**This is a review of Early Access gameplay, and the game has been getting a lot of updates continuously, so some things might change later on** Professional Fishing 2 is a true open world, with the ability to cast your line just about anywhere, and many decent spots that you can fish. There are two modes, Arcade has very predictable fish spawns, and Realistic involves fish migrating over a cycle of days. Realistic what I have played mainly, and generally the species most affected are the larger ones. Smaller fish like Roach, Ide, Bleak, and Perch tend to be regularly available in the same places, long as you fish at the correct time of day. Though the bite rate can vary, certain spots will naturally be more applicable for catching larger species like carp, you just have to kind of rotate through them to find where the fish are that day. Travel is namely on foot or on a 4 wheeler. There is a rowboat that is on the side of some lakes, but it tends to be slow, and you can’t currently mount rods on the side, I am hoping they add that. There are currently two ways you level up and make money; directly by catch fish and selling them to the local vendor as well as completing tasks for a lady that walks around the map near each of the fast travel locations. Larger fish tend to give more experience and money. Tasks can vary between weight of catch, number of fish caught, and species of fish, and have a timer associated, which pauses if you have to leave the game and starts back up when you return. Tasks are a necessity early game before you have the equipment to catch large fish, but after you have your gear, you can kind of go your own way. There are three main rod setups in the game; float, feeder, and spinning. I believe spinning is still getting worked on, but the float and feeder are straightforward and effective. It is important to note in the course of playing, your gear will naturally wear out. So when putting together your pole, make sure your line is the weakest link, and your rod is the strongest, your reel being a close second. That way you save money you would be using to repair the rod and reel, and the line which can’t be repaired is cheap anyway. Float rods have a bobber which determines how heavy the bait can be, and a sinker to keep it upright. Spinning rods just have the artificial bait. Feeder have a bait cage that holds groundbaits you can use for your target species (or just leave it empty), and then the bait. Hooks help to eliminate smaller species of fish, but will allow small specimens of larger species, even with larger hooks. The baits vary in price and effectiveness, generally higher price has better results, but each bait tends to be better for targeting different fish. You can have up to three poles all set up, and once you have a rod stand, you can potentially deploy all at once for best results. Rod stands even can be equipped with bite alarms, which help a lot with feeder rods. Currently, you start with a light rod, but one that is not to be under estimated. It is free to repair, unlike anything you get afterwards, and it can catch the fish that are in the most common weight bracket, especially once you get 2 kg line. Early game is tough, you have to first acquire an assortment of bait, and then explore to find what works when and with which fish. You will encounter a lot of fish that need more capable equipment, and you will probably have to grind out a number of tasks. Though renting a 4 wheeler or fast travelling is relatively cheap and inconsequential later on, this money is precious in early game when you are still finding yourself wasting bait while trying to grind tasks. Even getting the lowest strength feeder rod takes a while. One you have a decent feeder and float setup in addition to the starter rod, you can catch bigger fish, and since you have three rods now, what do you know, you are catching them quicker. You don’t need the strongest rod in the game right away, especially if you are fishing Realistic, because for that rod to make sense, you also need to know more about where the big fish might be, if they haven’t already migrated elsewhere. The game is still very much keyboard and mouse centric, there are items in your inventory that you need to drag and drop into position, like the live well or the rod holder. I believe a tutorial is in development, but otherwise some of it I needed to watch Youtubers to figure out how to play. Up to 30 player multiplayer, I generally have been fishing in single player myself. One thing about the fish you catch, your net needs to be deployed or you will be forced to release the fish, which gets you no money. Also, the live well is not infinite in size, you will need to continuously go sell the contents, eventually upgrading the size. You can potentially buy a 4 wheeler, but the cost of repair when damaged is astronomical, it makes more sense to just rent since you get a fresh one each time. There is a fish guide you can look at, but it gives generalized info on where the fish live. You need to find what bait works and which lakes have that fish on your own. There are little signs around the shore that have fish caught in that area and how big, as well as the username of the person that caught it. These update every day to show that day’s largest fish, up to 6 species on the board. There is a second, smaller map you can unlock later on, but it has fewer fast travel points, and to my knowledge does not have as big of fish for your higher end gear, at least not yet. Spin fishing might feel more natural once there is controller support, currently you have to incrementally change speed of reel, as well as the drag (brake). It is also hard to really nail the speed for the lure to move at a constant depth. I would like some kind of tutorial on effective patterns for moving the rod tip in order to attract fish while reeling in. You have a personal best chart you can look at with all species, but it would be nice to mount memorable fish and display them in a lodge or something. There are rare fish variants you can go for, and it is exciting to catch them. Rares unfortunately don’t seem to count towards tasks of the same species, I hope they fix that. Currently when you are reeling in fish with an undersized setup, they fight for a long time, and really only give up after a certain amount of time. They don’t seem to fatigue gradually. You will have times when you get the fish within 20 meters, and then it finds a sixth wind and goes out to 35 meters. And this can happen multiple times while a fish is on. It is good to note though, if you want to throw in the towel, just press “C”. and you can move on. If you do have patience though, once you get that fish in, you do feel a sense of achievement. It is notable that you can walk while reeling in, and that can save you a boatload of time, especially if you are following a fish along the bank. Just be careful not to fall in the water or you will lose the fish.
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