining and botany as well.

This guide has a lot of information that is not necessary to know as a fisher but I will try to give the best insight to all aspects of the class and give you the best foundation for making your own deductions and decisions. If you think you know all about fishing and just want to know where you should be at at a given rank you can go straight to the Rank Guide.

The aim of the guide is to be the most complete guide to fishing in Final Fantasy XIV. Even though I have tried to include as much information as possible I want it to be a work in progress and have it evolve along with the game. If you have suggestions or corrections to the guide please let us know by going here and post information you may find relevant.

I decided to do the guide outside of the forum because this gave me freedom to make it look as I wanted. Also I was able to use live data from the database and makes it easier to update the guide. For example: Information on tools, bait and lures are pulled from the database so if new items should be made in these categories they will be included in the guide automatically. The same goes for updates to rank, name, description and so on.

In the future I hope to make a guide about mining and botany as well. Fishing is the area in which I have the most knowledge and so it made most sense for me to start here. But I feel that a guide about the miner and botanist will be equially needed and I will try to get this done in the near future.

The Basics

In Final Fantasy XIV there are two basic things you can do when you don the class of Fisher: Fish or Spearfish. In order to change class to fisher all you need to do is equip a fishing rod and you are good to go.

Fishing is just like you know it. You can cast your line in rivers, ponds, the sea and even fountains. You will be able to fish at almost any body of water you find in the game, some places will have fishing schools that will give you varied results but more on this later. For fishing you will need a fishing rod.

Spearfishing is the act of taking a gig (a spear) and thrust it downwards. Spearfishing can be done at certain locations where you will find sparkling stars that indicate that spearfishing can be performed. Spearfishing is not necessarily done in water but can also be done in small shrubbery and bushes.

Getting equipment

So the first things you will need when you want to start as a fisher are a fishing rod and a gig. The starting equipment will be a Weathered Fishing Rod and a Bronze Gig. I suggest you go the fishers guild in Limsa Lominsa and talk to Unsynwilf. Check out his wares as he may have items you may need as you gain ranks and they are not as expensive as you might think.

You will be able to obtain these items for a reasonable price. You may also be able to obtain these from the markets in the different towns. Alternatively, if you have been crafting a lot before starting fishing you can make the tools yourself. I have included a list of all tools below and you will be able to find the recipes there.

Besides these tools you will need some bait or lures. Bait and lures are not 100 percent necessary as you CAN fish without but it should be stressed that this is far from recommended. Louviaune who is also at the fishers guild will sell you Lugworm and Moth Pupa at a very low price. I suggest you grab a stack or two of both.

Throwing the line for the first time

Now that you have the equipment for it you want to do some fishing. If you are starting in Limsa Lominsa water should not be hard to find. All water in Limsa Lominsa is saltwater so you want to equip lugworms in your “Pack" slot. In Ul’dah you will need to find one of the fountains you can see around town. One is found just outside the Adventures Guild. These are all freshwater so you will need to equip the Moth Pupa. In Gridania water is rather easy to find. Go to any of the bridges and water will flow below. As this is also freshwater you should equip the Moth Pupa.

When situated correctly in front of the water an exclamation mark will appear at the top of the screen and when opening the menu you will see the option “Fish". Press this to cast your line. The first you will see is a message saying: “You prepare to cast into the fishable waters. (Grade 1)".

The fishing interface will now appear with information on grade of the area, bait you are using and how many you have along with messages you get when fishing.

The depth selector will also be displayed. All fish in the game have a certain depth (commonly referred to as the sweet spot). When using the sweet spot of a certain fish you will have a better chance at getting a bite from this one fish although some fish share the same sweet spot negating the effect. This is not important now and we will return to it later. For now just take any random depth you feel is right for you and select “Wait" and you have started fishing. You will get the message “Your line sinks to the desired depth." followed by “You wait for a fish to bite.".

After a little four things may happen and you will get one of the following messages:

Nothing bites: This is rather self explanatory. Nothing bites and you will have to start over.

You feel a nibble: Something has shown interest in your bait. You now have two options: Wait or Jig. If you wait, a little more time will pass and you will normally get a bite. I will personally not wait for a bite as it seems to me that the success rate is just as good when you only get a nibble compared to the extra time spent on waiting for a bite. If you jig you will hook, catch or lose the fish. If you lose the fish you will have to start over. If you catch the fish... lucky you: You get the fish and the XP. If you hook the fish you will have to play the jigging game... see below.

You feel a bite: The jigging game starts... see below.

The fish seem to be biting on Lugworm/Moth Pupa. Something big hits your line: This indicates that the fish you have caught has a preference for the bait you are using and will normally bite the line faster leaving less time to wait. When this happens the jigging game begins... see below.

The jigging game

When you have hooked something or felt a nibble you will have to play the jigging game in order to reel in your catch.

When a fish has bitten or nibbled to your line you will have the option to jig. It is important that you start your jigging before ten seconds have passed. If not you will lose your catch and will have to start over. When “Jig" is chosen a yellow circle will start arching from the middle to the left and back to the right. You stop it by pressing enter, the mouse button or the action button on your game pad. You will get one of four messages:

You catch the fish: Hooray... you have caught a fish... start over :D

The fish is tired but you still cannot reel it in: This is good as you have found the right spot. The fish is hard to catch so you will have to pull more than once to get it reeled in. Jig once again and stop at the exact same spot. This will result in you catching the fish.

The fish got away: Booh... the fish was decided that it didn’t want to be caught. You should start over.

