The Aquarius update has provided players with the ability to fish across the many water planets across the universe in No Man's Sky. Alongside many features and customization options like the Deep-Sea Diving Suit, there are more than 160 fish species spread across planets and systems for players to fish in hopes of completing their collection.
That said, fishing in No Man's Sky isn't just throwing your reel toward the water and expecting fish to bite. Today's guide will go through the many mechanics and items that will assist your fishing efforts, such as Baits, Automated Traps, the Exo-Skiff, and more.
No Man's Sky Aquarius Expedition: Best Rewards And How To Get Them
The No Man's Sky Aquarius Expedition offers players some great rewards for completing it, most of which are quite easy to get.
How to Get and Use the Fishing Rig in No Man's Sky
The Fishing Rig will be the only thing you will need to start fishing across the universe of No Man's Sky. You can get it by spending one Nanite at the Multi-tool vendor in the Space Anomaly. You can also opt to play the Aquarius Expedition and complete the Gone Fishing: 1 milestone during Phase 1 as you will receive the plans for the Fishing Rig relatively early. To craft it, use the following materials:
- 3x Carbon Nanotubes: Build one by using 50x Carbon.
- 1x Di-hydrogen Jelly: Use 40x Di-hydrogen or use Refiner to refine 30x Di-hydrogen.
- 60x Chromatic Metal: Refine 2x Copper, 1x Cadmium, 2x Emeril, or 2x Indium per Chromatic Metal unit.
The only thing left to do once you have your Fishing Rig is to do the fishing itself. Locate a system that features water planets and then stand on the shoreline or on top of your starship – after getting the Aqua-Jets upgrade which will allow you to land on water –, choose the Reel by cycling through the Multi-tool and then throw your Reel to fish. Depending on your angling or how far you have thrown the line, you will be able to see different types of fish being attracted to your hook. Once the line turns green, use the Reel again and keep pressing the allocated button to pull the fish off the water.
How to Use Bait to Fish in No Man's Sky
You will soon find out, however, that getting an uncommon, rare, and even legendary fish in No Man's Sky can take a decent amount of time if you are just using your Reel by itself. That is why, as soon as you purchase your Fishing Rig at the Space Anomaly or complete the Message in a Bottle milestone in the Aquarius Expedition, you will unlock different base baits you can use to improve your fishing capabilities by increasing fish rarity and scale chances alongside some extra boosts you can see below:
|
Bait |
Units per Craft |
Materials |
Effects |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Mealworms |
20 |
|
Catch Rarity Improvement: 20% Catch Size Improvement: 2% Other Notes: None |
|
Spicy Chum |
20 |
|
Catch Rarity Improvement: 54% Catch Size Improvement: 2% Other Notes: None |
|
Bionic Lure |
20 |
|
Catch Rarity Improvement: 64% Catch Size Improvement: 2% Other Notes: None |
|
Magpulse Lure |
20 |
|
Catch Rarity Improvement: 24% Catch Size Improvement: 2% Other Notes: Attracts storm-loving fish. |
|
Dangling Orb |
20 |
|
Catch Rarity Improvement: 24% Catch Size Improvement: 2% Other Notes: Attracts diurnal fish. |
|
Shadow Lure |
20 |
|
Catch Rarity Improvement: 24% Catch Size Improvement: 2% Other Notes: Attracts nocturnal fish. |
There are many other items you can use as bait such as other fish, but you can also use the Nutrient Processor in No Man's Sky to cook these sea creatures to get complex dishes that will, at times, provide far greater boosts, which will come in handy when you are trying to collect legendary fish such as the one for the Scales of Fire milestone.
How to Get and Use the Exo-Skiff in No Man's Sky
Getting the Exo-Skiff – a water platform you can summon on the open sea – is a process similar to the Fishing Rig. Visit the Space Anomaly and spend 90 Nanites to unlock it or complete the Freedom of the Sea milestone during Phase 2 of the Aquarius Expedition. Then, craft it by using the following materials:
- 120x Magnetised Ferrite: Refine Pure Ferrite.
-
30x Salt: Collect it from underwater minerals. You can also refine the following materials:
- 1x Chlorine.
- 1x Di-hydrogen + 1x Oxygen.
- 2x Crystal Sulphide: Found in underwater flora.
To summon the Exo-Skiff in No Man's Sky, bring up the Summon Vehicles menu and select the Exo-Skiff. Then, click on any point on the water and the Exo-Skiff will appear. On top of that, you will find the Cold Storage that you can use to store your caught fish and, by interacting with the screens, you can change your Exo-Skiff's color pattern. If you wish to move the Exo-Skiff, then summon it once again to the spot you want to move it, and it will slowly move toward said spot. There is currently no way to manually move or drive the Exo-Skiff.
How to Get and Use Automated Traps in No Man's Sky
Finally, you can also make use of Automated Traps in No Man's Sky to get fish without the hassle of actually using baits or the Fishing Rig. Spend one Salvaged Data at the Construction Research Station in the Space Anomaly or complete the Tales of the Waves milestone to get the Automated Traps plans. Then, use your Build Menu, select the Automated Trap, and position it on the water. Leave the Automated Trap on its own, and it will eventually catch up to four different fish. To build it, you need to gather the following materials:
-
50x Salt: Found in underwater minerals. You can also refine the following materials:
- 1x Chlorine
- 1x Di-hydrogen + 1x Oxygen
- 3x Metal Plating.
- 1x Ion Battery.
No Man's Sky
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 71 /100 Critics Rec: 36%
- Released
- August 9, 2016
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Fantasy Violence, Animated Blood
- Developer(s)
- Hello Games
- Publisher(s)
- Hello Games
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Proprietary
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Verified
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Nintendo Switch 2
- How Long To Beat
- 30.5 Hours
- How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs)
- 150 hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Supported VR Headsets
- Sony PlayStation VR, Sony PlayStation VR2, Valve Index, HP Reverb G2, HTC Vive Pro 2, HTC VIVE Cosmos, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro
- File Size Xbox Series
- 20.36 GB (September 2024)
