Fishing Hotspots
The best place to fish in Aeternum
What is a fishing hotspot?
Fishing Hotspots are special fishing pools that spawn inside of Hotspot Areas. Landing your Fishing line in the Hotspot pool will boost your chance to obtain rarer fish. A fishing hotspot is like a mining node. It is about 2.5 meters in diameter and has fish jumping out of it. It looks like this:
How good is fishing in hotspots?
If you are after Uncommon, Rare or Legendary fish then hotspots should be your primary fishing locations. The quality of what you get really depends on the type of Hotspot you are fishing in. There are 3 levels Broad (1 star), Rare (2 star), and Secret (3 star).
Rarity type distribution is before modifiers like gear and bait. With the best gear and bait you can get secret hotspots to drop only rare and above.
The types of fish you catch depends on the region you are in. You will catch all size fishes in hotspots. If you are looking for a specific fish use our fish location list.
Another benefit that all hotspots share is how quickly you will get a bite. With baits it is almost as soon as your line hits the water.
How do you find a Hotspot?
Hotspot pools spawn in fixed locations, within designated hotspot areas.
One of the perks for leveling fishing skill unlocks the ability to track and discover hotspots on your map. Once discovered you will see the fish icon with number of stars. Each region has multiple hotspots. They are found in both saltwater and freshwater.
You can find most of the designated hotspot areas on your map before you actually unlock the ability to discover them. On your map look for the yellow hexagon shapes on bodies of water. Here are some examples:
These are the hotspot areas, inside these areas is where the actual hotspot pool will spawn (the icon when discovered marks the location of the actual hotspot pool within the hotspot area). You can't just go inside this hexagon and fish. You are not getting the bonus unless your bobber is landing in the actual hotspot pool.
Once you are in the Hotspot Area (the hexagon) you are looking for a pool of fish, about 2.5 meters in diameter. You will see fish jumping out of it like in the photo at the start of this chapter.
When you land your bobber in one you will see the words "Landed in Hotspot", like this:
If you do not see this confirmation you are not fishing in the hotspot and will not get the bonus.
They spawn like mining nodes. So if you don't see it when you first get there someone may have just fished it out. There was also a bug on Beta that would make them disappear before being depleted. Logging out and back in made them visible again. You can see them when they spawn in, and you do not need to leave render distance for them to respawn.
Do you get larger or special fish from hotspots?
There does not appear to be any sort of influence on size. From my fishing there was a pretty balanced distribution between Small, Medium, and Large at all 3 types of hotspots.
Hotspots shared the same table of fish for the region's water types we did not see any special fish unique to hotspots. The difference is the rarity boost and speed of bite. The best place to get Legendary Fish did seem to be from the Secret (3 star) hotspots, but it is not the only place to get them. You can learn more about the available Legendary Fish on the Fish Location chapter.
Do you get more experience from hotspots?
Not per fish, it is the same amount as catching them outside of a hotspot. However, if you look at it as experience over time, hotspots are much better for gaining experience than open waters. The reason for this is mostly the boost to fish rarity. Rarer fish give you more experience per catch. How fast you get bites from hotspots also plays a role in the measure of effectiveness over time.
If you are looking to maximize fishing experience points we recommend fishing in hotspots whenever you see them. Weaver's Fen had the most number of hotspots in a single region for being a mid-level zone. This will probably be the best zone to level in if you are just trying to push your way through the skill the quickest way possible without having to spend extra time fighting through everything in your path.
There you have it, hotspots in a nutshell.
Remember, each region has a different set of fish. If you are searching for a specific fish make sure to check out the Fish Location List.
By now you should have a clear understanding of the potential behind Hotspots. Stick around, in the next chapter we are going to take a deeper look at fishing bait and other fishing equipment.