You’ve hooked something but cannot reel it in: Ok you have the fish on the line but you have not found the right spot. With this message the spot could be anywhere. You will now have to play a game of hot and cold. You jig once again and if you get closer to the right spot you will get the message “You take in some line". If you are getting farther away from the spot you get the message “The fish is taking line". You will have to keep jigging until you get the message “You catch the fish" or “The fish is tired but you still cannot reel it in". What I normally do is stop the first jig at app. 33 percent. The second I will put at 50 percent. If I get the message “The fish is taking line" I know that the spot should be in the first third. If I get the message “You take in some line" I will go to 75 percent and hopefully the fish should be here.

In time you will get the hang of the system. There is nothing hard to it just remember that there is a predetermined spot where the fish is and the game will guide you to where is it.

The remainder bar: You will only have so many attempts to reel in the fish. The remainder bar below the aiming interface will let you know how much of your “stamina" has been depleted. When the remainder bar is empty you will lose the fish and will have to start over. The higher the rank of the fish the faster the remainder bar will deplete leaving you with less attempts. It is believed that boosting your dexterity will slow the depletion of the remainder bar allowing you to catch fish of higher rank.

Video of fishing

I have made a video that show the basics on fishing and how it is done.

Spearfishing

While fishing will have to be learned and can be optimized by how good you are at determining the spot of the fish, spearfishing is very simple. There is no mini game involved and all you have to do is locate a spearfishing location, open the menu and select “Spearfish". Your character will now pull out his/her spear and thrust it towards the water/ground. If you are lucky you will obtain an item and the location will move a little. If not the location will stay where you are and you will have to start over.

When you have made an attempt at spearfishing you will be told how many more times the location will let you attempt spearfishing. This will normally be 4 to 6 attempts depending on your rank and the grade of the location. If the location is really high grade you may only get one attempt.

Once you have no more attempts you will have to move on. Normally an area will have three or four spearfishing locations. You will not be allowed back to the location before you have visited two other locations.

Stats

The fishers main stats are Dexterity (DEX) and Piety (PIE). So far it has not been truly been determined what the effect of these stats are on fishing. It is believed that the amount of DEX makes it easier to decide the rod movement during the approach phase while PIE may affect how many fish is caught but I should add that this is not fully known yet.

Other stats are:

Gathering: Reduces the depletion rate of the Remainder gauge.

Perception: Increases a player's chance to find higher-quality items.

Output: Reduces the amount of time a fisher must wait for a bite.

These stats can be boosted through tools, equipment and food.

Shard drops

When you catch a fish you will also get one or more shards. The element of the shard is believed to be determined by your own elemental alignment. This means that if you put many points into fire you will have a better chance at obtaining fire shards. It has also been theorized that the different areas have an elemental alignment and this affect the element of the shards. Lastly it could also be the fish itself that has an elemental alignment that influences the shards gotten. We know that all fish can be turned into shards or crystals and this may reveal their elemental alignment. This has not been tested and if all three factors influence the alignment of the obtained shards it could be hard to prove anything.

Leves

Leves are a small type of quests that can be done to earn extra gil, items, guild marks and xp. Leves are a great way to rank up fast as you will be able to get more xp per catch while doing one. They will also give you a break from the normal grind and the offered gil, guild marks and items can be very valuable to you. You obtain a leve by going to the Adventurer’s Guild in one of the three major cities and to talk to one of the following npc’s

Piralnaut in Limsa Lominsa

Totonawa in Ul'dah

Gontrant in Gridania

When you have started talking to them you should pick Fieldcraft Leves and Fisher. You will now see the leves available to you at your current rank. Leves are offered 5 ranks before they are optimal. This means at rank 5 you can get the leves that are ~10 and at 15 you can get ~20. You should not always go as high as possible. I suggest getting the highest possible at 7, 17, 27 and 37. You will find 2 leves for each rank (1, 10, 20, 30 and 40) in each city. One will ask you to investigate 2 or 3 fishing points. The other will have you obtain 3 leve fish. Each leve will be done in the location that has the corresponding grade. That means that rank 1 leves will be done on grade 1 areas, rank 10 leves will be done in grade 2 areas and so on.

When you have obtained the leve you must go to the designated area and find the camp there. Here you should access the Aetheryte and choose “Initiate Levequest". This will start a counter and set you on your way. Normally you will have 30 minutes to complete the leve and the faster it is done the better reward you will receive.

When the leve has been initialized your map will tell you where to go. If you are to obtain a leve fish it will only show one place on the map but if you need to investigate fishing points it will show them all from the start. Go to where the map shows you and start fishing. Once you have completed the task a new Aetheryte will show up and let you finish the leve and receive your rewards. Then you will have to option to be teleported back to the camp for free. If you have more leves at this camp you can get back quickly and get it started.

Reset of leves

Leves are not in unlimited supply but after the latest patch it has gotten better. Every player have a leve counter that goes all the way up to 99. As you do leves the counter will go down but every 12 hours your counter will go up once again. You can continue doing the same leves over and over again but you need to return to the adventures guild to get them started. This can mean a lot of teleporting back and forth but it may be worth it as you can gain a lot of xp from leves. Just remember that the leve counter is for all classes so if you spend it all on fishing you won't be able to get leves for other classes.

Guild marks

Once you hit rank 15 you will have unlocked the rank 20 leves and you will now be able to obtain guild marks. Guild marks are used in the fishing guild to obtain new abilities or crystal and shards. Far from all the leves will offer you guild marks but there will be one that do. You should also know that you can only get guild marks from leves in the city where the guild is. What this means is that if you want some you have to get to Limsa Lominsa.

Should you do leves

As mentioned above leves are not in unlimited supply but there are a lot. Depending on how many other classes you want to focus on I would recommend doing leves if you want to rank up. The amount of xp gained from leves can not be gotten in any other way and grinding will take a lot longer.

Quests

So far there are three quests in the game. They can all be started at the Fisherman’s Guild and will let you access more items in the guild mark shop once completed.

Rank 20
To Fight a Fishback
Reward: 20,000 gil and 2,000 guild marks

Rank 30
The Beast of the Barrel
Reward: 30,000 gil and 3,000 guild marks

Rank 36
Polishing the Mast
Reward: 36,000 gil and 3,600 guild marks

Tools

As a fisher you will need the best tools to reel in those pesky pisces. Here is a list of all the fishing rods and gigs in the game. Click the links to get more information and recipes telling you how to create each item.

Fishing rods

Weathered Fishing Rod (rank 1)
A old fishing rod made from a single ash branch. Perception: 7, Gathering: 9, Output: 8

Dated Ash Fishing Rod (rank 7)
A simple fishing rod made from a single ash branch. Perception: 14, Gathering: 18, Output: 16

Maple Fishing Rod (rank 8)
Perception: 15, Gathering: 20, Output: 18

Dated Willow Fishing Rod (rank 12)
A simple fishing rod made from a single willow branch. Perception: 19, Gathering: 25, Output: 22

Elm Fishing Rod (rank 15)
Perception: 24, Gathering: 31, Output: 28

Dated Pine Fishing Rod (rank 17)
Perception: 25, Gathering: 33, Output: 29

Dated Bamboo Fishing Rod (rank 22)
A simple fishing rod made from a pliable, yet remarkably strong stick of bamboo. Perception: 31, Gathering: 40, Output: 36

Yew Fishing Rod (rank 25)
Perception: 36, Gathering: 46, Output: 43

Dated Rattan Fishing Rod (rank 32)
A simple fishing rod made from sun-dried rattan. Perception: 43, Gathering: 55, Output: 49

Walnut Fishing Rod (rank 32)
Perception: 45, Gathering: 57, Output: 53

Horn Fishing Rod (rank 37)
Perception: 58, Gathering: 58, Output: 58

Dated Yew Fishing Rod (rank 42)
A simple fishing rod made from a single yew branch. Perception: 54, Gathering: 70, Output: 62

Rosewood Fishing Rod (rank 43)
Perception: 58, Gathering: 74, Output: 69

Dated Horn Fishing Rod (rank 47)
Perception: 69, Gathering: 69, Output: 69

Gilded Rosewood Fishing Rod (rank 48)
Perception: 76, Gathering: 64, Output: 82

Rod of the Luminary (rank 50)
Perception: 81, Gathering: 77, Output: 79

Gigs

Weathered Gig (rank 1)
Perception: 9, Gathering: 8, Output: 7

Dated Bronze Gig (rank 10)
A long fishspear made of ash and tipped with a four-pronged bronze head. Perception: 22, Gathering: 20, Output: 17

Bronze Gig (rank 11)
Perception: 24, Gathering: 23, Output: 19

Iron Gig (rank 20)
Perception: 39, Gathering: 36, Output: 30

Dated Iron Gig (rank 27)
A long fishspear made of ash and tipped with a four-pronged iron head. Perception: 48, Gathering: 42, Output: 37

Steel Gig (rank 29)
Perception: 53, Gathering: 48, Output: 41

Dated Steel Gig (rank 37)
Perception: 63, Gathering: 56, Output: 49

Mythril Gig (rank 40)
Perception: 70, Gathering: 64, Output: 54

Bait and Lures

When fishing you will need to use the right bait or lure. While lures can be used over and over again until lost bait is normally a lot cheaper but can only be used until a bite is achieved. All bait and lures have specific uses and will be more effective on some fish than others. Also they are normally designed for either saltwater or freshwater. A lot can be deducted from the description and using any knowledge you may have on bait and lures may help you. We are still trying to map all the fish preferences for bait and lures but this is still a work in progress.

Bait

Moth Pupa (rank 1)
A moth in the third stage of its development into an adult. Live bait for freshwater fishing.

Lugworm (rank 1)
A hairy marine worm that lives under beach sand. Live bait for ocean fishing.

Bloodworm (rank 2)
A common earthworm that earns its name from the blood-red tint of its body. All-purpose live bait.

Crayfish Ball (rank 3)
A ball of crayfish and rye flour paste. Processed bait for river fishing.

Midge Basket (rank 6)
A tightly knitted wicker basket filled with a swarm of biting midges. Live bait for freshwater fishing.

Rat Tail (rank 7)
The thin tail of a rat, often carried by young Lalafell boys as a good luck charm. An all-purpose bait.

Pill Bug (rank 8)
A small insect covered in a grey protective carapace. Is known to curl up in a ball when agitated. Live bait for coastline fishing.

Goby Ball (rank 11)
A ball of goby and rye flour paste. Processed bait for ocean fishing.

Syrphid Basket (rank 13)
A tightly knitted wicker basket filled with a swarm of angry syrphids. Live bait for freshwater fishing.

Crab Ball (rank 18)
A ball of crab meat and rye flour paste. Processed bait for ocean shallow fishing.

Bass Ball (rank 26)
A ball of dark bass and sunset flour paste. Processed bait for freshwater fishing.

Herring Ball (rank 37)
A ball of Indigo herring and sunset flour paste. Processed bait for shark fishing.

Lures

Chocobo Fly (rank 7)
A fishing lure made from a chocobo feather.

Floating Minnow (rank 12)
A light lure made to resemble a minnow.

Crow Fly (rank 13)
A fishing lure made from a crow feather.

Snurble Fly (rank 21)
A fishing lure made from a snurble tuft.

Spoon Lure (rank 23)
A shiny lure made to resemble the tail of a fish.

Cage Feeder (rank 27)
A cage filled with bait and used to attract fish.

Wildfowl Fly (rank 32)
A fishing lure made from a wildfowl feather.

Sinking Minnow (rank 34)
A heavy lure made to resemble a minnow.

Vulture Fly (rank 38)
A fishing lure made from a vulture feather.

Topwater Frog (rank 44)
A light lure made to resemble a frog.

Equipment

As a fisher you will need some equipment that goes well with the stats that support the class. Below you will find a list of gear that will boost those stats and make fishing easier. The list is not a complete list of clothes you can find that will enhance these stats but the ones that gives the best boosts. For example you will find 3 items for head that all have perception +2. Two at rank 1 and one at rank 3. I have not included the one at rank 3 as the rank 1 items should be cheapest and possible to obtain earliest. Some items may also have lower stats at a higher rank and therefore have not been included either. Also remember that even though an item has an optimal rank it does not mean that you can’t equip it earlier than suggested.

A thing worth doing when working as a fisher is to raise your rank in Leatherworker, Weaver and Carpenter. This will enable you to repair all the equipment you need. Reparing items is pretty simple. You will need a piece of Dark Matter with the correct grade and then you will need to be high enough level in the correct class. You can check any item in the database to see what level you should be in order to repair it.

Head

1 - Weathered Beach Hat (Blue) (Perception +2)
1 - Weathered Sun Hat (Perception +2)
10 -Straw Hat (Perception +6)
10 -Stablemaid's Hat (Perception +6, Gathering +3)
10 -Stablehand's Hat (Perception +6, Gathering +3)
13 -Cotton Scarf (Brown) (Perception +8)
17 -Dodoskin Skullcap (Black) (Gathering +10)
21 -Cotton Coif (Green)[/color"> (Perception +10)
28 -Velveteen Wedge Cap (Yellow) (Perception +12)
31 -Steel Goggles (Black) (Perception +16, Dex +2)
36 -Angler's Hat (Blue) (Perception +20, Dex +2) - NQ and (Yellow) +20 Perception Only
42 -Mythril Mesail (Gathering +18)
44 -Cobalt Preserves (Green) (Perception +21, Dex +3)
47 -Cobalt Mesail (Gathering +20) - (Red) offers additional +7 Craftsmanship

Body

1 - Weathered Doublet Vest (Grey) (Gathering +2)
1 - Weathered Jerkin (Brown) (Gathering +2)
12 - Hempen Doublet Vest (Grey) (Gathering +8, Output +3)
17 - Cotton Shepherd's Tunic (Green) (Gathering +9, Perception +5)
22 - Cotton Doublet Vest (Brown) (Gathering +13, Output +4)
25 - Gridanian Doublet (Output +20)
25 - Lominsan Doublet Vest (Gathering +20)
25 - Ul'Dahn Jerkin (Gathering +10, Output +10)
28 - Velveteen Coatee (Yellow) (Output +18)
30 - Vintage Doublet Vest (Gathering +14, Piety +3)
32 - Velveteen Doublet Vest (Green) (Gathering +17, Output +5)
38 - Linen Coatee (Brown) (Output +24)
41 - Linen Artisan's Apron (Blue) (Output +27, Piety +6)
42 - Linen Doublet (Yellow) (Perception +15, Dex +5)
43 - Boarskin Jerkin (Black) (Gathering +24, Dex +6)
46 - Woolen Artisan's Apron (Black) (Output +30, Piety +8)
47 - Woolen Doublet (Red) (Perception +18, Dex +6) Others offer Perception +18
48 - Raptorskin Jerkin (Blue) (Gathering +28, Dex +7) Others offer Gathering +28

Legs

1 - Hempen Shepherd's Slops (Brown) (Output +2)
1 - Weathered Sarouel (Brown) (Gathering +1)
1 - Weathered Culottes (Grey) (Gathering +1)
17 - Cotton Shepherd's Slops (Green) (Output +4)
25 - Velveteen Sarouel (Red) (Gathering +6)
28 - Velveteen Bottom (Yellow) (Perception +5)
30 - Gridanian Slops (Gathering +12)
30 - Lominsan Slops (Output +12)
30 - Ul'Dahn Culottes (Perception +8, Gathering +4)
35 - Linen Sarouel (Brown) (Gathering +9)
38 - Linen Bottom (Brown) (Perception +7)
40 - Woolen Sarouel (Black) (Gathering +11)
43 - Boarskin Culottes (Black) (Gathering +14, Piety +6)
47 - Woolen Slops (All colors) (Output +10)
48 - Raptorskin Culottes (Purple) (Gathering +16, Piety +6)

Hands

1 - Asuran Armguards (Output +1)
1 - Weathered Fingerless Gloves (Output +1)
1 - Weathered Work Gloves (Output +2)
6 - Hempen Work Gloves (Brown) (Output +4, Perception +2)
8 - Dodoskin Wristguard (Black) (Gathering +4)
17 - Cotton Work Gloves (Yellow) (Output +8, Perception +4)
25 - Fingerless Leather Gloves (Green) (Output +8)
28 - Velveteen Shortgloves (Yellow) (Gathering +11)
38 - Linen Shortgloves (Brown) (Gathering +15)
40 - Fingerless Peisteskin Gloves (Blue) (Output +12)
43 - Woolen Work Gloves (Black) (Output +13, Dex +2)
45 - Fingerless Raptorskin Gloves (Blue) (Output +14)
47 - Raptorskin Smithy's Gloves (Grey) (Gathering +13)
48 - Felt Work Gloves (Blue) (Output +15, Dex +3)

Feet

1 - Weathered Crackows (Output +1)
1 - Weathered Workboots (Output +1)
1 - Sheepskin Duckbills (Grey) (Output +2)
1 - Sheepskin Shoes (Brown) (Output +2)
11 - Dodoskin Shoes (Output +3)
17 - Dodoskin Espadrilles (Black) (Perception +4)
21 - Padded Sheepskin Duckbills (Green) (Output +4)
25 - Leather Crakows (Green) (Output +6)
28 - Velveteen Gaiters (Yellow) (Gathering +11)
35 - Boarskin Crakows (Green) (Output +8)
38 - Linen Gaiters (Brown) (Gathering +14)
40 - Peisteskin Crakows (Blue) (Output +9)
43 - Boarskin Workboots (Blue) (Output +12, Piety +2)
48 - Raptorskin Workboots (Blue) (Output +13, Piety +3)

Waist

1 - Weathered Survival Belt (Output +1, Perception +1)
1 - Weathered Field Belt (Output +1, Perception +1)
17 - Dodoskin Shepherd's Belt (Perception +8)
28 - Velveteen Half Apron (Output +6)
38 - Linen Half Apron (Output +7)
43 - Boarskin Survival Belt (Output +11, Perception +11)
48 - Raptorskin Survival Belt (Output +12, Perception +12)

Resource maps of Disciples of the land

On this site we have spent a lot of time developing maps that will tell you where all resources in Final Fantasy XIV can be found. It will always be a work in progress but we try to add as much information as possible and make the maps easy to use for everyone.

The maps have functionality that lets you sort the information displayed. This will help you find exactly the information you are looking for. Look for the controls to the right of the map.

Choose map:
So far there are five maps of FFXIV to choose from (Thanalan, La Noscea, the Black Shroud, Coethas and Mor Dhona). We hope to add more in the future but for now you can select one of these to get the map displayed.

Filter by item:
Choose an item you would like to find. After selecting an item and pressing "Filter" you will only see the resource points where the chosen item can be obtained. This is great for finding the exact information you need. Are you looking for Crimson Crayfish just select it and you will know all the places these can be obtained.

Filter by grade:
Filter all the resource points and lets you see the ones with the selected grade. This will help you find out where resource points that match your rank can be found and let you know where to go for most SP.

Filter by type:
So far there are seven different type of points that can be displayed on the maps. We may add more in the future but given the context of the site these are the most relevant. Select one or more types (fishing, fishing school, mining, logging, spearfishing, quarry or harvesting) to see where these can be found.

All the filters can be combined. You may wish to find all grade 4 fishing spots that contain Dark Bass.

When you have found the resource points that are relevant to you they can be clicked to display information about what can be obtained at the spot. You will also get information about sweet spot and rank of the item. Lastly will be a link to the log (read more about it here)

I would also like to add that I have put an "Add this" button above the filtering options. I would appreciate it very much if you would share the maps with friends and people in your network.

Fishing Schools

Fishing schools are certain locations where the fish varies from the other fish found in the area. Normally you will have some higher ranking fish in these spots. The fishing schools can be found using the skills Dowse and Gulleye that you have as a fisher. Dowse will let you know how many schools are in the area in the four directions of the compass. Added benefit is that if there are no points within a 200 yalm area your speed will be increased letting you get faster around. This is great to use in general when running around. Gulleye will focus on one fishing point in the area and let you know direction and distance. By following the directions given you will be able to find these fishing spots all over the game.

Freshwater fishing points are normally in ponds and below bridges while saltwater fishing points are normally found where there is a cliff going out into the water. These are general rules and fishing points can be located other places.

Once you find the area of the school and you start fishing you will get the message “Your instinct tells you there is a school of fish here". This confirms that you have found the school.

Sweet spots

All the fish in the game has a sweet spot. This sweet spot is a certain depth measured from the middle of the depth gauge. 0 will be the starting point, 5 is the top and -5 is the bottom. Fishing at the sweet spot does not guarantee that you will catch the fish. Also a fish can be found outside its sweet spot and fish in the same location can even share sweet spots. The only advantage is that you seem to target the fish better getting the given fish more often. When the ability Veteran Trade sets in you will get a much higher ratio of the item you are trying to obtain.

The sweet spot of a fish is always the same no matter what area or grade you are fishing in. When using the maps you will always get the sweetspots displayed when selecting information about a resource point.

List of sweet spots

Here is a list of sweet spots for all the fish in the game. As can be seen a lot of fish is located at -4 so if you don’t remember the sweet spot of a fish this is always a good place to start :D If you get the message that you sense more of the fish you are looking for above you try +1 as this is also a common spot. After that you will have to do trial and error to find the spot.

Ala Mhigan Fighting Fish (-4)
Ash Tuna (0)
Bianaq Bream (1)
Black Eel (-4)
Black Ghost (-1)
Black Sole (-4)
Blindfish (3)
Blowfish (2)
Blue Coral (-3)
Bone Crayfish (-4)
Box Turtle (-4)
Brass Loach (4)
Calcified Matter (-5)
Coral Butterfly (3)
Crayfish (-2)
Cretified Matter (-5)
Crimson Crayfish (-4)
Cultured Matter (-5)
Dark Bass (1)
Hammerhead Shark (1)
Haraldr Haddock (2)
Helmet Crab (-4)
Indigo Herring (3)
Lamp Marimo (-3)
Lava Toad (-4)
Maiden Carp (2)
Malm Kelp (-4)
Merlthor Goby (-3)
Miter Shell (1)
Monke Onke (-4)
Nautilus (-2)
Nether Newt (-3)
Northern Pike (-1)
Ocean Cloud (4)
Ossified Matter (-5)
Pipira (-3)
Rainbow Trout (-2)
Razor Clam (-4)
Red Coral (-3)
River Crab (-4)
Rothlyt Oyster (-4)
Saber Sardine (2)
Sandfish (-3)
Sea Cucumber (-4)
Sea Pickle (-4)
Silver Shark (1)
Southern Pike (-1)
Striped Goby (-4)
Tiger Cod (3)
Tree Toad (4)
Velodyna Carp (3)
Vongola Clam (-4)
Wahoo (1)
White Coral (-3)
Yugr'am Salmon (-2)

Fatigue

When fishing a lot you may sometimes run into a thing called Fatigue. What this means is that you will be unable to catch any more fish.

Abilities

The fisher has many abilities that help them gather items. Some abilities are learned automatically as you rank up and some have to be bought with guild marks at the Fisherman’s Guild. While some abilities are specific to fishers some can be used for any DoL class and one can even be used by DoH (Wavekin Eluder). Below are two lists: One with the abilities you gain automatically and one with abilities that can be bought.

When playing as a fisher you may also want to check out some of the abilities of other classes. Sweat of Brow comes to mind – a botanist skill obtained at rank 25 that increases the amount of skill points gained while gathering. I will also mention Kings Yield – a miner skill obtained at rank 25 that allows you to gather multiple items in a single yield.

Abilities obtained automatically

Gulleye:
Survey the landscape to locate grade 1 schools of fish.
Optimal rank: 1
Action Cost: 1
Requires: Fishing

Dowse:
Survey the landscape to discern the number and direction of grade 1 schools of fish in the area. Increases movement speed when far.
Optimal rank: 3
Action Cost: 1
Requires: Fishing

Gulleye II:
Survey the landscape to locate grade 2 schools of fish.
Optimal rank: 8
Action Cost: 1
Requires: Fishing

Stealth:
Conceal yourself and tread quietly, reducing movement speed, but enabling you to avoid enemies level 20 and below. Can only be activated if your current class is level 8 or above.
Optimal rank: 8
Action Cost: 1
Requires: Disciples of the Land

Dowse II:
Survey the landscape to discern the number and direction of schools of fish grade 2 and below in the area. Increases movement speed when far.
Optimal rank: 10
Action Cost: 1
Requires: Fishing

Veteran Trade:
Increases your chance to hit items aimed for while gathering.
Optimal rank: 10
Action Cost: 4
Requires: Discipline of the Land

Nature’s Bounty:
Increases your chance to locate rare items while gathering.
Optimal rank: 15
Action Cost: 4
Requires: Discipline of the Land

Gulleye III:
Survey the landscape to locate grade 3 schools of fish.
Optimal rank: 18
Action Cost: 1
Requires: Fishing

Stealth II:
Conceal yourself and tread quietly, reducing movement speed, but enabling you to avoid enemies level 30 and below. Can only be activated if your current class is level 18 or above.
Optimal rank: 18
Action Cost: 1
Requires: Disciples of the Land

Way of Plenty:
Increases the remainder of a gathering location.
Optimal rank: 25
Action Cost: 7
Requires: Discipline of the Land

Gulleye IV:
Survey the landscape to locate grade 4 schools of fish.
Optimal rank: 28
Action Cost: 1
Requires: Fishing

Stealth III:
Conceal yourself and tread quietly, reducing movement speed, but enabling you to avoid enemies level 40 and below. Can only be activated if your current class is level 28 or above.
Optimal rank: 28
Action Cost: 1
Requires: Disciples of the Land

Truth of Seas:
Ensures one or more crystals whenever an item is obtained by gathering.
Optimal rank: 30
Action Cost: 3
Requires: Disciple of the Land

Gulleye V:
Survey the landscape to locate grade 5 schools of fish.
Optimal rank: 38
Action Cost: 1
Requires: Fishing

Stealth IV:
Conceal yourself and tread quietly, reducing movement speed, but enabling you to avoid enemies level 50 and below. Can only be activated if your current class is level 38 or above.
Optimal rank: 38
Action Cost: 1
Requires: Disciples of the Land

Abilities obtained through guild marks

Be aware that you have to complete the class quests in order to obtain some of the abilities.

Llymlaen’s Ward:
Temporarily increases your chance to obtain wind crystals.
Optimal rank: 1
Action Cost: 3
Requires: Disciple of the Land
Guild marks: 6,000

Thaliak’s Ward:
Temporarily increases your chance to obtain water crystals.
Optimal rank: 1
Action Cost: 3
Requires: Disciple of the Land
Guild marks: 6,000

Dowse III:
Survey the landscape to discern the number and direction of schools of fish grade 3 and below in the area. Increases movement speed when far.
Optimal rank: 20
Action Cost: 1
Requires: Fishing
Guild marks: 6,000

Dowse IV:
Survey the landscape to discern the number and direction of schools of fish grade 4 and below in the area. Increases movement speed when far.
Optimal rank: 30
Action Cost: 1
Requires: Fishing
Guild marks: 8,000

Deft Grasp:
Temporarily increases your dexterity.
Optimal rank: 1
Action Cost: 3
Requires: Disciple of the Land
Guild marks: 8,000

Tidal Faith:
Temporarily increases your piety.
Optimal rank: 1
Action Cost: 3
Requires: Disciple of the Land
Guild marks: 8.000

Wavekin Eluder:
Temporarily avoid enemy encounters. Effective only against wavekin.
Optimal rank: 30
Action Cost: 1
Requires: Disciplines of the Land or Hand
Guild marks: 8,000

Clever Arc:
Slows the rate at which a gathering location's remainder decreases.
Optimal rank: 1
Action Cost: 4
Requires: Disciple of the Land
Guild marks: 10,000

Master of Fish:
Increases your chance to obtain high quality items while gathering.
Optimal rank: 1
Action Cost: 3
Requires: Disciple of the Land
Guild marks: 12,000

Abilities obtained through quests

Fingerprints of the Gods:
Allows you to sometimes find catalysts at gathering nodes.
Optimal rank: 1
Action Cost: 4
Requires: Disciple of the Land
This ability is gained from the quest "Joining the Spirit" and I suggest you read this guide that explains Materia, Melding and Catalysts in FFXIV.

Fishing and Alchemy

As you rank up fishing and get more and more fish you may want to sell some of them but... you could also use them to level up alchemy. All fish you catch can be turned into crystal using an alchemy recipe. This is immensely useful as most fish are otherwise pretty much useless. Below is a chart that will show you what you can obtain and what rank you should be. You will always need to use lightning crystals or shards so you got to have plenty of these. They can be obtained by using the recipes below as well so it’s not that difficult. I suggest starting alchemy at the same time as fishing as this will allow you to always be able to use the fish you catch. If you are rank 25 fisher and only catch fish according to this you will have a very hard time following the recipes as they will be out of your league as an alchemist.

Name of fish	Rank of recipe	Used shards/crystals	Results
Maiden Carp	1	4S	Earth Shard (12)
Black Scorpion	1	4S	Earth Shard (12)
Pipira	1	4S	Fire Shard (12)
Scallop Shell	1	4S	Fire Shard (12)
Ocean Cloud	1	4S	Fire Shard (12)
Vongola Clam	1	4S	Fire Shard (12)
Merlthor Goby	1	4S	Ice Shard (12)
Rainbow Trout	1	4S	Ice Shard (12)
Crayfish	1	4S	Lightning Shard (6)
Brass Loach	1	4S	Lightning Shard (12)
Malm Kelp	1	4S	Lightning Shard (12)
Finger Shrimp	1	4S	Water Shard (12)
Tree Toad	1	4S	Water Shard (12)
Striped Goby	1	4S	Wind Shard (12)
Tiger Cod	1	4S	Wind Shard (12)
Helmet Crab	11	5S	Earth Crystal (1)
Ala Mhigan Fighting Fish	11	5S	Fire Crystal (1)
Coral Butterfly	11	5S	Fire Crystal (1)
Vongola Clam	11	5S	Fire Crystal (1)
Razor Clam	11	5S	Fire Crystal (1)
Yugr'Am Salmon	11	5S	Ice Crystal (1)
Sea Pickle	11	5S	Ice Crystal (1)
Sunrise Tellin	11	5S	Lightning Crystal (1)
Tarantula	11	5S	Lightning Crystal (1)
Sea Cucumber	11	5S	Water Crystal (1)
Dart Frog	11	5S	Wind Crystal (1)
White Scorpion	11	5S	Wind Crystal (1)
River Crab	21	10S	Earth Crystal (2)
Sandfish	21	10S	Earth Crystal (2)
Miter Shell	21	10S	Fire Crystal (2)
Bianaq Bream	21	10S	Ice Crystal (2)
Box Turtle	21	10S	Lightning Crystal (2)
Dark Bass	21	10S	Water Crystal (2)
Allagan Snail	21	10S	Wind Crystal (1)
Rothlyt Oyster	21	10S	Wind Crystal (2)
Black Ghost	21	10S	Wind Crystal (2)
Blindfish	31	1C	Earth Crystal (3)
Ash Tuna	31	1C	Fire Crystal (3)
Monke Onke	31	1C	Fire Crystal (3)
Lava Toad	31	1C	Fire Crystal (3)
Silver Shark	31	1C	Fire Crystal (3)
Grass Viper	31	1C	Ice Crystal (3)
Lamp Marimo	31	1C	Ice Crystal (3)
Nautilus	31	1C	Ice Crystal (3)
Nether Newt	31	1C	Lightning Crystal (3)
Indigo Herring	31	1C	Lightning Crystal (3)
Bone Crayfish	31	1C	Lightning Crystal (3)
Hammerhead Shark	31	1C	Water Crystal (3)
Black Eel	31	1C	Wind Crystal (3)
Blowfish	31	1C	Wind Crystal (3)
Southern Pike	41	2C	Earth Crystal (6)
Northern Pike	41	2C	Earth Crystal (6)
Blacklip Oyster	41	2C	Fire Crystal (3)
Velodyna Carp	41	2C	Fire Crystal (6)
Haraldr Haddock	41	2C	Fire Crystal (6)
Saber Sardine	41	2C	Ice Crystal (6)
Black Sole	41	2C	Lightning Crystal (6)
Wahoo	41	2C	Water Crystal (6)
Crimson Crayfish	41	2C	Wind Crystal (6)

Fishing and Culinarian

As mentioned above not all fish are worth selling and as you level up you will end up with a lot of fish that won’t really benefit you in any way. As with alchemy there is a recipe for all fish for the culinarian. You can either make river sand or sea sand based on the water of the fish – freshwater fish for river sand and saltwater fish for sea sand. River sand and sea sand is not as lucrative as the shards and crystals you will be making as an alchemist but you will be able to rank up and get access to other recipes. I am not going to list all the recipes here as all you really need to know is that the rank of the recipe is normally close to the rank of the fish you are using. You will always need to use one, two or three wind shards to complete the recipes to these may be worth making when using the alchemy recipes.

Rank guide

While there are many reasons to play the game one thing is given; as you play you will rank up and progress through the game. The top rank at the moment is 50 and if you have the time and the patience you will hit rank 50 within a certain amount of time. To some people this is the goal of fishing while others may fish in order to make gil or to support a DoH class like ALC or CUL. In this guide we will focus on one of these routes: The fast one.

You should also remember to take a look at what I have written about leves as these will help you a lot when trying to get your fishing rank up. They can be immensely helpful and speed things up quite a lot.

Below is a chart with how many skill points are needed for each rank. The first ranks are not hard at all to get through. You will need 570 to rank 2, 700 to rank 3, 880 to rank 4 and 1100 to rank 5. But as you get higher and higher you will need to get more and more SP. To get from 49 to 50 you will need 100,000 SP. As there is no real way of getting more xp per catch you will have to catch a lot fish. Normally you will get somewhere between 150 and 350 xp per catch. To get to rank 50 you will need 1,782,150 skill points. This means you should be able to get to rank 50 by catching somewhere between 6,000 and 9,000 fish. This may seem like a huge amount of fish but did you ever play FFXI? There you had to catch 10,000 Moat Carps to get one bloody Lu Shang’s Rod. This rod then in return enabled you to start the quest for the even more insane Ebisu Rod. So compared to that, getting to rank 50 in FFXIV should be pretty easy.

Another thing that should be mentioned if you want to raise your fisher quickly is Sweat of Brow. This level 25 botanist skill will double the amount of XP you recive when fishing. This is imensely helpful and while it may sound overwhelming to get to level 25 botanist before even starting fishing I realy suggest you do. This skill will also help you if you want to start mining. Double up on XP is really getting you further faster.

Grades

Each of the three main regions in the game (La Noscea, Thanalan and The Black Shroud) have areas of each grade from 1 to 5. I am not going to list them all here, just give a bit of information on how grades work compared to rank.

There are of course many opinions on where to be at what rank. As a general rule I would say that you should follow these grades as a guideline:

Rank 1 to 8: Grade 1
Rank 8 to 15: Grade 2
Rank 15 to 23: Grade 3
Rank 23 to 33: Grade 4
Rank 33 to 40: Grade 5

The goal is to get the most possible skill points and if you are located in an area that is to high grade compared to you rank you will not get that many bites and catch even less because the fish are simply to advanced for you and your accumulated amount of xp will suffer. On the other hand you don’t want to be in an area that is too low grade either as you will get to little xp per catch.

You may of course run into situation where the grades above don’t apply. If you are looking for a specific fish for linkshell members or ranking up one of your DoH classes you may need to be in other locations to obtain these. Don’t worry as you will normally get xp anyway and the progress will just be a bit slower.

Places to be

Below you will find how a list of the places I think are optimal if you want to get the highest amount of xp possible. This may be subject to change and if you have any input please be sure to let me know.

1 - 8
La Noscea
Coast of Bearded Rock (Grade 1).
I suggest taking bloodworms to the coast and start at depth -4. This is the sweet spot of Vongola Clam (rank 9) and Malm Kelp (rank 4). You will be able to catch these along with Tiger Cod (rank 4), Merlthor Goby (rank 4) and Ocean Cloud (rank 6). These low ranks should go by pretty fast so if you want to start in Thanalan or Black Shroud instead this should not be a problem.

8 - 15
The Black Shroud
Lake of Emerald Moss (Grade 2).
A chocobo fly in these waters will hook you Crayfish (rank 1), Pipira (rank 6), Ala Mhigan Fighting Fish (rank 12), Yugr'am Salmon (rank 13) and Black Eel (rank 15). I suggest starting at -2 for Crayfish and Salmon that are the easiest catch.

15 - 23
La Noscea
Coast of Bloodshore (Grade 3).
With a Floating Minnow you will be able to catch Malm Kelp (rank 4), Bianaq Bream (rank 21), Sea Pickle (rank 24) and Rothlyt Oyster (rank 28). Staying at -4 will target all but Bianaq Bream. You should pull in lots of fish here that will let you get pass the ranks easily. Remember that you now start to recieve guild marks for the leves in this area so make sure that you grab these for added speed through the ranks.

23 - 33
La Noscea
Coast of Cedarwood (Grade 4).
Crab ball or Herring ball should get you some catches here. If you would rather use lures I suggest moving up to Sinking Minnow. You will be able to catch Malm Kelp (-4), White Coral (rank 18), Bianaq Bream (rank 21), Ash Tuna (rank 31) and Hammerhead Shark (rank 32). I suggest staying at +1 for Bianaq Bream and Hammerhead Shark.

33 - 50
For this I am not really going to make any suggestions. You can go to Bald Knoll or Iron Lake in La Noscea but this is going to take so long that you will probably want to change your scenary now and again. Use all the leves you have not used on other classes and make sure you have Sweat of Brow equiped. Good luck with the last levels :D

Links

Resource maps at Disciples of the Land

Forum at Disciples of the Land

Lodestone (SE site with information on Final Fantasy XIV).

Thanks

I would like to thank all the visitors here at www.disciplesoftheland.com. Much of the information compiled in this guide has been gathered from the many posts that have been made in the forums. A lot of discussions have helped form the knowledge we have of fishing in Final Fantasy XIV and I would not have been able to make this guide on my own.

Special thanks go out to:
LordMethos for making the original list of equipment for the fisher. To see the original list of equipment look here
Vicious who updated the list above after the major 1.19 update.
Vid for making the original guide and helping out with the site when it was in it's infancy. Check out Vid's Guide here
Romperstomer and Folkster and all others who contributed to the list of Alchemy recipes. See the original post about alchemy fishing recipes here
Every one who gave information on sweet spots. See the original post on fishing sweet spots here
All moderators of Disciples of the Land who have helped make it all possible.

And finally I would like to thank SE for making Final Fantasy XIV. I know it may not yet be as many want it to be but I really enjoy this game and it has given me many hours of fun and enjoyment.

If some one feel left out when I gave out thanks let me know. The information in the guide has been compiled using many sources so I may have looked at some of your work and I would like to include all sources as accurately as possible.